Select a few of Shakespeare plays that have been adapted in films and analyse them. What can film techniques bring to the plays? How does it change our relationships to characters? The story? Are there elements that can only be efficient on stage? What do actors who do both (David Tennant, Kenneth Branagh, Ian McKellen etc…) say about the difference between performing Shakespeare on stage and in front of a camera?
Wow, there's a lot here to talk about! I love this topic and am excited to see it. Paring this down into specifics would be easier to write about. For example, Branagh is probably the most prolific in bringing Shakespeare to film, so it might be interesting to choose just one of his film adaptations and write at length about what it brings to (or detracts from) the play. Most directors these days set Shakespeare in different time periods; how does Branagh's version of Hamlet, for example, set a tone that may be different from a displaced staged version? – Katheryn8 years ago
A very interesting concept and will make a great article. There are certainly many things you propose to be discussed here. I think first of all the title should reflect that you are trying to do a comparison or discuss both Film and on stage plays. In addition, it will be beneficial to narrow down the discussion to a degree as it might result in a very long article that would not have coherency and a good flow. Compare and contrast topics are very interesting read and fun to do, but if there are too many elements, the article becomes difficult to follow. – Arazoo Ferozan8 years ago
BBC's Hollow Crown trilogy would be a good adaptation to explore (even though it's a mini-series) as many of the actors in it also did stage work. The recent Macbeth (2015) film would interesting as well given how pared down it was--mostly striking visuals and score, but very little of the play's actual lines. A question, maybe, of conveying atmosphere and tone vs. faithfully sticking to the original. – Tiffany8 years ago
As others have noted, there is a lot to explore/discuss here. There are numerous adaptations of Shakespeare's plays that can lend important insight to your piece - especially if you're thinking about it in a global context. How do adaptations outside of the English language come closer to or further from the original? How do certain cultural or community specific values (i.e. arranged marriages in certain cultures) impact an adaptation's depiction or love, duty, remorse, etc. Maqbool (2004) is an awesome example of some of these questions and issues. If you're thinking of expanding to a more global context that is a great place to start! – GemMarr8 years ago
This is a very broad topic, maybe stick to one popular and well adapted Shakespeare play. Also keep in mind the historical context of live action plays: they were supposed to engage the audience to get involved, for example the well known fact that audiences used to throw tomatoes at actors. But the audience could also contribute real time opinions and feelings to a play, even help improvise lines. Audience participation is something film adaptations lack. I'm not sure if you have studied more modern plays, like Beckett or Susan Lori-Parks, but the trend of post modern plays is to implicate the audience and make us feel culpable. I know this might be going off track, but it would be an interesting research. Good luck! – Rayna8 years ago
The ‘James Bond Girl’, as we like to refer to the main female characters in the Bond series, has had many faces and many different nationalities, from Sophie Marceau to Lea Seydoux (yes, a lot of French girls! Does that say anything about our conceptions of French women and the images we associate with them?). It would be interesting to have a look at the different performances/interpretations in the Bond filmography. What ideals of femininity do they relay? How do nationality and foreignness affect their performances? What does that bring? What are our expectations of the James Bond girl? How do they compare with books?
This sounds so interesting, it would also be interesting to see how the portrayals have changed through the decades. – Austin Bender8 years ago
And of course the one woman to be a bond girl twice, Maud Adams. And the fact that fans rejected Halle Barry, because she was already famous. And a dozen other things. Whether you approach this from a analysis of hollywood hiring practices, feminine ideals or just narrative structure of James Bond, this is a great topic. – CrunchyEnglish8 years ago
This is a good topic to see how the role has evolved. – Munjeera8 years ago
Great topic! And also, what her significance is to the film and James Bond and what her contributions are to the storyline. – Jaye Freeland8 years ago
This is particularly interesting in light of the latest film--which features the oldest bond girl to date (though of course, she's still gorgeous). I think Daniel Craig himself said in interviews that Bond is a chauvinist, and that the latest bond girl (played by Léa Seydoux) is more than young enough to be his daughter. "Beauty," and therefore age, is definitely a big factor. – Tiffany8 years ago
How interesting! I agree with the above -- one might also ask how each Bond girl reflects her time period and the contemporary fears and hopes that might have gone into her character as a "foil" for Bond. – sophiacatherine8 years ago
Quebec’s film industry is commonly regarded as a distinct entity from its English Canadian counterpart. Write a study and history of French Canadian Cinema, looking at filmmakers like Xavier Dolan, Atom Egoyan, Denis Villeneuve…. What makes it paricular? How can it be exported? Is there a Hollywood/Canadian influence?
