I think it would be very helpful to have a definition of what an indie film is. What constitutes an "indie film?" b_b and mk, as hollywood moguls, do you have any sense of what is and is not an indie film? Also, when is the LA premier? Everyone reading this, go see the film that b_b is going to reference in his reply to me. It features the most kick-ass t-shirt ever seen on the silver screen. Plus, I hear it's a damn fine film. Go see it.
The movie is Welcome to Happiness. It had its second showing (and what they were calling the premiere) last night at the Chinese Theater in Hollywood. My wife got to attend, because she happened to be in LA on business. By all accounts it went very well, but sadly, I'm here in MI. Happily, I'll be in Oklahoma City next week, where it is showing at the deadCENTER Film Festival. I hope to have more news soon about where it can be seen more widely. If all goes well, it will be on streaming services soon, and hopefully playing in some theaters in NY and LA. All up in the air at this point, however. I'm not involved in the negotiations for any of that, so I just hear after the fact what happened. We'll have to have a special edition of the film club once it's available. As for what constitutes indie, I guess anything that's not financed by a major studio. That's a pretty broad definition, but even expensive movies can be indie if the studio doesn't have control of it. As for our little picture, it was very indie. All the money came from friends and family. Even the score was written and recorded by my buddy and some other friends, so that no one had to be paid for rights.
You know what would be the ultimate Hubski collaboration? A film. One or several of the brilliant writers of Hubski could put together a short script. steve or another camera junky could capture the images. Hubski actors could be in it and we musicians could put together a score. How awesome and INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off would that be?
Only way it can be better, from what I've gathered, is if there was an original soundtrack from The New Green... I think we're all having the same problem right now, which is defining the term "indie film". Maybe ThatsAFreeThinker can append the post with a definition and we can work off of that.
Well like you have all mentioned its a bit difficult to define "indie". I like where lelibertaire was going with no films produced or distributed by companies like Fox Searchlight. Just doing a quick search I think these two opinions sum up the genre well. Michael Winterbottom
John August
So basically what I am thinking is a film outside of the influence of a large/major studio. Does that seem like a reasonable guideline here?I think from the point of view of making films, I just want to make the films I want to make. In a sense that is the best definition of independent, people making the films they want to make rather than working within the studio system and making a film for the studio.
Classically, an independent film was one that was made outside of the conventional studio system, be that Hollywood, Bollywood or Pinewood. But with the rise of the “independent” labels of the major studios, such as Fox Searchlight and Paramount Vantage, that distinction is pretty much moot. Also, consider that the last three Star Wars epics were made independently (by Mr. George Lucas). Any movie with fast-food tie-ins really shouldn’t qualify, in my opinion. I’d argue that the term “independent film” should be reserved for talking about the movie itself, rather than how it was financed. There’s a reason the word “independence” so often shows up in proximity to “revolution” — a shared spirit of frustration, anarchy and apple-cart-upsetting. From their conception, independent films aren’t just made outside of the studio system. They are made in opposition to the studio system, with its relentless need to round off the corners and soften the blows. And in standing against the status quo, independent films help to change it. Of course, my proposed redefinition of independent film can’t accommodate many of today’s darling indies, which mollycoddle their audiences with a careful recipe of quirk, warmth and family dysfunction. Just the very term “indie” seems to embody that spirit of fuzzy cuteness. I would call on filmmakers to start feeding their movies after midnight, and let their vicious little monsters roar.
I'm going to pick Bottle Rocket. It introduced me to the fella that would become my favorite director.