Summer is coming. That means the weather's warming up, and a plethora of tantalising trailers for this year's blockbuster movies have begun issuing forth from Hollywood studios in all their 2.5 minutes of glory, ready to be endlessly discussed online.
Some - Green Lantern and Pirates of the Caribbean 4 - have gone for the all-guns-blazing, full-throttle approach. A rather lazy promo for The Hangover Part II looks like the producers hope to reel in cinemagoers on the strength of the original alone. The trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger, starring an on-form Chris Evans has attracted plenty of column inches, while Wes Craven's Scream 4 promo has received little attention by comparison.
No matter which way they market themselves to their target audiences, or how they are received by the press, they all have the same goal - turning that multimillion-dollar feature from a potential hit into a glossy cash cow.
Since the first trailer aired almost a century ago, in 1912, an entire industry has been created around what has traditionally been the movie world's most integral selling tool.
Highly respected awards ceremonies have emerged on the film scene, each dedicated to covering all aspects of "the trailer", recognising the best, and in some cases, worst, put together each year. One of the biggest, the Golden Trailer Awards, has been held every year since 1999, and jurors in recent years have included Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright and Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon. This year's ceremony will be held in June, and nominees will fight it out in categories including Trashiest Trailer, Most Original, and the top prize, Best in Show. Past winners of this award include The Cove, Star Trek and The Dark Knight.
Entire careers have been forged from these mini-movies - from those employed by the 40-plus trailer houses in the US alone, which are responsible for churning them out, all the way through to the familiar baritone voices that have become synonymous with addressing cinema audiences, their narration adding character (cheesy character, but character nonetheless) to the diminutive moneymakers.
If you've been anywhere near a cinema in the past 20-odd years, chances are you'll have heard the voices of two men in particular: Don LaFontaine and Hal Douglas. The former, who died in 2008, aged 68, was responsible for lending his dulcet tones to almost 5,000 film trailers. At one point the official "voice" for Paramount Studios, The Godfather, Fatal Attraction, and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, were just some of the Hollywood classics given the LaFontaine once-over. During his 33-year-career, which began when LaFontaine was drafted in to read a radio announcement in 1965 due to a scheduling conflict, the voice actor was responsible for helping to coin several well-known and highly parodied phrases.
Had it not been for old "Thunder Throat" - one of the Minnesota-born actor's nicknames - chances are, plenty of memorable film trailers would have been lost without the opening line: "In a world where ..." Speaking to The New York Times a year before his death, LaFontaine explained that this famous phrase provided the most efficient way to introduce the plot of a film, any film, in such a short span of time.
The octogenarian voice-artist, Hal Douglas, is another whose commanding vocals have become familiar to the moviegoing population.
Earning him voice-overs for the likes of Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, and Men in Black, Douglas also won plenty of brownie points after parodying both himself and LaFontaine in the 2002 trailer for Comedian, a feature-length documentary starring the US funny man Jerry Seinfeld.
Featuring Douglas in a recording studio, the one-and-a-half minute trailer sees the bespectacled actor run through a list of overused phrases, as well as making up several of his own.
Night of the Iguana, the 1964 Oscar-winning film of the Tennessee Williams play, starring Richard Burton, made a star of someone not actually associated with the production. Andrew J Kuehn, who independently produced a trailer for the movie, using James Earl Jones to provide the voice-over, gained so much acclaim for the promo that he would go on to become a leading figure in the movie-trailer industry for several decades.
The memorable promo featured in the Independent Film Channel's 2009 list of the 50 greatest trailers ever, albeit just scraping in at number 50. They gave the number-one spot to the trailer for Ridley Scott's 1979 science-fiction classic Alien, two dialogue-free but intensely atmospheric minutes, culminating in the famous tagline: "In space, no one can hear you scream." Second place went to the trailer for Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, which was suitably innovative. The six-minute feature shows the portly British director guiding the audience through the Bates Motel, right up to the bathroom, where he draws back the shower curtain to reveal a screaming ingénue.
The third spot on the list went to 2008's Cloverfield, an example of how the trailer can adapt itself to the digital age. Originally released in a viral-marketing campaign with no title attached, the clip became the subject of feverish speculation online.
Others that made the list include Citizen Kane, Pulp Fiction, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Big Sleep.
Of course, trailers by their nature are wily, possessing the ability to set the audience up to be disappointed by making a below-average film appear more watchable. See Lady in the Water (in fact, see every M Night Shyamalan film trailer since Signs) for proof.
And if you still doubt the trailer's power, a quick YouTube search will reveal several homemade and very popular re-edited spoof trailers, which show just how far the judicious choice of music and voice-over can alter your perception of a film; imagine Mary Poppins as a chilling horror or Stanley Kubrick's The Shining as a romantic comedy (no cascades of blood involved). Coming soon to a cinema near you? Probably not.
Follow us on Twitter and keep up to date with the latest in arts and lifestyle news at twitter.com/LifeNationalUAE
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Read more about the coronavirus
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Race card:
6.30pm: Maiden; Dh165,000; 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap; Dh165,000; 2,200m
7.40pm: Conditions; Dh240,000; 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 2,000m
8.50pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed; Dh265,000; 1,200m
9.25pm: Handicap; Dh170,000; 1,600m
10pm: Handicap; Dh190,000; 1,400m
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
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Sunday's games
All times UAE:
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace, 4pm
Manchester City v Arsenal, 6.15pm
Everton v Watford, 8.30pm
Chelsea v Manchester United, 8.30pm
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
RESULTS
Men
1 Marius Kipserem (KEN) 2:04:04
2 Abraham Kiptum (KEN) 2:04:16
3 Dejene Debela Gonfra (ETH) 2:07:06
4 Thomas Rono (KEN) 2:07:12
5 Stanley Biwott (KEN) 2:09:18
Women
1 Ababel Yeshaneh (ETH) 2:20:16
2 Eunice Chumba (BRN) 2:20:54
3 Gelete Burka (ETH) 2:24:07
4 Chaltu Tafa (ETH) 2:25:09
5 Caroline Kilel (KEN) 2:29:14
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The five pillars of Islam
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
SPECS
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:
1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition
More on animal trafficking
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
