Tim Palen
Encyclopedia
Tim Palen is a American
motion picture marketing executive and award-winning photographer. He is Lionsgate's president of theatrical marketing and oversees all Lionsgate marketing initiatives. His string of theatrical box office hits include the Saw series, the highest-grossing horror franchise in history, which grossed more than $870 million at the worldwide box office in its seven installments; the Tyler Perry
franchise, whose first ten films have grossed more than $517 million in worldwide box office; and the critically acclaimed sensations Crash
, winner of the 2006 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Precious
, winner of the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, and Rabbit Hole
, which earned Nicole Kidman a 2010 Academy Award nomination for what is widely considered her strongest performance to date. With Palen at the helm of the marketing team, Lionsgate's theatrical releases had a banner year at the 2010 box office, crossing the $400 million benchmark earlier and with fewer releases factored than ever before in the company’s history, and ultimately amounting to over $516 million in total for the calendar year.
, which went on to win a historic Academy Award® for Halle Berry's performance in the film. During his tenure, Lionsgate has grown from a fiercely independent niche studio to a major force at the box office - establishing a distinctive profile for the company as a purveyor of exciting and provocative films. Recent successes include The Expendables
, The Last Exorcism
, Tyler Perry
's Why Did I Get Married Too?
, and Kick-Ass
, all of which opened at either #1 or #2 at the box office.
film posters and advertising campaigns. Palen's movie poster photography attempts "to boil it [the image] down to the essence of the film. It is all about finding simplicity, a singular iconic image, something that evokes emotion from the viewer." Some of Palen's "most arresting" marketing campaigns have only been viewed by those attending Comic-Con International
conventions and various youth-oriented websites, allowing these campaigns to "pass under the radar of the Motion Picture Assn. of America
, which governs studio marketing material in the U.S." In 2009, Palen's work was featured in The New Yorker.
II in the initial billboard campaign and the logo for Saw II
. Bob Berney, Picturehouse president and a competitor of Lions Gate Entertainment
, calls this image "a classic".
art studio of Australian photographer Mark Kessell. Kessell, a former medical physician, had a series of daguerreotypes entitled "Florilegium" (or "collection of floral images") in his studio; each piece this collection featured a "close-up [image] of a surgical instrument, so poetically rendered that it seems almost organic". Palen made a deal to use a photograph from the "Florilegium" series whose focus was a surgical clamp, an image that was used for the theatrical and print promotions of Hostel.
, the Lions Gate Entertainment
marketing division — headed by Tim Palen — selected an image of the film's protagonist Jigsaw
(portrayed by Tobin Bell
) wearing a red cloak. Palen inquired from the poster printer "what we could do to get the deepest blood red", then asking if it was "possible to use actual blood" for the red pigment. After the printer agreed to attempting the requested process, Palen successfully approached Bell with the idea of using Bell's blood in the initial print run. Limited to 1000 copies printed, the promotional posters were sold directly to fans for $20 a piece. One copy of the poster, signed by the entire cast and crew of the film, was placed up for auction. All proceeds from these sales were donated to the Red Cross as part of the annual Saw Blood Drive.
Tim Palen wanted to launch the Hostel: Part II advertising campaign "with an image that would stand out amid the clutter of endless movie posters", so he purchased cuts of meat from five differing animals from a local butcher's shop and photographed close-up the uncooked meats in his kitchen. Settling on the boar meat, whose "veins of fat" resembled "the look of someone’s intestines", Palen had to provide proof to the Motion Picture Association of America
that the meat was not human in origin before they would approve the image for mass release. Palen did so by mailing the M.P.A.A. a receipt from the butcher's shop he had procured the boar meat from.
The campaign's next imagery was taken from a photography session Palen had done with the film's co-star Bijou Phillips
. The final poster was a composite image of Phillips' naked body holding her own severed head. This image, due to its graphic nature, was specifically designed for foreign market and other specialty markets, such as the New York Comic Con where it debuted.
In order to utilize the Phillips imagery for mass release, Palen superimposed the final Phillips composite over the boar's meat photo. This version, which only showed the shadowed portions of the Phillips image over the boar's meat, was displayed in theaters, "though only in multiplexes that weren’t playing G or PG movies."
