1. The Number 23
Institutions
The institutions is the information about the Director, Production Company, Release Date, Box
Office Returns, etc. I have gathered all the information I need from the internet, because of it is
quicker and easier and I have collected the information below from the website IMDb.
Director
Joel Schumacher
Schumacher has worked on 32 movies in his lifetime giving him the
experience to know what will make a great film and what will not. He also has a
large amount of experience in the directing of thrillers that have been
blockbusters such as Phone Booth, Phantom of the Opera, Flawless and the
Batman films from the 90s.
Writer
Fernley Phillips
This film was Phillips big break into the writer scene as this was his first film
that he had been a part of, so he had a lot going for him on this film as he was
also the co-producer.
Production Company
The film didnʼt just have one company it had four, which were
• New Line Cinema
• Contrafilm
• Firm Films
• Fingerling Films
From looking at these companies they have worked on films that have always been blockbusters,
such as, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Blade trilogy, the Butterfly Effect, Domino, etc. This gives the
impression that it is a good film
Genre
The genre of the film is drama, mystery and thriller, which you can assume from the poster.
Release Date
23 February 2007
Country of Making
The film was made in the USA and filmed in Florida, California and Los Angeles.
Awards
They did not win any awards but it was nominated for three, one of which they would not be proud
of. These were the nominated awards:

2. Institutions
Razzie Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2008 Nominated Razzie Award Worst Actor
Jim Carrey
Teen Choice Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2007 Nominated Teen Choice Choice Movie Actor: Horror/Thriller
Award Jim Carrey
Choice Movie: Horror/Thriller
World Soundtrack Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2007 Nominated World Soundtrack Film Composer of the Year
Award Harry Gregson-Williams
Also for Shrek the Third (2007), Deja Vu (2006) and Flushed
Away (2006).
Money
I have split the Money section into two sections Budget and Gross, I have done this so that I can see
if they have made a profit or a loss.
Budget
The budget for the film was $32,000,000 which seems to be the average budget of the films, it was
doesnʼt mean it is going to be of poor making, as Lucky Number Slevin was $30 million and in my
opinion it was a brilliantly made.
Gross
The total gross for the film was $76,593,167, making a profit of $44,593,167 which is a better profit
than Lucky Number Slevin, however it doesnʼt make it a better film.

3. Audience
In this audience section I will go though the intend audience and the reception of the film, I will be
using ratings and user comments from IMDb.
Intended Audience
I believe that the intended audience that the film has tried to represent is for the audience that has
an interest in films that revolve around a mystery. The sub-genre is thriller giving the impression
that the viewers will also like to get scared during the film or spooked for a short amount of time.
There is a wide appeal across the age groups as it seems to appeal to a variety of people. It
interests 15-19 year olds as the poster gives the impression of it being a horror movie due to the
darkness around the poster, this is what the teenagers look for in a film, that can make them
jump. It attracts the older age group as well because it has the effect of being a mystery and the
older age group like a film that can make them think about the information in the movie.
Audience Reception
The information on the left I have collected from
the IMDb website.
From the graph I can tell that the age group 18
and under gave it the best rating of 7.2, showing
that the film was mainly aimed at the 18ʼs and
under.
The film also seems to have been mostly liked
by females by giving an average vote of 6.4,
however the amount of females that voted is a
tiny amount compared to the male voters.
Making the male vote more precise due to the
large amount of voters.
I was wrong about the film having a wide spread
age range as the 18 and overs gave it 6.6
and lower, giving the impression that the didnʼt like the movie.
The comments on the IMDb website are varied through the dislike and like situations. A
commentator from the Untied States said “One of the worst movies I have ever seen” giving the
impression that the person didnʼt like the film, he also gave it a rating of 1 out 10. The writer also
backs up his opinion with naming all the things that he thought were bad about the film he said that
there are “too many plot holes.” After he had gone through them I realised that he had been mainly
stating it as a bad film, and not giving any good pionts to the film.
Another commentator called theLPgoonie said that the film did what it was meant to - “be an
entertaining thriller” leaving me to assume that maybe the film wasnʼt as bad as it was to said to
be. The commentator rated it 9 out of 10 again promoting the film to me as being good, and
throughout the posted comments got better and better, especially by commenting on Carreyʼs
acting and the ending of the film, yet again adding to the positive side of the film.

4. Technology
In this section I will talk about how the technology has increased the audiences knowledge and
access of the film.
The Audiences Knowledge
The Audiences knowledge of the film varies from the impression that you
get from the poster and watching the film.
If you look at the poster you would have no idea about the plot you can
only assume; the first thing that you notice is the number 23 written all over
his face so you assume that the plot has to do with the number. You can
also concluded the number has some sort of danger to it because of the
red writing.
If you go by the film in the first five minutes you donʼt understand what is
happening as it is suggested that it has something to do with the future due
to the character saying “if I did this....”.
However the character is shown to be in an everyday situation with his job as an animal catcher, it
is also suggested that he doesnʼt like his job, we assume this by the way he does not listen to the
owner of the restaurant as he shows him where the animal is.
They do these hints and suggestions by using technology to make our understanding of the
character better for example by suppling the equipment that an animal catcher would have and with
the poster using the best way of editing the it to hint at the plot and maybe the character.
Audiences Access
The audience is now able to access the film in a variety of ways because of the way that the film
industry is changing.
The person that wishes to see a film could easily go down to the cinema and watch it, but now there
is more than just one way of watching a film, they could watch it normally or in 3-D by wearing
special glasses.
The new way of renting films has changed over the decade, no more walking down to the local shop
and renting one of a very small collection of DVDs. You can now rent a DVD off the internet, the
companies that do this are Lovefilm and Amazon which send you your DVD.
The way of renting a film of iTunes is that you download it from the software you then have it for
about 30 days after which it automatically deletes itself. This is a great way of renting films as you
can put the film on to your iPod letting you watch it when you are out.

