Case Studies- X-men orgins: Wolverine

Source of case study: May 2009 issue "EMPIRE" magazine:



"A new breed of superhero? Will the credit crunch scare studios away the big budget comic adaptions? Has Hollywood run out of true caped- crusading icons? Or is it just time to hit new heights? With this month's X-Men Origins: Wolverine potentially ushering in asea change, Empire looks at the future of the superhero movie"



The previous X-men films were quite widely marketed, and before the X-men was a comic book story, which meant that the films were alreday going to be big because of the fan base alreday asscoisated to the comic books and collectable figurines avalible. This proved to Hollywood that the high number of fans equalled a high number of tickects sold in cinema venues all over the world. As well as the number of cult fans of the comic books, the film company who helped produce the film managed to get hold of stars that alreday had a fan base themselves



X-men origins: Wolverine is a new spin-off film starring Hugh Jackman, and this particular X-men film just happens to be directed by the award winning director of Slumdog Millionare: Danny Boyle. Boyle's fans are also likely to be attracted to the new X-men film now as well creating a massive fan base which equals yet again more money for Hollywood films companies.



The marketing for the film has beem immense, as cinema venues are now putting up posters, there is an offical site for the movie (http://www.x-menorigins.com/) that begins with a trailer of the film before entering the site, forcing fans or other spectators of the site to watch, as well as MSN putting pop-ups in their home page and live messenger. EMPIRE magazine has the poster in the first page as well as a 5 page article about the film.

The star images of the film e.g. Hugh Jackman, Kelsey Grammar, Halle Berry. All of these stars have a number of cult fans. As well as the amount of fans of the comic books, the film company who helped produce the film managed to get hold of stars that alreday had a fan base themselves, in which means that the film relies on both star images for the fans who are not interested in the comic books as well as the fans from the comic books.

Empire magazine "The Dark Knight costnot far south of £200 million- they're not unlimited. The pressure to keep costs down is even more intense due to the current economic cilmate 'We feel budget worry on every movie of course' says Wolverine Producer Lauren Shuler Donner ' and the more money you spend, the more nervous you get so it is a gamble.' Yet it does seem that the most expensive films bring in the largest and most reliable retuerns: while Dark Knight's gargantuan box-office haul is undeinable, the success of Iron Man - not a well known character a couple of years ago - stands as an even more seductive demonstration of the prizes to be won"

Case Studies-Miss Potter

There are many films that rely on Hollywood for their production and marketing, in short money, however there are many independent films that do acquire their own money from UK sources. For example Miss Potter was funded by the UK film council.

The UK film council gets their money from the National Lottery and some money is funded by the the government to ensure that UK independent films are marketed and represented well all over the UK as well as in other countries, most of the films have an economical, cultural and educational films.

Miss Potter received a contribution from the UK film council which was budgeted to around 1,200,000, and when it was released it made the same amount of money and more, in DVDs and ticket sales. As the film was about the Author Beatrix Potter, her books already had a fan base, from the older generation to the younger genereation that have been brought up reading her books, because of the huge fan base this alreday showed that the film would make money and it was a definate that there were a lot of die- hard fans that would go and see the film.

Although Beatrix Potter had a fan base already, Renee Zellweger also has a huge fan base form all over the world, especially in America for the film Me, Myself and Irene and in England for her fan base in the Bridget Jones movies. This also may have contributed to Miss Potter making money.

London to Brighton

Director: Paul Andrew Williams

Year: 2006

Locations and Settings:

• Trains/ Train station- sense of security and a new beginning when on the train
• Brighton Pier/ beach- sense of freedom and safety and new start
• Back end streets of London- (Same as Bullet Boy and Sweet sixteen) Danger and entrapment- reflects Joanne and Kelly's state of being
• Derek's flat- Dirtiness, squalid place of business for pimping
• Ducan's house- White coloured walls- white usually associated with clinical, purity / in contrast with Joanne's red jumper and lipstick, red usually assosicated with passion or danger and in contrast to the disgusting Paedophilia of Duncan
• The Woods- Mostly set in the night where woods are, maybe to show that woods reflect concealment or protection from the outside law.
• Devon/ Joanne's Nan's cottage- a new beginning - white paint - purity and safety in this case

