A Reel Opinion: The Curious Case of AFTER EARTH

 

By now, moviegoers have been battered with trailers, commercials, and behind-the-scenes promo-reels for the upcoming science-fiction thriller, AFTER EARTH. The film, which stars Will Smith and his cloned-son Jaden, is a father-son story taking place on a futuristic planet Earth inhabited by dangerous evolved animals, and an alien species. The trailers and promotional materials show the movie to be full of CGI- driven creatures and action, and plenty of the Smiths. But most audiences are not aware that AFTER EARTH is closely holding on to one of the best-kept secrets in Hollywood right now: the name of its director; M. Night Shyamalan.

For perhaps the first time in film history, or at least on a scale this large, the director’s name has been kept off of every trailer and TV spot currently in rotation. The behind-the-scenes promo-reels, which are in heavy rotation in movie-theatre “first look” pre-shows, contain many interviews with the cast and producer, but no mention of the director. There seems to be a definite effort to keep the name of M. Night far, far away from the marketing of AFTER EARTH. The question is, why?

In many cases, a name is all people need to go see a movie. Studios know that and often capitalize on it. Quentin Tarantino’s name is presented in bigger and fatter letters than the title of his films, and it is very rare to see a Tim Burton movie marketed without “A Tim Burton Film” over the title. The marketing for the upcoming Superman flick, MAN OF STEEL, has nearly fallen over itself in making sure the world knows Christopher Nolan (THE DARK KNIGHT) is involved as a producer. The strategy works and can be seen right down to the literary world; just look at the cover of any Stephen King book.

There is an old saying: you are only as good as your last film. The marketing for AFTER EARTH is proof of that adage. The cold hard truth is that M. Night Shyama-lama-ding-dong has directed one too many stinking turds over the past nine years, and his name is now box-office poison. The brilliant films he wrote and directed in the early part of his career are a distant memory, and he clearly can no longer ride the coattails of that old success. The studios know that, and have chosen to market AFTER EARTH without his once revered name.

Considering the success and intrigue M. Night once had, his old fans have to be quietly pulling for the guy to show his former brilliance, as the movie-world could certainly use a good M. Night.

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AFTER EARTH opens May 31^st. It stars Will Smith, Jaden Smith, and Zoe Kravitz.