'Neither producers nor audiences need stars anymore.' How far do you agree with this statement?

In article one (The Rise and Fall of Star Power) it talks about the amount of films that have been star driven films that haven't been successful. It states that films such as Saw and The Final Destination which are practically star less, however a big hit on the high-concept gore alone.  This proves that the audience are more interested on the genre of the film and the storyline rather then the actors within the film.  Also, this shows the producer that they don't need to splash out a large amount of money on big named stars.   According to this article there are three main reasons for falling star appeal.  One of which is 'celebrity overexposure in the media.'  I agree with this statement because If you see a star in the media you may get a negative opinion of them so therefore not want to see them in a film, however, if the stars that are used aren't well known you are less likely to have an opinion on them, therefore it won't put you off going to see the film that they are starring in. 

Item 2 states that you don't need stars to create a successful film. For example, Avatar is the most successful film of all time but it doesn't include many stars, the popularity of the film is due to the amazing CGI used throughout the film and the acting that takes places within the film. 

Essay Question

How far do the American films we have studied, depend on well established narrative and/or genre conventions?

 The two American films that we have studied are the original Batman made in 1989 by Tim Burton and the Dark Knight made in 2008 by Christopher Nolan. Both of this films depend on a very established narrative because they are both based around the comics of Batman, therefore the directors for both of these films needed to follow the comic in order to keep it true to the comics, however they need to make it slightly different so that it persuades people to watch the movie, if it's exactly the same to the comics there won't be any point in seeing the movie because many people would have read it before. Also, the Dark Knight is a remake of the original Batman; therefore Christopher Nolan had to create a new film that is different to the last film but still staying true to the storyline, including The Joker and Harvey Dent within the film. I think that the Joker played by Heath Ledger was really effective because they have kept the fat that he is crazy and really enjoys all of the evil things that he does, however they have made his makeup seem a lot more realistic and frightening which I feel really helps build a horror aspect to the film.

For both of the Batman films we have studied the Genre is action. This is clearly evident throughout the film because of the several fight scenes including the one with Joker and Batman in the huge church at the end of the film, but also several uses of Guns also promote violence throughout the film.  Within both of the Batman films Joker is a very menacing Villain who enjoys violence and watching people fear for there life's, this is really effective in creating an Action film by having such violent Villains and also makes it easier for the audience to relate to the Genre. 

What can be done to attract bigger audiences to UK films?

There are many things that can be done it order to increase the popularity of UK films.  For example they could sell Merchandise in America, this is because there is a extremely large population so that the UK film will be able to gain a larger audience.  They could also show UK films in America and promote their film by placing posters on buses, bus stops, bill boards and adverts on the tele.   You could also translate the UK film into several different languages so that you can gain an even larger target audience from all around the world.   Another way of promoting a UK film is to get a well knwon Americam actor such as Tom Hanks to be in a UK film, this will promote the film for the American audience. 

Film Questions

Why do some films have a global release date?

Synergy

The interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the...: "the synergy between artist and record company"

Film Pitch

My film is about a group of friends who go into the wood because they hear of strange on goings occurring in there.  Strange things keep on happening  whilst they are in the woods which raises suspicion so they decide that it was a bad idea to come to the woods, and as they go to leave they realise they are lost, this makes them panic. They all see a strange hooded figure in the distance in who is a violent killer who has been following them and plans to kill them. Eventually its only the person who is holding the camera left and you will see the last death from the victims point of view.

The title for our film is The Twisted Woods.

It will be set in Folehurst Woods in Paddock Wood
My role in the film is the director as well as being a actor with in the film.

The four characters are me (Jake) ,Leroy, Liam and Shane.

The genre for our film is a horror.

The shit types will include Close ups, extreme close ups, medium shots, long shots, zooming in and out shots, point of veiw shots  and medium close ups.

As a great amount of the film will be set in the woods we will only use natural light.


Our target audience will be for 15 years old and older.

Print ad analysis

This shows a gun using cigarettes for ammo. This shows you that cigarettes are lethal and can be deadly similar to bullets.  The cigarettes stand out in this photo because they are the  brightest colour, the rest of the photo is extremely dark, this represents danger.  Quite a lot of people fear guns so to see cigarettes in one may well put people of buying them.  The slogan in the bottom corner says 'The Killer' which gets straight to the point of what this ad is trying to get accross, cigarettes kill.