Matthew Fabb says:

Such an amazing poster! Or should I say EPIC! :-)

It’s going to be a great year for Scott Pilgrim with both the final book and movie coming out less than a month apart!

sroman says:

So basically this poster is aimed only at drawing the attention of Scott Pilgrim fans, and not a potential wider audience?

Sorry, but that poster tells me absolutely nothing about what this movie is about, other than what seems to be a teensy-angsty coming-of-age movie (“Scott Pilgrim wasn’t just an ordinary teenager…he was ready to take on the world!”) in which the lead character plays guitar. (Maybe he gets to play on stage with his all-time favorite band for the climax?)

Yes, I know what Scott Pilgrim is. No, this poster does nothing to help its own cause, considering its action/mangaesque source material. You’d think with Michael Cera as the lead they’d at least want to put that right up front, since his face is hidden.

ralph mathieu says:

Scott Pilgrim is going to kick Kick Ass to the curb! Actually that’s just my lame attempt at being funny, I saw a sneak screening of Kick Ass this past Wednesday here in Vegas and it was Kick Awesome and is going to make a lot of coin at the box office.

There was an advance / test screening (effects weren’t done yet) of the Scott Pilgrim movie here a month or so ago (which somehow I didn’t hear about so wasn’t able to attend -sob, sob) and from customers who’ve come into my shop that did see it, they really dug it. The Scott Pilgrim movie (and months leading up to said movie) should sell quite a few of the graphic novels (same with Kick Ass – not so much with Iron Man, however good that movie may be, it’s not really going to translate to lots of Iron Man comics being sold).

michael says:

nothing about that poster screams anything familiar with fans of the actual comic books. O.o

Cormorant says:

I’m genuinely curious as to what folks think would’ve been a better first poster for the movie. I was looking at the cover to the first Scott Pilgrim graphic novel and it doesn’t say much about the content of the story either. Epic fail?

http://lifegoespop.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/scott-pilgrim-vol-01.jpg

Looking at the poster as if I didn’t know the comic, I’d figure this is a movie about a kid rocker or something, might have my interest piqued by the “versus the world” titling, and would definitely catch that it’s comedic from the tagline “An epic tale of epic epicness.” Someone said they got a teen angsty vibe from it, but that tagline doesn’t suggest that at all to me. It’s much too over-the-top.

Anyway, what do you think would’ve been better?

sroman says:

Well, Cormorant, as a book cover the first Scott Pilgrim doesn’t completely fail–it basically falls into the “iconic character pose” that comics often use for first issue covers; I’ve used that approach of some of my own projects. It may not tell you anything about the book, but it’s certainly eye-catching and will get you to check it out.

Movie posters don’t have that luxury–especially when the design is so lazy and generic. Transformers can get away with that stuff because even non-fans can figure out what it’s about; Scott Pilgrim is a complete unknown to the majority of the planet. Remember the old saying about the importance of always making a good first impression.

What at least makes the graphic novel cover better than the teaser poster is (excuse the “yelling”) IT SHOWS SCOTT PILGRIM’S FACE. The poster goes so far as to hide Cera’s face by picking an angle that hides his identity–and *he’s* supposed to be the selling point of the film for moviegoers unfamiliar with the property (how else to draw in all those “Juno” fans?).

I would’ve gone for something along the lines of the “Scott Pilgrim’s Finest Hour” cover that Heidi’s posted elsewhere. It plainly shows the main character (maybe replace the sword with a guitar held by the neck) and has a grouping of characters around him. It would now have an actiony pose that better helps the tagline. Then add that top line I mentioned of “From the director of ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’” so non-fans (or even non-Cera fans) will have something to pique their interest.

As it stands, the teaser is so “in,” so exclusive to Scott Pilgrim fans that it alienates a wider audience and accomplishes nothing in promoting the movie–or even the comic, as Michael pointed out. It just looks like a poster for any low-budget, indie, coming-of-age movie. THAT is epic fail.

Naveen says:

I like the guitar.