Mock results

Half term homework

Task 1:

What is so significant about Jaws?

The title of Jaws itself is significant since it tells you almost everything you need to know about the film since Jaws is the name of the villain of the film so you would know that there will be a big focus around that character.

The plot of Jaws can be summed up in a couple of sentences: It is about a man-eating shark who eats people and is mercilessly hunted by man and man prevails over Jaws.

Jaws is also a film that has high marketability, such as the soundtrack and iconic vehicles and characters that could be made into consumer goods e.g. The boat that Chief Brody uses, Chief Brody himself as well as Jaws.

Jaws was a high concept movie of it's time, it had predominant themes of good versus evil as well as having the main character face a major problem as well as overcoming a seemingly unstoppable conflict. IT also has recognizable themes that could be found in other high-concept movies such as life, death and fear. Jaws also had a global appeal since shark attacks, or more widely dangerous animal threats are an issue accessible to everyone as well as conforming to global gender stereotypes of men and women, Brody being the hero, his wife having very little screen time in comparison since she is just considered a housewife. Jaws also does not offend many people apart from the mild gore from the shark attacks and people who may have experienced shark attacks which is a minority population. Jaws also portrays young female beach goers in quite a voyeuristic way to grab more attention from a male audience to then be followed up by action from the conflict with Jaws. Jaws is also straightforward and easy to understand so it does not confuse of upset a mainstream audience. Jaws had A-Lister's such as Rob Schneider and Robert Shaw, however they are not known as stars and the film still sold remarkably well. However the director could be considered a star of the directing world, Jaws was directed by Steven Spielberg which may have been a major contributing factor.

What are the characteristics of a blockbuster?

A blockbuster is a film with great financial success

Elements of a blockbuster:

Franchise

Event movie

Blur between video game and movie experience.

Non CHN

Literature

Great advertisement

Other Sources

Wide audience appeal

Post-genre

'Stars' (However not always a guarantee).

Producer/Director (Still not always a guarantee, reputation and style can affect this). 

Global Appeal

Culture Neutral

Simple Characterizations

Stereotypes followed

Save the world

Love interests

Spectacle, CGI, production and pyrotechnics.

Visual film or dialogue based.

Branding (Helps continuity).

Merchandise

Pre-existing audience

These are all different elements of blockbuster films, however, just because these are followed does not mean a film will become a blockbuster, it can sometimes have the opposite effect, some films have tried to follow these elements but tried to put a spin on it, turning it in to a flop. E.g. Howard the Duck directed by George Lucas.

Identify a newly released Blockbuster now showing at the cinema

Analyse the promotion and mind map - poster, trailer, merchandising and identify

Some films try to add too many of these elements in, e.g The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug. Adding a love interest between two characters who were not part of the original novel series as well as the excessive use of CGI, production and pyrotechnics to create a spectacle damaged the films profit in sales. In the poster it features many of the main characters who are all mainly A-Lister's, some even considered 'Stars' this may have attracted a lot of the audience but it was reviewed badly in some areas, suggesting that 'Stars' are not always a guarantee that the film will be thoroughly enjoyed, as well as messing with a pre-existing fan bases story by adding new characters and creating a love interest between them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVWy1tFXuc
The trailer itself had good reviews and created a lot of hype before the actual release, again the love interest segment and the reintroduction of Legolas had received mixed reviews.

Task 2:
Newly released blockbuster: Robocop
What characteristics of a blockbuster does this film follow?

Pre-existing audience
Visual film
Spectacle, heavy use of CGI
Love interests
Stars
Blur between gaming and a film experience
Merchandise
Wide audience appeal
Simple characterizations
Global Appeal
Not confrontational

What are the criticisms of Big Dumb Movies?

How did we get to the point where the cinema is dominated by these films?
 

One of the reasons that 'Big Dumb Movies' sell as much as they do is that they are hyped up so much through trailers, advertisement etc.

A lot of 'Big Dumb Movies' have also been seen to be heavily reliant on CGI and pyrotechnics. (Transformers)

Also, the bigger the films budget the film can become a big event movie. The budget has to be newsworthy which can sometimes stop it from not being considered a 'film flop.'
The newsworthy budget however does not always guarantee it's success, the quality of the film itself if you can believe it is a major deciding factor as well.
Not all Blockbusters are considered 'Big Dumb Movies' just because they are set to release in the summer. (Iron Man 3)
The summer is usually the time when people go out to the cinema and spend money on film, causing Big Dumb Blockbusters to be hugely successful. For example, Transformers made a lot of it's money back based on it's release date because people tend to go out more in the summer.

People in the Hollywood film industry who produce Blockbusters in my point of view, seem to be scared in moving out of what they are comfortable producing keep recreating similar plots and adding more CGI or special effects to make it sell more. They are scared because if they create a flop, it is not only their reputation and occupation on the line, but the company that they work for and as well as the actors to. which is why there are a lot of 'Big Dumb Movies.'

Script: Eternal Rain

Script buddy 2 minute script draft
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