# Why do they make "fake" conversations in ads for movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 17, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119 "2005-09-17T16:56:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/1 "2005-09-17T16:56:50Z")
Ever notice that in many movie ads they put pieces of dialogue together from different parts of a movie to create a conversation that does not appear in the movie? Why do they do this? Do they think the fake conversation is more interesting/funny/whatever than any genuine conversation snippet they could show? Is the presence of the fake ad conversation a good indication that the movie sucks? Does this annoy anybody else, or just me? ---
**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:** [September 17, 2005, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/2 "2005-09-17T17:02:24Z")
Most people don’t notice. And, yes, by splicing together lines from the film to make a fake conversation, it is both more interesting and a better sound bite. I also can’t recall too many actual conversations shown in a trailer. It’s usuallyjust quick sound bites of dialog – if any – and rarely even seems to be in the same scene. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/3 "2005-09-17T18:05:43Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I also can’t recall too many actual conversations shown in a trailer. When I notice it, then see the movie, _and_ remember the trailer, I find that the trailer “conversation” is often/usually a line from Character A and a punchline from later in the scene from Character B. A scene with several lines of dialog that would be too long for a trailer if left intact is reduced to two quick lines. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/4 "2005-09-17T18:58:31Z")
It’s not just dialogue. Quick, what’s the next line after: “[I love the smell of napalm in the morning.](http://www.indielondon.co.uk/film/speeches_movie_poll.html)”? I, for one, routinely notice differences between ads/trailers and the actual movie. I was watching The Incredibles last night and was reminded again how the scene in the ad where Mr. Incredible tries on his old uniform and busts his belt isn’t in the movie. (According to a co-watcher with the DVD, it isn’t on the DVD either.) I consider it false advertising and it should be stopped. ---
**Author:** ![Wolfian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/7ea924/32.png) [@Wolfian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolfian)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/5 "2005-09-17T19:29:59Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > I, for one, routinely notice differences between ads/trailers and the actual movie. I was watching The Incredibles last night and was reminded again how the scene in the ad where Mr. Incredible tries on his old uniform and busts his belt isn’t in the movie. (According to a co-watcher with the DVD, it isn’t on the DVD either.) > > I consider it false advertising and it should be stopped. I’m asuming that that’s just a last minute cut. Movie people’s perogotive if you ask me. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/6 "2005-09-17T20:45:11Z")
In the case of _The Incredibles_, the scene was created specifically for the teaser trailer. Every Pixar film since _A Bug’s Life_ has had a special teaser trailer introducing the films and the characters by using original footage that is not intended for the actual film. I think more studios should do this. Here’s Mr. Incredible, see? Retired superhero, forced back into action. It’s gonna take a while, though. It tells people what the movie is about, and makes them laugh, without giving any of the actual movie away. I like that. (The trailer is included on the DVD.) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/7 "2005-09-17T20:48:32Z")
I think _Spider-Man_ did this, too- have an original scene meant only for the trailer. I think it was stated even before September 11th that the scene with the two robbers and the giant web hooked between the Twin Towers was created specifically for the teaser trailer. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/8 "2005-09-17T20:57:02Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > In the case of _The Incredibles_, the scene was created specifically for the teaser trailer. Every Pixar film since _A Bug’s Life_ has had a special teaser trailer introducing the films and the characters by using original footage that is not intended for the actual film. I think more studios should do this. Here’s Mr. Incredible, see? Retired superhero, forced back into action. It’s gonna take a while, though. It tells people what the movie is about, and makes them laugh, without giving any of the actual movie away. I like that. (The trailer is included on the DVD.) Furthermore, he was trying on what became his _new_ uniform, so the scene wouldn’t have made sense in the movie, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/9 "2005-09-17T21:01:22Z")
I wish I could remember the movie, it’s been some 7 - 10 years ago. But it was heavily implied in the trailering that it was supposed to be a murder mystery movie. We saw the trailer in a drama movie and we all agreed that we wanted to see the murder mystery from that trailer. As a detail we later talked about, there was a house fire scene that looked crucial. Well, when the movie finally came out, apparantly the producers had second thoughts about the strength of their murder mystery and reworked it into a non mystery, basic murder drama. Load of crap, actually. And te remembered fire scene was nowhere to be found. It was as tho they baited and switched us. Hell, should’ve renamed it since it was such a different movie from what was previewed. Nope, still can’t remember the name, or even who was in it. But I sure remember the scenario, because I had never run across something so different from the previews. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/10 "2005-09-17T21:02:37Z")
