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?

The story is of a young 16 year old boy who comes from an Asian background and strong traditional family. Javen tries to break free of his fathers orders to find a good sensible job to support the family and have an arranged marriage. However, Javen has other plans when he discovers Bruce Springsteen who inspired him to continue writing and to make a difference in the world.

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

There was an overall positive response from word of mouth as it was able to make $18.1 million at the box office although they did loose money as their production profit was $15 million.

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

As the festival is as it includes a variety of people to showcase and be able o be exposed to audiences. 

Funding and industry contexts

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

Blinded By The Light cost around $15m to make with Bend It Films helping to develop the film with support from Levantine Films and Ingenious Media.

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

Beecham House, Viceroy's House, Bend it like Beckham musical, Desi Rascals, Its a wonderful afterlife, Angus thongs and perfect snogging, Mistress of spices, Bride and prejudge, Bend it like Beckham. 

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

They have been around for 50 years and continues its long and successful film hits with both mainstream and niche audiences. They are part of Warner Brothers and have an active affair with them. 

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? 

Chadha is a huge Springsteen fan, who pursued her dream of making a movie about The Boss’ music based on the true-life memoir of co-writer. She set up a spirited bidding war won by Warner Bros and New Line Cinema, who acquired it for the $15 million it cost to make.  She had similar experiences to Javen as an Asian who had moved to Britain and face first hand racism. She quoted: “I knew Bruce really wanted this movie to happen, so I felt money wouldn’t be a problem.”

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?

Warner Brothers are acquiring for $15 million for worldwide rights

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

The auction was rumored to have included Fox Searchlight, Lionsgate

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

The allure was 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.

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 enables every step in the entertainment value chain from development and production to marketing and distribution. With the reach of a studio and the flexibility of an indie, we share bold stories with audiences around the world.

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 portrays coming of age intertwined with a bit or romance, comedy and social realism. The main character Javen comes from a immigrant family who suffers from racism, struggling to find his path in life from pressure from his dad. This is able to reinforce the gratification of personal identity as they might relate to the main character and personal relationship as it can be similar to the audiences relationship with their fathers.

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? 

There was BBC one, Hey You Guys, Bend it networks. Interviews are a good way to promote a new film release as it gets the audience more interested and drawn to the backstory of the movie grabbing the attention of many people who enjoy the genre.

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. 

The poster included the main character of Javen to show how the movie subverts traditional white main character in a British film. There are two different versions of the poster, Uk and USA. The UK one is more bland with orange stripes whilst the USA is red and blue reinforcing the movies storyline while a Bruce Springsteen vibe.

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.

They promoted on  Instagram, Twitter, YouTube.

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

Many of the posts feature Javen and his friends to show how he finds his own freedom and pathway of life through Bruce Springsteen's music. His music appearance can attract his fan base to show them how uplifting and guiding his words are. There is a post of Javen's English teacher with the words 'who are you' behind her which can reinforce how the post is trying to make audiences question themselves and what they want to achieve and stand out in life.

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?

On the channel she introduces herself and how her channel is a place for people to be a wider community where they are able to be open about their culture and share their interests without being ashamed. The channels content also includes interviews and behind the scenes of other films she has worked on.

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?

At the box office they made  $19.5 million, I believe that they were unsuccessful as they released the film in the month of August which also shared the release of 'Yesterday'. This is because they both had similar elements like social realism and feel good which felt repetitive to the audience. As well as this the film ranged from a variety of genres which should have made is successful but the fact that is made the audience confused and question what they were watching could have put off their predicted enjoyment to the 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.