Keanu came out in that hazy Spring period between Civil War and Batman V Superman, bringing some comedy/action to the dramatic superhero underpants films of the early blockbuster season. To help it stand out against those movies, the marketing team decided to focus the promotion of the film on the adorable cat at the center of movie and not on the comedy superstars above the title — Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele.
This wasn’t the worst way to promote a film given the internet’s fascination with cats and the plot’s focus on retrieving the feline from a group of murderous gangsters. But at the same time, you have a movie starring Key & Peele and you’re not using them to sell the movie? Director Peter Atencio has said something similar about the film’s marketing, placing it’s reception on the cat-powered promotion of the film. Reddit user drifter1717 captured some now deleted tweets where Atencio shared his frustrations:
Can’t blame him for being frustrated. It isn’t the first time marketing for a film has either undersold it or sold a completely different film as something it isn’t. Keanu’s marketing wasn’t too far off the mark for the film we saw in theaters, but there was a lack of the two main stars.
Atencio also shared his frustrations a bit earlier in the month, with a more positive spin that wasn’t deleted.
Personally, I wish the latest set of tweets hadn’t been deleted. They’re not good on a public relations level, but they do show the frustrations involved with making a film. Plus he’s willing to put the blame on himself at the same time, which is good.
I’d gladly take another Keanu, though. Two Keanu’s and another JCVD.
(Via Slash Film / Reddit)