I suggest you add "and" before Denis Villeneuve and immediately put a period after the name. You do not really need the ellipsis and the question can stand on its own. However, you can use the ellipsis, but it's three periods and not four. – Diego Santoyo8 years ago
Twickenham Studios in the UK might not be well known, yet they have worked for the past century on enormous films. They have produced the Beatles films in the 1960s, The Italian Job with Michael Caine, My Week with Marilyn, The Iron Lady, War Horse, Kick-Ass among others. They are also particularly famous for their post-production work, receiving Emmys, BaFTAS and Oscar nominations for their sound editing of The Martian or Amy for example. Celebrating their 100th anniversary, it would be interesting for someone to look into their history and create a retrospective of their most famous work.
I have never heard of Twickenham before - this would be really interesting! Great idea. – Katheryn8 years ago
The new season of Black Mirror is in production. Netflix has now bought the rights and is changing the structure of the series, expanding to 12 episodes for this new season. They will no longer feature on TV but exclusively on Netflix and online. What can we expect from the new season? Will these changes impact the quality of the narrative? Will the themes be explored in a similar way and as thoroughly? Do you think they would benefit from linking episodes together since they now have more (although this might not be their ambition)?
Black Mirror is a good show to focus on, being that it is, in fact, Britain's response to our "Twilight Zone." – WebJJohnston8 years ago
The TV Channel BBC 3 has just turned into an online channel, abandoning its television platform to embrace the digital entirely. It has always targeted young people yet had low audiences and did not make much profit. The decision to turn completely digital and online seems to be BBC’s way to keep its ‘young’ audience, who spends more time online than in front of the TV. What is there to gain? What is there to loose? How far until a TV channel is pushed to completely reinvent itself? Is the future of TV online?
The work of Concept Artists is one of passion, hard-work, determination and patience. They come up with incredible designs that really help the production and give a visual stimuli to directors, producers, set designers, production managers and art directors. They manage to translate the director’s and screenwriter’s vision into beautiful images that are then used as a basis to convey the film’s atmosphere and tone. They also help the technicians (lighting, camera work) and touch upon all aspects of production. It would be interesting if someone decided to shed a bit more light on these works. What is a concept artist? What do they achieve? How do they impact? Also, would be really interesting to find the concept art for big films to illustrate the point, like Harry Potter, Lord of The Rings or Marvel Universe films etc…
Disney animated films also have really beautiful concept art. – MichelleAjodah8 years ago
Another great movie to have a concept art for is Sleeping Beauty. – SpectreWriter8 years ago
This is a hard topic to write about so the article will probably have to be personal yet rely on statistics, investigations and numbers as well. The conditions of how we watch a film are extremely important as they influence our reception, understanding and appreciation of the film. Watching a classic like The Usual Suspects on a small screen is never as satisfying as watching it on a big screen. Yet classics are very rarely projected again on big screens. In Paris, a cinema has just opened, specializing in projecting Hollywood and French classics on a big screen once again for the public. How much are screen size and ratio important in our experience of the film? How can you read a film through the cinema experience and through the home experience? How aware are the distributors on this subject and how does it influence their decision? In contrast, can we appreciate a film more at home, in the comfort of our personal space? How does our experience change if we watch it on TV? On a laptop?
I think it changes in that when we goto a theater, we are going out of our way for that experience. The theater is exclusively a place for films to be watched, the home is not so. Our attention is easily diverted and in all likelihood not as audio/visually potent as the theater system. The common moviegoer will always deny caring about film vs digital, big screen vs little, high quality sound vs low, or anything else in regard to the film's aesthetic. The thing is that those things make an effect whether or not you realize they are or not. You know something about to come crashing through this door, but why did you know? Because Tarantino Dollied in on the door. This scene feels warm and romantic, but why? Because of the delicate lighting. These things will always make a difference, even to those people who deny their importance. – AaronHunt9 years ago
I've always found a horror to be more frightening in a cinema, a comedy to be more hilarious, and an action sequence to move me closer to the edge of my seat. There's something to be said for group-think, shared emotions in space, and the ability of a theater-goer to feed on the thoughts and emotional reactions of others. Also, my living room can never get as delectably dark as a movie theater. That's important in my book. – Derek Jackson9 years ago
I think the question of medium specificity is often overlooked. This question looks like a great jumping point for a discussion about the sensual or material qualities of cinema. Thank you for sharing.
