Funding and industry contexts
1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?
- The budget was $15 million and Levantine Films and Ingenious Media helped contribute the development of the film
- Levantine Films had major success with Hidden Figures
- The Ingenious Group is an investment company
2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?
- Beecham House: a period drama television series set in 1795 Delhi before the British rule
- Viceroy's House: a British-Indian historical drama set during the partition of India
- Bend It Like Beckham The Musical: a British musical bringing a unique cultural fusion
- Desi Rascals: a reality television series following the lives of multi-generational British Asian cast living in a community in London
- It's a Wonderful Afterlife: a fun comedy about an Indian mother taking her obsession with marriage into frighteningly funny territory
- Angus Thongs & Perfect Snogging: a coming of age tale of a teen whose mind drifts into thoughts of growing up
- Mistress of Spices: a story of a woman who is sent to a Spice Bazaar in San Francisco
- Bride and Prejudice: a tale full of colour, music, and dance in which a woman is eager to find suitable husbands for her four unmarried daughters
- Bend It Like Beckham: a comedy about bending the rules to reach your dreams and the film follows two 18-year-olds with their hearts set on a future in professional soccer
3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.
New Line Cinema is a company that was founded in 1967 and has a successful history of producing films that resonate with mainstream and niche audiences around the world. One of their most successful films include "Lord Of The Rings" (which generated almost $3 billion at the global box office). They are also widely known for their work with horror films such as "Annabelle", "Annabelle: Creation", "Annabelle Comes Home", "The Conjuring", "The Conjuring 2", and "The Nun" and the collectively made $1.8 billion. They also released "IT" which was a global sensation and made over $700 million at the worldwide box office and then the sequel which followed in 2019 made $1 billion. They are also credited for bringing back R-rated comedies as well as crowd-pleasing comedies. This huge success allowed them to become a unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment in 2008
4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. How did she manage to get the film made?
Bruce Springsteen gave her permission to use his songs in the movie for a generous price that the article called a 'sweetheart deal'. She stated that the movie wouldn't have happened without Bruce's cooperation and generosity due to the $15 million budget
5) What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project?
She was attracted to the project because she said she's a huge fan of Springsteen as well as being considered an outsider in her childhood. She also believed it shared resemblance with 'Bend It Like Beckham' which is her hit film so she believed in the success of this project
Production and distribution
Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions:
1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?
Newline and Warner Bros won the distribution rights to Blinded By The Light for $15 million after an all-night auction
2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?
Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate, and others
3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?
The universal appeal of the coming-of-age music produced by Bruce Springsteen that tell honest stories about difficult upbringing, ambition, and the desire for freedom
4) What does the article suggest about the significance of Bruce Springsteen's role in the production and promotion of the film?
The article suggests that his role in the production and promotion was highly significant in the success of this movie because he allowed them to use his music in the movie as well as supporting the movie once it was out in order to produce a positive response from audiences
5) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. Visit the eOne About Us page on their website - what do they claim to offer under the heading 'Passion meets possibility?'
They claim to offer 'world class content' through vertical integration- allows them to 'share bold stories with audiences around the world'
Promotion and reception
1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?
The trailer successfully reveals the genre of the film by showing the struggles that the protagonist goes through when it comes to culture clashes between him and his father. His father has a traditional view on what boys in his family should do whereas Javid (the protagonist) wants his own freedom to do what he wants without his father's influence. We can also see the characters at a school in the trailer which confirms that this movie is a coming-of-age movie and the use of Springsteen's music also appeals to an older audience which may be familiar with his music
2) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear?
- They feature positive reviews on the posters as well as the protagonist of the movie listening to music (which we can assume is Springsteen) as well as Gurinder Chadha's name (the film director) and Bruce Springsteen's name
- The posters were put on display on social media and the London and Luton premieres
3) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Give as many examples as you can.
- The writer (Sarfraz Manzoor) and the actor who played Javid (Viveik Kalra) did an interview for The BBC One Show
- They also did interviews with HeyUGuys, Channel 4 News, Lorraine, and CBS Mornings
- Gurinder Chadher did an interview for Bend It Networks and BBC London News
4) Why are interviews with newspapers, TV shows and websites a good way to promote a new film release?
Because they are free ways to promote something to a large audience that can be shown to an audience that is already watching TV and they may consider watching if it interests them
5) How does the Blinded By The Light Twitter account create and maintain interest in the film?
They share clips from the film and retweet posts and ratings about the film as well as making references to the movie and the music from the movie. Another clever way of promoting this movie is by interacting with their followers by asking questions about the film
6) How does the Blinded By The Light Facebook page use images and video content to promote the film?
They use it to advertise Blu-Ray and the digital version of this film as well as sharing clips and images from the film. They also post songs from the movie in order to remind their followers of the soundtrack
7) Why do you think the Blinded By The Light Facebook page contains posts supporting the Black Lives Matter movement?
The issues in the movie reflect themes of racism towards Pakistanis so by showing support of the Black Lives Matter movement, they are emphasising the message behind the movie that discrimination should not be tolerated
8) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.
- Post 1: a clip of the movie was posted with a Certified Rotten Tomatoes review on the front that says "A refreshing coming of age film that will reignite the dreamer in you" and at the end of the video, they promote the DVD for the film- by posting this positive review, people are encouraged to watch this movie. Also, the clip they used showed the happy moments in the film in order to portray it in a positive light and encourage more people to watch
- Post 2: a screenshot from the movie where the three main teenagers in the movie are dancing and smiling with a Certified Rotten Tomatoes review that says "a rollercoaster of emotion"- the positive emotions and facial expressions in the screenshot reflect the happy moments in the movie that could encourage an audience to watch because they want to experience the happy moments in the film and gain context on where this screenshot came from
- Post 3: a picture of the film director (Gurinder Chadha) with a celebrity (Jameela Jamil) from the premiere of the movie was posted and perhaps this could promote the movie because Jameela's followers could see this post and because they look up to her, they are likely to watch a movie that she enjoyed so this could raise viewings of the film. Also, the fact that there are celebrities watching this film emphasises how important the message behind this film is which could also encourage more people to watch
9) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel? What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?
She introduces it as a place where her and her audiences can connect to one another- the home of where everyone can come together for the best of what is going on in the world. The channel also posts content about cooking, comedy, drama, fashion, hair, beauty, and health
10) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?
Even though the budget was only $15 million, the movie only ended up making $18 million at the worldwide box office and this could be because of the fact that it didn't aim for one specific target audience so the large range in audiences made it hard to attract one specific audience- this is because the coming-of-age part could attract teenagers but the Bruce Springsteen aspects could attract an older audience and it doesn't attract one particular audience
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