AQA A-Level Media Studies - Blinded By The Light

Production/finance

Media Synergy = allows cost to be spread out with minimal costs for each company

Developed by Bend It Networks

Ingenious Media - loans and money

Levantine Films - “character-driven, socially relevant and commercially viable projects”

Cornerstone - “vital link between creative vision and global commercial success”

BFI - uses national lottery to support independent productions

Festivals/distributors

2019 Sundance Film Festival - film critics and distributors watch

New Line Cinema - acquired distribution rights for the US (subsidiary of Warner Bros.)

Entertainment One - UK distribution rights

Marketing

Film festival run (e.g. Sundance)

Posters - sense of nostalgia (walkman, denim etc. for the 80s audience)

“feel-good film of the year” - The New York Post (two-step flow theory)

Bruce Springsteen big selling point in American marketing - star power and is more relevant to US audience

Social media - accounts made for the film, actors and director posting about it, Springsteen also posting about the film

Distribution

Staggered release - UK 9th of august and USA 16th of August (artificial scarcity)

Available on streaming services (e.g. HBO Max (also owned by Warner Bros.))

Hesmondhalgh - Cultural Industries

Emphasising Springsteen’s inclusion to American audiences (star power)

Director power - Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham)

Positive reviews in place of limited star power

Popular genre - “feel-good comedy” has diverse demographics

Taking advantage of other media products - based on an already existing book - “Grettings from Bury Park”

Curran and Seaton

Industry is oversaturated and products are being created just for profit by a handful of conglomerates (the big five). They suggest that this film is providing a public service alongside entertainment - it’s exploring socially important themes and appealing to/representing a diverse audience