4 ms·

This is a tangent, and I know everything is negotiated via contracts but what is the deal with the ordering of names on posters not matching the order of the ac

This is a tangent, and I know everything is negotiated via contracts but what is the deal with the ordering of names on posters not matching the order of the actors on the poster when the poster picture is a group photo.

xmprt 5y ago
Because of an antiquated rule where the highest paid or biggest actor's name is always left most. So you naturally end up in the situation where the biggest actor name is on the left but the picture is in the middle.
- wingmanjd 5y ago
  I had no idea this was the reason! It always annoyed me when they didn't match.
- smegsicle 5y ago
  antiquated? what changed?
  - bee_rider 5y ago
    Probably for one thing the relative importance of the marquee vs standalone posters.
lesuorac 5y ago
Top Billing is the term to learn more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(performing_arts)#Top_and_above-title_billing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(performing_arts)#Top_...
goto11 5y ago
The names are listed with the biggest star first. Billing order is part of the contract. But the posters typically have the biggest star in the middle, most visually prominent, and then the smaller stars on both sides or sourrounding.
bena 5y ago
Movie posters are a complex subject. Way more complex than they have any right to be. Look at the poster for "The Towering Inferno". Steve McQueen's name is left-most while Paul Newman's name is the highest. William Holden is lower than both of them and to the right, lining up with McQueen's last name. And Faye Dunaway is about half an line lower than Holden's last name. Then there's fights about how big someone's name/picture can be in relation to others. Look at the live action Beauty and the Beast Poster. Emma Watson gets a lot of poster estate and first billing. Then it gets a bit crazy. Not to mention, how people are billed is a bit contentious as well. You'll notice that it's mostly a list of names except the final two. "with Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson". That's because being a special mention is worth something. It's a way to give prominence to non-leading actors who are significant in other ways. The Thor movies do this with Anthony Hopkins. Clearly he's not the lead, but dude has had a career and he was a big get for the movies. For Ragnarok, they even toss it to Mark Ruffalo, probably as a way to acknowledge his part's significance in the film. Spider-man: Homecoming is another interesting one to look at as well as it gives a lot of real estate to Robert Downey Jr. Tom Holland has a smaller picture than the Spider-man suit, while Robert Downey Jr. is much larger than the Iron Man suit. Michael Keaton also gets the double up, but both of his images are much smaller. A lot of the Marvel posters are good to look at to see the politicking that goes on as they do a lot of ensemble movies. And then there's also the fact that sometimes the pictures are made before the credits are put on it. So you're locked in an image but contracts dictate name order.
- mzs 5y ago
  Then there's what happens in posters for international audiences: https://twitter.com/raykwong/status/671786339327578112 https://twitter.com/raykwong/status/671786339327578112

xmprt 5y ago

Because of an antiquated rule where the highest paid or biggest actor's name is always left most. So you naturally end up in the situation where the biggest actor name is on the left but the picture is in the middle.

wingmanjd 5y ago
I had no idea this was the reason! It always annoyed me when they didn't match.
smegsicle 5y ago
antiquated? what changed?
- bee_rider 5y ago
  Probably for one thing the relative importance of the marquee vs standalone posters.

lesuorac 5y ago

Top Billing is the term to learn more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(performing_arts)#Top_and_above-title_billing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billing_(performing_arts)#Top_...

goto11 5y ago

The names are listed with the biggest star first. Billing order is part of the contract. But the posters typically have the biggest star in the middle, most visually prominent, and then the smaller stars on both sides or sourrounding.

bena 5y ago

Movie posters are a complex subject. Way more complex than they have any right to be. Look at the poster for "The Towering Inferno". Steve McQueen's name is left-most while Paul Newman's name is the highest. William Holden is lower than both of them and to the right, lining up with McQueen's last name. And Faye Dunaway is about half an line lower than Holden's last name. Then there's fights about how big someone's name/picture can be in relation to others. Look at the live action Beauty and the Beast Poster. Emma Watson gets a lot of poster estate and first billing. Then it gets a bit crazy. Not to mention, how people are billed is a bit contentious as well. You'll notice that it's mostly a list of names except the final two. "with Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson". That's because being a special mention is worth something. It's a way to give prominence to non-leading actors who are significant in other ways. The Thor movies do this with Anthony Hopkins. Clearly he's not the lead, but dude has had a career and he was a big get for the movies. For Ragnarok, they even toss it to Mark Ruffalo, probably as a way to acknowledge his part's significance in the film. Spider-man: Homecoming is another interesting one to look at as well as it gives a lot of real estate to Robert Downey Jr. Tom Holland has a smaller picture than the Spider-man suit, while Robert Downey Jr. is much larger than the Iron Man suit. Michael Keaton also gets the double up, but both of his images are much smaller. A lot of the Marvel posters are good to look at to see the politicking that goes on as they do a lot of ensemble movies. And then there's also the fact that sometimes the pictures are made before the credits are put on it. So you're locked in an image but contracts dictate name order.

mzs 5y ago
Then there's what happens in posters for international audiences: https://twitter.com/raykwong/status/671786339327578112 https://twitter.com/raykwong/status/671786339327578112