'Indy Mogul' Goes 'Beyond the Trailer'

Gene Siskel didn’t like trailers. Roger Ebert says his late, great partner “hated them so much he would stand outside a theater until they were over. If he was already seated in the middle of a crowded theater, he would plug his ears and stare at the floor.” Grace Randolph doesn’t share the classic critic’s sentiment.

In her just launched, Next New Networks movie review program Beyond the Trailer, Randolph shows viewers select scenes from new theatrical releases before explaining the film’s “industry expectations,” divulging “behind the scenes gossip,” and taking a camera crew to New York City’s streets for “audience reactions.”

The show’s intended to go “beyond the fast-cuts and god-like voiceovers to find out what you’re really getting when you buy your movie ticket.” Here’s a summary in audio/video form:

If Randolph looks familiar, that’s because you’ve seen her star in a character-driven TV recap series on YouTube (her America’s Next Top Model synopses are done with an almost-funny-because-it’s-so-bad Russian accent) or host the more regular movie review show mixed with person-on-the-street interviews, RevYou. If Beyond the Trailer looks familiar, that’s because it and RevYou are basically the same thing.

The show is meant to round out the IndyMogul network – Erick Beck’s BackYard FX is a DIY show for professional and amateur filmmakers without a big budget, Bobby Miller’s Best Short Films in the World showcases those professionals’ and amateurs’ wares, and now Randolph’s Beyond the Trailer highlights what’s playing on the big screen – but I don’t think it fits.

Does the same audience that wants to learn how to Two-Face its face and watch Keg of the Dead care that Jeffery Katzenberg was booted out of Disney or want to hear what toddlers think about Madagascar 2? This is IndyMogul, right? Randolph’s side swept bangs (how does she read the teleprompter?) and prison uniform of a t-shirt kinda look alternative, but the rest of the show (in terms of content, delivery, etc.) is about as traditional as you can get.

Beyond the Trailer is well produced, but for the wrong network. Maybe a movie review show with some monster would’ve been a better choice.