1. Case
StudiesAS Media Section B

2. Working Title Film
 Founders: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
 „My beautiful Laundrette‟ (1985) was part financed by
Channel 4
 Bevan: ‟‟although working title had a strong independent
ethic, it had to seek financial support and investment from
other media organisations”
 Variety Magazine: “Transformed into one of the
cornerstones of Universal Pictures while remaining true to
their British roots and indie spirit”
 Could argue there is more pressure on them to secure the
box office success that Universal expects
 Have stayed in England and although they have a small
office in Hollywood, their operation is very much based in
London

3. NBC Universal
 NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric, with
20% controlled by Vivendi
 NBC Universal is a major multinational, multimedia
conglomerate
 Polygram filmed entertainment was sold and merged
with Universal Pictures in 1999
 Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios
 Universal Studios is a part of NBC Universal
 Working Title Films is now staked by Universal Studios
and makes films for them

4. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
 Keira Knightly, Donald Sutherland, Brenda Blethyn
 Budget of just over $20m, Box Office of over $121m
 Based on the novel by Jane Austen – and so was easily
successful
 Director: Joe Wright
 Filmed in England, and gives this stereotypical view of
England, as well as the time period
 Universal Pictures – Studio Canal- Working Title
 WTF got the attention due to success from Bridget
Jones’ Diary and Love Actually
 Moggach: "so beautifully shaped as a story – the
ultimate romance about two people who think they
hate each other but who are really passionately in love.
I felt, 'If it's not broken, don't fix it.'“
 It achieved the number one spot in its first week,
earning £2.5 million ($4.6 million) while playing on 397
screens.

5. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
Hot Fuzz(2007)
 Nick Frost and Simon Pegg
 Edgar Wright – Director and writer alongside Simon
Pegg
 Studio Canal and Working Title Films
 SOTD: Budget of £4m, Box Office over $30m
 HF: Budget of £8m, Box Office over $80m
 Both portray this stereotype of England
 HF- English country-side by using Gloucestershire
setting
 World’s End to be released in 2013 as third in the
„Three Flavours of Cornetto Trilogy‟
 SOTD immediately got attention from Pegg and Frost
being in Spaced, also directed by Edgar Wright

6. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
 Hugh Grant – Big British Star, automatic
attention to the film
 Estimated budget of just over $4million
 Box Office of over $200million
 Director: Mike Newell
 Polygram, Working Title, Channel 4
 Was filmed in various locations around
England and Scotland

7. DNA Films
 DNA films have a distribution agreement with Fox
Searchlight, a subsidiary of 20th Century Fox which
specialises in independent and British films
 independent film production company set up in 1997 by
Duncan Kenworthy & Andrew MacDonald
 DNA benefits from Fox Searchlight's access to funds and a
worldwide distribution network, while Fox gains cultural and
artistic kudos by supporting more 'edgy' productions
 While 28 Days was distributed through Fox Searchlight, 28
Weeks was distributed through Fox International - this
might sound like a trivial difference, but what it shows is
that the franchise had, in effect graduated from being a
small, risky proposition to a big commercial release.

8. 28 Days Later (2002)
 Director: Danny Boyle
 Budget of 5million pounds, Box Office of over $80million
 Distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures in US and 20th
Century Fox in UK
 Boyle explains that, with the aim of preserving the
suspension of disbelief, relatively unknown actors were
cast in the film. Cillian Murphy had starred primarily in
small independent films, while Naomie Harris had acted
on British television as a child, and Megan Burns had
only one previous film credit. However, Christopher
Eccleston and Brendan Gleeson were well-known
character actors.
 While 28 Days was distributed through Fox Searchlight,
28 Weeks was distributed through Fox International -
this might sound like a trivial difference, but what it
shows is that the franchise had, in effect graduated from
being a small, risky proposition to a big commercial
release (from last slide)
 It has spawned at least one fan film called The Rage
(2008). The existence of this is due to the proliferation of
digital film-making technology which is cheap enough
and easy enough for amateur film-makers to use

9. The History Boys (2006)
 Was originally a play by Alan Bennett –
won 2006 Tony Award, performances
stopped October 2006
 Richard Griffiths was a known British
Actor for roles including Uncle Monty in
Withnail and I (1986) and Vernon Dudsley
in the Harry Potter Series (started 2001)
 Budget over 2million, Box Office over
$11million
 DNA Films and BBC Two Films
 Time said it was better than the play as
the transition to film improved the „flow
and intimacy‟

10. Warp Films
 Based in Sheffield & London, UK, with a further affiliated company Warp
Films Australia based in Melbourne, Australia
 Use of Technological Convergence- sharing films online
 Established by Warp Records founding partners Rob Mitchell and Steve
Beckett. It was initially created with financial support from NESTA
 With director Shane Meadows, Dead Man’s Shoes was shot in 22 days on a
tight budget, and it earned a BAFTA nomination, was nominated for a
record eight British Independent Film Awards, won the Hitchcock D‟or at
the Dinard Festival, and won the Southbank award for Best Film. It was
ranked #27 in Empire magazines list of the best British films ever
 The original This Is England, with Shane Meadows, won Warp Films their
third BAFTA
 This Is England '88, the sequel to the 2010 television series This Is
England '86. It received strong critical praise. The series had high viewing
figures, with 2.5 million people tuning-in to watch the first episode

11. This Is England (2006)
 Warp Films and Film4, Directed by Shane
Meadows
 Budget of just over 1million pound, Box
Office just over 5million pound
 Three years after the film This Is England
‘86 was on channel 4, with a sequel This Is
England ‘88 two years after that
 Starring Thomas Turgoose who was 13 at
the time and had never acted before- Had
no big actors from the time

12. Four Lions (2010)
 Director- Chris Morris
 Warp Films, Film4 Productions, Wild Bunch,
Optimum Releasing
 Distributed by Optimum Releasing and
Drafthouse Films
 Budget not known, but Box Office of over 2
million pounds
 Was originally rejected by both the BBC and
Channel 4 for being too controversial
 Many arrangements were made beforehand to
ensure the film wouldn‟t be offensive to British
Muslims

13. The ‘Big 6’
 Disney
 General Electric
 Viacom
 News-Corp
 Time Warner
 CBS
 All 6 own „daughter‟ companies, like Pixar, Universal, etc.
 Different companies affect different types of media, like News-Corp owns
our „The Sun‟ and „The Australian‟ in OZ, and „Wall Street Journal‟ in
America
 Disney recently bought Marvel, which means they will be involved with
comics as well as film
 In 1983, 90% of media was owned by 50 companies, now 90% is owned
by 6

14.  Perfect example of making money from existing
products and gaining audience with merchandise at the
same time
 Owned by Walt Disney Company
 First full feature length (and successful film) – Snow
White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937
 By 50s, ended their agreement with distributors and
made Buena Vista Distribution
 Parent of Pixar Animation Studios (bought in 2006)
Extra- Walt Disney Pictures

15. Key Terms
 Oligopoly
 Cross Media Convergence
 Synergy
 Technological Convergence
 Media Ownership
 Horizontal Integration
 Conglomerates
 Marketability
 Playability
 Unique Selling Point /USP