The art of the movie poster: 3 of this year's most striking one-sheets, explained

This is read by an automated voice.Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

Both an advertisement and a piece of art, the modern movie poster may be the industry’s most succinct illustration of the merger of commerce and creativity, encapsulating a film’s ambitions and themes in a single one-sheet.The Envelope spoke to the masterminds behind three of this year’s most arresting campaigns to learn the secrets of their craft.Graphic designer Vasilis Marmatakis has collaborated on every Yorgos Lanthimos film since 2009’s “Dogtooth.” So when Marmatakis began work on the director’s most recent provocation, their well-established routine continued.

“He never says anything,” Marmatakis admits, laughing.“He just lets me wander off in all these different directions.”As usual, Marmatakis saw the “Bugonia” script early on, and once he started brainstorming poster concepts, he fixated on a photo of Emma Stone taken on set, her head shaved, her eyes looking skyward and her mouth open.

“I thought it was interesting,” he explains.“You don’t know if she’s in awe, if she’s dying, if she’s getting tortured, if she’s in pain, if it is pleasure.

There’s so many layers to this expression.”The poster’s striking abstractness is akin to Marmatakis’ earlier one-sheets for Lanthimos, which obliquely hint at his movies’ thorny thematic elements without spelling out the plot.To that end, Marmatakis also incorporated blood and honey dripping down on Stone, suggesting this thriller’s disturbing violence while teasing the importance of bees to the story.

But Marmatakis’ designs, often gorgeously abstract, are intended to entice viewers, not alienate them.“I don’t underestimate the audience thinking that they will not get it,” he says.“I don’t think, ‘I’ll make something easy.’ I think people will get it — and if they don’t get it before the film, they might get it when they come out of the cinema.”Lee Cha...