American Film Market 2008, Day 8

Well most of the office doors are now closed, and the movie posters and promotional ads have been removed from the walls of The Loews Hotel, most of the foot traffic from the 2008 American Film Market have gone away, only a few days ago it seemed a bustling business mart, it is now only seeing a handful of market attendees still trying to work in that last bit of networking magic. As we stroll through the quiet halls of the two hotels, it now seems like a ghost-town, even the pool is drained and closed, only a few remaining offices are still even open. It has been an exhaustive week in the Hollywood film scene. The hotel maintenance staff are seen throughout the building dismantling various wide screen televisions and advertising props, the maid services are now cleaning out all of the empty rooms that only days ago housed bustling Indie Film Enterprises.

The most vibrant part of this last day was in the lobby’s lounge, we managed to scoop up some filmmakers and Industry professionals still hanging around the market for some informative audio interviews about their take on this years market (which we will soon have on the site), we managed to talk with Casey Evans and Director Brad Jurgens (The Bank Job) from Indie Film Company Tavix Pictures, about their successes at the 2008 American Film Market, and about thier new film Hit and Run Starring Micheal Madsen. It seems mixed results for Independent film folks at this year’s market, for some people the outing proved a successful one, but for some, the meat market proved not so beneficial. For those folks, they will have to go back to the round table, tighten up their arsenal, and come back next year with a bigger bang. Overall we think it was a moderate year, many downs, but surprisingly quite a few ups, new industry trends on the way, new innovations in digital distribution and digital projection, and somewhat of a bright future for films of good caliber. Seems though indeed on an international level, money was truly tight this year,  but many Distributors were still acquiring quality product to fill their own ever expansive content requirements, and in our next blog entries, we will assess the results of the 2008 American Film Market as a whole, and look at some of the hitters and missers of the market and also talk more in depth about some of the deals that went down, the new trends, the new films and the new companies that are making some noise in the Indie Film Scene.

American Film Market 2008, Day 7

November 11Th, 2008, the seventh day of The American Film Market, much has quieted down since the earlier days of the market, now most of the traffic has dispersed, there is still a modest amount of people still networking, we brushed passed a few notable faces, but most people either are just trying to clamor in the last of their meetings or just passing through. We spoke to a guy from a German Distribution Company, they were mostly interested in just Theatrical Star Powered pieces, we also came across an India based distributor, primarily saying the same thing. Seems there was no lack of decent or quasi-decent product, but maybe a lack of star-power within the product, which, at least for now, seems to be the key factor for securing a successful distribution deal.

We hope from seeing the prospects of the vast creative world of Independent Cinema, that more notable actors seeing this diversity and richness in the material, will work more closely with these Independent works, not only to help diversify their portfolio and impact cinema in new and creative ways, but to possibly help in the recognition and awareness of these great new ideas, style, talent and opportunities.

Many films at The 2008 American Film Market did have some star-power attached, but it seems like with the state of the world economy,  and the aggressive marketing culture of the Studio System, it really came down to the biggest stars for distributors to bite. We overheard in the stairways and elevators some modest deals being met, and many foreign buyers snatched up key product, but on a whole, spending was slim, we even spoke to a buyer from one of the Asian markets earlier in the week, we interviewed him, he told us about one of the films he purchased at this years event, and why he purchased it.

(Exclusive Interview will be available at www.TheIndependentReporter.com)

We didn’t spot any celebrities today, and the mood has worned down a bit, as people are leaving, but the weather was nice, so we just hanged out by the pool and looked at the ocean,  thinking of new plans and strategies to unleash onto the world, in the name of Art, Reporting and in the name of Independent Cinema.

American Film Market 2008, Day 6

November 10Th 2008, reporting from Santa Monica, California, at the 2008 American Film Market, overall, the market has seen slightly lesser crowds from last year, and slightly more unhappier faces. From walking around the corridors in The Loews Hotel and Le Merigot Hotel, and visiting all of the offices of various International production companies and distributors, we witnessed a vast presentation of thousands of titles, but little movement for acquisitions from distribution entities. Anyhow, it seems like  a better selection of films from last year though,  where it seemed the market was overwhelmed with primarily Horror and Gore movies. There were lots of cool animated feature film projects this year, and a nice variety of Action/Thriller-esce films. There was a slight presence of some new and innovative ideas in the distribution process itself, even our own presence garnered well respected attention. A few new distribution opportunities in new media, which encompasses such things as on-line distribution and video on demand were in sight.

