This year's fascination with coming attractions offers a preview of movie mania coming soon – or not soon enough – to a theater near you.
By Jere Hester ••
“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” will blast into theaters on December 18, 2015.
The preview for "Stars Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens" stands as the "Citizen Kane" of movie trailers, though not for any groundbreaking cinematic stylings (even if the new lightsabers are kind of cool) or hints of revelatory "Rosebud" moments (the series dispensed with that with Darth Vader's "I am your father" declaration in “The Empire Strikes Back”).
No, the trailer for J.J. Abrams first swaddling of George Lucas' aging baby draws comparison to Orson Welles' masterpiece only in reaction: It might be the most dissected 88 seconds in cinematic history.
That's a sign of the series' hold on fans 37 years after Luke Skywalker left Tatooine. But tens of millions of YouTube views racked up the trailer and its high-jacking of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend movie hype also speak to one of the biggest movie stories of 2014: The force of the trailer.
The year's fascination with coming attractions offers a preview of movie mania coming soon – or not soon enough – to a theater near you.
The Force isn’t alone. The “Jurassic World” trailer stomped into town this fall, making Steven Spielberg's 1993 groundbreaking (and ground-shaking) original look downright primitive.
“Jurassic World” is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 12, 2015.
The “Avengers: Age of Ultron” preview rolled out on TV and online with great fanfare. Even the trailer for the upcoming new "Peanuts" movie, with Snoopy, Woodstock and everybody's favorite round-headed depressive rendered in 3-D, cast a spell some 45 years after the hand-drawn “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” debuted in theaters.
The trailer phenomenon is brought to you not by Hollywood as much as by YouTube. But there's also something charmingly old school about the coming attractions boom as the “Star Wars,” “Jurassic Park” and “Peanuts” franchises tap into a nostalgic vein. Even if it’s only been two years since the first “Avengers” flick, the series features characters familiar to generations of Marvel comic book fans.
There's a danger, of course, in building unrealistic expectations for the movies, as Lucas learned with prequel Episodes I through III. “Episode VII,” for all the hoopla, won’t land in theaters until nearly next Christmas.
This year’s spate of high-profile previews offers the promise of old memories validated and new ones to be created. It's getting to the point, though, where moviegoers might remember first seeing the trailer for a treasured film as much as the film itself, becoming our own, neatly wrapped Rosebuds.
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George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin were married Saturday, September 27, 2014, in a private ceremony in Venice, Italy.
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George Clooney and human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin were married Saturday, September 27, 2014, in a private ceremony in Venice, Italy.
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Chris Rock filed for divorce from his philanthropist Malaak Compton-Rock. The two had been married for 19 years and have two daughters, Lola Simone, 12, and Zahra Savannah, 10.
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Singer Alicia Keys and her music producer husband Swizz Beats welcomed their second child together on Saturday, Dec. 27. The couple made the announcement Sunday via the songstresses Instagram.
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Hollywood's supercouple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, were married in France on August 23, 2014, after nine years of dating. The two have been engaged since 2012 and have six children.
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Solange Knowles tied the knot with music producer Alan Ferguson at a church in New Orleans on November 16, 2014.
Gwyneth Paltrow and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin separated this year after more than a decade of marriage. "We have come to the conclusion that while we love each other very much we will remain separate," the pair, who have two kids together, announced on the actress' blog in a post titled "Conscious Uncoupling."
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Simon Cowell and Lauren Silverman welcomed a baby boy on February 24, 2014 named Eric Cowell.
Musicians Gavin Rossdale, left, and Gwen Stefani welcomed their third son, Apollo Bowie Flynn Rossdale on Friday, Feb. 28, 2014.
Jason Sudeikis and Olivia Wilde welcomed their first child, Otis Alexander, on April 20, 2014. Wilde tweeted, u201cLadies and gentlemen, Otis Alexander Sudeikis has LEFT the building! (Iu2019m the building),u201d along with an adorable photo of her and the baby.
Ray Rice and Janay Palmer tied the knot this year in the midst of controversy following a video that showed Rice knocking out Palmer in an elevator at the Revel Casino in Atlantic City, N.J. The two have a daughter, Rayven together.
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Actors Joe Manganiello and Sofia Vergara started dating this summer, and are probably one of this year's hottest celebrity hookups! The relationship came after Vergara ended her engagement with longtime boyfriend Nick Loeb in May.
