Independent Film: Four Lions

Studio: Film4 Productions, Wild Bunch, Warp Films
Distributed by: Optimum Releasing, Drafthouse Films
Starring: Riz Ahmed, Kayvan Novak, Nigel Lindsey, Arsher Ali, Adeel Akhtar
Released: 7th May 2010

Four Lions is an independent dark comedy film based in Sheffield about a group of young British Muslim men who aspire to be suicide bombers. It was first shown in January 2010 at the Sundance film festival and was short-listed for the festival's World Cinema Narrative prize. The UK premier took place at the National Media Museum as part of Bradford's International Film Festival on 25th March 2010. It was released in the UK on 7th May 2010 and released onto DVD and Blu-Ray on 30th August 2010.

It was critically acclaimed quite well, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 'Certified Fresh' score of 81% with an average score of 7.2 out of 10 from reviews. The site's general consensus is that its 'premise suggests brazenly tasteless humour, but Four Lions is actually a smart, pitch-black comedy that carries the unmistakable ring of truth.' Time Magazine rated the film as among top 10 movies of the year of 2010.

 The film wasn't marketed very well, as it didn't have much budget aside for this after the production, and was mostly advertised through a trailer and some film posters. However the film became well known locally and through the film festivals and reviews in newspapers which allowed it to gain popularity.

The film also did well at the box office, making a total of £609,000 on its opening weekend. As of 8th August 2010, it had grossed £2,932,366 in the UK and as of 24th February 2011, it had grossed $4,658,570 - a remarkable amount for a British independent film. The reason why it may have been such a success may have been due to its controversial nature and original, realistic comedy. 

Film Censorship

When was the BBFC established and for what reasons?The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) was formed in 1912 by the film industry, in order to bring a degree of uniformity to standards, so that films were made acceptable for the age group and nationality of the audience. 

What media forms do they regulate?
They regulate media such as films, DVD's, video games, advertisements and trailers. 

How are they funded?
They are funded by fees to the films and video works that are submitted to them, as they are a non-government organisation.

What legalisation do they have to abide by?

• The Video Recording Act (1984)
• The Human Rights Act (1998)
• The Obscene Publications Acts (1959)
• The Protection of Children Act (1978)
• The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act (2008)
• The Public Order Act (1986)
• The Cinematograph Films Animals Act (1937)
• The Animal Welfare Act (2006)
• Coroners and Justice Act (2009)

What is the process of classification?
Films are first submitted to the BBFC which are then put through a system at the reception by the facilities department. Research is then done and the technical department time the DVD and check the quality of the disc. The information system department measures video games and are responsible for the internal information, including the website. Two people watch the film and make notes.
Then the distributor gets the bill and they have to pay for the accounts department. Information services also have to handle all customer queries and ensure that they are fully informed of the classification decisions.

Films or computer games which are regulated (over 20 years ago).
Goodfellas (1980) was rated an 18 due to strong violence and swearing, but 8 scenes had to be cut anyway due to their strong graphical nature, just to get it into the cinema.
A Clockwork Orange wasn't even passed through the BBFC or given a rating until 20 years after its release, but scenes were cut in order to be put into the cinema. The film was linked to deaths that occurred after its release, and it was withdrawn by Kubrick for about 27 years.

Films or computer games which have been subject to regulation recently.
The Human Centipede 2 was rated an 18 due to strong violence, gore and sexual violence, and had to have scenes cut in order for it to be released. Also A Serbian Film was rated an 18 due to strong sexual violence, and some versions of it had to have scenes cut in order to be released. 

What is the American equivalent to the BBFC?
Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA)

Social Realism vs Commercial British Films

Social Realism
Social Realist films are usually the ones that appeal to only really the British audience, because they contain 'gritty' themes and images that reflect what Britain is really like in particularly the working class culture, as opposed to focusing on a Utopian orderly middle-class Britain. An audience can therefore often relate to these types of films more, and the use of handheld cameras and improvisation makes these films more realistic. A teenager is usually the main character, with themes such as drugs, sex, money, and violence usually at the heart of the film, which is typically set in council-estates or 'rough' areas of Britain, to reflect these issues that we have in society today. Examples include 'Trainspotting', 'This is England' and 'Anuvahood'.

