Kill Your Darlings UK Distribution and Marketing - Week 4, 9th December

Kill Your Darlings poster in Leicester square tube station. On the platforms and in the corridors.

Kill Your Darlings UK Distribution and Marketing - Theatrical Release, 6th December

Daniel Radcliffe was the main interview in The Metro on 6th December. It is a 2 page article using his star power to promote the film.

Daniel Radcliffe made an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, aired at 22:35pm.

Following this appearance, Daniel Radcliffe trended on twitter in the UK

Kill Your Darlings was screened in 13 UK Vue Cinemas mainly in London. It was screened four times a day in 50 seat screens.

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, UK Marketing and Distribution - UK Theatrical release, 13th December

Feature Article in the Metro, an interview with Sir Ian McKellen.

A section on The Hobbit merchandise underneath the article.

The article ended with information about the release of The Hobbit.

The article was featured on the front cover of the Metro.

Full page poster in the Metro

Four star review in the Metro.

Regular comic strip in the Metro was about The Hobbit

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, UK Marketing and Distribution - Week 4, 9th December

Tumblr post featuring a video of Benedict Cumberbatch being interviewed about The Hobbit: link to post and video

TimeOut London magazine featured a four page advert, an interview with Martin Freeman and a review of The Hobbit.

Poster on the side of a bus in Kings Cross at 2pm on Wednesday 11th December.

The Hobbit is Vue's film of the week.

Kill Your Darlings was discussed and reviewed on the BBC show Film 2013, screened at 23:35 on BBC One. The show is aimed at film fanatics. Daniel Radcliffe is also used in the thumbnail Link To Episode

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, UK Marketing and Distribution - Week 3, 2nd December

Popular youtuber Olan Rogers has been invited to The Hobbit's Press Junket in LA. He has been posting videos, tweets and photos on facebook Link To Video

Another video from Olan Rogers Link

A tweet from the official Hobbit twitter account retweeted by a Sherlock fan account as the tweet concerns Benedict Cumberbatch.

A regular comic strip in The Metro mentioning the Hobbit - 6th December

Hobbit poster on the side of a bus in Stoke Newington at 5:47pm, a time busy with commuters and some families coming home from after school activities.

The Hobbit Board Game as part of the christmas display in Waterstones, Regent Street.

The Hobbit Book on display front of shop in Waterstones

Special edition The Hobbit moleskine notebooks, on sale in waterstones.

Two huge posters in front of Odeon in leicester square.

The Hobbit Merchandise on sale in HMV

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, UK Marketing and Distribution - Week 2, 25th November

Warner Bros. and MGM have teamed up with Weta Workshop, a conceptual design and creative products manufacturer and Air New Zealand. They have revealed the first ever full body image of Smaug on the side of a Boeing 777-300 plane. Link To Article

The news was also shared on a fansite of Sherlock, as the character of Smaug is played by Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Print advert in the Metro advertising The Hobbit's online competition for a trip to New Zealand.

Photo of the TV Spot screened on channel 4 at 20:17 on 29th November during Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D

Kill Your Darlings UK Distribution and Marketing - Week 2, 25th November

 

A video interview with Daniel Radcliffe, from The Guardian's website. Link to accompanying article



The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, UK Marketing and Distribution - Week 1, 18th November

Exclusive competition to win a week long trip to New Zealand if you pre-book tickets to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug in an ODEON Cinema.

The livestream for The Hobbit: D of S fan event that was hosted in London.

Fans could wins tickets through websites such as The MCM Expo London's website (below)

Unofficial post from a fan excited by the upcoming release of the film.

Warner Bros. have teamed up with Google to create an online interactive game and map which allows users to explore middle earth. This is an article on The Mail Online promoting it. When you visit the webpage music from The Hobbit Soundtrack plays and stops if you leave the page. Link To Article

Kill Your Darlings UK Distribution and Marketing - Week 1, 18th November

An art exhibition launched by Daniel Radcliffe. It is an above the line event, hosted by The Works (UK Distribution) and marketed by Little White Lies film magazine.

Article concerning the release of a new poster in Empire Magazine online. Below the line marketing reaching film fans.

Unofficial post on Tumblr promoting Daniel Radcliffe's upcoming appearance on the Graham Norton show.

Article on The Mail Online about the London Film Festivals. Daniel Radcliffe's name and the film's title are both used in the header to attract readers. Link To Article

Article about the BFI London Film Festival. The focus of the article is on Daniel Radcliffe and Kill Your Darlings but the articles does go on to talk about other films featured in the festival. Link To Article

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Case Study 3

UK Release Date: 13th December 2013

Production Company: MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Distributor: Warner Bros.

