Easy a and on the to Kill the
Anatomy of a Hit Movie: "Easy A"
What makes a hit movie? One set of answers is front-and-center right now in the form of the movie Easy A. Let me break down some of the reasons why I think the movie has become a hit.
First we must note that Easy A was, indeed, a spec script, written by Bert V. Royal. I reported on its sale in August, 2008 here:
Spec tells the story of a good-natured high school student who uses the school rumor mill to financial and personal advantage by pretending to be the school slut.
So right there you have a major selling point for the project: a strong high concept. It's clean, concise, and immediately suggests the story's genre, humor, and potential conflicts and complications. This goes beyond the whole "elevator pitch" dynamic, extending into an area of enormous importance for any movie: marketing [more on that later].
A strong concept is one thing. A strong script is another. Well-drawn, distinguishable, and compelling characters combined with a solid story structure can smooth the way from script to screen. Clearly Royal wrote a good script as witnessed by this:
Screen Gems has set Lisa Kudrow, Alyson Machalka, Thomas Haden Church, Patricia Clarkson, Stanley Tucci, Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl"), Cam Gigandet ("Twilight"), Malcolm McDowell and Daniel Byrd to join Emma Stone and Amanda Bynes in "Easy A," the Will Gluck-directed comedy that begins production June 9.
That means that in less than a year, the script was sold and the movie was cast, ready to go into production. So strong concept + good script = great cast.
Now we get to marketing. The first key is a killer trailer:
Then an equally killer 1-sheet:
Notice how both the trailer and 1-sheet focus almost exclusively on the story's concept. That's another value in working with a strong concept: it makes the marketing department's job so much easier. Plus there are several set-piece worthy moments in the trailer, most notably the first fake sex scene.
This raises another point: The movie benefits from being about a titillating subject (sex) without getting raunchy. This allowed Easy A to get a PG-13 rating, a much easier road to hoe for box office revenues because R-rated movies kill any chance of pulling in the Tween crowd at least in any significant numbers.
Another obvious factor: The movie is a comedy. There are more comedies produced annually than any other genre. Why? Because people like to laugh. Because, as in the case of Easy A, it makes for a great date movie. And because unlike major CGI / SFX movies, comedies are generally less expensive to produce, making it easier to turn a profit.
How much did Easy A cost? According to BoxOfficeMojo, a mere $8M. ($8M probably didn't cover craft services alone on Avatar). How much has the movie grossed thus far? $45M worldwide in only 17 days since its release. The film could hit $60M — and that's before it starts bringing in dollars from ancillary revenue streams. In other words, Easy A is a genuine, certifiable hit.
Another factor in the movie's success: It's first and foremost female friendly. Emma Stone is fantastic in the lead — approachable, likable, smart, funny. The subject matter is obviously of interest to Tween and high school girls. And at the end of the day, the story is about empowerment. Since more females watch movies than males, these are not insignificant points. But there is a secondary level of sell to boys as Easy A deals with a prominent concern, one's sexual reputation, typically something of an uncomfortable subject, and handles it in a funny way, effectively demystifying it.
I'm willing to bet that kids in junior high and high school are talking about Easy A, not only because it's entertaining, funny, and has some memorable scenes, it also provides a convenient context in which to discuss important gender and sexual issues.
So to recap, some of the reasons why Easy A is a hit movie:
* Strong story concept
* Good script
* Great cast
* Killer trailer
* Excellent 1-sheet
* PG-13 rating: deals with titillating subject (sex) without getting raunchy
* It's a comedy
* Low budget
* Female friendly
* Also something boys might want to see
* Date movie
* Subject matter can generate buzz among target audience
To round out this analysis, I urge you to read this review by the BitterScriptReader who comes at the movie from the perspective of a script reader, even more to the point of what you can learn from Easy A re your own spec script.
You can download the August 3, 2008 version of the script for Easy A here.
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