Profit!
January 28, 2005 4:38 PM   Subscribe

  1. Glom onto wannabe Hollywood scene
  2. ???
  3. Profit!

posted by NortonDC (18 comments total)
 
Sorry, the NYT link generator wasn't working for me.
posted by NortonDC at 4:38 PM on January 28, 2005


So wait a second, they are going to GIVE the rich people stuff so that they use it in public and get me, the poor people, to buy it and pay for them giving it to the rich people?

Damn those sneaky marketing bastards!

I want to get rich and famous so I don't have to buy anything anymore, people will just give it to me in the hope that I'll use it and move some of their product for them.
posted by fenriq at 4:43 PM on January 28, 2005


And no one was able to get a hat over to Dick Cheney?

*yawn*
posted by grapefruitmoon at 4:45 PM on January 28, 2005


Companies giving out free items? Doesn't sound any different than what goes on at thousands of trade shows and conferences in hundreds of different industries every year. And a film festival is kind of a trade show, after all, isn't it? So why should it be any different?
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:10 PM on January 28, 2005


"It's like nothing I've ever seen," said an entertainment editor for a women's magazine, who declined to be identified because she was embarrassed by having taken the gifts. "I've seen it for celebrities, but I've never seen it for lowly members of the press."

I've seen it for chemists and biologists and librarians. Not at Sundance, mind you, but at sundry professional conferences I've gone to. I really don't see how this is any different from any other trade show or professional conference, or what the issue is.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 5:20 PM on January 28, 2005


MeTa.
posted by stonerose at 5:25 PM on January 28, 2005


I think the distinctions are of scale and relevance. Scale of the giveaway (plasma screen tv's and $600 overcoats, anyone?) and the lack of relevance between the items and the profession.

And as the tags might indicate, I think it's also about class--it's become so prized for everyday people to emulate the rich and glamorous movie people that it has resulted in a rush to throw free things at the wealthy so obscene that it even embarasses the recipients.
posted by NortonDC at 5:27 PM on January 28, 2005


I'm with DevilsAdvocate: what's the problem with this? If corporations want to give stuff away for free to whomever they want, that's their perogative. The wealthy don't have to accept the gifts if they feel embarrassed. And if any of the "lower classes" feel the need to emulate the "upper classes," then it's their own damn problem with their perception of life; they aren't mandated to emulate anyone.
posted by thebabelfish at 5:44 PM on January 28, 2005


I always appreciate the swag at conferences, why else would the kids forgive you being gone?
posted by sled at 5:46 PM on January 28, 2005


I've been eyeing the blue for years. And now, am a noob. I understand the need to be heard. There once was a time when the blue could sniff disapprovingly at such entities as "Fark", for example. (Gently elbowing and winking)

But I still don't want my 5 bucks back.
posted by snsranch at 6:09 PM on January 28, 2005


I think that redford should kick all the non indie filmmakers out of the festival. If the film can't make it on its own merits then it deserves to fail.
posted by wonway at 6:38 PM on January 28, 2005


And a film festival is kind of a trade show, after all, isn't it? So why should it be any different?

Hm. I could tell you, I'm just... trying to figure out if you need to die and be reborn to get from where you are to understanding the answer to your question. Hang on a second... data is coming in now.

Oh shit! Looks like you need to die! Seeya in the next life, asshole!
posted by scarabic at 8:47 PM on January 28, 2005


"It's like nothing I've ever seen," said an entertainment editor for a women's magazine, who declined to be identified because she was embarrassed by having taken the gifts.

Well, if you're embarrassed by having taken the gifts, then give them back. Or better yet, don't accept them in the first place.

Taking them and then feeling guilty and embarrassed about it just makes you another opportunist, albeit somewhat mealymouthed about it.
posted by Vidiot at 10:03 PM on January 28, 2005


Scale of the giveaway (plasma screen tv's and $600 overcoats, anyone?) and the lack of relevance between the items and the profession.

Scale I'm not so sure about--were they giving away tv's and overcoats to everyone who walked by, or just having a drawing for one/a few of those items? If the latter, it's not too far out of line with what I've seen at other professional conferences. I've been to conferences where they've had drawings for top-of-the-line laptops, for example.

But yeah, I can see your point about the relevance of the items, although I'm not sure that bothers me a whole lot.

Oh shit! Looks like you need to die! Seeya in the next life, asshole!
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 4:54 AM on January 29, 2005


Just more of the same old "them that have, gets; them that have not, get nothing."

It goes beyond the fabulous gift bags at award shows and the sumptious goody bags at charity balls. The bankrupt Donald Trump gets to borrow enormous sums at much smaller interest rates than Suzi Student who has never once defaulted.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 9:09 AM on January 29, 2005


were they giving away tv's and overcoats to everyone who walked by, or just having a drawing for one/a few of those items?

The article implies that it was on demand.
posted by NortonDC at 9:28 AM on January 29, 2005


It was indeed. Apparently there were "shops" where everything was free.
posted by Tlogmer at 3:03 PM on January 29, 2005


It is introducing young directors to brand placement. The unspoken message for young directors is, if you need money for your next movie, brands are willing to pay for placement. It is basically like tricking out a prostitute for the first time.
posted by stbalbach at 10:25 PM on January 29, 2005


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