Low Budget Doesn't Mean Low Takings

There have been many films over the years that have made astronomical amounts at the box office in comparison to the original shoe string budget they were made on.

This goes to show that you don't need millions of dollars to make the motion picture classic.

1979, a little known actor known as Mel Gibson quickly became a household name when he starred in Mad Max. At the time, nobody knew who is was and did not think that on a budget of around $650,000, it would be a hit. The film soon became one of the most popular Australain movies ever netting $100,000,000 at the box office and spawned a series of sequels and even a reboot.

Sometimes referred to as one of the original and classic horror movies, Halloween was released in 1978 and produced on a budget of just $325,000. It took $60,000,000 at the worldwide box office producing a new generation of movie goers who wanted to be scared at every turn.

Not all low budget films had a string of sequels milking the franchise. In 2004 a little known actor called John Heder played Napoleon Dynamite in the film of the same name. The coming of age film was produced with a small budget of just just $400,000 but scooped an impressive $46,000,000 during its cinema release.

Their are plenty of other films that have done the impressive with a small production value including The Blair Witch Project that was made for $60,000 and netted a whopping $248,000,000 at the box office.

In 2007, Paranormal Activity was released pulling in movie goers to watch a film made with CCTV and handheld camcorders. Taking a total of $193,000,000 worldwide, making the $15,000 production values look like pocket change.

This goes to show that you don't always need a giant production company or multi-million dollar special effects to get the people into cinema seats to watch a film.

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They Are Much Older Than You Think

How many times do you watch a film or television program and say 'they look older than that'? You may be surprised that most people that you see through the moving pictures in your living room lie about their age.

Lets start with television, the first liar we will look at is Henry Winkler. Made famous for his role as 17 year old Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzarelli in the 1970s sitcom Happy Days, Winkler was 12 years older than his character at an ancient (for a 17 year old) 29.

Staying in the 1970s, M*A*S*H star Gary Burghoff played 18 year old Walter Eugene O'Reilly when he was 32.

Fast forward to the 1990s, Beverly Hills 90210 actress Gabrielle Carteris was another 32 year old playing 18 year old Andrea Zuckerman.

Still in the 1990s, Friends was one of the most popular program's of the decade and started in 1994 with three guys and three girls all mid-20s struggling with life. The truth is, when the show started, Courtney Cox (Monica) was already 30 and Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe) was 31.

The highly popular British sitcom The Inbetweeners is another good example of youthful actors. The shows main characters are four 16 year old boys played by actors in their 20s. The youngest of the four is James Buckley (Jay) who was 21 when the show first aired and the oldest being Joe Thomas (Simon) who was 25.

It's easy sometimes when you watch a TV show week after week to spot that someone is lying about their age but when you watch a film that drags you in, it's not so simple.

Going back to the 1970s, lets look at the movie Grease. There were so many age defying actors, they were closer to their 20 year reunion than their graduation. The main characters consisted of people aged 18, so you might think it's not so hard finding people around the right age. Well, lets start with Stockard Channing (pictured below) who played Rizzo. When the movie was released in 1978, she was 34 years old, and Michael Tucci who played Sonny was 32. When you think about it, they are nearly old enough to be their own parents.

Sticking in movie land, we move onto the 1980s where time travel is where you want to be, with non-other than Back To The Future. In 1985 the first instalment was released starring a 24 year old Michael J Fox as the 17 year old Marty McFly. This is not so bad, you might think. Jump ahead a few years and in 1990, Back To The Future Part III hit the big screens with a 29 year old Michael J Fox still playing the part of a 17 year old Marty McFly.

The list can go on for actors and actresses trying to keep hold of their youthful looks. Just remember, next time you watch a film or TV program and say "they don't look good for their age" just take a moment and think if the correct thing to say would be "they do look good for their age".

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