UNIT 7
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS vs ART
READING
AND SPEAKING
Exercise 1. Remember!
Noun: success opposite: failure
Verb: succeed opposite: fail
Adj: successful opposite: unsuccessful
to be a (great) success with …
Exercise 2. a ) Before reading the article brainstorm ideas on what makes a movie a commercial hit.
b) Read the article and see what ideas you’ve failed to mention.
COMMERCIAL HITS
Relevance
For a movie to be a commercial hit, its plot has to resonate with the dreams, fears, beliefs and values of its target audience. Besides, the plot needs to be driven by the concepts of reward, revenge or escape and revolve around a conflict or quest that can only be resolved through growing acts of risk and sacrifice on the part of the protagonist.
Extraordinary vs. Ordinary
A successful movie features a “fish out of water” hero who is either an extraordinary character trying to fit into an ordinary setting (e.g., Forrest Gump) or an ordinary character forced to survive in an extraordinary environment or under unusual circumstances for which he is not prepared (e.g., Luke Skywalker).
Star Power
When an actor has a large and enthusiastic fan base, virtually any movie he is in, is going to be guaranteed an audience. Unfortunately, this is true even if he’s totally wrong for the part or the script isn’t particularly well written. It’s also a little-known fact that actors-turned-producers sometimes make movies they know will fail because they need to be able to claim them as a loss on their taxes.
Cinematography
Technology has radically changed the way movies are filmed, especially insofar as computer-generated imagery (CGI) has not only reduced the cost of building sets but also allows actors to magically morph into different beings, integrates historic footage into a contemporary context (e.g., “Forrest Gump”),and can create all manner of natural and manmade disasters without actually destroying anything. This “electronic eye-candy” is a popular draw that translates to commercial success, particularly with teens who are the largest movie going audience worldwide.
The Critics
Many moviegoers base their decisions about what to see on how well or how badly the films are reviewed by critics. Resources such as the Internet Movie Database include a wide range of comparative reviews. Critics – just like actors – have their own fan base and influence on whether a new release will be labeled as a “must-see” or a “don’t bother.”
Sequels and Adaptations
If something works well once, logic would seem to dictate it could not only work well again but could also work in a different medium. Almost 60 percent of a sequel’s revenue – even if the content is a rehash – is derived from audiences who loved the original premise and characters. Remakes of earlier films, TV shows and adaptations of novels, however, usually don’t turn up as well because the charm and success of the original was either predicated on the audience mind-set at the time (i.e., the 1960s) or a reader’s mental casting of the characters, frame of reference and visualizations.
Real Life
A review of recent films that have achieved commercial success and awards reveals that many of them embrace content based on real characters and events, because the storylines are already well known by the audience, the attendance at the theater is driven by a dual desire to enhance personal understanding of the facts and to compare how a producer’s interpretation of those facts is similar or contrary to their own.
FILM TERMS
AND VOCABULARY
SPEAKING
FILM TERMS
AND VOCABULARY
Your own phrases.
1) Reluctant – slow and unwilling
tobe reluctant to dosmth.
Ex.: She gave a reluctant smile.
Maddox was reluctant to talk about it.
2) Endure – to be in a difficult or painful situation for a long time without complaining
Ex.: It seemed impossible that anyone could endure such pain.
endure doingsmth.
Ex.: He can’t endure being apart from me.
endure – to remain alive or continue to exist for a long time
Ex.:friendships which endure over many years
3) Encounter – to experience something, especially problems or opposition
Ex.: They encountered serious problems when two members of the expedition were injured.
4) Pursue – continue doing an activity or trying to achieve something over a long period of time
Ex.: Students should pursue their own interests, as well as do their school work.
5) Benefit from – if you benefit from something or it benefits you, it gives you an advantage, improves your life, or helps you in some way
Ex.: They are working together to benefit the whole community.
Many thousands have benefited from the new treatment.
GRAMMAR
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS
I. Для того, чтобы поставить глагол в PresentPerfectContinuous, требуется вспомогательный глаголtobe в PresentPerfect и действительное причастие (форма V-ing) смыслового глагола.
To be в Present Perfect имеетдвеформы:
· Havebeen – 1 и 2 лицо ед. ч. и все формы мн. ч.
· Has been – 3 лицоед. ч.
Действительное причастие (ParticipleI) можно получить, прибавив к начальной форме значимого глагола - ing:jump – jumping, live – living.
