Production Questions

1) How has the status and power of stars changed over cinematic history?
Many films now use the big stars as the main marketing source, which attracts an audience to watch the film because of their names on promotional posters. Lots of films are also made as a 'star vehicle' (a method to promote a film with a star who has had the lead role created specifically for them).

2)Take any film you have seen recently and find out who produced it. Then try to find out more about this person. What was their role on this particular production? What have they and others got to say about their involvement and contribution? What projects have s/he been involved in previously, were these ventures successful?
Alice in Wonderland is a recent film that has famous stars in. It is directed by Tim Burton, who has had a long list of famous films, so he already has a very large fan base. In nearly all of Tim Burtons films, Johnny Depp is casted as the lead star, making a huge fan base with Burtons and Depp's combined. This means there is a massive audience wanting to watch the film.

3)Why are certain kinds of films guarenteed to make large profits and others high risk?
This is mostly down to the filmmakers choice of genre for the film. It all depends on what genre is popular at the time, for example, recently the disaster/horror/post-apocalyptic genres have proved to be a box office success, with films such as Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead making large profits at the box office. Which also led to films like Shaun of the Dead and Diary of the Dead being made, which are all in the same genre. I think that films that work outside these popular genres are the ones that can be classed as 'risks'.

4) Which genres are currently popular/unpopular and why?
I think that the most popular genres at the minute are horror, comedy and end of the world style. This is because lots of films like 'The Road', '2010' and 'Zombieland' have recently been released and have been a success. Also, films in these genres are now being made into sequals due to their success.

5) Why was Hollywood under the studio system so successful?
Because during the 1910's and 1920's, Hollywoods biggest studios, Paramount, Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox etc, were starting up. These companies had lots of power and took control of the production as well as distribution of films. They were able to be made quickly and of reasonable quality, they could also be easily marketed.

6) What has been lost and gained as a result if the replacement of the studio system by the producer/agent/deal system?


7) How and why has hollywood again become vertically integrated?
During the "Golden Age" of Hollywood films, the studios had complete control of the production, distribution and exhibition. They soon realised that this way they would increase the profits.

The companies also had control of which cinemas certain films were released in. Therefore this could have happened again due to Hollywood re-realising that they wanted control again after a period of time when independant films had the lime light.

8) What are the consequences of vertical integration?

When releasing films to independant exhibitioners, the companies don't often get to see the film they are exhibitioning. As a result, the film could lose loads at the box office and could be a complete fail.

What appearance does the British stars in American films have upon the British films?

Many British stars have found success in Hollywood films. For example; Robert Patterson in 'The Twilight' saga, Keira Knightly in 'Pirates of the Carribean' saga, Vinnie Jones in 'Euro Trip', and Ewan McGregor in 'Moulin Rouge!'. This promotes the actresses and actors, but it also means the stars lose their roots and become just another part of Hollywoods 'showcase of stars'. However, in the last five years Keira Knightly has appeared in 'Pride and Prejudice' and 'Atonement', both successful British films.
Kate Winslet, who has also become a big Hollywood actress, visits back to the UK regularly to appear in films and TV shows. She is an example one British/Hollywood actress who has kept in touch with her roots.
Many American films are well promoted, (as the Hollywood industry have a large enough budget to pay for it) which means that the stars are well promoted. People begin to recognise the names of stars, and their names stick. Also, if people like a British star in a Hollywood film, the chances are they will want to see some of the British films they started off doing. Giving them a wider fanbase, like Robert Patterson for example. American filmmakers taking British talent could be seen as a compliment to the UK, as it is showcasing the UK's talent in huge films. Some great actors.actresses in the UK wouldn't get the chance to be successful over here, but Hollywood filmmakers have the power to make them big. When British stars appear in Hollywood movies , filmmakers demand them to reprise their roles in sequals if the first film is successful.
The impact of British stars appearing in American films is that it gives the stars a chance to show their talent to a new audience. Unfortunately this can often drive them away from their roots.

This can also work vice versa - American stars in British films can attract an American audience to the British film industry, giving it a wider fanbase. For example, Guy Ritchie got Brad Pitt to appear in the British film Snatch. This meant that a wider range of audiences would watch the film, as the Americans would watch it for Brad Pitt, and the British people would watch it because it is a British film.

What are films made for? Do they cater to peoples tastes or are they 'safe bets' for the Hollywood Industry?

