In pursuit of their commitment to giving their customers everything from vacation packages to toilet paper to cars, national warehouse chains are constantly rolling out new perks. Sam’s Club’s newest addition: self-service health screening stations.
The company has just announced the arrival of these interactive stations for use by customers who want to perform an independent evaluation of some basic vitals. The station, made by health care supplier higi, measures blood pressure, pulse, body mass index (BMI), and weight. Users can monitor these statistics over time and share data with health trackers.
Although the stations are autonomous, Sam’s Club remains committed to more conventional health screenings. From January through October, the company holds monthly evaluations that are open to both members and non-members. On Saturday, February 11, they’ll be hosting a heart health event that will offer free cholesterol, vision, and hearing check-ups. Both the screenings and the self-service stations are available in most every Sam’s Club location that houses a pharmacy.
The death of America’s drive-in movie theaters isn’t due for a turnaround anytime soon thanks to increasingly convenient streaming and home video options, but that’s not discouraging some enterprising film lovers in Tennessee. They’re set to build a massive drive-in in Nashville, with a twist—it’ll be indoors.
August Moon
The August Moon Drive-In will be something akin to the Cowboys Stadium of vehicular moviegoing, with a 40,000-square-foot air-supported dome offering an enclosed, weatherproof environment. The idea, according to a recent press release, is to replicate “that perfect summer night at sunset” by projecting stars, fireflies, and other visuals onto the roof. Visitors will experience films projected onto what’s being billed as the largest non-IMAX screen in the country. In addition to conventional seating, they’ll also be able to spread out on provided picnic sheets or sit in classic cars already parked inside the facility.
Investors also plan on offering live music, “interactive” movie previews with stage actors on the premises, and movie curation based on attendee voting. Like the road attractions of the 20th century, each screening is expected to provide up to three hours of entertainment.
The effort is being overseen by Michael Counts, a designer of immersive experience entertainment (The Walking Dead Experience). With admission ranging from $8 to $20, the August Moon is scheduled to open near Nissan Stadium in the second quarter of 2018.
Thanks to the proliferation of mattress stores of both the brick and mortar and online variety, shopping for a new bed can be overwhelming. There are so many manufacturers, models, and material types that narrowing your choices down to a half-dozen could be considered an achievement.
Why the stress? Beds are both expensive—ranging in price from $300 to several thousand dollars—and seem to harbor the promise of a better life. Sleep well and you’ll be more productive, personable, and energetic; sleep poorly and that aching back dims all of your prospects. Those consequences are often played up by mattress manufacturers, who use indecipherable industry terms (“core support,” “baffled innerspring”) to try and stand out in a crowded market. Instead, they just create further confusion.
With a little knowledge, finding the perfect crash pad doesn’t have to be so frustrating: A good, dependable mattress can be had for as little as $600 to $700. Here’s how to avoid losing sleep over your next mattress purchase.
1. DECIDE WHAT YOU DON’T WANT.
The easiest way to narrow down your choices in a store is to eliminate what you’re certain you don’t want. “Every mattress type has its own strengths and weaknesses,” David Robinson, editor and publisher of the sleep-shopping tip site SleepLikeTheDead.com, tells mental_floss. “Because of familiarity, innerspring [coil] mattresses are still the most popular. Memory foam is an option, but if you have a tendency to sleep hot, they might bother you.” Foam might be best, he says, if a couple is looking for less shifting of the mattress while one partner tosses and turns.
You might also decide to eliminate anything priced over $1000; certain mattresses made from wool, latex, or other materials you might have an allergic reaction to; or adjustable beds that rely on air bladders to tweak firmness. Some or all of these features you may find unwanted or uncomfortable: Getting rid of them can shrink a showroom fast.