Утвердительныепредложения:
| I have been playing | We have been playing |
| You have been playing | You have been playing |
| He / she / it has been playing | They have been playing |
Вопросительные предложения:
| Have I been playing? | Have we been playing? |
| (How long) Have you been playing? | Have you been playing? |
| Has he / she / it been playing? | (What game) Have they been playing? |
Отрицательные предложения:
| I have not been playing | We have not been playing |
| You have not been playing | You have not been playing |
| He / she / it has not been playing | They have not been playing |
II. PresentPerfectContinuous указывает на действие, которое началось в прошлом, продолжалось в течение некоторого времени и либо закончилось непосредственно перед разговором, либо всё ещё продолжается в момент разговора.
· Действие, которое началось в прошлом, продолжалось в течение некоторого времени и всё ещё происходит в момент разговора:
Theworkershavebeentryingtomoveourwardrobe for half an hour, go help them. –
Рабочиевотужеполчасапытаютсясдвинутьнашшкафсместа, помогиим.
· Действие, которое началось в прошлом, продолжалось в течение некоторого времени и закончилось непосредственно перед разговором:
Do you like this cake? I have been baking it since morning. –Тебенравитсяэтотпирог? Я
пекла его с самого утра.
Exercise 13. Enjoy!
In the Shadows
lyrics by “The Rasmus”
No sleep,
No sleep until I am done with finding the answer.
Won’t stop,
Won’t stop before I find a cure for this cancer.
Sometimes,
I feel like going down and so disconnected.
Somehow,
I know that I am haunted to be wanted.
I’ve been watching,
I’ve been waiting
In the shadows for my time.
I’ve been searching,
I’ve been living
For tomorrows all my life.
In the shadows
In the shadows
They say
That I must learn to kill before I can feel safe.
But I
I’d rather kill myself than turn into their slave.
Sometimes
I feel that I should go and play with the thunder.
Somehow
I just don’t wanna stay and wait for a wonder.
I’ve been watching,
I’ve been waiting
In the shadows for my time.
I’ve been searching,
I’ve been living
For tomorrows all my life
Lately I’ve been walking walking in circles, watching, waiting for something.
Feel me, touch me, heal me, come take me higher.
I’ve been watching,
I’ve been waiting
In the shadows all my time.
I’ve been searching,
I’ve been living
For tomorrows all my life.
I’ve been watching
I’ve been waiting
I’ve been searching …
LANGUAGE USE
Exercise 14. Make sentences with the Present Perfect Continuous using for / since
If necessary.
1. I / study English/ two years.
2. You/ read that novel / months.
3. You/ wait/ a long time?
4. How long / she/ live there?
5. How long / she/ stay in that hotel?
6. I/ rent this flat / about three years.
7. How long/ they/ go out together?
8. The lift / not work/ 10 pm.
9. She / not teach aesthetics / a long time.
Exercise 15. Use the verbs in brackets inPresent Perfect Continuous.
- I’m tired. I ......................(work) on the shooting schedule all afternoon.
- The owners..........................(restore) the old house since last year.
- I think Maggie and Max are dating. They...........................(go) out together a lot recently.
- We know a perfect place to have a rest and we .......................(go) there a lot for some years now.
- What ...............................(you / do) for such a long time?
- Sue .........................(not / feel) too well lately.
- Where have you been? I..................................(wait) for ages.
- He...................................(write) his essay since early morning.
Watch, cry, play, work, do
- Your eyes are red. _______you _________?
– Yes. I __________________a sad film.
- You look tired. What _________you __________?
– I ______________in the garden with the children.
- Your partner and you look like old friends.
– Yes. We ______________ together for pretty long.
LANGUAGE USE
AND COMMUNICATION
Example as a model.
Example: Computer / interesting / learn to program in BASIC
A: How has your computer class been going? What have you been doing in it?
B: It’s an interesting class. Over the last few days we’ve been learning to program in BASIC.
1. psychology / gripping / do experiments with rats
2. economics / confusing / study World Bank policies
3. German / hard / memorize irregular verbs
4. physics / interesting / study sound signals
5. film history / enjoyable / watch silent films
6. statistics / boring / calculate probabilities
7. art history / informative / read about the Renaissanceartists
8. scenic speech / fascinating / learn tongue-twisters
GRAMMAR
READING
Exercise 24. a) Read the article paying attention to all the verbs used in Present Perfect
Continuous and Present Perfect .
SPEAKING
VOCABULARY AND
LANGUAGE USE
LANGUAGE USE
Exercise 30. Fill in the gaps with the verbs in Present Perfect Continuous or Present Perfect.
