The Seven Key Areas of Audience and Institutions - Assessed

The issues raised by media ownership in contemporary media practice
The Studio's that produced the film Kick-Ass are Marv Films and Plan B Entertainment, small studios owned by Matthew Vaughn himself (Marv Films) and Brad Pitt who has recently became the sole owner of Plan B entertainment. These are relatively small studios and therefore didn't necessarily contribute so much to Kick-Ass' potential success as they can only fund a $30million budget so are limited to who they can have in the film, as well as effects and marketing. However, these smaller companies did succeed with Kick-Ass and did create a big profit considering the size of the film and it's budget. Therefore it is possible for small companies to succeed, even it is only on a small scale.

The importance of cross media convergence and synergy in production, distribution, and marketing
Kick-Ass was distributed by two major companies, Universal Pictures (UK) and Lionsgate Films (US). These two large distributors worked together so that the two country's that the film was going to be shown in had a major distrubtor in each, creating lots of much needed publicity for the film. With the American help of both of these distributors, Matthew Vuaghn was able to promote Kick-Ass successfully in America, so it was worth the extra expense. By joining with other companies, it allows them to cover a large range of advertising techniques such as trailers, posters, games, apps, etc. each technique sparking up ideas, which are then used in different countries and reviecing different responses and publicity as it leads up to the film release date. Trailers are a significantly good way of marketing for a film, as these short clips will generate word of mouth (Which Kick-Ass relied on for it's marketing), which will then build the anticipation and excitement for the film's premiere and then release date.

The technologies that have been introduced in recent years at the levels of production, distributtion, marketing, and exchange
The introduction of Blu-Ray influenced the majority of Kick-Ass viewers to buy the DVD once it had been released because it proved to be that most buyers wanted the 'cinema experience' within the comfort of their own living room. This boosted sales of Kick-Ass after the initial releases in cinema, as people who wanted to see the film but were put off by the extortianate prices for a ticket much preferred the investment of Blu-Ray or DVD as a long time product, which they can view over and over. Online distributors also contribute to the success of a film, such as Kick-Ass, because of their wide variety of films that people can access and rent out. These recennt techniques in distributing are increasing in popularity and some companies are becoming extremely well known. e.g. Netflix or LoveFilm. However, free internet streaming of the film has had a negative effect on the success of the film industry, as it is becoming more popular especially with the teenage market. Although this way of viewing the film is illegal, it is still possible to find a decent quality copy of the film online for free - Consequently having a negative effect on the sales of the film. The recent introduction of a 3D cinema experience changes the way the film industry now makes films in the production stages, as more technical and special effects need to be considered when filming, possibly making the process more complicated and difficult, but getting a good response in sales at the end of it. This also has a positive knock-on effect of cinema sales as more people want the real-life experience of 3D and are willing to pay for the benefits.

The significance of proliferation in hardware and content for institutions and audiences
With the forever increasing usage of smart phones, the film industry has had to adapt to the change when it comes to marketing their product and advertising it. As for a film's website, the company is able to apply a setting so that iPhone and other smart phone users can view it, increasing the publicity of the film even further. This proliferation in hardware can also boost the effect of word of mouth, because if a film is brought up in conversation between a group of people and portable access to the trailers and the website of the film is accessible, people are more likely to eventually see this film with their friends, yet again increasing the publicity of the film. Audiences' viewing habits have also changed due to this change in technology, as more and more people are renting video's online and viewing them on their PC. Film companies should consider selling their films to these online distributors, such as LoveFilm, increasing their number of potential customers and therefore increasing their profits, sales, and publicity. Now we no longer have to go to the cinema to see a film, film companies have had to alter the way they work, as they have to assess each possible way of distributing their film in the best and most successful way.

The importance of technological convergence for institutions and audiences
In recent years, the progression of technology has created an era where media is a part of our lives every single day. Whether we are interested in a magazine, a film, or a book, it is almost definite that they won't just be part of a specific brand of media. This is because in this generation, products converge into many different platforms. Kick-Ass had a small budget and therefore the technological convergence available within this film is quite minimal. However, there was a website for the film and a soundtrack is still available to purchase and download, which is very relevant to the film's genre. In addition to all this, Kick-Ass the comic is also available to purchase for the public, which creates another window accessible to the audience who enjoyed the film. This technological convergence creates multiple windows for the film to receive finance and publicity from, boosting sales and, ultimately, the final profit and success of the film.

