Have you seen the new poster for Lee Daniels' The Butler? Here it is.
new poster and old poster
I like it and here's why: It looks more like a Lee Daniels movie than that stately original poster. The first poster could have been for any movie that was going the prestige FYC route. It could have been a film made by anyone, and probably someone less crazy than Lee Daniels. That's a safe assumption, statistically! Whether you love or hate his movies -- three to date: Shadowboxer, Precious, The Paperboy -- you have to admit that they're non-generic. They don't feel like they were made by committee. At all.
The silly war over the period drama's title concluded too quickly for me to finish my "Suggested Alternate Title" joke post (since I was doing mock posters. I promise it was funny. sniffle) but PERSONALITY is why I like the new poster and the retitling to Lee Daniels' The Butler.
The more people hear your name, you know? It's why hip hop artists say their name so much in their songs. It's why Tyler Perry puts his name before every title. It might be vanity, sure, but it's also savvy business. Once your famous enough you can do this even if you aren't the director which kinda sucks for the guy who did that job - see Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) which is actually a Henry Selick movie!
Lee Daniels presents... OprrraaaaaAAHHH
I've always wondered why studio marketing doesn't try to push director's names more. In this modern era where even amateurs understand the basics of personal branding, the studios are not capitalizing on or trying to build fanbases for their directors which seems like both a dumb and a dick move. Even a director as constantly successful as James Cameron often gets the "From the Director of..." without his name attached in commercials which is just stupid if you ask me. Everyone who has a unique vision, even if a lot of people hate that vision, should be trying to build a fanbase.