2. TAKE THE GOLDILOCKS TEST.
Before you start jumping around mattresses at random, have a salesperson identify three models that represent degrees of firmness. In the lexicon of mattresses, “firm” signals a bed that will provide sufficient support and is unlikely to allow you to sink into it. “Plush” might have a polyester-stuffed top layer (sometimes called a pillowtop) that acts as cushioning, or may simply be designed to conform to your body’s imprint. Along the spectrum, there’s also medium-plush, medium-firm, extra-firm, and any number of labels that can indicate degrees of support. Leaning toward one side, however, will help narrow your choices. Back sleepers may like something more solid, while side or stomach sleepers will want to avoid firm mattresses digging into their shoulders and hips.
If you experience any post-purchase remorse over firmness, Robinson says that a mattress topper could help alleviate a stiff surface. “But not many toppers can firm up a soft mattress,” he says, making it better to err on the firmer side if in doubt.
3. GRAB A PILLOW.
Many retail outlets will supply you with a pillow and a sanitary sheet to use as a pillowcase while you try out beds. Take advantage of them, as they’ll allow you to better replicate your sleep posture in the showroom and better identify where you might need more support. You may even want to bring a friend along to help assess whether your spine is straight when lying on your side.
Whether you bring one from home or get a loaner, Robinson cautions to make sure your pillow is the proper height. “A lot of pillows depend on a person’s weight,” he says. “The heavier you are, the more you’ll sink into the mattress, and the higher your pillow loft needs to be.” People who have comfort issues with new mattresses, he says, might benefit from getting a pillow better able to support spine alignment.
4. ASK FOR SOME SPACE.
Once you’ve scouted the showroom, ask the salesperson for some time alone. You’ll need several minutes resting on each of your options to determine how they feel in different positions, if you have any trouble turning your body, or if your bed partner’s presence creates any change in comfort when both of you are present. (Some beds might sink in further with two bodies on top of them.) While it’ll never replicate a real night of sleep at home, being left to your own devices on the display models is crucial to finding the best fit.
5. DON’T LET THE LINGO SHOP FOR YOU.
You’ll often find placards in front of mattress displays touting everything from cooling gels to “hybrids” that combine foam and innerspring coils for maximum luxuriating. “Manufacturers want to seem different from competitors, but they all pretty much refer to the same ideas,” Robinson says.
Read up all you like on features and materials, but try to do it after you’ve tested the bed out first. None of the manufacturer’s “patented” hype means anything if you don’t find it comfortable.
6. CHECK THE HEIGHT.
When your new mattress (which could be a foot in height) is placed on a frame or box spring foundation—or both—you may find that getting in and out of it becomes problematic. Be sure you can climb in and out comfortably, and consider whether older or smaller pets might run into issues sharing a nap with you at home. Also keep in mind that older fitted sheets may not accommodate newer, thicker mattresses.
7. DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE BOX SPRING.
While it can add another hundred dollars or more to your tab, you don’t always want to skip on a new box spring. These wooden frames support your mattress: Using the older, sagging model you already have could cause problems with your new bed. In some cases, manufacturers might even require you to buy a new box spring in order to maintain warranty coverage, although Robinson cautions that some salespeople might be exaggerating that missive in order to move more product. (Check with the supplier.) Also, decide whether your home’s layout requires a split box: that’s a box spring split in half to make navigating tight household corners easier.
While there’s not normally much else to consider in a box spring, some salespeople might try to turn you on to the idea of an adjustable base, which uses motors to make the head and foot of the bed rise 40 to 70 degrees. “These are very popular,” Robinson says, “and can help people who have difficulty getting in and out of bed” or who have health issues. But since they can also add hundreds to the cost of the bed set, carefully evaluate whether it’ll be of any real use to you.
8. KNOW YOUR (EXTENDED) WARRANTY.
As with cars, homes, and electronics, buying a bed can often mean deliberating over a store’s extended warranty. Most beds come with hefty 10- to 25-year warranties and are adequate for most consumers, Robinson says, but may not cover damage beyond premature sinking of the mattress. A store policy—which can sometimes cover spills, burns, or tears—might offer a little more. Ask for a brochure to read the fine print before committing.