1. I’m very hungry. I_________ all day.
2. Their new kitchen looks fantastic. They _____ completely _____ it.
3. Our kitchen’s a mess. We____________ any cleaning for weeks.
4. I think they are dating. They____________ a lot of each other recently.
5. We’ve discovered this great café and we_____________ there a lot.
6. How’s your Mum? I _____________ her for a while.
7. You’re covered in paint! What __________ you __________?
8. She’s gone to the doctor’s. She ______________ too well lately.
9. Where have you been? I____________ for ages.
10. I have to finish my essay. I__________ about half of it so far.
It’s nine-thirty now.
| Name | Starting time | Activity | Number |
| Mike | 8-00 | writing postcards | 7 |
| Diana | 9-00 | shopping(buying souvenirs) | several |
| Kate and John | 8-30 | visiting museums and galleries | 1 |
| Arnold | 9-15 | taking pictures | 20 |
Look at the examples, and do the same about the other people.
Mike:
1. A: What’s he doing?
B: He is writing postcards.
2. A: How long has he been writing postcards?
B: He’s been writing postcards since eight o'clock.
3. A: How many has he written?
B: He’s written 7.
Exercise 35. Use Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous instead of the infinitives
In brackets.
I (to know) her all my life and we always (to be) good friends.
1. I (to read) “War and Peace” for the last three months.
2. I (to think) about you all day.
3. I (to try) to learn English for years but I (not to make) good progress yet.
4. I (to wait) for her since 7 o’clock and she (not to come) yet.
5. I (to work) so hard this week that I (not to have) time to go to the cinema.
6. I can’t help being angry with you; you (to sit) here all the time doing nothing.
7. Some of our students (to join) the English club to get a better command of the language.
8. That book (to lie) on the table for weeks. You (not to read) it yet?
9. The girls (to talk) about their new dresses for half an hour already; it seems they have nothing else to talk about.
10. There’s nothing to be proud of; you (not to get) a single excellent mark as yet.
11. You (to pass) your exam in English literature?
12. He (never to be) here before.
Exercise 36. Use Present Continuous, Present Perfect or Present Perfect Continuous
LANGUAGE USE
AND COMMUNICATION
Exercise 37. a) Complete these questions and add three more. Then interview your
READING AND SPEAKING
There?
2) Read the passage and see whether your ideas coincided with those of the
Author.
Do the people want commerce, or do they want art?
According to MichaelPowellpeople want art. The question is a really burning issue. Though cinema is now past its centenary what is produced remains in too few hands and is largely made up of banal, ephemeral and gratuitously exploitative material. There are (often well-known) exceptions where genuinely individual films have been made despite hostile systems, but given the volume of material produced these are too few and far between. Much of what passes as normal and unalterable is wrong, and can be altered:
§ squandering of resources on blockbusters and other vacuous production;
§ exploitation of large sections of the public into thinking pseudo-material is genuine and conditioning the mass-mind to think this is all there is, otherwise known as “dumbing-down pornography” of violence perpetuated by low grade minds, degrading the viewing public;
§ predominance of television over film and the deleterious effects of much television material;
§ ignorance of government, knowing nothing about film, nor how to meaningfully intervene;
§ absence of teaching discriminating viewing and limited teaching of practical film-making;
§ mindless presupposition that only feature films, rather than short films, are of interest;
§ systematic exclusion of truly independent film-making by the corporate moron mentality.
Concerning the last item in particular there is active dismissal of truly individual and subjective films and a presumption that this approach would harm the “commercial” performance of film. This is in fact not less than destructive and lying hostility to what is authentic on the part of envious and manipulative operators who wish to make sure the viewing public is kept in a state of conditioned and lucrative ignorance, for “commercial” reasons.
It does not have to be like this: it was discovered, from teaching film in rudimentary adult education conditions, that one answer at least lies in the subjectivity of each individual; this eventually led to the foundation of AFECT (Advancement of Film Education Charitable Trust). Much habitual, unthinking response seems still to exist that subjective equals bad and objective – good. The truth is that both these aspects are mutually essential, neither being able to realise its true nature without the other, despite any bias towards one or the other. Can a different climate of thinking be created or not? The answer lies in the spirit informing film: what are we seeking? – empty entertainment, distraction, escapism, sensation or a realm made possible by film alone, separate from all other means of expression?
