Comments (10)

• Amazing that NewsCorp, which has the least creative, most cookie-cutter movie studio in BIg Fox has the only remaining arthouse division that is remotely viable. If only Harvey and Bob had the dough to buy back Miramax, I’m sure they’d do it in a heartbeat. Eisner or Iger should’ve sold it back to them when they had the chance.

  Comment by Franz — October 2, 2009 @ 1:43 pm  Reply to this post

• “…Maximizes operating efficiencies …” sounds better than “keeps us afloat.”

  Comment by sb — October 2, 2009 @ 2:28 pm  Reply to this post

• Miramax makes art house films that will be marketed by Disney event film marketing? They are clueless as to how to sell these kind of films….and could care less.

  Ain’t gonna work. Remember all the other studios who thought they could save money on their offshoots by doing the same thing? Warners….Paramount…….Universal?

  Comment by disgruntled producer — October 2, 2009 @ 4:26 pm  Reply to this post

• The real culprits are the adult audiences that are not supporting these films in movie theaters. They’re all waiting to rent them on Netflix, resulting in shitty box office numbers for almost every indie. The independent adult drama is on life support, soon to be a straight to DVD or VOD market only. We have done this to ourselves. Disney and WB and whoever else is not to blame.

  Comment by Last Man Standing — October 2, 2009 @ 5:49 pm  Reply to this post

• Uh, Last Man Standing, your utter lack of a clue as to what people want is astounding. It’s not adult audiences’ responsibility to support these movies, it’s your responsibility to produce quality fare that *compels* them to go. I’m not a huge fan of JUNO, but parents/adults went to see that movie more than once, just like kids did, because it had something fresh and different, and didn’t insult the intelligence of its audience. I’m in the game too, and whether you’re an executive, assistant, director or mogul, no one gives a shit to pay 12 dollars to see a Lars von Trier film, regardless of whether or not he’s a genius. Maybe you’re a bit out of touch, but it’s expensive to see a movie at 10 bucks a person. Yes, people will keep going, because as far as dates go, it’s something to do, and at 10 dollars a ticket (at least), it’s still a good way for h.s. kids to pass time on a Friday night. That said, no one, even those who are flush with cash, are paying to see a baseball game for 50 bucks when they can get $5 bleacher seats or see it for free on television. And no one is going to see a movie for $12.50 if they can see another movie they missed out on six months ago for 5 bucks, because, for example, at my local 7-11, I can buy everything from Transformers to Slumdog to Atonement for 5.99, as an impulse purchase.

  The indies that will do well and thrive are those that are like JUNO, 500 Days of Summer, and say, Rushmore back in the day — movies that have appeal to young kids because they *have* teens and young adults in them, AND adults because they have some adult actors, but are also getting top reviews. People cannot afford to spend 25 bucks on a ticket for them and a date in order to just see a movie that they know is crap, when they can download it for free.

  Hell, I don’t have HBO, I watch Entourage streaming, 4 episodes at a time. I don’t have to worry about waiting for next week, I get more satisfaction in watching the first season of Lost in one power-packed weekend with my loved ones and spend the savings on take-out. However, movies like JUNO, 500 DAYS, or even CHARLIE BARTLETT, which no one saw, if they take off, kids want to be able to say “Oh, I saw that movie before it got big.” They like to brag to their friends that they were a fan before anyone else was, just like discovering a band.

  And teens/college students, even the stupid ones, they’re smarter these days — they look at Rotten Tomatoes, and it matters to them how good a movie is. Middle America went to see Slumdog, even if they’re not on board with our left wing politics, even if they’re not crazy about minority groups, much less minority movies. They heard it was terrific, they wanted to see for themselves. Hell, Garden State wasn’t promoted that well, it was cheaply made, and did 20MM at the box office, and has killed on DVD, with a huge seller of a soundtrack. And it didn’t even do that well on RT. Kind of overrated, IMHO.

  And that’s another thing — DVD’s is very much alive, provided the TITLE IS WORTH OWNING. the days of people just buying every DVD just to have it in their collection to show off, that’s over. It’s no longer a novelty, and 20 bucks is no longer the avg. hourly salary of a kid out of Penn State with a 3.5. No one is buying Starbucks anymore, and they’re not buying DVDs. That said, titles that do well, you can bet that in every college dorm in America, you’ll see 500 DAYS OF SUMMER. You’ll see Garden State, you’ll see Bottlerocket, even if that only made 500K at the B.O.

  Movies, particularly indie films aren’t dead, but people just aren’t going to settle for shit movies anymore. Sure, people will sign up for The Proposal, they’ll sign up for The Hangover, but by and large, we need to start making better movies.

  Perfect example. Look at certain studio movies that could have been made as indies. GHOST could have been made for 5 million dollars. and you know what? if it came out today, it would make 150-200MM domestically alone, and still win best original screenplay. Good Will Hunting could be made for 5MM. same thing. Hell, here’s one for you — FIELD OF DREAMS. you could make that movie for peanuts. Spend 250K on the baseball field, no name actors for the ballplayer, any star would kill for the Costner role, like a Tom Hanks, who loves baseball. Do sports movies do well? No. But one like that transcends sports. It’s about so much more. Now, hindsight is 20/20, but there are lots of movies like that that can be made much cheaper than their productions costs.

