A Review that blows "Juno's" indie credentials out of the water!

Here's an interesting take on "Juno" that questions just how uncoventional and "indie-minded" the film actually is. Do you agree or disagree with any part of the review?

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/feb2008/juno-f04.shtml

FilmMaker's interview with Jason Reitman, the director of "Juno"

FilmMaker's interview with the Jason Reitman, the director of "Juno".  It's really useful for understanding the film as an "indie" film from the other side of the big pond!

http://www.filmmakermagazine.com/webexclusives/2008/11/my-super-sweet-16-by-lisa-y-garibay.php

FM2 - British Film - an interview with Paul Andrew Williams, the director of "London to Brighton" 2006

Filmmaker's interview with the Paul Andrew Williams, the director of "London to Brighton", is well worth reading to establish how Williams's film can be defined as British. It would also repay study by students researching independent films.

http://filmakermagazine.com/directorinterviews/2008/02/paul-andrew-williams-london-to-brighton.php

FM2 British Film - "London to Brighton"

This blog has helful information and links for "London to Brighton". The information here should be sifted for understanding what makes the film British as well as deepening your understanding of the state of the British film industry.

http://tccbritishcinema.blogspot.com/2008/03/london-to-brighton.html

An Art-House Film - "American Beauty" Concept Map on Production Issues

Click on the image to enlarge.
Web links in the image that cannot be clicked from the JPEG.

Useful for comparing art-house "indie" films with films like "Once" made on shoe-string budgets.

Production Notes

Dreamworks's Production Noteshttp://thora.org/magazines/drmwrksinfo.html

An Art -House Film - "American Beauty" Concept Map on Distribution

Click on the image to enlargeWeblinks that cannot be clicked from the JPEG.

Useful for a studio-based comparison with "indie" films made on shoe-string budgets, such as "ONCE".
The Trailer
http://www.allsubs.org/search-trailer/American%20Beauty/
The film's official website
http://www.dreamworks.com/ab/
Reviews ( mainly an exhibition issue but they also generated "buzz" and "word of mouth")
The British broadsheet press (who focus on art-house films)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/jan/28/4
The public had its say, too in the same newspaper:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/movie/81856/american.beauty/review

An Art-House Film - "American Beauty" Concept Map on Exhibition

Useful for studio art-house films to compare with a shoe-string "indie" films in FS6, Section B .

Click on the concept map to enlarge.

The following are weblinks that will not click in the JPEG.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0169547/movieconnectionsPublic reviews from Amazon UKhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Beauty-Kevin-Spacey/dp/B0000558PIUK Press reviewhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/jan/28/4Amazon UK reviews of the music CDhttp://www.amazon.co.uk/review/product/B00003XACV/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt/276-8899745-1583721?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1Thomas Newman's distinctive score ( some examples)http://www.last.fm/music/Thomas+Newman/_/Dead+Already

Concept Map for film, Juno

Click on this concept map to make it bigger.

The links that cannot be clicked from the JPEG for further research, etc.
Production
http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2007/juno_production_details.htm


Distribution and marketing
website
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/juno/ (Also has the updated poster)
Trailer
http://www.mtv.co.uk/overdrive/id/99644
Poster
http://www.impawards.com/2007/juno_ver2_xlg.html

Exhibition
Reviews
The US critic Roger Ebert thought the film was the best of its year!
British critics
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2008/feb/08/comedy.drama
From the public
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Juno-Ellen-Page/dp/B0015VI334/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1232617714&sr=1-1

Opening Credits
http://www.shadowplaystudio.com/juno/


The British Box office and opening number of screens from IMBD.

£213,504 (UK) (16 March 2008) (188 Screens)
£445,999 (UK) (9 March 2008) (340 Screens)
£690,686 (UK) (2 March 2008) (373 Screens)
£1,073,852 (UK) (24 February 2008) (368 Screens)
£1,344,284 (UK) (17 February 2008) (366 Screens)
£2,002,120 (UK) (10 February 2008) (363 Screens)

Juno - Full Production Notes

Vital for understanding the production issues for this "Indie" film.
http://madeinatlantis.com/movies_central/2007/juno_production_details.htm

"Juno - the 'Indy' film that defeated Hollywood"

A interesting post from a great-looking blogsite with lots of relevant material for AS and A2 students of film. Looks as if they agree with many of my own ideas on "Juno" as good choice for examining the "demarcation lines" between Hollywood studio films and non Hollywood independent films.

http://itpworld.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/juno---the-indy-that-defeated-hollywood/htt

Juno - FS6 case study information for a studio "indie" film

The studio film, "Juno" produced by Mr Mudd Pictures is a great choice for comparing studio indie films with independent films with micro budgets like "ONCE". FOX Searchlight distributed both films but finance for "Juno" was much more assured compared with "ONCE". The importance of each film's soundtrack is another very useful point for comparison. Both films also won acclaim a film festivals: "ONCE" found its main distributors at "Sundance" and "Juno" won its early acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival. Aim firstly at art-house audiences, "Juno" crossed over to the mainstream without losing its "indie" cache.

When you write your essays comparing "genuinely independent films" with "indies" produced and distributed by the "boutique arms" of major studios you could do worse than comparing "ONCE" with "Juno".


The link below contains useful analysis on the marketing campaign with discussion on the teaser and theatrical poster as well as the trailers. I also like the analysis of how the campaign trod a fine line between art-house and mainstream audiences. FOX Searchlight were literally having their cake and eating it!

http://www.moviemarketingmadness.com/blog/2007/12/05/movie-marketing-madness-juno/


Production issues - Ellen Page's choice of music determined many songs on film's soundtrack.

http://www.slashfilm.com/2007/09/11/juno-movie-sountrack/

Indies and Film Ratings

More useful info. from The Cybercollege. Great graphics.

http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv006.htm

The End of the Studio System

A useful article by the Cyber College on the reasons for the decline and end of the Hollywood studio system
http://www.cybercollege.com/frtv/frtv005.htm

Hello Mummy Moore!

You have three nice looking blogs on film and media! I make it a point of visiting them and I'll add your most appropriate blog to this page. I know that Welling has special media status. All my best to you and your students.

Case Study Concept Maps for an art-house film

In the next few days I'll post my completed concept maps for "American Beauty". As the maps will be JPEGS I'll have to add the live links to the posts. Each map will feature issues on production, distribution and exhibition. There's also a generic map for any film. Of course, not everything will be covered but enough will be there for a meaningful Hollywood studio comparison with "ONCE" for FS6. I produced the maps as exemplars for my AS Media Studies class as they are creating case studies for OCR on film production and distribution companies. These concept maps will be followed up by another concept map which deals with the main issues for Section B of FS6: Film and its audience.

Recent small group research by my students on the problems they faced on how to produce, find and buy cameras, get permits for locations, finance and distribute their own films will be incorporated into the final concept map as this will be a good aid memoir for their essays. ( I'll hear the students' pitches this coming week.)

Work and posts on Section C of FS6 will also follow.