9. HAVE A PLAN FOR YOUR OLD BED.
Don’t just assume the store will haul away your unwanted mattress. Some retailers will refuse to take possession of used beds to avoid the potential for cross-contamination with pests in their delivery trucks or because they don’t want to bother disposing of them. If they do agree to take away your old mattress, make sure they keep new bedding sealed in manufacturer’s wrap until it’s set up in your home to avoid any cross-contamination with old bedding. If they don’t, they might still be able to put it out on the curb for you.
10. REMEMBER THAT YOU MIGHT BE STUCK WITH IT.
Before finalizing any deal, remember that mattresses aren’t easily returned. Furniture stores can take an “all sales final” approach to big-ticket items that are costly to transport, and used mattresses don’t normally make for attractive resale or discount items. Ask your salesperson what the return policy is, and whether buying the extended warranty allows for an exchange based on your desire for more comfort. (They’ll sometimes call this a comfort guarantee.) Others will grudgingly take one back but slap you with a 20 percent restocking fee or ask you keep the mattress at home for at least a month to make absolutely certain it’s not for you.
11. SKIP THE STORE COMPLETELY.
If you’ve gone shopping and found that the options are too overwhelming, you may consider joining the increasing number of consumers who are opting to shop online for beds. Casper, for instance, has made it their business to appeal to non-deciders, offering just one memory foam bed in different sizes that they’ll ship right to your door. If you’re not satisfied, they’ll offer you a free mattress topper to see if that improves your comfort. If you’re still not happy, they’ll typically take a return at no cost. Other e-mattress companies like Tuft & Needle even offer to donate your unwanted purchase to charity while still offering you your money back. It’s low-risk, but Robinson says that their one-size approach can’t make everyone happy.
Whatever you decide, don’t be swayed by salespeople who promise a perfect night’s sleep only if you’re willing to invest thousands. “You don’t have to pay a lot to get a competitive mattress,” Robinson says. “The average price for a new bed is $1600, but you can get something comparable in quality for half that if you do your research.”
When the New England Patriots step on to the field for their record ninth trip to the Super Bowl this Sunday, broadcasters will likely inundate you with facts and trivia about the players. But that doesn’t mean the people on the sidelines are any less interesting. Check out some information about notoriously tight-lipped Patriots coach Bill Belichick that you can share between nacho plates.
1. HIS COLLEGE EXPERIENCE WAS RIGHT OUT OF ANIMAL HOUSE.
Before graduating from Wesleyan University in 1975, Belichick was reportedly the polar opposite of his current reserved persona. Classmates recall that as president of the Chi Psi fraternity, the son of Navy’s football scout and future NFL Hall of Famer could usually be found in the vicinity of frat guys peeing on rival houses and blasting soda machines with a shotgun.
2. HE’S BEEN UNDER FBI PROTECTION.
Before moving to the Patriots, Belichick spent four years as head coach of the Cleveland Browns. When he cut popular quarterback Bernie Kosar from the roster, Belichick was so reviled by Cleveland fans that he began to receive death threats. So did Casey Coleman, an area broadcaster who defended Belichick’s decision. Both men got FBI protection until the furor died down.
3. HE’S PALS WITH BON JOVI.
While not the personification of a rock fan, Belichick counts New Jersey musician Jon Bon Jovi among his closest friends. The two met when Belichick was working for the New York Giants in the early 1980s. The singer even brought a reticent Belichick and Patriots defensive coordinator Charlie Weis on stage for a song. “That happened one time and it was forgettable,” the deadpan coach once said of the performance (which you can see above).
4. HE’S HAD A LOT OF NICKNAMES.
Since beginning his NFL coaching career in 1975 with the Baltimore Colts, Belichick has assumed several identities in the league. Stints in Detroit and Denver led to the nicknames “Boy Genius” and “Punk”; in New York, Bill Parcells called him “Doom and Gloom” for his aloof demeanor.
5. HE GOT HANDED THE LARGEST FINE FOR A COACH IN NFL HISTORY.
After a Patriots employee was caught videotaping defensive hand signals from the New York Jets in 2007, the NFL slapped Belichick with a $500,000 fine, the largest in league history and roughly 12 percent of the $4.2 million salary he reportedly earned that year.
