Lesson 10: American Independent Cinema Professor Aaron Baker

Previous Lecture Documentary -Form -History -Economic Context Born Into Brothels (2004) 2

Today’s Lecture Independent Cinema Definitions History Lone Star (1996) 3

Part I: Definitions 4

Vision More Than Profit “[Independent film] expresses the director’s personal vision rather than someone’s notion of box office success.” --Roger Ebert 5

Creative Freedom Conditions of Production/Exhibition “As few controls as possible” -- Alan Rudolph Outside Hollywood Low Budget No Interference 6 Jim Jarmusch making Ghost Dog (2000)

Radical Independence Technological (8,16 mm, Digital Video) Institutional (Communal Production) Formal (Original Ideas Not Genre) Political (Disenfranchised Not Status Quo) Economic (Vision Not Money) 7

Radical Visions 8 Stan Brakhage painting film Kenneth Anger’s Scorpio Rising (1964)

Mindset “Independent film is really a way of thinking. I used to think it was where the money comes from, but now it’s clearly about having a vision and a point of view...” -- Nancy Savoca 9

Two Definitions of Independent Film How Film Made Done, Seen Outside Corporate System Low Budget = High Degree of Creative Control The Film Itself If strong vision, originality... Can be made, distributed in corporate system-- to get done, reach audience 10

Question: Does working within the profit- based corporate system inevitably compromise the vision of the independent filmmaker? 11

Part II: History of Independent Cinema 12 John Waters’ Pink Flamingos (1972)

1970s/1980s Decline of Studio System Influence of Counter Culture Idiosyncratic Visions Valued Niche Audiences David Lynch, Eraserhead (1977) Jim Jarmusch, Stranger Than Paradise (1984) 13

Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) Steven Soderbergh Prizes at Sundance, Cannes Made $24 million in U.S. Sex in Age of AIDS Demonstrated Crossover Potential of Independent Cinema 14

Blockbuster Hollywood Starting Mid-1970s Huge Budgets Saturation Marketing/Distribution Safe Stories Global Audiences Special Effects, Action 15

Remakes/Sequels Recycling Past Success Presold Stories Frontloading 16

Mission Impossible II (2000) Sequel to Mission Impossible (1996) Tom Cruise Action/DGI Screenwriter Robert Towne: Director John Woo had action scenes he wanted story built around 17

Spectacle Lou Lumenick of the New York Post: "Check your brains at the popcorn stand and hang on for a spectacular ride.” Please view a clip from Mission Impossible II. 18

Spectacle (continued) Physical Pleasure of Action, Excitement Hero Who Saves Day Little Dialogue Little Thinking Required 19

Market for Independents Drop in Foreign Films/ 2% in 1990s Subtitles/Too Slow Home Video, DVD (25% in 1990s) 20

Popularity in 1990s Reaction to Blockbuster Dominance Real World Stories 1985 = 50; 1998 = 1000 Academy Awards 1996: 4 of 5 Nominees for Best Picture Independents 21

Star Actors John Sayles: “It never used to be hip the way that it is now to be in little independent movies. It was a signal that your career was in trouble.” 22 Bruce Willis in Pulp Fiction (1994)

Acting Skills Increases Visibility Attracts Audiences Creative Challenge as Actors Character Roles Not Star Turns 23 Harvey Keitel in The Piano (1993)

Quentin Tarentino Video Store Manager, Screenwriter Resevoir Dogs (1992) Guerilla Production Keitel, $1.5 million Budget Festivals 24

Pulp Fiction (1994) Allusion, Music, Foregrounded Narration Violence, Genre $108 Million Earnings 25

Miramax Weinstein Brothers Sex, Lies and Videotape, Pulp Fiction Good Will Hunting (1997) Distributors to Producers Recutting 26

Film Schools %, % First Time Directors Industry or Art? USC, UCLA, NYU Cost Lack of Diversity 27

Sundance Top Independent Festival Robert Redford Labs for Aspiring Filmmakers Multicultural Emphasis 28

Proven Crossover Profits Studios Set Up Indie Divisions -Disney/Miramax -Universal/Focus -Time Warner/New Line and HBO Films 29 Industry Interest Focus CEO James Schamus

Older Viewers Don’t Want Blockbusters, Adolescent Comedies Films for Adults % Audience Over 40 “Adults are quality driven, review driven, subject- matter driven” --Thomas Pollack, Former Head of Universal Pictures 30

Part III: Lone Star (1996) 31

John Sayles BA Williams College 1972 Meatpacker, Construction Worker, Nursing Home Orderly Novelist, Screenwriter Storytelling Skills 32

Sympathy for Working People Regional Realities Untold Stories of Social Conflict Please watch a clip from Lone Star. 33 Matewan (1987)

Textbook Conflict Anglos and Latinos in South Texas Social Change and Debate About History Politics and Responsibility to Others 34

Independent in Both Senses: Outsider Vision Uses Screenwriting Fees to Make Films Small Budgets Producer Maggie Renzi Politics and History 35

Social Reality Not Allusion “When people leave the theater I want them to be talking about human beings, about their lives... rather than thinking ‘Oh, that was like Citizen Kane’.” -- Sayles 36

Social Difference Multicultural America Underrepresented Groups Please watch the second clip from Lone Star. 37 Chandra Wilson in Lone Star

Colonel Payne (Joe Morton) Emphasizes pride in work and responsibility to others as a response to racial disadvantage. 38

Discussion Question Lone Star is a film about negotiating social difference. Sam and Pilar use their love to overcome it. Why does Sayles imply that their relationship may be incest? 39

40 End of Lecture 10 Next Lecture: Stars