Focus Features is getting roasted online for a bit of marketing hubris that’s gone hilariously off the rails. An FYC ad for Chloé Zhao’s “Hamnet” has been making the rounds on social media — and not for the reasons the studio hoped.
The ad in question features a quote from the blog The Rolling Tape that boldly proclaims “Hamnet” to be “not just the Best Picture of the Year” but “the GREATEST FILM EVER MADE.”
Naturally, this kind of hyperbole raises a few eyebrows. Out of curiosity, I decided to dig into The Rolling Tape’s actual review to see if this was genuine praise or a case of creative liberties taken by Focus’s marketing team.
As it turns out, that quote doesn’t actually exist — at least, not in that form. The studio appears to have cobbled it together from two separate sources: one being a published review, the other a social media post, both written by the site’s writers. Even then, the original review only called “Hamnet” “one of the greatest films ever made,” not the greatest. So don’t worry, “Vertigo” and “Citizen Kane” — you don’t have new competition (although “Jeanne Dielman” would certainly like to have a word with you).
In other words, Focus dropped the “one of” and took a few liberties in the process. Marketing teams typically work with critics to ensure accuracy and obtain permission before using or adjusting pull quotes for promotional materials. However, in this case, it seems Focus either skipped that step, or The Rolling Tape’s writers accepted bending the truth in favor of a more hyperbolic statement.
It’s baffling that Focus would risk undermining its own awards campaign like this. “Hamnet” has been widely praised as a beautifully shot and emotionally resonant drama — it hardly needs its marketing team to manufacture reality to make its case. It’ll get its Oscar nominations, plenty of them, but there was no need for this.
As for the Rolling Tape, its editor — Danny Jarabek — isn’t confirming or denying the veracity of that quote; he's just taking it all in stride and happy that his blog’s getting the attention.
Zeller’s feature debut, “The Father,” was an acclaimed and Oscar-winning film. Many believe he struck out with his sophomore effort, 2022’s critically maligned “The Son.” This is another miss.