Register  |   Log In  |  
Sign up to our weekly newsletter    
Search   
Follow Me on Pinterest
Empire
Trending On Empire
Two free posters with Empire magazine
Subscribe: Get Dead Island: Riptide
Empire's Soundtrack Celebration
90 Years Of Warner Bros.
Vote for your favourite film
Cannes Film Festival 2013
News, photos and more from the Croisette

MORE EMPIRE FEATURES ›
How To Make A Billion Dollars At The Box Office
Your guide to making one of the biggest movies of all time

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Back
Page 9 of 10
Next
How To Make A Billion Dollars At The Box Office | 9.	Paint Your Story In Broad Strokes - Or Twist It Like Spaghetti How To Make A Billion Dollars At The Box Office
9. Paint Your Story In Broad Strokes - Or Twist It Like Spaghetti

Most of the criticisms directed at Avatar (and before it, Titanic) centred on the plot and dialogue, which was decried as "unoriginal" and "corny" - but that didn't stop cinemagoers from turning out in massive numbers. The same could be said of Lord of the Rings - or, heck, all the way back to Gone With The Wind and Snow White - so criticism be damned! Broad's the favoured option for would-be billionaire movies. But The Dark Knight, Deathly Hallows, Avengers and Pirates of the Caribbean take an alternative approach, layering betrayals, twists and multiple characters into something that may not make much sense but certainly keeps the pace going. It helps to be funny, so remember to pepper your script with levity and/or have Hulk sucker punch someone.

Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Back
Page 9 of 10
Next

Advertisement

Have Your Say
Agree with our tips? What other essential ingredients do you think are required to make a $1 billion movie? Register or login now to have your say.

Your Comments
1 RE:
Posted on Monday May 28, 2012, 13:34 by Rebecca Juan
Hey, It's very effective. Read More

2 RE: Shot in Australia?
Posted on Thursday May 24, 2012, 23:32 by Evil_Bob
may be a historical event - but the movie is basically female fantasy. Repressed girl meets guy who opens her horizons and helps her to become the person she wants to be. They engage in a brief but passionate romance. Then he dies (meaning his memory will never be tarnished) and she struggles on becoming a better and deeper person as a result. PURE. FEMALE. FANTASY. f thats how you're definining it then there isn't a film on the entire All time box office list from 1-1000 that isn't fantasty to some description. You know right well what they're talking about with calling Titanic non-fantasy. Apart from the obvious historical settings it features characters that have no magical powers, no extraordinary abilities, are clearly human, not animated, non-extra terrestrial and have events happen to them that while unlikely are not beyond the realm of possibility. As saccharine as it sounds people do fall in love every day and people do have tumultuos relationships, often rendered diffiRead More

3 RE: Puny film snobs.
Posted on Thursday May 24, 2012, 17:21 by Whistler
Negative comment! Read More

4 RE: It's hard to agree that there is a formula.
Posted on Thursday May 24, 2012, 13:39 by Evil_Bob
"Debatable religious figures" Presuming of course that we are talking about Jesus and The Passion of the Christ (just sneaked in as well at number 64) I would like to point out that its not debatable that Jesus is a religious figure. He is. Whether he existed or not is also not debatable. He did. What is debatable is whether he was the son of God and performed miracles etc etc He didn't Either way I appreciate the sentiment. I had lolz. Read More

5 RE:
Posted on Thursday January 7, 2010, 16:04 by Chrisseh
L: lona_no_friends So basically make a film that doesn't aspire to tell a decent story or conform to any of those rules for actually making a heartfelt film and go for something that idiots will love. Good o sh!t sherlock. This isn't a how to make a fantastic film article, its a how to make a crap load of money article. Not everyone in the world is a keen eye movie critic. Read More


Back | Print This Page | Email This Page | Back To Top

Subscribe For Only £20
Get Dead Island: Riptide and six issues of Empire for only £20! Subscribe now
Steven Spielberg iPad App
Hollywood's most beloved director in this unique iPad special. Download now
Empire iPad Edition
The world's biggest movie magazine available on iPad Download now
Home  |  News  |  Blogs  |  Reviews  |  Future Films  |  Features  |  Interviews  |  Images  |  Competitions  |  Forum  |  iPad  |  Podcast  |  Magazine Contact Us  |  Empire FAQ  |  Subscribe To Empire  |  Register
© Bauer Consumer Media  |  Terms And Conditions  |  Our Data Promise To You  |  Bauer Entertainment Network
Bauer Consumer Media. Company number 1176085 (England). Registered Office: 21 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2DY