The issues raised in the targeting of national and local audiences (specifically, British) by international or global institutions
Film companies always try different ways of attracting their audiences, especially in different countries. Matthew Vaughn wanted to exaggerate the American 'comics' theme running through the film and therefore even got Aaron Johnson to pull off an American accent - Appealing to the American audience. However, the film is British and so automatically appeals to the British audience without the need of specifically targeting some trailers etc. to the British audience. The concept of the film was clearly a hit in both countries anyway, taking £9million in the UK just by the end of May and taking nearly £13million in America during it's opening weekend - Chart topping the US box office. There were no new trailers or different batch of posters solely to be released in America or in the UK, which proves that a film's idea could sometimes be enough to draw two different audiences to one film without the need of excessive marketing. As well as this, big names starred in the film that the Americans and the British are both familiar with - Such as Aaron Johnson, Nicolas Cage, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Chloë Grace Moretz. A cast such as this is bound to attract any audience to see the film, attracting especially the two audiences Matthew Vaughn and Brad Pitt were aiming it at. Finally, the distributors were able to successfully publicise and distribute the film in both America and Britain, contributing majorly to the success of targeting the national audiences and overcoming the issues raised by this.

The ways in which the candidates' own experiences of media consumption illustrate wider patterns and trends of audience behaviour
The developments in technology has definitely had a positive effect on the film industry, as it has opened up many windows for companies to produce, distribute, market, and exchange in. As well as this, evolving technology is allowing consumers to view films in many different ways quickly and efficiently. However, downfalls to the development of technology could include the illegal viewing of films on the internet, the effect on the younger generation and the disregarding of tradition. The negatives to this changing in technology don't seem to be acknowledged by the film industry as the change in technology is forever being used and benefiting the way we view films today. I believe that the development in technology is a good thing, and that the pros definitely outweigh the cons when regarding filmmaking and viewing.

Kick-Ass Research: Prezi

Kick-Ass Research on Prezi

Kick Ass: The Details

Storyline
Dave Lizewski is an unnoticed high school student and comic book fan with a few friends and who lives alone with his father. His life is not very difficult and his personal trials not that overwhelming. However, one day he makes the simple decision to become a super-hero even though he has no powers or training.

Genres
Action, Comedy

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use - some involving children
Official Sites: Lionsgate [United States], Official Facebook 

Country: UK, USA

Language: English

Release Date: (UK) 22nd March 2010

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£3,881,704 (UK) (4 April 2010) (402 Screens)

Gross:

$48,043,505 (USA) (27 June 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co: Marv Films, Plan B Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime: 117 minutes

117 min

Sound Mix: DTS, Dolby Digital, SDDS

Color: Color

Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1

Awards

8 Wins

29 Nominations

Source: IMDb

Kick Ass 2: Balls To The Wall (19th July 2013)

Fans of the original Kick-Ass may have been a little bummed when director Matthew Vaughn decided to pass on 'Kick-Ass 2: Balls To The Wall', but comic creator Mark Millar is looking to assure any non-believers that new director Jeff Wadlow has the sequel under control.
Taking to his forums on Millarworld.tv, Mark assured fans the action will be just as gripping come Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl’s new adventure, bringing the same gratuitous violence that made Vaughn’s film so memorable.
After watching the stunt team run through some early fight scene choreography, Millar had this to say:

“This looks amazing with the stunt team and a temp. Imagine what it’s going to look like with the actors, Jeff’s direction, Eddie’s edits and a final soundtrack. I’m really, really excited,”

The task of competing with Hit-Girl’s epic hallway shootout or vicious drug den smack down is certainly a daunting one, something the filmmakers seem aware of as well. While full production is set to start September 10th, the stunt team has been working feverishly for weeks to prepare the most ass-kicking action possible for Wadlow’s film.
Millar also confirms Hit-Girl will yet again shine in the violent spotlight, commenting on her massive brawl with new villain Mother Russia:

“The Mother Russia fight is going to be one of the most brutal and epic battles in cinema. Think how good Mindy is, and then multiply it to 300 pounds of female muscle just pounding her and using every weapon you can imagine in the midst of that big final battle,”

Since we’ve recently been bombarded with only casting news concerning 'Kick Ass 2: Balls To The Wall', it’s refreshing to hear equal consideration is going into production as well. Bolstering a cast with familiar names and slapping a sequel together is one thing, but it’s whole other story if the sequel can put original efforts to shame. I can’t wait to see Kick-Ass and Hit-Girl interact with even more heroes and bigger baddies this time around, especially if there’s only more rough and tumble brutality.
Look for Aaron Johnson, Chloe Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse to kick ass once again next summer, joined by newcomers Donald Faison, Morris Chestnut, John Leguizamo, Robert Emms, Lindy Booth, and possibly even Jim Carrey!
What do you guys think, is Mark Millar just creating hype to combat Vaughn’s absence? Or can 'Kick Ass 2: Balls To The Wall' live up to its ambitious title.

