Zack & Miri Make A Porno Actor Thinks It Flopped Because Of Movie Poster
Exclusive: actor Jason Mewes says an understated promotional poster could account for the lack of success behind 2008’s Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
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Jason Mewes, who starred in the 2008 comedy Zack and Miri Make a Porno, believes that the film’s lack of success could have been due in part to its poster. Written and directed by Clerks maestro Kevin Smith, the film had a strong comedic cast that included Justin Long, Elizabeth Banks, Craig Robinson, and Seth Rogen. At the time, Rogen’s career was going from strength to strength, with Zack and Miri following the substantial success of Pineapple Express.
But although Rogen was writing and starring in an increasing number of hit films in the latter half of the 2000s, Zack and Miri didn’t quite manage to reach that same degree of success. The film told the story of Zack and Miri (Rogen and Banks), two long-time pals and roommates who found themselves in a consistent struggle to pay their rent and afford life’s most basic necessities. Desperate to reverse the sad financial trajectory of their lives, the two decide to make an adult film in the hopes of cashing in big time. After a steady stream of hurdles threaten to derail their low-budget porno, Zack and Miri film their scene together, only to realize that they actually might be more than just friends after all.
While Zack and Miri could hardly be considered a flop, today it’s not one of the first films that comes to mind when the names Seth Rogen or Kevin Smith are mentioned. Exactly why the film failed to really connect with audiences is uncertain, but for Mewes, it might all come down to the poster the film used to promote itself. In a recent exclusive interview with Screen Rant, the Clerks 3 star spoke about his initial high hopes for Zack and Miri Make a Porno as well as his theories as to why the comedy didn’t perform as well as he’d expected:
“But which one really shocked me and [made me think] ‘Well, was it the poster’ is Zack and Miri. The poster was stick figures. I know that I’m somebody that when someone’s like, ‘Hey man, did you see the new movie with,’ I’ll just throw out any name like ‘Tom Johnson.’ I’ll be like, ‘Nah, who’s that?’ and it’s like, ‘You know, the guy who plays this character’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I love him.’ I’m so bad at actors’ names, their real names. I thought when we did Zack and Miri, Seth Rogen was on fire, like the last four movies before Zack and Miri were all huge box office hits. We’re like Seth Rogen’s in this movie and besides it being a funny script, I’m like, ‘Regardless of any of that, Seth Rogen’s in it, it’s gonna do great, people are gonna want to watch Seth Rogen’s new movie regardless.’ But it wasn’t the case, it was such a disappointment and it was one of those things where it’s like, ‘Why, what was it?’”
The poster that Mewes is referring to did indeed have stick figures on it, but it was accompanied by text that read: “Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks made a movie so titillating that we can only show you this drawing.” The idea was clearly to increase intrigue by using the theory that a little goes a long way, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to get people into theatres to see the film. However, it’s worth noting that other posters for the film also existed, all of which showed images of real-life Rogen and Banks.
Pointing to one specific reason why a film underperforms is never an easy thing to do. In the case of Zack and Miri Make a Porno, the film does have its share of charm and the onscreen relationship between Rogen and Banks is a relatively convincing one. But the theory that the film failed as a result of a minimalist poster is a tough one to put much faith in. Timing has a lot to do with a film’s success as well and it just might be that as far as Zack and Miri Make a Porno was concerned, the timing for a porno-referencing rom-com just wasn’t right.
Link Source : https://screenrant.com/zack-miri-movie-flop-reason-jason-mewes-response/