# This movie trailer is both accurate AND misleading. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 29, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255 "2010-11-29T04:49:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/1 "2010-11-29T04:49:44Z")
I was watching a the football this evening, and in one of the ad breaks they showed a trailer for the new Coen brothers film, _True Grit_. I’m a huge fan of the brothers, and of the actors in the movie, and i’ll definitely be going to see it in the theater. But one aspect of the trailer annoyed me a little. It’s here in this [screen grab](https://jshare.johnshopkins.edu/mhender4/public_html/gen_images/true_grit_damon.jpg). ACADEMY AWARD[sup]®[/sup] WINNER MATT DAMON As i said in the thread title, this is accurate, and yet i believe it’s also misleading. Matt Damon has indeed won an Academy Award. For screenwriting. What that tells us about his acting ability, i really have no idea, and because he’s acting in this movie, and did not write the screenplay, i think it’s a pretty crappy use of the “Academy Award Winner” tag. I noticed something similar on the posters for _The Bourne Identity_ back when it was released. I should add that i actually think that Matt Damon is a fine actor, and his presence in the movie is, for me, a positive thing. He’s also been nominated for acting Oscars twice (although he didn’t win on either occasion). But i don’t like this little deception on the part of the advertisers. Anyway, this is as mundane and pointless as it gets, but it’s movie related, so i thought i’d put in in Cafe Society. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/2 "2010-11-29T04:53:09Z")
I agree on all points. I’d go further to say that winning any awards is meaningless and doesn’t imply anything substantial about the movie you are going to see anyway. Halle Berry’s Academy Award didn’t improve _Catwoman_, for example. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/3 "2010-11-29T04:53:14Z")
Same goes with Ben Affleck, except he’s never got an acting nod. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen this label for Billy Bob Thornton, but it equally applies to him, too. Ditto Clint Eastwood for any movie he appears in but doesn’t direct. ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/4 "2010-11-29T06:42:00Z")
How about a game trailer? After the ending of _Mass Effect_, I thought the trailers for _Mass Effect 2_ meant Bioware was just pulling the same stupid, SoD-breaking stunt of pretending they’d killed Shepard off in a cutscene, then revealing s/he had survived. More charitably, they might have been setting up a “Shepard is working deep undercover” intro. As it turned out, it was worse: they’d killed off Shepard _for real_ in a cutscene. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/5 "2010-11-29T12:21:57Z")
Pay no attention to the adman behind the curtain… ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/6 "2010-11-29T18:50:55Z")
> [@Grumman](#): > > How about a game trailer? After the ending of _Mass Effect_, I thought the trailers for _Mass Effect 2_ meant Bioware was just pulling the same stupid, SoD-breaking stunt of pretending they’d killed Shepard off in a cutscene, then revealing s/he had survived. More charitably, they might have been setting up a “Shepard is working deep undercover” intro. As it turned out, it was worse: they’d killed off Shepard _for real_ in a cutscene. I haven’t played ME2 yet, but know a lot of the plot. I may be off a bit, but I think both of your spoilers are more or less correct. They killed off Shepard, but s/he got a rez. And s/he works for the shady group that did it while trying to figure out WTF is going on. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/7 "2010-11-29T21:14:58Z")
It may be a little misleading, but consider: the role Matt Damon is reprising was played by Glenn Campbell. I am going to go out on a limb here and predict that Matt will do better than Glenn did. So, no harm, no foul. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/8 "2010-11-29T21:54:11Z")
I’m reminded of the cranberry juice company that advertised its product as having more food energy units than the leading brand. The FCC made them retract the statement, but I always figured anyone dupe enough to be lured in by the pitch deserved the extra calories. ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/9 "2010-11-29T22:33:49Z")
Gotta agree, imagine a movie directed by Helen Hunt starring Thelma Schoonmaker and Philippe Rousselot written by euh…Gynneth Paltrow. Don’t imagine this too long. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/10 "2010-11-29T22:34:23Z")
Housesitter with Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn Leatherheads with Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger The Little Rascals with Academy Award winner Whoopi Goldberg anything with Academy Award winner Cuba Gooding Jr. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2010, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/11 "2010-11-29T23:57:20Z")