Source: Screen Rant

Kick-Ass: The Soundtrack

Track Listing

1. Stand Up - The Prodigy
2. Kick Ass (We Are Young) - Mika Vs. RedOne
3. Can't Go Back - Primal Scream
4. There's a Pot a Brewin - The Little Ones
5. Omen - The Prodigy
6. Make Me Wanna Die - The Pretty Reckless
7. Banana Splits (Kick-Ass Film Version) - The Dickies
8. Starry Eyed - Ellie Goulding
9. This Town Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us - Sparks
10. We're All in Love - The New York Dolls
11. Bongo Song - Zongamin
12. Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (For a Few Dollars More) - Ennio Morricone 
13. Bad Reputation - The Hit Girls
14. An American Trilogy - Elvis Presley 

Label - Polydor Ltd. (UK) and Interscope. (U.S.)

Kick-Ass Marketing Madness

The Posters
With such a colorful cast of characters there were bound to be a plethora of posters created and the marketing team has certainly delivered on that front.
The first batch of teasers placed each of the main characters – Red Mist, Kick-Ass himself, Hit Girl and Big Daddy – in that most cliched of super-hero poses, that of standing atop a building and looking over the city they’ve sworn to protect triumphantly and with a sense of entitlement and ownership. When you put the four posters together in the order outlined above the title of the movie is spelled out in the sky, which is a nice touch and certainly an incentive for collectors excited about the movie to seek out the one-sheets and webmasters to reprint this group excitedly.

A second batch of teaser one-sheets again featured each individual character, but in different poses and with more color-coded backgrounds. Each one also got it’s own little saying that deflated the idea they were actually had any powers but did emphasize what they could do, which is kick your ass. So Kick Ass’ poster says “I can’t fly. But I can kick your ass.” and so on. Each also contained a URL to what appeared to be a character-specific website but those addresses, when entered, just redirected to the movie’s official site.
While three series of character-centric posters for a movie with only four main characters it’s showing off might seem excessive, it did serve the purpose of creating a steady stream of publicity on movie blogs and elsewhere. That kept the movie in the audience’s mind and kept them talking about between filming and the release.
A theatrical poster took the same visual style as the last of the teaser series, with the bold, block letter title treatment in the background and the four characters standing in the front and above the little bit of non-credit block copy on the poster that states definitively “Shut up. Kick ass.” It certainly looks like the kind of image that might be created for a comic trade paperback and is pretty cool, finishing off the poster component of the campaign nicely.

The Trailers
The first all ages trailer starts off with a shot of a winged hero standing atop a building ready to take flight. As he prepares we get voiceover asking why no one has thought of being a super-hero before since their lives can’t be so interesting as to not need a little adventure mixed in. When the winged figure takes off he plummets straight down, eventually landing with a deadly thud on top of a taxi as the voiceover informs us that’s not him, that’s some dude with mental problems.
After a brief shot of the main character and his friends discussing whether or not becoming a hero is possible we get a “putting on the costume” scene we’re then shown quickly the other everyday heroes before we finally get the “I’m Kick Ass” scene.
The second trailer starts off with the friends discussing how probable it is that anyone who tried to be a super hero would wind up seriously injured very shortly but then provides a little more background into the guy who would be Kick Ass before showing him suiting up. That initial appearance, we’re told via news footage, inspires others to take up similar mantles and so we’re introduced more fully to Big Daddy, Hit Girl and Red Mist as they seek to fight crime on their own terms. We also get a better idea of what they’re going up against as we see a crime leader of some sort (played by Mark Strong) and what his reaction to the rise of costumed vigilantes is and what sort of havoc they’re playing with his operations.
A third and much shorter trailer really served as a greatest hits compilation of the ones that had come before. I don’t think there’s any new footage in there but it does introduce all four characters once again and get to the idea that these are just ordinary people who have decided to take the law into their own hands. Or at least that they’ve decided to stop allowing innocent people to take a beating without doing anything.
Because the movie was rated R and it was doing so well in establishing its hard core cred, a red-band trailer was also introduced that included more language and mentions of the primary hero’s masturbatory tendencies. It also contained a few more graphic shots of the backs of people’s heads being blown off. Some of that language would come out of the mouth of the young girl who plays Hit Girl, which would result in some hand-wringing by media and other critics that we’ll talk more about later on.

