Task 4 - Me and My Movies

I’d say my favourite genre of film is probably a romantic comedy, they just have that ‘feel good’ feeling, and they always have a happy ending that leaves the audience smiling. It’s nothing too soppy or cheesy or dramatic, ok, maybe some of them are, but it’s always topped off with some comedy that makes you laugh. I know some films just set you up and leave you wishing ‘why can’t that happen to me’ yep that’s probably what most girls think, but that’s the beauty of RonComs they make you feel like that but they also just make you feel happy whenever you’re feeling down. That’s probably the reason I like them so much.

One of my all-time favourite films without a doubt is Bridget Jones’s Diary. This film NEVER gets old! The movie was originated from the book, and like the book it is hilarious and is very entertaining to watch. The film is very simple and is about a normal British woman who simply wants to change her for the better and find love along the way, through this journey she is faced with hilarious, embarrassing meetings.

Task 3 - Selling Out

In July 2011, the epic fantasy films ‘Harry Potter’ came to an end when ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ was released. On the opening weekend, the final Harry Potter film smashed box office records all around the world, the film grossed $1,328,11,219 worldwide (10th December 2011).

The target audience for all the films have always been aimed at older children/young adults. However, as the films have gone on the audience has changed over the years. As Harrys journey has took place, each film has become darker and colder. For that reason the audience will have changed over the years. Some of the audience will have been lost because children wouldn’t have been able to watch it, but overall, the films will appeal to a wider and older audience. Most of the target audience from the first film would have stayed throughout all of the films released, this audience will of grew up watching Harry’s journey and wanted to see the franchise end and if their favourite characters survive  the end battle. The target audience for this film is young adults, this is because the characters are a lot older and wiser, and the film is the darkest it’s ever been, the film was certificated at a 12A.

In March 2011, the first preview of the film was release showing new footage and new interviews of the well-known cast. Five months before the film was scheduled to premiere, the first US poster was released with the caption ‘It All Ends 7.15’ and a month later the first theatrical trailer was released for Part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Following this many posters were released showing different characters but all capturing the tagline ‘It All Ends here’ in a background showing a Battle in Hogwarts. In IMAX cinemas, a trailer was released when screenings of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides were shown. During the MTV Movie Awards on 5^th June 2011, Emma Watson, who played one of the main characters, Hermione Granger, presented a sneak peek of the film.

As well as the novels a lot of merchandising was brought out when the films were released. Official websites were launched to promote the film as well as unofficial and fan websites, one website that caused a lot of fuss was Pottermore, with this you had become a member and there were only a limited number of places. Merchandising became a huge part of promoting the film, things which were a big success included;

·         Toys

·         Video games

·         Clothing (Hogwarts uniform)

·         Wands

·         Harry Potter soundtrack

·         Past Dvds

·         Novels etc

The producers had a budget of $250 million for both Part 1 and 2 and topped when the records when the film was released. Overall the target audience is aimed at young adults and every bit of merchandising you could possibly think of were brought out to launch and promote the film, including Harry Potter world in Universal Studios in Florida.

Task 2 - Remaking Movies

Footloose the drama/musical/romance was originally directed by Herbert Toss in 1984. The movie focuses on a city boy called Ren McCormack, originally played by Kevin Bacon, who moves to a small town where rock music and dancing have been banned, his goal is to get the town back to how it was and for rock music and dancing to be allowed again. Throughout the movie, Ren tries his best to fit in and ends up falling in love with Reverend Shaw’s daughter, Ariel Moore (Lori Singer). Of course this movie has one of them predicable, feel good ending where the main character is the ‘hero’ and gets everything back to how it should be and then ends up getting the girl and everyone is happy again.

In 2011, another adaption of Footloose was released directed by Craig Brewer. The film followed a young man moving from the city to a small town, who ends up protesting against the towns ban against rock music and dancing. The narrative was exactly the same as the original film the only real difference was that it was a modern day version and the cast were different.

The original Footloose had an estimated budget of $8,200,000 and when released made $8,556,935 (USA) on the opening weekend. Whilst the remake had a budget of $24,000,000 and on the opening weekend made $15,556,113. The 2011 version budget was nearly three times the amount of the original and on the opening weekend didn’t make double what the original did. The 2011 version was more modern and up to date with how society is now and it is probably arguable that appeals to a wider audience. However, I think a lot of people were let down at the fact they were making such a good original film.

I’ve got to admit i did enjoy the remake of the film however if i had to choose out of the remake and the original, without a doubt i would choose the original. Both films give the audience a ‘feel good’ feeling that leaves them with a smile on their face when the movie is finished. They both have amazing dance sequences and great music that keeps the audience entertained and makes them want to get up and dance all the way through. But there’s something about the original that did it for me.

Although, Kenny Wormald (Ren) and Julianne Hough (Ariel) brought a fresh vibe to the film, they lacked the chemistry the characters had from the first film. I felt like the characters from the original movie were more believable and brought more emotion and chemistry to the film.

Overall, both films are very enjoyable to watch and i would recommend them to anyone. The original is by far the best one out of the two however i would still recommend the 2011 version of Footloose to a younger audience as they will be more entertained by it because it is more recent and up to date with what they are like. The films are very similar and the only real difference is the cast everything else is pretty much the same.

Task 1 - The Auteur

In 1954, François Truffaut wrote an essay titled ‘A Certain Tendency in French Cinema’. He claimed that ‘film is a great medium to show the personal ideas of the director’, he said that the director should therefore be regarded as an Auteur.

Auteur Theory proposes that the director will leave their mark on a film which will eventually become their ‘signature’ and what they are known for. Their ‘signature’ can be the overall style, particular camera angles, chosen genre and cast of the film. As the director develops a ‘signature’ for themselves, things will start to look the same and recognisable by the target audience.

An example of an Auteur is Wes Anderson. Like many classic filmmakers, you can assure that each detail is significant in Anderson’s films, his passionate involvement in casting, wardrobe, sets and screenplay show that each film is turned in to a master piece. Anderson once said;

‘What I’m more inspired by is something that happened to me or someone in my life who had a strong effect on me, or a novel, short story, play or a movie where the characters moved me, or where I was swept up in it’.

Each character in Wes Andersons films are always well thought out and in some cases symbolises hope and strength through their life while other characters are filled with regret and discomfort. All of Wes Anderson’s films are influenced by him and his life and provide the audience with a personal look in to the filmmaker and his writing team, one of these people being Owen Wilson.

Wes Anderson’s style is what truly sets him aside from other film makers and what makes him an auteur. His trademarks can quickly separate one of his films from anyone else’s. Anderson’s trademarks are subtle, but appear in every one of his films, some of these are;

· Anderson casts many of his childhood and hometown friends such as Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Andrew Wilson and Kumar Pallana in most of his films.

·  Another trademark featured in his films is the names of his friends for leading characters. For example, the name of Owen Wilson’s character Dignan was inspired by his childhood friend Brian Dignan and in The Royal Tenenbaums it was his childhood friend Brian Tenenbaum who lent his name.

·  An underwater scene is always in every Wes Anderson film

·  An ending that changes the camera speed to slow motion

When watching Anderson’s films it’s quickly noticeable that there are personal references and attention to detail, The Royal Tenenbaums is a perfect example of this. Each piece of set is planned out and the costumes are all linked to the 1970’s, this symbolises the stress and strangeness of each character. You can clearly see how Anderson wants each character to represent, this is shown through the way each character speaks acts and looks.