1. A homicide detective, will push his limits in order to catch a
serial killer whom of which specializes in torture and pain. With
his love and life being threatened will Alex Cross be successful?

2.  Alex cross has been classified as
certificate 15, which limits the
target audience to an older range
of people. This is important as it
reveals to the audience the film will
consist of violence and strong
language which are key codes and
conventions for any crime or action
film due to it helping suspense and
a sense of realism to be created.

3. Source: Imdb.com

4.  Alex cross is set to be realised throughout the
autumn and winter, this is a typical time to release a
film of the crime genre due to the atmosphere
being accurate as the film itself has a dark tone to it
thus the season will reflect that. Also, in the US Alex
Cross is realised before Halloween which is the time
for thrillers to be realised, therefore the date for
Alex Cross is suitable and will result in a better
atmosphere for viewing. Also as the film is aimed at
people aged 15 and over by releasing the film at this
time means students will have spare time due to it
being in the holidays. This is also during the awards
season which will mean it will bring in a lot of
viewers.

5. Foreign marketing
not only spreads
out the costs
evenly but it
means that the
different
distributors know
how to appeal to
the difference
audiences around
the world.

7. Why is it important?
This is a good starting point for the film to be backed up with a
well know production company as it broadens the audience as
fans of the companies films are more likely to hear about the
film resulting in ratings to expand. By having a decent
production company also helps to create a ‘buzz’ as the more
popular a company is the easier the product is to market and be
recognised which results in the news on the film being spread
more quickly and effectively if it portrays enough potential.
However this company isn’t the most successful and after
researching the company I found some information to be
interesting which will affect the film.
I found the fact the company are popular with teens that enjoy
films of the romance genre interesting as it appears to be set
back for Alex Cross. The production company also doesn’t
appear to have success with the genre of this film therefore I
think It is risky for this company to be producing the film as they
lack knowledge of the genre and the specific audience suitable
for the genre. Because of this flaw this film could be yet another
flop to add the company’s list, and the film probably won’t
receive a very positive reputation and a buzz is unlikely to be

8.  The fact the director is more known for being a producer rather than a
director suggests he isn’t very qualified or suited to the role of a
director and Reveals, the directing throughout the film could be poor
thus resulting in bad acting for example causing the film to have a
downfall and not be as successful as it could be. Most films directed by
Rob Cohen are rather well known, or successful (regarding a few) which
could affect have a positive outcome of the film, especially considering
Cohen is a veteran director. Cohen’s most successful film being ‘The
mummy – tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ which is part of a franchise
which was an advantage for Cohen as he would already have original
fans wanting to see the film, this made a total of 401,128,639 $
grosses which is rather successful. Cohen again has the advantage of
having a pre-sold audience due to Alex Cross being both a film
franchise and originally a novel series, this will help the films viewings
be higher which will emphasis the success of the film .

9. “Cohen directed directed the
critical and commercial
flop Stealth”
I think this is of importance as
an audience are likely to have
higher expectations for
Cohen’s films due to his failure
in directing stealth, which
means Cohen will need to
prove himself successful in his
upcoming films to achieve a
status as a successful director.

10. Producers - This was confirmed
Bill Block on Patterson’s
Paul Hanson website and also that
James Patterson the film will be based
Steve Bowen on the book cross. I
Randal Emmett found this
Leopoldo Gout interesting as
Patterson wrote the
Screenplay Alex cross book
Marc Moss series thus he knows
Kerry Williamson of all the elements
needed in order to
Cinematography make the film’s story
Ricardo Della Rosa successful

11. Tyler Perry as Dr. Alex Cross
Matthew Fox as Picasso
Edward Burns as Tommy Kane
Rachel Nichols as Monica Ashe
Cicely Tyson as Nana Mama
Carmen Ejogo as Maria Cross
Giancarlo Esposito as Daramus Holiday
John C. McGinley as Richard Brookwell
Jean Reno as Leon Mercier
Ingo Rademacher as Officer Sacks

12. Tyler Perry is taking the lead role for the film as
the protagonist ‘Alex cross’ originally played by
Morgan Freeman. The fact Morgan Freeman,
isn't staring in this film suggests the film isn’t
going to meet the standards of the others due to
the impact the actor had on the previous films as
a whole. Fans of the previous films may also
consider not viewing the film as it isn’t the same
without the original actor. The fact the
protagonist is being played by Tyler Perry, an
actor known for comedy, might be a setback for
the film as he having to adapt to a completely
new genre of film. I think Tyler Perry is a bad
choice for the main role due to him not having
the expertise to meet the standards of Morgan
Freeman.

