As a film fan in Toronto, I can say I am very excited to see Suicide Squad when it is finally unleashed next August. And I can say I was even more excited to finally see some legit footage from the movie yesterday.
I have been following it intently, and even went to a few of the outdoor shoots throughout May. I was there the first night when Will Smith and apparently, Ben Affleck, were on set. I saw a bit of the digital effects work going into scenes with Smith and Margot Robbie outside of Bay Station (made up to look like a subway station from Metro City).
And I even got to see the friggin’ Batmobile one night alongside well over 500 other people cramming onto a long block of Yonge Street. It was so crazy that night that filming was delayed for 4 hours, and the on-duty police told people they had to go home before shooting would commence again. This, after they escorted the Batmobile up and down the street in all its glory.
A photo posted by David Baldwin (@davemabaldwin) on
A photo posted by David Baldwin (@davemabaldwin) on
Seeing this beauty in the flesh was ridiculously exciting, and made me anticipate Suicide Squad even more than I already was. And I’m a lifelong Batman fan.
So as you probably have heard (or even watched yourself), the first trailer was bootlegged when it debuted at Comic Con this past weekend, and apparently everyone from director David Ayer and up was fuming over the leak. Somehow they had enough sense to upload the Batman v. Superman trailer nearly immediately — likely to combat against those who leaked the first trailer days before its official debut — but not the one everyone was talking about that day and the days that followed. After all the photos that leaked during the outdoor shoots (myself included), who in their right mind would not think one or even multiple people from that packed Hall H crowd would think to record and upload the footage they watched, to share with everyone else in the world who missed it?
Look, I empathize with Ayer, the cast and crew, and with Warner Brothers. But they should all know better. There was absolutely no way this trailer would have stayed a secret, and stayed away from the Internet for very long. Once it’s out there, it’s out there. If they really had any fears of a leak, then they should not have shown it. It’s disappointing to say, but in the age of social media, everything is shared and for the taking.
And the fact of the matter is, people are excited about this movie. Really excited. And they are promoting and talking about this movie, practically for free. WB can spend minimal dollars on advertising, and still make millions. And if it is as dark and radical as it looks (for a mainstream comic film), then it may make even more.
But even with all the photos and now this trailer, I still cannot for the life of me even entertain the idea of what this movie is even about. The trailer introduces them all, but says barely anything about the movie. Are they going to fight The Joker (Jared Leto)? Are they going in to rescue Enchantress (Cara Delevingne)? Just why are they assembling? And why is Batman chasing The Joker?
So many questions, and still a year out from the movie. I will continue paying attention to everything, and hopefully I will not get anything spoiled. And hopefully WB will know well enough not to put spoilers into the trailers, something the crew on Terminator Genisys likely could have benefited from.
And I really hope I can come around to Leto’s laugh. I did not love Heath Ledger’s at first, but eventually did. Leto’s just is not doing it for me just yet. Here’s hoping time will help.