Inspector Clouseau: Family Man
July 3, 2008 by Jane Boursaw
Does Steve Martin know how to promote a movie or what? Like a lot of moviegoers last weekend, he — or rather, his alter ego, Inspector Clouseau — lined up to buy a ticket to WALL-E.
Struggling several times to pronounce “I would like a ticket for WALL*E,” he finally learned that the show was sold out (that may be what he said, but I’m hearing, “I would like to buy a hamburger”). Undaunted, the inspector snuck into the theater, where he sliced his way through the movie screen before tiptoeing offstage.
Martin’s filmed appearance in front of screenings of WALL*E was part of an unusual customized teaser trailer for The Pink Panther 2, the MGM/Columbia production that Sony is releasing Feb. 6, 2009. In a variation of the same trailer that appeared last month, Clouseau similarly mangled the pronunciation of Kung Fu Panda.
It took me a couple of tries to glom onto the first Pink Panther movie with Martin, but now it’s a favorite around our household. I hope the second is just as good. Well, actually, I hope it’s better.
Image: The Pink Panther, Columbia Pictures, 2006