In the world of cinema, though the scale of activity has increased, the numbers of those making individual films is still minuscule, despite the fruitfulness of such endeavour where it succeeds. The goal in founding AFECT was to enable such authentic individual film-making to thrive and now through the twenty-first century. Much can be done if the will is there – AFECT can contribute to this.
The process of making movies involves thousands of decisions. Each decision is a turning point with rewards and consequences. Every detail matters to the success or failure – artistically and financially—of the final product. While filmmaking is fundamentally a collaborative effort, one person often dominates that process: the producer.
Since the earliest days of commercial filmmaking, producers have had to manage the tension between what they think the public wants (which often involves sex and violence) and what they think the public will accept. In the late 1920s, the motion picture industry began self-censoring content in an effort to thwart intervention by the government. Over the years, that effort has evolved into the film rating system in use today.
READING AND WRITING
Introduction
o Introduction of any essay should be no longer than 1/10 of its length. If the essay itself must be of a significant size the introduction may have several paragraphs; in the rest of the cases it consists of one solid paragraph.
o The contents of an introduction always have a deductive nature, as it leads the reader from the general views or positions on the analyzed topics to the specific narrow theme of the essay.
o Opening sentences introducing the topic of the essay.
o Background information on it (gradually leading to the analyzed aspect of the theme).
o Literature techniques to grab the reader’s attention.
o A strong thesis statement defining and statingthe point the author is making in the essay, the paper’s main argument.
Body paragraphs
o Body paragraph 1.
o Body paragraph 2.
o Body paragraph 3, etc.
o The body of a basic essay may have as many body paragraphs as it is necessary to prove the author’s argument of the thesis statement.
o It is vital to keep in mind that each paragraph is supposed to have one main argument to analyze and has to reveal it in one solid thought in a sentence called the topic sentence. Therefore the number of the body paragraphs equals thenumber of topic sentences.
o Each body paragraph must be connected to thefollowing one with a logical link.
3. Conclusion
o It is usually written in one solid paragraph.
o The conclusion always deals with summing up the essay arguments revealed in the topic sentences and therefore presents substantial evidence to prove the thesis statement.
o It is also vital to mention the importance of the general conclusion of the essay.
Graphically the structure of any essay can be presented like this:
Exercise 43. a) Skim the Sample Essay below “ Factors of Titanic’sCommercial Success”
I. Introduction
II. Body
1) Plot resonates with the dreams and fears, beliefs and values of its target audience. Real life relevance;
2) Ordinary protagonist and his environment;
3) Star power;
4) Director;
5) New technologies and special effects;
6) Budget;
7) Release date and marketing plan;
8) Critics’ reviews.
III. Conclusion
Sample Essay
Factors of Titanic’s Commercial Success
Every producer, director or actor, regardless of whetherhe states it orhides it deep down, wants hisfilm to be a commercial success.The movie industry’s aim is to entertain millions of viewers and its success depends on the preferences of the movie-goers. The wider the target audience is the more successful will the film be at the box-office. If viewers do not choose to see a movie millions of dollars can be lost. Therefore the film business is very risky and highly competitive. This essay focuses on the key factors of a movie success such as: plot and story, their relevance to the audience, protagonist and his environment, star power, director, new technologies and special effects, budget, release date and marketing plan, critics’ reviews. The influence of these key factors will be traced on the basis of the movie Titanic (1997) which was the first film to reach the billion-dollar mark and remained the highest-grossing film of all time for 13 years.
For a movie to be a commercial hit, its plot has to resonate with the dreams, fears, beliefs and values of its target audience.Titanic is an American epicromanticdisaster film. The plot is really tugging at the heartstrings of the audience. It features the love story of two young lovers from different social classes (Jack and Rose) aboard the Titanic, set amongst one of the most tragic and dramatic events of the early twentieth century - the sinking of the ship.So it is a fictional romance story that is based on a real historical event. Titanic’s commercial and aesthetic success depended on its ability to provoke a range of emotions in a wide variety of audience groups. Teenage girls were attracted by a love story, young women were attracted by the main male character played by Leonardo DiCaprio which even caused “Leo-Mania”, men were attracted by historical background of the plot and great special effects. As James Cameroon said“The story could not have been written better... And above all the lesson: that life is uncertain, the future unknowable...the unthinkable possible”. So all age and gender groups can easily identify with the characters.
