Hollywood is considered the oldest film industry where earliest film studios and
production companies emerged, it is also the birthplace of various genres of
cinema—among them comedy, drama, action, the musical, romance, horror,
science fiction, and the war epic—having set an example for other national film
industries .The beauty of Hollywood lies in the fact that it is timeless. There are
plenty of memorable movies that still remain as loved amongst critics and
audiences as they were on day that they released. The major film studios of
Hollywood are the primary source of the most commercially successful most
ticket selling movies in the world. Moreover, many of Hollywood’s highest-
grossing movies have generated more box-office revenue and ticket sales outside
the United States than films made elsewhere.
Hollywood has been making drama and thriller based movie for over decades
getting its audience more and more obsessed with these both genera. Drama
films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that
portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of
nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worst, and
everything in-between. Dramatic themes often include current issues, societal ills,
and problems, concerns or injustices, such as racial prejudice, religious
intolerance (such as anti-Semitism), drug addiction, poverty, political unrest, the
corruption of power, alcoholism, class divisions, sexual inequality, mental illness,
corrupt societal institutions, violence toward women or other explosive issues of
the times. These films have successfully drawn attention to the issues by taking
advantage of the topical interest of the subject. Some of the top drama films of all
times include “The Shawshank Redemption” directed by Frank Darabont , “Ghost”
directed by Jerry Zucker , “Schindler’s List” directed by Steven Spielberg , “The
Pianist” (2002) directed by Roman Polanski , “Lion”(2016) directed by Garth Davis
etc. Some of the best directors are Martin Scorsese , Alfred Hitchcock , Stanley
Kubrick etc.
Within the realms of cinema , numerous movements or trends in art cinema and
in avant-garde film-making are or become as predictable (and as typically
pleasurable) as any Hollywood western but every then and now we get to see
mind boggling stories in a genre for example “Momento” directed by Christopher
Nolan (a thriller film). Thriller Film is a genre that revolves around anticipation
and suspense. The aim for Thrillers is to keep the audience alert and on the edge
of their seats. The protagonist in these films is set against a problem – an escape,
a mission, or a mystery. No matter what sub-genre a Thriller film falls into, it will
emphasize the danger that the protagonist faces. The tension with the main
problem is built on throughout the film and leads to a highly stressful climax.
Director Guillermo del Toro once described suspense as being about the
withholding of information: either a character knows something the audience
doesn’t know, or the audience knows something the character doesn’t. That’s a
deliciously simple way of describing something that some filmmakers often find
difficult to achieve: keeping viewers on the edges of their seats and some
directors like Denis Villeneuve director of “ Sicario, Prisoners, Enemy, Arrival,
Blade Runner 2049” , Lynne Ramsay director of “We Need To Talk About Kevin,
You Were Never Really Here” , Ben Affleck director of “The Town, Argo” etc
know just how to do that.
The question is that how does Hollywood markets it’s movies? Well, the answer
is: Hollywood movie distributors spend about $4 billion a year to buy paid
advertising (30-second TV commercials, magazine/newspaper ads, etc.) and over
half that total is placed on broadcast and cable TV, which are the main vehicles
for advertising movies to audiences. TV is effective because it is an audio-visual
medium – like film – and can deliver a vast audience quickly, which is crucial
because films typically don’t linger in theaters more than 4–6 weeks, according
to Marketing to Moviegoers. Full episodes of television talkshows ,entertainment
news programs (ET), or network news programs , devoted to compensated
exposure of the film, stars, clips, director, etc. Virtual relationship hyperlink
marketing, wherein a major search engine (like Yahoo’s main page) offers articles
seemingly presenting interesting news related items, but which are actually back-
end loaded with a links page containing multiple “mental references” to film
characters, storylines or products. Example: Bond, Transformers, etc…, are
connected to scientific invention news stories about advanced weaponry or
robotics discoveries, which quickly leads the reader to pages loaded with the
latest 007 or Megatron movie clip or art director’s fantastical ideas and designs,
thus hooking readers with a “bait and switch” story. Film actors, directors, and
producers appear for television, cable, radio, print, and online media interviews,
which can be conducted in person or remotely. During film production, these can
take place on set. After the film’s premiere, key personnel make appearances in
major market cities or participate remotely via satellite videoconference or
telephone. The purpose of interviews is to encourage journalists to publish stories
about their “exclusive interviews” with the film’s stars, thereby creating
“marketing buzz” around the film and stimulating audience interest in watching
the film.
When it comes to feature films picked up by a major film studio for international
distribution, promotional tours are notoriously grueling. Key cast and crew are
often contracted to travel to several major cities around the world to promote the
film and sit for dozens of interviews. In every interview they are supposed to stay
“on message” by energetically expressing their enthusiasm for the film in a way
that appears candid, fun, and fresh, even though it may be their fifth or sixth
interview that day. They are expected to disclose just enough juicy “behind-the-
scenes” information about the filmmaking process or the filmmakers’ artistic
vision to make each journalist feel like he or she got a nice scoop, while at the
same time tactfully avoiding disclosure of anything truly negative or embarrassing
that might hurt the film’s box office gross and profit or influence a critic’s review
as well as the public’s opinion. Thus the film gets popularity.
https://www.filmsite.org/dramafilms.html
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls025105618/
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls056848274/
https://screencrush.com/best-twist-endings-in-movies/
Sarah.Faisal 