Big movies
on a small budget
READING
1 Choose the correct word for each picture.
2 SPEAKING Which of these kinds of entertainment do you like? Tell your partner.
3 SPEAKING Work in small groups. Talk about the things in Exercise 1. Say why people like or don’t like them. Use the words below to help you.
relaxing
crowds
interesting
friends
fun
enjoyable
expensive
4 Look at the pictures and the title of the article below. What do you think the article is about?
1 the high price of horror films
2 the salaries of famous film actors
3 a film that was made very cheaply
5 Read and listen to the article and check your ideas.
Big movies on a small budget
Do you need millions of dollars to make a movie? No. Do you need millions of dollars to make a successful movie? Most people would answer ‘Yes’ to that question. But would they be right?
We’re used to hearing about really expensive Hollywood films. The 1997 Oscar-winner Titanic cost $200 million to make, and more recently, Spider Man 3, one of the most successful films of 2007, had a budget of more than $250 million.
To be successful, however, a film doesn’t need to be as expensive as the big Hollywood blockbusters. An example of this is the 2010 movie Monsters, which cost less than half a million dollars to make. Monsters is set in Mexico and is the story of two people trying to escape from aliens and get back to the USA. The film won several awards and got very good reviews from many film critics – for example, the website Moviefone put Monsters at number 3 in its list of the best sci-fi films for 2010.
How did they make the film so cheaply? First of all, it only took three weeks to film, and the film crew was just seven people in a van. Secondly, the man who made the film, Gareth Edwards, decided to film it with digital video, which is cheaper than the usual 35mm film. (The film equipment cost only $15,000 altogether.) There is also the fact that they used real locations, not a studio. And the cast of the film were Edwards himself and two friends of his – all the extras in the film were people who were just there, and they weren’t paid.
Most importantly, Edwards did most of the production work himself. He spent eight months editing Monsters and then five months creating the special effects. And he did it all at home on his computer, using non-professional software. The amazing thing is that the final film looks nearly as professional as big, fancy Hollywood productions.
Not everybody liked Monsters, of course. One person said: ‘That’s 90 minutes of my life that I’ll never get back.’ But overall, it was very well received. And at least it wasn’t expensive to make.
6 Read the article again. Find:
THINK VALUES
Spending wisely
1 Read the sentences. How much do you agree with each one? Write a number: 1 (I agree) or 2 (I’m not sure) or 3 (I don’t agree).
1 If something is expensive, you can be sure it’s really good. [latex]\Box[/latex]
2 Expensive things are usually not worth the money. [latex]\Box[/latex]
3 You can find really good things that don’t cost a lot of money. [latex]\Box[/latex]
4 It doesn’t matter how much something costs.
5 It’s crazy to like something just because it is expensive. [latex]\Box[/latex]
2 Compare your ideas in the class.
GRAMMAR
Comparative and superlative adjectives (review)
1 Complete these sentences about the article above with the correct form of the words in the list.
(not) as … as comparatives
2 Look at the examples of (not) as … as to compare things. Answer the questions. Then complete the rule.
3 Complete each sentence with ideas of your own.
4 Complete the second sentence so it has the same meaning as the first. Use the word in brackets.
