When a studio can cause a frenzy by announcing a teaser for a teaser, well, you’ve got a bona fide pop cultural event in the making. Of course, we’re not talking about just any film fantasy property; this is Twilight, after all. And so, Twilighters, get your computers ready to boot up for Tuesday’s early morning debut of a 14-second teaser for Friday’s new trailer for The Twilight Saga: New Moon! (The latter will be attached to screenings of Bandslam in theaters.)
The word came early Monday morning, direct from the studio.
From Summit Entertainment:
“The next film in the series is not out until November 20, but a brand new, teaser theatrical trailer from THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON, will debut this Friday, exclusively with the Summit Entertainment August 14 release, BANDSLAM.
For fans who simply can’t wait for Friday, a 14 second tease of the new trailer will be airing nationwide, starting Tuesday, August 11th.”
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To non-Twilight fans this move might seem a sheer marketing ploy designed to stoke the New Moon fire, which almost certainly got a boost from last weekend’s Teen Choice Awards. There, the first Twilight film — released nearly a full year ago — won no less than 11 “surfboards.” [Among its victories: Choice Actor (Robert Pattinson), Choice Actress (Kristen Stewart), Choice Liplock (naturally), Choice Rumble (really?), and Choice Hottie (Pattinson, who shared the honor with Megan Fox.)]
So let’s agree on one thing: to the core fan following, there is no such thing as overexposure.
The move to attach the second New Moon “teaser theatrical trailer” to screenings of Summit’s teen-centered musical flick, Bandslam, had been long-rumored but unconfirmed until today. (Note: Summit still calls this a teaser, meaning the first full trailer is yet to come.) It’s a no-brainer move; Bandslam has much of the same demographic (teens and tweens) as the Twilight books and films, although Twilight‘s sequels are beginning to skew slightly older. By the time Eclipse and Breaking Dawn hit the screen, Summit will have to parlay what began as a simple supernatural romance (girl meets vampire) into an increasingly action-packed adventure with more mature themes (marriage, sex, and beyond).
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Some might see the Bandslam–New Moon trailer set up as a win-win situation; Twilight fans who buy a Bandslam ticket just to watch the full teaser trailer will likely enjoy the film about teenagers (including High School Musical‘s Vanessa Hudgens) who come together to perform in a battle of the bands. But what will fans make of the 14-second teaser-teaser? It’s hard to imagine deriving any satisfaction from a 14-second anything, but perhaps that’s just the point; it will simply whet the appetite of Twilight fans, who may not care that the carrot being dangled in front of them is a mere sliver of what’s to come.
All of which begs the question: when is too little really not enough? And when it comes to Twilight — which has inspired countless YouTube reaction videos and at least one documented San Francisco mall stampede — is there anything that could cause an actual fan revolt?
(It should be noted that fan boys and their beloved properties are not immune to these kinds of teases, as studios often employ entire viral marketing campaigns to reveal teasers for blockbuster films. Remember WhySoSerious.com? This is far less work-intensive.)
Check back here Tuesday morning for the 14-second teaser, which Summit will release to select press at 6am PST. Rotten Tomatoes will host the teaser shortly thereafter and we’ll embed it in this very article for you to comment on — let us know what you think, if it was just enough to tide you over until Friday, and if you plan on seeing Bandslam in theaters because of the New Moon teaser trailer!
**UPDATED
Here it is, Twihards. Fourteen seconds of Team Jacob love, with even more shirtless (and freakishly ripped) Taylor Lautner:
So what did you think? Is it too Harlequin Romance for your tastes, or just enough of a tease to make you buy a Bandslam ticket this Friday? Click here to read early reviews of Bandslam, starring Vanessa Hudgens and Aly Michalka.
