When I conducted my audience research into thrillers I received a greater response from woman then I did from men. I also had a high response from people aged 15-24.
This effected my decisions over casting and story line. On the strength of the research it homed my decision to specifically target woman within that age group.
I knew that there was a good story line that I could run with, that would profile the role of women in a strong role.
The majority of my cast are between the ages of 10 and 18 (which is the lower half of my intended target audience). I did this because I thought it would be easier for my target audience to relate to the characters if they were of similar ages.
Secondly the main two characters in my thriller are women (the killer and Charlie). I think this helps me to target women instead of just portraying women as the victims. I am also portraying woman as having power, i.e the killer.
Using women as the main characters will help women relate to the story line as they can empathise and relate to either to the position of power or the position of being a victim.
It is generally known that there are very few rolls for woman where they take the lead roll.
The following are films that have women in leading roles.
'Alien, released in 1979 and directed by Sir Ridley Scott was the first action movie to have a woman as its protagonist. The reason why this movie really stands out is because the lead character "Ripley", played by Sigourney Weaver set the template for what is now known as the "Final girl". According to Roz Kaveney, the "Final Girl", is "the androgynous female without vices who will always make it through to the last scene". This technique is used in science fiction, thriller, suspense and horror movies.'
These following results are taken from the web site IMDB. they are not necessarily reflective of every person who ever watched these films or programs just of those who logged into the web site.
The age range is slightly different to my age group by a few years on the upper end of the scale, but i think is quite comparative.
Prime suspect from 1991 has a main lead character in the form of the police detective. 'A female police detective investigates a series of serial murders while dealing with sexist hostility from her male comrades.'
| Votes | Average | |
| Males | 1679 |  8.4 |
| Females | 883 |  8.8 |
| Aged under 18 | 2 |  8.0 |
| Males under 18 | 2 | 8.0 |
| Aged 18-29 | 433 | 7.5 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 273 | 7.4 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 160 | 7.8 |
| Aged 30-44 | 1017 | 8.4 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 659 | 8.2 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 358 | 8.9 |
| Aged 45+ | 1029 | 8.7 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 713 | 8.7 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 316 | 9.0 |
These results show that the largest demographic group watching this film was men 45plus.
Salt 2010. A very unusual turnaround with this film in the fact that 'Angelina Jolie replaced Tom Cruise as the star of new spy film Edwin A Salt.' 'A CIA agent goes on the run after a defector accuses her of being a Russian spy.'
| Votes | Average | |
| Males | 141405 | 6.4 |
| Females | 32433 | 6.5 |
| Aged under 18 | 2768 | 6.9 |
| Males under 18 | 1849 | 6.7 |
| Females under 18 | 919 | 7.2 |
| Aged 18-29 | 99671 | 6.4 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 79743 | 6.4 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 19928 | 6.5 |
| Aged 30-44 | 55456 | 6.3 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 47464 | 6.3 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 7992 | 6.3 |
| Aged 45+ | 10959 | 6.7 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 9131 | 6.7 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 1828 | 6.7 |
The film Gone. 20012 'Amanda Seyfried was believable in this movie as a paranoid victim trying to prove she is right. When her sister disappears, Jill is convinced the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned, and she sets out to once again face her abductor.'
| Votes | Average | |
| Males | 2120 | 5.4 |
| Females | 455 | 5.5 |
| Aged under 18 | 8 | 5.0 |
| Males under 18 | 3 | 5.7 |
| Females under 18 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Aged 18-29 | 941 | 5.5 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 734 | 5.5 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 207 | 5.6 |
| Aged 30-44 | 1203 | 5.3 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 1031 | 5.3 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 172 | 5.4 |
| Aged 45+ | 358 | 5.5 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 321 | 5.5 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 37 | 5.8 |
Interestingly enough the results here show more women under 18 than men watched this film, but the largest group was men aged 30 -44+
The film Hanna. 2011 A sixteen-year-old girl who was raised by her father to be the perfect assassin is dispatched on a mission across Europe, tracked by a ruthless intelligence agent and her operatives.
| Votes | Average |
| Males | 97788 | 6.8 |
| Females | 23442 | 6.9 |
| Aged under 18 | 1433 | 7.2 |
| Males under 18 | 797 | 7.0 |
| Females under 18 | 636 | 7.4 |
| Aged 18-29 | 61495 | 6.9 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 47908 | 6.9 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 13587 | 7.0 |
| Aged 30-44 | 46126 | 6.8 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 39518 | 6.8 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 6608 | 6.8 |
| Aged 45+ | 9069 | 6.8 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 7712 | 6.8 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 1357 | 6.9 |
The amount of men that watched this film vastly outweighs the amount of women which would indicate that woman didn't enjoy this film as much as the men.
The film Kill Bill. 2003 The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her - a team she was once part of.
| Votes | Average |
| Males | 363434 | 8.2 |
| Females | 75352 | 8.1 |
| Aged under 18 | 4444 | 8.5 |
| Males under 18 | 3530 | 8.5 |
| Females under 18 | 914 | 8.5 |
| Aged 18-29 | 234259 | 8.2 |
| Males Aged 18-29 | 191940 | 8.2 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 42319 | 8.2 |
| Aged 30-44 | 158102 | 8.1 |
| Males Aged 30-44 | 136147 | 8.1 |
| Females Aged 30-44 | 21955 | 8.1 |
| Aged 45+ | 27106 | 7.5 |
| Males Aged 45+ | 22991 | 7.7 |
| Females Aged 45+ | 4115 | 6.8 |
The following results are from the above films and the results represent the demographic I was looking at to target. Though not very encouraging for a large female audience I did not let this deter me.
Prime Suspect
| Females Aged 18-29 | 160 | 7.8 |
| Females under 18 | 5 | 5.0 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 207 | 5.6 |
| Females under 18 | 636 | 7.4 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 13587 | 7.0 |
Kill Bill
| Females under 18 | 914 | 8.5 |
| Females Aged 18-29 | 42319 | 8.2 |
Though the results are biased towards men there are many factors that would maybe influence these results. I did not let this bias throw me off the challenge to produce a powerful thriller opening showcasing women in lead rolls.
I wanted my leading lady to be a "Final Girl."
No comments:
Post a Comment