Debate Questions

2) Who are films made for? Do they cater to people's tastes or are they 'safe bets' for the Hollywood Industry?

I will begin with why I think there are films that are 'safe bets' for the Hollywood industry. One factor I will draw attention to is the release dates of certain films, with my key example being the 'Saw' chain of movies. Lets look at the release dates for each of the 'Saw' films so far:
'Saw' - 1st October 2004 (all UK dates)
'Saw II' - 28th October 2005
'Saw III' - 27th October 2006
'Saw IV' - 26 October 2007
'Saw V' - 24 October 2008
'Saw VI' - 23 October 2009
Notice that they as of 'Saw II' the release dates become very near to Halloween. In my opinion, quality of storyline has decreased in each Saw film with too many plot twists, But all films are rather gory, which keeps in theme with Halloween. To me this creates the atmosphere of 'It's nearly Halloween, that must mean its 'Saw' time!' However, the films continue to be successful at the box office ('Saw II' grossed $87,025,093 in the US) , which has most likely provoked so many squeals, with another 'Saw' due later this year.

Also, look at certain partnerships between certain actors and directors e.g. Johnny Depp and Tim Burton. Depp has appeared in a number of Burton's films, including 'Edward Scissorhands', 'Sweeney Todd', 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' and 'Alice in Wonderland' where each time Depp portrays a character that could be seen as 'out of the ordinary'. We can apply the same theory to the productions of Judd Apatow, who founded Apatow productions in 1999. Many of the stars in these films have appeared in many of his other films, portraying similar (in terms of stupidity) roles. Some of these stars include:
Seth Rogen - 'Knocked Up', 'Superbad', 'Pineapple Express'
Jason Segal - 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', 'I Love You, Man'
Will Ferrell - 'Anchorman: the Legend of Ron Burgundy', 'Step Brothers'
Paul Rudd - 'the 40-Year-Old Virgin', 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall', 'I Love You, Man'

Some films tend to have a 'theme' to them, to show that filmmakers have an understanding of what is popular in normal society. For example, the American high-school setting was popular in the 1990's and 2000's, with films such as 'Clueless', 'Mean Girls' and 'Coach Carter' taking the high-school stereotypes e.g. popular kids, jocks, nerds ect. and forming a story out of it.

Nearly every film that I can think of is based on a book/novel ('the Lord of the Rings') , or sometimes historical events ('Titanic') and TV series ('the Simpsons', 'Sex and the City'). This could possible mean that there is no originality to the film industry, but weather that's a bad thing is uncertain. For historic events, filmmakers might think along the lines of 'hmmm... kids won't find this interesting, but if I put this star in it, I could make money!!' and that is how they might chose to market the film. It can be appealing to two audiences - one being the ones interested in history, the others being the ones going crazy for the star.

3) What impact does the appearance of British stars in American films have upon the British films?

So many British stars have found success in big, well-promoted Hollywood films. Some examples include:
Ewan McGregor - 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace', 'Moulin Rouge!' and 'The Island'
Christian Bail - 'American Psycho', 'The Dark Knight' and 'Public Enemies'
Keira Knightly - 'Pirates of the Caribbean' saga

Whilst this does a great job in promoting the actors/actresses, there is a sense that the origins of the stars (the UK) has been lost and that they each become just another part in the Hollywood 'for show' section, upon seeing that their film history includes mostly American films. However, this is not necessarily the case for every British import in America - in the last five years, Keira Knightly has appeared in 'Atonement' and 'Pride & Prejudice' both critically successful British films.

The same, I feel, cannot be said about Christian Bail, who's film credit history of the past ten years is nearly all American. Also, because many of these films are financially successful (e.g. 'Batman Begins'), they often lead to sequels ('the Dark Knight') which means an actor/actress will spend more time in Hollywood as filmmakers will be demanding of them to reprise their roles.

However, we do not have to see this as a bad thing. As I mentioned earlier, many of these big American films are often well-promoted, which means that the stars are well-promted. People will begin to recognise the names of the stars, meaning that their names are not easily forgotten. The Hollywood industry could see them in British films and label them as 'fresh talent' and get them a new, wide fanbase. It could also been seen as a compliment to the UK - "that star is very good in that film. We'd like to use him in one of our own films.' 'Why thank you!'. The stars are talented and eye-catching to American filmmakers, so therefore they want them in their films.

The impact of British stars appearing in American films is that it gives the stars a chance to show showcase their talent to a new audience, but it can drive them away from their roots.