Your Thoughts on Movie Trailers

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

I saw Iron Man 2 last night.
I noticed that a scene from the trailer (when Tony asks Pepper for a kiss, she kisses his helmet and throws it out the back of a plane) never occurred in the movie.
This got me to thinking. Most movie trailers these days not only spoil the best action scenes and jokes, they will also spoil the ending!
What are you feelings about these practices?
I prefer something like Iron Man's trailer. I didn't feel cheated because that scene didn't exist. I was happy because that little scene perfectly captured the spirit of the relationship of the two characters, without spoiling any scene in the film.
Or how about the trailers that paint the movie to be completely different in tone and subject than it actually is? We sort of have discussed that before. I still maintain that those bait and switch type of practices suck, since they're most often used to try to sell a movie that did horrible in front of test audiences. They manipulate scenes to trick theater goers into giving their shit movie a chance.
Well?

[Chux]

If it's a comedy, do it like Iron Man, have some jokes that didn't quite make it into the final cut. If it's an action movie, give me the key players, and some fairly rad action, no spoilers. If it's a scary movie, don't show me the bad guy. Stuff like that.

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

Ok, but they focus test the shit out of these things, so it must be that the majority of theater goers WANT to have shit spoiled. They WANT to know how it ends before seeing how it even begins.
This shocks and saddens me to no end.

[Chux]

I guess turn the channel when you see the trailer start?

[Josh]

the majority of theater goers WANT to have shit spoiled. They WANT to know how it ends before seeing how it even begins.
This shocks and saddens me to no end.

This is a surprise?

[Some Stupid Japanese Name]

As bitter and jaded as I've become, I'm still an optimist at heart.

[Diff-chan]

I still remember reading an article about the Cast Away trailer (which gave away literally the entire movie). Robert Zemeckis found in focus groups that yes, people do want to have everything spoiled. They don't want any surprises.

As for that Iron Man 2 thing, that scene was probably cut at the last second.

[Nick]

I avoid trailers except when they are running at the cinema. I don't click to watch them on the Internet, no matter how many gallons of excitement TNL or anyone else is squirting. And I don't watch television commercials in general.

Not having even a little of the action spoiled means there's a better chance I'll be pleasantly surprised, especially with a movie like Iron Man 2, which I was going to go see anyway (unless it had gotten panned across the board). For example, I went in to V for Vendetta knowing nothing about the subject matter and it felt so good to just sit there and see this great movie unfold with no scene even slightly spoiled.

[Nash]

I like movie trailers in general. I always try to catch them at the theaters, and will usually opt for the next showing if I can't get in on time to watch the trailers. A well-done trailer gives you enough of the movie to know what it's about, what you can expect from it, and get you excited to see it. Those I really like.

There are certain trailers that do suck. Trailers that spoil important scenes in movies (i.e., Cast Away, as Diff mentioned), and trailers that don't even represent the movie accurately (i.e., Highlander: Endgame). Those need to go away.

[BioMechanic]

I generally don't like trailers, because they rarely determine whether or not I'll watch a movie. What I care about is the general plot, the actors, and the director, and I don't need a trailer for that.

However, trailers can be awesome. The best trailer I've ever seen is the one for Dark City. Makes me want to rewatch the movie every time I see it.