Hipster factor poses challenges for movie marketers

Zach Braff, the director and writer of the film "Garden State" poses as he arrives for the opening night of the 2004 Los Angeles Film Festival featuring a screening of the his film in Hollywood, June 17, 2004.

Batten down the hatches -- the hipsters are coming.

Even as Hollywood studios increasingly aim at the broadest possible audience, a few companies are experimenting with the opposite approach in these summer months and beyond: They're making smart, quirky movies for a sophisticated young audience.

The pics are trying to be the next "Garden State," a 2004 film that, like other hipster pics, can be generally defined as trafficking in moody music, casual style and characters who are disaffected.

But to succeed, these films will need to compete in a more difficult market than "Garden State" did only five years ago -- and do even bigger business than that picture's $27 million.

Perhaps the most prominent example of the form is Fox Searchlight's upcoming breakup comedy-drama "(500) Days of Summer," Marc Webb's subtle, funny and uncharacteristically guy-centric view of modern romance. The films opens July 17 in limited release.

Starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt as a reflective architect and Zooey Deschanel as his ethereal, sometimes unattainable love interest, the movie was one of the breakout hits at Sundance this year. It has all the makings of a summer counterprogramming hit, along the lines of "Little Miss Sunshine" three years ago.

But even by the standards of Searchlight -- which with films like "Garden State" and "Juno" has elevated hipster marketing to an art form -- "Summer" is a tricky enterprise.

30-SECOND CHALLENGE

Its most appealing aspects are moments of quirky, contextual comedy and its mood of melancholy -- not exactly the kind of stuff that plays well as you dig into your popcorn waiting for the feature to begin.

"This movie is particularly challenging to put forward in a 30-second spot or even a two-minute trailer," says Fox Searchlight president Nancy Utley.

The specialty division has thus staged a remarkably prolific screening campaign. Since its Sundance premiere, the movie has traveled to 28 festivals and played 215 word-of-mouth screenings. Searchlight also staged a six-city June 21 giveaway of food and other merchandise at retailers, watching as Twitter and Facebook fueled the events' popularity.

Saturation isn't a concern; executives say that in a brand-driven marketplace, there's no such thing as too much attention.

But the company also wants to be precise about who it gets attention from, and has devised a campaign that's either surgical or schizophrenic, or both.

One TV spot, aired during "Family Guy" and "South Park," features a shower-sex comedy scene (which is not entirely reflective of the movie's tone) while another sticks to the quiet emotional aspects.

On the publicity side, Deschanel is booked for the older-skewing "The Tonight Show." But the studio is being equally aggressive with promos in Suck magazine, at GenArt and at other indie venues.