Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

 Background reading and production research


Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

Manzoor visited West London to film the scenes of he and Amolak's  first meeting , the rest of the movie was shot in Luton even featuring some spots where they used to frequent. 

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

  People tweeted that they had a #Roops - their friends who introduced them to new music or a band -  his friend had now become a noun 
People approached Manzoor, who had seemingly nothing to do with the story or protagonist saying they connected with the story and felt like they were finally seen. 

3) Why is the Sundance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

It brings light to work that would otherwise be unrecognised, and highlights films that are niche in their story. 


Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

 15 million USD 
 Production Companies - 
  • Leventine Films 
  • Bend It Films
  • Ingenious Media 
  • Cornstone Film 
  • Warner Bros. Film


2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

  •   Angus Thongs and perfect snogging
  • Desi Rascals 
  • Wonderful Afterlife 
  • I'm British but...

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

Founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company, it later became a film studio after being acquired by Turner Broadcasting system in 1994. Turner later merged with Time Warner Entertainment(later known as Warner Media, 2019-22, and Warner Bros.)  
 
4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

The movie follows the same theme as all her others as it deals with the struggles of the immigrant experience, she is also a big Bruce Springsteen fan herself.
She connected with Springsteen and he said he was "all good with this" and they went ahead with selling it. Which resulted in Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema buying it for the $15mil it was worth. If it wasn't for Sprinsteen's cooperation the film would'v never been made.

Distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

 New Line Cinema( subsidiary to Warner Bros.) , for $15m

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

  Foxsearchlight, Lionsgate and others were rumoured to be involved 

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

Its "allure" had to do with the surprisingly universal appeal to Springsteen's coming of age tunes, which tel an honest story about a hardscrabble upbringing , ambition and the fight to break free of all shackles to do something worthwhile in ones life. 

4) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. In 2023 eOne was bought by Lionsgate. Read this press release on Lionsgate acquiring eOne Entertainment and write one reason for the deal. 

"...extends its portfolio of brands and franchises.."
"diversifies and strengthens its scripted and unscripted television business"


Marketing, promotion and reception

Watch the following clips to learn about the marketing and promotion of the film. 

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Blinded by the light trailer

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

BBTL The One Show

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

The trailer suggest the genre may be a coming of age 
It may tap into visceral and vicarious pleasures 

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain, The Graham Norton Show and The Late Show. 
The range of shows are good for the promotion of the film as it can reach a range of audiences. 
  

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

The UK poster -
The US poster - 




4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

Instagram

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

1)

Conveys carefree happiness amongst young people, as well as romance - people may have gone to see the film under the impression that it was a romance film

2)
The film looks as if ti may be going towards an educational route due to the clear stance of the teacher in front of a chalk board - people may have gone to see the film think this initially

3)  

This scene presents the movie to be a coming of age story - people may have gone to see it for that reason

6) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

She introduces it as a platform where audiences can connect with her work and her journey. 
The channel features, vlogs, interviews and other content. 

7) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

It only made $19.6mil due to their distribution strategy. As they distributed the movie to all of the big cinemas instead of small independent ones. And it wasn't a hit in the cinemas so most dropped the movie. 

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.

Home market releases are the movies that it had to compete with that same year(2019):
  • Angle has fallen debuted earning $21.38 mil
  • Lion King earning $1bil worldwide
  • Good Boys debut earning $21.40mil



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