Put on a happy face, again

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve written in the past about the phenomenon of studios cheering up the posters for movies when they’re released on DVD.  (Here and here.)

A few weeks ago I saw an electronic billboard here in LA for Flight, Bob Zemeckis’s tense drama about alcoholism, but the original poster image had been altered.  Star Denzel Washington was no longer standing in the rain on a stormy day, he was now standing in much less rain in front of a blinding blue sky and the quote “FLIGHT SOARS!” blared over his head.  I thought, well, for the sake of the quote they want to make the movie look like an inspirational drama, which it is, in a way, so I guess that’s okay.

Now I see that that billboard image was merely a dry run for the DVD cover, and that Flight, the studio had decided, needed some cheering up for the home video market.  Pilot Denzel is no longer facing his demons in a storm, now he’s peeking at God as the rain comes to a stop.  I’m sure this image is a mock-up, but I like how someone has placed the quote “POWERFUL,” without attribution, below Denzel’s face.  I’m sure if Denzel wins the Oscar his expression will be changed to “beaming triumph” and the font will be changed to Trajan.