In my opinion, Hollywood films have become safe bets for the industry for many reasons. One reason is that most films now are sequals, book adaptations, or remakes of older films. For example, Tim Burton has recently remade the famous Disney film, Alice in Wonderland, putting his own unique interpretations in to it. Alice is one of the most popular Disney films, therefore a remake must be a safe bet as people will be interested to watch a modern version of it after seeing the original. Also, Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic prose (which won the Pulitzer prize in 2007), The Road, has been adapted into a movie. It was a popular book, so Hollywood producers thought it would again be a safe bet to make it into a film to see how they would adapt it from a book into a film.
Even TV shows are being made into films, like The Simpsons and Sex and the City for example. The Simpsons is a huge television show which appeals to a wide audience. Film makers would have thought this to be a safe bet for the industry as it has been popular to audiences for 21 years. A film adaptation would rake the money in for sure. Another example of this is the Hannah Montana Movie. It is a very popular childrens TV show on the Disney channel, and lots of little girls aspire to be like her. Therefore, the film version would be a hit.
The relationships between the actors and directors are often very important, and are another reason why films are mostly safe bets for the industry. For example, Tim Burton has Johnny Depp playing the lead role in almost every one of his films. This is because he knows that Depp has a huge fanbase, and with both of their fanbases put together they will have a massive audience and will make lots of money. Depp is a sefe bet for him because he is guaranteed to make a profit if he puts him in a lead role; this is what sells his films, and the fact that Depp is doing interviews with Burton on the new Alice in Wonderland proves this.
Another reason why they are safe bets is that the release dates of some films like Saw:
Saw 1 - 1st October 2004
Saw 2 - 28th October 2005
Saw 3 - 27th October 2006
Saw 4 - 26th October 2007
Saw 5 - 24th October 2008
Saw 6 - 23rd October 2009
As you can see, they are all very close to Hallowe'en. They are very gory films so they keep with the theme of Hallowe'en, therefore the producers/directors of Saw would be guaranteed to make a profit from the films. Also, because the first one was so successful, more and more were made being released one after the other. If audiences liked the first one, then they are likely to want to see the next one and the one after that.

Is cinema dead?

British film is not what it used to be, as American films are taking over the industry (with their high budgets to advertise films), making British films less common than they used to be. The film industry has been declining in recent years as there are now so many choices on how to view new films. For example, there is Blu Ray, DVD's, illegal downloading, and even illegal piracy, which has led to cinemas having a huge decrease in takings as people find it easier and cheaper to download and watch a film in the comfort of their own home. Nowadays, films do not only make money through screening the films in the cinema; they offer DVD's, merchandise, Franchise deals with fast food resturants, video games and many more.

Pro's

• As technology has developed, the use of 3D/IMAX and special effects has become more popular in big films. It offers the audience a chance to experience something they couldn't get at home.
• Film reviews from film critics and other movie-goers may influence a viewers choice on whether to watch a film or not.
• American films can afford to put a lot of their money into advertising, which means it has a better chance of attracting an audience to watch it at the cinema.
• Orange Wednesdays have brought audiences back into the cinema as it offers a two for one deal.
• Sainsburys Nectar points and Tesco Club Card points can be used to buy cinema tickets (this deal would bring in a big audience because lots of people shop here).
• There are so many internet virals of trailers and movie clips that it makes people want to go and see the film.
• Cinemas offer an experience you can't get anywhere else, for example; Vue in Eastleigh offer a variety of different seating styles like bean bags, arm chairs, and standard seats.
• See Films First offer exclusive access to members who are signed up to see a film before it premieres to the public in cinemas.
• ODEON also offer a Premiere card to people, the system works by awarding points for every £1 that is spent at ODEON. This makes people more likely to go to the cinema more often as they are getting extras.

Con's

• Love Film offer a DVD rental service which allows films to be rented online and sent to you, then once you have finished you send them back. There is only a small monthly subscribtion fee of around £4, and it allows viewers to watch films in the comfort of their own home.
• The sales of Blu Ray and DVD's etc have increased a lot, meaning cinemas are losing money as people would rather wait for ther DVD to come out.
• Being able to download illegal/pirated movies via torrents has "killed" the cinema, as these sites are widely available and mean that audiences do not have to wait for the cinema release. However, the quality of these films are often very poor and some internet providers, such as Virgin, are clamping down on illegal downloads.
• Sky movies allows people to watch films in their own home for as little as £5 (cheaper than a cinema ticket) ans as many people can watch it for no extra cost.

