The King's Speech Questions

Who distributed the film in the UK and USA and what were the issues associated with the film’s distribution?

·         Weinstein Company, The (2010) (USA) (theatrical)

·         Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
·         Anchor Bay Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
·         Momentum Pictures (2011) (UK) (all media)

• Was the campaign a grass roots or mainstream big event? How was word spread about the film? Virally on the Net? Mass advertising campaign with poster, trailers, etc?

The King's Speech was originally an independent film/arthouse film, but due to it's success at the various film festivals, listed below, the interest immediately increased and the film was turned into a mainstream film.

·        Telluride Film Festival
·        Toronto International Film Festival
·        Mill Valley Film Festival
·        Hamptons International Film Festival
·        London Film Festival
·        Leeds International Film Festival
·        AFI Film Festival
·        Bahamas International Film Festival
·        Dubai International Film Festival

There were a variety of posters as well as a few different trailers for the UK and America which were intended to interest the respective audiences. The King's Speech official trailer has 895,399 views onYouTube. The trailer was put up on YouTube on 28 Sep 2010, while the release date was three months later. This enables a large audience to watch the trailer and wet their appetite for the film which is to come out in a few months.

On the video description, it gives the following information:
Release Date: 10 December 2010
Genre: Drama | History
Cast: Helena Bonham Carter, Colin Firth, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Tim Downie
Director: Tom Hooper
Writer: David Seidler
MPAA: R
Studio: The Weinstein Company

It then goes on to explain the plot and a link to subscribe to the YouTube channel.

• How was “the talent” used to publicize the film? For instance,
TV and radio interviews with members of the cast, director, etc.

Colin Firth was interviewed on Piers Morgan’s American chat show: Piers Morgan Tonight. Show averages 978,000.

Colin Firth was also on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote The King’s Speech. Show averages around 914,000.

The main stars of the play are the subject of interviews just before and just after the realease of the film, with journalists taking turns to have a one-on-one interview with them as they sit in front of a advertising poster for the film. The interviews are shown on all different types of channels all over the world for different networks, which immediatley raises the profile of the film again.

Interviews like these were conducted with the stars; Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helen Bonham-Carter, as well as the director, Tom Hooper.

• Who was the main target audience for the campaign? Why?

The target audience for The King's Speech has a lot in common with its other target: the members of the Academy, who are set to cast their ballots for this year's Oscars. According to statistics compiled by The Hollywood Reporter, the average age of Oscars voters is 57.7 years old. With $180,443,023 collected worldwide so far on a $15 million budget, the film has been a definite hit, and if my theatre experience is anything to go by, that 57.7 age range is being reflected in the vast majority of the people who are seeing this movie. You can see, then, why this movie has suddenly started to dominate this awards season.

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Filming The King's Speech

Interview with the Cinematographer of The King's Speech, Danny Cohen

What was in your lens kit?We had a full range of Master Prime lenses. What's great about Master Primes is they have an insane range of lenses, from 10, 14, 16, 18, 21, 25, 27, 33—a huge spread, which gives you a good choice. What's peculiar is that even though the jump in the lens size is 3 millimeters, just by having that degree of choice, it can change the complete angle of view and how the face films. That range also meant that there was always the right lens for the right scene. You always go through a bunch of lenses first when setting up a scene to work out what the camera is doing in relation to the actor. Because of the range, we knew there would always be a lens that would let us film exactly what we wanted.

There are a few striking long shots in the film—the opening scene at Wembley Stadium, inside Westminster Abbey and the pivotal scene in Regent's Park. How did you shoot those scenes in contrast?
We shot most of the park scene on Steadicam because it was walking and talking. And with the Steadicam, we typically used a 21, 25 or 27mm lens.

What was the most difficult scene to shoot?
The time constraints imposed by the time of year when we shot this film was probably the most challenging aspect of it, not any one scene. We shot during the winter in London, so we knew it would be getting dark every day at 4 or half past 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Unless we were in the studio, where we could control the lights, we had to shoot everything with this in mind. On big-budget pictures where you can afford to shoot everything in a studio you always do, because there's just so much more control. In reality, on a smaller budget film, where the bulk of the work is on location, you have to go with the flow a lot more.

There is a smoky haze pervading most of the outside scenes, characteristic of London at the time. How difficult was that to simulate and shoot?
It was pretty challenging during the Regent's Park scene or Harley Street scenes to get the scale of that smoke, which essentially was smog, just right. We were quite lucky in Regent's Park that it was quite a still, windless day. We had lots of smoke machines, but if there had been any wind, it would have all disappeared instantly. The light was absolutely perfect—the angle of the low winter sun through the smoke just created these long beautiful shadows. We really lucked out. The low light at the end of the year is a bit more atmospheric, which really worked for us. If you shoot in spring or summer, the light's higher and harsher. The down side, however, was I think it was one of the coldest films I've ever worked on. It was a freezing winter last year in London. But again, that coldness in the exterior shots translates into the film you watch. On the outside, here was this cold, upper-class heir to the throne. But on the inside, there is a warmth and a humanity.

Do you prefer to shoot on film?

I've been really lucky that the bulk of my work in the past five years has been on film. I'm a bit spoiled really and not in the real world, I admit. I've shot some films on HD and shoot commercials on video, but the bigger projects, like the next Johnny English film with Rowan Atkinson I just finished, have been on film. I just think you have a lot more flexibility when you shoot on film. HD is good for certain things, but there's a simplicity and texture you get when you shoot on film. Money plays a huge part in what you shoot on these days. Everybody approaches the question of what format to shoot in with a completely different point of view. As a cinematographer, I think you still get the best images from film.

