Yes, some divisions - the "indiewood" ones - of Hollywood may be in trouble, as Mark Gill spoke of in his recent speech; but, the list of problems don't really affect real indie filmmakers. See the indieWIRE article for Gill's list of woes in their full & original version; I'll just offer a brief version of each "sky is falling" item & my brief thoughts about each as it relates to real indie film:
1: Re: Picturehouse and Warner Independent closing
That's an indiewood thing, does not affect real indie filmmaking & distribution.
2: Re: New Line's staff cut
Again, an indiewood thing.
8: Re: 5000 movies got made last year, 603 released theatrically
That's cool. There is always space for more. Real indie films mostly screen at festivals or DIY screenings at alternative spaces or at theaters that are slanted towards real indie stuff. Hollywood theaters having too many Hollywood & indiewood movies to show is not a problem for real indie filmmakers.
9. Re: rising advertising costs
We have blogs.
10: Re: other entertainment options
That's cool. People looking for good movies will still find them.
11: Re: most American independent films not selling well overseas.
That's cool. There's 300 MILLION people here in America - that's a lot of people. Just 10,000 or so customers can make a real indie film a financial success.
The sky is not falling for real indie filmmakers. There is no sky/limit/limitations that can hold real indie filmmakers back at this point (all you need is a day job for $s + a DV camera + time). People have been making off-Hollywood, actual indie films under much tougher conditions for decades. Now is a great time to be a real indie filmmaker; the Hollywood & indiewood people will find other things to do if & when their biz model becomes outdated, no doubt (and I think they are a little bit paranoid at the moment, as long as theft/illegal DVDs & downloading is curbed, H-wood should continue to be a popular & profitable business; lots of people in this world have loved Hollywood movies for close to a hundred years).
Hollywood & indiewood are not necessary for making & showing/selling movies. Even if those two elements of the entertainment economy close down, there will still be movies made & shown by people - specially by people who, at the moment, are driven to make movies even when they are far outside of Hollywood - yeah, the real indie types. So, no worries. The sky is just fine for us.
- Sujewa
1: Re: Picturehouse and Warner Independent closing
That's an indiewood thing, does not affect real indie filmmaking & distribution.
2: Re: New Line's staff cut
Again, an indiewood thing.
3: Re: Paramount Vantage
Another indiewood thing.
4: Re: Sidney Kimmel
Another indiewood thing (i think, not too familiar with SK).
5: Re: ThinkFilm's financial troubles, lawsuits, etc.
Now we are bordering on the real indie world. Hopefully Think & filmmakers, vendors will work out their problems (meaning people owed money will get paid eventually).
6: Re: Another five companies in financial trouble
Which companies? More indiewood places?
7: Re: Wall Street money to Hollywood drying up
That's a Hollywood problem. Not relevant to real indie filmmakers. Actually, Hollywood only focusing on the tent pole movies, etc. will be good for real indie filmmakers - the smaller/character driven movies for grown ups will be made by off-Hollywood filmmakers when Hollywood no longer wants to make & sell those.8: Re: 5000 movies got made last year, 603 released theatrically
That's cool. There is always space for more. Real indie films mostly screen at festivals or DIY screenings at alternative spaces or at theaters that are slanted towards real indie stuff. Hollywood theaters having too many Hollywood & indiewood movies to show is not a problem for real indie filmmakers.
9. Re: rising advertising costs
We have blogs.
10: Re: other entertainment options
That's cool. People looking for good movies will still find them.
11: Re: most American independent films not selling well overseas.
That's cool. There's 300 MILLION people here in America - that's a lot of people. Just 10,000 or so customers can make a real indie film a financial success.
12: Re: indie film financiers exiting the business
That's cool, most real indie films are mostly self-funded anyway.
13: Re: the rising cost of theatrically releasing a movie
Most real indie films don't get a theatrical release, they get festivals, other screenings, & then on to DVD, etc.
So, real indie filmmakers, don't worry about people whose biz model is based on Hollywood freaking out about changes; grab your MiniDV camera, grab some talented & underemployed actors, write that great & or very interesting script, shoot your movie for somewhere between nothing and $10K or so, submit to festivals, do other screenings, sell DVDs, be happy, & repeat.The sky is not falling for real indie filmmakers. There is no sky/limit/limitations that can hold real indie filmmakers back at this point (all you need is a day job for $s + a DV camera + time). People have been making off-Hollywood, actual indie films under much tougher conditions for decades. Now is a great time to be a real indie filmmaker; the Hollywood & indiewood people will find other things to do if & when their biz model becomes outdated, no doubt (and I think they are a little bit paranoid at the moment, as long as theft/illegal DVDs & downloading is curbed, H-wood should continue to be a popular & profitable business; lots of people in this world have loved Hollywood movies for close to a hundred years).
Hollywood & indiewood are not necessary for making & showing/selling movies. Even if those two elements of the entertainment economy close down, there will still be movies made & shown by people - specially by people who, at the moment, are driven to make movies even when they are far outside of Hollywood - yeah, the real indie types. So, no worries. The sky is just fine for us.
- Sujewa
