April 22, 1997

1997 is truly the year for indie-cinema. Slingblade, Secrets & Lies, Breaking the Waves, and Fargo all received nods from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Like the Seattle music scene a few years ago (as depicted in the hotly buzzed indie-documentary Hype), Indie-film is slapping people in the face and forcing them to take notice. And like our long-haired, angst-ridden, suburban-bred friends of the not-too-distant past, Indie-film will be co-opted by the corporate giants, hyped beyond repair, and tossed to the wayside like Pearl Jam's last CD.

Last year, The Sundance Film Festival, the premiere festival for discovering indie-films, drew heavy criticism for its commercially-friendly, non-threatening, and uninspired programming geared more toward distributors than film lovers.

Miramax Films is owned by Disney. Gramercy is owned by Polygram. Fox Searchlight is 20th Century Fox's "boutique distributor." Sony Pictures Classics is owned by ... well take a guess. Even died-in-the-wool indie October Films is rumored to be working out a deal to become Universal Studios' "indie-arm." And the biggest complaint about this year's Sundance Film Festival? You guessed it... not enough "commercial films" were in the competition.

And it's not just happening with distributors. A few weeks ago, there were seven art-films playing in Orlando. Seven art-films playing in a city that is classified as a "C" market, in a state where the largest metropolis, Miami, is a "B," not even an "A" market! "Great," you say, "more choices for me, the informed moviegoer." And for now, you're right. AMC, General Cinema, and other multiplexes are happy to show "small" films as long as they draw large audiences. But let's look behind the scenes.

Before all the brouhaha over independent films, art-houses had a simple equation for booking films: Grab a monster indie-hit like Emma, run it for 4-6 weeks, fill the bank account, and then watch the numbers slowly dwindle back to zero as the theater played smaller, but important (and usually much better) films such as Heavy, The White Balloon, Welcome to the Dollhouse, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, etc. Then grab another hit like Secrets & Lies, fill the bank account, and start all over again. For the most part, it worked. Some people would complain about the hits because they hogged up the screen for so many weeks and they felt theaters were just going for big money.

First of all, a huge gross for an indie-film is roughly equivalent to what Hollywood would call "a disappointment" for one of their films. Most people own or work for art cinemas for the love of movies - it's definitely NOT a way to get rich! Secondly, bills must be paid, and while many people will work cheap for the love of film, nobody will work for free. But now the multiplexes are getting in on the game. They want to book Emma, Slingblade, and Secrets & Lies. That's all good and fun, but how many of you think they'll turn that money back into a booking for The Daytrippers or La Ceremonie?

Michael Monello When not writing checks to Visa for the independent feature film they helped him co-produce, he can be found buying CD's from Park Avenue CD's or Bad Mood Records, renting videos from College Park Video, or shooting pool at Copper Rocket, Will's Pub, or Kit Kat Klub. He refuses to rent videos (or buy music) from Blockbuster. Other Articles I've Written