Commercial Films
These are British films that typically have bigger budgets that aim to do well globally, particularly in America, as well as Britain. These films typically focus on the middle to upper classes to portray a more Utopian side to Britain, and therefore for example use royalty or prime-ministers as characters, and use more positive themes such as love, family and careers. There is usually no working class shown, however if there is, they are usually shown as happy in their situation (e.g. Mary Poppins), to further add to the feeling of Utopia, even if this is untrue. Star Power is often used to sell these films also, where American audiences may be attracted to the famous actors used. Examples of commercial films include 'The King's Speech', 'Love Actually' and 'The Holiday'.

 

Why is it important for Britain to have Social Realism and Commercial Films?
Commercial films are especially important for Britain to bring in money and profit from America, and also to create a more immersive experience of escapism for a British audience if it is unlike their usual lives. However social realist films are equally important to a British audience so they have something to relate to, and can enjoy seeing what are true messages and values underlying our British culture.

Who funds British film?

How was the British film industry funded in 2009?
Until 2011, British films were funded by the UK Film Council, which gained money from the lottery. It was abolished though because the Conservative-Liberal coalition said that it wasn't beneficial for Britain.

How is British film funded now?
The British Film Institute (the BFI) now funds the majority of British films, but there is not as much money that can be distributed.


What does the Government want for British film?
David Cameron thinks that British films should be commercialised, to be more popular in places like America also, which would then probably generate more profit, which show more middle class to upper class values of Britain, such as the stereotype associated with British royalty. This means that there is therefore little room for social realist films.

What were the most successful British films in 2012?
 There aren't many exact lists that show the figures for highest grossing British films of 2012, only lists that show the highest grossing films at the UK Box Office, including American films. However, according to sources such as the BFI, Skyfall ($1,108,561,013) was clearly one of the most successful British films of all time, and other successful films of British origin that year included The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel ($136,836,156), The Woman in Black ($127,730,736), Sightseers ($2,102,166) and Great Expectations ($258,656).

Is it important for British films to be successful outside of Britain?
This depends on the purpose of the film. Overall it is important that British films are successful outside of Britain because it means financially the films will generate more profit and income for the UK. However, these commercialised films tend to show Britain more positively within the upper classes, for example through the use of royalty. Social realism lower budget films tend to aim to simply entertain the British audience as something they can relate to, which means these films don't need to be as successful globally.

Find an example of a critically acclaimed British film that was not financially successful.
Kill List was successfully critically acclaimed (76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), however was not financially successfully because it only made $462,206, even though its budget was $800,000. It was therefore a failure because it only just made half of its budget back.

What are the issues with British films being 'commercial'?
The main issue is that films would then have to be made to appeal to a wider audience (mostly the Americans), which means Britain would have to be portrayed in a positive light and a stereotypical image (such as with the use of royalty, London, etc.) otherwise the audience would not be able to relate to it as much as a British audience (such as with social realist films which are more reflective of the society the British audience live in), and so wouldn't be as successful. This therefore means that commercial British films lose their 'Britishness' about them and do not show an accurate collective identity.

What is your favourite British film and why?
A Clockwork Orange is probably one of my favourite British films because it reflects how realistically, society can become so corrupt compared to the 'rose-tinted' views shown by other films. It contains themes of morality and psychology which are two themes I am widely interested in because they are down to individual interpretation, which is reflected in the psycho-sociopathic nature of the main character, and how he is attempted to be changed. It is a very controversial film, unlike others, which contains interesting ranges of cinematography and music to affect the audience in different ways, and I like this because it doesn't follow the same elements as most films which could get boring a repetitive. I also am a big fan of the director (Stanley Kubrick) and most of his work anyway, which drew me to the film in the first place.

Cultural Test

A film must receive a minimum of 16 points on the cultural test in order to be considered a British film, but it doesn't necessarily have to be set in Britain or contain British culture. Producers try to get their film recognised as British because they would then get tax relief.

	Cultural Test	Points
A	Cultural Content
A1	Film set in the UK	4
A2	Lead characters British citizens or residents	4
A3	Film based on British subject matter or underlying material	4
A4	Original dialogue recorded mainly in English language	4
	Total Section A	16
B	Cultural Contribution
	Film represents/reflects a diverse British culture, British heritage or British creativity	4
	Total Section B	4
C	Cultural Hubs
C1	Studio and/or location shooting/ Visual Effects/ Special Effects	2
C2	Music Recording/Audio Post Production/Picture Post Production	1
	Total Section C	3
D	Cultural Practitioners
D1	Director	1
D2	Scriptwriter	1
D3	Producer	1
D4	Composer	1
D5	Lead Actors	1
D6	Majority of Cast	1
D7	Key Staff (lead cinematographer, lead production designer, lead costume designer, lead editor, lead sound designer, lead visual effects supervisor, lead hair and makeup supervisor)	1
D8	Majority of Crew	1
	Total Section D	8
	TOTAL ALL SECTIONS (pass mark 16)	31

