When Lionsgate released the first image from the “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” last week, it didn’t send it to a magazine or entertainment website. Nor did Lionsgate post it on the studio’s official website or Twitter account.
Instead, the studio turned to star Jennifer Lawrence, who blasted a first-look image of herself with co-stars Liam Hemsworth and Sam Claflin to her 12 million-plus followers on her Facebook page.
Actors and directors with strong personal brands have long been a marketing tool for Hollywood studios — and the pressure has become even more intense in the era of social media, where piggybacking on a star’s established social media presence can be easier than building a new online platform from scratch.
Increasingly, directors are also getting in on the action. Fans of the upcoming David Ayer film “Suicide Squad” have been getting exclusive behind-the-scenes sneak peeks via the director’s Twitter and Instagram accounts, including a first look at Jared Leto as the Joker. Ron Howard posted on-set pictures of Tom Hanks for the “Da Vinci Code” sequel “Inferno” to his Facebook page. And Eli Roth announced Blumhouse Production’s pickup of “The Green Inferno” via Facebook.
For new projects like “Suicide Squad” or “Inferno,” it’s easier for studios to exploit existing online fan bases of directors than to try to build new accounts from scratch. “Suicide Squad” does not yet have an official Twitter account and the Warner Bros. Pictures Twitter is busy promoting “Entourage” and “San Andreas.” Meanwhile, the promotional Facebook page for “Inferno” is lumped with others in the Robert Langdon series that started with “The Da Vinci Code.”
Marketing execs see a real value in releasing promotional photos and videos through stars and directors because they seem more authentic to film fans than if the same content came from larger studio accounts.
“The idea of being able to speak directly to people is still such a new unique idea, and I don’t think people necessarily feel personally spoken to when it’s coming from a corporation,” Joe Quenqua, Executive Vice President and head of the entertainment practice at DKC Public Relations, told TheWrap.
Consumers increasingly view many big movies, particularly ones based on sci-fi or comic-book properties, as the product of one filmmaker’s imagination. “You have a film — whether it’s made for $10 million or $200 million — it feels like it’s a director’s project,” Quenqua said. “It doesn’t feel like it’s born by a committee or studio or large producing entity, it actually is the vision of one person.” There are additional benefits to tapping filmmakers in the rollout of marketing and PR content. “It’s much less costly than the old things the studio used to do like buy ads in papers,” Ira S. Kalb, marketing consultant and CEO of Kalb & Associates, told TheWrap. “These guys, if they have a following of a large number of people, it’s a very economical way for them to communicate with those followings on Twitter, Facebook, etc.”
And with news being broken online by directors and key talent, traditional media outlets increasingly find themselves out of the process — eliminating the downsides of granting exclusives.
“In the past, you have to make those choices about pitting one media outlet against the other,” Quenqua said. “The beauty of when you actually have a filmmaker doing it on their own, and doing it on the behalf of the studio, it’s equitable. It’s a decision that doesn’t piss anyone off, because everyone got it first.”
However, there are definitely risks to the strategy of outsourcing traditional studio promotional materials to outsiders. “A lot of these people are not trained in public relations, so they are not tuned in to what they say and how it might affect people,” Kalb said. “I would not say it’s good or bad — I’d say it’s risky.”
The risk is less from over-sharing content in advance of a film’s release — since filmmakers typically work in partnership with studio marketing teams to parse out photos and teasers — than from talent straying off message during their off hours, when executives aren’t looking over their shoulder.
Case in point: On Sunday, “Guardians of the Galaxy” director Gunn launched a long Ambien-fueled Periscope session in which he dished details about his sex life and about stars like Jared Leto. He deleted the post and apologized on his Instagram account.
42 Summer Movies on Our Radar: From 'Avengers,' 'Jurassic World' to 'Magic Mike XXL' (Photos)
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" - May 1 The elite superhero team -- including Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans -- assembles again in this follow up to the 2012 blockbuster.
Marvel/Disney
"Welcome to Me" - May 1 Kristen Wiig stars in this indie drama about a woman with borderline personality disorder who buys herself a cable access talk show after winning the lottery. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced.
Alchemy
"The D-Train" - May 8 Jack Black plays the head of his high school reunion committee who must convince the most popular guy in his class (James Marsden) to attend the reunion in this Sundance pic.
IFC
"Maggie" - May 8 Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this indie as a father who stays with his daughter (Abigail Breslin) as she transforms into a zombie.
Roadside Attractions
"Hot Pursuit" - May 8 Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara star in this buddy comedy about a straight-laced cop (Witherspoon) tasked with escorting a witness (Vergara) to her trial
Warner Bros
"The Connection" - May 15 Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin stars in this French crime thriller as a real-life policeman who dedicates his career to taking down a drug lord (Gilles Lellouche)
Relativity
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - May 15 Tom Hardy takes over the role that made Mel Gibson an international star in this reboot from the madcap mind of George Miller
Warner Bros.
"Pitch Perfect 2" - May 15 Anna Kendrick returns for the song-filled sequel to the 2012 musical smash hit.
Universal
"Poltergeist" - May 22 Sam Rockwell leads a remake of the 1982 horror classic that was originally written by Steven Spielberg.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Tomorrowland" - May 22 George Clooney and Britt Robertson star in a sci-fi fantasy about a man and woman who must discover the secrets of a strange land lost in time and space.
Disney
"Aloha" - May 29 Cameron Crowe directs Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone in a romantic comedy about a military contractor overseeing a satellite launch in Hawaii.
Columbia Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox
"San Andreas" - May 29
Dwayne Johnson stars in a disaster movie about a chopper pilot who must rescue his daughter (Alexandra Daddario) after a massive earthquake strikes California.
