Thursday, 28 February 2013

Bafta research and information


DOCUMENTARY: Searching For Sugar Man - Malik Bendjelloul, Simon Chinn
ANIMATED FILM: Brave - Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman
DIRECTOR: Argo - Ben Affleck
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell
LEADING ACTOR: Daniel Day-Lewis - Lincoln
LEADING ACTRESS: Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Anne Hathaway - Les Miserables
ORIGINAL MUSIC: Skyfall - Thomas Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Life Of Pi - Claudio Miranda
EDITING: Argo - William Goldenberg
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Les Miserables - Eve Stewart, Anna Lynch-Robinson
COSTUME DESIGN: Anna Karenina - Jacqueline Durran
MAKE UP & HAIR: Les Miserables - Lisa Westcott
SOUND: Les Miserables - Simon Hayes, Andy Nelson, Mark Paterson, Jonathan Allen, Lee Walpole, John Warhurst
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS: Life of Pi - Bill Westenhofer, Guillaume Rocheron, Erik-Jan De Boer
SHORT ANIMATION: The Making of Longbird - Will Anderson, Ainslie Henderson
SHORT FILM: Swimmer - Lynne Ramsay, Peter Carlton, Diarmid Scrimshaw
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public): Juno Temple
OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA: Tessa Ross
THE BAFTA FELLOWSHIP: Alan Parker


Film | Outstanding British Film in 2013
WINNER- Skyfall
Sam Mendes, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, John Logan
Anna Karenina
Joe Wright, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Paul Webster, Tom Stoppard
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
John Madden, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Ol Parker
Les Misérables
Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh, William Nicholson, Alain Boublil, Claud
Seven Psychopaths
Martin McDonagh, Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin


Case study

Skyfall-
- 23rd James Bond film produced by Eon productions.
- Directed by Sam Mendes
- Produced by Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
-  Distributed by MGM and sony Pictures
- Features Daniel Craig as James Bond and Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva.
- Written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan
- The film centres on Bond investigating an attack on MI6.
- Released on 23rd October, 26th October (UK) and 9th November in US.
- Running time 143 minutes
- Box Office $1, 108, 058, 404

Anna Karenina-
-       Written by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy
-       - the original title was ‘Анна Каренина’
-       was made in Russia
-       Had 864 pages
-       Main characters; Anna Karenina, Stepan Oblonsky’s sister, karenin’s wife and Vronsky’s lover
-       Anna Karenina is the tragedy of married aristocrat and socialite Anna Karenina and her affair with the affluent Count Vronsky. The story starts when she arrives in the midst of a family broken up by her brother's unbridled womanizing—something that prefigures her own later situation, though with less tolerance for her by others.
-       A bachelor, Vronsky is willing to marry her if she would agree to leave her husband Karenin, a government official, but she is vulnerable to the pressures of Russian social norms, her own insecurities and Karenin's indecision. Although Vronsky and Anna go to Italy where they can be together, they have trouble making friends. Back in Russia, she is shunned, becoming further isolated and anxious, while Vronsky pursues his social life. Despite Vronsky's reassurances she grows increasingly possessive and paranoid about his imagined infidelity, fearing loss of control.
-       A parallel story within the novel is that of Konstantin Levin, a country landowner who desires to marry Kitty, sister to Dolly and sister-in-law to Anna's brother Oblonsky. Konstantin has to propose twice before Kitty accepts. The novel details Konstantin's difficulties managing his estate, his eventual marriage, and personal issues, until the birth of his first child.

The best exotic marigold hotel
-       2012 british comedy-drama film
-       Directed by John Madden
-       Written by Ol parker
-       Based on 2004 novel ‘these foolish things’
-       Produced byGraham Broardbent
-       Box office- $134,388,807
-       Released date- 30th November 201
-       Running time- 124 minutes
Plot- Recently widowed housewife Evelyn (Dench) must sell her home to cover huge debts left by her late husband. Graham (Wilkinson), a high-court judge who had spent his first eighteen years in India, abruptly decides to retire and return there. Jean (Wilton) and Douglas (Nighy) seek a retirement they can afford, having lost most of their savings through investing in their daughter's internet business. Muriel (Smith), a retired housekeeper prejudiced against Indians, needs a hip replacement operation which can be done far more quickly and inexpensively in India. Madge (Celia Imrie) is hunting for another husband, and Norman (Pickup), an aging lothario, is trying to re-capture his youth. They each decide on a retirement hotel in India, based on pictures on its website.
When the group finally arrives at the picturesque hotel, despite its energetic young manager Sonny (Patel), the hotel is very dilapidated. Jean remains ensconced in the hotel, while her husband Douglas explores the sights. Graham, finding that the area has greatly changed since his youth, disappears on long outings every day. Muriel, despite her racist attitudes, starts to appreciate her doctor for his skill and the hotel maid for her good service. Evelyn gets a job advising the staff of a call centre how to interact with older British customers. Sonny struggles to raise funds to renovate the hotel and sees girlfriend, Sunaina (Tena Desae), despite his mother's disapproval. Madge joins the Viceroy Club seeking a spouse, and is surprised to find Norman there. She introduces him to Carol (Diana Hardcastle). He admits he is lonely and seeking a companion, and the two begin a relationship.

