When the trailer for The Dilemma appeared online last month, the first thought that ran through Movieline HQ was just how long it would take for someone to complain about its childish and inappropriate use of the word "gay." (Says Vince Vaughn's character in the opening moments of the trailer: "Ladies and gentlemen, electric cars are gay.") That was answered almost immediately in the comments section, and echoed again earlier today by Anderson Cooper, who told Ellen DeGeneres that he found the trailer appalling. Now it appears that Universal is waking up to the fact that maybe this line of marketing wasn't such a good idea.
According to Deadline, Universal is planning on altering the offending trailer. Though, perhaps they aren't exactly sure why they're doing so.
Studio executives still appear bewildered by the situation "because we showed the trailer to gay groups like GLAAD and gay executives here and gays in our marketing department and no one was offended and everyone had a positive response."
Expect to see a new "gay"-less trailer for The Dilemma in theaters soon, though whether it will sell the film any better remains to be seen. When the trailer played in front of The Social Network over the weekend, the audience I was with laughed. Weep for America, folks.
ยท Universal Under Pressure Changing "Gay" Trailer For Ron Howard-Vince Vaughn Pic 'The Dilemma' [Deadline]