New 'Rum Diary' poster is worth a thousand words

Posted Monday, September 26, 2011 at 2:55 PM Central
Last updated Monday, September 26, 2011 at 3:00 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

I have a thing about the aesthetics of movies. Production design and cinematography matter to me more than your average film-goer. That same visual snobbery applies to movie posters too.

It irks me when studios use the stale poster template of floating heads and Trajan font. It's a cookie-cutter method that never produces good results. Marketability often wins out over creativity. The new poster for The Rum Diary bucks that trend.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That old cliche is very apt here. The photo seems to set the scene perfectly and leave you wanting to know more. So, I guess it did its job. As much as I loved the trailer, this poster has me even more excited to see the film.

The first teaser poster that was released is a work of art too. Yeah, this new poster is just a tease. You can probably bet on the final one-sheet to have Johnny Depp's floating head on it somewhere. That's Movie Marketing 101 and when you've got a start like Depp, you definitely want to exploit him.

The Rum Diary, with Aaron Eckhart, Giovanni Ribisi, and Amber Heard, comes to theaters on Oct. 28. Here's to sneaking in little rum bottles to enjoy during the show.