IELTS Speaking part 1 | The film industry

As part 1 question sets go, this one is quite difficult. The questions here aren’t about films or actors that you like. This means they are less about everyday, familiar topics that you usually find in speaking part 1.

You need to talk about some high level topics that seem more similar to a speaking part 3. These include how much famous people earn, skills and personalities, finance and investment.

Go through our lesson below as we show you how to deal with this part 1 topic, and let us know what you think in the comments!

In this question, you are being asked to give and justify an opinion on quite an advanced speaking topic. Luckily, this could be a topic you have thought about before, in relation to either actors or other celebrities. Look at the questions below, and see what ideas you have.

• Do all actors make lots of money?
• If not, which actors make a very large amount of money?
• Can you think of any very wealthy actors?
• How does it benefit a film to have a very famous actor in a leading role?
• If a film makes a lot of money, which people contributed to the success of the film?
• In films that make lots of money, if the money doesn’t go to actors, who should it go to?

There are lots of ways to answer this question, so you won’t need to use all your ideas. You will also notice that there is actually a problem with the question (or at least the way many people understand it). Most people think the question is saying that all actors are very rich. Remember, most actors probably don’t make lots of money. For every Tom Cruise, Aamir Khan or Fan Bingbing, there are hundreds of people playing minor rolls in films, and they might not be paid large sums of money!

Take your ideas for the questions above and practice organising them into a few sentences. You will probably have thought of lots to say, so you won’t need to use all of your ideas. Just make sure your answer makes sense! Alternatively, you may have a lot to say and want practice the topic. Why not try giving all of your ideas and speaking for longer as if this were a speaking part 2?

Now, read the possible ideas below. Did you think of any of these?

Possible ideas

• Lots of actors play minor roles; very demanding work; may not be well paid
• Very famous actors make lots of money; superstars
• Lots of rich actors. Pick some that you are familiar with!
• People may watch a film because of a specific actor; the film gains more publicity from very famous people in lead roles
• Lots of people contribute, but the amount may vary. Consider the film crew, extras (minor actors, often in crowds), the producers, directors, investors, editors, writers, composers (people who write music) who write the score (music for a film or musical), musicians, special effects technicians, the list is endless!
• Is the money paid to the film stars proportional to their contribution to the success of the film? If you think it is, you agree they should be well paid! If you think it isn’t, maybe the money should be divided more equally. Remember, there is no right or wrong answer, only your opinion.
• Is the amount of money earned by film stars fair for other people in society? Should there be such a large difference between the rich and poor?

I think it’s crazy the amount of money actors earn! In my country, Bollywood films are obviously very popular. I read somewhere that the famous actor, Aamir Khan, made nearly $40 million for a single film called Dangal. All this, while every day I see thousands of people living in sheer poverty. Something has to change.

These example answers are all quite different. Which one do you agree with most? If you don’t agree with any of them, what do you think? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Here you, you need to talk about personal qualities. Look at some of the vocabulary below to give you some variety. TOP TIP: The vocabulary here has been selected because it is easy to use for the topic. The words in the advanced section are less common, but you can use them to describe lots of different people.

What other topics could you apply this vocabulary to? You don’t need to learn all of the advanced vocabulary. If you can use one or two of those words correctly, the examiner will probably notice!

Basic vocabulary:

Confidence (noun) | Confident (adjective) | Display confidence (collocation) | Project confidence (high level collocation)

Memory (noun) | memorise (verb)

Intermediate vocabulary:

Attribute (noun, /ˈætrɪbjuːt/) – a quality of someone or something

There are several important attributes that a good actor should have…

Creativity (noun, /ˌkriːeɪˈtɪvəti:/) | Creative (adj., /kriˈeɪtɪv/) –Using your skill and imagination to produce something new or a work of art

Creativity is essential for actors because they need to imagine how they would act if the situation in a play were real

Advanced vocabulary:

Orator (noun, person /ˈɒrətə/) | oratorical skill (adj. + noun, /ˌɒrəˈtɒrɪkl skɪl/) – A public speaker; the skill of speaking in public

Actors need to be strong orators so that they can deliver a good performance in front of lots of people

Stamina (noun, /ˈstæmɪnə/) – the strength to do something physically or mentally difficult for a long time

Stamina is important for actors because the work can be physically demanding. Pretending to be someone else for a long time could also be difficult mentally. 

Charisma (noun,/ kəˈrɪzmə/) | Charismatic (adj. /ˌkærɪzˈmætɪk/) – The ability to attract, impress and influence other people

Actors need to be charismatic because they need to attract and influence a crowd.

Examples:

I think a good actor needs lots of different qualities. Obviously, having a good memory is important, because they need to memorise all those lines, but there’s more to acting than reciting a script. I think to really perform, they need good oratorical skills, and of course charisma is a great attribute for drawing in crowds!

Creativity, definitely. It’s a a really important characteristic of a good actor because you need a really active imagination. Also I think stamina is such a key attribute. It must be exhausting to be on your feet and reciting lines all day!

Be very careful with this question. Lots of people misunderstand what the examiner is asking. They start talking about the benefits of a film industry and give examples like Chinese cinema or Bollywood. This question is asking about the location where a film is made. Think about the following things:

• If lots of people see a film set in a country, what effect might this have on tourism? If you’re not sure, a great example is the effect the hit TV series ‘Game of Thrones’ had on tourism to Croatia. Read about it online for some inspiration!
• Films have large staff requirements. What effect does that have on employment?
• Along with the large number of people working on the film, there is more demand for local services like accommodation or entertainment. There are also more people who need shops. How does that affect local businesses?
• Lots of films need special sets to be built and require quite a lot of materials. What impact would that have on local industry?

Think about the four points above. Practice using a few ideas for each of them to answer this question.

Examples:

I think it’s great for a country when a famous film or TV show is made there. Croatia has seen such a big increase in tourists because of the hit TV series Game of Thrones, and businesses there are thriving. They have to be careful though, too many visitors might spoil it for the locals!

Well, obviously it creates lots of jobs and that has knock-on effects for the economy. You might say that the effect in a large country isn’t very big, but if film makers spend millions of dollars in a place, I think lots of people appreciate it! The problem is, once filming is over, business can decline again, so it might only be a temporary benefit.

This is the question lots of people start answering when they are asked question 3 (How a film can benefit the country where it’s made). 

You may not know much about world cinema. That’s fine, just give a few opinions of your own. If your country has a thriving film industry, it would make a great example. Are films from other countries popular in your country? If they are, how does that benefit those countries?

Brilliant examples here are Hollywood and Bollywood. Indian films are big business and are actually more successful than Hollywood blockbusters in terms of their audience sizes. China also has a rapidly growing domestic film industry. If the film industry in your country is not very large or not internationally famous, think about the film industries in other countries and make some comparisons!

Examples:

Well the film industry in Cambodia is nowhere near as big as Hollywood, but it would be great if it was! Yes, I think the country should invest in films and help spread awareness of our culture. It’s also good for employment and could attract more money from overseas.

In Spain we have a really great film industry with some famous directors like Pedro Almodovar. I think quite a lot of money is already invested, but it would be great if they could boost the audience for Spanish films, especially in English-speaking countries. It would be a great source of jobs if we could build a thriving film industry.