The Boat That Rocked Core Questions

Sorry it took so long guys- here are the answers to those pesky a-e questions on TBTR.

a) What genre of film is it?

(British) Comedy film.

b) When was it made/ released?

The film was released on 1st April 2009 for the UK, and was re-released in the US, under a new title 'Pirate Radio' on the 13th November 2009.

Principle photography for the film began on 3rd March 2008 and continued through to June 2008. The movie was filmed in the second half of 2008, in time for it's April 09 release.

c) Where was it made/ released?

Filming took place on the former Dutch hospital ship Timor Challenger, moored in Portland Harbour, Dorset; the North Sea scenes were shot off Portland Bill, while boat interior shots were filmed inside a warehouse in Osprey Quay on the Isle of Portland and at Shepperton Studios. ( << definitely not nicked from wikipedia)

Other locations included various streets in London, the seafront at Brighton, the national gallery in central london, and at some geezers house in Kent.

d) Who made it/ distributed it?

TBTR was directed by Richard Curtis, and was produced by Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Hilary Bevan Jones.

The film was partially funded by StudioCanal, a french distribution company, and was made Working Title Films - a successful British production company.

The film was then distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures.

e) How was it made and released?

The film had an estimated budget of £30 million.

They released the film first in Britain (see above), as the movie is very British. It was met with mixed reviews and did poorly at the box office, only grossing £6.1 million in it's 12 week run at the British box office, less than a quarter of it's total production costs.

They hoped to make some more dough by re-releasing the film in the states (see above) under a new name 'Pirate Radio'. Also, responding to heavy critisicm that the film was far too long, Richard Curtis trimmed twenty minutes from the run time to meet the US release. They also released the film with a 'radically different marketing angle'. However, the film massively bombed in the US aswell, earning just under £5 million across it's entire theatrical run.

The marketing campaign for TBTR was fairly standard, they utilized many teaser and theatrical trailers, tv spots, and colourful, eye catching posters. The film relied heavily on it's musical influence and strong soundtrack for marketing, their soundtrack including hits from The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, Jimi Hendrix and The Who. Some of these tracks were used in trailers to help convey the musical nature of the film to audiences.

The film also relied on it's strong British cast. Big names included Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Rhys Ifans, Jack Davenport, Emma Thompson and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The teaser posters released for the film focused on the strong cast, the fact that they are known well in Britain adding to the British appeal the film holds.