Narrative Structure:

• Time shifts to different places and settings- The characters' knew more than the spectator did, and slowly revealed what was happening through out the film
• Use of black screen transistions to show time passing or a switch to a different setting
• Filmed from Kelly's point of view women vicitimised by men- men always retain a sense of power and authority through out the film
• Some straight cuts to show passing of time

Characterisation:

• Kelly- A prostitue from back end streets of London- turned mother figure to Joanne
• Joanne- An 11 year old runaway, had her body sold to Ducan through Derek
• Derek- Pimp, who's life is on the line becuase of Kelly and Joanne and may be killed by Stuart (Ducan's son)
• Stuart- Gangster/ millonaire through his father- sees father dead and sets of to find the culprit or revenge
• Duncan- Stuart's father- paedophile who wants "business" from Derek
• Chum- sub character - slave to Derek

Ideology:

• Working class citizens- pimps, gangsters, prostitues- use of colloquial language and curse words
• White community/world- mostly except from Chum (half - caste)
• Women- mainly prostitues, friends and victims
• Men- Gangsters, Pimps, some authority- always in power

Genre features:

• Similar shots to Fargo- establishing shots and a door frame and bakcground shot
• Spectator involvement- filmed in a documentary type- way (sense of realisim) however more cinematic than Bullet boy and Sweet Sixteen- because of the "letterbox"/ widescreen filming technique
• Letterbox technique- could represent claustraphobia of the film/ entrapment similar to Bullet Boy and Sweet Sixteen
• Lighting- In London it's mostly dark, dangerous and dismal- reflecting the danger for the lives of Kelly, Joanne, Derek and Chum
• Lighting- In Brighton mainly light- symbolises sense of freedom and saftey
• Slow motion - when Joanne and Kelly are going into Duncan's house- represents impact and significance to the film - "defining moment " of the film - what the film is centred around
• Music on the slow motion scene- Moonlight Symphony- same as Elephant
  
  

Bullet Boy

Narrative Structure

• In Bullet boy, there was a lot of spectator invovlement, the same as Sweet Sixteen, where the spectator was like part of the family, or part of the gang culture with Ricky and Wisdom.


• I noticed that there was quite a few establishing shots, to show wide open spaces, in contradiction to the city where the feeling of claustraphobia is presented through the characters by using dialouge such as "I need to go, get a fresh start".


• When the film was shot in the night it could have been a reflection on what Ricky and Wisdom were doing, for example they were going to shoot someone, and so the night scene were reflecting the bad deeds they were getting up to


• When filmed in the day, it showed Ricky doing good things, such as getting his life bakc together, and helping his mum with the housework, helping out his friends, getting a job etc.


• Curtis had the same sort of friend as Ricky, sort of sa viscious circle aspect to it, where Rio and Wisdom has a slight bad influence on Ricky and Curtis, and Wisdom and Rio use the same dialouge which makes a connection between the two "You owe me big time".

Ideology

• Black Prisoners, Black criminals- streotypical of gang culture, and their clothes (gangsta clothing), single out the criminals from the people who don't involve themselves in crime


• White characters are mainly authority figures, such as white prison guards, probationary officer, teachers. on the rare occassion white characters mix in with the black characters as black people's friends.