For the print advertising aspect of the campaign, Palen used a photograph he had taken of another of the film's co-stars, Heather Matarazzo
. The photograph showed Matarazzo "hanging upside down, her face contorted, the veins in her neck bulging, a tiny rivulet of snot dripping from her nose." The M.P.A.A. approved this image for release in newspapers and other print media.
While shooting publicity photographs in a "cheesy hotel" for Hostel: Part II, Palen convinced writer/director Eli Roth
to pose nude for one photograph. The picture, entitled Eli Roth Has the Biggest Dick in Hollywood, shows Roth wearing a 24-inch-long prosthetic penis which was created by K.N.B. Effects at the request of Palen.
, and Warrior, all releasing in 2011.
, independent film producer Andrew Panay, Sylvester Stallone
with his wife Jennifer Flavin
, Debi Mazar
with her husband Gabriele Corcos, and Donovan Leitch with his daughter.
's For Colored Girls to life with eight 'Living Portraits' - shot on 35mm film and conceived of and directed by Palen himself. Displayed at New York City's prestigious Lehmann Maupin gallery on October 24th- 27th, 2010, this project marked Palen's second time working with Janet Jackson, after directing the music video for her single "Nothing" from Tyler Perry
's
Why Did I Get Married Too?
. Lionsgate also created an unprecedented online gallery experience to showcase this art work
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
motion picture marketing executive and award-winning photographer. He is Lionsgate's president of theatrical marketing and oversees all Lionsgate marketing initiatives. His string of theatrical box office hits include the Saw series, the highest-grossing horror franchise in history, which grossed more than $870 million at the worldwide box office in its seven installments; the Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
franchise, whose first ten films have grossed more than $517 million in worldwide box office; and the critically acclaimed sensations Crash
Crash (2004 film)
Crash is a 2004 American drama film co-written, produced, and directed by Paul Haggis. The film is about racial and social tensions in Los Angeles, California. A self-described "passion piece" for Haggis, Crash was inspired by a real life incident in which his Porsche was carjacked outside a video...
, winner of the 2006 Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay, Precious
Precious (film)
Precious , is a 2009 American drama film directed by Lee Daniels. Precious is an adaptation by Geoffrey S. Fletcher of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo'Nique, and Paula Patton...
, winner of the 2009 Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, and Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (film)
Rabbit Hole is a 2010 drama film starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, and Dianne Wiest, and directed by John Cameron Mitchell; the screenplay is an adaptation by David Lindsay-Abaire of his 2005 play of the same name. Kidman produced the project via her company, Blossom Films. The film premiered...
, which earned Nicole Kidman a 2010 Academy Award nomination for what is widely considered her strongest performance to date. With Palen at the helm of the marketing team, Lionsgate's theatrical releases had a banner year at the 2010 box office, crossing the $400 million benchmark earlier and with fewer releases factored than ever before in the company’s history, and ultimately amounting to over $516 million in total for the calendar year.
Career
Palen joined Lionsgate in March 2002 as Vice President of Theatrical Marketing and achieved immediate success with the launch of the campaign for Monster's BallMonster's Ball
Monster's Ball is a 2001 romantic drama film directed by Marc Forster, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, and Heath Ledger, and written by Milo Addica and Will Rokos. It was produced by Lionsgate and Lee Daniels Entertainment....
, which went on to win a historic Academy Award® for Halle Berry's performance in the film. During his tenure, Lionsgate has grown from a fiercely independent niche studio to a major force at the box office - establishing a distinctive profile for the company as a purveyor of exciting and provocative films. Recent successes include The Expendables
The Expendables (2010 film)
The Expendables is a 2010 American ensemble action film written by David Callaham and Sylvester Stallone, and directed by Stallone. Filming began on March 28, 2009, in Rio de Janeiro, New Orleans, and Los Angeles, and the film was released in theaters on August 13, 2010 in North America.The film is...
, The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism
The Last Exorcism is a 2010 American found footage horror film directed and edited by Daniel Stamm. It stars Patrick Fabian, Ashley Bell, Iris Bahr, and Louis Herthum....
, Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
's Why Did I Get Married Too?
Why Did I Get Married Too?
Why Did I Get Married Too? is a 2010 American comedy-drama film produced by Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Studios and stars Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, and Tasha Smith...
, and Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass (film)
Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with actor Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman...
, all of which opened at either #1 or #2 at the box office.
Marketing campaign work
Tim Palen uses his own photography for various Lions Gate EntertainmentLions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
film posters and advertising campaigns. Palen's movie poster photography attempts "to boil it [the image] down to the essence of the film. It is all about finding simplicity, a singular iconic image, something that evokes emotion from the viewer." Some of Palen's "most arresting" marketing campaigns have only been viewed by those attending Comic-Con International
Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International, also known as Comic-Con International: San Diego , and commonly known as Comic-Con or the San Diego Comic-Con, was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention and later the San Diego Comic Book Convention in 1970 by Shel Dorf and a group of San Diegans...
conventions and various youth-oriented websites, allowing these campaigns to "pass under the radar of the Motion Picture Assn. of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
, which governs studio marketing material in the U.S." In 2009, Palen's work was featured in The New Yorker.
Saw II
Tim Palen conceived of using two severed fingers to make the Roman numeralRoman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
II in the initial billboard campaign and the logo for Saw II
Saw II
Saw II is a 2005 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman and co-written by Bousman and the first film's co-writer Leigh Whannell. It is a sequel to 2004's Saw and the second installment in the seven-part Saw film series...
. Bob Berney, Picturehouse president and a competitor of Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
, calls this image "a classic".
Hostel
While looking for a manner to market Hostel without using images of mangled body part, Tim Palen visited the New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
art studio of Australian photographer Mark Kessell. Kessell, a former medical physician, had a series of daguerreotypes entitled "Florilegium" (or "collection of floral images") in his studio; each piece this collection featured a "close-up [image] of a surgical instrument, so poetically rendered that it seems almost organic". Palen made a deal to use a photograph from the "Florilegium" series whose focus was a surgical clamp, an image that was used for the theatrical and print promotions of Hostel.
Saw III
To promote the release of Saw IIISaw III
Saw III is a 2006 Canadian-American horror film directed by Darren Lynn Bousman from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell and story by James Wan and Whannell. Wan and Whannell directed and wrote Saw and Bousman wrote and directed Saw II. It is the third film in the seven-part Saw film series and stars...
, the Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
marketing division — headed by Tim Palen — selected an image of the film's protagonist Jigsaw
Jigsaw Killer
John Kramer is a fictional character and the central character of the Saw franchise. Jigsaw made his debut as the primary antagonist in the first film of the series, Saw, and he's later portrayed as an antihero in Saw II, III, IV, V, VI and 3D...
(portrayed by Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell
Tobin Bell is an American film and television character actor. After years of work doing stand-ins and background work on films, he got his first major acting job in Mississippi Burning and went on to star in made-for-television films and guest star in television shows throughout the 1990s.Bell...
) wearing a red cloak. Palen inquired from the poster printer "what we could do to get the deepest blood red", then asking if it was "possible to use actual blood" for the red pigment. After the printer agreed to attempting the requested process, Palen successfully approached Bell with the idea of using Bell's blood in the initial print run. Limited to 1000 copies printed, the promotional posters were sold directly to fans for $20 a piece. One copy of the poster, signed by the entire cast and crew of the film, was placed up for auction. All proceeds from these sales were donated to the Red Cross as part of the annual Saw Blood Drive.
Hostel: Part II
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
that the meat was not human in origin before they would approve the image for mass release. Palen did so by mailing the M.P.A.A. a receipt from the butcher's shop he had procured the boar meat from.
The campaign's next imagery was taken from a photography session Palen had done with the film's co-star Bijou Phillips
Bijou Phillips
Bijou Lilly Phillips is an American actress, model, and singer. Phillips began her career as a model but soon transitioned herself into acting and singing. When she was 13, she started as a model and became one of the youngest people to grace the cover of Interview Magazine and Italian Vogue....
