DirecTV ads

you know the ones where they take a famous actor and reenact a scene from one of their films (i.e. Robert Patrick & T2, Kathy Bates & Misery). well, there's a new one w/Craig T. Nelson (glad to see he's working again) reenacting a scene from 'Poltergeist.' It looks like they got a look-alike girl (because the original girl died) but it leaves a bad taste in my mouth that they did this and Nelson consented to it. in my mind at least, it's sorta like making money off a tragedy in a way.

I don't think they reenact them. I think they take original scenes and then digitally modify them.

or maybe I'm wrong.

I'm looking it up now because I've confused myself.


edit. Hrm they do reenact the shit. Whaddya know.

I'm going to quit talking out of my ass now.

that's what i was trying to get at at any rate...

Whether she died or not, she was in a famous movie that's become part of American culture. Even if she was still alive, she'd be much older and they'd need to get a different kid anyways.

The ones with Frank Caliendo leave a bad taste in my mouth.

WINNER:


RUNNER UP:

I love DirecTV! It's the best!

Yeah, those commercials suck, but if I didn't give up being pissed off about advertising agencies shitting on things I like, I'd have died of head explosion ages ago.

Those commercials kind of rub me the wrong way. Although, I'm sure if Orson Welles were still alive, he'd probably whore out Citizen Kane for one them. With green pea'ness!!

wait, that was terrible. oh what luck, there's a french fry in my beard.

Wait. That's terrible. I quit.


Oh what the hell, I need the money.

The Poltergeist one really bothers me. Everytime it's one, I walk away or change the channel.

It's just too creepy because she is dead.

It seems in it was done in poor taste.

exactly.

i'm having a hard time understanding you guys' point of view.

what aspect of it is giving you problems? genuinely curious, here, not condescending.

like siamkittie said, the girl from the film is dead (even though they probably got a look-alike/altered the footage/whatever) and it feels like they're making money off her memory, and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. i don't know if this occurred to the people behind the ad, but that's how i feel.

I've only seen the T2 commercial and I thought it was funny the first time( just when he says "get out")

But I can see how it could rub some people the wrong way. I'm not on either side of the tracks though. I'm just waiting to be hit by the train.

hmm.

would you feel the same way if David Spade did one of those commercials with footage of him and Chris Farley from Tommy Boy, or other similar scenarios, or is it the fact that she died as a child?

i might feel the same way. but her dying as a child does add some weight.

I think if they use a scene with a dead person for profit, it's just in real poor taste. She died of some weird illness that made her face so puffy. She actually died like in the 3rd one. During filiming I think. I just remembered her name too, Heather O'Rourke. Weird.

Actually David Spade and Tommy Boy was a bad example since he would never agree to do it anyway. He never even showed up to Farley's funeral.

ok, that answers a lot. people's reactions tend to be a bit different when you involve children in the equation, especially if there's tragedy.

for myself, i really don't have a problem with it at all, due to the fact that they're actors. they sell their image to make people money; that's their job.

but that's just me.

Question: is it this or Dish or what cable service commercials have that fat asshole "comedian" who apparently not only has his own TV show but each and EVERY different ad they've done with this jerk has just been not_funny at all?

No . I know the one's you're talking about . And you're right , they're not funny at all . These are one's with scene's from movies where they've CGI'd the face of someone so that they're shilling whatever service it is they're trying to sell . The latest one I've seen has Christy Brinkley in a pool with Chevy Chase from National Lampoon's Vacation movie . It's not very funny either .

1. I'm so glad someone else finds that guy to be masterfully unfunny.

2. The new Vacation one is pretty bad. The face doesn't even look like Christie at all.