• Working class citzens, living in run down flats and houses _ simialr to sweet sixteen


• Men are the ones mostly involved in the crime


• Women presented as sex objects, mothers, girlfriends and friends


• Men usually turn to the women for care and support and comfort

Genre features

• Mainly diagetic sounds such as Rastifarian music, R'N'B, car sounds, gun shots and silence


• Some Non-diagetic music, but quite rare - in reference to sweet sixteen


• Few balck screen tranasitions to shwo time passing


• Parellel action, such as the welcome home party for ricky whislt ricky is at a club


• Medium close up of the dog Wisdom killed to show their "dirty work"


• Close up of Curtis' eyes, to show realisation, about the dangers of gun crime

Characterisation

• Black people mainly the bad guys and the anti-heroes


• White people mainly in superioty roles e.g. prison guards and teacher always talking down to Ricky and Curtis


• The Preacher (ricky's mother's partner), show that when things got bad the mother turned to religion such as wehn Ricky died


• Ricky- just came out of prison, fed up of being labelled, trying to sort out his life, Wisdom- trying to act hard all the time, getting weaponry, shooting people -- completely opposite characters

Locations and Settings

• Prison- becomes big part in the film, as the crime realates to law and the law gets invovled with crime and vice versa


• The flat, Ricky's girlfriends house- a safe haven to get away from the crime, sense of security -- until interprted by the police when they search the flat.


• The back ned streets of London- in refernce to Sweet Sixteen- similar settings


• The wide open spaces, the forests and the parks, where Rio and Curtis went to escape the City, as forests and parks are a place of innocence and safety to children, where the City is a dangerous crime -ridden place to be.


• The Countryside - reflects the beautiful relationship between the two brothers Curtis and Ricky. However this particular scenery is contradictory to the film as it is mostly about gun crime and danger- Similar to Sweet Sixteen.

Is Cinema Dead?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/filmblog/2007/aug/20/comparedtothefirsthalf

http://freakyflicks.proboards54.com/index.cgi?board=rant&action=display&thread=2821

http://blogs.abc.net.au/articulate/2008/02/is-cinema-dead.html

Case study (film reviews)- Slumdog Millionaire

The film review for Slumdog millionaire have been mostly good, however I have found a site where some people disagree- http://www.movietome.com/movie/365018/slumdog-millionaire/reviews/user.html this is a film review site for many new and classic movies, and this site is devised for cinema goers and for fans of the movie. Either that or this site will attract people how want a review from the member of the public. However the site contains many review from critics from The Wall street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Sun Times, Empire Magazine and many more. Here is a positive review form a fan:

Slumdog Millionaire was a very powerful movie that is a must watch for any kind of movie goer. Slumdog manages to show the harsh cruel underworld and life of India but at the same time shows the beauty of it. This movie contains some pretty strong subject matter so let those whom are mature enough to watch it, watch it. The cinematography was very dream-like giving the movie a very appropriate fell to it. Though some may argue that the movie seemed to cliche because of it story, the way that it is told is far from cliche.Overall Slumdog Millionaire is a fantastic movie that is both beautiful and harsh at the same time, with great story telling and superb cinematography, this is definetly one of the best movies yet.

The review below is from the San Fransico Chronicle how only gave the movie a 50/100:

"Slumdog Millionaire" has a problem in its storytelling. The movie unfolds in a start-and-stop way that kills suspense, leans heavily on flashbacks and robs the movie of most of its velocity. The filmmakers' motives are sincere. The story is interesting enough. Yet the whole construction is tied to a gimmicky narrative strategy that keeps "Slumdog Millionaire" from really hitting its stride until the last 30 minutes. By then, it's just a little too late.(Full review-http://www.movietome.com/pages/tracking/index.php?tid=35&ref_id=365018)

There is also a few positive review who gave the moive 100/100. This review is from USA today:

Slumdog is easily Boyle's best film since he rocked the film world with 1996's Trainspotting, his highly original look at a drug subculture in Scotland.
Fanciful, epic and exuberantly paced, Slumdog Millionaire chronicles the life of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), a dirt-poor orphan who captivates the masses as he wins a fortune on India's most popular quiz show. Told in non-linear style, the movie switches among harrowing stories of Jamal's childhood in the slums of Mumbai to his moments of awkward glory as a contestant on the show to his sudden incarceration and ensuing interrogation. It is this questioning by a police inspector (Irfan Khan) that elicits the compelling flashbacks of his early youth.

