Paul Blogs

Blogs before and after release.
The blogs would be useful for the movie before and after the film is released, they use these at every stage.
An advantage of the blogs are that they are cheap to make therefore a cheap marketing tool.
The people watching for the blogs are going to be most likely Simon Pegg and Nick Frost fans, these fans would be part of the target audiance for the film 'Paul'. These blogs would be used for the bonus features of dvds also.

Release Date.
The release date in the UK was Valentines Day (US Release - 18th March), this was a monday which makes it an unusual day to release a film. It would of been released on Valentines day because couples are likely to go to the cinema because it is a cheap date which also suits the target audiance of around 15-35. Also the genre is suitable for both genders even though it is slightly more aimed at men.
It is also a sci-fi comedy which would be light-hearted.

In 2010 'Valentines Day' was released on valentines day and this would be for the same reason that couples would go on a date to the cinema and also it is a romantic comedy.

Posters

> Colour stands out
> Blunt, 'Joker' and alient picture show straight away that its a comedy.
>Doesnt show Nick Frost&Simon Pegg - American Poster.









> We learn that it is a sci-fi film from the picture of an alien and the actors facial expression and clothes show its a comedy.
>Relates to Hot Fuzz (writing underneath picture) links to the marketing and target audiance.








Trailer.
Trailers are found in the cinemas, on tv, on the internet, on the radio and also on social networking sites such as facebook and twitter.
It relates to a certain type of target audiance because it has the 'Space Odesy' theme tune at the beginning. It shows a selection of maybe the funniest parts and snipets of the action in the film.
We immediatly recognise the actors and learn that it is in america and we get a taster of the special effects used.

Review.
> In a review it is said that it is considered to be more commerical (America).
> 'Geek Crowd' Exisiting fan base from previous films.
> By taking the mickey out of there fans they are taking a risk.
>They wright a tight, reaccuring script, they are sticking to a formula which has worked in previous films.

Paul Information

Key Information about Paul.

> $50million budget.
> Working Title produced.
> Universal Distributed it (universal own working title)
> Director - Grg Mattala
> Actors - Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Regan, Sigowney Weaver
> Box office takings...

The Soloist Questions.

Producers - Gary Foster and Russ Krasnoff

What did Steve Lopez question about the film from the start?
He didnt know where it was going and it dint have an end. He said ' How could you make a movie if you didnt have an ending'.

When did the producers meet Nathanal?
It was after meeting for lunch at a resturant when they had met Steve Lopez. (2005)

Where were the real life locations of the film?
Disney Concert Hall, Anderson Street and East side of LA river.

What was Susannah Grant's aim when screen writing?
To show that everybody on the street is someones daughter, son, neice, nephew, brother or sister and that they all have their own heartbreaking story is you take the time to listen to them , she wanted to make people think about this.

Why was Joe Wright apprehensive about making the film?
He was weary of trying to tell a story of a place he knew nothing about (he's a british director).

What does Robert Downey Jr say about the role of Nathanial?
'High degree difficulty'. He also said that he had the technical side aswell of playing the chelo and that he had to show the mental illness. He said ' we've all seen crazy done wrong'.

Why did Joe Wright want authentic locations and people in his film?
It was a dramatic set and makes people think about the divisons in society. He wanted to use the real-life homeless people to make it authentic and hopefully relate, this meant he gave these people a job.

How long did the set designers on location have to build the set?
4 weeks (including interior)

What process did the actors go through to ensure that the acting was authentic?
They were put in the same situation they were examining and they did a three week trust exercise.

What comments are made about the ending by Susannah Grant and Krasnoff?
It was about having an honest ending thats real and not a fairytale ending.

Tim Bevan.

Tim Bevan is a film producer and was born in 1958 in New Zealand.
He co-founded 'Working Title films' in London with Sarah Radcylffe, this was in the 1980's.
When working Title films made a deal with Universal Studios it gave him power to comission projects.
He is also the co-producer of the west end musicial Billy Elliot.

The soloist marketing.

People thought this would be a perfect film for the Oscars’ mostly older female audience, it is an emotional film about a very talented musician with schizophrenia. It was released in Britain after it had already been released in America and hadn’t done well there, because we already knew this, it was destined to the same here. As soon as it was released in America it was pronounced dead at the box office. It is said that at the end of the life you don’t feel ‘ rueful but a satisfying sense of just how disappointing life can be’ which is the feel that I think they wanted us to feel, but you just felt ‘disappointed’ .

The Soloist.

Production Notes on The Soloist.

• DreamWorks Pictures + Universal Pictures, with Working Title Films.
• The production designer is Sarah Greenwood.
• Foster said  “We felt that in the right hands this could become a filmabout love, about inspiration, about the power of how people can help eachother. That’s what we wanted. We saw right away that this was a story of life-altering friendship. Nathaniel helped Steve discover more of his humanity andSteve gave Nathaniel the hope for more in his life than just sitting in a tunnel andplaying a two-stringed violin. There’s great drama, great emotion, and I was alsoinspired by the fact that it takes place in Los Angeles and explores the manyaspects of the city, from the glimmering beauty of downtown to the starkgrayness of skid row. One block separates them but it feels like they’re worldsapart.”
• It was soon after making a deal with Steve Lopez that Krasnoff and Foster bought dreamworks on board who then in return coinvinced Susannah Grant, to catch her interest they sent her a paket of Lopez's columns.
• This is a pg 13 film this is because of strong language and drug use.
• Ben Hong was the peron who hekped Jamie Foxx work on the cello and helped make it easy for him.

Let the right one in.

Let the right one in.

From watching and analysing this film we can learn a lot about the mise en scene. It is first set in a dark quiet place with just street lights and the lamps from inside to light it up a bit, there is also snow on the ground and it continues to snow. This is very basic and this would be because the film had a low budget and therefore not much to work with. The costumes in this film are very dark, pale colours and old fashioned colours. It starts to become brighter and the mood of the film seems to lighten up a little when Oskar is happy, this is because Eli is his girlfriend and he now also stands up for himself. Another thing we recognise when talking about the mise en scene is how Eli sits in the centre of the room when she is by herself, I think this focus’s the attention on her.

The use of music at the beginning on the film builds up the tension, it is a loud creepy kind of music and it makes you think what is going to happen because it sounds dramatic. Another sound I picked up on was when Oskar repeated the words ‘Squeal like a pig , so squeal’, I think this was repeated so we took notice to it and took more notice to Oskar. Later on in the film there is slow music when Oskar is being ignored by his dad, I think this is to make us feel for Oskar and to realise what is going on and this music also continues when Eli is leaving.

There is a variety of camera shots used in this film , there are long shots when the man is being gassed and again when Eli is saying ‘help me’ I think this is because we can see everything that is happened and not just focus on one person but also everything else around that is happening. There is also a longshot when Eli is being sick. There are also close ups ,I think the main ones of these are when the man pours acid over himself, this is because he thinks he is going to get caught helping out Eli who is a vampire. Another important one is when Eli and Oskar are in bed together, I think they would have used a close up on this because this is an important part and we want to know what is going to happen next. Another bit of camera work used was when they are at school the camera is at the child’s eye line, I think this is to make us relate to the characters more.

When looking at the representation of both characters we learn that they are binary opposite for example Oskar is a boy and Eli is a girl and also because Eli is a vampire and Oskar is a human. I also noticed that when the girl first meets Oskar she says that they can never be friends which is to make us wonder why. They also only had a very simple convosation . The first few times she sees him she seems to sneak up behind him like she has been watching him anyway.

Using Vladimir Propp’s theory Eli could be seen as the hero because she gets what she wants (the blood of humans) and this would then make her dad the helper because he is helping her to succeed this, from this Oskar would be considered the prince because Eli ends up with him in the end.