Straight Outta Compton was produced by Legendary Pictures who entered into partnership with Universal Pictures (the lm’s distributor) in 2014. Universal is owned by NBC Universal, a Comcast company. The fact that the lm was produced and distributed by a major, vertically integrated lm studio that is part of a media conglomerate is significant in terms of funding, possibilities for cross- promotion and reaching a global audience.
the Comcast company also owns subsidiaries such as: Comcst Cable Communications LLC, NBCUniversal Media LLC, Comcast spectator, and many others.
NBC Universal owned subsidiaries such as: NBC Broadcasting, Peacock Productions, NBCUniversal Television Stations, NBC Owned Television Stations,NBCUniversal Television Distribution,NBC Entertainment,NBC programming,Universal Television,Universal Filmed Entertainment Group,Universal Pictures,DreamWorks Pictures label, and many others.
• Whose idea was the film? Did the idea start with the writer, or were writers brought in to develop a preconceived idea?
In March 2009, it was announced that the film was in development at New Line Cinema, with S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus writing, and Tomica Woods-Wright, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre set to produce the film.
In May 2010, it was announced Andrea Berloff would write a draft of the screenplay.
In April 2012, F. Gary Gray was selected as director.
By 2013, the film was picked up by Universal Studios, who, in December 2013, hired Jonathan Herman to write a new draft of the script and brought in Will Packer to executive produce.
• Where did the idea come from? Was it an original idea, or perhaps a book first, or TV series, or comic strip, or from some other source?
the films tells the true story of the depiction of the career of gangsta rap group N.W.A. Titled after N.W.A's 1988 debut studio album, the film focuses on members Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre, and the rise and fall of the group.
the films tells the true story of the depiction of the career of gangsta rap group N.W.A. Titled after N.W.A's 1988 debut studio album, the film focuses on members Eazy-E, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre, and the rise and fall of the group.
• Was the film based upon an original script or developed over time by many writers?
Andrea Berloff wrote a draft of the screenplay
- Who financed the film - Production Company? What other films have they produced?
Co-financed by Universal Pictures and Legendary Pictures for $28 million, "Straight Outta Compton" follows N.W.A from its scrappy beginnings in the mid-'80s to its unlikely success and the death of member Eazy-E
legendary has produced films such as Superman, The hangover, Batman begins, Jurassic World, Interstellar, 42,…
Universal pictures has produces films such as pitch perfect 1,2,3 ,LOve actually, Split, Fast and furious, Fifty Shades of gray.
- Casting – who were cast in the main roles and why? How important were stars? How did the film-makers think the chosen stars would appeal to audiences?
Ice Cube is played by his son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dr. Dre is played by Corey Hawkins, and Eazy-E is played by Jason Mitchell.Paul Giamatti also stars as N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller.
Sande Alessi Casting posted the notice on several social media platforms in search of different types of women to be extras in the film. raised some eyebrows because many thought it to be incredibly racist.
Who was the producer?
Tomica Woods-Wright
Matt Alvarez
F. Gary Gray
Scott Bernstein
Who was the director and why did they take the project on?
in September 2011, F. Gary Gray, Craig Brewer, and Peter Berg were in talks to direct the film. In April 2012, F. Gary Gray was selected as director. Gray had worked with Ice Cube in the film Friday and Dr. Dre in the film Set It Off. He has also directed some of their music videos. By 2013, the film was picked up by Universal Studios.
Did they have a track record of success?
The film earned $200 million at the worldwide box office.
The F. Gary Gray-helmed film is also the highest-grossing movie from an African American director ever.
Straight Outta Compton was the No. 1 R-rated August opener ever, grossing $60 million during it's opening weekend, and it held the No. 1 box office position for three weeks in a row.
Was there anything interesting about the film soundtrack?
Straight Outta Compton: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack of the movie. The album was released by Universal Music Enterprises on January 8, 2016 in digital formats. The soundtrack features songs that were mainly performed by N.W.A but also includes solo performances from N.W.A members Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg).
