oa Blockbusters als event movies: over de lancering van The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King / Blockbusters as event movies: launching The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

Abstract

Films als Titanic en The Lord of the Rings worden veelal gezien als mijlpalen in de geschiedenis van de hedendaagse blockbusterfilmcultuur. In de literatuur over New Hollywood en blockbusters worden dit soort films veelal aangeduid als event movies. Aan de hand van de lancering van The Return of the King in België tracht deze bijdrage enkele cruciale dimensies in het eventkarakter van hedendaagse blockbusters te begrijpen.

Abstract

Movies such as Titanic and The Lord of the Rings are considered the be new milestones in the history of the New Hollywood blockbuster. In literature on this phenomenon, blockbusters are mostly seen as ‘event movies’. Using the launch of The Return of the King in Belgium, we try to understand some crucial dimensions in the event-character of contemporary blockbusters. This article makes a distinction between ‘marketing event’, ‘media event’ and ‘social event’. This refers to different levels of bringing the blockbuster into the public sphere.