Interview With Movie Trailer Author Tom Getty

 

 

1. What motivated you to write your book, to force you from taking an idea or experience and turning it into this book?  What motivated me to write “How to Make Blockbuster Movie Trailers” was because a book about trailer making had never been written before—and it was something at one time I had no clue on how to do. I wrote the book I needed 13 years ago when I made my first feature and was looking to market it.  I have years of movie trailer making experience and I’m happy to finally share it with people who need that kind of information. 

 

2. What is it about and who is it for? The book is for a few types of people. One, people curious about how Hollywood constructs movie trailers. Two—and most importantly—filmmakers or producers, or even distributors, who NEED to make a movie trailer and are overwhelmed by the task. The process of making a trailer, especially for the first time, is overwhelming. This book is for those people who really need to speed up the learning process.

 

3. What takeaways might the reader will be left with after reading it? One of the major takeaways a reader will be left with after reading the book is how crucial the trailer actually is. The trailer is king! Without one, there is, basically, no movie. Or, at least, the trailer is the most important aspect of any trailer. The book, at one point, even suggests that the trailer should be made BEFORE the film.

 

4. How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?  I wanted the title of the book to be very clear—how to make movie trailers. I added the “blockbuster” in there because Hollywood movie trailers, and every Hollywood movie is a blockbuster, are the very best and comissioned to the top advertising firms (trailer houses). If you’re an indie filmmaker, you have to compete with those blockbuster trailers. Better to know how to make them. For the cover, I felt a retro-vibe worked best. I used this font that was really popular in the 70s and 80s—ITC Avant Garde Gothic Pro. It felt very befitting of movie trailers. The colors of the book are blue and orange—which movies heavily use in their color correction.

 

5. What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers?  Set aside time each day to write. It’s the only way any writing will ever get done—well, at least, outside of those “binge” writing sessions. It took me longer than it should to write “How to Make Blockbuster Movie Trailers”—mostly because I did it sporadically, until I sat down, and for 3 or so months, wrote on a fixed schedule.

 

6. What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? I believe books, like movies, are a marketing business. It belongs to whomever can throw the most marketing dollars at whatever is being sold. That means, “name” writers. What worked yesterday.

 

7, What challenges did you overcome to write this book? One of the challenges I overcame in writing this book was figuring out and synthesizing the entire trailer making process. I never had a fool-proof process until I started writing the book, forcing myself to explain it in simple terms.

 

8. How would you describe your writing style? Punchy and academic. I love simple writing—but academic can sometimes yield more specification. My writing style is heavily influenced by Robert McKee, the author of Story. That’s one of my favorite writing books—not to mention, books.

 

9. If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours? They should read “How to Make Blockbuster Movie Trailers” because it will get them inspired to try something they’re already well familiar with—movie previews.

 

About The Author: Tom Getty is a movie trailer producer, and an award-winning writer, director, and actor, known for AMERICA HAS FALLEN (2016) and EMULATION (2010). He attended the University of Pittsburgh and graduated cum laude with a degree in communications. He creates professional movie trailers for film companies around the world.

 

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About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.