Online
When you load the official website the primary menu shows briefly before giving way to the trailer, which you can also share on a variety of social networks or embed on your own blog. Closing that you’ll see the main page has prompts to Buy Tickets Now as well as a list of theaters showing sneak peeks which seems to be generated based on the location of your computer’s IP address. So when I visited I got a list of theaters in the western suburbs of Chicago. There are also links to read reviews on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes, which is somewhat unusual and shows what faith the marketers are putting in word of mouth peer reviews.
When you enter the site the first thing you’re prompted to do is play some light games, which if you register will get you points you can redeem later on. Each character icon brings you to a different game that’s associated with that character’s skills in the story.
Moving to the site’s content menu, “About” has a decent paragraph write-up of the film’s story and characters. The “Cast and Crew” section is one of the best-designed such executions I think I’ve seen with its big icons for each actor that leads you to information on their background and biography.
There are 12 stills from the movie in “Photos” and “Videos” contains the Teaser and Theatrical Trailers as well as a handful of clips from the movie that extend scenes that are teased in the trailers. “Downloads” has four character-centric Wallpapers and Icons that use the same images from one of the teaser poster series.
The “Restricted” section contains direct links to things like Watch Hardcore Videos (the restricted trailer) and an Adults Only Soundboard as well as more that prompts you to take various actions with foul-mouthed language, including a call to grab an embeddable widget, something I haven’t seen in a while.
“Partners” has links to the content hubs at sites like IGN and UGO as well as information on buying movie-branded goods by French Connection and Vans. There are also links to the Lionsgate YouTube channel and information on the film’s soundtrack.
The “News” section has photos from the movie’s screening at SXSW, a music video from Mika and photos from the UK premiere. There are also embedded updates from the studio’s Twitter feed and when you click “See All Updates” you’re taken to that profile.
Finally the “Store” lets you buy movie t-shirts and other goodies from Gold Label.
Each character also got their own Facebook page, something that must have cost the studio a healthy sum considering Facebook’s policies on making sure you are who you say you are on the network. When you visited the pages for Kick Ass, Red Mist, Big Daddy or Hit Girl you were prompted to both enter a sweepstakes to win a trip to the premiere or enter a contest by uploading video of you in your super-hero costume and showing off your moves. Each character’s page also had plenty of information about that particular character as well as links ot the other’s profiles, the official site, links to the Demand It campaign and a Wall’s worth of links to coverage of new marketing materials and more about the movie.
The movie’s MySpace page had the trailers, some clips and links to the same contests and sweepstakes mentioned before.
There was a sited called Real Life Superheroes that was kind of…weird. It’s obviously part of the campaign for the movie – banner ads for the flick are all over the place – but it also seems to exist in a world of such characters, encouraging people to create profiles for their own heroes.
The Lionsgate YouTube channel was retro-fitted to be a hub for people to submit their own video review after seeing the movie. The main channel page also contained a stream of commentary about the movie from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, a stream powered by a service called @ThisMoment, integration it and the movie got a bit of press out of. Likewise the studio’s Twitter channel contained steady updates on the movie’s publicity and links to what it felt was important commentary.

Advertising and Cross-Promotions
A ton of advertising has been done, including the creation of quite a few TV spots, many of which took the form of trimmed trailers and featured little new material. Still, they’re effective at conveying the overall attitude of the movie to an audience, though there’s the concern that without the additional time that can be used for more explanation there’s going to be the belief that this is a straight super-hero movie. The expanded trailers make it more clear that it’s taking a drastically different approach to the genre but that doesn’t come through as loudly in 30-second spots.
There has been a good amount of outdoor advertising as well as well as some online and, one would assume, in print. Most of that as would be expected has repurposed any of the poster campaign’s art.

Media and Publicity
After an early appearance at Butt-Numb-a-Thon, the movie had it’s official coming out party with a screening on opening night of SXSW 2010. In fact the movie’s presence there included a number of vans to shuttle people around that were decorated with key art elements, which is kind of cool since transportation at festivals is always an issue.
In terms of media coverage a good amount came after the release of some restricted clips that featured foul language, some of which came out of the mouth of young Chloe Grace Moretz, the girl who plays Hit Girl. That led to a lot of commentary about not only whether red-band trailers are appropriate given their propensity to appear on non-age restricted sites (New York Times, 2/24/10) but also on the the fact that an 11 year old girl was saying such things, including lots of references to sexual themes. That focus on Moretz and her role in such a graphic, both verbally and physically, movie continued to be covered in the press (New York Times, 4/11/10) and actually became a central component of a lot of stories (Los Angeles Times, 4/14/10) even those stories that were just about how offensive and incendiary the movie is in general, as well as leading to discussions of gender politics and related issues.
Regardless of what traditional mainstream or trade press coverage the movie has gotten, the real thing going for Kick-Ass is the word of mouth that has been building up for well on a year now. Fans have been absolutely salivating for this movie and have eaten up every new clip, every new trailer, every new preview at a festival or convention. And that campaign has fed that hunger with a steady release of material that has kept the movie never far from top-of-mind and so fueled the conversations about it and therefore the anticipation for it. Indeed it seemed to be pegged by some as the pinnacle (Los Angeles Times, 4/15/10) of the comic/movie geek’s world. As with previous movies in this category, though, how festival and convention buzz translates to box-office success remains to be seen.

