Toronto Inspiration: Visa's Post Film Conversation Starters

September 12, 2008
by Alex Billington

Just the other day, before my screening of The Wrestler, I was hanging out down in the Visa lounge at the Elgin Theater in Toronto. Some people that I had just met had enjoyed a free bag of popcorn courtesy of Visa and I noticed that the bag had text printed all around it. I always love to check out catchy marketing ideas and Visa had covered the bag with "Post Film Conversation Starters." After reading a couple and chuckling, I decided to keep the bag and post it up here for the world to be inspired. Their suggestions range from hilarious to actually useful to mildly amusing, and I'd actually suggest using any of these to start up real conversations. I haven't tried any myself, but I will admit I've used some of them before.

Full photos of the popcorn bags (taken with my iPhone) can be seen below. I've also listed all of the suggestions beneath these photos as well, for easy reference in case you want to copy them down.

Here's the full list of post film conversation starters courtesy of Visa:

» That sure was something, wasn't it?
» There was such sadness to its joy.
» I always enjoy seeing someone playing against type.
» I'm not sure everyone would get all the subtle nuances.
» I was surprised by the subject matter, but not by the way they handled it.
» It was what the left out that affected me the most.
» It walked the fine line between minimalist and boring.
» I love it when a director takes risks like that.
» I had some quibbles with the sound mixing, but other than that…
» It just wouldn't have been what it was without that ending.
» The set pieces were speculator. But it was the little moments in between that gave the movie "soul".
» Sometimes I wanted more but over all I felt there could have been less.
» I heard that the director and the lead actor wanted to kill each other.
» A beautiful reminder that it's relationships that move people, not special effects.
» Truly, a triumph of the human spirit.
» They definitely set a mood with the piece, if you can call it that.
» It defies genres.
» It wasn't so much that I hated it, I wanted more to love.
» It was a nice distraction.
» I would have gone in a different direction.
» The film definitely encapsulated the spirit of the times.
» I wept. Did you?
» Wow. What did you think?
» It didn't make me want to scream.
» Not just an impressive film for a first-time director. An impressive film, period.
» Interesting choice of casting.
» It was highly conceptual.

The next time you see a movie, whether it's tonight or this weekend, try using one of these with your friends or some random stranger sitting nearby - I'm certain it'll work. I actually may start using these in my reviews, and if I do, you're more than welcome to call me out. Either way, I compliment Visa's marketing team for coming up with such a fun little popcorn bag. It got my attention and these aren't exactly throwaway inspirational conversation starters - so put them to good use!

Discover More: Cool Stuff, Toronto Film Fest 08

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