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GPREP - FILM DIRECTOR

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GPREP - FILM DIRECTOR

by reply2spg » Tue Aug 03, 2010 7:09 pm
2 minutes to solve

FILM DIRECTOR: It is true that certain characters and plot twists in my newly released film THE BIG HEIST are strikingly similar to characters and plot twists in Thieves, a movie that came out last year. Based on these similarities, the film studio that produced Thieves is now accusing me of taking ideas from that film. The accusation is clearly without merit. All production work on the THE BIG HEIST was actually completed months before THIEVES was released

Which of the following, if true, provides the strongest support for the director's rejection of the accusation?

A) Before thieves began production, its script had been circulating for several years among various film studio, including the studio that produced The Big Heist
B) The characters and plot twists that are most similar in the two films have close parallels in many earlier films of the same genre
C) The film studio that produced Thieves seldom produces film in this genre
D) The director of Theives worked with the director of the The Big Heist on several earlier projects
E) The time it took to produce THE BIG HEIST was consderably shorter than the time it took to produce THieves

[spoiler]OA B - I Selected by POE...But how does B strengthens completion of production work of 'THE BIG HEIST' before 'THIEVES' released?[/spoiler]
Sudhanshu
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by DanaJ » Tue Aug 03, 2010 8:49 pm
It's not the first time I see this argument structure, so I'd say know it very well before you take the GMAT.

We are looking for the statement that strengthens the director's argument here. The argument itself goes like so:
- some stuff from his recently released Heist movie is similar to some stuff from Thieves, which was released last year
- people have accused him that he has copied Thieves
- that's not true, because the production work for Heist was finished long before Thieves hit the market

Remember, we are looking for the strengthening statement... I believe this question could have also been a weakening question, since there are some arguments for that as well.

A is actually a weakening statement because it suggests that the script (which is a core part of a movie) of Thieves had been read by the director of Heist. If this script was widely available, one can assume that the director got a hold of it and stole some ideas. His argument would then fall apart: even though the production work had been finished, it's still possible that he wasn't entirely honest about his source of inspiration.

B is the correct answer here. It suggests that the director of Heist did not steal his ideas from Thieves, but that they all stole the ideas from some other films in the past. This is what we would call an alternative explanation to the argument. There's still some ideas stealing involved, BUT not from Thieves - which is precisely what the director is arguing against.

C is unrelated to the argument, I believe. The studio's mastery of this particular genre is not relevant.

D suggests that the directors were in close contact, so that they might have swapped ideas at some point. This is a weakening statement because this exchange of ideas might have involved some related to the two films.

E is again irrelevant IMHO, if a bit weakening as well. If it took much less to make Heist, then that may be because the director had already fleshed the basic ideas by looking at Thieves.
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by reply2spg » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:32 pm
Thanks DanaJ for taking your time out to explain this question. Still I have few questions

Since this is strengthen question, what is the conclusion here?
Is the rejection of the director conclusion here?. As per the question and your explanation also supports director's rejection.
If we are supporting rejection then what is the role of 'All production work on the THE BIG HEIST was actually completed months before THIEVES was released' sentence? Is it evidence of the rejection of director?
Is this 700+ question?
DanaJ wrote:It's not the first time I see this argument structure, so I'd say know it very well before you take the GMAT.

We are looking for the statement that strengthens the director's argument here. The argument itself goes like so:
- some stuff from his recently released Heist movie is similar to some stuff from Thieves, which was released last year
- people have accused him that he has copied Thieves
- that's not true, because the production work for Heist was finished long before Thieves hit the market

Remember, we are looking for the strengthening statement... I believe this question could have also been a weakening question, since there are some arguments for that as well.

A is actually a weakening statement because it suggests that the script (which is a core part of a movie) of Thieves had been read by the director of Heist. If this script was widely available, one can assume that the director got a hold of it and stole some ideas. His argument would then fall apart: even though the production work had been finished, it's still possible that he wasn't entirely honest about his source of inspiration.

B is the correct answer here. It suggests that the director of Heist did not steal his ideas from Thieves, but that they all stole the ideas from some other films in the past. This is what we would call an alternative explanation to the argument. There's still some ideas stealing involved, BUT not from Thieves - which is precisely what the director is arguing against.

C is unrelated to the argument, I believe. The studio's mastery of this particular genre is not relevant.

D suggests that the directors were in close contact, so that they might have swapped ideas at some point. This is a weakening statement because this exchange of ideas might have involved some related to the two films.

E is again irrelevant IMHO, if a bit weakening as well. If it took much less to make Heist, then that may be because the director had already fleshed the basic ideas by looking at Thieves.
Sudhanshu
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by DanaJ » Tue Aug 03, 2010 9:43 pm
The conclusion of the argument is that the director did not steal ideas from Thieves. Since the question itself is a strengthening question, you must bring arguments that support this conclusion.

Yes, the idea that all production was over before the release of Thieves is the argument that the director brings to support his claim that he did not copy Thieves. You are supposed to find an additional statement that helps with this.

I'd say it's upper 600s or low 700s... These questions can definitely get worse!
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by reply2spg » Wed Aug 04, 2010 3:23 am
Thanks a lot for clearing my doubts.
DanaJ wrote:The conclusion of the argument is that the director did not steal ideas from Thieves. Since the question itself is a strengthening question, you must bring arguments that support this conclusion.

Yes, the idea that all production was over before the release of Thieves is the argument that the director brings to support his claim that he did not copy Thieves. You are supposed to find an additional statement that helps with this.

I'd say it's upper 600s or low 700s... These questions can definitely get worse!
Sudhanshu
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