Snakes on a Plane director David Ellis is hard at work on a new project, and as always, the first step is coming up with a title that will seem kind of stupid-funny to people on the internet, to build advance buzz. In the business, we call it LOL-cat appeal. He has a movie for Relativity Media coming out in September, which used to be called Shark Night 3D, but it sounds like they’re leaning towards the simpler, working title. I only hope it’s in the same vein as the Stephen Baldwin classic, Sharks in Venice.
“I hated the original title [Shark Night 3D], too,” says Ellis, reached in his editing bay, “so at our weekly production meetings, I made everyone on the crew come up with names — Chums, Fins, Terror on the Lake — but they all seemed kind of cheesy. And so until I hear a better name, I like what we’ve got right now: Untitled 3D Shark Thriller. The title says everything you need to know: ‘We’ve got sharks.’ ‘It’s in 3D.’ and, ‘It’s a thriller.’”
“Plus we’re stoned, and we didn’t really think this through, hence the ‘untitled’ part. It’s a perfect title, really. (*bong load*)”
Even rival studio marketing chiefs agree it could work.
“These days, there are two routes to take,” says one, “It’s either titles like Snakes on a Plane or Hot Tub Time Machine — or you can try for highbrow and say, ‘From the people who brought you Avatar, comes … ’ — but neither seems to have any real effect; I don’t think anything matters anymore, so why not Untitled 3D Shark Thriller?” [Vulture]
“I’m just not sure anything matters,” he said, taking another bite of his Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supreme and staring morosely out his cubicle window. I love this guy. I think “Nihilistic Expert Witness” would make a great addition to virtually any news story. “My 30 years have taught me that, above all else, you have to sell the sizzle, not the steak. But then again, so what? When you think about it we’re all just mold on a space rock anyway. (*sucks whippit out of whipped cream canister*)”