Jack Dawson is an ordinary character who is forced to survive in an extraordinary environment and under unusual circumstances for which he is not prepared. He is portrayed as a homeless, poor boy who wins two tickets onto the RMS Titanic in a poker game and travels as a third-class passenger. He is attracted to Rose at first sight and saves her from committing suicide. The moment the love story reaches its climax, the ship hits an iceberg and the spectacular action movie begins. We witness the disaster from the perspective of Rose, Jack, and the other characters as we follow Rose’s life story. It revolves around a ship-wreck and demands growing acts of risk and sacrifice on the part of both protagonists. Star power is very important to make characters believable and likable.
When an actor has a large and enthusiastic fan base, virtually any movie he is in, is going to be guaranteed an audience. LeonardoDiCaprio was 22 years old when he was brought to Cameron’s attention by the casting director. By the moment of shooting DiCaprio had already been famous among teenage girls for his performance in Romeo + Juliet (1996), a modern day retelling of the classic Shakespeare play. So DiCaprio was considered to be “a marketable star” with a guaranteed fan base. At first, he did not want to portray the character and refused to read his first romantic scene on the set but Cameron strongly believed in DiCaprio’s acting ability. As for Kate Winslet the situation was quite different. Though the actress had already had an Oscar as Best Actress for The Reader(2008) Cameron went on casting Gwyneth Paltrow, Claire Danes, and Gabrielle Anwar because he was searching for an actress of “an Audrey Hapburn type” . The actress started to send him daily notes, bombed him with telephone calls and even sent Cameron a single rose with a card signed "From Your Rose". Her persistence and her screen test with DiCaprio convinced the director to make a perfect cast. Besides, she had a huge fan base in Great Britain which could help to draw international audiences. The unique success would have been hardly possible without the background of the director himself.
A well-known director is one more important factor of a movie success. James Francis Cameron is a Canadian film director, film producer, deep-sea explorer, screenwriter, and editor who works for Hollywood. He is the director who has been having a string of cinema successes in his belt: the science-fiction hit The Terminator(1984), Aliens(1986), The Abyss(1989),Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) True Lies(1994). In Titaniche managed to convey the emotional message of the tragedy. The idea of the film started from Cameron’s interest in shipwrecks. Cameron wrote a scriptment(a written work by a movie or television screenwriter that combines elements of a script and treatment) and pitched it to 20th Century Fox executives as "Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic". After some period of hesitation they gave him a green light. Then he went on with shooting the Titanic wreck itself to make the film more realistic and undertook several undersea expeditions. James Cameron has been specializing in special effects since Aliens (1986). He used scale models, and computer-generated imagery to recreate the sinking.
In Titaniccomputer-generated imagery (CGI) has not only reduced the cost of building sets but also integrated historic footage into a contemporary context and created the atmosphere of disaster without actually destroying anything. This movie won the Academy Award for best visual effects. Many of the visual effects were produced by “Digital Domain”, and they used both CG and miniature models to depict the ship. Afterwards, digital water and smoke were added. Cameron criticized previous Titanic films for the lack of realism and wanted to show the sinking as the terrifyingly chaotic event. He used computer generated people for the dangerous falls and visual effects, therefore supervisor Rob Legato scanned the faces of many actors, including himself and his children, for the digital extras and stuntmen. The costly special effects bring us logically to the film’s budget.
Titanic had a budget of $200 million that could adequately cover costly special effects, high talent fees and at the same time enabled the director to come up with creative ways of making a spectacular high-grossing movie. The film was co-financed by Paramount Picturesand 20th Century Fox, and, at the time, was the most expensive film ever made. Both studios wanted the return on investment. Paramount handled the North American distribution and Fox handled the international release. To get the figure of $2,186,772,302 at the box office they needed to work out a marketing plan and fix a release date.
The film was to be released on the 2nd of July, 1997 in summer season as all big budget action movies, because there are more people able to see them at any given time throughout the day. But in April, Cameron said the film’s special effects were too complicated and that releasing the film for summer would not be possible. So the release date was changed to December 14, 1997, a week before the Christmas holidays. Titanic was first officially shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival on November 1, 1997 and the premiere was followed by enthusiastic word of mouth and chatter on the Internet. Even DiCaprio, who usually avoided journalists, gave several interviews. A preview screening in Minneapolis on July 14 generated positive reviews from critics which influenced the viewers’ intention to see the film.
