Slumdog Millionaire

Context & Background

•Slumdog Millionaire was based on a book by Vikas Swarup named “Q and A” published in 2005.

•Danny Boyle chose to make the film because he was sent the script by Simon Beaufoy (who wrote The Full Monty) and he simply new once reading about 20 pages in that he wanted to make the film.

Pre-productionThe production companies that were involved in making the film were;• Celador Films• Film4• Pathé Pictures InternationalThe use of these particular production companies tells us that the audience will most likely be a more mature/older audience who will understand and interpret the themes of the film better, e.g. 18+.

Film4 produced films like 12 Years A Slave and The Iron Lady, and most of the films it produces are serious, hard hitting ones.As Slumdog Millionaire is quite a serious film that deals with quite harsh and strong themes and ideologies, this would fit in with the genre of film made by these particular production companies.

• In August 2007, Warner Independent Pictures acquired the North American rights and Pathé the international rights to distribute Slumdog Millionaire theatrically. However, in May 2008, Warner Independent Pictures was shut down, with all of its projects being transferred to Warner Bros., its parent studio.

• Warner Bros. didn’t think the film would get a lot of interest so they suggested that it go straight to DVD without a U.S. theatrical release.

• Halfway through August 2008, Warner Bros. entered into a pact with Fox Searchlight Pictures to share distribution of the film, with Fox Searchlight buying 50% of Warner Bros. interest in the movie and handling U.S. distribution.

• Danny Boyle directed the film, and he is a well-known director who has also directed popular films such as Trainspotting and 127 hours.

• Because he had already directed such popular films, it was inevitable that this film would be a big hit, and that he would be able to tread carefully around such sensitive subjects.

• Dev Patel was cast as Jamal Malik – the protagonist. Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, and he found that Bollywood leads were generally “strong, handsome hero-types”. Boyle’s daughter pointed Dev Patel out from his role in the British television drama ‘Skins’.

• Freida Pinto was cast as Latika – Jamal’s love interest. Pinto was an Indian model who had not starred in a feature film before.

Marketing• The distribution company identified the right audience for

the film by taking into account what sort of things had been included in the film. There are some particularly horrific scenes, for example; where a child around the age of 9-10 is blinded by having hot acid poured into his eyes while he is unconscious. This would have meant that they make it at least a 12, or better that it was a 15 because of rather intense scenes in particular.

• One way in which Slumdog Millionaire was marketed was the use off the trailer and exclusive clips that were shown most of the time on Film 4 and Channel 4. This is because Film 4 was behind the creation of the film and they wanted to market it as much as possible.

• They then expanded their television marketing scheme to other channels that may get more viewers, such as Sky, ITV and other big TV channels.

• Another marketing scheme that was used was the use of the song “Jai Ho” at the end of the film for the credits. This was a key part of marketing because the song had already been in the charts for a long time. The music video which was by the Pussycat Dolls was put on YouTube with a link to the film.

• This font used on this poster is brightly coloured and in a large font, which is at the top of the poster. This is where you usually look at first so it will catch the audiences attention.

• As it has who it was directed by, and ‘International Bestseller’ at the top, this means it will already have created a buzz around the movie and will attract more people to go and see it as they know it will be good.

Exhibition• The film was released in the UK on the 9th January 2009,

and in the opening weekend of the film being released in each country, it made;

• £1,827,457 (UK) (Shown on 10 screens)• $360,018 (USA) (Shown on 324 screens)• AUD 92,875 (Australia) (Shown on 34 screens)

• In North America and Europe, the film was received positively by its audience, but in India there were mixed reviews. Some film critics objected to certain issues, such as Jamal’s use of ‘British English’ or the fact that similar films made by Indian filmmakers have not received equal recognition.

• Some other film critics were particularly frustrated with the film, saying things like ‘A very anti-Indian film. it underlines and endorses what the west thinks about of us. At every turn it is built on falsehood. I was ashamed to see it was being appreciated widely in the west...Fortunately Indians are turning it down."

• The classification of the film was a 15, and this particular classification stayed the same when it was released on DVD. This meant that it was more easily distributed because people already knew what to expect, and knew that it was quite a hard-hitting film that need a high classification.

Critical reception of the film• The film received mostly positive reviews, for example from

the USA Today “Director Danny Boyle's riveting and kaleidoscopic tale, based on Vikas Swarup's debut novel "Q and A," is exquisitely adapted to the screen by Simon Beaufoy.”

• But some people didn’t like the film too much, so there were a couple of negative reviews, for example in the San Francisco Chronicle; “Doesn't hit its stride until the last 30 minutes, and by then, it's just a little too late.”

• Most of the reviews came from typical tabloid newspapers and magazines, which reveals to us the target audience the filmmakers aimed for, (young adults and adults, 16-17+)