Over the next few weeks, I will be putting up case studies of Hollywood, Independent and British films to help my A level Film Studies students learn more about the finance, organisation, production, distribution and exhibition of different types of films. These case studies can be used in their exam when discussing the American and British film industries.
Director:
Ridley Scott
Director of
many profitable Hollywood blockbusters including: Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator, Hannibal, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom of
Heaven, American Gangster, Robin Hood
Investors
trust Scott to make big budget films, often on an epic scale, with
international stars and make a profit.
He has a fan base, as do the stars of the film. It is also in the science fiction genre which
also has a huge amount of dedicated fans and the idea that this film is a
prequel to Alien has attracted many
more people to it. That film, as well as
Blade Runner, are widely considered
to be science fiction classics and Ridley Scott’s return to the genre is a
really big deal for fans. The marketing
is therefore very likely to emphasise the director, the genre and the stars.
Some
discussion of the budget:
‘Ridley asked for $250 Million.
Fox said Make it PG rated and we may give you the money.
Scott said one word..."NO".
Fox said...O.K. think about it some more because we are not giving you $250
Mill for a movie with an R rating ...Lindelhof approached fox
and told them with his new re-writes they could do this thing for considerably
less and apparently the studio agreed with him and cut the budget down to
between 100 and 150 Million..except...there are now some serious reports...which indicates Scott finished this entire thing on a budget
compromise with FOX of $200 million even, and not the 100-150 million that was
being reported’ http://www.prometheus-movie.com/community/forums/topic/316
Production Companies
Scott Free Productions ‘Scott
Free works closely with RSA Films, the commercials company started by Ridley
Scott more than forty years ago. RSA Films represents many established
and up and coming filmmakers and one of Scott Free’s roles is to assist these
directors in their feature film and television projects’ Wikipedia
No
major studios listed as production companies on IMDb (rare for a Hollywood
blockbuster). However it is being
distributed by 20th Century Fox suggesting they have put money into
the production in order to get distribution rights.
Some
information on 20th Century Fox:
‘In October 1985, Fox Inc. was formed in a major restructuring of the
entertainment and broadcasting interests of News America and TCF Holdings. Fox
Inc. is a consolidation of those interests and consists of three principal
operating units:
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Fox Television Stations Inc. and Fox
Broadcasting Company...
William Mechanic was named Chairman and
Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed entertainment in December of 1996. His
remit included all operations of the studio including world-wide feature film
production, marketing and distribution activities, as well as all worldwide
operations for Fox Videos, Fox Interactive, Licensing and Merchandising and Fox
Music...
Along with the impressive performance of the 20th Century Fox production
division, the company has established Fox 2000, a mini-studio focusing on
general entertainment and Fox Searchlight Pictures, which produces specialized
films aimed at sophisticated adult audiences’ http://www.fox.co.uk/about
Production
‘Principal photography began in March 2011,
with filming taking place in Canada, England, Scotland,
Iceland, and Spain. Prometheus is scheduled for US release on June 8,
2012 through 20th Century Fox’ Wikipedia
‘Ridley Scott's sci-fi epic shot at Pinewood Studios using the world famous
007
Stage, the
North
Lot and 7 other stages. This is the fifth time that Ridley Scott has shot
at the studios; previous films have included
Alien, Legend, White Squall, and
Robin Hood.
The Twentieth Century Fox, Scott Free Productions and Brandywine Productions
film, stars Noomi Rapace (
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), Michael
Fassbender (
X-Men: First Class) and Academy Award®-winner Charlize
Theron (
Monster).
Ridley Scott said of working at Pinewood and Shepperton:
“It’s my
heritage, my personal heritage, I film everywhere in the world and I think all
things considered what we have to offer here are as good as anything you’re
going to get in Hollywood.”
Prometheus re-teams Scott with several of his long-time
collaborators, including production designer Arthur Max (
Robin Hood,
American Gangster), Academy Award®-winning costume designer Janty Yates (
Gladiator,
Robin Hood), and Academy Award®-winning editor Pietro Scalia (
Black
Hawk Down, Gladiator), as well as set decorator Sonja Klaus (
Robin
Hood, Kingdom of Heaven)’
http://www.pinewoodgroup.com/production/prometheus
Technology:
‘The entire movie has been
shot in 3D and
the experience has been so compelling for Scott that he writes, “I will never
be the same again. Even with a dialogue scene, the arena in the room grows.
There is no question that you can be drawn in further by the feeling that you
are there.”’
http://good3dtv.com/3d-tv/prometheus-3d-in-the-making/
Ratings and classification:
‘
Fox is keen for the film to be open to a wider audience, and is
pushing for a more teen-friendly rating’
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ridley_scott_is_shooting_for_both_an_r-rated_pg-13_cut_of_prometheus
‘Ridley Scott hints that the violence
may have been toned-down enough to facilitate a PG-13 rating, but intriguingly
suggests that the impact will match the R-grade shocks of
Alien and
Aliens. "The question is, do you go for the PG-13,
[which] financially makes quite a difference, or do you go for what it should
be, which is R? Essentially, it's kinda R."
"It's not just about the blood, it's about ideas that are very stressful.