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The King's Speech Marketing Campaign

As an independent film, the King's Speech was not able to use a huge budget of Hollywood levels to market it and get it recognised. With a budget of only around £8million - £12 million, it could not compete with major blockbusters with backing from massive institutions such as Universal or 20th Century Fox.


Instead, the King's Speech used viral marketing to draw attention to the film - and it proved just as effective, if not, more. The film was made just in time to enter it into several film festivals in the hope that national newspaper journalists will enjoy it and write about it in their papers. 


Luckily, the reception of the film was brilliant, and even before the film had been released in cinemas, people were talking about it and saying how good it was, whilst tipping it for many awards including some Oscars. 


Other methods of marketing include the posters and trailers. 


The posters are very clear and simple. The two shown here present the audience with the two main characters and stars of the film. The pictures are close ups of both the Kings and Lionel Logue, his speech therapist. 


The top one has big, bold words from reviews in newspapers which describe the film. Of course, they are all highly positive quotes of the film and they encourage the audience to go and see the film for themselves. 


The poster gives very little away, and although could be seen as plain, it is effective in emphasising the words which describe the film. The words are all in capitals, which again, draws attention to it and suggests that what is being said is important.


The way the two men are dressed shows their high status and importance of them in society as well as the film's story.


The title of the film uses interesting typography, which looks royal and important, with a King's crown for the dot above the "i" in King. This again highlights the fact that this film is about a king and an important speech.


The fact that in the second poster, the words "God" and "King" are both equally sized in comparison to the "save the" in between again shows the status of the King and the importance in society that he represents. 


Finally, the posters clearly show the main actors and actresses that star in the film as well as, most importantly the release date, so the audience knows when the film is out for them to see.

The trailer is also very important in the promotion and marketing of the film as it is played again and again on television screens all over the world. There are also various versions on YouTube for anyone with the Internet to watch and comment on to a massive audience. 

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The King's Speech Profile

Synopsis
The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates the throne, George (Bertie) reluctantly becomes King. Plagued by a dreadful stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country through war.
 
What is the Genre?
The King's Speech is a period drama, so it had to be authentic - combining regal opulence and scruffy, depression-era London.


Who is the Target Audience?
The original target audience was the members of the Academy - those who vote for the nominations in the Oscars. According to statistics, the average age od Oscars voters is 57 years old.  As The King's Speech was not a mainstream film but instead an independent and art house film, it relied on the reviews on the film at the various film festivals that it was entered in. Due to it's excellent reviews at the events, there became a general buzz of excitement, and the film went mainstream.


The film was initially given a 15 rating by the British Board of Film Classification for its release in the United Kingdom, due to scenes where Logue encourages the King to shout profanities to relieve stress. At the London Film Festival, Hooper criticised the decision, questioning how the body could certify the film "15" for bad language but allow films such as Salt (2010) and Casino Royale (2006) to have 12A ratings despite their graphic torture scenes. 


Following Hooper's criticism, the board lowered the rating to "12A", allowing children under 12 years of age to see the film if they are accompanied by an adult. Hooper levelled the same criticism at the Motion Picture Association of America, which gave the film an R rating, preventing anyone under the age of 17 from seeing the film without an adult. This rating was not appealed. 


In his review, Roger Ebert criticised the R rating, calling it "utterly inexplicable", and said, "This is an excellent film for teenagers". In January 2011, executive producer and distributor Harvey Weinstein said he was considering having the film re-edited to remove some profanity, so that it would receive a lower classification and reach a larger audience.


The film was re-released in the USA on 1 April with a PG-13 rating, replacing the original R rating.


Director
Tom Hooper was the director. He has directed films including Elizabeth I, which was about royalty like the King's Speech, as well as the Damned United, which was again, based on true events. 


In both the King's Speech and the Damned United, Tom Hooper filmed at Leed's United football ground, Elland road. At the start of the King's Speech, when the Prince is giving a speech in Wembley, it is actually filmed at Elland Road. It was chosen because of the resemblance it had to a 1925 version of Wembley stadium.


Budget
The UK Film Council, which is to be cut, contributed £1 million to the overall budget.

However, 

The lion's share of its £10m budget came from the Aegis Film Fund, a consortium of private investors that also contributed to another Firth release, St Trinian's 2.

The film also received money from the film's UK distributor Momentum and the London-based post-production company Molinaire.

Some credit should also go to the European Commission, which contributed £480,000 towards its distribution costs via the EU Media fund.

Distributors

The film is distributed by Transmission in Australia and by Momentum Pictures in the United Kingdom. 

The Weinstein Company is the distributor in North America, Germany, Benelux, Scandinavia, China, Hong Kong and Latin America. 

The film was released in France on 2 February 2011, under the title Le discours d'un roi. It was distributed by Wild Bunch Distribution.

Box Office

In the UK and Ireland, the film was the highest earning film on its opening weekend, it took in £3,510,000 from 395 cinemas. The Guardian said that it was one of the biggest takes in recent memory, compared to Slumdog Millionaire (2008), which, for example, two years earlier earned £1.5 million less.

In total, it has so far made a worldwide total of over $400 million.

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