. The final poster was a composite image of Phillips' naked body holding her own severed head. This image, due to its graphic nature, was specifically designed for foreign market and other specialty markets, such as the New York Comic Con where it debuted.
In order to utilize the Phillips imagery for mass release, Palen superimposed the final Phillips composite over the boar's meat photo. This version, which only showed the shadowed portions of the Phillips image over the boar's meat, was displayed in theaters, "though only in multiplexes that weren’t playing G or PG movies."
For the print advertising aspect of the campaign, Palen used a photograph he had taken of another of the film's co-stars, Heather Matarazzo
Heather Matarazzo
Heather Amy Matarazzo is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as a geeky girl in the film Welcome to the Dollhouse . She played Lilly in The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement...
. The photograph showed Matarazzo "hanging upside down, her face contorted, the veins in her neck bulging, a tiny rivulet of snot dripping from her nose." The M.P.A.A. approved this image for release in newspapers and other print media.
While shooting publicity photographs in a "cheesy hotel" for Hostel: Part II, Palen convinced writer/director Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...
to pose nude for one photograph. The picture, entitled Eli Roth Has the Biggest Dick in Hollywood, shows Roth wearing a 24-inch-long prosthetic penis which was created by K.N.B. Effects at the request of Palen.
Upcoming releases
Palen is also behind the theatrical posters for the upcoming Lionsgate titles Conan the Barbarian, The Devil's DoubleThe Devil's Double
The Devil's Double is a 2011 drama film directed by Lee Tamahori and starring Dominic Cooper, Philip Quast, Ludivine Sagnier and Raad Rawi. It was released on January 22, 2011 at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and was released in limited theaters on July 29, 2011 by Lionsgate and Herrick...
, and Warrior, all releasing in 2011.
Monographs
| Title | Year | Genre | Publisher | Length | | Notes |
|---|
The Fahey/Klein Gallery, 2007
In late 2007, Tim Palen had a one-week fine art photography show at The Fahey/Klein Gallery in Los Angeles, CA. The show consisted of 25 photographs from Palen's then-forthcoming book Guts. In attendance at the opening were: Palen and gallery owner David Fahey, Saw producer Oren KoulesOren Koules
Oren Koules is an American entertainment industry and professional sports industry executive. He was president of Evolution Entertainment, producer of the Saw film series...
, independent film producer Andrew Panay, Sylvester Stallone
Sylvester Stallone
Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone , commonly known as Sylvester Stallone, and nicknamed Sly Stallone, is an American actor, filmmaker, screenwriter, film director and occasional painter. Stallone is known for his machismo and Hollywood action roles. Two of the notable characters he has portrayed...
with his wife Jennifer Flavin
Jennifer Flavin
Jennifer Flavin Stallone is a former model who is the wife of actor Sylvester Stallone.- Early life :Flavin was born in Los Angeles, California and grew up in West Hills, Los Angeles, California, a district of Los Angeles, and currently resides in Beverly Crest neighborhood of Los Angeles...
, Debi Mazar
Debi Mazar
Deborah "Debi" Mazar is an American actress, perhaps best known for her Jersey Girl-type roles; as sharp-tongued women in independent films; and for her recurring role as press agent Shauna Roberts on the HBO series Entourage.-Early life:...
with her husband Gabriele Corcos, and Donovan Leitch with his daughter.
Lehmann Maupin Gallery, 2010
Tim Palen brought the women of Tyler PerryTyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
's For Colored Girls to life with eight 'Living Portraits' - shot on 35mm film and conceived of and directed by Palen himself. Displayed at New York City's prestigious Lehmann Maupin gallery on October 24th- 27th, 2010, this project marked Palen's second time working with Janet Jackson, after directing the music video for her single "Nothing" from Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman...
's
Why Did I Get Married Too?
Why Did I Get Married Too?
Why Did I Get Married Too? is a 2010 American comedy-drama film produced by Lionsgate and Tyler Perry Studios and stars Janet Jackson, Tyler Perry, and Tasha Smith...
. Lionsgate also created an unprecedented online gallery experience to showcase this art work