Grand Budapest Hotel Research

Task 1 Research





What is Indian Paintbrush and who owns it?

• Indian Paintbrush is a production company owned by Steven Rales, whose productions include The Darjeeling Limited, Towelhead and Fantastic Mr. Fox

Which company is Fox Searchlight a subsidiary of?

• Fox searchlight is a subsidiary of 21st century fox 

Which type of films do Fox Searchlight distribute?

• Specializes in US distribution of independent and British films, alongside dramedy and horror as well as non-English-language films, and is sometimes also involved in the financing of these films.

Which two countries financed the film?

• Germany and UK

What did Anderson use instead of CGI (computer generated imagery)?

• For wide shots of the hotel, Anderson used a three meter tall handmade miniature model. "The particular brand of artificiality that I like to use is an old-fashioned one."

Where did the inspiration for the Hotel come from?

• In designing the hotel, Anderson and production designer Adam Stockhausen did extensive research, looking at vintage images at the Library of Congress of hotels and European vacation spots, as well as existing locales such as the pastel-pink Palace Bristol Hotel prominently featured on movie advertisements and the Grandhotel Pupp in the spa town of Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Czech Republic and the Grandhotel Gellért in Budapest.

Which film festival opened with The Grand Budapest Hotel?

• In November 2013, the film was announced as the opening film for the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2014.

Alexandre Desplat wrote the score, which major Hollywood films has he worked on?

• The soundtrack is composed by Alexandre Desplat, who worked with Anderson previously on Fantastic Mr. Fox and Moonrise Kingdom.

How many awards has the film won?

• Jury Grand Prix - Berlin International Film Festival
• Best Foreign Film - David Di Donatello Awards
• Best Graphics in A TV Spot - Golden Trailer Awards
• Best Costume Design - Nastro D'Argento
• Best Original Score Of The Year - World Soundtrack Awards
• Best Feature - Gotham Awards

Initially how many cinemas did the film open on in the US?

• In North America, the film opened in four cinemas at number 17 in its first weekend, with $811,166.

The film was released on Ultraviolet BluRay, what does this enable consumers to do?

• UltraViolet is a free, cloud-based, digital rights library that allows users of digital home entertainment content to stream and download licensed content to multiple platforms and devices. The UltraViolet ecosystem embraces a "pay once, play almost anywhere" approach that allows users to store proofs-of-purchase of media rights in an account to enable playback of licensed content on different devices using multiple applications, and via different streaming services. UltraViolet also allows users to share access to their library with up to 5 additional people, and 12 different devices, with up to three simultaneous streams.

Task 2 Comprehension





Part 1 The Story



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmLEsdDnyLg





List the cast of the film as explained in the featurette:

• Edward Norton - Henckels
• Owen Wilson - M. Chuck
• Ralph Fiennes - M. Gustave
• Tony Revolori - Zero
• Jeff Goldblum - Deputy Kovacs
• Tilda Swinton - Madame D.
• Saorise Ronan - Agatha
• Jason Shwartzman - M. Jean
• Willem Dafoe - Jopling
• Harvey Keitel - Ludwig
• Bill Murray - M. Ivan
• Mathieu Amalric - Serge X.
• F. Murray Abraham - Mr. Moustafa
• Lea Seydoux - Clotilde
• Tom Wilkinson - Author
• Jude Law - Young Writer
• Bob Balaban - M. Martin
  

Part 3 Building A Hotel





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYMfEKELveQ



Where did scouting for a hotel take place?

• Central Europe

Which location did the production team eventually use?

• It was filmed entirely on location in Germany, mainly in Görlitz and other parts of Saxony as well as at Studio Babelsberg. Principal photography began in January 2013 on location in Berlin and Gorlitz. One of the principal locations was the defunct Görlitzer Warenhaus (de), a huge Jugendstil department store with a giant atrium, one of the few such department stores in Germany to survive World War II. It served as the atrium lobby of the hotel.

Did they film on location or on a sound stage?

• Filmed all on location.

Where were the production offices located?

• In the Hotel

How did they film the 60's and 30's hotel?

• Because they wanted to film the 60's hotel and the 30's hotel back to back, they created a set within a set.

Where did inspiration for the hotel's interior come from?

• The inspiration cam from almost all of real life, after travelling around eastern Europe and taking chunks of ideas from each.

How many extras did it take to fill the lobby?

• It took 150 extras to fill the lobby

Task 3 - Marketing





Read this Variety piece and summarise the 5 secrets to the film's success

1. "Budapest" features a collection on eBay and Adam Stockhausen also curated an art collection inspired by the film. Items such as bow ties and moustache wax are also auctioned as well as a book of selections from the writings of Stefan Zweig, which inspired the film, called "The Society Of Crossed Keys".
2. Unique Promotions. Fox Searchlight is touring a large-scale model of the hotel in theaters from Hollywood to Berlin. And U.K.-based Secret Cinema, a monthly gathering that combines live performances involving audience participation, recently screened “Budapest” instead of its usual classic fare. The film already has grossed nearly $15 million in Blighty.
3. Fox Searchlight created instructional featurettes detailing how to create baked goods inspired by the film’s colorful Mendl’s pastries. The videos went viral as fans sent back footage of their creations, which Searchlight used in TV spots on cooking networks. The distrib shot eight marketing shorts, including a profile of the film’s central character, M. Gustave, played by Ralph Fienne.
4. Thanks to the success of 2012’s “Moonrise Kingdom,” Gilula says Anderson’s fans have gotten significantly younger. “He’s attracted a whole new generation, some of whom weren’t even born when ‘Royal Tenenbaums’ (2001) and ‘Bottle Rocket’ (1996) were released,” the exec notes.
5. Cool marketing would mean little if the film itself were poorly received. However, “Budapest” has generated a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes — behind only Anderson’s “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox.” Critics have called “Budapest” his most accessible film. “We don’t see the ceiling yet,” Gilula says.

How did Anderson use the QE2 to market the film?

• He allowed people on the cruise to feature in the film as extras and this got attention from the media

What connects Prada to the marketing of the film?

• Prada has a long running partnership with Wes Anderson

Why would a big Six company be interested in supporting a smaller distribution company like Fox Searchlight?

• Because they are able to secure a world known director.

Which audience category best describes The Grand Budapest Hotel?

• Mainstream Plus 1

Why might the use of secret cinema work as viral marketing for the film?

• Because while the ‘Secret Cinema’ is meant to be a secret, it Is very well known in Britain and if they do this they provide advertisement to all the people aware or who go to these events.