Hollywood will need some zealous promotion to sell its franchise-heavy summer movie season but also some hard work from taciturn filmmakers.

The popcorn season was once a fever dream for studios who could call upon Bogart, Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor and Bette Davis to decorate their red carpets. 

So much for history: With the star system extinct, Hollywood now finds itself more dependent on the filmmakers themselves to pitch their wares. The catch: Though high on ego, directors are often lame on salesmanship.  

While a few high-profile directors like Steven Spielberg and Christopher Nolan are ready to join the hustle this summer, most lack either the celebrity or the confidence. Further, the dismantling of late-night TV together with the retreat from festivals (witness Cannes) has eroded the market for self-serving  interviews and clips. But someone has to be out there to hustle the next Spider-Man or Supergirl.

To be sure, there are historic precedents for filmmaker salesmanship: Frank Capra broke the rules by exuberantly promoting the witty romantic conflicts of It Happened One Night (1934) or Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). 

In his new book on Capra, Sam Wasson describes the director’s defiance of Columbia Pictures’ skimpy ad budgets as well as his willingness to challenge the rule that filmmakers abstain from the sales hustle. 

Capra did the work, but successive filmmakers like David Lean or Woody Allen abstained from the hard sell on “principal,” or, like Hal Ashby or Robert Altman, were simply inept at it.

By contrast, Billy Friedkin helped The French Connection (1973) become a surprise hit in interviews describing his chaotic car chases and defiance of civic codes.

Friedkin was deft on TV, as was Alfred Hitchcock, who took viewers into his confidence by revealing the famously homicidal tensions in Psycho (1960).

This spring Nolan has been first at bat promotionally, his TV presenters reminding us of the seven Oscars and billion-dollar grosses on Oppenheimer. But on last week’s 60 Minutes interview, Nolan, a taut, cerebral presence on TV, failed somewhat to create excitement for his new film The Odyssey, its basic plot sounding vaguely reminiscent of a college extension class – one emblazoned by Imax.  

Like many filmmakers, Nolan is especially engaging when discussing his characters rather than his narrative. And they are delivered with enormous power and scope.

Nolan commands more media attention than do directors of other summer 2026 pictures like John Early (Maddie’s Secret) or Adrian Chiarella (Leviticus), both new to the trade.

One exception among “new” directors is Olivia Wilde, who will martial her social media following to support The Invite; she co-stars with Seth Rogen, who is also a TV natural. Wilde created media noise three years ago in her support for Don’t Worry, Darling.

A very few summer movies, to be sure, can call upon their casts for promotional hustle as well as their directors. Spielberg’s Disclosure Day stars Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor; Ridley Scott’s Dog Stars features Jacob Elordi; and David Fincher’s The Adventures of Cliff Booth offers up Brad Pitt.

But Pitt and his film, a revisit to Quintin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, may not materialize until late fall. Hence, like most stars, Pitt will have a quiet summer.

In a few famous cases, star appearances on promotion junkets exacerbated personal conflicts to stimulate audience interest. On Easy Rider in 1969, the tensions between Dennis Hopper, the director, and Peter Fonda, the co-writer and co-producer, underscored the chaotic storytelling. Fans were not surprised by the even more chaotic third act, when Hopper saw to it that Fonda was dramatically banned from Hopper’s own funeral. It was, alas, off-camera.