I’d imagine that anyone who has ever thought about online movie marketing knows that studios (or their hired guns) put together reports detailing the prevailing online buzz about any given film, especially when new materials are released. Most of the time we don’t get to read this stuff. The reports are usually pretty entertaining when they do crop up.

That’s the case with this memo concerning the current online perception of Valkyrie, as released by Nikke Finke on Deadline Hollywood Daily. This is just part of a larger picture, though, in which a film is anticipated, then anticipated to be a major disaster, then makes strides to swat away the negative buzz by releasing some materials that, true to good old-fashioned showmanship, actually look entertaining.

Finke suggests that MGM is deliberately misinterpreting online buzz to give the film a more positive spin. But while I’m not evangelizing the movie by any means, and still don’t really know what to expect from Singer, I think she’s being unduly harsh. Taking responses here and on other sites as a gague, Valkyrie‘s profile seems to be improving.

I do like this memo’s particular attention to accents. (Though not as much as the Fan-Boy tags.) As the primary actors are not speaking subtitled German, which would (I hope) be the first choice, I hope that audiences won’t care about the lack of accents. Wouldn’t actors who are obviously not German but speaking with Deutch-accented English be far more conspicuous than actors who simply speak as they do, or in some neutral English accent? I hate to think that obviously fake accents would make the film more palatable (or, god forbid, ‘real’) to average audiences, but I suspect that’s actually the case.

Read the whole memo at Deadline Hollywood Daily. Unfortunately, the linked PDF is no longer available, and I didn’t save it when I originally read the story last night.

Favorable Tone Dominates Trailer Buzz – Currently, reactions to the Valkyrie
trailer are significantly favorable (approximately 80%) within
Entertainment, Fan-Boy, Video Sharing, Social Networks, Social
Bookmarks, and Fan communities. Fans deem the trailer “fantastic,” often praising the “stylistic” way that the footage was cut and asserting that it is “way better” than the initial teaser. Enthusiasts also note that the “intriguing”
trailer has furthered their anticipation for the film’s release and
anticipate that it will feature many great performances from the
ensemble cast. Additionally, many viewers share avid excitement to see
Bryan Singer’s “distinctive work” in the film and, while others admitted that they “aren’t fans” of Tom Cruise, they stated that the trailer has “sold”
them on seeing Valkyrie in December. Neutral reactions (15%) arise from
viewers sharing mixed reactions to the trailer, often asserting that
while the film has the potential to be “awesome”
they still have their doubts based on the initial critical buzz. The
limited amount of unfavorable discussion (5%) stems from critics
expressing general disinterest in the film, contending that the trailer
makes Valkyrie look like “another Hollywood action movie.”