Directors

DAVID LYNCH

Name: David Keith Lynch
Birthday: January 20th 1946 (age 68)
Education: School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Occupation: Film Director, Screenwriter, Producer, Painter, Musician

Does David Lynch stay within a particular genre?
David Lynch has directed a range of genres, including action sci-fi (such as Dune), biographical drama films (such as The Elephant Man and The Straight Story) but the main genre that he particularly sticks to is mystery psychological thrillers, as most of his works tend to be within this category (for example, Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Inland Empire).

What types of film has David Lynch directed?
Although he has directed a few other genres, his preferences include the psychological thriller genre or mystery neo-noir genre, or a particular combination of the two. This is because, as he has revealed through twitter and interviews, in these films he gets incorporate new ideas of his own to represent the world and humanity as a whole, however most of his films in this way contain much deeper hidden meanings which he expects the audience to interpret in their own way, and won't reveal his own interpretation. This creates a sense of mystery about his films, where the main theme that runs through a lot of his films is based on surrealism, with elements of dream/hallucination sequences in a non-linear fashion, and so on the surface all is not as it seems to the audience. This is also shown in the use of unusual cinematography, with many close-ups, hand-held cameras, a variety of lense types, and long editing speeds. This means that David isn't bothered about people actually liking the films, because he expects them to be successful just by being different and a lot of people talking about them and what they mean. This makes him a very different and contraversial type of Hollywood director to other directors who concentrate on big blockbuster, expensive films that aim to please an audience. 
 Lynch uses a mix of famous actors, and non-famous actors for his films, where he doesn't see a 'star' as important, but merely those who fit the roles perfectly, because he doesn't see star power as important, another controversial aspect of his directing career. Some of the big names he has used include Laura Dern, Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Sting, Nicholas Cage, Kyle MacLachlan, Naomi Watts, Justin Theroux and Laura Harring. 

Does David Lynch's reputation establish a fan base?
Lynch's films do show to establish a fan-base simply because of the surreal and controversial nature of some of the films. As Lynch is very different from a lot of other Hollywood directors and creates some unusual films, those who enjoy these types of films will keep coming back to the work of Lynch as there aren't many others who do similar sorts of films. The actors aren't those who particularly establish a fan base because the films tend to focus on themes and underlying story-lines as opposed to the actors; also, the same actors are not necessarily used in all of the films. Lynch is a director who believes Hollywood exploits audiences for their own financial benefit, which is a theme he imposes onto his films and audience, and those who agree with this may also become part of his fan-base. He has 1.7 million followers on Twitter, which also shows how popular he is.

David Lynch and film posters
All of Lynch's films of his preferred and typical genre all feature his name on them, so that firstly the audience can easily identify who the film was made by, and so would search for his films again in the future, or on the other hand, for already-fans of his who are looking for his films, can easily identify which films are his. It is also a technique to get his name known and heard in order to gain popularity. All of his film posters also feature some sort of imagery if the main character(s) so that either the actors can be used as a way of advertising the film, or just used as a way to create mystery about what the film is about. On many of his film posters, the actors names aren't particularly mentioned, because it is his view that actors are not the main priority of the film, however the imagery is also used to show how the films revolve around these characters and what is going on in their minds. His film posters also tend to have a black background and fade-effects to connote the mystery and psychological element to the genre.


      

What Factors Contribute to a Films Success or Failure at the Box Office?

Kill List (2001)

Kill List is a film directed by Ben Wheatley and starring Neil Maskell, MyAnna Buring and Michael Smiley. It can be considered an indie British film of the thriller genre.

Trailer - The trailer is edited well to create suspense and mystery with a range of clips showing action, the main characters (star power) and other elements like the creepy girl at the end. It is things like these that create enigma codes, where the trailer does not give away too much of the plot. Generally this would be a good trailer to encourage an audience to view the film, however there was only one trailer and it was shown on TV.

The marketing campaign was not very big, which could be a reason why the film did not do well financially, because not very many people knew much about it in order to go see it. The website didn't have much on it other than the trailer and links to Facebook/Twitter pages.

Financial Success - The budget for the film was $800,000, yet its total at the box office was $462,206, making the film a Box Office failure. The film was released in the UK and USA in cinemas and on DVD, but was only released in other places in Europe at film festivals.

