I looked at this poster for the UK release of Coco Avant Chanel for at least five minutes before I realised the very odd change from the original French one. Yes, it's in English, the avant is now before, possibly in case some bright spark who failed GCSE French thinks Avant is Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel's real name. Some of the other text is also different, but...
When looking at the French poster I was really only compelled to want those pyjamas, honestly...ooh, but d'you know I'm really craving something right now, can't quite put my finger on it. Anyway, just nipping out to the newsagent...
{edit: ok, no one is getting this - nothing to do with the text - look closely at the picture, something has been erased and two things have been inserted which changes the entire thing. You can click to enlarge.}
21 comments:
mmm it is interesting to look at the two..
**the french version has the director's name and the actors and when it is out is theatre...
**the english version lists the same as above...yet seemingly smaller and less legible (although maybe it could just be the screen now).
BUT!!!! what i find rather shockin is the attention that is given to the critics and their words. the font size of the diretor's name is smaller than the various critics' words...
tisk tisk tisk!
..oh .do let us know what the craving was...hehe.;)
Fascinating! What does this say about the French and English? That for the English a woman only gains substance with the accessory of the book, whereas for the French a woman's eyes can say it all? Or was it that the woman's eyes said too much, if you know what I mean, and the book was put in there to tone it down? I wonder what will be in the American version of the poster? BB
So is that a fake book? I remember the outrage when they beefed up Keira Knightley's chest for the American poster of that unnecessary film about King Arthur...
If Jane: look closer, look closer...
(the cigarette has been turned into a pen, the smoke removed, and a book/diary inserted on her lap)
BB: I think it's just saying that the age of editing out cigarettes from images is upon us! (In the UK and US at least)
Makes me think of the fuss about the poster for the Jacques Tati exhibit at the Cinémathèque in Paris, it pictured Hulot from mon oncle with a pipe and that was apparently to much, they had to edit out the pipe and replace it with some other object(?) so not to encourage smoking.
oh yes!!! sorry i was just looking at the text...
ah!!!!!! incredible, incredible!!! i am speechless!!!
this is complete nonsense!
i'll be curious to see what poster comes out here...
Gisele - no way! That's ridiculous, I can't bear to think that old iconic images might start to have everyone mysteriously holding pens for no reason!
I bet it will be the same - I hope they haven't touched the film since she and everyone else in it chain smokes throughout the entire thing - as everyone would have been doing in the time it is set! And at no point do you see her writing in a book, but I guess what else could they replace it with?
oh, the prudish non-french! how silly. i thought it was a cigar until i made the image bigger! did they float a pen over top of a cigarette for the entire movie? now kids are going to be sucking on pens all over the world! oh the humanity!
How odd and funny.
I've got it! The pen has been turned into a cigarette in the French one because I am a baboon!
Love Claire (aged 2)
I noticed the same thing when I saw the poster here in NZ. weird, eh? whats wrong with a cigarette in a poster? luckily the movie is unchanged, since she chain-smokes though a large part of it!
Stephanie - I know, if they do this with everything they're going to run out of props.
Anon baboon - such impressive cognitive reasoning for a 2 year old!
Luce - I'm glad to hear it - I saw it before they changed the poster so I was imagining terrible things...
It took me a while but then the book became obvious, the pen I saw only in the enlarged version ... and it's so stupid. And so childish.
I can sort of expect that (changing the cigarette into a pen) for the US release, but UK? Are the British slavishly "adapting" to US marketing and advertising standards?
This is alarming.
xxx
Mia
ha! I saw this ad last week and thought, "surely that's how you hold a cigarette and not a pen?!"... figures!
Thanks for your comment! I went to see this film the other week, I think Audrey Tatou was perfect for the role. Have you seen the other Chanel movie? I tried but couldn't watch it after seeing this one.
I'm confused about why they changed the poster at all. Does this mean smoking is more acceptable in France, while more people read in England? How strange.
veeeery interesting.
'mad men' wouldn't be the same if the characters ran around with pens hanging out of their mouths instead of their lucky strikes!
i wonder what would coco say about this?
Ha ha ha, cigarette is so much more glam than a pen. Kristin, I agree with Mad Men - smoking is part of the show. The only sexy pen is on Joan's neck!
On the left she is sitting in bed, wearing silk pyjamas and smoking. Smoking in bed, in the morning -- daylight through a window -- who is she talking to, who is she looking at, is she looking at me? Like that? From bed? I'm ready to take my heart in my mouth and tumble in next to her.
On the right she looks annoyed, she is saying 'Go away, can't you see I'm busy?'. Entirely different.
My first thought was that the first one was considered too sexy - that was before I even noticed the pen. I'd like to believe that it's smoking they're discouraging rather than an image of independent female sexuality. Either way, the change detracts from the cover's appeal.
As for replacement objects, how about carrots a la Lara Stone? If it's going to be obvious, at least the editors could see the humor of the situation.
Now why would they do that? The French one is clearly better. People and photoshop need to slow down.
Now if it would already be Sept 25 I could watch the film! I am so tired of waiting for it to release in the USA. I've been reading Chanel: A Woman of her Own by Axel Madsen to calm my anxiety until then...
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