Straight Outta Compton: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack of the movie. The album was released by Universal Music Enterprises on January 8, 2016 in digital formats. The soundtrack features songs that were mainly performed by N.W.A but also includes solo performances from N.W.A members Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Dr. Dre (featuring Snoop Dogg).
What happened during the production phase?
Was it an easy ‘shoot’? If there were difficulties what were they? Were there tensions between any of the creative personnel, often known as ‘the talent’?
On August 12, 2014, TMZ reported that just seven days into filming in Compton, a drive-by shooting took place directly in front of the cast and crew members while they were on the set. A group of men standing outside the Compton Courthouse flashed gang signs at a passing car and passengers in the car opened fire on the group. No one affiliated with the film was injured or hurt, but one civilian near the set was shot. Despite the incident, it was announced that filming would continue to take place as planned in the city.
Was it an easy ‘shoot’? If there were difficulties what were they? Were there tensions between any of the creative personnel, often known as ‘the talent’?
On August 12, 2014, TMZ reported that just seven days into filming in Compton, a drive-by shooting took place directly in front of the cast and crew members while they were on the set. A group of men standing outside the Compton Courthouse flashed gang signs at a passing car and passengers in the car opened fire on the group. No one affiliated with the film was injured or hurt, but one civilian near the set was shot. Despite the incident, it was announced that filming would continue to take place as planned in the city.
On January 29, 2015, Suge Knight (the record producer of NWA)was involved in a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another hospitalised. Witnesses claim that Knight followed the men after an argument on the Straight Outta Compton film set to a burger stand parking lot in Compton, and that the collisions looked intentional. Security footage video was released online in early March showing Knight running over both men but which Knight's attorney said helps his client's self-defence claim.
Terry Carter, co-founder (along with Ice Cube) of Heavyweight Records and a friend of Knight, was the man killed.The second victim, filmmaker Cle Sloan, suffered a mangled foot and head injuries.
In October 2017, transcripts from a grand jury hearing earlier in the year indicated Knight allegedly gave multiple menacing warnings to director F. Gary Gray during filming. Although Gray would testify he did not recall any calls or texts threatening his safety (a move Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Barnes referred to as intentional perjury out of fear), Knight was allegedly angry at his depiction in the film and that he was not compensated for his portrayal.
Was any part of the film shot on location? If so, where? Why were some locations chosen over others? Were costs a factor?
Straight Outta Compton was filmed in Compton, California and Los Angeles, California. Principal photography began on location in Compton. The principal exterior shooting on a large post-riot set was observed on Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood. While shooting in California, the production spent $50 million in the state and received the California Film & Television Tax Credit.
Where there any difficulties with casting or with acquiring the stars/actors the producer wanted?
On February 21, 2014, director Gray announced an open casting call for the film in Gardena, California, via his Twitter account. There were also open casting calls in Atlanta and Chicago.Rapper YG auditioned to play MC Ren in the film.The project was scheduled to start filming in April 2014 but was pushed back due to casting delays.
It was then confirmed that Ice Cube's son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., would play a younger version of his father in the film. O'Shea Jr. joined Jason Mitchell and Corey Hawkins, who portrayed group members Eazy-E and Dr. Dre, respectively. In early July 2014, casting directors for the film issued a casting call for extras and vintage cars in the Los Angeles area. In July 2014, it was confirmed Aldis Hodge would portray MC Ren and Neil Brown Jr. would play DJ Yella.Paul Giamatti then joined the cast to play N.W.A's manager Jerry Heller and Keith Stanfield joined the cast to play Snoop Dogg.
A casting call for extras for Straight Outta Compton was released on the Sande Alessi Casting Facebook page. The casting call was looking for African-American girls for the film using an A-D ranking scale. Though the "A girls" category was looking for "classy" women of all colours, the "B through D" categories were very explicitly linked with skin-tone. As the women get less attractive, the casting call wants the women's flesh tone to be darker, with the lowest listing calling for "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium to dark skin tone.” The casting call post went viral as people expressed their outrage of what they call colorism, sexism, and racism in the categorising of black women. A representative for Sande Alessi Casting said the ad was an "innocent mistake" and when it comes to casting "poor" people, they are also looking for women of various skin tones and body types. As for the A, B, C, D grouping system, Sande Alessi Casting says "it's the usual method they use to look for different types of people for any project and it wasn't meant to offend anyone.”