6. HE WAS HEAD COACH OF THE JETS—FOR ONE DAY.
MALCOLM CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images
After leaving the Browns, Belichick was brought on as an assistant coach with the New York Jets with the contractual promise that he’d be promoted to head coach if head coach Bill Parcells left or was let go. When Parcells retired in 1999, the Jets named Belichick their new coach. The problem? He apparently wasn’t into the idea since the Jets appeared to be nominating him reluctantly. After just one day, Belichick resigned from the position and moved to the Patriots the following year.
7. HE WON’T ACCEPT YOUR FREE CARS.
As a high-profile sports figure, Belichick is often approached by car dealers with offers of free vehicles in the hopes his celebrity will provide them with greater visibility. While it’s hard to turn down free wheels, Belichick does: He buys his family’s cars only from Farrell Volvo in Southborough, Massachusetts, a dealership owned by his college friend, Jim Farrell.
8. YOU CAN SOMETIMES FIND HIM IN PRISON.
Belichick uses his off-season time to do humanitarian work, and he’s particularly interested in rehabilitation of our incarcerated population. Belichick has worked with former NFL great Jim Brown on the Amer-I-Can program, lending aid and support to prisoners as well as paying visits to gang members for talks on how to avoid violence.
9. HE REFUSES TO BE DEPICTED IN MADDEN VIDEO GAMES.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Microsoft
Fans of the long-running Madden NFL video game series might be perplexed whenever they call up the Patriots head coach. It’s never Belichick, but an anonymous character named Josh Moore. (Sometimes, the more generic “NE Coach” is used.) For a game officially licensed, it’s a strange decision. While Belichick typically avoids queries as to why, one possible answer might be the fact that he hasn’t joined the NFL Coaches Association, which works with Electronic Arts to license coach likenesses.
10. HE HAS HIS OWN YODA.
The voice most frequently in Belichick’s headphones during games is longtime friend Ernie Adams, who met Belichick in 1970 and has been one of his closest confidantes ever since. Officially the Patriots “director of football research,” Adams suggests plays and adjustments to Belichick while making sports math calculations in the press box. Intensely private, very few pictures of Adams are known to exist.
11. HE ONCE SPIKED A TABLET.
Having been involved in football since watching his dad in the 1950s, Belichick isn’t one to abandon what works. After trying some tablets to arrange his plays and other data on the sidelines, Belichick was seen smashing one to the ground in October 2016. “As you probably noticed, I’m done with the tablets,” he told media. “They’re just too undependable for me. I’m going to stick with pictures, which several of our other coaches do, as well, because there just isn’t enough consistency in the performance of the tablets. I just can’t take it anymore.”
Every February since 1976, the United States has celebrated the achievements of African-Americans during Black History Month. The month-long celebration puts those accomplishments and milestones in focus via the media and in classrooms.
But why February? Was that part of the calendar chosen for any specific purpose?
It was. Black History Month began as “Negro History Week,” a label applied by historian Carter G. Woodson in 1926. Woodson was bothered by the fact that many textbooks and other historical reviews minimized or ignored the contributions of black figures. Along with his Association for the Study of Negro Life and History—later the Association for the Study of African American Life and History—Woodson earmarked the second week in February to raise awareness of these stories.
Woodson chose that week specifically because it covered the birthdays of Frederick Douglass (February 14) and Abraham Lincoln (February 12). The ensuing publicity led many mayors and college campuses to recognize the week; through the years, the groundswell of support allowed the occasion to stretch throughout the entire month.
In 1976, President Gerald Ford made Black History Month official, saying that he was urging everyone to “seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history.”
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In one of the most daring zoo escapes of recent memory, the National Park announced on January 30 that Ollie, a 25-pound female bobcat, had been reported missing from her enclosure shortly after breakfast.
