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Dan in Maple Syrup

I don't spend enough time thinking about movie marketing. Things like demographics and what posters look like:

Most of the people I've talked to don't like the Steve-Carell's-head-in-a-pancake poster for Touchstone's "Dan In Real Life." What does it mean? Is he trying to get some sleep? Is he serene? Is he overwhelmed? I've heard a more than a few iterations. But is does have at least one fan, the movie's writer-director Peter Hedges.

"What I'm really pleased with is what the poster isn't," said Hedges. "It's not a bunch of faces. We had thousands of attempts for poster and this one, for me, caught your eye." Hedges adds "the marketing is a real challenge because we live in a culture and a time where everything has to scream and grab, and this film is a human comedy," which don't scream and grab. "This film straddles so many genres, it is difficult in a short burst to communicate the fullness of it."

--The Hollywood Reporter: Risky Biz Blog: Head games

About J. Ott

John Ott is a writer, filmmaker and futurist. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.