Production Budget: $250,000,000 (Over £155,000,000)

Nationality: USA & New Zealand

Type of Production: high concept hollywood blockbuster

Connection With Other films: 5th Film in the Lord of the Rings series, Sequel to The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and 2nd in the Hobbit Series.

Director: Peter Jackson

Star Names: Martin Freeman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Richard Armitage, Orlando Bloom, Cate Blanchett, Ian Mckellan, Andy Serkis, Stephen Fry, Billy Connolly, Sylvester McCoy

Plot Summary: After successfully crossing over (and under) the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Company must seek aid from a powerful stranger before taking on the dangers of Mirkwood Forest--without their Wizard. If they reach the human settlement of Lake-town it will be time for the hobbit Bilbo Baggins to fulfill his contract with the dwarves. The party must complete the journey to Lonely Mountain and burglar Baggins must seek out the Secret Door that will give them access to the hoard of the dragon Smaug. And, where has Gandalf got off to? And what is his secret business to the south?

Target Audience: Fans of The Lord Of The Rings and The Hobbit, all ages

Kill Your Darlings - Case Study 4

UK Release Date: 6th December 2013

Production Companies: Killer Films, Benaroya Pictures and Outpost Studios

UK Distributor: The Works

Nationality: USA

Genre: Biography/Drama/Romance/Thriller

Director: John Krokidas

Star Names: Daniel Radcliffe, Michael C. Hall, Elizabeth Olsen

Plot Outline: A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Target Audience: Age 25+, Interested in the 1940s and/or beat poets

Papa & Sons Director Q&A

We had a Q&A session with the director of Papadopoulos & Sons Marcus Markou. These are the top 5 things I learnt.

1. It is possible for an independent film to be profitable without the help of a sales agent. Marcus used guerrilla marketing and spoke to distributors himself in order to make his money back.

2. Knowing who your audience is key. Marcus used Papa & Sons's Greek influences to market to the abundant British Greek community.

3. The two most variable costs for a film are actors and location.

4. Making a film on a studio budget is much less of a financial risk as funding is from companies avoiding taxes by investing in film.

5. The role of a Line Producer is to go through the script line-by-line and estimate a budget for the entire film.

Papadopoulos & Sons (2012) - Film Industry Case Study 2

Papadopoulos & Sons (commonly known as Papa & Sons) is an independent British film, directed and written by Marcus Markou. It was made on a relatively small budget and is a great example of how an independent production can still be highly successful.

IMDB Synopsis

Following his ruin in the latest banking crisis, a self-made millionaire reluctantly re-unites with his estranged freewheeling brother to re-open the abandoned fish and chip shop they shared in their youth.

Pre-Production

- Coming from an acting and theatre background, Marcus wrote Papa & Sons centred around the characters and their stories as opposed to telling the story visually.

- Marcus drew from aspects of his own life and the film was directly influenced by his Greek heritage. In the film James Papadopoulos wants to drop out of a Law Degree at university, this directly parallels Marcus Markou's own life.

- To fund the film, Marcus asked his brother to use profits from their co-owned internet business. Papa & Sons was made on a budget of £850,000.

- Marcus obtained his actors through meetings and audition, for example he travelled to Paris with a copy of the script to meet with Georges Corraface who played Spiros Papadopoulos.


The Final cast included:


Stephen Dillane as Harry Papadopoulos

Frank Dillane as James Papadopoulos

Georgia Groome as Katie Papadopoulos

Ed Stoppard as Rob

Georges Corraface as Spiros Papadopoulos

Selina Cadell as Mrs. Parrington


Production

- Papa & Sons was shot over 24 days with a week long rehearsal beforehand.

- The film was set and filmed in various parts of London:

• The chip shop and the kebab shop were two empty shops in Morden which the crew took the lease on.
• The mansion was in Croydon
• The city scenes were filmed in central London.
• The factory was a real Greek food factory in East London.

Distribution

- Papa & Sons was screened in a limited number of Cineworld cinemas across the UK. He was given an extended 4 week run due to incredibly popular demand.

- The film was released in 70 cinemas in Germany under the name Papadopoulos & Söhne and received over 23,000 admissions.

- Since it's theatrical release Marcus has sold the film to many other distributors including BBC and Netflix.


Marketing

Papa & Sons is a perfect example of guerilla marketing techniques.

- Because of it's Greek roots, influences and name Marcus decided to target Greek communities across the UK; screening in cinemas in Greek areas and even asking pastors of Greek churches to mention the film in their Sunday services.

- To get Cineworld to agree to distribute Papa & Sons, Marcus asked friends and family to go into Cineworld branches and ask when the film was to be released.

- Marcus Markou used what he called 'online ambassadors': people on twitter who had shown an interest in the film. He sent them flyers and other promotional material which they then distributed to peers and the public.

Poster
















Trailer