WHAT I ENDED UP APPLYING
- The character of Will influenced the antagonist of my film opening, a great deal, including the voiceovers
POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE:
- The voice-over
Chris Weisz + Paul Weitz, 2002
Running length of opening: 4'00
LEAD ACTORS: Hugh Grant
Nicholas Hoult
Rachel Weisz
GENRE: (Romantic) comedy
PRODUCTION COs: StudioCanal
TriBeCa Productions
Working Title Films
DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures
BUDGET: $27m
CRITICAL KUDOS:
From wiki:
The film received critical acclaim, with a 94% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[5] The film, with a budget of US$30 million, grossed a worldwide total of US$130,549,455.[2] In December 2002, the film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best movies of the year. The film received a B+ CinemaScore from American audiences.[6] Almost universally praised, with an Academy Award-nominated screenplay, About a Boy was determined by the Washington Post to be "that rare romantic comedy that dares to choose messiness over closure, prickly independence over fetishised coupledom, and honesty over typical Hollywood endings."[7] Rolling Stone wrote, "The acid comedy of Grant's performance carries the film [and he] gives this pleasing heartbreaker the touch of gravity it needs".[8]
Roger Ebert observed that "the Cary Grant department is understaffed, and Hugh Grant shows here that he is more than a star, he is a resource."[9] The film earned Grant his third Golden-Globe nomination, while the London Film Critics Circle named Grant its Best British Actor and GQ honoured him as one of the magazine's men of the year 2006.[10] "His performance can only be described as revelatory," wrote critic Ann Hornaday, adding that "Grant lends the shoals layer upon layer of desire, terror, ambivalence and self-awareness."[7]
The New York Observer concluded: "[The film] gets most of its laughs from the evolved expertise of Hugh Grant in playing characters that audiences enjoy seeing taken down a peg or two as a punishment for philandering and womanising and simply being too handsome for words-and with an English accent besides. In the end, the film comes over as a messy delight, thanks to the skill, generosity and good-sport, punching-bag panache of Mr. Grant's performance."[11] About a Boy also marked a notable change in Grant's boyish look. Now 41, he had lost weight and also abandoned his trademark floppy hair. Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman took note of Grant's maturation in his review, saying he looked noticeably older and that it "looked good on him."[12]He added that Grant's "pillowy cheeks are flatter and a bit drawn, and the eyes that used to peer with 'love me' cuteness now betray a shark's casual cunning. Everything about him is leaner and spikier (including his hair, which has been shorn and moussed into a Eurochic bed-head mess), but it's not just his surface that's more virile; the nervousness is gone, too. Hugh Grant has grown up, holding on to his lightness and witty cynicism but losing the stuttering sherry-club mannerisms that were once his signature. In doing so, he has blossomed into the rare actor who can play a silver-tongued sleaze with a hidden inner decency."[12]
TRAILER:
IDENTS:
Universal ident and StudioCanal, the first lasting 25 secs and the second 15 secs, connotes the primary superior status of Universal as the distributor. Both have their signature sounds.
The third ident, Working Title, has an audio bridge. This connotes their status as a subsidiary.
TITLES:
The actor's name appears over the
character he is playing
The letters are all lower-case, is this a subtle signifier of the theme of childhood?
THE OPENING SHOT:
High angle and tracking shot of the protagonist.
NARRATIVE, EXPOSITION:
We get introduced to the two ventral characters, we have a binary opposition of age and also of wealth.
MISE-EN-SCENE:
The table signifies his wealth and intellectual capital, with a big book, and his shady character elements are hinted at with an ashtray, they are not anchoring him as a smoker because it might spoil the romantic image.
EDITING:
long takes.
GENRE SIGNIFIERS:
The romance side of the film isn't signified, other than that we have a carefree male who rejects long-term romantic commitments in favour of short-term flings, which is anchored through the fact he ignores the calls of his liaisons.
This equilibrium will be disrupted as he will eventually find a woman he has real emotional feelings for.
