Straight Outta Compton Reserch

Media Organisation

Research the business conglomerate Comcast Corporation and NBC Universal
List the different companies (subsidiaries) owned by Comcast Corporation/NBC Universal and identify the industry it is situated in and product/service provided. 

Comcast Corporation (formerly registered as Comcast Holdings) is an American global telecommunications conglomerate that is the largest broadcasting and cable television company in the world by revenue.
Comcast operates over-the-air national broadcast network channels (NBC and Telemundo), multiple cable-only channels (including MSNBC, CNBC, USA Network, NBCSN, E!, The Weather Channel, among others), the film production studio Universal Pictures, and Universal Parks & Resorts in Los Angeles, California; Orlando, Florida; and Osaka, Japan.
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English language commercial broadcast television network that is a flagship property of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. 
The network is part of the Big Three television networks. NBC is sometimes referred to as the "Peacock Network", in reference to its stylized peacock logo, introduced in 1956 to promote the company's innovations in early colour broadcasting. 

What happened during the pre-production phase?
• Whose idea was the film? Did the idea start with the writer, or were writers brought in to develop a preconceived idea? 

In March 2009, it was announced that the film was in development at New Line Cinema, with S. Leigh Savidge and Alan Wenkus writing,[11] and Tomica Woods-Wright, Ice Cube, and Dr. Dre set to produce the film.[12] In May 2010, it was announced Andrea Berloff would write a draft of the screenplay.[13] In September 2011, John Singleton told The Playlist that he was in talks to direct the film, saying: "I can’t talk about it too prematurely about the stuff I'm doing because nothing’s come to fruition yet, but Cube and I are talking about doing the N.W.A. story. The script is really, really good, and so we're just figuring it out. New Line really wants to make it."[14] Also in September 2011, F. Gary Gray, Craig Brewer, and Peter Berg were reportedly in talks to direct the film.[15] In April 2012, F. Gary Gray was selected as director.

• Where did the idea come from? Was it an original idea, or perhaps a book first, or TV series, or comic strip, or from some other source? 
It was based on a true story from the accounts of Ice Cube and Dr Dre.

• Was the film based upon an original script or developed over time by many writers?
The script was developed by multiple writers over a number of years.

• Who financed the film - Production Company? What other films have they produced?
New Line Cinema, legendary pictures, Cube vision, Crucial films, Broken chair Flickz

• Casting – who were cast in the main roles and why? How important were stars? How did the film-makers think the chosen stars would appeal to audiences? 

Ice Cube- O’shea Jackson Jr.
Jason mitchell - Eazy-E
Dr. Dre - Corey Hawkins
MC Ren - Dj Yella 
Jerry Heller- Paul Giamatti
These actors were chosen due to there extremely similar looks to the people they played. 

  • Who was the producer?
    Ice Cube, Dr.Dre, Tomica Woods-Wright, Matt Alvarez, F. Gary Gray, Scott Bernstein
  • Who was the director and why did they take the project on?
    F.Gary Gray

  • Did they have a track record of success?
    Yes they did as well as connections with the subjects of the film.

  • Was there anything interesting about the film soundtrack?
    The songs were all the songs that the subjects of the film contributed to themselves.



    What happened during the production phase?

    • Was it an easy ‘shoot’? If there were difficulties what were they? Were there tensions between any of the creative personnel, often known as ‘the talent’?

    On August 12, 2014, TMZ reported that just seven days into filming in Compton, a drive-by shooting took place directly in front of the cast and crew members while they were on the set. A group of men standing outside the Compton Courthouse flashed gang signs at a passing car and passengers in the car opened fire on the group. No one affiliated with the film was injured or hurt, but one civilian near the set was shot. Despite the incident, it was announced that filming would continue to take place as planned in the city. On January 29, 2015, Suge Knight was involved in a hit-and-run incident that left one man dead and another hospitalized. Witnesses claim that Knight followed the men after an argument on the Straight Outta Compton film set to a burger stand parking lot in Compton, and that the collisions looked intentional. Security footage video was released online in early March showing Knight running over both men but which Knight's attorney said helps his client's self-defense claim. Terry Carter, co-founder (along with Ice Cube) of Heavyweight Records and a friend of Knight, was the man killed.The second victim, filmmaker Cle Sloan, suffered a mangled foot and head injuries.

  • Where there any difficulties with casting or with acquiring the stars/actors the producer wanted?

    The casting call was looking for African-American girls for the film using an A-D ranking scale. Though the "A girls" category was looking for "classy" women of all colors, the "B through D" categories were very explicitly linked with skin-tone. As the women get less attractive, the casting call wants the women's flesh tone to be darker, with the lowest listing calling for "African American girls. Poor, not in good shape. Medium to dark skin tone." The casting call post went viral as people expressed their outrage of what they call colorism, sexism, and racism in the categorizing of black women. A representative for Sande Alessi Casting said the ad was an "innocent mistake" and when it comes to casting "poor" people, they are also looking for women of various skin tones and body types. As for the A, B, C, D grouping system, Sande Alessi Casting says "it's the usual method [they] use to look for different types of people for any project and it wasn't meant to offend anyone." Was any part of the film shot on location? If so, where? Why were some locations chosen over others? Were costs a factor?
     What did the film cost to make? How much did the stars get? Where did the budget go? Was the film shot within budget? Was it ever in any danger of going over budget?

    • Were there any changes to the script during production? How many changes or re-writes? 
The film majoritorally stuck to the original script. 


  • What technology was used in the production of the film such as camera?
Camera Red Epic Dragon, Cooke Anamorphic/i, Kowa Prominar, Zeiss Super Speed, Lightweight, Fujinon Alura, Angenieux Optimo and Optimo 2S Lenses

  • List some of the key people who made contributions to the production.
Music- Joseph Trapanese
Cinematography- Matthew Libatique
Editing- Billy Fox, Michael Tronick 

What happened during the marketing and distribution phase of your case study film?

• Who were the distributors? How well known was the company? What is their track record as distributors? (Other films/genres)
Universal Pictures are a very well known company with a strong track record.
  • Were there any issues with the classification of the film?
Rated 15. Passed uncut
  • Who was the target audience? How do you know?
    The film was targeted mainly at black males ad those who are fans of the music.


  • • How did the filmmakers decide where to release the film and when? What was the eventual release pattern?

    • What was the marketing and advertising strategy for the film? Was there a premiere, and if so, where?

    • Find film posters and analyse them for how they reach their audience(s)
• Analyse a trailer/teaser trailer and consider how the trailer persuaded and positioned British audiences to see the film.

• What outlets were used for advertising? Was TV used, for example?

• Were there any merchandising tie-ins?

• Was any additional publicity gained, and if so, how?


What happened during the exhibition (audience) phase?

• When was the film released; also where and on how many screens?

• Were there any other special restrictions placed on the exhibition of the film?

• What were the reactions of the critics to the film? Was it considered a critical success? Has it been re-assessed since then?

• Did the film create a particular media debate, or create news headlines?

• How much money did the film take? Was it considered a commercial/financial success?

• Did it run in the cinema for some time? 

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