Ma Case Study

I am continuing my research on thriller films, but I am going to be going more in depth. Talking more about the production, distribution, marketing, etc. This is known as a case study which I am going to do on the the film that came out 2019 called Ma. I also learned a few new terms and their definitions.

• Synergy- when companies want to work with other groups or companies to get a product Ex: Video games, DVD, CD  
• Cross media convergence- when they use different forms of media to promote Ex: Radio, magazines 

The target audience for a horror/thriller like Ma is most likely young adults. From ages probably 16 and on up. This is because the twists and turns as well as the gore and violence may be too much for younger audiences to handle. Rated R pushes this information even further proving that it is for mature audience only.

Production

To start off with the production we need to go into a few key things during production. They are finding the idea, writing the script, pitching it to a studio, setting a budget, casting stars and employing a crew, filming, and editing. These are the key pieces of production that I will be talking about for the thriller film MA. The director Tate Taylor in one interview says it was based on a true story. He had said that back in his childhood when he was 8 his neighbor was stabbed to death, but in another interview it says he walked in and met his friend Jason Blum who is the Blumhouse president and they were suggesting genres when Tate said he wanted something messed up his friend was in shock, but had recently bought Scotty Landes' script Ma and he pitched it to him and he liked it so they hired Octavia Spencer to be the killer and she was thrilled to see that she wasn't killed in the first 7 minutes of the film and that she would get to be the killer herself. The script itself was never written, but was bought by Jason Blum from Scotty Landes. The script was then tweaked with the woman changing from white to black and the background of the character being much deeper based on being treated poorly from bullying to sexual abuse, Tate had gotten this idea from a girl in his school who had been bullied constantly so he took that into his head and mixed it with the character's background. The budget was 5 million and the cast was Octavia Spencer. Diana Silvers, Corey Fogelmanis, Luke Evans, and Juliette Lewis. They chose Ocatvia Spencer as the main murderer because they didn't want the normal black person dies in a few minutes type of situation, but Tate didn't want that and asked if she would be the killer and she agreed without a second thought. For the filming and editing pieces he doesn't speak on it whatsoever. He just discusses his thought process throughout the making of the film and throughout the interview just sways off topic. Although on imdb the filming locations were put out. They were:

• Natchez Veterinary Clinic
• 404 Liberty Rd
• Natchez
• Mississippi, USA

Distribution

The distribution companies that worked with Tate to create the thriller film Ma were:

• Blumhouse Productions
• Dentsu
• Fuji Television Network

These companies were very big helpers to the making of Ma. Big companies known for making well known horror and thriller films are companies like Blumhouse Productions and Twisted Pictures. Companies like these are perfect helpers for throwing out ideas for a thriller or horror film which is why the film Ma prospered. If the right production company isn't being worked with your film may not gain as much profit as you would like it to. If you pick a company known for producing well known musicals like Playwrights Horizons you may not get the film you were imagining. And if you wanted the best film for horror or thriller it doesn't really matter if it's big, small, or independent, but if you're wanting the best you should go for a big company known for producing well known films of you're genre.

Marketing and Cross-media convergence and synergy

    I also chose these companies because they were the companies that produced it. The companies that helped distribute and market the film weren't stated, but based on what I've seen they've used many ways of synergy with DVD's, CD's, as well as the Blu-Rays. Cross media convergence was also used. The film was promoted with radio's as well as commercials showcasing the film's trailer. The trailer could also be found on platforms like YouTube and Instagram. The films wouldn't be in the nontheatrical category as the film is going to be displayed in theatres so I feel the way majority of films now would be theatrical as most films are in theatres and the world as gone mainly online.

The script of Ma is available, but costs money so the script will not be available.

“MA.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 31 May 2019, www.imdb.com/title/tt7958736/.

Deckelmeier, Joe. “Tate Taylor Interview: Ma.” ScreenRant, 30 May 2019, screenrant.com/ma-movie-tate-taylor-interview/.

 Cea, Max. “Q&A: Tate Taylor on Directing the Year's Wildest Horror Movie, 'Ma'.” GQ, 30 May 2019, www.gq.com/story/ma-tate-taylor-interview.