Open Forum Friday: Are Independent Films in Trouble?
It seems like a year can’t go by without someone talking about the so-called death of independent film. The market is shrinking, audiences aren’t paying attention, so on and so forth. Then we have a runaway hit like Juno and everyone changes their story. We’ve also heard people predicting the end of the blockbuster, so you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. Lately, however, the future of indie films has once again been called into question, and this time there is a lot more evidence than usual to support the argument.
Case in point: Indie-friendly studio arms Picturehouse, Warner Independent and Paramount Vantage all closed their doors earlier this year. Thinkfilm is rumoured to be in serious financial trouble and have now become embroiled in a number of lawsuits. This year’s crop of film festival favourites is not expected to yield any real breakout hits. Meanwhile, the summer blockbuster season is in full swing, and there’s no shortage of money being made there. Do smaller films still have a hope of finding their way to an audience?
I have to admit, this year I’ve really noticed a distinct lack of limited release alternatives competing with the big summer franchises. Every weekend there are one or two major mainstream releases and nothing else to choose from. Even small films like The Promotion, which features such recognizable names as Seann William Scott and John C. Reilly, are barely a blip on the radar. This weekend The Wackness, one of Sundance’s biggest hits, is playing on only 6 screens across North America. What the heck is going on?
Granted, studios tend to hold a lot of these movies back for the fall season, but it certainly seems like there aren’t as many people behind the scenes championing the little guy anymore. Some are predicting that the internet will be the saving grace for independent film distributors, but would it mean sacrificing the ability to see them on the big screen? What do you think, are indies going the way of the dodo? Is the future of multiplexes to have more screens but less choice? Is there a serious crisis right now in the film industry? Give us your thoughts here on Open Forum Friday.
Comments (3)
“Some are predicting that the internet will be the saving grace for independent film distributors, but would it mean sacrificing the ability to see them on the big screen?â€
I’m predicting that the internet could be a saving grace. That wouldn’t sacrifice people’s chances of seeing it on the big screen. The fact that my only chance of seeing indies in the U.S.(unless they turn into a Juno) is living in New York, Los Angeles, or near a decent festival is sacrificial enough. The internet also hurts simply because of the well known fact that it is just another distraction that can yield a more customized mode of entertainment for a ninety minutes.
Really, the digital revolution is much more helpful for indies in terms of the video medium. The 24P shooting format has given me the freedom to work in ways that would be way too expensive with film and yet yield a similar result. Even studio films like 28 Days Later have embraced this format and excelled.
The downside of digital is that festivals get an exponentially larger flood of crap to sift through every year. I know from my limited festival-insider experience that they watch the films with established names first and then they will check out the films shot on celluloid next. Saying you shot your “film†in HD almost always garners less respect.
MY CONCLUSION: With the exclusion of the Junos and Big Fat Greek Weddings of the universe; indie films will always be suffering.
Here’s a great link to Mark Gill (former prez of Miramax) discussing his thoughts on the current state of indies:
http://www.indiewire.com/biz/2008/06/irst_person_fil.html
Posted by Ryan M. on July 4th, 2008No, I don’t think so. If the film is good enough, word of mouth travels fast. True film lover appreciate the passion and dedication that goes into these projects as opposed to cookie cutter scripts and flavour of the month actors.
F**K Hollywood!
Posted by Baychuk on July 4th, 2008Indie films are “cool” because they’re indie. Just like any genre, as soon as a few make some waves (Little Miss Sunshine, anyone?) the genre becomes popular, the market becomes oversaturated, they become stereotypical and too plentiful, then fall by the wayside and become cool again until a new one comes along that does something different and sets the bar high again. You guys have talked on the podcast about how this has happened with horror films before and I think the same goes for any genre, really.
Posted by Rian on July 6th, 2008Leave a Reply