Hit Girl Chloe Grace Mortez on Lionsgate's Kick-Ass (Interview with Suite101)

S101: How was the training?

CGM: "It was really fun, I trained here at the Toronto Circus School up at Downsview. The place was really awesome: it was huge, like an airplane hangar."

S101: What was involved?

CGM: "I did martial arts, gymnastics, ballet, circus training, tumbling . . . a bunch of different stuff."

S101: How much of the stunts did you perform?

CGM: "All of it was me, except running up the wall, slamming on the table, stuff like that. Just a little too dangerous! One of my stunt doubles was supposed to run up this bookcase, and he fell, smacked his head and lost his memory for like a week. It was so scary, but he's fine now."

S101: Tell us about your character. How did you get into the character of Hit Girl?

CGM: "My brother Trevor is my acting coach, and we approach it as if we're painting a canvas: so I learn the lines and I give my take on it. Then Trevor goes over it and paints it in, and he gives it the details. that's how we do it, and hopefully you guys like it."

S101: You're probably aware there's already controversy with the character-

CGM: "There's controversy everywhere!"

S101: Do you feel it gets in the way of getting the message out? Because there's a really touching father-daughter story here.

CGM: "There is, you know? The father really loves Mindy and I think that's why he taught her this stuff so that, if anyone came for her, she would know how to protect herself. She saw what her father was doing and she wanted to do the same thing, to follow in her father's footsteps. She's naive and she really loves her dad."

S101: What was it like working with Nicolas Cage?

CGM: "He's amazing. He's a really sweet guy and such an awesome, awesome actor. He's like a 2nd dad to me: he and my dad had lunch together and all they talked about was plastic surgery (rolls her eyes). Because my dad's a plastic surgeon."

S101: How did your parents react to the script?

CGM: "My mom read the script before I did, and my brother read it. Everyone knew what the role was: everything that was in the movie was in the script. I really wanted to do the movie, and my mom and my brother both thought it was an amazing role and we put our heart and soul into it."

S101: In The Amityville Horror remake you played more of a victim type whereas in Kick-Ass you're a superhero. Which role do you prefer?

CGM: "I definitely don't like being the damsel in distress! (everyone laughs) I'd rather be the one who takes charge and pushes for girl empowerment."

S101: What films did you watch to get you in the right headspace for this movie?

CGM: "I was allowed to watch Kill Bill because obviously it's very fake. When people die in those films, the blood squirts and then it stops squirting, and then squirts again! I know the difference between reality and fantasy, and that's why they let me watch it, to see Uma Thurman. I watched Mr. and Mrs. Smith for Angelina Jolie's performance, and I watched Interview With the Vampire for Kirsten Dunst. I really researched the role!"

S101: What was the hardest thing about doing Kick-Ass, and what was the most fun?

CGM: "The hardest thing was the action, but it was really fun though. It was both the hardest and the funnest – is that right?"

S101: Roll with it.

CGM: "(laughs) I am 13! (swings arm for emphasis; everybody laughs) It was so exhilarating yet so hard to stay in character: go left, go right, jump! Fall right, and don't fall on your face!"

S101: Is there anything on the stunt side that you wish you could have done?

CGM: "Fly in the jet pack! (laughs, then pauses). If there ever was a jet pack but yeah . . . hey, look! Cookies!"

Credit to Suite101 and Dominic von Riedemann for this interview

Kick-Ass Sales Rising in DVD and Blue-Ray

Lionsgate announced yesterday that Kick Ass “proved dominant across all revenue channels this past week.” The film debuted in the number one position in DVD and Blu-ray sales – as well as the top movie download on iTunes since its release August 3rd.

The critical success of Kick-Ass hinted at the potential for excellent performance in home entertainment sales. While it wasn’t a huge surprise, for many of us, it offers a welcome sense of validation. Those of us who believed in the film’s potential for ‘cult’ success were rewarded with quantifiable proof this week.
Last April, there was much ado about nothing with regard to the film’s “failure at the box office.” In fact, the film was only a “failure” when measured against the inflated projections for opening weekend numbers – numbers that were based on perceived “audience awareness.” What these projections failed to consider was that the perceived awareness was isolated to a powerful, but segmented, fraction of the population at large – meaning an improper sampling. The blogosphere often becomes a self-cannibalizing entity and the response to Kick Ass illustrates that trend beautifully.

