HOLLYWOOD BREAKDOWN: ARE INDEPENDENT FILMS DEAD, Pt 1

Indie films are at a tipping point.

Inexpensive digital equipment and abundant financing has caused a boom in production. There are more films being made than ever before. So if there is a boom in production, why is this article entitled, "Are Independent Films Dead?"

Simple. Most of them suck. And that is really hurting the market place.

Here are some stats to mull over. Sundance Film Festival programmers will see nearly 4000 indie films looking to get into the prestigious event. Ninety percent will not make the first cut. Even if they do get accepted, only a handful, maybe 100 will eventually reach theaters Of those 100 or so, only about 5 will make enough money to be worthwhile.

Too much product and not enough screens and not a large enough audience - that’s a prescription for losing money. The amount of time indie films stay on screen mirrors what is happening to Hollywood films. The adage in the business is "2 and out'. This means the film plays for two weeks and then it is sent packing.

When I first started out in the business, finding a film and nurturing was a talent we took pride in. Films like The Harder They Come, Rocky Horror Picture Show, The King of Hearts and others found an audience because programmers kept bringing them back, investing screen time and money as the films found an audience.

Today, art programmers have so much product, they simply look at a film's first weekend grosses and if it doesn't show strength, it is replaced. There is no nurturing of the film and as a result, there is no nurturing of the audience.

Audiences are increasingly fragmented and older. Theater owners don't nurture them either. Can you name a theater where you see a film simply because it is playing there and the quality of the films is consistent enough that you'll take a chance on seeing something you don't know or haven't read the RottenTomatoes.com reviews or has been give the seal of approval by some unknown film geek? I can’t and I know most theaters.

On top of this is the quality of the films themselves.

How many ‘art’ films have you seen that has a lousy ending or is self-indulgent personal cinema? These films don’t touch a resonant chord and are not appealing. It is as if the film maker is saying, “I got 2 million bucks and a studio behind me, I can make a film like Jean-Luc Gadard and become a film God?” The reality is many of these film makers have only a rudimentary understanding of film. Sadly they don’t even know how to tell a story.

With these kinds of films being made, and being shown, audiences are increasingly turned off to taking a chance and seeing these films in theaters. Instead they are waiting for them to pop up on DVD or on cable before they watch them.

What this all means is the independent market for film is changing. Alternatives abound in the new media world and people are availing themselves to that.

Recently Mark Gill, a former honcho at Miramax and a recognized expert gave a speech in Los Angeles entitled, “Yes, the Sky is Falling.” His assertion was simply, independent films are in serous trouble and a shake out will occur.

It is already happening. Fine Line is gone. Paramount Vantage is gone, Warner Independent is gone. Think Film is teetering. The folks who distribute the films are getting out of the business. And there is more bad news coming.

Next week, how the big studios mucked it all up and what the future lies for indie films.

Garen has been sitting in the dark for over 30 years as an film exhibitor, consultant and reviewer. You may have seen him on NE Cable or some other Boston station.  More likely you heard him pontificating about films on FrugalYankee. com, NPR, TKK, RKO, New Hampshire Public Radio, or any number of other stations he's been on, but one thing is certain, he loves, and knows, film.