– InAugust9 years ago
On the 24th December at 12.01 am, The Beatles’ music became available on different online streaming platforms like Spotify, Deezer and Amazon. Explore why this has taken so long. What are the conditions for an artist to put his music online? What are the politics of music streaming? Why were The Beatles’ franchise to reluctant to go into streaming? What is there to win/to loose?
Most of it probably comes down to 1) who owns the rights to the song 2) how much streaming services have to pay – JLaurenceCohen8 years ago
Woody Allen is a jazz musician himself and always feature jazz soundtracks in his films. Analyse the use of soundtracks in Woody Allen films. How do they add to his style, to the characters, to the narrative, to the atmosphere? How do they vary in his American films and in his European films? Share some titles!
Do you think narrowing the scope to specifically Woody Allen movies cuts off fertile ground for criticism and analysis? Just off the top of the dome: The Coen Brothers, Tarantino, Romero, Woo, and Burton strike me as directors/writers whose music selection is as, if not more, important to their movies as the acting, script, etc. Could the topic be expanded to include a critical discussion of the ways specific genres of film (noir, western, comedy, drama, etc) use specific genres of music (jazz, country, rock, pop, etc.), or would that confuse the issue? – Bo8 years ago
That's true but that would mean an extensive and very long article, whereas focusing on one filmmaker in 1 article allows more depth in the analysis. A series of articles could be done like that - one on Tarantino, one on Burton... But I know a lot of people have already written on these directors and their taste in music, whereas the interest in Woody Allen's soundtracks is lower. – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun8 years ago
I do agree with Rachel, this is such an extensive topic on its own that adding more would probably hurt the articles overall effectiveness. – Austin Bender8 years ago
With his latest film ‘Youth’, Sorrentino has once again impressed with his mastery of the camera, his unique sense of the image and the way he uses the visual to capture human emotions at its core.
It would be interesting to have a look at his film career and compare his films. What defines him as a director? What defines his style? What is it that appeals to audiences? What differentiates him from other directors?
Today, film trailers are longer than ever, and the editing often takes the most important moments of a film and throws them at the audience. They often show too much and we get the impression that we have seen the whole film just by watching a condescended 3 min version of it. How have trailers evolved through film history? Look at the trailer for Anatomy of A Murder for example, when director and producer directly address the spectators to promote their film. What happened to voice-over? How are they aesthetically different today?
There are a great many trailers from the early days of cinema, especially for B-movies, where all they were were a carefully condensed version of the film, just as they are today. They could range from one and a half up to even four minutes. They almost always had an excited voice over artist speaking about the characters, the locales, and the ups and downs of the plot. They even revealed big twists just like they do now, completely ruining most of the suspense just so people will know what they're getting before they go in the theater. I think the strange thing is that this style of trailer design has always been a part of the movie industry, but always for the lesser quality projects. Only now has this style of trailer moved into the mainstream except for the most special of occasions: causing our enjoyment of these arguably better quality films to be ruined before we get to see them from beginning to end. So although movie trailers for the A-list projects have undoubtedly gotten worse and less "teaser" like, disallowing us to be mystified before sitting down for the real thing, I think an article on this subject just might a bit more revealing about Hollywood's standards of the past than one might realize. – FilmmakerJ9 years ago
I like your initial question, "How have trailers evolved through film history?" By itself, that is an interesting topic to address, and I believe needs answered. However, I do wonder if a more complex analysis - such as a content analysis - is needed to fully answer the question. An exchange of opinions does little to provide an answer. In addition, I suggest that you avoid the latter questions posed at the end. Dealing with voice over and aesthetic changes are much more specific questions that can be dealt with, and deserve to be dealt with, on their own merits. Focusing on a historical trajectory of film trailers is a good place to start. The other questions can be branched off on their own. On a separate note, be sure you spell correctly. I do not believe you meant "evolitin" in your title. =) – Mark9 years ago
What I mean by controversial is unusual, original, thought-provoking…How do these books break with the tradition of children’s literature, or play with it in some way? How do they refer to modernity and explain contemporary problems? A Monster Calls, a children’s book about cancer, or This Is Not My Hat’ are particularly good examples.
