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'Truth,' 'Children' top winners at Key Art Awards
Trailer Park, Mark Woollen lead vendors
Trailers for New Line Cinema's "Little Children" created by Mark Woollen & Associates and Fox Searchlight's "Thank You for Smoking" from Craig Murray Prods. tied for best of show in the audiovisual category at The Hollywood Reporter's 36th annual Key Art Awards. Fox Searchlight's "Little Miss Sunshine" won best of show in the posters competition.
In addition to the best of show honors, awards were presented in 34 categories Friday night at the Beverly Hilton.
Fox Searchlight earned five awards, the most for a single studio. New Line Cinema won four.
Among vendors, Trailer Park led the pack with four wins for its work on "Cars," "X-Men: The Last Stand,” The Hills Have Eyes" and “Paris je t’aime.” Mark Woollen & Associates was in second place with statues for best drama spot and drama trailer for New Line’s "Little Children.” That campaign’s TV spot also tied for best of show audiovisual, giving the company three awards.
In addition to the docu victor "Truth," winners in the poster categories included Warner Bros. Pictures' "V for Vendetta" for action/adventure, 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: The Meltdown" for animation, "Sunshine" for comedy, Lionsgate's "Hard Candy" for drama, Lionsgate's "The Descent" for horror, Lionsgate's "Crank" for teaser poster, Celsius Films' "Paris je t'aime" for international and the Los Angeles International Short Film Festival for festival/markets poster.
In the theatrical trailer categories, the winning titles included Sony Pictures' "Casino Royale" for action/adventure, "Smoking" for comedy, "Truth" for documentary, "Children" for drama and Fox Searchlight's "The Hills Have Eyes" for horror.
The best of show honorees were selected during the ceremony by the audience using a text-message polling method.
Rob Corddry served as the evening's host, opening the proceedings by confessing his passion for marketing. He then spoke to the makers of the work, saying, "You can't stop giving away the entire plot of movies, can you? So guess what, Mr. and Mrs. Spoiler. It's payback time."
He instructed the audiovisual team to roll the winners, and a credit list ran on the video screen at a rapid pace, generating a burst of laughter from the crowd.
"So how does your own medicine taste?" he joked.
Robert Rodriguez received the first Visionary Award, which recognizes a filmmaker who inspires movie marketers to create work at an even higher level. Rose McGowan presented him with the award.
"Robert Rodriguez has defied classification and has inspired creativity in movie marketers around the world," she said.
Upon accepting the award, Rodriguez said, "What you do is impressive, and it's an awesome responsibility because it all comes down to you now whether a movie is going to get our attention.
"It all comes down to those moments," he continued. "You are holding that in your hands, and when you pull it off and you cut through, it's an amazing feat. You should be very proud of yourselves and be congratulated endlessly for that because it's what keeps us alive as a business."
He summed up: "This is not an award as much as a challenge to continue making these bizarre movies so you can be inspired to make equally out-there trailers and poster art. And I know that when I do, as usual, you guys will certainly be up to the challenge. Thank you for that."
He concluded with a mischievous smile and a mention of his next project, whispering into the microphone, " 'Barbarella' anyone?"
The winners of the Key Art Awards Student Competition were introduced during the ceremony. To enter, students were invited to create their own versions of either a trailer or one-sheet for "Walk the Line," "Brokeback Mountain" or "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." This year, the student award committee received 232 entries -- 63 trailer entries and 169 one-sheet entries -- from 30 participating schools nationwide.
In the audiovisual category, Meme Ellis of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles captured first place on the strength of her "Brokeback" entry. Scott C. Silver of AFI in Los Angeles took second and Benjamin Boles of Columbia College Hollywood placed third, both for "Dead Man's Chest"-themed entries.
In the print competition, Ed Marshall of California Polytechnic State University won for his "Brokeback"-inspired poster. Melissa Wong of FIDM hit the right note with judges to capture a second-place prize with an entry based on "Walk the Line." Douglas A. Sirois of Cal State University, Fullerton, sailed away with third place for his work with "Dead Man's Chest."
Magaly Sanchez of California State University, Northridge, earned the Publisher's Award for her poster for "Brokeback."
This year, $24,000 will be given to the student winners, with half of the prize money going to the winning schools.
In the main competition, 442 movie advertising and marketing professionals judged a record 1,452 entries. The eligibility period was January-December 2006. A judging event was held April 25 at the Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood.
"The marketing has never been more stimulating," said John Kilcullen, publisher of The Hollywood Reporter. "The submissions reflect the great work the community is doing."
New categories were added this year to recognize work in animation, documentary and horror films. To present the animation awards, Nancy Cartwright -- who provides the voice of Bart Simpson --arrived onstage with a Bart puppet, with whom she conversed in a comedic exchange.
