Working Titles

Film -

• a study of a specific studio/production company within a contemporary film industry that targets a British audience.
• through
• marketing
• exhibition
• etc.

Synergy -

• several companies working on the same thing

Working Titles

• Founded in 1984
• co-founded by:
• Tim Bevan
• Sarah Radclyffe
• Graham Bradstreet
• in 1992
• Sarah Radclyffe left the company
• Eric Fellner joined the company
• UK films aimed at an international audience
• Traditional UK film genres
• Their history mirrors the history of the UK film industry
• Increasingly typical UK film funding
• (co-funding with British TV companies and Hollywood studios)
• Produced "My Beautiful Laundrette" (1985)
• Produced "For Queen and Country" (1988)
• starring Denzel Washington
• their first Anglo-American production
• British film + American Star = $$$$$$$$$$$$ (BIG MONEY!!!!)
• Appeals to international market (and success for the British Film Industry (BFI))
• This approach has provoked much criticism about the 'mid-Atlantic' nature of the films
• They are all basically the same (formulaic)
• UK/US co-productions...
• 5% (of the time) - developing a script
• 5% (of the time) - finding a director
• 90% (of the time) - juggling deals together from different sources
• ...to finance those films
• By handshaking with 'Polygram', they got 'Universal Pictures' involved.
• Films produced:
• Shaun of the Dead
• Hot Fuzz
• At World's End
• Billy Elliott
• Bridget Jones: Diary
• Nanny McPhee
• The Boat That Rocked
• released in the UK on April 1st 2009
• budget of $50 million
• Richard Curtis romantic comedies have traditionally done very well at the box office
• Typical Working Title co-production with Universal and Canal+
• Familiar Working Title faces and some up-and-coming talent
• Famous US star (Phillip Seymour Hoffman)
• Traditional marketing campaign with synergestic merchandising and tie-ins - soundtrack released on Mercury Records owned by Universal...
• Increasingly traditional digital marketing strategies (TV commercials, social media)
• Large scale release - 400+ sceens in UK
• Medium scale release in US - 800+ screens
• It died in the UK yet it still did quite well in the US
• Thunderbirds
• Most films make a profit from their films, although some have flopped.