What did the film cost to make? How much did the stars get? Where did the budget go? Was the film shot within budget? Was it ever in any danger of going over budget?
Straight Outta Compton grossed $161.2 million in the United States and Canada and $40.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $201.6 million. The net profit of the film twas $91.1 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film.
In the United States and Canada, the opening weekend projections were continuously revised upwards, starting from $25 million and going as high as $60 million.
On August 27, 2015, Straight Outta Compton became the highest grossing music biopic of By September 21, 2015, the film had grossed $188 million worldwide to become the all-time highest grossing music biopic, surpassing Walk the Line's $186.4 million worldwide gross.
their initial production budget was of$28,000,000
Were there any changes to the script during production? How many changes or re-writes?
Costume designer Kelli Jones said "the script was literally changing the entire time we were shooting, I mean literally the entire time. There would be days where I would get a call on Friday and they were like ‘oh by the way we’ve moved the pool party scene to Monday’ and the pool party scene had like 400 people and I needed to get '80s bathing suits, so there wasn’t a single weekend where me and my team were not working.
What technology was used in the production of the film such as camera?
Red Epic Dragon, Cooke Anamorphic/i, Kowa Prominar, Zeiss Super Speed, Lightweight, Fujinon Alura, Angenieux Optimo and Optimo 2S Lenses
List some of the key people who made contributions to the production.
What happened during the marketing and distribution phase of your case study film?
• Who were the distributors? How well known was the company? What is their track record as distributors? (Other films/genres)
Andes Films (2015) (Chile) (theatrical) (not released)
Columbia Pictures (2015) (Philippines) (theatrical)
Kinepolis Film Distribution (KFD) (2015) (Belgium) (theatrical)
Parco Co. Ltd. (2015) (Japan) (theatrical)
Svensk Filmindustri (SF) (2015) (Sweden) (theatrical)
Synca (2015) (Japan) (theatrical)
United International Pictures (UIP) (2015) (Singapore) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2015) (Australia) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2015) (Germany) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2015) (France) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures International (UPI) (2015) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
Universal Pictures (2015) (USA) (theatrical)
Home Box Office (HBO) (2016) (Netherlands) (TV) (limited)
KVH Media Group (2015) (World-wide) (all media) (ships)
Universal Home Entertainment (2016) (UK) (DVD)
Universal Home Entertainment (2016) (UK) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Benelux (2016) (Netherlands) (Blu-ray)
Universal Pictures Benelux (2016) (Netherlands) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (2016) (USA) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (UPHE) (2016) (USA) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2016) (Germany) (DVD)
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2016) (Germany) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
Universal Pictures (2015) (Spain) (all media)
- Were there any issues with the classification of the film?
this film was rated as a 15 and was passed as uncut
- Who was the target audience? How do you know?
- hypsanc community
- nwa fans 17-34 year olds
- community leaders
- i know this as the film is portraying the rappers, while it is also showing their situation, and trying to tell the community leaders that they are being treated harshly, in a way that they dont’t deserve, just because of their race.
• How did the filmmakers decide where to release the film and when? What was the eventual release pattern?
• What was the marketing and advertising strategy for the film? Was there a premiere, and if so, where?
• Find film posters and analyse them for how they reach their audience(s)
• Analyse a trailer/teaser trailer and consider how the trailer persuaded and positioned British audiences to see the film.
• What outlets were used for advertising? Was TV used, for example?
• Were there any merchandising tie-ins?
• Was any additional publicity gained, and if so, how?
What happened during the exhibition (audience) phase?
• When was the film released; also where and on how many screens?
• Were there any other special restrictions placed on the exhibition of the film?
• What were the reactions of the critics to the film? Was it considered a critical success? Has it been re-assessed since then?
• Did the film create a particular media debate, or create news headlines?
• How much money did the film take? Was it considered a commercial/financial success?
• Did it run in the cinema for some time?
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