AS Film Studies Revision

Remember-if there is something you're not sure on or need help with, leave a comment and I'll get back to you asap. 

AS Film Studies Fm2 section a revision pdf from Ian Moreno-Melgar

The Art of writing a script that makes money...

An interesting little video on the BBC website about how one company in America analyses the contents of scripts, views the themes in the film and then decides if the film will make money based on past trends to help inform people who invest in films whether it's worth making the scripts that are available to buy. It's a horrible way of looking at film, given that it's an art form, but there is clearly a set of reasons why some films perform better than others and some of these are explained in this short video, linked below:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25632386

The death of the film industry?

Last week Steven Spielberg and George Lucas gave an address to the University of California upon the opening of a new building for the famous USC School of Cinematic Arts. Their talk made international headlines as Spielberg in particular, suggested that he believed a massive crash was on the horizon of the film industry, with a radical change in the industry coming soon. One of the most interesting, if perhaps fanciful, suggestions from Spielberg was that Hollywood films may have to charge prices at the cinema that are reflective of the budget of the film. He cited an example whereby the audience "[are] gonna have to pay $25 for the next Iron Man, you're probably only going to have to pay $7 to see Lincoln". 

To an extent, this already happens: you pay significantly more to see a 3D IMAX presentation that you for a 2D film, but will this soon be effected by the cost of the film to make? An interesting point of discussion certainly and one that brings in a lot of ideas for FM2 of the AS Level. 


Have a read of what was said:

Hollywood Reporter article

Huffington Post report

Why a meltodown would be good, from The Guardian

How NOT to make a film: The curious case of World War Z

Below is a link a fantastic article by Vanity Fair on Zombie-apocolypse film World War Z which is just about to be released in the UK. Based on a book of the same name, this $200million Blockbuster was originally to be released 6 months ago and despite Brad Pitt starring and producing, seems to be headed for an uncertian performance at the Box Office. Vanity Fair recently published the story of how the rights to adapt such a highly regarded book (Simon Pegg said that it's "An absolute must have ... Brooks [the author] infuses his writing with such precise detail and authenticity, one wonders if he knows something we don't') into a film went so wrong and so quickly.


There is some wonderful insight here and would be a great case study and example for AS Students studying Hollywood, the film industry and the pre and post-production issues that can beset a film.


This is well worth a few minutes of your time and worth bookmarking for later use.

Vanity Fair: The Making of World War Z