The King, Movie Trailers, and God

The other day I was watching movie trailers at Quicktime. I ended up watching a trailer for a film called "The King," and I'm glad that I did. It was pretty riveting, and it definitely did the job of making me want to see more. If a movie's promo ad looks interesting, I'll check it out just for that reason. This promo shot was pretty cool, and the actual preview got me back to thinking about an article I read not long ago about the people who direct and edit the actual trailers for major motion pictures.

Evidently, the director and his team are usually busy editing the actual film and putting the final touches on it right up to opening day. The article I read centered around a woman who worked from home putting trailers together. It was pretty interesting. She described the job as being able to still have an artistic life without all the pressure or time committments of directing the actual flick. Every couple of months, the studio sent her a script and select pieces of a film. She read the script, put the story together in her head, and then used the pieces of film to create the trailer. From there, the studio picked and pulled at it, until it got to what we see in the theater.

The trailer for the "The King" was so good, I'll make a point to see it when it's released. It 's not a film that will stick around for long where I live, if it makes it here at all. But I'll rent it or track it down. The trailer was that compelling. And I'm a fan of nearly anything William Hurt does, and he looks very different in this film. Cowboy meets preacher meets hippie meets zealout. Very moralistic, very strict, and very demanding of his family's faith. But apparently, he has some secrets in the closet, including a son (yes, his name is Elvis) who is getting out of the Navy with the intention of finding the father that left him when he was young. When the two finally meet, it doesn't go according to the son's best hopes. In fact, William Hurt's character, David, wants nothing to do with him and tells him to split. The son has other ideas, some of which include David's family, although not involving violence from what I can tell. Oh yeah, did I mention the son's name is Elvis?

I happened upon a good article about the film, plus the other religiously focused films out now ("The Da Vinci Code," "The Omen") from the NY Times.

I won't spoil the plot twist of "The King," but I will say it reminded me of a Korean movie I saw about a year ago called "Oldboy." Check out the promo for this one. Tell me that doesn't suck you in. Anyway, the movie had the greatest twist at the end that I've seen in a film, and I've seen lots of films. It isn't for the squeamish, but if you like things left of the dial, and you like great, great turns, this one is for you. Take a guess at what really got me to see the flick? That's right, I saw the trailer first.

In case you're wondering, here's the lowdown on "Oldboy", as from IMDB.com:

On the day of his daughter's birthday, Ho Dae-su (Min-sik Choi) gets completely drunk and is arrested. His best friend No Joo-hwan (Dae-han Ji) releases him from the police station, and while calling home from a phone booth, Dae-su vanishes. Indeed he has been abducted and imprisoned in a room for fifteen years. One day, he is suddenly released, receives clothes, money and a cellular. He meets a Japanese chef Mido (Hye-jeong Kang), and they feel a great attraction for each other. However, Dae-su seeks for his captor and the reason of his long imprisonment. While looking for revenge, Dae-su discloses deep secrets from the past.