Comparing the ways in which ‘This is England’ and ‘Hot Fuzz’ were packaged, marketed, distributed and exhibited in the UK

Hot Fuzz and This Is England are independent British films that have both broken the money boundary and inspired a new wave of low budget, British motion pictures that intend to capture the audience’s attention without the use of over-priced CGI; instead relying on the bare talent of the actors.
The two films differ in terms of the ways that the producers packaged them. An ideal package will consist of; a motion picture that derived from a best selling novel, book or play, a successful production company with a substantial reputation behind it, a soundtrack that could progress to a separate release, directors and actors with experience and/or reputation (taking on unknown lead actors is a risk that some financers will not want to take) and a genre that could be utilised effectively in advertisement. If successful, the package will raise the finance needed to make the film.
Hot Fuzz and This Is England do not conform to all of these ideals and risks were taken on both of them, however these have paid off. Neither Hot Fuzz nor This Is England were based on text and instead were written by each respective director, this is not such a large risk as a large number of films produced every year have no textual backing or previous fan base.
In terms of directors and actors used in the films, Hot Fuzz would have looked an impressive package. With a cast that starred; Bill Bailey, Timothy Dalton, Bill Nighy, Steve Coogan and Simon Pegg to name a few, the highly successful British actors would not have failed to raise finance on their own. This coupled with director Edgar Wright (who had previously directed ‘Space’ and the award winning ‘Shaun of the Dead’). This Is England brought a completely contrasting score of actors to the table. The majority of actors starred had not lost their television acting virginity, let alone attempted to produce a good standard role in a motion picture. Amongst those that director and writer Shane Meadows handpicked include; Thomas Turgoose, Joe Gilgun and Vick McClure.
This Is England boasted a soundtrack that would no doubt lead to an independent release. Its 80’s ska, punk and reggae non-diegetic music complimented the 80’s setting and culture, and reinforced the realism the film attempted to project. In turn this music would appeal to the generation of people who experienced this era in their youth, and those of a younger generation in today’s society who are interested in the culture that their mothers or fathers experienced. This contrasts with the Hot Fuzz soundtrack, which relies on the expertise of a score by David Arnold, who has previously scored the James Bond films. This is coupled with modern chart music and popular songs from the last 50 years, displaying how the film could appeal to any age of audience. This shows the difference between goals of the respective films. On one hand, Shane Meadows has tried to create a film that wouldn’t be out of place if released in the mid 80’s, the realism of this kitchen sink drama being crucial to its success and charisma. Edgar Wright in comparison has used a variety of music that allows Hot Fuzz to combine the dated feel of the location it is set in with the modern aspects the main characters bring. Both film’s musical ideas would have warranted them finance.
Marketing occurs before and after production. The producers use the packaged product to attract a distributor. Marketing can be achieved in a number of ways, and depends completely on the package; what genre, actors, directors etc. The film can then be advertised, reviewed, publicised and entered for film festivals to spark attention and make it a success.
This Is England was not heavily advertised, with budget being low. It did however, appear on Film4 commercial breaks. Hot Fuzz was advertised on all major television channels, throughout the day. This allowed a wider audience of all ages to be attracted to it as they are not necessarily film connoisseurs, who are more likely to watch Film4.
Distribution of the motion picture lies in the hands of the company that has been entrusted to distribute it. These companies are responsible for how successful and accessible the films will be, making decisions such as; which cinemas it will be released in, which countries, dates of cinema and festival releases and how many prints will be available. They then have the choice of releasing the DVD themselves or selling the rights, and the decision of who to sell the television and online rights to.
This Is England, as an independent low-budget film, was not expected to succeed. An instant distributor was unlikely and one had to found; EM Media agreed a deal first. Soon after this, the film secured a larger distributor; Optimum Releasing for its UK distribution and ICF films for its US distribution. It appeared in film festivals all over the world including; Toronto Film festival, Rome Film festival, London Film festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, Midnight Sun Film Festival, Karlovy Vary Film Festival, Festival du film d'éducation, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival and Lilla Filmfestivalen. There is no question that these festivals helped to get This Is England recognized. This is England was released on DVD on the 3rd of September 2007, a while later than Hot Fuzz, although it appeared in festivals earlier. The film grossed $8 million worldwide
Hot Fuzz secured a large distributor; Working Titles (a branch of Universal), which would pave the way for its success. Soon after, the film gained distributors in varying countries including; Paramount in New Zealand and Australia, Rogue Pictures in USA and Alliance Films in Canada. It appeared at several film festivals including; ShoWest, Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films and Cognac festival. Finally Hot Fuzz secured a DVD release on the 11th of June, selling over 1million copies in its first few weeks. Hot Fuzz grossed $80 million worldwide and is considered one of the most successful British films of the 21st Century.
The majority of films have theatrical releases, some are national events, and others are small parties. The exhibition of each Hot Fuzz was entirely different. This Is England was released in a small scale, reaching only independent cinemas that would only show the film to a limited amount of viewers. The buzz surrounding the film after it’s its release (not when released) was created due to the air of mystery that surrounded it. With the television advert appearing only on Channel 4 and on rare occasions, the wider population knew nothing about it. Positive reviews after the film was released caused a stir, and soon This Is England became a highly successful independent British film that traced the footsteps of Trainspotting ten years previously. Hot Fuzz was advertised nationally on a number of television channels. This warranted it the mainstream release that it deserved, though this usually would not constitute it as an independent British film. Its release in large institutions such as VUE, Odeon and UCI made it a British blockbuster. This mainstream success could be the result of previous Edgar Wright film ‘Shaun of the Dead’ and This Is England which was released earlier in the same year. There is no doubt that independent British films have benefited from these two accomplishments, with today’s low-budget films being more frequently granted further mainstream promotion, for example 2009’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. This British industry is becoming recognized at a fast pace, with one of its main financiers Flim4 recently dedicating a whole week to some of the best low-budget British films of the last 10 years, which were not necessarily the most successful.