Critics – just like actors – have their own fan base and influence on whether a new release will be labeled as a “must-see” or a “don’t bother”. In case of Titanic it was a “must-see” as it was highly appreciated by critics and launched a lot of favorable reviews. Roger Ebert called the film “intelligently constructed and strongly acted”, “a glorious Hollywood epic, well-crafted and well worth the wait”. “You don’t just watch Titanic, you experience it”, James Berardinelli wrote. “To describe Titanic as the greatest disaster movie ever made is to sell it short. It’s one of the most magnificent pieces of serious popular entertainment!” Joseph McBride exclaimed. Though some reviewers felt that the story and dialogue were weak, they admitted the visuals were spectacular.
To sum it up,Titanic is a classic example of a commercially successful movie where various factors come into play to bring millions of viewers to movie houses. It was a perfect entertainment attraction whichengaged the spectators’ attention with the help of magical possibilities of the cinema. The professionally crafted plot where love and disaster come together, the ability to provoke a range of emotions in a wide variety of target audience groups laid the ground for the success. Likable characters, who have to survive in an extraordinary environment, supported by star power and director’s popularity guaranteed successful pitching and top budgeting, provided by two major studios. It allowed the film-makers to use costly special effects, to choose the right release premiere date, to sustain its delay and to build up an effective marketing strategy which involved various advertising tools including Internet, word of mouth and critical acclaim.
Write your own ones.
· Plot resonates with the dreams and fears, beliefs and values of its target audience;
· Real life relevance;
· Extraordinary or ordinary protagonist and his environment;
· Star power;
· Director;
· New technologies and special effects;
· Budget;
· Release date and marketing plan;
· Advertisement, Internet and word of mouth;
· Critics’ reviews;
· Sequels and adaptation.
UNIT 7
COMMERCIAL SUCCESS vs ART
READING
AND SPEAKING
Exercise 1. Remember!
Noun: success opposite: failure
Verb: succeed opposite: fail
Adj: successful opposite: unsuccessful
to be a (great) success with …
Exercise 2. a ) Before reading the article brainstorm ideas on what makes a movie a commercial hit.
b) Read the article and see what ideas you’ve failed to mention.
COMMERCIAL HITS
Relevance
For a movie to be a commercial hit, its plot has to resonate with the dreams, fears, beliefs and values of its target audience. Besides, the plot needs to be driven by the concepts of reward, revenge or escape and revolve around a conflict or quest that can only be resolved through growing acts of risk and sacrifice on the part of the protagonist.
Extraordinary vs. Ordinary
A successful movie features a “fish out of water” hero who is either an extraordinary character trying to fit into an ordinary setting (e.g., Forrest Gump) or an ordinary character forced to survive in an extraordinary environment or under unusual circumstances for which he is not prepared (e.g., Luke Skywalker).
Star Power
When an actor has a large and enthusiastic fan base, virtually any movie he is in, is going to be guaranteed an audience. Unfortunately, this is true even if he’s totally wrong for the part or the script isn’t particularly well written. It’s also a little-known fact that actors-turned-producers sometimes make movies they know will fail because they need to be able to claim them as a loss on their taxes.
Cinematography
Technology has radically changed the way movies are filmed, especially insofar as computer-generated imagery (CGI) has not only reduced the cost of building sets but also allows actors to magically morph into different beings, integrates historic footage into a contemporary context (e.g., “Forrest Gump”),and can create all manner of natural and manmade disasters without actually destroying anything. This “electronic eye-candy” is a popular draw that translates to commercial success, particularly with teens who are the largest movie going audience worldwide.
The Critics
Many moviegoers base their decisions about what to see on how well or how badly the films are reviewed by critics. Resources such as the Internet Movie Database include a wide range of comparative reviews. Critics – just like actors – have their own fan base and influence on whether a new release will be labeled as a “must-see” or a “don’t bother.”
Sequels and Adaptations
If something works well once, logic would seem to dictate it could not only work well again but could also work in a different medium. Almost 60 percent of a sequel’s revenue – even if the content is a rehash – is derived from audiences who loved the original premise and characters. Remakes of earlier films, TV shows and adaptations of novels, however, usually don’t turn up as well because the charm and success of the original was either predicated on the audience mind-set at the time (i.e., the 1960s) or a reader’s mental casting of the characters, frame of reference and visualizations.
Real Life
A review of recent films that have achieved commercial success and awards reveals that many of them embrace content based on real characters and events, because the storylines are already well known by the audience, the attendance at the theater is driven by a dual desire to enhance personal understanding of the facts and to compare how a producer’s interpretation of those facts is similar or contrary to their own.
FILM TERMS
AND VOCABULARY
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