Do films with positive messages make more money than those without?
One of the features I love most about movies is their ability to give us shared stories which entertain, inspire and soothe us. And in trying times, this function becomes ever more essential. In the 1940s, musicals provided a colourful escape from war, stories of rebellion in the 1970s gave hope to audiences losing faith […]
How often are screenwriting credits shared?
The Hollywood cliche of a screenwriter is of a troubled genius who struggles valiantly alone to give birth to the highest form of art there is – a movie screenplay. In truth, screenwriting is far more often a collaborative process. Two of the major ways people collaborate on movie scripts are: Teamwork– Teams of writers […]
Are film apprenticeships increasing or decreasing?
Last week, I looked at how jobs in the film industry have shifted over the past two decades. Today, I am turning to a related topic, that of trainees and apprentices. These are programmes for new entrants to the industry in which they receive hands-on training and support while they learn the ropes. They are […]
Which film jobs are increasing and which are decreasing?
Earlier this year, I looked at how many people work on a film, and how that figure has shifted over time (up from around 200 in the year 2000 to around 300 today). This prompted a number of readers to get in contact to ask about the changes in more detail. i.e. which jobs were […]
Does a film’s box office performance affect its digital purchase price?
Last week, I looked at the connection between the quality of a movie and the price of a copy on digital platforms. I found that quality (as measured by IMDb score) doesn’t matter for the first few years of release but after a decade, we can see a clear correlation. This link wasn’t strong enough […]
Do bad movies cost less than good ones?
There are very few products in the world where quality does not affect the price. And yet, when you go to the cinema, the ticket price is unconnected to the quality of the movie you’re about to see. Cinema ticket prices are dictated by: Cinema facilities – Nicer sites will charge more, as will sites […]
Who are the people and films at Cannes 2020 virtual market?
Today is the first full day of the 2020 Cannes Marché du Film. I’ve written a lot in the past about how Cannes works and how to get the best out of it. And all that’s useless. Well, for 2020, at least. That’s because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced Cannes to move online and offer […]
How long is the typical film actor’s career?
There are a number of ways an actor may assess how their career is going. They could consider their income, fame, power, time employed, quality of roles/movies, how closely it aligns with their ideal career or if it enables them to buy as many Mongolian dinosaur bones as they feel they need. Another metric is […]
Survey: What does the film industry think is the future of exhibition?
Change in the film industry is often an extremely gradual process. The views of those involved tend to be entrenched and hard to shift. Therefore, how the film industry will operate one year can reasonably be expected to be very close to that of the year before. Not so 2020. The current COVID-19 pandemic has […]
How many countries do Hollywood movies shoot in?
The current pandemic has shut shown pretty much all filming worldwide. As we start to leave this lockdown period, we will need to consider how to restart our industries. Social distancing on a film set will be tricky (albeit not impossible) and some have proposed that crews could quarantine together. However, it’s not just the […]