After a search of the grounds and an investigation of her pen, it was discovered that a small hole in the mesh above Ollie’s space may have allowed her to squeeze out. The 7-year-old—one of three bobcats in the Washington zoo—is not believed to be dangerous to humans, but may dine on small pets and chickens. Zoo officials are hoping she’ll return to her home, but wandering in the adjacent Rock Creek Park might prove attractive as well. Some residents have already claimed to have spotted her in the Cleveland and Woodley Park areas near the zoo.
“She’s very standoffish,” Craig Saffoe, the zoo’s cat curator, told reporters during a press conference. “[She’s] not super friendly. It would be extremely easy on us if she were a cat who would come when called, but that’s not who this individual is.”
The National Zoo is no stranger to break-outs. Previously, a vulture and a red panda named Rusty experienced a brief taste of freedom before being retrieved. If you see this bobcat, the National Zoo would like to hear from you at 202-633-7362.
Thanks to spoofed phone numbers, automated dialing software, and shaky telemarketing ethics, consumers can find it difficult to avoid invasive telephone solicitations. Now, a new, potentially dangerous robo-call scam is said to be more than just a nuisance: It might actually cost you money.
According toUSA Today, consumers who pick up the phone and are greeted with a voice asking, “Can you hear me?” are potential victims of a phishing scheme in which their response of “Yes” might be recorded and later used to affirm purchases or contracts that they never agreed to. If you dispute the bill, scammers might use the recorded “Yes” as “proof” you agreed to a deal and threaten you with collection or legal action. While a voice recording is unlikely to stand up in court (and is illegal without the consent of both parties in some states), the vague threat of litigation might be enough to cause some victims to cave in.
The Better Business Bureau first warned of the calls in October 2016. While there doesn’t appear to be a documented case of fraudulent charges being levied against a consumer in this manner to date, it’s better to be safe than sorry: The BBB advises hanging up without saying anything and then carefully monitoring your credit card accounts for any suspicious charges.
Sometimes investigative journalism can bring down a president, as in the case of the Watergate scandal. Other times it will do something even more important, like explain why the McFlurry machines at McDonald’s always seem to be out of service.
After taking notice of the many McFlurry fans on Twitter complaining that the equipment always appears to be inoperable, The Wall Street Journalconducted an inquiry into the soft-serve scandal. While McDonald’s was reticent to provide a complete answer, the problem appears to be one related to sanitation. Company policy dictates that each machine undergo a thorough four-hour cleaning process to kill bacteria, which involves partial disassembly and can put the machine out of commission during off-peak hours on a daily basis.
To further complicate the delicious issue, it’s believed that the machines are also prone to failure. According to the Journal’s Julie Jargon, a 2000 survey by a franchise consultant found that 25 of 100 restaurants polled said the ice cream units weren’t working properly.
All of it conspires to put a dent in both McDonald’s dessert profits—estimated at $255 million annually—and your late-night cheat meal. Franchisees in France and Spain don’t seem to have the same issue, however; the two territories recently unveiled a McFlurry Party that consists of an oversized tub of ice cream and additional cups for sharing. America does not currently appear to have the McFlurry bandwidth for such ambition.
Some celebrants call it the Spring Festival, a stretch of time that signals the progression of the lunisolar Chinese calendar; others know it as the Chinese New Year. For a 15-day period beginning January 28, China will welcome the Year of the Rooster, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac table.
Sound unfamiliar? No need to worry: Check out 10 facts about how one-sixth of the world’s total population rings in the new year.
1.THE HOLIDAY WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT TO SCARE OFF A MONSTER.
As legend would have it, many of the trademarks of the Chinese New Year are rooted in an ancient fear of Nian, a ferocious monster who would wait until the first day of the year to terrorize villagers. Acting on the advice of a wise old sage, the townspeople used loud noises from drums, fireworks, and the color red to scare him off—all remain components of the celebration today.
2. A LOT OF FAMILIES USE IT AS MOTIVATION TO CLEAN THE HOUSE.
While the methods of honoring the Chinese New Year have varied over the years, it originally began as an opportunity for households to cleanse their quarters of “huiqi,” or the breaths of those that lingered in the area. Families performed meticulous cleaning rituals to honor deities that they believed would pay them visits. The holiday is still used as a time to get cleaning supplies out, although the work is supposed to be done before it officially begins.
