Compare the ways in which Hot Fuzz and This is England were packaged, marketed, distributedand exhibted:

This is England and Hot Fuzz were both successful British films; however they were different in their approach to distribution, marketing, packaging and exhibition. They both had to rely on different factors in order to engage audiences; especially as This is England wasn’t tied to any big distributors, such as Universal, whereas Working Title’s Hot Fuzz was tied to Universal.

This is England relied on the director Shane Meadows, as the actors were practically unknown; however it also relied on the political views of the target audience; an audience that lived through that era. The location was also precise, and not in a neutral area of the era; it was set in North Lincolnshire. This closes the audience that the film would appeal to because an audience member that lived up north during this time would relate better than one that lived in the south; this is another main reason that This is England relied on the political views of the audience as they had to agree with the political views of the film. Hot Fuzz on the other hand had a cast of well known actors, for example: Simon Pegg, Bill Nighy, Timothy Dalton and Jim Broadbent; and a well known director, Edgar Wright, who directed the film Shaun of the Dead which also has Simon Pegg in it. There was an appeal to finance Hot Fuzz because the majority of the audience would have seen Shaun of the Dead, which was a big mainstream film; it would also appeal to a mainstream audience because the production company was Working Titles, and Hot Fuzz was linked with Universal.

In This is England, the music played a huge part in the marketing, because it was music from the era it reminded the audience of that time, for instance: “Tainted Love” “Warhead.” Also the montage in the beginning of the film of Margaret Thatcher would relate to what people’s political views were at the time. However, Hot Fuzz marketed by appealing to a similar audience that Shaun of the Dead appealed to because Shaun of the Dead was so successful. Also the actor Simon Pegg is a recognisable face, and therefore the audience were drawn to the film, because he is also mainly linked with funny films, which then suggests to the audience that the film will be a comedy; also his comedies are normally mainstream and funny which markets to a wider audience.

This is England was linked with smaller distributors such as Optimum Release and Warp Films and had to raise it’s own finance, this meant that This is England had to choose carefully where to distribute their film; for example, areas that had bigger population density of their target audience. However Hot Fuzz had a wider distribution area due to links with Working Titles and Universal, and therefore had more finance in order to distribute further; also Hot Fuzz had the advantage of having a well known cast, and a director who directed the big hit, Shaun of the Dead.