British and American Film Industry.

To qualify as a British film the needs to meet three of the following six criteria:

• A British director
• A British producer
• Predominantly British cast
• British production company
• Subject matter that informs on the British experience
• British identity defined by the BFI in Sight and Sound

Co-productions with British input are often classed as British films.

BBFC - An independant, non-governmental body which classifies and censors film, video as well as computer and console - based games released in the UK.

British Council - The official UK agency for international cultural relations. Its film department promotes new British film internationally principally through festivals and showcases.

BFI - Aims to support, develop and promote the art forms of moving image.

UK Film Council - Promotes understanding and appreciation of Britain's rich film and TV heritage and culture.

British Film Council - Government backed agency for film in the UK ensuring that the econmoic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.

What do the British Box Office figures tell us about the British Film Industry?
It shows that American films are more popular in Britain than British films. Due Date, Jackass 3D, Saw 3D and Paranormal Activity 2 are some of the most popular films at the moment. This is slightly unusual as they are not four-quadrant pictures however they are sequels of popular films which would have drawn people in. This shows that the British Film Industry produce more specialised/ niche films which don't appeal to wider and larger audiences which is why they get low box office figures both in the UK and the US.

What do stars bring to a film? Why do producers use certain stars?

• Guaranteed sales - good box office figures
• Brings in their fans
• Narrative image - star persona/ typecast
• Interest and attention from the press = publicity
• Expectations of genre
• Used as main market feature

How much do you agree with this statement "Hollywood films have movie stars, That's why they are more appealing to UK audiences that UK films"
I partly agree with this because Due Date, the highest grossing film in the Box Office at the moment starred Robert Downey Jr. who would attract fans of action films and it might appeal to some women as he is considered to be an attractive actor. Also Zach Galifianakis is a comic actor and would attract audiences who enjoyed The Hangover. Movie stars are often very successful at attract an audience to a film which they might not otherwise see. An example of this would be Valkyrie which is about the final assassination attempts on Hitler's life a story which is unlikely to have a wide appeal. It was a drama rather than an action film which would have appealed even less to some however the appearance of Tom Cruise boosted the box office figures to over $200 million which is unlikely to have been the case if there had ont been a very popular movie star cast as  the main character. 

However Hollywood films do well without having well-known movie stars for example Saw 3D and Paranormal Activity 2 did not star well-known actors but came 4th and 5th in the UK Box Office which suggest that audiences don't watch a movie just for the stars. The movies' genre might go some way to explain why these films did so well because the appeal of horror/thriller films is the special effects, the plot and how the fear is portrayed rather than who is playing the main characters. So I disagree that the movie stars is the only reason Hollywood films do better than UK films. I think the budget available for the films is another reason why UK films don't do as well. Hollywood films have major production companies behind them who can afford to spend money on special effects, CGI etc that makes films, especially action and fantasy/sci-fi films so successful. Whereas British film companies often don't have enough money to use a lot of special effects which makes action films so appealing to worldwide audiences.

Overall I agree that Hollywood films with movie stars are more appealing to worldwide audiences than UK films however in some cases the film can carry itself without a star in the lead role. Other factors which lead to Hollywood films having more appeal than UK films would be their higher budgets which often results in better quality and more special effects which hold a wide appeal for many different film genres.

Would the world be different if we relied only on the US film industry?

• US films about wealth/money
• White male dominance
• Foreigners/English are the bad guys
• Women are represented as skinny/ petit/ blonde/ lacking intelligence/ vulnerable

Hypodermic model - The audience is passive and are injected with ideas and beliefs by what they see.

If only American films were available we would lose British identity/culture. British Film Council offer grants to film makers to keep British culture "alive".