3. IT WILL PROMPT BILLIONS OF TRIPS.
Because the Chinese New Year places emphasis on family ties, hundreds of millions of people will use the Lunar period to make the trip home. Accounting for cars, trains, planes, and other methods of transport, the holiday is likely to prompt over three billion trips.
4. IT INVOLVES A LOT OF SUPERSTITIONS.
While not all revelers subscribe to embedded beliefs about what not to do during the Chinese New Year, others try their best to observe some very particular prohibitions. Visiting a hospital or taking medicine is believed to invite ill health; lending or borrowing money will promote debt; crying children can bring about bad luck.
5. SOME PEOPLE RENT BOYFRIENDS OR GIRLFRIENDS TO SOOTHE PARENTS.
In China, it’s sometimes frowned upon to remain single as you enter your thirties. When singles return home to visit their parents, they can opt for any number of people offering to pose as their significant other in order to make it appear like they’re a couple and avoid parental scolding. Rent-a-boyfriends or girlfriends can get an average of $145 a day.
6. RED ENVELOPES ARE EVERYWHERE.
An often-observed tradition during Spring Festival is to give gifts of red envelopes containing money. (The color red symbolizes energy and fortune.) New bills are expected; old, wrinkled cash is a sign of laziness. People sometimes walk around with cash-stuffed envelopes in case they run into someone they need to give a gift to. If someone offers you an envelope, it’s best to accept it with both hands and open it in private.
7. IT CAN CREATE RECORD LEVELS OF SMOG.
Fireworks are a staple of Spring Festival in China, but there’s more danger associated with the tradition than explosive mishaps. Cities like Beijing can experience a 15-fold increase in particulate pollution. Last year, Shanghai banned the lighting of fireworks within the metropolitan area.
8. BLACK CLOTHES ARE A BAD OMEN.
So are white clothes. In China, both black and white apparel is traditionally associated with mourning and are to be avoided during the Lunar month. That’s been a bit of a paradoxical tradition for Thailand-based Chinese, who are still wearing black in mourning over King Bhumibol, the decades-long monarch who recently passed. The red, colorful clothes favored for the holiday might be too bright, so some are opting for gold or silver.
9. IT LEADS TO PLANES BEING STUFFED FULL OF CHERRIES.
Cherries are such a popular food during the Festival that suppliers need to go to extremes in order to meet demand: Singapore Airlines recently flew four chartered jets to South East and North Asian areas. More than 300 tons are being delivered in time for the festivities.
10. PANDA EXPRESS IS HOPING IT’LL CATCH ON IN THE STATES.
Although their Chinese food menu runs more along the lines of Americanized fare, franchise Panda Express is still hoping the U.S. will get more involved in the Festival. The chain is promoting the holiday in its locations by running ad spots and giving away a red envelope containing a gift: a coupon for free food. Aside from a boost in business, Panda Express hopes to raise awareness about the popular holiday in North America.
Decades ago, Hollywood used to put previews of their coming attractions after the conclusion of their theatrical releases. The teasers earned the nickname “trailers” because they followed the feature film.
Today, trailers aren’t such an afterthought. Studios spend millions of dollars stirring up anticipation for their big-budget movies by releasing trailers that promise consumers something worth the hassle and expense of a ticket. The responsibility for taking the most dazzling 120-odd seconds from hours of footage and splicing it into a coherent—and compelling—mini-movie falls on trailer editors, who screen films months in advance in order to create previews that will build the viral buzz filmmakers look for.
To better understand the job, mental_floss spoke with several editors at three of the most highly respected firms in the business. Here’s how they get you excited about the next blockbuster.
