FILM INDUSTRY REVISION

To help you with your revision here are some example topic sentences and paragraph starters that might be used in a variety of Film Industry essays.

• The 'big 6' Hollywood studios chase mass mainstream audiences often with formulaic films that Dalecki called 'the 4S megafranchise model'. Hollywood is renowned for producing blockbusters with strong narratives, often part of a sequel, usually with larger than life characters, using exciting, complex sets often in exotic or extravagant locations
• Distributors target audiences via an interconnected web of companies which all promote the film as a package of products. (Give as many details as possible from our Case study Avengers)
• Issues include the commodification of films via product placements (give details from our Case study Skyfall). Film critic Kevin Maher attacks global giants like Amazon, Google and Hollywood for such 'obscene corporate products that violate the cultural life of this country' (see his 'boycott the blockbuster' article in my screenshot below).
• Issues include 'cultural imperialism' or the imposition of one world view and set of values on the rest of the world; this is why we need a national cinema that serves the cultural life of this country.
• Certain British films target both national and international audiences. The Hobbit evokes national nostalgia for old-world values and rural idylls (say how it is quintessentially British) but also addresses international audiences (through spectacle, story, sequel).
• Some films appear to compromise artistic integrity in favour of commercial success with one eye on the international market, selling a predicable or sanitised vision of Britain. The Boat That Rocked (Richard Curtis) clearly targeted middle England baby boomers & seems even more seedy in the light of current DJ scandals. Critics attacked Curtis for failing to use his influential position to direct 'more challenging' films like Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle) that introduce audiences to more important, real issues. 
• When David Cameron visited Pinewood, the home of the successful James Bond franchise, he called for British film makers to make 'more commercially successful pictures' and warned that government money would be rebalanced to support 'more mainstream films', there was an outcry thatseveral huge recent British hits might not have seemed commercial & therefore might not have received lottery funding. Neither an exploited Indian teenager nor a royal with a stutter sound like box office gold - but bothSlumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech won top Oscar honors.
• Working Title productions capitalize successfully on a particular vision of Britain that is readily marketable internationally, such as literary adaptations (Tinker Tailor), period drama, history (Mary Queen Of Scots 2014) , romcom, humour (Jonny English). Bridget Jones's Baby (2014) illustrates how WT uses Hollywood model of sequels, unsurprising as its parent company is Universal
• WT also produces films for a more local market; currently The World's End is in production, targeted at audiences of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead.
• Smaller production companies with micro budgets target more local audiences (Tortoise In Love £160,000 received BFI funding to screen for local audiences but secured red carpet premiere in Leicester Square; even smaller budget for Shifty  of £100,000 led producer Eran Creevy to target niche London audiences very specifically through risky personal emails; distributors of The Disappearance of Alice Creed for new director J. Blakeson detected audience hotspots around Southampton Uni via interactive website material and premiered in Southampton to reward local audiences.

Here is an article that is clearly against globalisation and the associated production practices. Do you agree? How would you write a response ?  This back and forth exploration of the debate should form a large part of your essay answer.

Kevin Maher attacks global products