Blinded By The Light: case study blog tasks

Background reading and production research

Read the following interviews and features on Blinded By The Light:

Writer Sarfraz Manzoor on the story behind the film - Guardian
Manzoor again on the promotion of the film and audience reaction
Variety feature on the best films from the 2019 Sundance Film Festival 

1) What is the story behind the production of the film?

The movie is an adaptation of a memoir called Greetings From Bury Park by Sarfraz Manzoor, the adaptation closely followed his life as he was a struggling brown student in Luton that was introduced to Bruce Springsteen and uses his music to encourage him to follow his dreams of being an aspiring writer

2) What was the audience reaction to the film?

Initial audience reaction in preview screening had audiences touched by the depiction of friendship and solidarity between Javed and Roops and it also touched a diverse range of people across the globe that contacted Manzoor personally via social media to share this.

3) Why is the Sundance Film Festival such an important part of the film industry - particularly for lower budget films? 

The festival allows for diversity and promotion of smaller budget films to be able to receive the appreciation they deserve, this range of backgrounds allow for a wider range of media to consume from differing and fresh perspectives, or new talents that will have the opportunity to make it big due tot he quality of their work.

Funding and industry contexts

1) What was the budget for Blinded By The Light and which companies contributed to the production budget?

The budget for the film fell at a low $15 million, Bend it films produced it with help from independent companies such as Levantine Films and Ingenious media.

2) Research the Bend It Networks website. What other films and projects has the company been involved with?

They have been involved in many productions for the past couple decades such as, Christmas Karma(2025), Mistress of spice(2005), Bride & Prejudice(2004), Bend it like Beckham(2002) even going as far back with I'm British but...(1990).

3) Research Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema on the Warners website here. Summarise the history of New Line Cinema in a short paragraph.

New Line Cinema is an American company that makes movies and television shows. It is owned by the major film studio Warner Bros., which is part of Warner Bros. Discovery. The company was started in 1967 by Robert Shaye in New York City. For a long time, it was its own independent studio. In 1994, it was bought by the Turner Broadcast System. Later, in 1996, Turner joined with Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery). Since 2008, New Line Cinema has been a part of Warner Bros. Pictures. New Line Cinema is famous for making the A Nightmare on Elm Street movies. This series was so successful that the studio was nicknamed "The House that Freddy Built." However, its biggest success was The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. These films were based on the popular books by J.R.R.Tolkien They were a huge hit around the world and won many. Academy Awards.

4) Read this Variety interview with director Gurinder Chadha explaining how the project came about - including budget details. What attracted Gurinder Chadha to the project and how did she manage to get the film made? 

Gurinder Chadha was attracted to the project due to her interest in both Springsteen and the dealing of the immigrant experience, particularly  how the novel set in 80's Luton, mirrors xenophobia in the UK today. She managed to get the 

Distribution

Read this Deadline feature on the distribution deal for Blinded By The Light and answer the following questions: 

1) Which company won the distribution rights after the all-night auction and for how much?

The company that won distribution rights for BBTL after the all-night auction at the Sundance Film Festival, New Line and Warner Bros are acquiring for $15 million for worldwide rights, minus a few territories owned by independents.

2) Which other companies were rumoured to be bidding for the distribution rights?

The other companies that were rumored to be Fox Searchlight and Lionsgate.

3) According to the article, what was the 'allure' of Blinded By The Light?

Some of the allure of Blinded by the Light had to do with the surprisingly universal appeal of Springsteen’s coming-of-age tunes, which tell honest stories about a hardscrabble upbringing, ambition and the fight to break free of all shackles to do something worthwhile with one’s life. 

4) UK distribution was secured by eOne Entertainment. In 2023 eOne was bought by Lionsgate. Read this press release on Lionsgate acquiring eOne Entertainment and write one reason for the deal. 
One reason for this deal was that eOne has had many successful productions in recent years so it was to significantly boost its content library, television production capabilities, and international presence.

Marketing, promotion and reception

Watch the following clips to learn about the marketing and promotion of the film. 

Watch the trailer for Blinded By The Light:

Watch the film being promoted on The One Show (BBC1): 

Watch writer Sarfraz Manzoor talking about 1980s nostalgia and British-Asian identity:

Watch this 'fans dream' featurette produced by Bend It Networks:

1) What does the trailer suggest regarding genre and the potential audience pleasures of Blinded By The Light?

The trailer suggest that it's a coming of age film that follows a clashing of identities and expectations surrounding his life, personal identity and family, finding a safe haven through the discovery of music.

2) What TV shows and websites did interviews with writer, director and stars of Blinded By The Light? Why are interviews a good way to promote a new film release? 

Interveiws are a good way for audiences to understand the premise, to become engaged with the actors, producers and fandom spaces related to the product. As well as that, they generate engagement and attention to the product as an effective form of marketing.

3) What did film posters for Blinded By The Light feature and where did they appear? You may need to research this on Google Images. 

The posters apperared in billboards and posters in cinemas, but much of the marketing was particularily on social media such as instagram, twitter, youtube and facebook, and preveiws that occured particularily around Luton, Ashbury Park and London.

4) What social media accounts did Blinded By The Light use to promote the film? Note: some sites may be blocked if you are working in school - you will need to use your phone or complete your research at home.

The blinded by the light social media accounts are X(formerly twitter), Instagram and Facebook,fitting for the 2019 release date.

5) Select three posts from the Blinded By The Light Instagram page and explain how they promote the film.

17th May 2019-Use of star power, drawing in audiences via the director, Gurinder Chadha, as she has cultural capital to a degree.

25th June 2019-Use of opinion leaders, posting about Rotton Tomato prereviews, that are famously quite harsh, make the audience have more trust and excitement for the media product.

27th June 2019-Use of star power, this post is completely seperate from the plot of the movie yet seamlessly brings attention to Bruce Springsteen’s part to play in it that may attract loyal audiences and fans along to watch the media product.

6) Go to the Bend It Networks YouTube channel. How does Gurinder Chadha introduce the channel?  What other content is on the Bend It Networks YouTube channel?

Chadha wishes Bend it networks to be a meeting point or connection of the desi diaspora in modern times via film media, she wishes to extend to a wide range of genres, both fiction and non-fiction.

7) Look at the box office figures for Blinded By The Light from The Numbers website. How much did it make at the box office and why do you think it was largely unsuccessful?

Blinded by the light made $11,901,145 domestically, $7,628,769 internationally and $19,529,914 worldwide, which is a gross net negative as they put $15 million into production, and barely make a quarter of the profits back, making the film largely unsuccessful despite the high preveiw ratings.

8) Click on the tabs with further information (such as 'News', 'Box Office' and 'Video Sales'). Copy and paste some more statistics or sales figures to add to your understanding of the film's financial performance.

For this movie, the database also contains:
73 Domestic box office entries
55 International box office records
115 DVD sales records
127 Bluray sales records
327 VOD revenue records
67 Physical disc rental records