In the UK the film seems to be a huge hit, although there are alos crtics in teh UK who disagree. in the guardian film website one of the review is quite4 positive:

Despite the extravagant drama and some demonstrations of the savagery meted out to India's street children, this is a cheerfully undemanding and unreflective film with a vision of India that, if not touristy exactly, is certainly an outsider's view; it depends for its full enjoyment on not being taken too seriously.

In India, where the film was set (Mumbai), reviews were qutie negative for example below http://www.apunkachoice.com/dyn/movies/english/slumdog_millionaire/slumdog_millionaire-review.html-

Saving the answer for the last, let it be said at the outset that Slumdog Millionaire is a kind of movie that is made only once in a while. It requires more than just an accomplished director to tell a story that cuts through cultural barriers while still being rooted in the grime and crime of Mumbai’s netherworld that lies in the shade of the symbols of India Shining – the skyscrapers and malls. It takes more than just a good ensemble cast to make a film like ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ work. Everything has to fall in place – the script, screenplay, direction, acting, music, editing – in sync with each other to have a movie as frisky, stark, shocking and uplifting as ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. It doesn’t happen often. May be it’s the stuff of destiny. Danny Boyle and Beaufoy have stuck to English, rather than Hindi dialogues for the most part of the film, despite the fact that you would hardly find an uneducated slumkid or a chaiwala in India who speaks English fluently. But why Boyle and Beaufoy did so is understandable. They were making a film for the international audience. If not for this cinematic liberty, the movie would not have cut across the cultural fault-lines as it does now.

http://www.apunkachoice.com/movies/- this is an Indian Film site. (where the review above was from).

However from the same review it gives a mixed opinion even though the article was mostly negative, the review site claims that the main character deserves an oscar and it gives the film four stars. The last paragraph of the review states :
There are some brilliantly executed sequences in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ that prove Boyle’s mettle as a director. The kid Jamaal, locked in a makeshift toilet, jumps into a shit-hole just to get the autograph of his favourite filmstar. Or when the grown up brothers meet again on an under-construction building. Or the exhilarating finale when Jamaal doesn’t know the answer to the question that’s ironically the most personal to him. After all the suspense and drama, the movie leaves you in an ecstatic mood with Rahman’s ‘Jai Ho’ (a dash of Bollywood song and dance in the end) and sends you home with a bounce in your walk and smile on your face.

In India there is also a paper called THE HINDU which is similar to our THE TIMES and there have been a few negative articles about the film and how it has reflected on the Indian public- http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/009200901271451.htm.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/

Mamma Mia- case study

MARKETING
There is so much makerting for this film, and apparently according to records it has been the fastest selling DVD ever. The different types of marketing for this film has been covered by so many aspects such as the offical film websitse and imdb.com, as well as this the british poster which has all of the film's stars names and pictures posted on it.
http://www.mamma-mia.com/movie.asp
This film also had so much marketing because it is a broadway show which alreday had a popular audinece into a movie, which drew in a lot of former fans and people who grew up listening to ABBA.
STAR IMAGES
The film was not only a hit for its quality musical content, but for the massive British and American star icons, such as Meryl Streep (Lemmony snickets a series of unfortuante events, She- Devil etc) Pierce Brosnan ( Bond film star), Colin Firth (Love Actually, Bridget Jones 1 and 2), Julie Walters (All Harry Potter films) and one that appeals to the younger generation for her role in teen hit movie "Mean Girls", Amanda Seyfried.
FILM EXHIBITION
MAMMA MIA TRAILER- http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=FKx_14vJNZg
By creating a film aimed at all generations the marketing statistics show that this was one of the biggest box office hits. The film made $9,627,000 in its opening day in the United States and Canada, and $27,605,376 in its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office, behind The Dark Knight. In the UK, Mamma Mia! has grossed £69,161,234 as of January 8, 2009, and is the highest grossing film of all time at the UK box office. The film opened at #1 in the U.K, taking £6,594,058 on 496 screens. It has also become on of the most fastest selling DVDs of all time.