Spoiler Alert: How Secrecy Shapes Contemporary Cinema and Its Marketing
An article in New Yorker delves into the emergence of spoiler culture in cinema, highlighting how the scarcity of information has become a marketing strategy and how the intricate nature of modern films makes avoiding spoilers more challenging. It reviews various films: "La Bola Negra," a romantic drama by Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo, which earned Best Director at Cannes and stars Penélope Cruz; Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Digger," featuring Tom Cruise, which underperformed with $15 million; Chris Rock's "Misty Green," with Rosalind Eleazar, addressing racism and ageism in the industry; Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord," criticized for its lack of children's viewpoints; and Lance Oppenheim's "Primetime," which overlooks the true narrative of "To Catch a Predator." The vigilance regarding spoilers now encompasses narrative structure.
Key facts
- The article discusses spoiler culture in film and its impact on criticism and marketing.
- Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo won Best Director at Cannes for "La Bola Negra," sharing the award with Paweł Pawlikowski for "Fatherland."
- "La Bola Negra" features Penélope Cruz in a musical sequence and spans 1932, 1937, and 2017.
- Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Digger" stars Tom Cruise and earned only $15 million in its first two weeks in U.S. theaters.
- "Digger" was kept under tight wraps, with critics asked not to reveal its twist.
- Chris Rock's "Misty Green" stars Rosalind Eleazar as a Hollywood actress and critiques racism and ageism in the industry.
- Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord" stars Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve and deals with a Romanian-Norwegian family accused of child abuse.
- Lance Oppenheim's "Primetime" is about the 2006 TV show "To Catch a Predator" and stars Robert Pattinson as Chris Hansen.
Entities
Artists
- Javier Ambrossi
- Javier Calvo
- Paweł Pawlikowski
- Penélope Cruz
- Alejandro González Iñárritu
- Tom Cruise
- Chris Rock
- Rosalind Eleazar
- Cristian Mungiu
- Sebastian Stan
- Renate Reinsve
- Lance Oppenheim
- Robert Pattinson
- Chris Hansen
- Milo Quifes
- Guitarricadelafuente
- Carlos González
- Antonio de la Torre
- María Morales
- Miguel Bernardeau
- Federico García Lorca
- Rafael Rodríguez Rapún
- Alberto Conejero
- John Goodman
- Riz Ahmed
- Michael Stuhlbarg
- John Cassavetes
- Preston Sturges
- George S. Kaufman
- Amy Landecker
- Adam Driver
- Daniel Kaluuya
- Vanessa Ceban
- Christopher Nolan
- Greta Gerwig
- Jordan Peele
- Wes Anderson
- Nathan Fielder
Institutions
- Cannes Film Festival
- HBO Max
- New Yorker
Locations
- Granada
- Spain
- Madrid
- Greenland
- Washington, D.C.
- Continental Europe
- Singapore
- Romania
- Norway