Today we got a trailer for a trailer. Remember those? Remember how excited you were when you learned that the studio had finally released a movie trailer, only to find out it was nothing more than a 15-second advertisement for the actual trailer coming later in the week.
They were very much in fashion a decade ago, but after a while, they fell out of favor. Some people find them annoying and self-indulgent. At The Quorum, we love them. When it comes to trailers, more is more.
In this case, our excitement is even greater because it’s for THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING, George Miller’s eagerly anticipated follow-up to MAD MAX: FURY ROAD. Miller doesn’t direct a lot of movies. This is only his sixth film over the past 30 years, so, yeah, it’s kind of a big deal.
This is a big week for Miller. The trailer is being released in advance of the film’s premiere at Cannes, currently underway. Then, it’s off to the races en route to its August 31st release.
It’s a remarkable coincidence that Miller is resurfacing now amid the TOP GUN: MAVERICK rollout. It’s not hard to argue that MAVERICK owes a debt of gratitude to FURY ROAD.
If you recall, in the late aughts and early 2010s, we got a slew of just awful rehashes of ‘80s films. Do you remember the 2009 update of FAME? How about ARTHUR starring Russell Brand or FOOTLOOSE starring someone who’s not Kevin Bacon? Both of those gems came in 2011. And in 2014, we got an unnecessary ROBOCOP refresh.
In that context, it was revelatory seeing Miller do what was thought to be nearly impossible – breathe new life into an ‘80s property by simply respecting the source material. FURY ROAD was not only a huge box office hit, but it went on to win six Academy Awards out of ten nominations.
Like FURY ROAD, TOP GUN: MAVERICK sat in development for over a decade. Both films are infused with the DNA of their predecessors while proudly standing on their own as significant works of art. Miller, in many ways, paved the road for films like IT, HALLOWEEN, A STAR IS BORN, WEST SIDE STORY and now TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
Are we are living in a golden era of passing older classics over to the new generation? Notwithstanding FIRESTARTER, we hope the answer is a resounding yes.
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