There was (an understandable) fan boy and girl fervor in anticipation of the film. One which lead credence to the notion that Kick Ass would strike it big opening weekend – and by big I mean projections forecast a $35 million open weekend – for a film that cost $25 million to make.

There was also an enormous influx of trailers, videos, and other marketing materials prior to the release of the film – a tactic that could have backfired, positioning the audience to rail against a film – as a result of overexposure. When the film failed to perform as projected, the blogosphere (unsurprisingly) jumped at the opportunity to write a bunch of snarky articles outlining the film’s financial shortcomings. To put that in perspective – remember the film cost $25 million and went on to make $96 million worldwide.

Here is what those projections failed to account for:

1. As mentioned, the “audience awareness” sampling came from a community predisposed to be aware of, and interested in, a film like Kick Ass – as well as its source material. Without a recognizable name attached, or broader brand appeal, that awareness wasn’t representative of the general movie-going audience.
2. Much of the target audience for Kick Ass was not old enough to take themselves to an R (hard R) rated movie, and this film is not an easy sell to parents. “Oh yes mom, can I please go see this film that features an adorable mass murdering twelve year old who makes liberal use of the ‘C’ word? Yep, it’s the very one Roger Ebert called ‘morally reprehensible’!”
3. How hopelessly square Americans really can be (this feeds off of number two on the list). Now, don’t misunderstand, I like Roger Ebert. I don’t always agree with him, but I like him. However he asked in his review if his response to Kick Ass made him “hopelessly square.” My response is – yes, yes it does.
4. Misinterpretation or rejection of the film’s central characters and story lines. Again this is a follow-up to number three on the list. I will use Mr. Ebert as the singular representative to a broad stick in the mud reaction to the film.

Many felt that the film was morally bereft due to its depiction of an exquisitely violent little girl. Emphasis on little girl. I contend that Hit Girl’s gender played a powerful subconscious role in some people’s negative reactions to her. Further, people felt that the film lacked a broader social message. To that I would ask: What kind of message would you like? A lie? Would you like to be told that good triumphs over evil every time and all is really simple and neat in the end?

I would follow those questions up with another: Is a film under an obligation to deliver a standard ‘moral of the story’ which is easily digestible by all? An idea already broadly accepted that adds nothing new to our cultural discussion? Or can it not simply be tons of fun and wickedly entertaining? I did myself the favor of steering clear of all the videos released for Kick Ass prior to its open. As a result I was both delighted and surprised with Chloe Moretz. I found Hit Girl’s action sequences alone enough to justify a trip to the movies.

However, I would argue that the film does in fact have a moral and societal message. A very simple message perhaps, but a clear one imbued in every moment of the movie. The message is this: You, even you, ordinary, non special “regular Joe” you who is just like ordinary, “regular Joe,” non special me can do something – so why don’t you? Why do you, do we instead just sit back and watch?
We see this in the character of Kick Ass himself. This perspective is clearly laid out in his “YouTube treatises,” but can also be seen in everything he tries, fails and succeeds at doing throughout the film. We see this theme play with Nick Cage as the  hilariously overzealous Big Daddy – crazy, but committed. We see this in Kick Ass’s love interest Katie who takes the more traditional social action route. We particularly see this in the character of the “bystander” who watches, but does nothing – and is eventually shot for it.

What Kick Ass does so beautifully is set itself up as a film that is going to be the “anti-comic book” movie, the one that breaks all the rules – and pokes fun at the accepted tropes of the genre. Then at a certain point (around the time of Big Daddy’s confrontation with his ex-partner) the film takes a turn and fulfills every aspect of a standard comic book tale. Kick Ass tells you it is making this turn by visually propelling us into the comic book world of Big Daddy’s creation. This is some fun and outstanding filmmaking.
Kick Ass felt like a film that was destined to be misunderstood in its initial release and then appreciated by a large cult audience as time progressed. The kids who could not get their parents to take them to the movie can now buy the DVD. Those who balk at $10 in the theater seem okay with $15 spent on the more permanent DVD or $25 for a Blu-ray.

“Word of mouth” has had a real chance to spread to the general population. Many “non-traditional” films have followed this same trajectory to cult film success. Some notable selections include; Blade Runner, Office Space, Fight Club, TV series would include Firefly, Freaks and Geeks and Arrested Development.

What do you think the future holds for Kick-Ass?