13. Matthew Fox is taking the role of the
infamous antagonist Picasso. Fox is most
commonly known for played the character
Jack in the TV series lost, a helpful and kind
hearted character however this role is
oppositional to what he is known for. I believe
Fox was chosen for his villainous appearance
and talented acting( this is clearly identified
through the number of awards in which he
won or was nominated for, for Lost.)
However if he is unsuitable for the role of a
villain the film could result in having bad
casting thus making the outcome disastrous.

14. Tyler Perry received $5m upfront for his
performance. ‘Tyler Perry is the highest paid
man in Hollywood’ With this being true
choosing Perry for the main role is a risky
decision due to the cost of having him star in
the film.
Mathew Fox’s pay is currently unknown
however, Perry and Fox were the top paid
actors followed by Rachel Nichols.
Source: http://www.theroot.com

15. Clouds, show uncertainty and
Action | Crime | Mystery objectives being unclear
City as the location, adds to which represents
action genre due it being a case.(portrays mystery and
stereotypical setting. crime genre)
Viewing of a weapon Dark figure, adds to
which is key iconography mystery genre due his
for any film of the action identity being unknown.
genre, revels there will be
violence and death
Black connotes
Blue used for title,
darkness and death
connotes loneliness and
which is an expected
gives a sense of one of
occurrence for the
the characters
film, this adds to the
personalities whilst
crime and action
revealing a theme..
element of the film

16. Product placement throughout Alex cross was mainly
through the cars as all vehicles in the movie are GM
vehicles such as Cadillac CTS and a red Chevy Camaro.
This makes an audience want to purchase these vehicles
as their talents are being shown off.
Skype, a social network, is another product placement
as it is used in Alex Cross for the characters to discuss the
case thus resulting in a popularity increase for the
network.

17. With the release of Alex cross the film is being promoted
through the book it is based upon, this works to lure in the
target audience as they are in for a chance to win tickets rather
than pay. The creation of a competition is always good for
selling any film due to the satisfaction of winning.

19. By making reference to
Perry’s diet for Alex cross
makes the appeal for
men to see this film
stronger, especially
considering the
popularity on men's
health magazine. Men
would want to see Alex
Cross more to see just if
this diet works as seeing
him in visual motion
form would be more
accurate than a photo.

20. The total estimated film budget is £35,00,000
however The finance production cost is unknown.
Below are estimated figures based on films with a
similar budget.
Writer $300,000
Director $2,000,000
Producers $2,000,000
Cast $9,000,000
Above the line expenses $285,000
(etc)
=$13,585,000 EST

21.  Alex Cross didn’t succeed at box office due to
the film only making $25,215,000 which
doesn’t even cover the budget for the film
thus the film hasn’t got any money back and
is in fact loosing money.

22.  Distributed in
lots of
cinema’s
allows lots of
people to see
it worldwide,
means if a
buzz is sent
out a large
profit will be
made due to
the audience
having easy
access to film.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com

23. Alex cross was a flop at the films opening weekend due to it
earning only $11.75 million which is substantially low
considering the budget of the film was 35 million. Alex cross also
came in at number five in the box office chart.
Opening Weekend:
$11,396,768 (USA) (21 October 2012) (2339 Screens)
Gross:
$24,603,042 (USA) (11 November 2012)
The fact the films earnings is already low is interesting as it
already clear the film is going to be a flop in cinema’s and
probably will not recover through DVD either due to the
negative reviews the film has received.

24. “ Instead of typical red carpet, a
black carpet graced the grounds”

29.  These are critic’s
opinions on Alex cross
which I found on
http://www.cbsnews.
com all of these
reviews are negative.
I find this interesting
as it is promoting the
film to be a failure
already, as not a
single critic appears
to of complimented
the film in any form

32. http://www.boxoffice.com

34.  In an article I read that Idris Elba was
originally going to star as Alex cross, however
was replaced by Tyler Perry. I personally think
Elba would be more suitable for the role
considering his past roles in films of the same
genre such as prom night and obsessed. Elba
would of also received a smaller pay which
would work on behalf of the films profit,
rather than Tyler Perry who is currently over
rated as a comedy star.

35.  This is the website for the movie which is very
limited on the information provided and
consists of mainly the trailer and synopsis to
try and sell the plot to an audience.
Although the film is based on the books this still works
as a form of synergy as if people have an interest in the
film they are likely to want to purchase the book so by
advertising this on the website creates an opportunity
for the book sales to be increased.

36.  The fact each poster consists of the actors faces reveals they are what is
being sold to the audience as appose to the creativeness of the story line
for example. The fact the film was in the top 10 worse film posters of all
time portrays this technique is doing nothing but creating bad
reputation for the film which lacks creativity and a unique selling point.

