Posterwire.com is a movie poster weblog. From images of the latest Hollywood one-sheets to vintage movie posters, this film poster weblog hopes to offer a bit of insight into film key art.
Warner Bros. has released the U.S. domestic Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix movie poster. The poster features “Dumbledore’s Army” flanking an older Harry Potter. The movie covers the fifth year at the Hogwarts school, with Harry and his classmates doing battle against evil Lord Voldemort. The film poster itself is a bit understated (and far removed from the whimsy and the teen angst of past Harry Potter movie posters), and is using a variation of the ever popular “Flying V” cast line-up formation made popular by Miramax.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will also be showing in IMAX theaters. Apparently Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: An IMAX 3D Experience will feature a 20 minuted enhanced 3D finale. Speaking of 3D “enhancements”, star Emma Watson’s chest appears a bit larger in Harry Potter IMAX ads when compared to the Order of the Phoenix poster, even though they are both based around the same artwork.
Although Hollywood (and media in general) has a long history of “augmentation via Photoshop” in advertising, this instance is less obvious than other examples. But it is hard to resist pointing out Hermione Granger’s breast growth spurt in this case when the artwork is for a 3D movie from a theater chain with the motto “Think Big”. (This also invokes memories of a Saturday Night Live Harry Potter skit from a few years ago.)
Why is there a difference between the two pieces of Potter key art? Since the IMAX version of the poster art appeared online before the final Harry Potter one-sheet, we can only speculate that Warner Bros. gave the IMAX ad group an earlier “comp” version of the artwork prior to being finalized for the studio’s own press run. There are other subtle differences between the two: the domestic one-sheet version of Herminoe Granger features a less flowing hair style, probably because her hair in the IMAX version blocks more of actor Matt Lewis (as Neville Longbottom) standing behind Emma Watson.
Actress Keira Knightley, in a recent interview, reminded everyone how her breasts were “digitally enhanced” back in 2004 for the King Arthur movie poster:
“I remember we had an interesting discussion when they said, ‘We want to make them slightly larger and you’ll get approval’ and I was like, ‘OK, fine.’ I honestly don’t give a shit.
But then they showed me the first copy and these things must have been double-Es — and they were down to my knees.
And I was like, ‘I don’t mind you making them bigger, but don’t give me droopy breasts. They look like your grandmother’s tits.’”
Keira seems to be trying to make a point about Hollywood’s attitude about actresses and how they are marketed (News Flash: Americans like large breasts), but she goes on to admit she does have final approval over how she is portrayed in key art. In the same interview she says about appearing on magazine covers:
“I did one magazine and found out you’re not actually allowed to be on a cover in the US without at least a C cup because it turns people off.”
While that sounds more like something she heard from an intern at a magazine cover photo shoot rather than an industry wide rule, it remains to be seen how each and every magazine art director chooses to depict Knightley on a magazine cover. What is true is that images of actors (all actors) are retouched in one way or another when appearing in film print advertising. Most of the time this goes unnoticed, sometimes not.
Looking at the special shoot image of Keira Knightley used for the King Arthur one-sheet, it’s not surprising the art directors and film execs involved decided to rework her figure, as her chest appears to be flattened by a tight leather strap costume. Did the studio go too far? Hard to say. Perhaps next time they’ll be able to highlight Keira Knightley’s abs instead, which don’t seem to need any enhancing.
Does anyone remember that moment in time just after the film Mean Girls, when cute little Lindsay Lohan turned into Lindsay Lohan: Fully Loaded? (This cultural shift probably happened during a well-known sketch appearance on Saturday Night Live.) Well, Disney doesn’t remember any of that, and would rather you didn’t either, at least when thinking about her new film Herbie: Fully Loaded.
Look no further than the new Herbie: Fully Loaded poster to see what some might call a “shift in focus”. The Love Bug appears first and foremost in all his number 53 VW glory, while owner/driver Maggie Peyton (played by Lohan) takes a back seat as a line art illustration. Her image has been what the kids call “vectorized”, which is a vector illustration style of recent years made popular by Flash web animators.
