Movie naming is a tricky business. The catchier the title, the greater the expectations from the film. And expectations is a very heavy burden to carry. A lot of directors have learned this the hard way. Titles like EMI (Easy Monthly Installment), M3V (Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai), Snakes on a Plane are a little too catchy. Either they explain the story in a pithy way or they have no connection at all to the plot. Good titles avoid being catchy. They intrigue (North by North West), provoke (Blackmail), offer the premise in an interesting way (Strangers on a Train), introduce a new phrase into public lingo (Dial M for Murder) and sometimes lower your expectations by opting for the seemingly innocuous (Birds). May be, some day the movie industry will wake up to this realisation.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
When a catchy name can hurt...
Movie naming is a tricky business. The catchier the title, the greater the expectations from the film. And expectations is a very heavy burden to carry. A lot of directors have learned this the hard way. Titles like EMI (Easy Monthly Installment), M3V (Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai), Snakes on a Plane are a little too catchy. Either they explain the story in a pithy way or they have no connection at all to the plot. Good titles avoid being catchy. They intrigue (North by North West), provoke (Blackmail), offer the premise in an interesting way (Strangers on a Train), introduce a new phrase into public lingo (Dial M for Murder) and sometimes lower your expectations by opting for the seemingly innocuous (Birds). May be, some day the movie industry will wake up to this realisation.