  Look for the scripts that have great content, great characters, and dialogue that kids will be quoting and Twittering and talking about on Facebook. If they can made cheaply, those are the ones that will shine at the B.O.

  It’s not about Mel Gibson or Harrison Ford or even these young guns like Pattinson or Shia. It’s about what these characters DO and SAY.

  “I gave her my heart and she gave me a pen.”

  “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

  These are million dollar lines, so to speak, that transcend film, and make their way into culture. Hell, even “Yeah baby!” from Mike Myers. It begins with the writing. The screenwriters that write great horror will surive. The writers that write the few decent romcoms will survive. The writers that make smart-yet-accessible indies, not David Lynch shit that people can’t relate to/understand, they’ll survive. Those that make great, not just serviceable, 80MM action movies, they’ll survive, too.

  But this downturn is going to get much, much worse. What is happening in LA has not yet happened in some other parts of the country, and when it does, look out. The Dow is a joke right now. The wealth that wasn’t destroyed is being entered in, propping it up. It will be destroyed as well. No regulation is going on at the banks. Goldman is up their old tricks. People are sick of entertainment that is terrible. SNL sucks, as it has since the early 90’s. Their debut this year, and most years, it’s an insult to their audiences. People are sick of others making money for not even doing their jobs. The talent at SNL and in most movies, they’re stealing money just like Ken Lewis and Dick Fuld are. You went to Harvard and now write for The Simpsons? You’re not more talented than Paris Hilton to viewers out there. You owe them more. You directed a paint-by-numbers romcom? You should be ashamed of yourself.

  America already knows about Precious. Buzz builds fast via the Internet these days. 5-10 years ago, only insiders and movie fans would know about Precious. But they know, and they’re waiting for it, because they hear there are good performances, and it’s not a waste of their two hours. It is going to kill at the B.O. People think Mariah Carey is a joke, but they already see her in a new light, because they know she’s earned major kudos for this movie. If you build it, they will come.

  Focus on the script. If you have a great script that people respond to in town, the reaction in America will be even greater. They have no expectations for us. If you have a terrific little script, it doesn’t need to be an Oscar winner, but if you have a script where it’s clearly above your average crap movie, in this environment, it will do even better, as it doesn’t have to compete with all these shitty movies that generally get released. Smaller slates mean great movies will shine without all that white noise getting in the way. Start with the script, then assemble a great team to flesh it out. Casting is more important than ever. Smart casting, not just throwing someone at a part.

  I wrote this really fast on my friend’s phone. Sorry for the typos. And again, I love David Lynch, von Trier, Hartley, those types, and they have their place, but asking someone for 3 MM for a movie like that, if you’re not one of those legends, it’s not going to happen anymore if you can’t provide an ROI. you need scripts that will lead to critical acclaim, and yet will make people laugh and cry and think.

  Comment by StepUpYourGame — October 2, 2009 @ 8:44 pm  Reply to this post

  • you wrote this on your friend’s phone??!! Bet that’s the last time your friend will lend you their phone to jot down a ‘quick’ post!
    You do make some good points, though, I’ll give you that..esp that it all starts with good material. Amen.

    Comment by ronnie — October 3, 2009 @ 12:08 am  Reply to this post

• I think ‘Last Man Standing” make a good point. Sure, one could argue that the studios need to give some of these films wider releases. Until that happens, though, we need to support these films, even if it means driving a little extra to get to the nearest theater playing them.

  Comment by Bob — October 2, 2009 @ 9:01 pm  Reply to this post

• @ Last Man Standing
  Way to oversimplify the problem. The real problem has been the glut of product the past several years if anything – most of which is of marginal quality. This is probably a market correction, and in due time it will swing the other way again. It’s a vicious cycle.

  Comment by Michael Yan — October 2, 2009 @ 9:12 pm  Reply to this post

• Juno is an independent film in name only. That is some showbiz/ famous actor/ Jason Reitman directed / insider product.
  Return of The Seacaucus Seven/She’s Gotta Have It/Jarmusch style, unknown, out of nowhere, extremely successful low budget fim with or without good marketing is the definition of an independent film. The mumblecore movies, the Michelle Williamson with the dog movie, Old Joy, I think this is all that’s left of independent American cinema. Juno doesn’t count at all. That’s like calling Garden State an indy – it is just made to look like one.

  Comment by PaulKael — October 2, 2009 @ 10:10 pm  Reply to this post

• I used to deal with Battsek personally and found him to be an earnest, thoughtful, and thoroughly decent executive. That’s not rare, that’s practically unheard of. Just look at Nikki’s post on Shumger. Unfortunately, cuts have to be made and this one’s been brewing for a while.

  Comment by FormerMousHouse — October 5, 2009 @ 9:55 am  Reply to this post