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The Perfect Formula For Box Office Success

Julez writes "According to icLiverpool, the formula for creating the "perfect" film has been discovered by a UK academic. The research will be used to assess the potential success of possible film sponsorship deals. Apparently, the perfect feature must have: action 30pc, comedy 17pc, good v evil 13pc, love/sex/romance 12pc, special effects 10pc, plot 10pc and music 8pc "

13 of 365 comments (clear)

  1. How about 100% porn? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    How about 100% porn?

    1. Re:How about 100% porn? by Anne_Nonymous · · Score: 5, Funny

      That would be 110% love/sex/romance, -5% plot, and -5% music.

      Not that I would know...

    2. Re:How about 100% porn? by swordboy · · Score: 5, Funny

      How about 100% porn?

      This is nearly what the RIAA uses for the recipe for a chart topper:

      - 50 percent porn
      - 20 percent cowbell
      - 30 percent ClearChannel

      (all ingredients by volume)

      --

      Life is the leading cause of death in America.
  2. Where Lucas got it wrong by jedigeek · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Special effects 10pc?

    Episode I and II clearly messed up the forumla.

  3. Just in the perfect Slashdot Artical. by Neck_of_the_Woods · · Score: 5, Funny


    38% Windows bash.
    22% Linux worship.
    16% Katz bash.
    13% OS penis messuring.
    8% punctuation correction.
    2% spelling correction.
    1% comedy.
    1% math correction.
    1% sig.

    --
    Neck_of_the_Woods
    #/usr/local/surf/glassy/overhead
    1. Re:Just in the perfect Slashdot Artical. by djward · · Score: 5, Funny

      Actually, halve all of those numbers - it's not a perfect article until its been duped.

  4. Re:Good grief! by TheWickedKingJeremy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Did anyone else feel it was an insult to those with intelligence that plot took only an 8% grab?

    Not really. Remember, this "study" (and I use the term loosely ;) is measuring how to make a successful movie - not a quality one. Forget Lord of the Rings and look at Charlies Angels, Fast and Furious, etc. *shudder*

    --

    my religion lies somewhere between buddhism and super monkey ball - pamphlet?
  5. Waterworld got it wrong: by lovebyte · · Score: 5, Funny

    action 1pc
    comedy 0pc
    good v evil 1pc
    love/sex/romance 1pc
    special effects 1pc
    plot 0pc
    music 0pc
    water 96pc

    --

    I'll do it for cheesy poofs.

  6. The obligatory Simpsons quote by mlush · · Score: 5, Funny

    [Silverman draws a standard dog]
    Myers: No, no, no! He was supposed to have attitude.
    Silverman: Um... wh-what do you mean, exactly?
    Myers: Oh, you know, attitude, attitude! Uh... sunglasses!
    Lady: Could we put him in more of a "hip-hop" context?
    Krusty: Forget context, he's gotta be a surfer. Give me a nice shmear of surfer.
    Lady: I feel we should Rasta-fy him by... 10 percent or so.
    [the resulting dog is rather... proactive]
    [all stare at it w/o any expression]
    Myers: Hmm... I think he needs a little more attitude. [Silverman blackens in Poochie's sunglasses]
    All Three: [variously] Oh, yeah, bingo. Yeah, that's it! There it is, right there! I love it!
    -- Another cartoon character created in less than 15 minutes,
    "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show"

  7. Re:Good grief! by csteinle · · Score: 5, Funny

    Did anyone else feel it was an insult to those with intelligence that plot took only an 8% grab?


    No, but it is an insult to your reading ability. It says plot 10pc :-P
  8. Arrogance and poor understanding of IQ. by Transient0 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    1. You read and are a registered member of Slashdot, therefore your intelligence is likely at least 40 points above the average population.

    Really? Is that so? This is nothing but unfounded arrogance and propaganda. You fancy yourself well ahead of the curve (doesn't really matter whether you've been tested or not, so please don't tell me your score) and as such like to believe that all those who share your interests are well ahead of the curve as well. What makes you think that there is a correlation between being able to read and sign up on a website and intelligence? Not to mention the fact that the so-called Intelligence Quotient only measures logical problem solving and mathematical insight, a very tiny fraction of what could reasonably be considered intelligence. Or, as it has been put glibly many times before: It only measures your ability to do well on IQ tests. At a guess I would say that it is probably likely that the Slashdot crew would average above the norm on IQ tests (maybe 120 or so) seeing as a large proportion are programmers and that is a field where logical problem solving is an important skill. But what we are talking about here is appreciation of the arts. I won't argue that this may be a function of intelligence, but it is certainly not a function of the IQ type of intelligence.

    2. This "successful movie formula" is geared for the masses, i.e., people with an IQ of approximately 100 or so.

    IQ is statistically defined such that the mean is exactly 100.

    I know that this post sounds dangerously like a flame, but the spreading of this IQ propaganda really irks me.

  9. Re:Whahhh? by TheWickedKingJeremy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Oh come on, if a movie isn't 40pc plot it is not worth watching.

    I completely disagree. Different films/works can work for different reasons. Some can work entirely without plot, and instead rely simply on character development and/or other methods.

    The Thin Red Line is one such example. No plot, very little character development -- just characters "reflecting" for more than two hours. It works, in its own way, regardless. Jaws is an even better example. The plot is simply "Shark terrorizes beach community" -- the power of the film comes from an intense atmosphere and mood - not plot.

    To use another mainstream example, the film GhostBusters was at its best when it was unconcerned with plot - when it just followed these characters through their daily lives as they, of all things, trapped ghosts. The film did not get its energy from the unnecessary and predictable "save the world" plot tacked on.

    The best Bret Easton Ellis books work similarly. "Less Than Zero" and "American Psycho" have minimal to not plot, yet are very good, fascinating books.

    --

    my religion lies somewhere between buddhism and super monkey ball - pamphlet?
  10. Re:Good grief! by FurryFeet · · Score: 5, Funny

    1. You read and are a registered member of Slashdot, therefore your intelligence is likely at least 40 points above the average population.

    You never read at -1 do you?