attachments_06-04-2012_23-41-26 / 5 movie-making

5

Read the following text and be ready to answer the questions given below.

The “philosophy” of Commercial Movie-Making

The movies are a commercial enterprise and various segments of the industry require an adequate return on investment. Only this way the system of film-making can exist. However not every movie is expected to make a profit.

If the cost of production is very high, a movie simply cannot make an adequate return on the home market, especially in countries with small population. Then movies become an international business and the themes of the films should be also international.

In order to attract people, movies must be adapted to public tastes and the demands of the public.

Large audiences, necessary for the financial success of movies, can only be attracted by “entertainment.” Entertainment can be achieved only with films which do not require too much serious thought and are not too similar to real-life situations.

The average movie-goer is rather young in his needs and interests. These needs and interests include: voyeurism, sadomasochism, sentimentality, humor and excitement. These needs can be fulfilled by sex, violence, romance, comedy, and adventure.

Successful films always require a very special and often rare, combination of talent, taste and creativity.

Stars help the audience to fulfil these various fantasy needs, and the star system is one of the basic systems of Hollywood cinema.

Movies are in competition with other forms of leisure activity (especially television) for the viewer’s time and money. So movies must give the audience what those other forms cannot give. This competition with television is really difficult because television entertainment is free (you shouldn’t pay your money for it).

The “uniqueness” of cinema is to be created by more sensational treatment of taboo subjects (sex and violence) than is possible at home, by casting popular stars who do not often show up on television, and by technological innovations (image size, 3-D, kinescope, special effects, and the like).

1. What way does the system of film-making exist?

2. When does the movie become an international business?

3. What does the financial success of movies depend on?