Producers and Audiences 9. The major selling points of films

Objective Understand what the major selling points of films are, and how institutions like film companies use them to make the film more appealing to the public

Let’s look at a film poster How does the poster sell the film?

Let’s look at a film poster Villain of film Love interest in the background – she’s not too important Watson’s cane and haughty expression indicate pride/contempt Holmes and Watson centre; Holmes has a smug smile (he will win) Credits tell us finer details Tagline – play on words Stars at the top – famous!

Film posters are the end product They are made long after a film is cast and are therefore a feature of post-production Pre-production is where a film is deemed to be viable by a studio We will look at this process first before returning to post-production and marketing

The film pitch This is when the idea of a film is presented to commissioning executives at a film company. Someone might have a very short time, sometimes 5 minutes, so the pitch needs to contain all the details of the film: Brief summary of the plot Similarities to other films Potential stars for the film Merchandising and franchise opportunities might be discussed too – depending on who is pitching the idea

What might a studio executive go for? We will look at the possible selling points of films in depth now Be aware though that this might not always be a guaranteed formula for success (we will see why films fail in a later lesson)

1. “[Star] is in it!” Believe it or not, film stars often decide they want to do a project before the film is actually made. Their agent will send them a script. Sometimes, a star just being on board makes it more likely that the film will be made (especially if they are a big box-office draw like Tom Cruise or Johnny Depp)

2. “It’s been written by [writer]!” Writers are usually the last to get paid, but depending on how successful they have been in the past, they might guarantee success Paul Haggis (Crash, Million Dollar Baby) Joss Whedon (Buffy/Angel) Kevin Smith (Jay and Silent Bob, Dogma) Matt Damon and Ben Affleck (Oscar!) Joe Eszterhas (trashy hits – Basic Instinct, Showgirls) Nora Ephron (romantic comedies with Meg Ryan)

3. “It’s just like [mega-hit]” The public know what they like, and they like what they know That’s why so many films are similar to one another Vampire films, horror films, romantic comedies, pirate films, wizard and magic films. Christmas films…

4 “[Director] has made it” Some directors get on board very early; they may even write the screenplay under a pseudonym If the director is known, he or she will often sell the film because the public has a track record of seeing their films Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, David Fincher…

5. “[Famous person] likes it and is willing to put their name to it” Necessary when you are trying to sell your film in America “Ben Stiller presents” [Submarine] “Steven Spielberg presents” [Super 8] Use a bigger name to sell a smaller name You often make more money as a producer or through a production company

6. “Everyone else is watching it.” Word-of-mouth (particularly when your ‘mouth’ happens to be the Internet and your Facebook page!) is a great way of encouraging other people to watch a film Of course, this can also generate negative publicity around the film so those who are doing so often work within the parameters of the film and production company. Twitter hash-tags; Facebook pages; BBM?

So, what’s next? Once the film is made, film studios create marketing materials (like film posters) Often a film company sets aside an equal amount of money to that of the film’s budget to market the film Usually it works… Sometimes it doesn’t…

Marketing Strategy Film posters Personal / press appearances Television appearances Websites Press interviews All of this will emphasise the selling points of the film But this doesn’t necessarily mean the film will sell tickets!