As far as movie deals, we have not garnered all the necessary information to provide you with the data yet, but we will update this site often, so stay tuned.  From roaming the reasonably filled hallways, and trying to glance over all of the badges, it seems that probably the very best deals were at the top tier level of the industry, and did not quite have so much the trinkle down effect. Seems the presence of the many Independent Films that were in competition seem to offset the few distribution opportubities that were there. There was a slight beefy presence of International product and distribution entities, but many 2008 AFM players were still left on the bench, still awaiting to be called to the plate by that great distribution deal waiting to happen, but it seems like more and more, distributors are tightening their line-up and not taking any risks.

And by risks, we mean star power, the business of Hollywood seems once again, and especially in these tough economical times, to be more and more relying on what it knows best.

And speaking of star, we spotted Terry O’Quinn, one of the stars of the Hit Television Series ”Lost”, on the coffee line trying to decompress and get some Joe.  We managed to get a video interview with Terry, talking about his early days in the industry as an actor, his new successes on Lost, and his new Feature Film Project to be shot in Ireland.

(Exclusive Interview will be soon available on our site www.TheIndependentReporter.com)

After lounging in the comfortable leather seats alongside the huge windows in the back, that over looks Santa Monica Pier, www.TheIndependentReporter.com cameraman, Benjamin J. Stern notices what looks to be Kevin Sorbo of Hercules Fame.  A little later Oscar Award Winner Adrian Brody was spotted in the lobby.

After a day of hard pressed networking and our own pitching of ideas, we are winding it down, we notice many actors and actresses networking and selling themselves, we even managed to take a few headshots, and who knows, maybe we might be doing an interview with them next. Overall, the past 5 days was filled with the conventional twitter and buzz that usually befalls the event, but on the 6Th day of the event, most deals, if any, have been met and a few companies are preparing to exit. The influx of half-festival badges and day-badges start to take prominence and what is left of the remnants of vast new networking opportunities will soon be chewed away by the new waves of market goers. 

The industry as a whole may be in need of a change, and new great ideas in Independent Film and Distribution seems to be feverishly lurking amongst the horizon, but some would say The Hollywood System would like to keep them there, and they have a road block on these new ideas, mostly because they will probably also eliminate some of the profits and benefits associated with their standards. This is one of the reasons why we gave birth to The Independent Reporter, to have some what of an alternative voice for these new innovations. We managed to Interview the Godfather of Independent Cinema and Independent Film Distribution, Lloyd Kaufman, founder of Troma Films, Lloyd is now the president of The American Film Market. Lloyd spent decades producing and distributing his own line of Independent Films, so we spoke to him to gather some insights into the state and future of Troma Films and Independent Films in general.

(Exclusive Interview will soon be available on www.TheIndependentReporter.com)

The Independent Reporter

Welcome to www.theindependentreport.wordpress.com. This is the first post from our newly minted company www.TheIndependentReporter.com, a new on-line guide for Independent Cinema. The official website is not even up yet, but we are glad to be sharing with you much news and information on Independent Cinema and the artist’s of Independent Cinema through this blog. We are focused on reporting news and information on relevant new (and sometimes Classic) Independent Films.

 The huge conglomerates of the old studio system, many times often fail to produce innovative and constructive films, but there are some Independent Producers who produce these films Independently of the Studio System, because they have a great passion for the story, and a need to tell it. These films (oftentimes get produced with little or no resources) are left out of the public’s grasp, they often go unnoticed and are sometimes forgotten about. Sadly, some of these films often have greater impacts on the human spirit and psyche, and also will showcase more in creativity and diversity than a typical Hollywood spectacle. 

Many great Independent films are left out in the cold, and the impacts of these films can not be felt by the people who really need to see them, many of these films lack proper distribution and marketing, and many times the filmmakers get left unrecognized and have a hard time producing more great work. Instead the people are over saturated with the same old recycled content from day in and day out.

 The Independent Reporter is dedicated to showcasing news and information dedicated to great Independent Films, and the people who make them. Films that may not have had the 80 million dollar budget, but may as well leave an imprint on you, and inspire you, and we think you should know about them.