Stephen Garrett, Author at Celluloid Junkie

By stephengarrett

2025 Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto at 50: TIFF Still Delivers, Even as Its Clout Wanes

At the international premiere of his long-gestating labor of love “Frankenstein,” Guillermo del Toro couldn’t stop gushing about the capital of Ontario. “This movie is the culmination of a long, long, not dating, not a casual fling, but a complete marriage to Toronto,” he said from the stage of the…

Matthias & Maxine

Top Five Least Marketable Movies In Cannes (Yet To Be Marketed)

“Least marketable movie” doesn’t necessarily mean “worst film.” Far from it: challenging features, whether they be chat-fests or thinly plotted spectacles, usually don’t lend themselves to Instagram-ready campaigns or Twitter-fueled debates. That said, sometimes a challenging film—from proven talent…

The Lighthouse

Top Five Most Marketable Movies In Cannes (Yet To Be Marketed)

Even before it started, the 72nd Cannes Film Festival had one of the most commercial line-ups in years. High-profile international auteurs always help—gracias, Pedro Almodóvar—as do a few American brand names like Quentin Tarantino and Jim Jarmusch. Throw in a Brit pop legend like Elton John, and th…

Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite"

Marketing Around the Land Mines of Spoilers

“Would you like to open the black box with me, madame?” says a mischievous young woman in Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. Wait-a-minute – don’t tell me what happens next! Although I won’t see your movie unless you do. That’s the compelling paradox of movie marketing in the age of chatty social media, fair-…

Market Cannes Film Festival Selections - Part One

Marketing This Year’s Typically Untypical Cannes Films: Part One

The movies that play at the Cannes Film Festival almost always skew pro-art and anti-commercial – by definition, and to their credit, they usually defy easy categorization. But this year is even more of a challenge, with a line-up of emerging or little-known auteurs with niche name recognition outsi…