Les Miserables
-       directed by Tom Hooper
-       Produced by- Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward
-       Stars, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfriend
-       Running tine 158 minutes
-       Release date(s) 5th December (London) 11th January, UK.

Plot
Jean Valjean, released on parole after 19 years on the chain gang, finds that the yellow ticket-of-leave he must, by law, display condemns him to be an outcast. Only the saintly Bishop of Digne treats him kindly and Valjean, embittered by years of hardship, repays him by stealing some silver. Valjean is caught and brought back by the police and is astonished when the Bishop lies to the police to save him, also giving him two precious candlesticks. Valjean decides to start his life anew.


Seven psychopaths
-Directed by Martin Mcdonagh
Starring- Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits
Music by- Carter Burwell
Running time- 110 mins
Box office- $23,492, 318
Release date(s)- 7th September, 12t October (US).

PLOT
A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.

Sunday, 10 February 2013

Who holds the most power in terms of influencing what films get made and seen?

There are varied stages in the film production cycle that help a film get made and then seen. The film production cycle contains different groups that contribute towards and influence the film, such as the audience/ consumer, the studio and production cost, the writer, the stars, the director and the producer. In my opinion the audience holds the most power in terms of influencing what films get made and seen.

I think that the audience holds the most power because if there were no audience to watch a film, there would not be a way that it can get feedback and gain more viewers. For example, ‘Les miserable’ was a very successful theatre production that has been also made into a film and without the audience both the theatre shows and film wouldn’t be as successful. This is because of the film reviews and word of mouth from friends and family which has helped make the audience bigger. It took in £5.2 million in its opening weekend, and a extra £1.4m coming from previews, and the majority of that audience had recommended it to other people.

On the other hand, it can be argued that marketing and advertisement can be the power source for influencing what films get made and seen rather than the audience. The more something gets advertised the more likely people will be attracted to it and go and watch it. If the film that is being advertised has a certain actor or celebrity in the film, it is more likely that the audience will view it just to see them. Examples of this are ‘The Notebook’ which has Ryan Gosling in, or like in the film ‘Charlie St Cloud’ where the main actor is Zac Efron. He’s starred in High School Musical 1,2 and 3, Charlie St Cloud, 17 again, The Lucky One, New Year’s Eve and many more. He is adored and loved by millions of girls and boys worldwide, but especially the women.


Another argument against my point of the audience holding the most power is the media conglomerates. A media conglomerate is the media ownership that markets the films. They own the film studio, record labels, books, radio publishing, movies, Internet platforms and TV stations and have a lot of power with what gets seen due to the advertisement methods. The synergy of a film also contributes to the marketing. If the film company has the budget, it can work together with other companies to help promote more things that attract the audience. Such as Disney; has the Disney shop, the kids channel, the films and the Theme Parks which are all well-known and help promote the company to be successful.
 

Another reason why the audience holds the most power in terms of influencing what films get made and seen is because of the amount of people who watch the films on the Internet. It does decrease the viewing figures at the cinema but if they watch the films on ‘Netflix’ or ‘LoveFilm’ it is giving the film company money. Also, with the audience downloading films on them websites, it is increasing the likelihood of them spreading by word of mouth how good the films are, which leads to people paying to watch them. The audience is holding the power with what films get made and seen because it gives the production company a good idea of what audiences like which helps them produce more films that will attract people.


In conclusion I think that the audience holds the most power in terms of influencing what films get made and seen, the main reason being that without the audience, there would not be any feedback from the films and no way for people to know how good it is. This means that no improved films can be made and that the production company would find it hard to create a good film.