Critical Success - On Rotten Tomatoes 76% was the score given by the critics, however 57% was the score given by the audience, which therefore suggests that the film did well in the way it was filmed, but generally didn't interest people too much. It was nominated for 'best actor', 'best screenplay', and Michael Smiley won an award for 'best supporting actor.'

Mind Map

Here is a useful mind-map that Rosy and Abby made.

Case Study: Frozen

Production
The film has its origins from 1943, when the idea for a film based on The Snow Queen was first put forward, but it was eventually disregarded because it was unclear how they could adapt it to appeal to a modern audience. The idea was put into practice in the 1990's but then scrapped in 2002, and then it was pitched later to be re-started, and failed. In 2008, the idea was pitched again, and to be traditionally animated, but in 2010, the studios again found it hard to find a way of making it work and stopped the development. However in 2011, following the success of 'Tangled', Disney announced the title of 'Frozen' with a new crew from previous attempts, and the project started in 2012. It was produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, with Peter Dal Vecho as the main producer, Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee as directors, where Jennifer also did the screenplay, the music by Christophe Beck and editing by Jeff Draheim. Like Tangled, the film was made from a mixture of CGI and hand-drawn imagery from a team of people at Disney Animation Studios, and the songs were written and composed by husband and wife Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Kristen Bell was cast as Anna, and Idina Menzel as Elsa, after they had impressed the casting directors with their singing.


Distribution
'Frozen' was widely marketed worldwide through the use of mostly official trailers on television, in cinemas and on the internet, and film posters in cinemas, on buses, on billboards and on the internet. Not much of the overall budget was used for the marketing as most of it was spent on production, considering the budget was nearly twice as less as that of Tangled (even though it then was nearly three times more successful than Tangled), although there was still a considerably high budget for marketing compared to many other recent films. Although Disney Animation Studios aimed the film mostly at children, the advertising branched out into places to attract a wider target audience.


Exhibition
The film was released on 27th November 2013 in the U.S., and continued to be released worldwide across many countries. On 31st January 2014, a sing-along version was also released. Meet-and-Greet opportunities also became available with some of the voice actors following the release.

Financial Success
Frozen has earned $396,356,000 in North America as of March 16, 2014, and $630,200,000 in other countries as of March 16, for a worldwide total of $1,026,556,000, which is a massive hit when in comparison to its $150 million budget. It is the fifteenth highest-grossing film, the second highest-grossing animated film, the second highest-grossing 2013 film, the highest-grossing 2013 animated film, the highest-grossing non-sequel animated film, the sixth highest-grossing film distributed by Disney, and the highest-grossing Walt Disney Animation Studios film. The film earned $110.6 million worldwide on its opening weekend. On March 2, 2014, its 101st day of release, it surpassed the $1-billion mark, becoming the eighteenth film in cinematic history, the seventh Disney-distributed film, the fifth non-sequel film, the second Disney-distributed film in 2013 (after Iron Man 3) and the second animated film (after Toy Story 3) to do so. Frozen is the first billion dollar movie to be directed by a woman.

Critical Success
Frozen was massively critically acclaimed with many many positive reviews, comparing the film favourably to other Disney classics such as The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin. It was praised a lot on its visuals, screenplay, themes, musical numbers and voice acting. It was particularly positively reviewed on the 'Let It Go' musical sequence, with some critics calling it one of the best film sequences of this year, and 'Let It Go' also won an Oscar for best original song. Rotten Tomatoes showed that 89% of their critics gave Frozen a positive review, with an average score of 7.9/10, and CinemaScore gave it a score of A+ on the A+ to F scale. Other sources have also given the film extremely high ratings. The only thing that the film was really criticised for was sexism following a statement made from the head of the head of animation for Frozen, Lino DiSalvo.

The Cycle of a Film

Production

Pre-production

In the first stages of making a film, 8 important factors need to be taken into account. These are: Story, appeal, Genre, Past Experience, Budget, Cast-ability, Marketability and Pay-ability

The idea gets pitched and if it is accepted, a budget for the film is decided on as well as the finance and distribution budget

The director and the script editor develop the script

The characters are cast and the cinematographers are booked

Production

• Script gets turned into a shot list, and location hunting begins
• The technology is set up and the costumes are made
• the film is shot

Post-production

• The music and the shots are finalized
• The filming is edited and the film is being made
• Trailers and teasers are made for the distribution

Distribution

Distribution is mainly the marketing of the film. The costs for distribution are finalized, for things such as advertisement on print posters, TV Channels, DVD's and internet ads. It is also estimated how many ratings it will get in the opening weekend and how successful the film will be.

