WORKING TITLES

THE COMPANY

Working Titles is a British film production company based in London and it is owned by Universal Studios.

The company was founded by Tim Bevan and Sarah Radclyffe in 1983.

In 1992 PolyGram became the company’s corporate backer. Sarah Radclyffe left Working Title and Eric Fellner a fellow independent film producer joined the company.

The company produced a variety of films for PolyGrams London based production company PolyGram Filmed Entertainment.

In the year 1999, Polygram was sold to Seagram and merged with MCA Music Entertainment which formed Universal Music group. Polygram Films was sold and folded into Universal Studios in 1999 too.

In 1999 Bevan and Fellner launched a subsidiary company called Working Title 2 productions. It was an independent film production run by Natasha Wharton. It has produced films that include Billy Elliot, Shaun of the Dead and The Calcium Kid.

PRODUCTION

ACTORS AND ACTRESSES

Working Title films have produced a range of talent from actors and actresses. Hugh Grant, Bill Nighy, Rowan Atkinson, Martin Freeman, Alan Rickman, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.

These actors/actresses appear in many working title films, this Is because they are British and portray a good typical British film.

FACT! When the casting for Bridget Jones was taking place there was an outrage that an American actress was given the lead role in what woman saw as proper British Film.

RICHARD CURTIS

Richard Curtis is a screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director for British Films. He is best known for writing ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, ‘Notting Hill, Love Actually and shows such as ‘The Vicar of Dibley’ ‘Mr Bean’ and ‘Blackadder’.

One of his great successes was transferring Bridget Jones book into a film which was very successful and developed into two films.

His film career:

He achieved his breakthrough success with the romantic comedy film Four Weddings and a Funeral. He made the actor Hugh Grant a huge star through this film. The film was nominated for best picture but lost to Forest Gump.

In May 2007 he received a BAFTA in recognition for his successful career in film and television and also his charity efforts.

MONEY

Working Title are allowed to produce any film with a budget up to $35. This minimises their risk of failure.

FUNDING

A lot of Working Title films are very British in terms of their actors and actresses and directors but they are mostly funded and produced by American companies. This is due to the combining of Universal Pictures and the company.

An example is Hot Fuzz as they are produced by an American team (Universal Pictures).

GENRES

Their main genres are:

- Action

- Comedy

- Rom- com

- Adventure

- Period-drama

FILMS

Some examples of leading Working Title films:- Johnny English- Hot Fuzz- The Boat That Rocked- About a Boy- Love Actually- Bridget Jones Diary- Shaun of the Dead- Four Weddings and a Funeral

DISTRIBUTION

The company works by itself with sections in the UK and in the US and they have developed their own brand but they are funded and supported by Universal. The company has profited over 6 Billion since the co-operation with Universal in 1992, they have received 10 academy awards, 35 BAFTAs.

Their budget is supplied by their parenting company Universal Studios. Universal are owned by NBC Universal which also own many companies in the media area and this means their films are easily marketable. Also being linked to this company means global distribution is of ease for the company, also the international market is available because of the large US business and the companies work in synergy.

MARKETING

AUDIENCES (OWNERSHIP AND FINANCE)

Ownership- Comcast Corporation

Parent- Universal Studios (NBC UNIVERSAL)

Divisions- WT2 Productions and Working Title Television

Universal pictures is owned by Comcast which is an American entertainment and communications product. These connections assist Working Title films to approach a bigger market, allowing them to get themselves involved with the company's films. This is a success because the companies provide them funding sources which they can then use for advertising, this allows them to reach a wider market which would make their films more successful.

Working Title are allowed to produce any film with a budget up to £35 million this allows them to make the films which they want.

MARKETING

Working Title only produce films which are ‘very British’. This is a marketing technique for them because it will appeal to the American audience. It is important that the films will sell in America because they are a huge consumer in the film industry and they create a big percentage of the box office ratings.

There are different marketing techniques to market the film depending on what genre and plot the film is. If a film was targeted towards teenagers then a trailer would be posted across social networking sites such as twitter and Facebook. This is because millions of teenagers use this site everyday so just by posting a trailer then the film would be known quickly.

They would also air the trailers on the TV at an appropriate time depending on its target audience. For example Nanny Mc Phee and the Big Bang would be aired daytime because they want to attract a younger audience. Whereas, if the genre of the film was comedy then this would be shown in the adverts of a comedy programme such as Celebrity Juice. Furthermore, it also depends on the certificate rating of the film because 15 and 18 rated films would be shown in the evening as the trailers and film would not be appropriate the people under this age.

AUDIENCES

Working Title highlights plenty of iconic British locations which are portrayed in their films such as Buckingham Palace and Houses of Parliament so this would attract an audience of both the British and American.