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Eva Mendes and Ryan Gosling welcomed their first daughter Esmeralda Gosling on Sept. 12.
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Musician John Mayer and singer Katy Perry called it quits earlier this year. They are pictured here attending the Hollywood Stands Up To Cancer Event.
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Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon officially called it quits this year, following months of divorce rumors. The pair got married in 2008 and had twins in 2011.
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Actress Paula Patton and recording artist Robin Thicke split after nearly nine years of marriage. Thicke attempted to win Paula back numerous times, including by dedicating an entire album to her.
Ginnifer Goodwin and Josh Dallas tied the knot on April 13, 2014, and the "Once Upon a Time" costars welcomed a baby boy named Oliver Finlay Dallas shortly after.
In 2014, Scarlett Johansson secretly married French journalist Romain Dauriac on Oct. 1, and the couple welcomed a baby girl, Rose Dorothy about a month before.
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Kris and Bruce Jenner confirmed that they filed for divorce after 22 years of marriage. The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" stars have reportedly been seeing other people.
This has been one big year for Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Jionni LaValle. The couple gave birth to a baby girl, Giovanna LaValle on Sept. 26, and officially tied the knot on Nov. 29. This is the second child for the couple who already have a 2-year-old boy, Lorenzo LaValle.
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Tyler Perry and Gelila Bekele welcomed their first child, a son named Aman, on Nov. 30.
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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis became parents to a baby girl on September 30. The Hollywood couple confirmed their engagement in February and announced they were having a baby in March.
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Jordin Sparks and Jason Derulo have gone their separate ways in 2014. Derulo first confirmed the duo's romance in January 2012, although the pair was first romantically linked as early as September 2011.
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Robert Downey Jr. and Susan Downey welcomed a baby girl, Avri Roel, on Nov. 4. The couple has a 2-year-old son together Exton, and Indio, 21, Downey's son from a previous marriage.
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Actress Drew Barrymore and Will Kopelman welcomed their second daughter, Frankie, on April 22, 2014. The pair have an 2-year-old daughter, Olive.
EMPTY_CAPTION"Modern Family" star Sarah Hyland filed a restraining order against Matthew Prokop, alleging he physically and verbally abused her during their nearly five-year relationship and threatened her after she ended it.
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Former Destiny's Child singer Kelly Rowland welcomed baby boy, Titan Jewel, with husband Tim Witherspoon on Nov. 4.
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EMPTY_CAPTION"The Hills" actress Lauren Conrad wed her lawyer beau William Tell during a ceremony in Santa Ynez, California on September 13. The pair became engaged in October 2013.
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Neil Patrick Harris married his longtime partner, David Burtka, in Italy on Saturday. "Guess what? @DavidBurtka and I got married over the weekend. In Italy. Yup, we put the 'n' and 'd' in 'husband'," Harris tweeted Monday. The couple, who've been together more than ten years, have two children.
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Singer Adam Levine and model Behati Prinsloo were married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico on July 19, 2014.
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Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Martin have been seeing each other since late June, and split in October 2014. "The Hunger Games" star split with Nicholas Hoult before Martin, while the Coldplay singer announced his separation from Gwyneth Paltrow in March after more than 10 years of marriage.
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In addition to winning the ATP World Tour Finals on November 16, tennis champion Novak Djokovic and Jelena Ristic celebrated the birth of a baby boy, Stefan, on October 21.
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Calvin Harris confirmed his breakup with singer Rita Ora on Twitter, saying u201cTo address speculation u2013 myself and Rita ended our relationship some time ago. She is a beautiful, talented woman & I wish her all the best.u201d The two are pictured above at the BRIT Awards in London, February 2014.
Model Amber Rose filed for divorce from rapper Wiz Khalifa after their year-long marriage.
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Former "Today" show host Katie Couric married New York financier John Molner, 51, in a small ceremony at her East Hampton home on Saturday, June 21. Molner propsed to 57-year-old Couric last September after nearly two years of dating. Couric's first husband, Jay Monahan, died in 1998 from colon cancer.
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It's a big year for Scottish singer Susan Boyle! At the age of 53, she now has her first boyfriend, a Connecticut doctor she met on her recent U.S. tour who may soon visit her in Scotland.
So check out some trailers – for the umpteenth time – as you make 2015 movie-going plans.