1. YOU NEED TOP-LEVEL SECURITY CLEARANCE.
If you think studios are worried about rough cuts of their films falling into the wrong hands, you’d be correct. As some of the few pairs of eyes outside of the production to see a movie months before release, trailer houses must make sure their offices can’t be tapped by potential pirates. Ron Beck, the owner and creative director of Tiny Hero, says that only employees at Fort Knox might be able to relate to the level of security that trailer editors deal with. “There are cameras everywhere,” he says. “We have sensors that record everyone who goes in and comes out of a door.” Rough cuts of movies typically get delivered on encrypted hard drives and are edited only on hardware that’s inaccessible to an open network.
“All of [the studios] are careful, but Marvel leads the pack,” Beck says. “Their stuff is super-strong. That’s why you rarely see their movies pirated.”
2. THEY MIGHT BE SEEING AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT MOVIE THAN YOU DO.
In order to begin work on marketing campaigns, trailer firms are usually given extremely early footage that has yet to be polished and edited. Rough cuts might emphasize plot points or characters that wind up getting minimized by the time the picture is done, or “locked.” David Hughes of the UK-based firm Synchronicity says he’s seen a few movies that he barely recognized once they hit theaters. “Bridget Jones’s Diarywas quite dark at one point,” he says, “and I recall a totally different opening to Bowfinger where the film-within-the-film was called Star Wars rather than Chubby Rain because the accountant who wrote it was so stupid he didn’t know a film called Star Wars actually existed.”
Since films continue to get pared down right up until release, it’s also common to see scenes in trailers that don’t ultimately make the final cut. “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels [is] my favorite example, because someone wrote to complain that they had waited the whole film to see Steve Martin push an old lady into a swimming pool, as seen in the trailer, only to find that the scene wasn’t in the finished film.”
3. THEY CAN ASK FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS TO GET PRIORITIZED.
Because editors see films so far in advance, they’re often looking at footage full of green screens and unfinished effects work. But if an editor feels like a scene would bolster the trailer’s impact, they can request the studio fast-track the CGI. “We can’t ask what they shoot first, because productions usually revolve around an actor’s schedule,” Beck says. “But we can ask for visual effects stuff we need to be done first.”
4. THEY MAY CUT A TRAILER YOU NEVER SEE.
Dan Lee, who spent 10 years at Mark Woollen and Associates before migrating to the buzzed-about firm Project X, says that editors are often called upon by directors or producers to splice together a “sizzle reel” made out of stock or existing footage in order to sell a studio on a movie. “It’s becoming increasingly common to do,” he says. “It’s an inexpensive way to sell someone on the vibe of a movie.” Director Joe Carnahan commissioned a reel when he was looking to direct a theatrical version of Daredevil (above).
5. THEY DON’T LIKE SPOILERS ANY MORE THAN YOU DO.
For last summer’s Terminator: Genisys, fans who viewed the trailer were slightly annoyed to learn—spoiler—that perpetual victim John Connor was a Terminator in yet another revision of the franchise’s confusing canon. But those edicts usually come down from the studio, according to Beck. “I like to tease, not tell,” he says. “In certain movies, though, you have to give it up, or the trailer won’t even be good. Revealing a twist is ultimately the studio’s decision, though.”
6. THE 2003 TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE REMAKE REWROTE THE RULES.
Trailers are often the result of other trailers that studios noticed were particularly effective in engaging an audience emotionally. One example: the preview for 2003’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake. “The one that always comes to mind is the trailer for the Michael Bay-produced remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, where black frames were inserted off the beat to disorienting effect,” Hughes says. “This technique has been borrowed for many horror trailers since, including some that we’ve made.”
Another trend-making trailer: the one for 2010’s Inception, with its thunderous “braam” sounds that seemed to influence every heavy action/drama film that followed.
7. THEY CAN’T HAVE PEOPLE POINTING GUNS AT OTHER PEOPLE.
Because trailer content is subject to many of the same ratings restrictions as the feature film itself, editors often have to cut around some of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) mandates. If a trailer is a “green band,” or suitable for general audiences, that means no threatening people with firearms. “There’s a lot of minutiae, like where a gun can be pointed,” Beck says. “You can’t have someone pointing it straight at the camera, for example, or at anyone in the same frame. Sometimes we blow up [zoom] a frame to hide stuff like that.”
