What are you to do when your Oscar-hopeful film becomes embroiled in controversy (which is mostly unfounded) right after its world premiere? Well, if you’re the folks at Universal, the studio behind the highly-anticipated, awards contender “First Man,” your marketing team rushes out a new trailer that clearly addresses those idiots who are wrongly upset and created a controversy based on nothing but hearsay. At least that’s what appears to have happened judging by the latest trailer for the Damien Chazelle film.
For those that didn’t follow the controversy surrounding “First Man” and its debut at Venice, Chazelle and star Ryan Gosling were dubbed “anti-American” overnight after right-wing pundits (including a sitting Senator) said that it was a “falsification of history” to not include Neil Armstrong’s planting of the American flag on the moon. The whole thing was blown way out of proportion, turning into a debate over whether or not “First Man” is an “SJW” and “PC” propaganda film. It’s truly ridiculous.
READ MORE: Neil Armstrong’s Sons Say ‘First Man’ Isn’t “Anti-American In The Slightest”
And in the new trailer for the film, released only a couple weeks after Venice, it appears that the marketing team at Universal heard those “anti-American” claims and ratcheted up the “America” of the film by about 10000%, asking “Is this enough for you a-holes?”
First things first, the thumbnail for the video is now a lone image of the ship that Armstrong and Company used to land on the moon sitting right next to…you guessed it…an American flag! Then when you watch the video, American flags are front and center, accompanied by none other than President John F. Kennedy’s famous speech about the mission to the moon. Now, there’s only so much the marketing team can do with Chazelle’s film, which is obviously more focused on Armstrong’s life on Earth. They continue the voiceover but still show some more of the dramatic moments.
READ MORE: ‘First Man’ Director Damien Chazelle Defends Film Amid American Flag Controversy
Ultimately, we have to admit, it’s an effective trailer for a film about Americans heading to the moon. And it should definitely help quell those pundits and social media patriots trying to tear down the film.
“First Man” opens in theaters on