This article was written by Jennings Roth Cornet and first appeared on Screen Rant in 2010

Jane Goldman: Screenwriter of Kick-Ass

Jane Goldman's new film Kick-Ass is the story of a could mouthed 11 year old girl assassin. The screenwriter wife of Jonathan Ross and mother of three admits to a 'geeky' enthusiasm for comic books and violent video games.
The screenwriter Jane Goldman freely admits that her new film Kick-Ass"is not, obviously, for everyone". Perhaps she is thinking of the scene in which Hit-Girl, an 11-year-old female assassin in a luminescent purple wig, enters a roomful of evil baddies and utters the immortal line: "OK you c**ts, let's see what you can do now." Or maybe she is referring to the bit where Hit-Girl, in a conversation with her father about what she wants for her birthday, pretends to ask for a puppy before admitting with a coquettish giggle that "I'm just fucking with you Daddy. I'll have a Benchmade model 42 butterfly knife." Or she could be recalling the moments where Hit-Girl shoots a man through his cheek or slices off a drug dealer's leg with a machete.She laughs, a tad uneasily. Goldman, 39, a talented writer who penned the widely-acclaimed 2007 film fantasy Stardust, is clearly nervous about how Kick-Ass will be received. "You've no idea how the audience is going to react, you just hold your breath," she says, anxiously pressing her hands together, her face partially obscured by a curtain of dyed carmine red hair. Later she will admit that she hates interviews. Partly, one imagines, this is because she happens to be married to the television presenter Jonathan Ross, he of the floppy hair and the inflated salary and the lewd answerphone messages, and she is wary of saying anything that could add to the public circus that surrounds him.Whatever the reason, Goldman is aware thatKick-Ass could cause something of a stir. "I wouldn't take it personally if someone didn't enjoy the film," she says when we meet. "Certainly my 86-year-old friend of the family, I'd strongly recommend she doesn't go and see it."
But in this case the nerves are misplaced. Kick-Ass is a brilliant and inventive piece of film-making and looks set to become one of the box-office hits of the year. It tells the story of Dave Lizewski, a nerdy high school student and comic book fan who decides to become a superhero despite the fact that he has no special powers. Dave (played by Aaron Johnson, who recently starred as the young John Lennon in Nowhere Boy) proves to be a fairly unsuccessful vigilante until fate brings him into contact with Hit-Girl, who has been trained by her father in the art of self-protection and who is the master of an astonishing array of weaponry, including butterfly knives and taser guns.
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also co-wrote the script and with whom Goldman worked before on Stardust, Kick-Ass is based on the eponymous superhero adventure penned by the Scottish comic book writer Mark Millar. The film is shot through with Tarantino-esque action sequences but also manages to be extremely funny, despite the fact that the subject-matter – a pre-teen girl who swears like a sailor and shoots baddies dead with big guns – is somewhat problematic. Seven American film studios turned down the script before Vaughn released it through his own production company.
"We just really wanted Hit-Girl to be a character who, in a sense, simply happens to be an 11-year-old girl, in the same way that Ripley in Aliencould have been a guy but the part happened to be played by Sigourney Weaver," explains Goldman. "She [Hit-Girl] is genuinely dangerous, she's genuinely mad. It's not her fault: she's been raised in this environment where she doesn't know anything different. She's unwittingly part of a folie a deux."
Does she think of Hit-Girl, who is played by the 13-year-old actress Chloe Moretz, as a sort of hardcore mini-feminist, a challenge to the usual assumption that most movie violence is carried out by adult men? "Yeah... she's a feminist hero by token of the fact that she pays no attention to gender stereotypes. I think she also doesn't want special treatment because she's a girl."
The film caused controversy in the United States because of a violent online trailer that could have been viewed by children (even though it was clearly marked as "red band", denoting adult content). In the UK,Kick-Ass will be released with a 15-certificate but there is an argument that because the film's protagonists are youngsters, it will prove more appealing to those in the same age group. "You could say the same ofFish Tank, which has swearing and extreme emotional portrayals of violence," counters Goldman. "Kick-Ass is a film for adults. It was never, ever aimed at children."
Will Goldman be allowing her own children – Betty Kitten, 18, Harvey Kirby, 16, or Honey Kinny, 13 – to see it? "The two oldest will see it. My youngest daughter… I have to think about it. I think it's a different deal if you've been on set and known the people involved and you know it's not real. Yeah, maybe.
"You very much see the consequences of violence in the film. I think that films that could be said to glamorise violence are ones where there isn't a physical or emotional consequence, where you have people fire off rounds and everyone is dying off cleanly and it doesn't matter, whereas here, people are bereaved, people are hospitalised, it's kind of unpleasant.
"I really don't think anyone having seen this film would come out of it feeling bloodthirsty… I don't think there's any reliable data proving any correlation between violence and films."
