Spooks

A normal stereotypical British black man to us would be a thug who does drugs and wears baggy clothing. We would think they were argumentative, against the law and ‘gobby; which are all very negative words. Although in the short clip I watched of ‘Spooks’ shows quite the opposite of a British Black man, this character is called Danny.

Danny is a young man who is about in his 20’s who is well-spoken, intelligent, selfless and brave. In the clip these things are all shown clearly to the watcher. The terrorist is the villain in this clip - and Danny being the hero, he is more, I think, the typical stereotype of a British black man. The terrorist is very violent to towards both Danny and the women who are tied up; he is also holding a gun towards them. This shows that the terrorist is the aggressive and brutal one, unlike Danny, as he is being more like a ‘typical’ white person. This I think shows a good difference and a message to people, that not all people are what we think of them to be.

The music adds to the depressing, dismal feel because it emphasises the atmosphere. The music is also haunting and disturbing; there are elements of Arabic music reaching though, which could be linked to the terrorist and that he is from an Arabic country. Yet the sound is twisted to a more threatening sound which is quite chilling. There is also a screeching sound of a whale that creeps though which could show that there is danger, as it is what whales do when they fear something. In the background there is a constant drumming sound that gets louder, this is to create tension throughout the clip and keep the viewer on edge.

The camera work throughout this section is looking from a downwards angle, upwards. This is used regularly when we are shown the terrorist which could emphasises the fact that he is the ‘bad guy’ or villain and so he is looking down on us; as he is threatening to us. There is also a lot of close up to the characters faces to show their reactions and facial expressions, for example the tears on Danny’s face. Yet the camera only frequently shows onto the terrorists face, although it is very shaded; this could resemble his darkness and coldness. There is also a quick shot of the terrorists but the shadows of the window are forming faint bars across the image, which could imply he is the criminal or could be something to do with a prison.

Tim Bevan

- Tim was born in New Zealand and is well known for being a producer and co-producer in various films.
- Some of his most popular films include Wild Child, The Soloist, The Tudors, Nanny Mcphee, Pride and Pedjudice, Sean of the Dead and many more.
- he co-founded Working Title Productions with Sarah Radclyfee
-

The Soloist Marketing

With the film's release date being pushed back from November, but not being released till April the next year it did not give the film a good start in the film industry. When it was finally released it was pronounced dead at the arrival of the box office because it was failing to hold its own against various commercial offerings.
Articles explain that people leave the cinema disappointed with the film. This, they think was because it is so serious and normal that there was no 'magic' or anything special about it. Although the script writer wanted to keep everything the straight story and thought it improper to change the story hugely, people think that they could of added more creative latitudes towards the characters.

The Soloist Production Notes

- Dreamworks pictures and Universal pictures in association with Working Film Title, present The Soloist
- Steve Lopez had a lot of people interested and got involved in his articles in the Times newspaper. They would send packages and emails, including cellos and musical instruments to show their support the homeless.
- It became realised that Steve Lopez had in fact produced a story about his friendship, which interested many people and producers, although the producers it was Russ Kransoff and Gary Foster, (who were business partners) that gained Lopez's trust.
- after securing a deal with Lopez, foster brought dreamworks on board, who then introduces Susannah Grant, who is a Oscar-nominated script writer.
- Grant didn't want anyone else to touch the story after she had read the columns in the newspaper. She needed to communicate with the story, which was exciting for her. She thought of it as a romantic story, almost a love story - about a strong friendship.
- Grant spent a lot of time with Lopez and Ayers so she could get to know them well and make the script a lot more authentic.
- She urged away from 'fairy-tale' elements in the story as she wanted to reveal the truth about there relationship
- Joe Wright had never filmed in the US before, he went to visit Los Angeles before signing on to the film. He visited Skid Row alone, and this had an effect on him and changed the direction of the film. He also took a few days off to communicate with the Lamp Community
- Jamie Foxx had an emotional reaction to the script as he read it and was soon spending time with Nathaniel.
- Over several weeks Wright and Mcgarvey storyboarded the whole film. They also spent a lot of time with music to go with the film which was vital the movie.

The Making of the Solist.

Who produced 'The Soloist'?

Gary Foster, who has produced many other films such as a new film called 'When In Rome' and Russ Krasnoff, who has not been that popular in the producing department except for this film , 'the soloist'

What did Steve Lopez question about the film from the start?

How could you make movie, when you do not have an ending, was what was said by Steve Lopez about the film at the beginning.
When did the producers meet Nathanial?

The producers were took by surprise when they first met him because they were having lunch with Steve Lopez and discussing the film in 2005, when suddenly Steve asked if they wanted to see him after lunch, which they agreed too.
Where were the real life locations of the film?

Various places in America were used for the filming, for example the Disney Concert Hall, LAMP Centre, Skid Row and Anderson Street.
 What was Susannah Grant's aim when screen writing?

She has an aim to show people that everyone was a person that that each person had a life story. She explained how every person has a family; sister, brother, mother, father and so on which would make the viewer think about what if it was someone in their family that was homeless or mental ill, etc.
Why was Joe Wright apprehensive about making the film?

Because Joe had only directed films in the UK he was nervous about going to a new country that he knew nothing about, so he thought it would be a very big challenge to do this. He felt because the actors were good American actors they would help him with his time in the US, although he did say that the more he found out about America the more he got confused about it!
What does Robert Downey Jr say about the role of Nathanial?

He said that there was a high-degree of difficulty, for example playing some one crazy could have gone so bad, which could result in the ending of an actors career. Also the fact that the actor would have to learn to play the cello which would also add onto the amount of difficulty to the character. People would also get the impression that because the actor. Jamie Foxx might have been known more for his different genres of form, it could turn the public away because they couldnt' 'see' him acting a 'mad' person.
 Why did Joe Wright want authentic locations and authentic people in his film?