Working Titles will aim to make the film for its audience depending on the seasons throughout the year. For example Love Actually (2003) a Christmas based film was released around December.

Films will not be released during busy active seasons throughout the year such as The Olympics because the audience figures at cinemas would be low so there would be a decrease in income which would therefore make the film less successful.

I GIVE IT A YEAR

Plot:A newly wed couple are happy despite their differences. But their family and friends are not convinced that their marriage will last. With their first anniversary approaching and attractive alternatives in the mix, can they last?

The film was based and filmed in London

Genre- British comedy

Released- 8th February 2013

Written and Directed by – Dan Mazer

Cast:Rose Bryne, Rafe, Spall, Anna Faris and Simon Baker

Studio:Working Title filmsCanal+ Cine+TF1 Films

Distributed by:Studio canalMagnolia pictures

The director Dan Mazer

I give it a year was his directorial debut. He was previously been best known for co-writing the Sacha Baron Cohen films such as Borat and Bruno.

Box office sales: $28,232,514

Opening weekend box office:$5,436 (USA) (11th August 2013) (2 screens)

HUF $14,251,345 (Hungary) (3rd March 2013)

LOVE ACTUALLY

Director- Richard Curtis

The production of the film was mostly filmed in London at popular sites such as Trafalgar Square, the central court of Somerset House in the Strand, Grosvenor Chapel on South Audley Street (Hyde Park) and many more.

The marketing of the film was used by posters, trailers and adverts. The film was marketed well through the process of TV and poster advertising, cinema trailers. One of the main reasons as why the film was successful was because of the variety of well known actors which were mostly British so would therefore grab the British audiences attention. These actors were Hugh Grant (popular with Working Title films), Liam Neeson, Colin Firth, Kiera Knightly, Emma Thompson, Rowan Atkinson and Bill Nighy.

Distribution:Love Actually was first released in cinema in November 2003. The sound track was also released in November 2003. The film was released on DVD in March 2004. In America the film was not released until November 2009.

Exhibition:The film had its first world premiere on September 6th 2003 in Toronto Canada. Then followed by premieres in New York, Brussels, Madrid, Rome and Munich. Finally the premiere took place in the UK on the 16TH November 2003 in London. The films last premiere took place in Paris.

The film received a majority of positive reviews in Britain and the reviews in America were mixed, with the film receiving an average rating of 55 out of 100.

Overall the film had a worldwide total of $247, 472,278.

Review

About.comAudiences can start celebrating a little early as the holiday-themed romantic comedy “Love Actually” weaves its spell over moviegoers. Writer/director Richard Curtis’ romantic comedy can honestly, truthfully, and without hesitation be labelled ‘the romantic comedy of the year.’ In a year practically devoid of romantic comedies, that’s not exactly a tough title to claim. However, “Love Actually” is utterly charming, irresistible, and all those other accolades usually launched at a cute, fluffy, romantic comedy, so it deserves the label - and not just by default.

EXHIBITION

After Working Title make their films as soon as it is ready for release , Universal will release it to every single institution to achieve the most profitable marketing, including social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. Also movie streaming websites such as Love Film and Netflix. Through the cinema, DVD and Blue- Ray, ITunes store and television. All of this can be done by Universal over night.

SUCCESSES AND FAILURES

Box Office successes:- Wild Child- Hot Fuzz- Love Actually- Ali G in Da House- Bridget Jones- Edge

of reason- Nanny McPhee- Thunderbirds

The company’s success has lead to Working Title being able to invest more money into British film production, at both high and low budget level with the creation of WT2. This has lead to young British talent such as Lee Hall (writer of Billy Elliot) being able to get more of their projects off the ground. However, the success of the Working Title formula has distorted the amount of revenue coming into the British film industry at large. Far too much money is making its way to Working Title, and many other British production companies are struggling to survive as a result.

FUTURE FILMS

Trash 2014Trash is an upcoming British adventure drama thriller film directed by Stephen Daldry and written by Richard Curtis,based on a 2010 novel of same name by Andy Mulligan. The film stars Rooney Mara, Martin Sheen, Wagner Moura and Selton Mello.

Everest 2015Everest is an upcoming American 3D adventure thriller film directed by Baltasar Kormákur and written by Justin Isbell and William Nicholson.The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, John Hawkes and Sam Worthington.

The film is set for a September 18, 2015 release date. It is based on the real events of 1996 Mount Everest disaster, in which several climbers died and survived. There were two expedition groups leading by Scott Fischer (played by Jake Gyllenhaal) and Rob Hall (played by Jason Clarke) each, who tried to climb the mountain.