Blinded By The Light: case study

Background reading and production research

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival 

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

-Sarfraz Manzoor a Pakistani boy growing up in Luton in the 1980's, wanted to become a writer,but his father wanted him to have a more "secure" job.however he is still persistent on becoming a singer he then later, comes across Bruce Springsteen's music, which gives him the confidence to defy his parents and pursue his goals.

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

-Audiences found personal connections to the story.

3) Why is the Sundance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

-The business helps smaller more independent film directors to launch their careers and they made sure they have the connections and funds to do so.

Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

-Budget was $15 million and the business that helped to contribute to this were both Levantine media and The Ingenious Group

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

-Beecham house

-Desi Rascals

-Bend it like Beckham

-Bride and prejudiced

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warner's website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

-Having 57 years of success new line cinema is  known for compelling storytelling and producing groundbreaking entertainment.

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

-Gurinder Chadha knows what it is like to be an "outsider" and this made her eager to help other who also have felt like that in their lives,and this is the reason as to why she made the film.

Distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

-New line cinema won for $15 million

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

-Lionsgate,Fox Searchlight.

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

-The surprisingly universal appeal of Springsteen’s coming-of-age tunes, which tell honest stories about a hardscrabble upbringing, ambition and the fight to break free of all shackles to do something worthwhile with one’s life, was the allure to BBTL

4) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. Visit the eOne About Us page on their website - what do they claim to offer under the heading 'Passion meets possibility?'

-They claim that eOne enables and creates world class content. ''eOne enables every step in the entertainment value chain from development and production to marketing and distribution.

Marketing, promotion and reception

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

-The trailer shows the audience that the film is a coming of age, comedy and social realism movie that also has some romance in it. There is racism in the film against Javed who is an immigrant from a Pakistani family.

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

-BBC one and Bend it networks, these interviews helps the film to be promoted and gain popularity.

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

-It featured the main character(Javed) jumping on a orange and white background.These appeared all over UK on billboards buses.

4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

-Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube.

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

-There is a post with the singer Bruce Springsteen,which attracts audiences that know and love him as they know that they movie has aspects of him in.there is also a poster with the three main teenage character and this will help to attract younger coming of age audiences to the film.

6) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

-The channel is portrayed as an opportunity for wider communities to share and relate .Trailers are also posted along with interviews of Gurinder Chadha.

7) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

-It made $19,529,914 and it was unsuccessful because the release of the Yesterday film.

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.