5. Codes/Forms & Conventions of the Thriller Genre
Conventions
The first convention that is shown is the titles, the titles always hints at what is going to happen in
the movie.
The titles are written on an old typewriter giving the impression of the
film having something to do with time when the typewriter was
invented, the text is also layered on paper that is stained making it
also look old.
As the names start to appear there is a flash of
numbers that are shown before giving the impression
that the film has to do with numbers. After a couple of
names there is a shot where the number 23 is written
over and over going in a sequence down the page.
The title of the film is then shown, it
is coloured red maybe suggesting
that it is dangerous. Above and
below the title there are
Xs this could be hinting that death surrounds the number. Which explains
why after the showing of this blood spatters appear on the paper which
then spreads to show 23
Later in to the opening there is a shot
that shows the number 23 appearing on
his radio communicator, showing that
the number is everywhere.
Setting
After the titles there is a downwards pan fading to
a suburban area, with a park full of people having
fun and a lush grass area, giving a nice
atmosphere to the place. However as it pans to
the left there is a grey van and a concrete house
that gives the area a grungy look.
The setting then changes to a flash of a Christmas party, you can
tell because of the multi coloured fairy lights shown in the
background and also due to the people running around with Santa
Claus hats on

6. Codes/Forms & Conventions of the Thriller Genre
Sound
For the sound section I will split it up into non-diegetic and diegetic sounds.
The first part of non-diegetic sound that you hear is the sound of a violin which, gives the
impression of the film having a mystery. Later the sound of a flute and a drum are added, making
the title sequence more dramatic.
When the title of the movie appears there is the sound of a thud to add tension to the film, after that
the music starts to get faster and faster until it shows the number 23 in red where it fades out.
Throughout the titles there is the sound of a typewriter, giving the impression of the title sequence
being typed as you watch it. There is also the sound of paper turning that could be done to
represent a book, which might be hinting to further in the film where there is a book.
The next part is of the main characters voice narrating the opening, as he speaks you can clearly
hear a hint of regret in his voice, this could be to represent what is going to happen later in the film.
The first part diegetic sound that you hear of the main character talking to himself, he says “oh”
while there is a shot of the time suggesting he is late or that he finishes work soon.
The next part you hear is of a flash back where there is Christmas music playing in the radio,
setting the time around the Christmas holiday, after that he says to his son “I look like a rock star” in
a modest way giving the impression that he wants to look good for where he might be going. The
wife later reveals that they are going to a party which leaves the audience to assume that it is a
Christmas party.
At this part the couple are shown to be loving as he tryʼs to stay with her, but she reminds him about
a cake he was supposed to take to the party, and he has to go. Which leads him into bigger trouble
as she is not there because a women he works with tries to kiss him and he say “I wouldnʼt go with
you if you where the last bitch on earth” which he says jokingly. However it still offends her as the
music completely stops as he says it.
After the flash back the women who tried to kiss him makes him do another job before he finishes
work, due to her humiliation.

7. Representation
The character that Jim Carrey plays is shown to almost be three
different people at the opening of the film.
The one on the left is shown to be wise as he talks about the past and
the way if he had done something else he wouldnʼt be in the situation
that caused him all the trouble. As he speaks his voice is very calm
but yet there is hint of regret in it.
The other here is shown to be a loving farther and husband,
he is shown as loving when his son comes down the stairs
and starts to talk and have a laugh with him.
When he sees his wife and notices that she is ill, he starts
to say I will stay home with you I donʼt need to go to the
party, so that he can stay home and look after her.
When he is shown to be catching a dog he looks almost fierce, mainly
because of the high angle shot but he starts to almost tease the dog
about how in places people eat dogs. His voice stays very calm as he
is about to capture the dog almost showing a darker side to him.
The different part of the character shows what he could be like and
what he is like, maybe hinting at a change of the characters
personality.
The main character is represented as an animal control officer due to the uniform he is wearing
which has the logo on the front and the name of the company. It is also shown by him having a long
stick with a hoop on the end to go round the animals neck and also by the gloves that he puts on
before he goes to touch it incase it bites him.

8. The characters face is the only thing that is lit up, this could represent him looking in to the light, the
light could be a symbol of the truth so he is looking at the truth of the number 23.
The person
has bags
under his
eyes to
show his
tiredness The
maybe to character
work out the has the
number 23. number 23
As you can written all
see the over his
character face so the
has the audience
word help in assume that
a speech the film is
bubble about the
written on number 23.
the side of This also
his face this give the
could be impression
hinting that of him being
the insane as
character is he has
going to go written it all
insane over his
face.
The text on However
the poster is some of
of an old these are
typewriter, equations
this could be suggesting
suggesting that
the number everything
23 has refers to 23.
something
to do with
the past
This sentence the truth will find you, I find a bit strange as it will find you not that you will find the
truth. This could be revealing that the film could be about destiny, as you cannot change destiny, and
the character cannot stop finding the truth.
It is also highlighted in red suggesting that the truth has danger to it, maybe that he dies from the
truth or goes insane