Exhibition

Exhibition is when the film is released into the cinemas. It is when the producers look at how well it did in the box office, so they can decide whether the film is a success or a fail judging on whether they break even in the first weekend. This is down to the critics - who they show it to first - to get the hype up for the first weekend. If the film is a success, they can lead onto DVD releases and merchandising. 

Which phase is the most important?

The distribution phase appears to be the most important because this typically is the stage which encourages people to see the film, which therefore determines how successful it will be. The success and money of the film are the most important factors for producers, regardless of how well the film was made. However, typically the better the film is in the production phase, the better it does at the box office, although, the best films tend to have bigger budgets which could cause more financial complications if it is not a success.

Are stars still important?

Angelina Jolie

Has your star 'sold' a film?
Although it hasn't come out yet, 'Maleficent', based on the fairytale 'Sleeping Beauty', is set to be successful because of the casting involving Angelina Jolie as the main character and antagonist, Maleficent. Jolie normally does action based films, such as Salt, Tomb Raider and Wanted, which means that Maleficent, as a fantasy adventure film, wouldn't typically attract the same target audience as Jolie's usual films. However, emphasis has been placed on Angelina Jolie during the advertising process, particularly with the film posters and trailer, as opposed to the film's protagonist Aurora from the fairytale version, to highlight to everyone that she plays a big part in this film. This would encourage her fans to come and watch the film simply because she is in it, despite the fact it probably isn't their usual kind of film, and therefore this widens the market in therms of target audience for the film, making it more likely to be successful.

Are the star's fans loyal?
It is unclear whether Angelina Jolie's fanbase remains a loyal one, as she does not have an official Twitter or Facebook page for her fans to use, however she does have nearly 2 million fans who have 'liked' a fan-run Facebook page who continue to post positive comments about the star, and frequent users of the fan-site 'Team Jolie', which shows how people continue to support her. Furthermore, she is still talked about frequently in the media, which suggests that there are large amounts of people still interested in her. Many of her films have been successful as she continues to get fans coming to see her latest work, purely because she is the star, which further suggests how her fans are probably loyal ones.

Has your star had a 'film flop'?
'Life or Something Like It' was probably one of Jolie's worst films, in terms of ratings, reviews and finance. It was criticised as a 'shallow story' and only made $14.4 million back from its $40 million budget. Not many people saw the film and not many people have even heard of it, even though it had been released just one year after her popular 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'. However, Jolie was still fairly early into her career and still developing a fan-base.

"Beyond the curious miscasting of Jolie, who can't quite turn lazy flirtatiousness into existential longing, Life or Something Like It offers few diversions." -- Mark Holcomb, Village Voice

What is the star's most financially successful film?
Mr and Mrs Smith (2005) was Angelina Jolie's most successful film, grossing $183.6 million in the US and $478,336,279 worldwide - a box office hit. Here she stars alongside Brad Pitt, and this is where she fell in love with him and they have been in a relationship in real-life ever since. Despite its success though, it received mixed reviews both positive and negative.

Why was the film successful?
The reason why the film was so successful was initially down to the casting. Both Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are very famous actors, and so by targeting both of their large fan-bases, the target audience altogether would have been very large. The film also received many positive reviews from critics about both the plot and the performance of the characters before the film was even released, which further would have encouraged people to see it. Another point that could be used is the fact it is near to a hybrid genre of both romantic comedy and action film, which widens the market still because it attracts those who like action films, those who like 'rom-coms', and those who like both. In addition to this, a lot of violence and sex was cut from the film, in order to reduce the certificate rating to a PG-13, which means a wider variety of audiences, due to age, could go and see the film, and therefore more people in general may have gone to see the film.

Where was the film distributed?
The film was distributed widely across America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia, which would open up a wider target audience and generate more money, although its popularity mostly came from its home place, the USA.


What are issues with 'stars'?
The issue with many stars is that they become known for starring in once genre of film, and so after a while all of their films seem to be repetitive and very similar, and so people would get very bored of the star. On the other hand, this could also be true of actors who can do a variety of genres, because after starring in all kinds of things, it is difficult to get any better at their work, and so their career would also come to an end. A good thing about Angelina Jolie is on the surface, she does a lot of action films that appeal to a certain audience to build her fan-base, but then instead of just continuing with this until people get bored of her, she branches out into other genres such as fantasy, love or drama, showing that she can do much more, and so her career has not reached the end yet.