Kick Ass Analysis

Kick ass:

How it was made:

·        Kick ass has a budget of $28 million.

·        The director Mathew Vaughn invested his own money in to making the film, he therefore took the largest revenue, and he and Brad Pitt (alongside others) helped produce the film.

·        Script& development: Mark Miller& Jane Goldman were paid to help edit the script and develop it further, this including the deals cost around $3 million, and these writers were also known for developing the script of Stardust.

·        Above the line costs: $7.7 million

·        Below the line costs: $7.8 million

Marketing:

·        A series of posters presenting the individual characters were released to gain the audiences interest.

·        URL address’ were on these posters, which sent you to the official kick ass website.

·        They then firstly released a ‘teaser’ trailer, which introduced the idea of being a super hero with no powers. After this they released the extended movie trailer, this involved more scenes and clips from the movie, therefore enticing the reader.

·        The producers also released short clips about each of the main characters, apart from kick ass (as they didn’t want to reveal everything)

·        Prints& advertising costs were near to £10.5 million, Lions gate distributed the film taking in a large percentage of the final box office figures.

What it is based on:

·        Kick-Ass is a 2010 superhero action comedy film based on the comic book of the same name by Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-produced the film with Brad Pitt, and co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman. The film's general release was on 25 March 2010 in the United Kingdom and on 16 April 2010 in the United States.

·        The film tells the story of an ordinary teenager, Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson), who sets out to become a real-life superhero, calling himself "Kick-Ass". Dave gets caught up in a bigger fight when he meets Big Daddy (Nicolas Cage), a former cop who, in his quest to bring down the drug lord Frank D'Amico (Mark Strong), has trained his eleven-year-old daughter to be the ruthless vigilante Hit-Girl (Chloë Grace Moretz).

Problems with making it:

·       It generated some controversy for its profanity and violence performed by a child, however Kick ass was still well received by both critics and audience.

Technology Used:

·        Double negative did just over 835 visual effects for the movie, using mostly CGI through green screens and other methods. Between $8-9 million was spent on special effects.

How rating affected performance:

In an interview with Total Film, Aaron Johnson confirmed that the film stays true to the adult nature of the comic series by featuring a large amount of profanity and graphic violence. The film received an R rating by the MPAA for "strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use—some involving children", and it received a 15 rating from the BBFC. Director Matthew Vaughn felt the 15 certificate was about right and expressed some surprise at the film having received a "PG rating" in France.