> [@Speaker for the Dead](#): > > Furthermore, he was trying on what became his _new_ uniform, so the scene wouldn’t have made sense in the movie, anyway. That’s a good point. I didn’t think about that. For the scene to make sense in the context of the movie, he would have to be attempting to fit into his “hobo suit.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/11 "2005-09-17T21:15:05Z")
The trailer for _Matrix Reloaded_ has a moment like this. In between scenes of the ghostly white rastas is a moment where Keanu Reeves says “Hmm, upgrades.” I thought that strongly implied that the rastas were in fact Agents. The movie revealed otherwise. By now, I just shrug it off. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/12 "2005-09-17T22:52:30Z")
I’ve noticed this too, and it bothers me. If they wanted the scene to go like it does spliced together in the commercial, why didn’t they just write it that way? It’s as though they realize the movie they actually made isn’t good enough to advertise as it actually is, so they have to fix it up for the commercial. ---
**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:** [September 17, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/13 "2005-09-17T23:11:54Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > It’s not just dialogue. > > Quick, what’s the next line after: “[I love the smell of napalm in the morning.](http://www.indielondon.co.uk/film/speeches_movie_poll.html)”? “It smells like . . . victory.” ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/14 "2005-09-17T23:45:11Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > I sure remember the scenario, because I had never run across something so different from the previews. You don’t remember the original trailers for _E.T._, eh? (They gave the impression that it was going to be a _very_ scary xenophobic horror sci-fi along the lines of _Alien_. No hint of a sympathetic alien or a child protagonist at _all_ - just a creepy slimy threat, loose in the woods.) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/15 "2005-09-17T23:54:46Z")
In the commercials for broadcasts of _George of the Jungle_, they have the shot where…oops, I better spoiler this Ape, having just been tranked by the ape-nappers, uses his last conscious breath to tell the toucan to "Find George."Tookie is shown in the next shot, sitting in an airliner seat, while a flight attendant offers him another Mai-Tai. But that doesn’t appear in the movie. It appeared in the trailer, but not on our VHS copy of the film. And weirdest of all, it wasn’t added into the film as submitted for broadcast on the _Disney Channel_. But they still put it into the commercials! What’s up with that? Does anyone know if it’s in the deleted scenes portion of the DVD? ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/16 "2005-09-18T00:03:29Z")
I think that most people have misunderstood the OP - he’s not referring to things in movie trailers that never make it into the final movie, but to the trendy habit of trailer makers to edit vastly different parts of movies so that they sequentially follow each other in ways that _almost_ seem to make sense, but not really, all for the sake of being “clever” or “funny.” An example would be if someone did a new trailer for _Apocalypse Now_ and showed “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!” only to follow it with (another character saying a line from another vastly different part in the movie) “Breakfast is ready!” This has become almost **the** de facto way of making movie trailers, especially for comedies. As for the WHY - who the hell knows? I think it’s STUPID - infuriatingly so, but I guess the idea is that it’s “funny” and that the audience is supposed to think it’s clever and funny that they gave the thing they’re advertising that extra “twist.” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/17 "2005-09-18T00:47:39Z")
I strongly invite everyone to download and watch [this trailer](http://www.theforce.net/fanfilms/nonsw/grayson/), and just imagine the movie that could be built around it. ---
**Author:** ![Yookeroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yookeroo/32/323_2.png) [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/18 "2005-09-18T01:16:11Z")
With trailers giving away so much of the movie as it is, I don’t mind at all that the trailer is occasionally misleading in small ways. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/19 "2005-09-18T02:52:48Z")
> [@VCO3](#): > > I think that most people have misunderstood the OP - he’s not referring to things in movie trailers that never make it into the final movie, but to the trendy habit of trailer makers to edit vastly different parts of movies so that they sequentially follow each other in ways that _almost_ seem to make sense, but not really, all for the sake of being “clever” or “funny.” An example would be if someone did a new trailer for _Apocalypse Now_ and showed “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!” only to follow it with (another character saying a line from another vastly different part in the movie) “Breakfast is ready!” This has become almost **the** de facto way of making movie trailers, especially for comedies. > > As for the WHY - who the hell knows? I think it’s STUPID - infuriatingly so, but I guess the idea is that it’s “funny” and that the audience is supposed to think it’s clever and funny that they gave the thing they’re advertising that extra “twist.” Yeah, that’s what I was talking about, not scenes that just didn’t make it into the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Flipshod](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f19dbf/32.png) [@Flipshod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flipshod)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2005, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119/20 "2005-09-18T03:58:12Z")
I’ve noticed this silly phenomenon, and I remember when they didn’t do it. Perhaps it started in the early 1980s (??) does anybody remember when? what movie? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-make-fake-conversations-in-ads-for-movies/322119.md?page=2)