British Cinema - Shaun of the Dead

• 'Shaun of the Dead' was directed by Edgar Wright, and was released on 9th April 2004 in the UK.
• But was released internationally (USA) 24th September 2004, and between 30th July 2004 and 31st August 2005.
• The genre of the film is hybrid as it is a comedy zombie horror, and it is a spoof of Dawn of the Dead.
• Simon Pegg (who plays Shaun) wrote the film, and it was produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Nira Park.
• All of the stars, writers, producers and director of the film are British citizens.
• The studios and companies involved in the production of the film were; Studio Canal, Eling Studios, Working Title Films, WT2 Productions, and Big Talk Productions. All based in the UK (British studios).
• The film was independantly funded.
• There are no international stars in the film, they are all British (one is Irish - David, played by Dylan Moran).
• Companies that distributed this film are Universal Pictures and Rogue Pictures.

Babel

Babel, directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2006), was distributed by Paramount, which is owned by Viacom. Big stars in the show are Cate Blanchett and Brad Pitt. The film, set in Morocco, contains four interlocking stories, which are all connected by a single gun, that all converge at the end to reveal a tragic story of the lives of humanity around the world. In Morocco, a troubled married couple are on vacation trying to work out their differences, meanwhile, a Moroccan herder buys a rifle for his sons so they can keep the jackals away from his herd. This gun was purchased from a wealthy Japanese hunter, whose daughter is dealing with rejection, the death of her mother, the emotional distance of her father, her own self-consciousness, and a disability (deaf-mute). Then, on the opposite side of the world, the married couple's Mexican nanny takes the couple's two children with her to her son's wedding in Mexico after being told no one else can look after them for her, only to come into trouble on the return trip, resulting in them being stranded in the desert.

Throughout the film, nearly every camera shot appeared to be hand held, which was made clear through the shakiness of the camera. I think this added to the films sense of realism which made the narrative more believable for the audience. There was a wide range of different angles and shots used to convey different meanings, for example the shot from the japanese girls point of view in the night club shows the audience how she hears and sees things. It also makes them sympathise with her as everyone around is able to listen to and appreciate/enjoy the music, whereas she has to imagine what it would sound like. Another great camera shot is the reverse shot when we're first introduced to the married couple. They are sitting at a dinner table in a Moroccan desert, the reverse shot shows each characters expressions as they argue. This also tells us a bit about their personalities and marital situation straight away.

The costume in the film was all kept very cultural to the different characters backgrounds; for example, the Moroccans are wearing rags and robes, the wealthy Japanese business man is always seen wearing a suit, and the middle class Americans are wearing casual jeans and shirts. This could also give the audience an idea of their social background. The main and most significant prop in this film was definately the rifle, as it linked every character and their story together. Lighting in this film was mostly natural throughout, as the night and day scenes were shot using natural lighting sources. Although, in the club scene in Japan, there was lots of colourful artificial lighting to create a party atmosphere, which contrasted the dim artificial lighting in the huts in Morocco.

Again, the music in the film was all kept quite cultural to the different scenes in the different locations, like the techno sounds used in the Japanese scenes, and the exotic Mexican music used in the wedding party scenes. There was a variety of diegetic and non-diegetic music used; for example, the diegetic music included the car radio, the telephone conversations, the live band at the wedding etc, and the non-diegetic music was the overlapping of the cultural music on a particular scene. The most memorable use of sound in this film for me was in the club scene in Japan when the camera was cutting from the girl to the crowd of people. everytime the camera was on the crowd, the audience could hear the loud techno music, but when it cut to the girl, there was silence. Again, I think this scene is very effective as the audience are able to experience what she is going through which allows them to empathise with her.

Editing in Babel was amazing as it was used to control the four seperate narratives and bring them together to make up the overall plot, which was shown through the quick jump cuts to new locations. There is an interesting scene where editing is used to tell one characters story in the shot of another characters story, for example, when the Japanese girl is watching the TV at her house, the news comes on and there is a report about the American woman who was shot.

I think Babel was a good film, although, I'm not really sure what the Japanese family had to do with it. The father supplied the rifle, but thats the only connection he had, and the Japanese side of the story was all about his daughter. This confused me a bit, as did the end scene where the American man is in hospital talking to the nanny and his children on the phone. If that was all happening at the same time, then the nanny shouldn't have answered the phone because she was deported. The rest of the film was pretty good. I particularly liked the way all four stories fit together so well. The narratives combined provides a powerful story and an equally powerful looking glass into the lives of random people around the world and it shows just how connected we really are.

