Sub-Zero

Typically, when advertising a movie, most of the attention is focused on the main characters. Of course, occasionally the advertising for the movie also focuses on a minor character as well. What minor characters were featured relatively prominently in the advertising for their movie? For example, the character was notably featured in the movie's trailer, or on the movie's poster, or had their own poster, or were included in the cover artwork for the movie's physical release, or were clearly featured in some way in the movie's official advertising? Thanks to anyone that replies.

Decker

GoldenJCJ

Just about every Bruce Willis movie in the last 10 years?

d2cheer

Deadpool 2 Peter is one I can think of right out of the box.

clckworang

I'd argue that the Psycho and Scream examples aren't minor characters. They may not be the stars of the movie, but both really put the plots into motion. The Scream example is maybe more borderline, but Marion Crane is far from a minor character.

Count Dooku

People today talk about twists in movies, but Psycho had one of the biggest twists ever, and I don't mean the reveal that Norman Bates is you-know-who. Janet Leigh was recognizable to the public as a movie star, and she got killed off halfway into the movie. That was shocking.

Same thing with Scream. People knew Drew Barrymore. Nobody else in Scream was a movie star. Put it out there that she's in the movie, and then kill her off in the first scene, that was a shock, and announced to audiences that Scream was going to be a different from all the 80s horror movies they had seen.

Count Dooku

Angelina Jolie was all over the advertising for Gone in 60 Seconds, such that you would have thought her screen time matched Cage's, but she had a much smaller part (I won't say "minor" role) than audiences were led to believe.

clckworang

Yes, I'm aware of the history of Psycho, but you also pretty much proved my point. That character needed to be more than minor for the death to mean something in the movie. What makes her minor just because she was killed halfway through? Or are you mixing up a supporting role with a minor one? She's a major supporting character in the movie. She's who you follow and sympathize with through the first half of the half and then her death is a major shock and propels the rest of the movie. How is that a minor character?

And it wasn't all that shocking in Scream because it had been done in Psycho. If anything, as I said previously, it's closer to what I'd call a minor character.

Count Dooku

clckworang, 18 years and 8000 posts. Was this the first time someone replied to you by agreeing with you?

You would have to back in time to find out, but I would imagine that even the young moviegoers who were familiar with Psycho, were surprised that Barrymore was killed that quickly.

clckworang

What? I saw Scream several times in theaters. No one went into that movie theater thinking they were going to watch a movie all about Drew Barrymore.

The Cow

Steven Seagal

Count Dooku

Because word immediately got out and passed around what happened?

If that is not the case then Scream is actually the perfect answer to the OP's question. Barrymore was arguably the most famous MOVIE actor in the film. Her character is essentially inconsequential to the rest of the plot. All her scene does is set up the killer's MO. Her part could have been played by a complete nobody and it would not have mattered.

It only mattered because they killed the most famous actor in the movie in the first scene. That was the whole point of casting her.


It sure as fuck looks like a movie where Drew Barrymore has a big part. Probably the only tip off is that she gets the "and" billing, instead of being first.

Google: scream Drew Barrymore killing a surprise

and to be clear, this is a post where I am disagreeing with you

Josh-da-man

Sub-Zero

Thanks for all of the replies.

clckworang

You haven't agreed with me once in this thread.

So much writing to defend a pick that I already said was more in line with a minor character. I don't think you know when someone is agreeing with you.

But to take another tact, Casey was not inconsequential. Her death set everything in motion. Her killing was filmed with the most care and we were forced to identify with her more. Despite the short time in screen, it needed to leave an impact to hang over the movie. Heck, you keep talking about what a major impact her scene had on people and how shocking it was. How is that a minor character?

Count Dooku

You were saying Marion was not a minor character in Psycho, and I was agreeing with you.

I was also agreeing that having Casey be played by a movie star made her presence and death important, even though the character itself is a minor character. So, again, I am agreeing with you.
However, If Casey had been played by a nobody, she would have just been the first victim who disappeared from the film after the first scene and was never spoken of again --practically the definition of a minor character.

How do you not understand what I am saying?

stvn1974

Darth Maul

jfoobar

First thing that popped into my head also.

Crocker Jarmen

I think about Luke Perry getting a title card alongside the likes of Margo Robbie, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning in the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood trailer as well as in the opening credits of the movie for a part that was barely a step-up from being an extra (in the finished film at least). I figure this was a mix of respect for him as he had passed away just a few months before the movie opened, and an unspoken cynical realization that they could sell a couple extra tickets to people wanting to see Luke Perry's final film.

Decker

Speaking of Star Wars, anyone care to argue this one?

Ash Ketchum

He's got a longer scene included in the Additional Scenes on the Blu-ray. But in both scenes (the one we see in the movie and the one in the extras), Perry is always in character as Scott Lancer, never as the actor playing him, Wayne Maunder. Timothy Olyphant, on the other hand, has many more scenes and appears as both the actor James Stacy and the character he plays, Johnny Madrid. There are even more scenes with Stacy in the book version Quentin wrote of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. I just read the book and I don't recall Wayne Maunder appearing in any scenes, only his character Scott Lancer. When Dalton goes drinking with Stacy after the finish of the first day's shoot of the Lancer episode, he takes Cliff along. Another actor joins them there, Warren Vanders (a real person), but no Maunder. (There's also a special surprise cameo--or two!--in that scene.)

fujishig

Dang, how did Stallone not get a byline in this poster?

Do we also include the small movies that come out after one of the side actors gets big? I think Eisenberg sued for being so prominently depicted in some move called Camp Hell, for instance, but that happens a lot.

Count Dooku

Yeah, I don't recall Hamill/Skywalker appearing in any of the advertising for TFA. I think the reveal of Rey finding him at the end was supposed to be exciting, so they would not step on that.

Is including his name in the credits in the movie poster "prominently featuring" him in the film's advertising? No fucking way. Yes, it would have been better if they could have kept his appearance a secret, but we all know that film credits are a matter of contracts and financial obligations.

And the idea that Luke is a minor character is wrong-headed, if that's where you were going. While he does not appear until the end, his presence is all over the movie. They talk about him. They need to find him. Mythologically, he's the link to The Force that needs to be awakened.

Captain Phasma is the correct answer with regard to TFA. Christie was all over TV promoting the movie and her role as Phasma, and that turned out to be a whole lot of nothing.

fujishig

I thought of Phasma but figured she was more than a minor character, even if her role was more minor than a lot of people expected. I guess it depends on how you define a minor role. I would think that Phasma's position in that poster is fine.

Count Dooku

Not talking about the poster, talking about Christie appearing on so many talk shows to promote the movie. Seriously, you would have thought her role was a big as Oscar Isaac's.