I think this would be a very interesting article! Maybe you could talk about how society as a whole feels about these books. Do they find the modernity suitable for children or is it considered too mature for them? – sarajean2219 years ago
May I suggest 'Tango Makes Three' as a possible example too? It's a marvellous tale of homosexual love in penguins. – mattdoylemedia9 years ago
Disney is once again releasing a live action version of one of its classics: The Jungle Book, starring Bill Murray, Scarlet Johansson, Lupita Nyong’o, Ben Kingsley, Christopher Walken and Idris Elba…
What can we expect from the film, in the light of other live-action films made like Cinderella, and the others to come (Mary Poppins, Beauty and the Beast)? What standards should it meet in your opinion? What are the risks of turning the Jungle Book animation film into a live action?
In the case of the Jungle Book, it's important to say it's been done before. There have been live action remakes of that film so looking at how they did and what their poor qualities were might help the substance of this article. Neel Sethi will be playing Moogli so it's also important to point out that this film will not only be starring known talent, but new talent since Sethi isn't relatively well known. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
An article on this topic should also include how Kaa's sex has been made female instead of male, on top of Disney essentially retelling their version of The Jungle Book all over again. Perhaps Disney's remake could've used elements from the original Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling as well (Shere Khan being deformed, Kaa having been an ally to Mowgli instead, etc.) that would've made the remake stand more on its own ground and not be a rehash with relatively unknown actors. – dsoumilas9 years ago
I clicked approve, but I would change the angle of this. EVERYONE can easily poke out flaws and to be honest it is just band wagoning at this point to find fault with a live action remake of this film. Sure it has been done before with the Jungle Book, but they were all crap and unremarkable. Taking a different spin like the positives of the remake would be way cooler and way more interesting. Complaining or finding risks in the remake is preaching to an unimaginative choir at this point. No one is talking about how, yes we loved the animated version, but it was soooo racist. This remake could be visually stunning, still have what we love from the animation, but not be classic disney racist. No one wants to read another negative article about remakes, because we all know what they will say and most people already agree with the points. So do something new, fun, and fresh. – Erin Derwin9 years ago
You are right, although the questions suggested here were not meant to be taken as positive or negative remarks, or criticisms. They are here to help evaluating in a neutral way the expectations we can have about this film, what things we would like to see and problems the team could face. – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun9 years ago
I think the cast alone pretty much guarantees the success of this film. – JinKobayashiHearMe9 years ago
After 51 years, Disney has just announced a sequel to the classic. The production of the first film took many years due to a struggle with rights.
Write an article about how this classic could be revisited and extended in a sequel. You can make it personal too by asking yourself a few questions (that most people share anyway) like : is this a good idea? Is Rob Marshall a strong decision? Could the making be as difficult as the first one, or even more complex? What can we expect? What would you/we like to see?
Also support ideas regarding the negatives and positives of adapting classic Disney films as live action. Malificent, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast ect. – Joseph Manduke IV9 years ago
True, yet Mary Poppins was mostly a live action film with some animated sequences. Would be interesting to see how they translate that in the sequel! – Rachel Elfassy Bitoun9 years ago
Is it necessary to make a sequel to Mary Poppins? Not really. Toping the original is going to be really tough, though it could be interesting if they stick closer to the book in tone. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
What kind of sequel could this be, given how nearly everyone or almost everyone in the original film by Disney are dead? That is, unless the sequel to Disney's Mary Poppins is going to be based on one of the many sequel books to the original Mary Poppins story by P. L. Travers. Still though, the way Disney rendered their first Mary Poppins film in 1964 does make it look quite dated in both animation and film rendering (though maybe not the music itself). Therefore, a sequel that's closer to the books could work; otherwise, there doesn't seem to be any solid point to a Mary Poppins' continuation after fifty years or so. – dsoumilas9 years ago
I would stick with just Mary Poppins and not branch out to other films like Malificent and Cinderella. Mary Poppins has enough meat to it that you don't need that fatty filler to get the word count up. I would look at the Disney film Saving Mr. Banks. The film puts so much importance on the history of creating the film and the importance of it being just the way it is. There is a beautiful message in that film and would recreating Mary Poppins tarnish not only the meaning of the film Saving Mr. Banks, but Marry Poppins? Or is this all playing into the same idea? – Erin Derwin9 years ago
There is a series of Mary Poppins books (3 I think) that predate the original film just as there are about 12 Oz books that predate The Wizard of Oz. Everyone knows the movies, but very few people know about the books. I read the Oz books as a kid, but I haven't read the Mary Poppins books even though I suspect that the first in the series was used as a source text for the film. It's possible that the sequel to the movie will be based on another book in the series. It's another avenue to explore. – Elisabeth9 years ago
As we know, a visual element or an image can be powerful tools to promote an idea, a project, an attitude or a film. Who are behind the conception of film posters? What can a film poster say about a film? Why are we so attached to them and keep on putting them in our rooms and offices? Who decides on the way posters should be marketed, designed, distributed? Why are some posters like Pulp Fiction or Scarface still so popular years after and what makes a poster successful and convincing?