8. TRAILERS GET FOCUS GROUPS.
Studios looking to reach the widest possible audience sometimes like to hedge their bets on campaigns and enlist two different trailer vendors to create edits for the project. They’ll focus-test each and back the one with the most support. That’s not unusual, but what irks editors, Lee says, is when a studio’s marketing department decides to split the difference and create a trailer based on ideas from two different creative entities. “They might combine trailers,” he says. “We call that Frankensteining.”
9. THEY CAN GET ACTORS TO SAY ANYTHING.
Because editors have precious little time to communicate the theme or premise of a movie, having a line or two of dialogue that summarizes a character’s motivation can make all the difference. Unfortunately, not all movies come stocked with exposition. If a trailer needs a clarifying line and the actor isn’t available to record dialogue, Beck can go in and splice together sentences from words he’s already said. “We might use a sound-alike actor, or we might see if we can form whatever sentence with the lines we have. We could make ‘I need to find her’ from someone saying ‘Find her’ and ‘Need to.’”
If all else fails and an actor is needed, Hughes says there’s one relatively quick fix. “If you’ve seen a film in the last five years, you’ve probably seen a film in which at least one line of ADR [Additional Dialogue Recording] was done on an iPhone after the actor had left the set.”
10. THEY LIKE TO LEAVE PRIVATE EASTER EGGS IN TRAILERS.
Studios love when fans of film franchises dissect trailers to spot hidden references or clues. So do editors, but sometimes the Easter eggs they drop in are going to be hard for anyone outside of their family to catch. “I know a few editors, myself included, who try to slip in their voice in a piece,” Lee says. “That’s only if you have enough time to fiddle with it.” Lee’s two kids lent their voices to a sound mix for 2016’s Warcraft. “I don’t know if they made the final cut, but they’re in there.”
11. COMEDIES ARE HARD.
Of all the film genres he’s overseen, Hughes believes comedies that don’t hit the mark are his worst assignment. “I’ve made trailers for comedies where there were literally not enough jokes in the film to fill a trailer,” he says. “Going back in the mists of time, I remember the trailer for Beverly Hills Cop III having one joke in it, Serge saying something sarcastic about Axel Foley’s shoes, and then they cut that joke out of the film.”
12. SOMETIMES YOUTUBE AMATEURS CAN BREAK IN.
Fall down the YouTube rabbit hole and you’ll find thousands of movie trailers cobbled together by hobbyists outside of the industry. While many might underestimate the work and craft involved in doing it professionally, a few have been able to use it as a launching pad to get noticed. “I know one or two editors who got careers because of their YouTube channels, where they were uploading stuff completely as a hobby,” Lee says.
13. THEY LISTEN TO A LOT OF MUSIC—SOME OF IT UNRELEASED.
Beck believes the majority of a trailer’s impact can be chalked up to how the images fit with the music selection. “Music is at least 50 percent of any trailer,” he says. With access to unreleased tracks from music labels, Beck will go jogging with his earphones in to sample tunes, even though he might not find a perfect visual fit for a song for months. “I’ll picture a scene and maybe see something like it a year or so later. And then I’ll go, ‘Oh, I’ve got just the song for this.’”
14. RYAN GOSLING AND MORGAN FREEMAN ARE TRAILER GOLD.
Ever since voiceovers for trailers largely went out of style, editors have needed to keep viewers oriented in other ways. But that doesn’t mean they can’t cheat a little. Beck says that editing a trailer for anything containing Morgan Freeman is like having a narrator. “We did Now You See Me 2 recently, and when I knew we had Morgan Freeman in the movie, I knew the whole trailer was going to be driven by him saying his lines. He’s like the voice of God.”
Another go-to performer: Ryan Gosling. Why? “He just nails it,” Beck says. “He can convey a meaning or moment so quickly that you can use it in the trailer. You’re trying to do so much in a short amount of time, and when an actor is emotive, it makes my job easier.”