37. All advertisements have
Tyler Perry appearance
present which means the
actor is being sold to the
audience rather than the
actual film, which will
create an immediate
appeal to Tyler Perry fans
and since he is currently
Hollywood's top paid actor
it means his appearance
should send out a buzz.
The fact the film has two advertisements on the same website
means it is unavoidable for an audience, however I think this
shows the films desperation to get noticed as two
advertisements aren’t needed in the same place. In main
advertising for the film is currently online which shows the film
desires as much attention as possible.

38. Advertising on Facebook allows audience to easily interact with
film and share it easily to friends, which is a simple way for a buzz to
start however the low number of shares emphasises the lack of
interest the target audience has for the film.

39. This reveals the acting in the film is rather decent and the
failure of the film is caused by the director which was my
hypothesis as to why the film wouldn’t be successful as he
wasn’t fit for the genre of the film.

40. By having an advertisement online opens the film up to a wider
audience due the to internet being so highly used, this is an
essential spot for the film as it could be it’s last chance to attract
attention and earn more money.

41. I personally find this interview
interesting due to it being spontaneous
which allows the actors personality to
come through and almost forces honest
answers as time to think is limited. This
interview made me want to see the film
more due to it touching upon questions
that I myself was asking. In the interview
Patterson, author of the Alex Cross
novels, quotes ‘I think this is better than
kiss the girls and along came a spider’
this is interesting as critics don’t seem to
agree however this convinces the
audience that the film possibly isn’t as
bad as it is being made out to be
especially if the creator of the books
thinks it is the best film yet.

42.  Since all the actors are American it is expected
that the film will do better in America.
 With Tyler Perry being African American and
playing the protagonist in the film allows the
film to open up to an African American audience
 Although the film is an action film which
stereotypically doesn’t appeal to women the
character Monica, played by Rachel Nichols,
defeats this as she is portrayed as strong which
allow the film to also be appealing to women.

43.  The creation of a game for
Alex Cross was done so
the audience could have
more interactive elements
of the film and also allows
teenagers to be targeted
as games are commonly
associated with that age
group. The variety of
games also allows an
audience with different
traits to have an interest
in the film.

44. Average
I personally thought Alex Cross was a poor edition to
the Alex cross films, especially considering I myself
am not a fan of prequels as the destiny of the
character is already known. Firstly although Perry’s
acting was very admirable there was no way he was
able to meet the standards of Morgan Freeman,
perhaps if the film was an entirely new production
rather than part of a franchise I would see more
enjoyment in it. I also didn’t like how the character
Alex Cross was portrayed, as he acted violent and
aggressive which didn’t fit the characters profile as in
previous films he is seen to be relaxed and intellectual

45. I found the film to be extremely predictable through minor
details such as the ring, which stuck in my mind through out
the remains of the film thus I knew it would have something
to do with the twist which is always present in Alex Cross
films. As a result of this the film ended up being less
impactful than it was intended, I blame bad directing for
this. The twist at the end of the film defiantly didn’t meet my
expectations as it was expected where as in along came a
spider for example it was more abrupt.
A death in the film is also foreshadowed badly, through the
dialogue, ‘it’s unlucky to toast with water’, and through the
music heightening when the character exists, this results in
the death being less dramatic.

46. - I personally liked how the themes of family and
friendship came through the film strongly as it
allowed the film to have an emotional effect.
- I also liked the special effects in the film, the
explosions were very dramatic and emphasised the
action genre well.
- The acting from Yara Shanhidi was very emotive
which I personally liked as it allowed sympathy to be
created for the character.
- - I think Matthew Fox made an impressive villain and
his acting didn’t go unrecognised, and I think he
successfully managed to anger the audience at least
he was one of the key aspects of this film which was a
positive.

47. After watching Alex Cross it is clear to see what type
of audience to film will strongly appear to. Due to
the protagonist being African American and
intelligent it is clear that the film will appear to
African American’s as the negative stereotypes of
black people aren’t being portrayed. I personally
think The film is not highly recommended for
females simply due to them being portrayed as weak
due to three deaths in the film consisting of female
characters.

48. Very good
|||
Good
||||
Average
||||
Poor
|||
Very poor

49.  From the feedback I was given from questioning
people about the film I learned that Alex Cross was
mainly enjoyed or at least worth watching once. These
results go to show that maybe critics were to hard on
the film as the general viewers didn’t think it was a
complete failure however someone commented the
film ‘wasn’t the same without Morgan Freeman’ and
that ‘the sequel wont be a good idea.’ which portrays
if it is decided that a sequel will be made the film wont
be as lucky this time. People also though that the film
was one of the best action films they have seen all
year, which shows the critics opinions obviously didn’t
effect the viewers.