One of my favorite examples of this was also in regard to the Oscars. I was watching TV many years ago, and a commercial came on for their movie of the week. Tomorrow night! The **WORLD NETWORK PREMIERE** of the **ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE** : **DICK TRACY!!!** 😕 _Dick Tracy_ won an Oscar? (Racking brains.) Oh, yeah. Best Makeup. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/12 "2010-11-30T00:04:31Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I agree on all points. I’d go further to say that winning any awards is meaningless and doesn’t imply anything substantial about the movie you are going to see anyway. Halle Berry’s Academy Award didn’t improve _Catwoman_, for example. Sure it did…it made it all that more satisfying when she also won a Razzie. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/13 "2010-11-30T00:36:44Z")
> [@SCSimmons](#): > > _Dick Tracy_ won an Oscar? (Racking brains.) > > Oh, yeah. > > Best Makeup. > > :smack: And Best Art Direction. And Best Song. So that’s 3 total (in the interest of being accurate). ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/14 "2010-11-30T02:19:38Z")
_That_ movie trailer? The same can be said about _any_ movie trailer. Well, that’s hyperbole, but there are many trailers that mislead the audience. Like the comedy trailer that includes the half-dozen lines that are the only funny things about the movie. Or “From the producers of \” as though paying the bills was the reason the movie was a success. Or "Soundtrack featuring \ because people go to films to listen to the songs (at least one of which will only show up at the end credits). And if you think it’s bad for movie trailers, try watching political ads sometimes. “My opponent voted to raise taxes 842 kazillion times.” ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_A.Robrin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sam_a.robrin/32/14497_2.png) [@Sam\_A.Robrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_A.Robrin)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/15 "2010-11-30T04:04:14Z")
Really–If you’re going to buy something, it pays to do a little research first. And with the Internet, there’s no excuse not to. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/16 "2010-11-30T16:37:18Z")
Just a footnote to the comments: Having seen many contracts for films, I know that often they have several pages dedicated to the credits of a film. For instance, one thing they might have to put in is “Academy Award Winner”, as well as placement “above the title” or “before other actors in alphabetical lists” or “Starring” etc. There are lots of egos out there, and lots of agents/managers who work hard to get their clients’ names place prominently in films. How and where the names are placed in credits, on advertising, in promos - all of that is contractually negotiated. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/17 "2010-11-30T16:40:52Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > How and where the names are placed in credits, on advertising, in promos - all of that is contractually negotiated. I’m well aware of that, but the fact that a dishonest and misleading piece of advertising has been contractually negotiated doesn’t make it any less dishonest or misleading. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/18 "2010-11-30T16:45:32Z")
Cube Zero: We are showed early on, that for this Threequel, we will see the operators of the Cube. It is communicated that they can watch security camera footage of those in the cube. After that, the trailer then has : **One of the Cube operators** “Prepare to Die” Was said to a co-worker during an on-screen Chess game, in regards to the co-worker losing a piece. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/19 "2010-11-30T16:47:05Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > It may be a little misleading, but consider: the role Matt Damon is reprising was played by Glenn Campbell. > > I am going to go out on a limb here and predict that Matt will do better than Glenn did. > > So, no harm, no foul. Don’t go dissin’ my man Glenn. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255/20 "2010-11-30T17:48:22Z")
This reminds of the trailer for “Stuck on You” which came out in 2003. It started with some serious music and the trailer guy saying saying in a serious voice “Academy Award Winner Matt Damon, Academy Award Nominee Greg Kinnear, Academy Award Winner Cher,” and then the kicker “Directed by four time Academy Award Watchers, the Farrelly Brothers.” [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/zH2H6pEndX0/hqdefault.jpg "Stuck on You Movie Trailer by Cheapflix") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH2H6pEndX0) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-movie-trailer-is-both-accurate-and-misleading/562255.md?page=2)