October 3, 2008

Marketing the Oliver Stone movie about Bush with an Obama Girl spoof trailer for a (nonexistent) movie about Sarah Palin.

Politics and marketing are getting complicated:
The video was created by political-satire site BarelyPolitical.com, a unit of New York-based Web-TV company Next New Networks. Barely Political also produced the popular viral Web video “I’ve Got a Crush on Obama.” The site was acquired by Next New Networks in 2007. Next New Networks has worked with Lionsgate in the past to promote such films as the Jet Li movie “War.” Lionsgate declined to comment on the new spoof video. Barely Political plans to release another video with deleted scenes and outtakes, likely to coincide with tonight’s vice-presidential debate.
Here's the video, which is pretty funny:



There's a second video here, but as you can see, unfortunately, Obama Girl is a terrible actress when she tries to play herself as the actress playing Sarah Palin. She needs to stay in cartoon mode, and she's fine in the trailer.

The actual political content of all this is pretty thin in my view. I suppose it's anti-Palin, but it also works in her favor in various hard-to-pin-down ways. Perhaps it all depends on whether you start out wanting to like or hate her.

Anyway, I guess it's pretty effective marketing for the Oliver Stone movie, since the video is very viral.

33 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oliver who?

John Clemens said...

That is a horrible movie trailer compared to the Disney version that College Humor put out a little while ago - http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1831461

KCFleming said...

Given his downward spiral in movie quality and success, he should be renamed Oliver Pebble.

George M. Spencer said...

Great commercial for McCain and Palin.

America wants amusement. America wants to laugh in hard times.

She's tough. She's fertile. Her husband is harmless.

Obama, by contrast, is utterly humorless. You can't make a joke about the guy.

john said...

"Your thighs are strong, like Russain bear."

I thought it was pretty funny, in a MadTV sort of way. However, with her in Washington, will we lose our last line of defence along the Bearing Strait?

Original Mike said...

However, with her in Washington, will we lose our last line of defence along the Bearing Strait?

Not with John McClain in the White House. That guy kicks ass.

George M. Spencer said...

Pix of Putin's reputed gal pal Alina, the rhymthic gymnast.

Light-footed and thick-shouldered, he can emanate the self-assuredness of a stocky, muscular cat. But he is not tall. He stands, by generous estimate, perhaps five feet six inches high.

Our Sarah, she vill tower over Vlad in her sexy, sexy shoes and seduce and bind him vith her veminine charms....

john said...

That would of course be "Bering Strait".

So Sarah and Vlad could stand nose-to-nose? Palin looked about 5-4 at the start of the debate last evening, rising to about 6-2 at the end, IMO. How tall is she, actually?

Chip Ahoy said...

I love watching comediennes goofing on Palin. If this tricks me into watching a serious movie on Bush I'm going to be pissed.

KCFleming said...

The phrase "A film by Oliver Stone" is usually sufficient warning alone, the movie equivalent of "harmful if swallowed".

W. is going to be so awful, they'll have to bury the DVDs in landfills.

Palladian said...

Who wants to see an Oliver Stone movie about George W. Bush in 2008? I mean, who would pay money to see such a thing? Even people who hate Bush are kind of over him. To whom is this movie supposed to appeal, aside from Oliver Stone?

goesh said...

The real Sarah Palin played a flute as part of the contest. The spoofer should have been blowing a skin flute to complete the caricature of dumb bimbo - what an utter lack of imagination and creativity. Would I be considered a racist if I suggested the spoofer blow a black skin flute??

john said...

Doesn't Vlad need to get divorced from Ludmilla first, or is that not the way they do things there? Maybe they just do purges.

Henry said...

She lost me when she opened her mouth and Frances McDormand's accent from Fargo came out.

Alex said...

Here come's AlphaLiberal to convince us that this is "about the issues".

Beth said...

This trailer is funny; nothing mean, nothing the Palin fans haven't touted about their gal before. It's the kind of comic satire that can be aimed at anyone running for or holding office -- just some good-natured shots at a politician.

