Warp v Working Title Film examples

EXPLORING THE FILM INDUSTRY FOR ASSIGNMENT 2

We'll watch and compare these two trailers shortly



You can find additional resources in these posts:

• Video of summer 2015 hits + the (UK Indie) posters/trailers from page2 of the handout
• Pitching pointers and gallery of hybrid movies

We'll focus on two contrasting companies to begin exploring this industry.

• Working Title is owned by a huge US conglomerate (company that owns other companies), and so can make high budget movies
• Warp is an Indie (not owned by a larger company), and so makes low budget films

You can see the trump cards below for a selection of these. NOTE: I've blogged on many of these films in much more detail over on my Cinema blog.

Here are the boxofficemojo links for each (this site gives budgets, box office figures):

WORKING TITLE

2 contrasting companies in trump cards (gallery further down)

Bridget Jones's Baby (Maguire, 2016)
Sequel to Bridget Jones' Diary and Bridget Jones: Edge of Reason
Green Zone (Greengrass, 2010)
Marketing of this action/spy thriller tried to tap into the Bond rip-off Bourne's success by focusing on Matt Damon, with disappointing resultd
Hot Fuzz (Wright, 2007)
Second of the 'Cornetto Trilogy' this cop buddy satire was a sizeable hit despite its low budget.
Legend (Helgeland, 2014)
International audiences just weren't familiar with the Kray Twins (real life post-war London gangsters), and so box office was low outwith the UK
Les Miserables (Hooper, 2012)

Global IP/brand + A-list stars = global hit!

The sort of A-list star-studded movie, based on a globally successful IP (the long-running musical), that Indies couldn't dream of, this was a solid success
Notting Hill (Michell, 1999)
The company's second global hit rom-com starred megastar Julia Roberts, and made a star of Hugh Grant, fresh of Four Weddings and a Funeral success.
Paul (Mottola, 2011)
Featuring the (British) Cornetto Trilogy leads, this sci-fi/comedy hybrid used an A-lister (Seth Rogen) and a US setting to boost its US and international appeal
Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004)
Still popular with today's teens, the zom-rom-com that kickstarted the Corentto Trilogy
The World's End (Wright, 2013)
The budget was much higher than the previous Cornetto Trilogy movies, but the box office wasn't - I've blogged on why in detail
Theory of Everything (Marsh, 2014)
Typical Working Title: well off white southern English characters in a grand setting, with the romance framework boosting appeal to this biopic of Stephen Hawking.

Budget: just £48k!

WARP FILMS/WARP X
'71 (Demange, 2014)
Set at the start of the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' (armed conflict verging on civil war), this action/thriller could have been a hit with a star or two
Four Lions (Morris, 2010)
Such a bizarre idea: a comedy about a su*icide b*mber! A suprise hit in the UK, but it didn't do well in the US
She a Chinese (Xiaolu, 2011) [no entry]
You can't get much more uncommercial (unlikely to make money) than this: a Chinese woman illegally stays in Britain after running off from an official tour
Submarine (Ayaode, 2010)
Ingenious Welsh teen rom-com
This is England (Meadows, 2006)
The franchise continued on TV, with 3 series of sometimes brutal social realist drama
Tyrannosaur (Considine, 2011)
Another dark drama, despite the (sort-of) romance, it proved a hard sell with its two unglamorous middle-aged leads
Le Donk and Scor-Zay-Zee (Meadows, 2009)
Shane Meadows shot this mockumentary in just 5 days! Its entire budget wouldn't cover the catering on some tentpole Hollywood shoots!


CROSSWORD TASK
These films feature as answers to my crossword, the clues for which highlight a range of production practices between these two very different companies. When you type an answer, click RETURN (NOTE: no spaces between words in answers) - if you're right it will turn green!


QUICK QUIZ
To check we've mastered the key production strategies used by film production companies to increase their hopes of making big money, here's a quick Family Fortunes quiz...




DEVELOPING YOUR FILM PROPOSAL
Having looked at some hits and some flops, over to you now to develop your own movie idea.
This doesn't have to be original - it can be a prequel, sequel, remake, reboot, reimagining, spin-off, or even a hybrid of two franchises.


Whatever your idea, you need to research some existing actual examples to justify your idea. Think of movies you can compare yours with, and use their Wiki, IMDB entry or BoxOfficeMojo to find out more, and gather evidence that will make your production proposal convincing.


You can present this with a PowerPoint, emailed to me as an attachment (my email is on the wall!).

L1 success factors 2017 from DB3igs

WARP/WORKING TITLE TRUMP CARDS

 

Trumps WT v Warp from DB3igs

2017 A2 IMAGES

2017 a2 snippets from DB3igs

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