Another interesting point would be how a poster made by marketing is often seperately made from those who made the film. So controversy over how women like Black Widow are edited on posters would be interesting. – Erin Derwin9 years ago
There's just something so aesthetically appealing about movie posters that make people want to see them. I guess it's also the notion of creating a movie poster that no one's ever seen before, something along the lines of that. I know that the Blade Runner poster wanted me to see the film; same with Pulp Fiction and Space Odyssey. – AlyssaMariano9 years ago
Throughout the years, many films have tackled the theme of growing old. They have changed our perspective on aging and moving with time. With new technologies and modern behaviours, old people of the 21st century seem completely different to old people in the 1950s – attitudes change, and fun seems to be at the heart of aging, whereas it was once depicted as a curse or a synonym of tranquility and sometimes lethargy. Think about Sorrentino’s Youth, Haneke’s Amour, Reiner’s The Bucket List – what do they tell us about aging? How do attitudes change?
I think it would be great to include Benjamin Button in this analysis – kathleensumpton9 years ago
I think it would be valuable to set up a control group, i.e., a film from the 1950s to compare with your experimental group, a film from 2015. – InAugust9 years ago
The new British film 45 Years shows a fantastic depiction of the elderly in their more vulnerable years. Not only are the characters shown to be physically unstable, gone is the fleeting unpredictability of youth and the possibility of adventure, leaving plenty of room for regrets and the realisation that certain possibilities are now off the table. – thehustler1959 years ago
It might also be interesting to compare films that target older viewers as opposed to films that target young viewers and just happen to have an older character. It seems likely that the subject will be handled differently depending on the intended audience. – KASquires9 years ago
Florence Foster Jenkins was a woman who was passionate about singing and opera. Yet she could not sing, had no rhythm and no one would tell her, too scared to hurt her or too amused by her ridiculous singing. She even performed at the Carnegie Hall in New York, her first public performance. The critics were so negative and mocking that she took it very much at heart – in fact, died 2 days later of a heart attack. Her tragic story is the theme of a French film called Marguerite coming out this week, and Stephen Frears is shooting a film about her with Meryl Streep which will be in theaters in 2016. Write a post on her life story and reflect on why she continues to fascinate the public and the film industry especially.
I think this article would be stronger and better if, after you talk about the above, you incorporate how the film (2016) portrays her and whether it was accurate, etc. since it seems as though this fits into the film category. – Nof9 years ago
Filming is underway and fans are getting more and more excited. What can we expect from the 5th film in terms of entertainment, story-line, performance and characters? Can the franchise still generate excitement after a 5th film or is Hollywood trying to pull strings that have worked in the past but are now overused?
You could talk about how Johnny Depp other films have all not worked out for him, so now he is just resorting to a role that everyone is already familiar with. And Yes, I do feel Hollywood is just doing this for more money. – Aaron Hatch9 years ago
It would be interesting to look at the history of stop motion, from its first use in early cinema to its contemporary use nowadays. How has it changed? Why are we still attached to stop motion? What is the difference compared to digital effects and animation?
A good example would be The Nightmare Before Christmas and Tim Burton who lives off Stop motion. Coraline would be good to look at too. – SpectreWriter9 years ago
I think as a comparison of stop=motion, 3D/2D animation and CGI could work very well. Comparing things like (as SpectreWriter said) The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Wallace and Gromit to things like Pixar, South Park, CGI in say Marvel films and even motion capture technology in the recent Planet of the Apes films and Lord of the Rings/Hobbit. – Jamie White9 years ago
Stop motion, technicolour - Disney would be great to look at as well as Alfred Hitchcock, if we're thinking a more general outlook on the progression of film as a whole beyond just stopmotion. – kathleensumpton9 years ago
The Boxtrolls was also nominated for 2015 Best Animated Feature if you want to use a more recent example. – YsabelGo9 years ago