June 29, 2004
The following had product placement in ''The Terminal.''
Spielberg has truly outdone himself, and by that I mean somehow managed to top the overload of recognizable name brands that were stuffed, jammed, and otherwise shoehorned into Minority Report. Perhaps these were less overt - Tom Hanks' Navorski savored the delicious, nutritious, and filling Burger King burger laid before him rather than being saved by, say, a Lexus on the assembly line before speeding off in it - as Tom Cruise's Anderton did in MI.
Perhaps the most frightening thing about this list is that it is partial, from what I remember.
In no particular order, except perhaps the depth to which they made an impression on me -
Burger King
Borders
Panda Express
Baskin-Robbins
Baja Fresh
Starbucks
Hudson News
La Perla
Swatch
Discovery Store/Channel
Verizon Wireless
Paul Mitchell
Payless Shoes
Heineken
Planter's Peanuts
Hugo Boss
Sbarro
Origins
Dr. Pepper
Brookstone
Cambridge SoundWorks
There you have it. A list as lucrative for the filmmakers as a fair percentage of the box office receipts, I'll wager.
You know, I've been in a few airports in my time. More than a few, actually. I've never seen that many brand names in one airport - most of them have locally-owned and named businesses as well as the international set. A bit grating, to say the least.
Posted by astor at June 29, 2004 03:05 AM