Wellington, August 19 (JY&A Media) LAWFUEL – Press Release Service – When Snakes on a Plane’s production design department wanted magazines for the seat pockets on the plane in the Samuel L. Jackson starrer, it turned to Lucire, the New Zealand-owned fashion magazine.
Lucire publisher Jack Yan says he is not sure how deep the pockets are, or whether the magazines his company supplied to New Line Cinema are even visible, but he’s looking forward to hearing the verdict from his US-based bureaux in the next few days.
Ian OBriain, the set dresser for Snakes on a Plane, worked with Lucire when filming Two for the Money, starring Al Pacino and Matthew McConaughey, in 2005.
‘Ian’s people approached us last year for copies of Lucire,’ says Mr Yan. ‘At the time, the only things we knew were that [the movie] would star Samuel L. Jackson and the film was called Pacific Air 121.
‘After Googling the film, we learned of the storyline, but we had no clue it was ever called Snakes on a Plane.’
Mr Yan says he was not surprised at the appeal of the original name, which the movie reverted to in the second half of 2005.
Throughout 2006, he wrote about the potential of Snakes on a Plane, beginning with a post in January at his Persuader blog.
‘It’s a rare example of movie honesty. The old title was nondescript, but the plot of Snakes on a Plane is snakes on a plane,’ he wrote.
‘Or it’s a brand that’s so frank, it’s a relief from all the over-hyped titles out there. Maybe this is what America needs in this era—an ironic dose of postmodernism.’
‘I was excited about the name, though I admit that internally, our team thought it was corny and would not fly.
‘I think the buzz—and close to 20 million references to the name in Google, makes Snakes on a Plane an unqualified blockbuster,’ he says.
The launch of the movie in the United States on Friday came in the same week as Lucire announced its 19th issue, a 164-page special that marks the beginning of its bimonthly editions in New Zealand. It also announced expansion into Moldavia.
The 19th issue features Theodora Richards, daughter of Rolling Stone Keith Richards and Patti Hansen, on the cover, and interviews with Karen Walker, Jodie Kidd and Turet Knüfermann of IPG. Barry Hollywood photographed Miss Richards in New York for the magazine.
Doubts
Mr Yan says he did have some doubts about the success of Snakes on a Plane when internet references to the title began dropping.
‘We started the year on 96,900, which is reasonable for a film that had not been launched,’ he says.
‘By the end of March, this rose to 880,000, and on April 17, this shot up to 9,700,000—showing just how the name appealed to the public.
‘Remember that at this point no one had even seen the film, and it was getting more Google hits than some that had been released.’
Mr Yan says the rise could be credited to an announcement by New Line that extra footage was being shot for Snakes, in the wake of fan support on the internet.
But in mid-June, with only one trailer released from New Line and few new marketing initiatives from the studio or from fans, the hits dropped into the two millions.
‘It was only in the weeks as we headed to the premières in New York and Los Angeles, and the première in Auckland next week, that the name started getting into the tens of millions.
‘For a minute there, we were worried that the buzz had died down, and that August 18 was too far away for the première,’ he says.
Blockbusters would get over 30 million references in Google, with their name in quotes, says Mr Yan.
Internet buzz
Everything from cups and T-shirts were on sale in January, unofficially created by fans. New Line permitted these to be sold.
An amateur movie competition and fan-arranged viewings were among the later initiatives cooked up by supporters of Snakes on a Plane.
Images
Images for this release may be downloaded at .
About Lucire
Lucire, the global fashion magazine (www.lucire.com), started on the web in 1997. In October 2004, it became the first magazine in its sector to extend its brand into a print magazine. By May 2005, it became the first web magazine to spawn two national print editions. Lucire became the first fashion industry partner of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP, www.unep.org). It is headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand and published by Lucire LLC. For print edition information, see .
Notes to editors
Lucire is a registered trademark of Jack Yan & Associates and subject to protection in certain jurisdictions. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners and are only used in a descriptive fashion without any intention to infringe.
Contacts:
Jack Yan, Publisher (Wellington)
Lucire
T 64 4 387-3213, F 64 4 387-3213
E jack.yan@jyanet.com