Joe wanted to involve the homeless people in the film and help them to learn skills, work and money. He wanted them to feel proud at what they had done and give them a chance.
How long did the set designers have on location to build the set?

They had 4weeks to build the set, yet before this there was a lot of prep in workshops to help get it done quicker. The set was made because they did not want to intrude on the homeless parts of the city as to them the streets were they 'home', therefore it would be rude to just start filming where they are happy.
 What process did the actors go through to ensure that the acting was authentic?

The actors all went to a 3week trust exercise and also involved theatre games. Jamie Foxx also had to learn to play the cello which took a lot of effort and hard work, so make the film more realistic.
What comments are made about the ending by Susannah Grant and Russ Krasnoff?

She wanted to keep the ending real and authentic as this was the truth in the honest real life story. She didn't want there to be a fairytale ending and predictable.

Joe Wright didn't want people to assume, he wanted them to make up their own mind, although this is a risk towards the audience as they could be unsatisfied with this.

Production

Production

Let The Right One In

Throughout the film the music is always dim or dark yet with a twist of romance. The instruments, such as piano or solo guitar are used often. This emphasises the characters of both Oskar and Eli, for example whenever Eli appears the music becomes creepy and not in tune which creates a mysterious vibe to the atmosphere in the film. Although when they are both together; communicating, the music becomes light and in harmony. The music has been put together effectively to create tension throughout the film whenever there is a killing coming up.

There are many devices used throughout the film to create the contrast between the two children and the different sides of each individual. For example the dark evenings, when Eli seems to always appear, and the light snow which I think shows as Oskar, being the innocent, at first. Although this does change as the film continues and we find out that there are two different sides to Oskar, as well as Eli. When the two meet for the first time Eli is shown to be a blameless strange little girl, and, yet Oskar is shown to be violence as he practices knife tricks on a nearby tree. This is quite peculiar as Eli is meant to be the aggressive one, and Oskar the quiet vulnerable one. 

We first find out Eli’s malicious side when she attacks a local man, by sitting down under a dark bridge and crying out for help, the man, Jocke, offers to pick her up, yet as he does she brutally kills him by biting and drinking his blood. She does this in the evening, which emphasises her dark side; although after this scene she starts to cry, as if she hates herself for what she has done. This is evidence that she might not like what she does to the viewer; showing her innocence. Every time that Eli has killed someone, such as Hakan, she is always seeking something to make her feel better. She seeks Oskar for comfort after her unfortunate killing, which could indicate that she feels guilty and upset.

Eli also has her child-like self whenever she is with Oskar, which seems to ease her when she is with him. To me Eli does not want to be this monster, she just wants be a normal kid like Oskar. To support this, an example is when she tries a sweet; she must know that they do not interest her, yet she says she will try on anyway. This shows that Eli wants to act as normal as possible, although this does not work and she ends up being sick in front of Oskar as a result.

In the scene when Oskar cuts himself, Eli shows her love and feeling for him when she licks up his blood she calls for him to run, for his protection and safety. This provides us with information that Eli does care about people and is not just killing people for the thrill of it. This makes me feel a bit sorry for her, as she does not want to do but has to which must be really hard for her to live with.

Oskar also has violence personality, which is shown at the beginning, although this is only pretend, it still shows us what is going through his mind. This could also be the result of Oskar not having any friends. Yet throughout the film he becomes a lot more aggressive, for example when he hits Connie (the bully) and also towards the end when he attacks a man. Before he meets Eli these incidents are something he would have never done, yet she tells him he must fight back; which could show that Eli is also to blame as he encouraged him to do the things.  This violence side to Oskar could have been why he and Eli get on so well as if helps them both to become friends. He does not seem to be threatened by Eli being a vampire or a killer which must mean he trusts her a lot due to their similarities.

Like Eli, Oskar has a child-like personality also. His, obviously, is normal child behaviour. Even though he has just seriously hurt the boy, Connie, he goes of to see his father, which he seems to enjoy. The scene shows a bright sunny day with white show; this contrasts with the town scenes with Eli, everyone is dark and dull. Eli does not follow Oskar, and so the scenes are light and joyful, which emphasises that Eli is not around.

The camera work is very fluent and there a mid-shot is used for most of the scenes when Eli and Oskar are together, although the camera does show from each ones perspective at times, such as when they are talking. To show the facial expressions on the characters there is many close ups so we can tell what they are felling or even thinking for example when there is a close up of Eli after she has killed the camera zooms to her face when she is sobbing which can show the viewer that she is upset, showing the detail. A good plan camera shot is towards the end of the film where we see the kitchen in Eli’s house but also the doorway when the man enters her house, here we can see both sides, which gives us a good view of the area.

The typical binary opposites from Levi-Strauss are found in the film, for example good verses poor and girl verses boy. These are shown obviously through Eli and Oskar, but also with Connie and Oskar who relate to good verses evil, or innocent verses guilty (bullying). Another example is Eli, the vampire (evil) and the humans (good) who are fighting against each other.

Vladimir Propp’s character roles are also quite clear in this film; we have Eli as the princess, yet also the villain and we then have Oskar the hero who eventually helps Eli to feel normal again, yet also contributes to one of her killings. We also have Connie and the bullying group who are also the villains and then finally the dispatcher who I think is Hakan, as he is the one that continues Eli to live. Eli is also helpers in this film, for example Eli is the one who tells Oskar to fight back and stick up for him, she also kills of the villains (Connie) in the end, instead of Oskar dying or being injured.