This year's presenters also included Tobin Bell, Wes Craven, Rob Cohen and Dave Foley.
"Step Up" received RottenTomatoes.com's Tomato Topper Award, whose recipient is a film that received less-than-favorable reviews but positive boxoffice numbers, highlighting how marketing can translate into boxoffice success.
The Aspect Group's Bob Israel executive produced the Key Art Awards for the seventh consecutive year. He also is chair of the Key Art advisory board. Mike Greenfield of the Ant Farm and Tim Nett of Trailer Park produced the event.
"I was really happy with the way the show turned out," Israel said. "I was really pleased with the flow of the show. I thought the audience was very engaged by it."
The sponsors this year were APM Music, Corbis, Crew Creative Advertising, the Los Angeles Times, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, Mozes, and Weston Mason Entertainment Advertising.
A complete list of winners follows:
Poster category winners "V For Vendetta" (action), "Ice Age: The Meltdown" (animation) and "Little Miss Sunshine" (comedy)
Action/Adventure Posters
"V For Vendetta" -- Concept Arts & Warner Bros.
Animation Posters
"Ice Age The Meltdown" -- Faction Creative & 20th Century Fox
Comedy Posters
"Little Miss Sunshine" -- BLT & Associates, Inc. & Fox Searchlight
Documentary Posters
"An Inconvenient Truth" -- The Ant Farm & Paramount Vantage
Drama Posters
"Hard Candy" -- Art Machine & Lionsgate
Horror Posters
"The Descent" -- Art Machine & Lionsgate
Teaser Posters
"Crank" -- New Wave Creative & Lionsgate
International Posters
"Paris Je T'aime" -- Trailer Park/The Refinery & Celsius Films
Festival/Market Posters
"Los Angeles International Short Film Festival" -- Crew Creative
Theatrical Standees
"Over the Hedge" -- JJ&A & Dreamworks SKG
Special Recognition Print
"The Prestige" -- Crew Creative & Warner Bros. International
Outdoor Advertising
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit The Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan" -- New Wave Creative & Fox International
Co-Branded-Print
"Cars: State Farm - New York Times Insert" -- Pixar Animation Studios & Buena Vista Pictures Marketing
Best Copy (Print & A/V)
"Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby"-- Ignition Creative & Sony Pictures
DVD Packaging - Print
"Grease: Leather and Satin Jackets, Rockin Rydell Special Edition" -- Multi Packaging Solutions & Paramount Home Entertainment
Special Recognition - Home Entertainment
"Walk The Line: The Black Edition" -- Shoolery Design & 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Consumer A/V - Home Entertainment
"Reds" -- The Cimarron Group & Paramount Home Video
Action/Adventure Trailers
"Casino Royale" -- Create Advertising Group & Sony Pictures
Comedy Trailers
"Thank you for Smoking" -- Craig Murray Productions & Fox Searchlight Pictures
Documentary Trailers
"An Inconvenient Truth" -- The Ant Farm & Paramount Vantage
Drama Trailers
"Little Children" -- Mark Woollen & Associates & New Line Cinema
Horror Trailers
"The Hills Have Eyes" -- Trailer Park & Fox Searchlight Pictures
Action/Adventure TV Spots
"X-Men : The Last Stand" -- Trailer Park & 20th Century Fox
Comedy TV Spots
"Scary Movie 4" -- inSync Advertising & Dimension Films
Documentary TV Spots
"An Inconvenient Truth: Percussion Revised" -- Paramount Vantage & Paramount Vantage
Drama TV Spots
"Little Children" -- Mark Woollen & Associates & New Line Cinema
Horror TV Spots
"When a Stranger Calls" -- inSync Advertising & Screen Gems
Animation A/V (Trailers & TV Spots)
"Cars" -- Trailer Park & Walt Disney Pictures
Special Recognition - A/V
"United 93" -- Aspect Ratio & Universal Pictures
International Trailers & TV Spots
"Casino Royale" -- Create Advertising Group & Sony Pictures International
Motion Graphics
"The Da Vinci Code" -- Intralink & Sony Pictures
Co-Branded Audio Visual
"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest: Office Attack - Master Foods" -- McCann-Erickson & Buena Vista Pictures Marketing
Best Website Design
"Miami Vice" -- Project C & Universal Pictures
Special Recognition - Internet
"Snakes On A Plane" -- Varitalk & New Line Cinema
Best of Show -- Print
"Little Miss Sunshine" -- BLT & Associates, Inc. & Fox Searchlight
Best of Show -- Audiovisual
"Little Children" -- Mark Woollen & Associates & New Line Cinema
"Thank you for Smoking" -- Craig Murray Productions & Fox Searchlight Pictures
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