Seismic Productions at 25: Marketing Company Makes Trailers That Pack a Punch

Since it was founded, Seismic has played a major role in the creative marketing of some of Hollywood’s most influential and awarded movies.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Seismic’s highlighting of Jake Gyllenhaal’s reading of the line “I wish I knew how to quit you” became an iconic — not to mention widely parodied — trailer moment. “The trailer was actually spoofed on ‘SNL’ … beat for beat,” says Seismic co-founder David Schneiderman.

Les Miserables (2012)
“It was an incredibly difficult trailer, because the movie has so many songs,” says Seismic co-owner Erin Wyatt. In the end, they decided to build it around a single tune: Anne Hathaway’s rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream.” “It became the marketing tool for the whole film,” Wyatt says.

Precious (2009)
Director Lee Daniels’ tale of a poverty-stricken African-American teen who is a victim of incest and HIV positive was not an easy sell, so Seismic wrote special material for the film’s producers Oprah Winfrey and Tyler Perry to read, explaining the importance of the subject matter.

Saw (2004)
Dark, dank and intense, it helped launched a seven-film franchise, as well as a string of horror film gigs for Seismic, including “Hostel” and several Rob Zombie movies.

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