re: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is reportedly still in re-shoots

Your test audience can help tell you a film is ready or tell you it still needs changes, but part of the problem is knowing your audience well enough to get a good read.

Animal House was in danger of reshoots before its test screening. I don’t remember if it was by chance or design but it ended up being screwed for a bunch of former fraternity members who were at a conference in California. They loved it, so the film was locked down and made ready for release.

The original 1970s Wicker Man was having trouble getting released so they decided to screen it at colleges in the US to see if there was a market. Their chosen test school was LSU, which loved it, and convinced the powers that be to release it.


The problems come in with there being test audiences who don’t match the likely point audience.

I have trouble remembering specifics but I seem to recall a test audience for Wild Wild West In 1999 which showed it was a disaster in the making, not helped by the audience gong in thinking they were going to watch The Matrix, which was already released.

No amount of changes could have saved that film but your audience reactions were going to be very negative if you take a group of people who are looking for one type of picture (sci-fi action wire fu) and replace it with another (goofy western comedy).