Warner Bros.
"Entourage" - June 5 Vince (Adrian Grenier) drives Ari (Jeremy Piven) up the wall when he decides to direct and star in his own movie in the big screen version of the HBO show.
HBO/Warner Bros.
"Spy" - June 5 Melissa McCarthy co-wrote and stars in a comedy about a CIA analyst who gets her chance to work in the field when an arms dealer (Rose Byrne) threatens to destabilize the world.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Insidious Chapter 3" - June 5 In this horror prequel, psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) agrees to help teenager (Stefanie Scott) who is being targeted by a supernatural force.
Blumhouse
"Jurassic World" - June 12 Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard lead the latest installment in the Michael Crichton-inspired series. This time around, the park is terrorized by a genetically-engineered dinosaur that escapes its enclosure.
Legendary Pictures
"Me and Earl and The Dying Girl" - June 12 This 2015 Sundance Grand Jury winner follows an anti-social teen (Thomas Mann) who falls in love with a classmate (Olivia Cooke) who has leukemia.
Fox Searchlight
"Dope" - June 19 This Sundance breakout centers on a teen (Shameik Moore) trying to make his Ivy League dreams come true in his tough LA neighborhood.
Open Road Films
"Inside Out" - June 19 Pixar takes us inside the mind of a little girl as her emotions vie for control. Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader all lend their voices.
Disney/Pixar
"Ted 2" - June 26 Seth MacFarlane's foul-mouthed teddy bear returns in the sequel that finds Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) and John (Mark Wahlberg) fighting in court to prove that Ted is human.
Universal Pictures
"Batkid Begins" June 26 This feel-good documentary tells the story of a five-year-old leukemia patient who inspired people from all over the world to help him live out his dream of being Batman for a day.
Warner Bros
"Max" - June 26 A Marine-trained German shepherd is sent to live with the family of his former handler (Robbie Amell), who was killed in Afghanistan
Warner Bros
"Big Game" - June 26 A teenage-boy (Onni Tommila) rescues the President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson) when Air Force One crash lands near his campsite.
EuropaCorp
"Magic Mike XXL" - July 1 Channing Tatum gyrates his way into this sequel as stripper "Magic" Mike who decides to attend an annual stripper conference in Myrtle Beach.
Warner Bros.
"Terminator: Genisys" - July 1 Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the unstoppable android as he fights to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) with the help of Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney).
Paramount
"Minions" - July 2 The Minions are back in this "Despicable Me" spinoff. This time, they are recruited by a super-villainess (Sandra Bullock) in her plot to take over the world.
Universal Pictures
"The Bronze" - July 10 "Big Bang Theory" star Melissa Rauch co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a former Olympic athlete clinging to her last shreds of fame.
Relativity
"Self/Less" - July 10 Ryan Reynolds stars in this thriller about a wealthy, dying man who pays to have his consciousness transferred into a younger body. When he begins to investigate where the body came from, he discovers a terrifying mystery
Focus Features
"Ant-Man" - July 17 Paul Rudd leads this Marvel comic adaptation about a con man who is given a device that can shrink him in scale by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).
Marvel/Disney
"Trainwreck" - July 17 Amy Schumer and Bill Hader star in a Judd Apatow comedy about a magazine writer (Schumer) who refuses to commit, until her relationship with a doctor (Hader) challenges her notions of monogamy.
Universal Pictures
"Stanford Prison Experiment" - July 17 Based on the infamous 1971 psychological experiment, 24 male students volunteer to play prisoners or guards in a mock-prison, only for things to spiral completely out of control.
IFC
"Paper Towns" - July 24 Based on the novel by John Green, Nat Wolff plays a boy who convinces his friends to embark on a road trip to find the missing girl next door (Cara Delevingne).
Twentieth Century Fox
"Pixels" - July 24 Adam Sandler leads a team of gamers (Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage) who must fight aliens that invade Earth in the form of classic video games.
Columbia Pictures
"Southpaw" - July 24 Jake Gyllenhaal packed on the muscle for this drama about a troubled boxer fighting to regain custody of his daughter. Antoine Fuqua directed based on a script by Kurt Sutter.
The Weinstein Company
"Irrational Man" - July 24 Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone star in a Woody Allen film about a college philosophy professor (Phoenix) who enters into a relationship with his student (Stone).
Sony Classics
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" - July 31 Tom Cruise once again does the impossible as he leads his team against an international syndicate intent on destroying the Impossible Mission Force.
Paramount
"End of the Tour" - July 31 Jesse Eisenberg stars as Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky as he conducts a series of interviews with author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel). The film is based on Lipsky's book, "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself."
A24
"Fantastic Four" - August 7 Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Michael B. Jordan (Human Torch), Kate Mara (Invisible Girl), and Jamie Bell (The Thing) lead this comic adaptation about the superhero team that gained powers after an accident in space.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Masterminds" - August 7 Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudekis and Zach Galifianakis star in this heist comedy about a real 1997 armored car robbery in North Carolina
Relativity
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E." - August 14 Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer play an American and Russian agent forced to team up to stop an evil organization trying to steal nuclear weapons. The film is based on the 1964 TV series of the same name.
Warner Bros
"Straight Outta Compton" - August 14 O'Shea Jackson Jr., the son of Ice Cube, plays his father in this look at the impact of the revolutionary gangster rap group NWA.
Universal
"Hitman: Agent 47" - August 28 Rupert Friend stars in this video game adaptation about a genetically engineered assassin who teams up with a mysterious young woman to bring down an evil corporation.
Twentieth Century Fox
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TheWrap Summer Movie Preview 2015: “Mission: Impossible 5,” “Entourage,” “Mad Max: Fury Road” also among season’s big releases