I. Introduction
-Thesis: The multitude of variables that affect the success of a film (film criticism, star power, budgets, and award recognition) may not be the right ingredients for the box office smash every studio wants their film to become; instead, the formula lies in producing a film that creates a customer experience both unique to each movie-goer and unifying in a communal sense, as well as new yet still familiar.
II. Body
- Film Criticism
A. The role of film criticism on the movie business and how it affects the financial success of a film. (discuss In Defense of Film Critics article)
B. Although film criticism plays a role in the film industry, many films are impervious to bad reviews because viewers don’t always rely on reviews. (discuss Under the Influence article and Box Office Success article)
C. Site examples of various types of films and weigh the pros and cons of film criticism and how it influences the viewer experience.
- Star Power
A. In the old days, star power drove millions of viewers to the multiplexes. Today, it may not always be beneficial for films to headline leading men and women because the costs aren’t always justified. (discuss Hollywood Stars Blamed for Blockbuster Losses article and The Myth of Star Power article)
B. Discuss if star power improves or weakens box office success and viewer experience.
- Budgets
A. Big budget films aren’t always the biggest earners and don’t guarantee the best viewer experience. (discuss EW article)
B. Discuss how tent-pole and event films have edged out other films causing big budget movies to eat into each other’s profits allowing for smaller films to carve out a niche.
C. However, studios stick to big budgets as a sort of “insurance policy” so as not to lose money. (discuss Box Office Success article)
- Award Recognition
A. Analyze how award recognition may promise a good viewer experience but the box office sometimes underperforms
B. Discuss the latest Oscar season and its influence on the success of nominated films and winners.
- The Real Box Office Winners
A. Discuss the communal and unique experiences movies offer as well as the mix of the familiar and the new
B. Site several examples of movies that don’t fit the paradigm but are successful films and provide the best viewer experience
C. Site example from Walter Murch’s book In the Blink of an Eye
D. Discuss key insights and argue with personal opinions
I. Conclusion
- Although the influences of film criticism, budgets, star power, and award recognition may boost box office numbers, viewers are the ultimate judge of the quality of the films produced by Hollywood. The best viewer experiences lie in the unique individual experience as well as the communal experience while being familiar yet fresh and new.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to strengthen my paper. I think that it has a clear focus but it is difficult to pin-point specific reasons that contribute to the optimal viewer experience.
Roger - I think the outline is a great basic flow for your paper. I would be expecting (and it looks like you are prepared to provide) many examples in your paper as you conduct your analysis. On each of the major sections in the body, I would touch on the obvious, not-so-obvious, and possibly contradictory insights on which those premises about box office success are made. So, what is the insight about movie-goers that would lead us to believe that film critics have an effect on attendance and/or the actual movie experience? Then, you can connect the type or types of experience created by film critics and, on this point, you might want to even discuss the impact of celebrity film critics (Ebert being the most obvious one). The other side is the insight about people that would explain why film critics have little to no impact on the experience (and this impact may actually be different by segment, so who would be impacted and who would not). I hope that makes sense - feels like I am rambling a bit. I also wonder if it would be interesting to have one or two movies that you weave into the entire paper - e.g., Titanic comes to mind as a recent film that at least had star power, big budget, and awards (can't remember how the critics reviewed it). For that to be really interesting, it would be fun to contrast with another picture that had all of those things and failed at the box office. Overall, do your best to weave in the language of "insights" and "customer experiences" appropriately, so that I can see you making the connections to our class discussions. Let me know if any of my feedback is not clear or if you still have any concerns.
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