ANDA F I R ST L O O K AT J O N ST E WA RT ’ S D I R E C T O R I A L D E B U T, P A G E 1 7

August 8, 2014 EW.COM | 11

Fifty Shades: How Hollywood

Made You WatchThe film’s trailer exploded online (thanks,

Beyoncé!), highlighting how social media has become the new

marketing bullhorn. BY CHRIS LEE

WHEN Beyoncé posted a 15-second teaser trailer for Fifty Shades of Grey on her Instagram in July, fan reaction erupted right on cue, proving that pop music’s reigning diva plus first-look footage of 2015’s most tremulously awaited erotic drama equals a match made in viral heaven.

So by the time a full-length trailer for the film arrived on July 24—featuring stars Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan in various stages of seduction (and undress), backed by a slowed-down torch-song version of Queen Bey’s 2003 smash “Crazy

Dakota Johnson; (below) Jamie Dornan

Beyoncé

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12 | EW.COM August 8, 2014

in Love”—it trended worldwide almost instantly, paired with a tagline from the film’s Twitter feed: “The wait is over.”

Not quite. Though the trailer has gotten 90 million views on YouTube, the movie doesn’t hit theaters until Feb. 14, 2015. But this kind of sustained market-ing foreplay underscores a strategy increasingly employed by Hollywood. While teaser trailers are nothing new, a plug from Beyoncé is. A star like her can focus attention in our Age of Distraction and spread the word to

(From left) Dornan and Johnson;

a poster for Fifty Shades of Grey

millions of fans in mere seconds—fans who then share it with their friends just as fast. Studios have learned how to use our social-media culture to their advantage to generate fevered buildup to their potential blockbusters, some-times even a year or more in advance of the actual film.

Exhibit A: Christopher Nolan’s Inter-stellar will be released on Nov. 7, but late last year a cryptic teaser, which mainly showcases a string of historical vignettes and a rueful voice-over from

Matthew McConaughey, began ratchet-ing up anticipation. Then in May, when a second promo clip with more than two minutes of actual footage from the movie started circulating—while still maintaining the plot’s shroud of mystery—it was parsed with Da Vinci Code-like fervor by online pundits, per-petuating word-of-mouth buzz.

Meanwhile, a pair of teaser videos put out earlier this summer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part 1 use slick political-propaganda “addresses” featuring Donald Sutherland in his role as President Snow, footage that will not appear in the Nov. 21 sequel. The first conventional Mockingjay trailer finally “premiered” at San Diego Comic-Con on July 25 courtesy of a branding tie-in with Samsung, which presented the clip to conventioneers on the tech com-pany’s latest tablet.

According to a veteran movie-marketing strategist, the current teaser-trailer arms race reflects Hollywood’s bid to break through to millennials where they already are: the fragmentary world of Twitter, Instagram, etc.

“Hollywood is simply co-opting the way young people communicate with themselves while also co-opting the people the public responds to,” he says. “You hire Beyoncé to do a song and have her tell people about a movie? It’s the studios’ attempt to remove the corporate onus. It’s them saying, ‘Let’s let this be a groundswell from someone who’s got cred.’ ” Crazy in cred, even. ■

years of archived Goop newsletters

dozen old Anthro-pologie catalogs

oz. carefully tousled fishtail braids

photos of an old woman’s hands covered in clay

awkward reference to enchiladas

reminder that “we are aware that a lot of what we are selling is outlandish in a world where people are starving and have nowhere to sleep”

just, like, a whole bunch of mason jars

alliteration, to taste

INGREDIENTS PREPARATION

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PRESERVE: A HOW-TOWant to create your very own lifestyle start-up, à la Blake Lively’s just-launched website Preserve? All you need is a blindingly white smile, a spot on every best-dressed list, and this foolproof recipe. —Hillary Busis

STEP 1Gradually fold together all ingredients in $70

“Everyday Bowl.”

STEP 2Mix with sense of self-satisfaction until just combined.

STEP 3Pause to snap Insta-gram shot; vintage filter is recommended.

STEP 4Serve raw, preferably at Coachella.

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