Hollywood Case Study - Avatar

Avatar - directed/written/produced by James Cameron (2009)

Pre Production and Production:

• Budget of film: $237,000,000 (others estimated the cost at $280–310 million to produce and $150 million for marketing)
• The gross revenue is $1, 424,222,266 (Avatar's worldwide gross was an estimated $232,180,000 after three days)
• Stars in the film had a $50million salary
• On its opening weekend it grossed $77 million domestically and $232 million worldwide. Within three weeks of its release, with a worldwide gross of over $1 billion, Avatar became the second highest-grossing film of all time worldwide, exceeded only by Cameron's previous film, Titanic.
• Director James Cameron had a salary of $8million, which he forfeited most of (along with most of his share of the gross percentage) to finance the films production.
• Production companies involved: Lightstorm Entertainment
• The genres are action, adventure and sci-fi. All very popular, so was the 3D (IMAX) theme. This helped with the ticket sales and the profit made.
• Length of shooting schedule was around 2 years.
• The music at the end of the film, " I see you", was performed by Leona Lewis. She is known worldwide and is very popular. She also has a great voice that suits the genre of the film.
• The film was so expensive to produce because it was nearly all CGI. The special effects and CGI are what made the film, they are so well done. This is because Cameron wanted to wait to finish the film until "technology had caught up with his vision of how it should look". He started writing Avatar in 1994 with an 80 page script, after the completion of Titanic, which would have been finished and released in 1999. But because Cameron wanted to wait for more IMAX cinemas to become available worldwide, he put off filming until 2006 when he began to write the script, as well as develop the language and culture of the Na’vi. As the film was so successful, Cameron is planning a sequel.
• He did not think that technology was developed enough at this time to create his vision of the film, which is why he put off filming.
• The film was always going to be in 3D, this is why Cameron spent so long working on the production of it and wouldn't start filming until IMAX cinemas were available to people worldwide, also he wanted 3D technology to be developed enough to create his vision of the film.
• The film looks very glossy ans slick, we can see this from the poster of a close up of one of the Na'vi characters faces. It allows the audience to see the wealth of detail in the special effects and CGI. This promotes the film as viewers can see how realistic they look.
• The narrative of the film and the characters in it are quite simple. The audience do not leave the cinema after watching it and think " I didn't understand any of that". The plot is quite easy to understand, which makes it appeal to a wider audience.
• News Corp, whose 20th Century Fox film studio backed James Cameron's blockbuster, posted profits of £159m for the second quarter.
• The costs to the rights of the source is $500million.
• Formal excess - the use of 3D and special effects makes the film very over the top, but this is what makes it so appealing to an audience and attarcts them to watch it. The set design is also very over the top, as is the cinematography, this is all to show off.
• The cast of the film aren’t very well known. This is because A-listers’ are no longer being hired for big Hollywood movies as they cost too much to use for a role. Producers have resorted to using unknown actors in order to use more money on the production of the film.

Distribution:

• The distribution company for Avatar is 20th Century Fox.
• Around $150million was spent on distributing and marketing the film through posters, soundtrack CD's, t-shirts, action figures etc.
• The marketing for Avatar has been going on since August 2009.
• The film got most of its publicity from the advertisments of posters and bus banners. There wasn't many big stars in the film so its popularity relied on the use of CGI and special effects (which were shown on the posters). The fact that is was directed by James Cameron also attracted an audience, as he was already a well known director, who was famous for his films such as Titanic.
• To promote the film, loads of merchandise was made, for example; t-shirts, posters, CD soundtracks, books, video games, and action figures (which were released before christmas to give extra time to make a bigger profit, as the younger audience would want them as presents).
• Also, McDonalds had a period of time where they included a free Avatar action figure in every Happy Meal. McDonalds is a very popular fast food outlet so this promoted the film to the public.

Exhibition:

• The release date for Avatar was 18th December 2009 in the United States, and 10th December 2009 was the London premiere.
• On its opening weekend it was shown in a total of 261 theatres, and the box office took $27million.
• Internationally, Avatar opened on a total of 14,604 screens in 106 territories. 3671 of these were showing the film in 3D (producing 56% of the opening weekends gross).
• Avatar earned $3,537,000 just from midnight screenings.
• It's worldwide gross was estimated at $232,180,000 after five days, the ninth largest opening weekend gross of all time.
• Avatar has been on release in cinemas (to the public) since 18th December, which to date is almost 8 weeks, and it is still screening.
• Avatar is currently the second best movie of all time, but has not yet beaten Cameron's famous Titanic which remains at number one.
• Avatar is the widest IMAX release to date, as it opened in a total of 261 theatres internationally, and a total of 3422 worldwide.
• Currently, Avatar has sold $75million worth of tickets.