But was Goldman worried about the effects on Moretz, who, despite starring in the film, is too young to go and see it in the cinema? She thinks about this for a moment, hesitating as if to get her thoughts in order. "The fact that she's actually enacting the violence is in many ways probably less traumatic for a child actor than a lot of films where the children are victims of violence – serious films where they're the victims of violence at the hands of family members. I think actually, emotionally, that's a lot more disturbing for a child actor whereas this is comic book; it's light. I don't think it raises any difficult emotional issues for a child to process."
Still, the Daily Mail is in a predictable tizz about it all. A few days before we meet, the newspaper runs an article headlined "Jonathan Ross's wife causes outrage", as though she had been caught mugging Andrew Sachs on the street for his bus pass. Does she care about this kind of press coverage?
"People's intolerance, I find puzzling," she says, a vertical crinkle appearing between her eyes. "The fact that I was singled out, I found bizarre but it didn't upset me, I just thought it was peculiar. It's funny – it's very rare that a movie is described as a writer's movie. It was kind of ironic that it was only when people had decided there was something negative about it that it was the writer's movie… Maybe it's that it makes a good tag on to this ongoing narrative in the press involving other people in my family – it makes it part of that saga."
That is as close as Goldman gets to mentioning the Jonathan Ross-shaped elephant in the room, and it must be frustrating to be constantly pigeonholed as someone's wife when she has been quietly pursuing a successful career as a writer for the last 20 years. Goldman grew up in north London, the only child of liberal, wealthy parents. Like Hit-Girl, she was terrifyingly precocious – leaving school at 16 with eight O-Levels before being hired as a showbusiness reporter on a casual basis by theDaily Star.
A year later she met Ross at a nightclub while working for the paper, and the couple got married when she was 18. Goldman spent most of her 20s having babies but also found the time to write several books (including a novel, Dreamworld), front a television series investigating the paranormal, and cultivate a growing reputation as a screenwriter. As well as her work with Matthew Vaughn, she has just completed the script for a forthcoming film adaptation of Susan Hill's ghost story The Woman in Black. She seems to be intrigued by the supernatural and fantastical and admits to a "geeky" enthusiasm for comic books and computer games.
"I play World of Warcraft, which means I end up hanging out with teenage boys a lot," she says. "I really enjoy the company of my kids… I'm not one of those people who goes 'Yeah, my kids are my mates', that's a dreadful kind of mother, but I'm fortunate that there are times that they do want me around, and I feel lucky that they let me into their world."
There is a part of Goldman that seems to connect easily with childhood, perhaps because she missed out on so much of it herself. "Yeah, I never hung out in parks and got drunk… I never did the proper teenage stuff and maybe that's why it still holds a fascination for me but I like to think it's because I really like that unbiased outlook on life. Teenagers come to things fresh and can really teach us an awful lot.
"I've yet to meet a bitter teenager. Bitterness, jealousy and jadedness, I think, are the most unattractive qualities in a person, and unfortunately they do seem to come with age."
In person, Goldman seems to embody both this freshness and a sort of gentleness that is strangely at odds with her love of violent video games and her striking physical appearance. She has a beautiful face, fire-red engine hair (re-coloured every three to four weeks) and a figure that looks as though it has been drawn by a lascivious comic book artist. Is it a coincidence that she looks like the superheroes she has written about? "That's a huge compliment, thank you," she says. "I've always loved science fiction, fantasy, manga, comic books, so I guess to some degree those things influence my personal idea of what looks nice, which definitely isn't everyone else's."
She laughs, but it must take a certain degree of chutzpah to look so flagrantly individual. "In some way it's less courageous because it's essentially saying, 'I've opted out'; it's saying 'Please don't judge me against society's standards! I know I don't measure up, I've opted out, I'm playing a different game.'"

Kick-Ass Development Finance

Studios interested in Kick-Ass se a Vaughn pickup, even at a price in the solid sven figure and with a significant P&A commitment, as a way to plug a franchise-level property into their slate with comparatively little financial risk or production headaches. Vaughn and his Marv Films had a deal with Sony Pictures, but the studio filmmaker couldn't see eye-too-eye on Kick-Ass on issues like the age of the protagonists; Sony, for instance, wanted Vaughn to turn the girl into an older teenager. Vaughn then decided to go the self, and indie, financing route. 

The production backstory of Kick-Ass is part of a trend of bigger-budgeted commercial movie opting to go outside the system as studios become more selective about that they make. "There has never been a better time for independent financiers to access commercial material in the $25 million - $30 million range, because the studios just aren't financing as many of these kinds of projects" said one agent involved in the film-financing world.

Credit to RiskyBiz Blog

Kick-Ass on Set with Matthew Vaughn

Kick-Ass International Trailer