I'm not an idiot, but I'll do everything I can to get the most aggressive film
I can."’
http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33510
Stars:
‘
Theron, Fassbender and Rapace are among Hollywood's most
intriguing actors. Theron is a resurgent force, with last year's comedy
"Young Adult" and this June's "Snow White and the Huntsman"
leading the way. Fassbender has recently become one of Hollywood's favorite actors
following his leading role in Steve McQueen's "Shame" and
scene-stealing turn as Magneto in "X-Men: First Class." And Rapace is
ready to take American audiences by storm with her first leading role in the
States following her "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" fame in
Sweden.’ http://www.nyunews.com/arts/2012/04/12/12prometheus1/
Distribution
‘It’s not enough that movie trailers entice you with what you’ll see in the
movie. From the marketing masterminds of ‘Prometheus’ here is a teaser for the
official movie trailer that is to come out on Thursday, December 22.
What is nice, however, is that it shows glimpses of the actual scenes from
the movie and a behind the scenes look of
Ridley
Scott directing. And it doesn’t hurt that the first words you hear is
Scott saying, “So, here we are… I’m back again.”’
http://sciencefiction.com/2011/12/19/teaser-for-prometheus-movie-trailer/
‘the marketing for
Prometheus has really only hinted at its
Alien
roots, and a sizable portion of the summer moviegoing audience they need to
show up will likely have never seen Scott's original sci-fi movie. So the
marketing has been even more creative and intriguing than usual, focusing
around the corporation Weyland Industries that sends the Nostromo ship into
space to begin with. There was the
model
of the ship itself, the
TED
Talk given by Peter Weyland himself (Guy Pearce), and now there's this
video to introduce us to David, the robot played by Michael Fassbender.’
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/prometheus-viral-celebrates-michael-fassbender-robot-david-30460.html
‘The marketing for Ridley Scott's upcoming "Prometheus" continues
to outshine that of recent releases (yes, even you, "Hunger Games").
20th Century Fox just released this video starring the dishy Michael
Fassbender, who plays the android David in the film.
This video is positioned as an ad for the fictitious Weyland Corp. and
introduces the creepy next-generation robot. It was previously teased in a
"David
8" viral video.
The short is directed by Johnny Hardstaff from Little Minx and RSA Films,
and the eerie background music comes from Drazen Bosnjak, founder of Q
Department. Accompanying the short is a
"Project
Prometheus" website that offers insight into Weyland, as well as a
site created with
Verizon that lets fans
tour the Prometheus ship.’
http://adage.com/article/creativity-pick-of-the-day/20th-century-fox-introduces-david-prometheus-promo/234188/
‘In concert
with the movie's traditional marketing effort, which includes the trailer,
Scott and 20th Century Fox have pursued a second, more innovative path to
publicity. It began unexpectedly at this year's TED conference, with a
presentation by entrepreneur Peter Weyland, who powerfully articulated the
challenges facing a society beginning to question its own nature in the face of
rapidly advancing technology. Weyland's talk was one of the highlights of the
conference of presentations by thought leaders. The twist, of course, is that
Weyland isn't real. He's a character from "Prometheus," played by Guy
Pearce, and he was speaking from the year 2023!
The TED2023 promo video cooked up by Scott and writer Damon Lindelof
("Lost," "Star Trek") was released on the TED blog and
quickly became the subject of online articles and social-media discussions. It
is a great example of a technique sweeping the entertainment industry:
transmedia storytelling , in which a message or story is conveyed across
multiple platforms. Fans who received
Weyland Industries
business cards at the Wondercon convention were led to another piece of
in-story content, titled "Big Things Have Small Beginnings," on
YouTube…
Unlike conventional trailers, which use rapidly cut, repurposed footage and
are widely available online along with straight clips, transmedia videos expand
the movie's narrative and encourage fans to immerse themselves more deeply into
the story. The advertising becomes part of the movie -- with the bonus that it
is tailored for mobile devices and sharing across social networks. Brands are
even beginning to leverage the power of HTML 5 technologies to create videos
with embedded interactive and social features’
http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/ridley-scott-s-prometheus-advertising-part-picture/233452/
Exhibition:
Charlize Theron Hits
the PR Circuit for Prometheus Premiere in Paris http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/fash-track/prometheus-charlize-theron-fashion-leslie-fremar-311147 The stars are still an important
part in the films marketing.
The
film's opening 10 minutes screen in London, while Ridley Scott and Michael
Fassbender discuss the film's secrets http://uk.movies.ign.com/articles/122/1222668p1.html Again, star and director used to promote the film.
Release
dates http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1446714/releaseinfo
are staggered, probably to allow for
more promotion specific to each territory. Stars can attend more premieres, do more press interviews etc.
‘The
IMAX release of Prometheus will be digitally re-mastered into the image and
sound quality of The IMAX 3D Experience® with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital
Re-mastering) technology. The crystal-clear images coupled with IMAX's
customized theatre geometry and powerful digital audio create a unique
environment that will make audiences feel as if they are in the movie’ http://www.imax.com/movies/m/prometheus-an-imax-3d-experience/
There you have it: Prometheus in quite a large nut shell. Watch the full trailer below:
More case studies at I Love That Film:
