Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

 Background and Production

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival 

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

is a rites of passage comedy drama directed by Gurinder Chadha, who also directed BendIt Like Beckham. Set in 1987, it revisits Manzoor's teenage years and much of it is directly basedon real events. an unlikely result of this is that his teenage friendship with Amolak has now been incapable of dying- not something either of them could have imagined in their wildest dreams.

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

audiences discovered personal connections to the story. I couldn't have anticipated that Israeli ladies in Jerusalem, white teenage American boys in Omaha, Nebraska and older white ladies in Australia who had seenthe film could all touch me on social media and thank me for telling their story. I had now not expected to be approached, at screenings from Glasgow to Seattle, through people who reputedly had nothing in commonplace with the protagonist however said they'd related emotionally with the story.

3) Why is the Sun dance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

The festival permitted movies that would have had small to no chance of raising sufficient cash for a budget to induce their opportunity to be financed by bigger company and build the British film industry instead of depending on foreign film and standard film to fill cinemas. This will deliver rise to unused makers that conclusion up building and contributing to the development of British film.

 Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

$15 million, Levantine films and ingenious media.

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

Bend it like Beckham the musical, Beecham houseViceroys house,Desi Rascals, its a wonderful afterlife, Angus thongs and perfect snogging, Mistress of spices, Bride and Prejudice, Whats cooking? 

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warner's website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

Building on more than 50 a long time of development and imagination, New Line Cinema proceeds its long and effective history of creating fundamentally acclaimed hit films that reverberate with both mainstream and niche audiences around the world. Portion of Warner Bros. Amusement since 2008, New Line facilitates its improvement, generation, promoting, conveyance and trade issues exercises with Warner Bros. Pictures Bunch to expand film execution and working efficiencies. In 2023, New Line will release “House Party,” “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” “Evil Dead Rise” and “The Nun 2.” 

 

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

Born in Kenya when the nation was a British colony, she developed up portion of the Indian/Asian diaspora who made their way from East Africa to London motion pictures has continuously managed with the foreigner involvement It serves as a strong parallel to the xenophobia of nowadays. Chadha may be a tremendous Springsteen fan, who sought after her dream of making a motion picture almost The Boss' music based on the true-life diary of co-writer Sarfraz Manzoor. It took nearly a decade from Chadha's chance assembly with Springsteen, who gave his thumbs-up to the book after a 2010 U.K. screening of The Guarantee. They continued to reach out to Jon Landau and Barbara Carr at his administration company, beside official maker Tracy Nurture, a previous SVP Universal Promoting at Sony Music, where she worked with Bruce for a long time, enrolling her to ended up portion of the film's generation staff. New Line Cinema, who procured it for the $15 million it fetched to form. Offers were being texted to Chadha as she sat within the gathering of people observing her claim film. 

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?

New line cinema for $15 million 

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

Fox Searchlight, Lions gate

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

universal appeal of Springsteen’s coming-of-age tunes, which tell honest stories about a hardscrabble upbringing, ambition and the fight to break free of all shackles to do something worthwhile with one’s life.

4) 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?'

eOne enables every step in the entertainment value chain from development and production to marketing and distribution. With the reach of a studio and the flexibility of an indie, we share bold stories with audiences around the world.

Marketing, promotion and reception

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

80's Coming of age, with aspects of social realism and i believe that the gratification of personal identification can be applied here to identifying with an immigrant background or the struggle to find a purpose and a path in life after reaching adulthood. Also provides diversion as it can take us from our own everyday lives and provide some comedy in the life of someone else.

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

BBC one, Hey You Guys, Bend it networks. Interviews are a good way to promote a new film release as it stimulates public interest and brings the film to the attention of a large audience through not just the video interview but also the articles that are published that garners interest as well.

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

Featured the main character Javed, On the UK distribution it had been Javed on a Orange and white background with him jumping up while in The US poster Javed is seen to be in more denim and looking more like a Bruce Springsteen fan but on a red and blue background, and does not have the Walkman or headphones that are reminiscent of the 80's.

4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

Instagram, Twitter, YouTube.

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

On the Instagram account for the film, there are posts of the film poster for blinded by the light, reviews from articles and video segments taken from the movie. All of these promote the film as they create excitement and interest through understanding what it will be about, the main character and its vibe while also providing reviews that will make the film more credible for the average audience/ reliability in the film being worth the watch.

6) 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 the channel as being a place for people to go to if they have interests that they want to share and be a part of a wider community where people can share not just those interests but culture as well. The channel also contains movie trailers for Chadha's other works but also interviews and the makings of her films.

7) 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?

$19.5 million and i believe that it had been unsuccessful due to its launch in August coinciding with another exceptionally comparable movie 'Yesterday' but too that it had discharged as a Feel Great film but had numerous components of social authenticity that will have put individuals off of observing it amid that summer period. Whereas the reality that it had no come up with a concrete character of what class the film was, may have moreover exacerbated the feeling that gatherings of people did not know climate the film requested to them or not which may caused a hesitance in observing 'Blinded by the Light'. 

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.