Heroic: Antonio Banderas tackles a classic role in "The Mask of Zorro," arriving in late summer. Drama and fantasy: "Armageddon" (at top) offers visions of a galactic threat and Bruce Willis, while toys come to life to battle each other in "Small Soldier

"Godzilla," the movie monster, crawled out of the post-World War II imagination of a Japan wracked by a horrific nightmare wrought by the atomic bomb. "Godzilla," the monster movie from TriStar Pictures that opens May 20, roars out of a Hollywood transformed by blockbuster mentality and special effects. Veteran film producer Rob Fried a few years ago secured movie rights to the giant lizard from its Japanese owner, Toho, inspired by the revival of "Batman" and technological breakthroughs. The movie on which he now serves as executive producer is not only a product of its time, but represents the sum total of all the trends and tactics commonly employed in modern-day movie marketing -- and takes them to new heights. YEARLONG HYPE Credit goes to a Sony Pictures Entertainment marketing team led by Bob Levin. First trailer? It arrived a full year in advance, declaring Memorial Day 1998 as its own. Media events? Tri-Star eschewed the Super Bowl for an around-the-clock blitz Jan. 1 orchestrated by McCann-Erickson Worldwide, Los Angeles. Teaser campaign? With the monster under wraps until the day the film opens, the studio's pervasive outdoor campaign asks you to imagine it by comparing its size to nearby landmarks, arguably a more vivid approach. Promotional support? Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream is creating Godzilla Vanilla, with vanilla chunks shaped like the monster. Duracell Corp.'s sweepstakes promotion gives the winner a swimming pool shaped like Godzilla's foot. Eastman Kodak Co.'s TV spot blends movie footage and new creative to dramatize a young man's efforts to photograph Godzilla with a single-use camera, echoing a similar scene in the movie. Taco Bell is preparing a multimillion-dollar TV campaign that includes a spot pairing Godzilla with, yes, its talking chihuahua. COMMEMORATIVE TICKETS Innovation? TriStar will issue commemorative tickets to those who buy seats at the first screening of the film on opening day. The ticket, autographed by filmmakers Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich, comes with its own sheath and coupons for Taco Bell food items, the Epic Records soundtrack and movie merchandise sold through Kmart Corp. The tagline, "Size does matter," doesn't say a thing about the movie, except this: "Godzilla" will be the biggest movie of the summer because it says it will be. That bold assertion isn't getting much argument from the producers of some of this summer's other high-profile films. Yet that doesn't mean there isn't room for other successes this summer. SLIPPING IN BETWEEN "The summer movie season moves in three waves," said John Davis, producer of Twentieth Century Fox's "Dr. Dolittle," starring Eddie Murphy. "Godzilla" will dominate the first wave, Memorial Day to the last week of June, he said. Other promising contenders include Warner Bros.' "Quest for Camelot," Walt Disney Co.'s "Six Days, Seven Nights" and "Fox's "The X-Files: Fight the Future." The second wave, July 4 through the third week of July, will see fierce competition: Disney's "Armageddon" and "Mulan"; DreamWorks Pictures' "Small Soldiers"; and Warner Bros.' "Lethal Weapon IV." Highlighting the third wave, the last week of July through mid-August, are TriStar's "The Mask of Zorro" and Warner Bros.' "The Avengers." Success for some movies could rest in finding a crease in between waves. Disney's "The Horse Whisperer" and Paramount Pictures' "Deep Impact" open the week before "Godzilla"; "Dr. Dolittle" arrives between waves one and two. Studios also know how to counterprogram. "The Horse Whisperer" is shaping up to be one of the season's few classy flicks -- and one of the few catering to women. "Dr. Dolittle" is one of the few all-ages comedies. "Moviegoers are going to be happy to have a comedy in this marketplace by that time," said Mr. Davis. " `Deep Impact' will have destroyed half of the New York; `Godzilla' will destroy the other half. People are going to be in the mood to laugh before `Armageddon' obliterates the world." With so many summertime event films as to make the three-tiered wave model potentially meaningless, marketing makes the difference. "Without substantial marketing support, it doesn't bode well for success," said Patrick Markey, producer of "The Horse Whisperer." That puts a lot of pressure on studio marketing departments -- and Mr. Markey sympathizes. "Most filmmakers don't completely understand everything that goes into opening a film. . . . and they're usually not thinking very critically when they blame the marketing people for a poor showing." INTEGRATED MARKETING Mr. Fried said the campaigns with the most impact are the most integrated, especially for a would-be franchise with merchandise, home videos, animated-series spinoffs and sequels in the works. "From the get-go, it has to be fully integrated. All disciplines are needed to make a deep impression," said Mr. Fried. "I don't believe the film instinct is so deeply ingrained that a TV spot can spur an impulse decision to go to a movie. The desire to go see a film must be dug deep into a consumer." Mr. Markey agreed, citing the ever-increasing assault on consumers' senses. "There's such a proliferation of messages out there, not just for movies but for everything. With so much hype, how do you delineate between the ordinary and what's truly special? Consumers need something more substantive than a sound bite," said Mr. Markey. "Dr. Dolittle" will benefit from motion-activated in-theater displays that have the film's talking animals calling out to moviegoers. Still, Mr. Davis believes TV is the most critical part of the marketing mix for an average summer event film. KILLING THE BUZZ "In the summer, nothing beats the fact that you have to buy a lot of TV. You have to create huge levels of awareness in that 10 days before a movie opens," said Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis praises creativity, but said creativity gone overboard can be a buzz-killer. Mr. Markey goes a step further -- he said too many movies are being made with thought given first to the marketing, then to the story. That seems prevalent in the special-effects extravaganzas more interested in selling toys, burgers and other ancillary products than being good movies. This isn't a new concern, but the worry now is that a critical mass will eventually take its toll, and consumers will develop a knee-jerk rejection of movies that walk and talk like a blockbuster.

Heroic: Antonio Banderas tackles a classic role in "The Mask of Zorro," arriving in late summer. Drama and fantasy: "Armageddon" (at top) offers visions of a galactic threat and Bruce Willis, while toys come to life to battle each other in "Small Soldier

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