American Independent Film - Case Study

Memento

Memento is an American Independent film directed by Christopher Nolan. 

It was released in 2000 on a budget of $9million.

What makes it independent and what is the production cost?

• Memento wasn't produced by a major film production company, rather a small, unheard-of one.
• Memento also had a small filming budget, of 9 million USD - most independent films have production costs between 5 and 10 million.
• There are no famous stars in the film
• The posters and trailers are centred around the awards the film has won; such as awards at Sundance and Toronto Film festival.

Who stars in the film and why?

	Guy Pearce	...	Leonard
	Carrie-Anne Moss	...	Natalie
	Joe Pantoliano	...	Teddy
	Mark Boone Junior	...	Burt
	Russ Fega	...	Waiter
	Jorja Fox	...	Leonard's Wife

Has it won any awards?

Yes, Memento has won;

"Best Foreign Independent Film" - British independent film awards

"Critics award" - Deauville film festival

"Best Picture" - Toronto film festival

"Screenwriting" - Sundance film festival

and more.

British Film - Case Study

Gravity

Budget:
$100 Million

Release Date:
4th October 2013

Profit/loss at the Box Office:
$716,280,132

Reasons for success
Won many Oscars, which attracted people due to the awards the film won, however the star power in the films, with Sandra Bullock also attracted a large audience - this also goes for George Clooney. The pair attracted an audience that doesn't just fit in the Sci- Fi category. 
The buzz that was created also attracted many people through what other people said - the marketing in the film trailer and posters never gave away the plot, unlike many other films, and so people came away from the film talking about all the major points that were never mentioned in advertisements. 

The reviews also had a massive impact on the popularity of the film, on Rotten Tomatoes, the film sits with 5 negative reviews out of 218. 

Stars
Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

Genre
Gravity was a Drama, Sci-Fi and Thriller.

Marketing
Gravity was Marketed in such a way that the plot was not given away, so after the opening Friday, instead of the normal 2.5x multiplier of the weekend, due to word of mouth and what people had said about it attracted many people to go and see the film immediately, instead breaking records and making a massive $56 million on the opening weekend for a 3.15x multiplier. 

Certificate
PG-13

Producers
David Heyman and Alfonso Cuarón