Oliver Stone lost me with "JFK." Any idiot who buys into Jim Garrison's psychotic ramblings can't think his way out of a paper bag. It's enough that Garrison ruined Clay Shaw, but for Stone to repeat that slander and shape it in an even more unsavory way (all that homophobic drag queen bullshit) is just beneath contempt.

TWM said...

This movie is gonna bomb. You want to see a funny political movie go see An American Carol this weekend. I have heard it is going to rock ala the original Airplane-level spoof flicks.

Unknown said...

It was sort of amusing...and will be loved by all 9 people who go to see this movie.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Joe said...

That was funny?

Ernesto Ariel Suárez said...

Joe said...
That was funny?

11:33 AM


"It's nuanced humour!" Or something like that...

Godot said...

Ann Althouse said:
Here's the video, which is pretty funny.

Pro or anti Palin sentiments aside:
Do you really think this video is funny? Really?

Pogo said:
W. is going to be so awful, they'll have to bury the DVDs in landfills.

Yes. While continuing to lecture us on the environment.

Unknown said...

That was fun. So was the collegehumor video.

You know, there is a line between humorous satire and angry screed. And it's not that fine a line, either. In my estimation both of these are on the right side of that line. Neither one of these was blowout funny but they were pretty good.

My favorite anti-Bush quote of all time is this: "With a Bush, Dick, and a Colin in the White House, you know someone's gonna get screwed."

El Presidente said...

Q: "Would I be considered a racist if . . ."

A: Yes, always.

BJM said...

An effective marketing tool? I'd rather have a root canal, thanks.

I can't imagine what demographic other than netroots, conspiracy buffs, Truthers and BDS sufferers would be interested.

This movie will go to DVD faster than Dodd snapped up a CountryWide VIP home loan.

blake said...

This trailer is funny; nothing mean, nothing the Palin fans haven't touted about their gal before

Touting that Palin's husband killed the mayor of Wasilla while drinking and driving isn't one of I've heard.

Unknown said...

The movie is not the point. It may tank, so what? The point is the trailers. They are political ads designed to change how people vote. Same thing, I think, with American Carol, Religulous, etc. They are campaign ads that get around the electioneering restrictions. It's not "people are political near the election, so they'll go to the movie" but "there's an election coming, let's influence voters."

Revenant said...

I'd love to know the name of the drug-addled executive who decided that greenlighting an Oliver Stone movie about George Bush was a good idea. Do even the people who hate Bush want to see that film?

Beth said...

Touting that Palin's husband killed the mayor of Wasilla while drinking and driving isn't one of I've heard.

It's hyperbole. He has an old DUI charge. Satire exaggerates, from both perspectives. That hyperbole makes fun of both the GOP "it was a youthful excess" excuse and the Democrat "Oh my God, her husband has a DUI!" hysteria.

Beth said...

"there's an election coming, let's influence voters" --

Harry, isn't that what we all want to do? Isn't that the political process, and part of our cherished free speech? Voters are free not to be idiots who can be influenced by a movie.

Beth said...

Do even the people who hate Bush want to see that film?

Why yes, I can't think of anything more appealing than two hours of George Bush. (It sure would be more than we've seen of him anytime recently!)

No, I'm kidding. I'm not sure who the audience is for this.

"Wag the Dog" had the benefit of being a slant history, a fiction that we all knew was directed at Clinton. That made it watchable, or marketable. I don't see the point, or interest, in W.

holdfast said...

"Obama, by contrast, is utterly humorless. You can't make a joke about the guy."

Of course not, that would be rascist - hence he is spoof-proof and protected from the slings and arrows of Letterman and Leno.

vbspurs said...

I will watch "W", but I won't pay money to do so. Like Sicko, I'll buy a ticket for another movie and sneak in to watch it.

I did see "An American Carol" on Friday. It was okay...

Cheers,
Victoria