Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

Background reading and production research

1.) The story behind the production of the film is that it was based off of a book called "Greetings from Bury Park", a tribute to the album "Greetings from Asbury Park" by Bruce Springsteen. The book was by Safraz Manzoor who documented his life as a British Pakistani teenager in the 1980s.

2.) The main reaction to the film was overwhelmingly positive with many praising the film. However some film critics found it saccharine and sappy. But overall viewers resonated with the themes of culture and identity. 

3.) The Sundance Film Festival is important for independent and lower budget films since it bridges the gap between filmmakers and distributors and small and under-known film directors. 

Funding and industry contexts

1.) The budget for Blinded by the light was 15 million dollars, for a film this was a very low budget and much lower compared to large film industry companies like Hollywood. The companies which aided to the productions are Bend it Films, Levantine films, Warner Brothers, Ingenious Media and Cornerstone Films.

2.) Bend it networks have aided and created many different projects like the films: Christmas Karma, Bend it like Beckham, Bride and Prejudice, etc.

3.)New Line Cinema was established in 1967 by Robert Shave as a film distributor company supplying foreign and art films for college campuses in the United States. Shave operated New Line Cinema's offices out of his apartment at 14th Street and Second Avenue in New York City.

4.) The reason why Gurinder Chadha was attracted to directing the film "Blinded by the Light" was due to its cross-cultural story which mirrored her own experiences growing up in London in the 80s in an Asian British household whilst also holding a passion for Bruce Springsteen's music.

Distribution

1.) New Line Cinema was the company which won the distribution of the film Blinded by the light after an all night auction.

2.) There were other companies rumoured to be auctioning for the film distribution rights such as Fox Searchlight and Lionsgate. 

3.) The allure behind the film Blinded by the light was its cross-culture context along with it's lighthearted portrayal of a British Asian family in Luton in the 1980s, a story which was not only relatable to the director Gurinder Chadha but also members of the audiences. 

4.) eOne was bought by Lionsgate for 500 million dollars in 2023, one of the reasons being that they wanted to reduce their debt, lower costs, and pivot away from owning film/TV production assets.

Marketing, promotion and reception

1.) The trailer of the film was portraying the film to be a feel-good musical like film. Regarding genre of the film, it was conveyed to be a coming of age film with cross culture subjects. The audience perhaps intended for people who have lived through the same experiences portrayed in the film, so British Asian millennial perhaps?

2.) The film was advertised through traditional means, things such as trailers, posters, and word of mouth mentioning of the film was the main way how the film managed to advertise itself. Interviews were also used in order to advertise the film which was a good way to promote the film since it gave audiences an insight to the movie through the lens of the actors who play the characters in the film. 

3.) Film posters for Blinded By The Light varied depending on what location it was displayed in. For example, the French edition had the main character dressed in his Bruce Springsteen inspired attire with critics quotes beside it along with the title of the film. The title slightly changed however due to translation. 

4.) There were multiple different social media accounts made for the film, including an Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. 

5.) a.) This post showcases one of the films more optimistic moment, the three protagonists running around with joyous expressions on their faces. This image promotes the film to be a feel good coming of age film, showcasing a story between three different characters and their relationships within the story. The image could also build curiosity for viewers since there is little explained to why they are actually running, perhaps luring viewers into watching the film out of curiosity? 

b.) Here the main character is shown to be smiling whilst his gaze lands on something out of frame. This causes the viewers to wonder what this character is staring at, almost creating an enigma code to what the protagonist is looking at.

c.) In this post there is, again, the three main protagonists with, again, joyous expressions on their faces, bringing the movie to seem like a feel good and wholesome film. However this time there is a critics quote on it: "A roller coaster of emotions". This film critic review is short yet grabs the attention of the viewer to drag them in, putting them under the belief that the movie is already highly regarded before even watching the film for themselves. 

6.) The Bend It Network YouTube channel is first introduced with a video called "Bend it TV Introduction" where Gurinder Chadha explains who she is and what she does, referencing her films along with speaking of their purposes and context.

7.) The box officer only made $18.6 million, since the movie cost $15 million  this meant there was only a $3.6 million profit which was not what they were expecting at all. I think that it was largely unsuccessful since it was repetitive of Gurinder Chadha's first hit film "Bend it like Beckham". It was relatively the same plot just with a different location and character.

8.)