Before social media, film posters inspired interest in upcoming films, and Bob Tanenbaum was the one who designed them.
By 1977, the artists had worked on Battlestar Galactica, Planet of the Apes, Cujo, Corvette Summer, Hell or High Water, and A Christmas Story.
“The way the film industry saw it. If a movie was a hit, it was because of the posters, and if the movie was a bomb, it was because of the posters,” Tanenbaum said.
His job was to capture the essence of a film he has often never seen or hasn’t been made.
Tanenbaum said he must be able to be told what the film is and get a sense of the concept.
After he was given a plot to the film, he got headshots of the actors, then hired a model specifically for their bodies to take pictures.
He said that when the film’s budget was right, his children, grandchildren, and even his wife would stand as models for free.
“The Color of Money” poster Paul Newman won an Oscar for Best Actor.
In the “looks like old” poster, Tanenbaum originally had a goldie horn in a bikini.
Through six versions of the same painting, he changed what Goldie was wearing, and the executive settled on her dressed in a nightgown.
Tanenbaum began creating complex art as a teenager, turning it into a profession after college and military service.
When he moved from the Midwest to Los Angeles in 1964, he was hired to explain magazines and newspaper ads like Smoky the Bear, followed by Dodgers and NFL jobs.
He then designed a big advertising campaign with Sunquist, Levis and AT&T before drawing the film’s posters.
Tanenbaum is currently teaching art classes and pen signs for fans who recognize his artwork in some of Hollywood’s biggest films.
