What is the most important thing about a story? The plot with its opening, climax and eventual finale? Or is it rather the protagonist who draws us as viewers into the fictional action? A good mixture of both seems to be the best recipe for success, if the whole thing also strikes a chord.
The hero is often a well-known star
Let’s focus here on the “heroes” who are often already hyped in the trailer. Big Hollywood producers like to hire known actors for these roles, who have a certain image in the target group. Do you prefer the tough dog or the ingenious oddball? Do we need a clever trickster or someone who always favors the direct route?
In years past, when audiences saw Sylvester Stallone or Jerry Lewis, they immediately knew what to expect. It’s a similar story with characteristic actors like Bruce Willis and Rowan Atkinson. The movie sells with the face, you might think. Nevertheless, a famous actor as a hero does not guarantee success, sometimes unexpected flops arise.
Matt Damon triggered the card game hype
For example, if you hire a star like Matt Damon for your film, you should have a plot ready that is worthy of that character type. “Rounders” from 1998 was such a work, where everything fits together perfectly. It triggered the great poker hype at the end of the 20th century! And that in a time when there were hardly any digital casinos.
Today, players can enjoy all the classics digitally, giving them tremendously easy access to play. Comparison sites like Casinoreviews.net make it even easier to find the right offer. Casino experts put online casinos through their paces here to present the respective advantages and disadvantages. This way, everyone can find “their” gaming site directly.
Other stars also triggered veritable booms with their roles. This includes Johnny Depp with his perfect performance in “Pirates of the Caribbean. Never before have there been so many pirates at carnival events as in the days when the film series was topical.
Viral marketing through direct impact on life
A film that has a direct impact on real life around the globe can be called a complete success. This in turn results in free viral advertising that still works years, sometimes decades, later. Admittedly, such direct hits are rare and they cannot be planned with certainty. But the basic recipe is to find a memorable hero that people take to their hearts in a special way.
Such a hero doesn’t even have to be likeable to carry through an entire movie or through many seasons of a series. This can be seen in the legendary Walter White in “Breaking Bad,” a charismatic character precisely because he mutates into an absolute villain. For Bryan Cranston, this was the role of his life; probably at least every second person on the street will now address him as “Walter” – or fearfully hide from him.
Prequels and sequels about minor heroes
In addition, one can see well in this series how important it is to create believable secondary characters and build them up into “little heroes”. That’s what makes each episode really come alive! It also gave the producers the opportunity to create a successful prequel showing the back story of criminal lawyer Saul Goodman. This guy is actually interesting enough to take viewers on the journey through 6 full seasons for a second time.
In addition, Breaking Bad writer Vince Gilligan still shot the movie sequel “El Camino”, which clarifies the question of what becomes of Walter White’s student Jesse Pinkman. Jesse is one of the few real sympathetic characters in the series, and we don’t begrudge him a happy ending. But only those who have seen the sequel know whether it will really be happy.
YouTube videos attract old and new viewers
So, one thing meshes with another, characters pulling audiences from film to film, series to series. Add to that the many analysis videos on YouTube, which not only attract new viewers, but also bring the old ones back again and again. After all, you want to check whether the analysts are right or wrong, don’t you?