REPRESENTATION:
NORMATIVE OR COUNTER-HEGEMONIC?
This is quite a stereotypical and narrow reperesentaion of the UK, focusing mainly on English, RP people as the normal characters, pandering to an International and especially US audience, typical for Working Title.
SOUNDTRACK:
Incidental music, more typical for adult rom-coms than teen rom-coms where we have a soundtrack of a song with lyrics?.
TRANSITION TO MAIN FILM:
At 3'30 as the incidental music bridges into the next scene, and the relationship between Will and Marcus is foreshadowed with the baby.
- The character of Will influenced the antagonist of my film opening, a great deal, including the voiceovers
POSSIBLE POINTS OF INFLUENCE:
- The voice-over
LEAD ACTORS: Hugh Grant
Nicholas Hoult
TriBeCa Productions
Working Title Films
DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures
The film received critical acclaim, with a 94% 'Certified Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[5] The film, with a budget of US$30 million, grossed a worldwide total of US$130,549,455.[2] In December 2002, the film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the ten best movies of the year. The film received a B+ CinemaScore from American audiences.[6] Almost universally praised, with an Academy Award-nominated screenplay, About a Boy was determined by the Washington Post to be "that rare romantic comedy that dares to choose messiness over closure, prickly independence over fetishised coupledom, and honesty over typical Hollywood endings."[7] Rolling Stone wrote, "The acid comedy of Grant's performance carries the film [and he] gives this pleasing heartbreaker the touch of gravity it needs".[8]
Roger Ebert observed that "the Cary Grant department is understaffed, and Hugh Grant shows here that he is more than a star, he is a resource."[9] The film earned Grant his third Golden-Globe nomination, while the London Film Critics Circle named Grant its Best British Actor and GQ honoured him as one of the magazine's men of the year 2006.[10] "His performance can only be described as revelatory," wrote critic Ann Hornaday, adding that "Grant lends the shoals layer upon layer of desire, terror, ambivalence and self-awareness."[7]
The New York Observer concluded: "[The film] gets most of its laughs from the evolved expertise of Hugh Grant in playing characters that audiences enjoy seeing taken down a peg or two as a punishment for philandering and womanising and simply being too handsome for words-and with an English accent besides. In the end, the film comes over as a messy delight, thanks to the skill, generosity and good-sport, punching-bag panache of Mr. Grant's performance."[11] About a Boy also marked a notable change in Grant's boyish look. Now 41, he had lost weight and also abandoned his trademark floppy hair. Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman took note of Grant's maturation in his review, saying he looked noticeably older and that it "looked good on him."[12]He added that Grant's "pillowy cheeks are flatter and a bit drawn, and the eyes that used to peer with 'love me' cuteness now betray a shark's casual cunning. Everything about him is leaner and spikier (including his hair, which has been shorn and moussed into a Eurochic bed-head mess), but it's not just his surface that's more virile; the nervousness is gone, too. Hugh Grant has grown up, holding on to his lightness and witty cynicism but losing the stuttering sherry-club mannerisms that were once his signature. In doing so, he has blossomed into the rare actor who can play a silver-tongued sleaze with a hidden inner decency."[12]
TRAILER:
IDENTS:
Universal ident and StudioCanal, the first lasting 25 secs and the second 15 secs, connotes the primary superior status of Universal as the distributor. Both have their signature sounds.
TITLES:
 |
| The actor's name appears over the character he is playing |
NARRATIVE, EXPOSITION:
We get introduced to the two ventral characters, we have a binary opposition of age and also of wealth.This equilibrium will be disrupted as he will eventually find a woman he has real emotional feelings for.
This is quite a stereotypical and narrow reperesentaion of the UK, focusing mainly on English, RP people as the normal characters, pandering to an International and especially US audience, typical for Working Title.
Incidental music, more typical for adult rom-coms than teen rom-coms where we have a soundtrack of a song with lyrics?.
At 3'30 as the incidental music bridges into the next scene, and the relationship between Will and Marcus is foreshadowed with the baby.
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