1 / 19

You Pick the Winner!

You Pick the Winner!. You’re “doing lunch” with one of Hollywood’s top agents…. He’s pitching a hot new romantic comedy: Lead actor: young, attractive Academy Award winner Lead actress: successful performer (frequently one of “50 Most Beautiful People”)

Antony
Download Presentation

You Pick the Winner!

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. You Pick the Winner! • You’re “doing lunch” with one of Hollywood’s top agents… • He’s pitching a hot new romantic comedy: • Lead actor: young, attractive Academy Award winner • Lead actress: successful performer (frequently one • of “50 Most Beautiful People”) • Director with a number of recent hits • Both leads getting a lot of press • You need a hit… • Do you “green light” it?

  2. Congratulations! • You just picked “Gigli”--one of the biggest bombs of 2003 • Critics slammed it, nobody went to see it • Budget: $56 M to produce; millions more to promote • Box office: $3.8M opening weekend Welcome to Hollywood!

  3. How Possible Is It To Predict The Success Of A Movie Before Its Release? By: Maren Fawkes May, 21st 2004

  4. What Makes a “Good Movie”? • Visually compelling • Audience identification with characters • Effective pacing • Consistent “vision”—one director, not a committee

  5. “Good Movie”–Genre Requirements Drama • Dynamic tension • Characters in peril • Seemingly unreachable goals • Unrequited love • Satisfactory resolution

  6. “Good Movie”–Genre Requirements Comedy • Does the intended audience laugh? • Is something revealed through humor?

  7. “Good Movie”–Genre Requirements Action/Adventure • Imaginative staging, • effects • Real people • Pacing www.stalbanobserver.co.ulc/_images/dv/6/76/pirates_of_the_Caribbean.

  8. Commercial Success Factors • “Star Power”—Movie & other celebrities • Built-In Audience–Sequels, series, crossovers • Market Trends–What’s hot, what’s not • Marketing–Creating anticipation & big opening Studios rely on what’s worked before or elsewhere

  9. “Star Power”

  10. Built-In Audience • Translation to movies of popular books, comic strips, TV shows, video games, etc. • Sequels/series • Subject matter www.empiremovies.com/posters/spiderman_2_b.html

  11. Market Trends • Rise and fall of audience interest in different genres • Stressful times → nostalgia, escape • Changing demographics • Competitive intelligence Hard to know what audience interest will be in the 2-3 years it takes to make a movie…

  12. Marketing • Advertising • Print media • TV ads • Trailers in theaters • Promotion • Interviews with stars • Previews for critics • Product tie-ins

  13. What Can Go Wrong • “Artistic differences” • Mismatches

  14. Artistic Differences • Personality clashes or competing visions: • – Director and producers • – Director and story or • screenwriter(s) – Director and actor – Actors and actors http://www.unca.edu/housing/images/services/video- game-lending-libraryvideos/covers/charlie's-angels.jpg

  15. Mismatches • No chemistry between lead actors • Wrong role for actor • Wrong time of release Imusic.artistdirect.com/soundtracks/photos/sixdayssevennights.gif • Audience expectations • Bad marketing campaign • Demographic missed www.caan.ee//taustad/filmid/Pearl%20harbor%203.jpg

  16. Warning Signs • Director or key actors replaced • Delayed release, re-edit • Direct to video release • No promotion by stars • Large # of screenwriters Watch out for films by “Alan Smithee”…

  17. Top Grossing U.S. Movies

  18. Notable “Bombs”

  19. Conclusion • “How possible is it to predict the success of a movie before its release?” • Impossible to predict reliably • Execution failures • Marketing can at best create initial interest • Audience fickleness • Critical response • Consequences: • Movies are a powerful reflection of our culture, but commercial risk limits variety & opportunities

More Related