Film: Decisions, decisions
One of the hardest parts of producing a film review programme is deciding which films to review – after all, with awards season fast approaching, distributers do have a habit of releasing all of the best films within the same few months.
‘Dump Months’ is a film-world term for the two separate periods of the year when studios release films with lower critical and commercial expectations. January/February and August/September are expected to have smaller audiences than the rest of the year for a number of reasons, not least seasonality: disposable income post-Christmas is often vastly reduced, and who wants to sit in a dark room during a gorgeously sunny August day? Both periods follow months where the film industry puts out what it considers to be its very best work.
Releases that are put out at these times primarily include films that did not fare particularly well in their test screenings, have no big stars, are intended for just teen audiences or can’t be easily marketed.
‘Dump Months’ is a film-world term …
To be eligible for award consideration, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) requires that a film be shown for at least seven consecutive days in a cinema in Los Angeles, California, during which time it must be advertised in print media. Any new film shown publicly for the first time after 1 January is ineligible for the Oscars until the following year (by which time it will have been forgotten about by critics and voters). Studios are therefore only looking to release films in January that would never have had a chance at an award anyway.
Why am I writing about these films now? Because for the next few months, Joseph and I are sure to be struggling weekly to decide which main film to review for PostFeature – and not just due to our wildly different tastes! It has started already; this week Joseph and I are torn between Life After Beth, a horror-romcom staring Queen of Sarcastically Deadpan Humour Aubrey Plaza (Aubrey Plaza! Parks and Recreation! Scott Pilgrim vs. The World! Clearly we should be watching everything and anything she is in!) and Dracula Untold, which is … about Dracula. Granted, it is now pretty clear which I prefer. But tune in to PostFeature this Wednesday to see which film we go for!
If you make your own films and would like to show them on television, then please email Jessica@thelatest.tv with the subject heading ‘FilmFest on 8’.
