# What was the first movie trailer to use the phrase, "In a world where... " **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 25, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865 "2013-03-25T00:12:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/1 "2013-03-25T00:12:37Z")
We’ve all seen spoof movie trailers that use the cliche/parody opening phrase, “In a world where… (fill in the blank).” This cliche must’ve originated with one real and serious trailer that was mindlessly parroted by more real trailers until the phrase became so overused as to be eyeroll-inducing. Anybody know what that first trailer was? Thanks all, in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/2 "2013-03-25T00:20:26Z")
[Angels & Insects](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBBab1eOKxA) did it in 1995, so that gives you a baseline to work back from. ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/3 "2013-03-25T00:21:38Z")
Goodfella’s apparently had it, as did Mad Max 2. Don LaFontaine is the one who first did it, which should narrow down the search pool. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/4 "2013-03-25T02:24:23Z")
Here’s the [trailer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gdv5EtZQ6jg) from Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior). It doesn’t start with “in a world” but if definitely includes it. So that moves it back to at least 1981. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/5 "2013-03-25T16:23:58Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Goodfella’s apparently had it, as did Mad Max 2. Don LaFontaine is the one who first did it, which should narrow down the search pool. Goodfellas, really? That doesn’t make sense. “In a world where gangsters pull off the Lufthansa heist, just like… you know, just like the real world…” ---
**Author:** ![Santos\_L\_Halper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/santos_l_halper/32/1_2.png) [@Santos\_L\_Halper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santos_L_Halper)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/6 "2013-03-25T16:41:18Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Don LaFontaine is the one who first did it, which should narrow down the search pool. But since Don LaFontaine voiced like 98% of all movie trailers, it only narrows it down a little bit. 🙂 > [@LawMonkey](#): > > Goodfellas, really? That doesn’t make sense. “In a world where gangsters pull off the Lufthansa heist, just like… you know, just like the real world…” Here’s the Goodfellas trailer: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qo5jJpHtI1Y/hqdefault.jpg "Goodfellas - Trailer - (1990) - HQ") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo5jJpHtI1Y) LaFontaine doesn’t actually come in until the last 20 seconds, and his first line is “In a world that’s powered by violence…” ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/7 "2013-03-25T17:06:08Z")
in a world where ignorance was rife and cites were rare, a brave band of heroes stubbornly takes up a fight that would last way longer than they could have ever imagine. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/8 "2013-03-25T17:18:35Z")
Tesla had a movie where he filmed the answer to life, the universe and everything (which he called 42), and it started with “\*\*IN A WORLD…\*\*where people think nothing makes sense, actually it does… and here’s a surprisingly simple explanation to figuring it all out.” Unfortunately Edison sicced some lawyers on it and had every print burned because he said it was copyright infringement as he was also in a world too. ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-movie-trailer-to-use-the-phrase-in-a-world-where/653865/9 "2013-03-26T14:40:13Z")
> [@johnspartan](#): > > Tesla had a movie where he filmed the answer to life, the universe and everything (which he called 42), and it started with “\*\*IN A WORLD…\*\*where people think nothing makes sense, actually it does… and here’s a surprisingly simple explanation to figuring it all out.” > > Unfortunately Edison sicced some lawyers on it and had every print burned because he said it was copyright infringement as he was also in a world too. In a world where steam powered punks exist…