Actors and Directors

Independent actors:

Lots of well know mainstream actors have independent films to thank for their rise to stardom. Take the 2008 indie film "The Hurt Locker". Jeremy Renner who was the main character was barely heard of before the film came out, but due to the overall success of the film he was nominated for both and Oscar and a BAFTA. Renner then was offered a bevy of various difference roles which he skilfully chose, such as Matt Damons replacement in the Bourne franchise, and Clint Barton (A.K.A Hawkeye) in the MARVEL cinematic universe; making himself a well know household name today.

Renner isn't the only actor who has started from indie films and made their way up to mainstream films.othe actors include: Jesse Eisenberg in "The Squid And The Whale", Ellen Page in "Juno", Matt Damon and Ben Affleck in "Good Will Hunting", Jake Gyllenhaal in "Donnie Darko", and Scarlett Johnson in "Gost World".

Of course it's not just actors that begin in the indiependant films, directors can also make there way up to the big productions. Take James June for example. He was originally a writer writting the screenplays and story's for such things as the 2002 live action Scooby Doo movie and it's 2004 sequal, Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. But in 2006 started directing indie films. He first being "Slither" (2006) which was produced by Gold Cirle Films and Strike Entertainment. The second film he directed was also and idipendant film under the name of "Super" (2010) starting Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Nathan Fillion, and Kevin Bacon. This film was very stylised and unique in the way it was written an shot. So, in 2014 Gunn was Hired my MARVEL studio and Disney to direct the summer blockbuster "Guardians Of The Galaxy". This was a huge step up for him as he was now behind a $195.6 million project compared to a $2.5 million film such as "Super". In fact the film was so good it was voted #37 on IMDBs top 100 Sci Fi films of all time and won numerous awards (44) and was nominated for 2 Oscars. Gunn is set to return for writting and directing it's 2017 sequal' "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2". This is how lots of directors get talent spotted for their new, 'Indie' ideas.

The Room A.K.A my favourite film ever

The Room. 

This is one of my all time favourite films. It's a 2003 American romantic drama. What makes this film so amazing is the man behind the magic. Tommy Wiseau. He is the director, producer, writer and main star. The film was even produced by his own company, Wiseau-films. Although this seems ambitious it did not pay off. In fact this film has been voted by many audience as the worst film of all time.  I first heard about this film back in the July of 2010 through this video http://youtu.be/Tri9i3WtXLc the video points out some of the highlights of the film including the infamous "oh hi mark" scene. What makes this film bad is...well, everything really. The writing, the story, the acting, the symbolism. What u mean by symbolism is throughout the film you see pictures of spoon in frames, Wiseau recently gave the meaning behind this and frankly, it has to been seen to be believed as it makes no damn sense at all: http://youtu.be/uZ6mdxbCHI0 

In terms of money made on this film it is unknown as the DVD copy is very difficult to acquire, even buying it on,one proves to be difficult. However due to online sharing sites and YouTube its notorious fame has spread across the world. In fact due to this sudden popularity one of Wiseau's co stars, Greg Sestero, write a book called the disaster artist recalling the production of the picture. It also reveals some thrown away sub plot points such as Johnny (Wiseau himself) actually being a vampire the entire time. 

The production of this film is actually quite tragic. Wiseau wrote it as a play originally and then adapted it into a 500 page book. Unable to get it published so started his own company and produced it himself so he could gain full control over the project. You may be wondering how he raised the money to do so, well he had to import leather jackets from Korea to do so. The production of this film never ceases to amaze me. It also never cease to amaze James Franco apparently as he is currently developing an adaption of the disaster artist in which he will play Tommy Wiseau. It will also star his brother Dave Franco and Seth Rogen. 

So despite The Room being a massive failure and a complete flop, it has gained a huge cult following which only great independent films can do.

indie Prodiction Companies

Miramax:

Miramax is an high budget independent film making company. The headquarters is located in Santa Monica, California and is controlled by Bob and Harvey Weinstein. The Weinstein brothers founded the company 36 years ago back in 1979. Some films they have produced include: Sin City: A Dame To Kill for, Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas, Pulp Fiction, The Aviator and Kill Bill vol 2. In '93 it was bought by Disney for $60,000,000. Disney really changed Miramax and dramatically changed what it could release such as Fahrenheit 9/11 and Dogma. As well as producing films they also distribute foreign films such as, "City Of God" and "Amélie" which both have become very popular with audiences around the world. All in all Miramax 278 Academy Award Nominations, 68 Academy awards and 4 best pictures. 

Falcon Films:

Falcon films is a very low budget independent film making company specialising in video and theatrical video distributions in the Middle East and North Africa. Unlike Miramax the headquarters is in Cairo street, Lebanon. Some of there films include Suite Française, Paris and Oliver's Deal. None of the films above are particularly well know because they're are very low budget for modern day movies, so there for the quality is poor. In fact one of their films (suit Française) was accused of being sympathetic to Nazis.  

 I would like to analyse one last company simply to examine the one film they did that made them money. The company is F.D Cinematografica and the film is titled, "Cannibal Holocaust". This film came under heavy scrutiny from US police as the scenes in the film were so gruesome the director was sent to court as it was believe he had actually murdered his cast, despite them all being fine. This resulted in the $100,000 budgeted film resulting in a $2,000,000 box office. This shows us that no matter how much money was put into making a film, if the content is quality and time and effort was spent doing it, the result will pay off. 

Independent film examples

Grand Budapest Hotel:

This indie film was released in 2014 and was directed by Wes Anderson. It had an all star cast including: Bill Murray, Adrian Brody, Edward Norton, léa Seydoux, Jude Law, Owen Wilson and Ralph Fiennes as Gustave. H. The film was produced by serval small independent company's such as American Empirical Pictures, Indian Paintbrush, Bablesberg Studios, TSG Entertainment; but was distributed by FOX searchlight Pictures. The film is about a legendary hotel concierge and his adventures through the first and Second World War in the fictional republic of Zubrowka. The picture itself won 118 adwards and was  nominated for 198 other awards. The thing that makes the film so good is that it is unique. It is filmed in such a way that is asthetically pleasing to an audience. The colours are bright, the sets are big and the camera remains still and focuses and does not involve "shaky cam". The script and screen play (also written by Anderson) are very well written it is endlessly quotable. Every single micro and macro element of he film is perfect. Personally I could watch the film over and over and you can tell the actors enjoy the roles and have fun with it.

Notes to take for this particular film include:
~Colour
~Cinematogrphy
~Script
~Story

 Birdman:

Again anouther 2014 release but directed by Alejandro G. Iñárritu. This stars Edward Norton, Emama Stone, Zach Galifianakis, Naomi Watts, and Michael Keaton as Birdman. Again, like Budapest this film was produced by several company's such as Regency Enrerprises, New Regency Pictures, M Productions, TSG Entertainment and Worldwide Entertainment; the film was also distributed by FOX Searchlight Pictures. The film is based around an actor who is typecast as a superhero character he used to play, tries to gain some credibility for "respected" acting by staging a show on Broadway. The picture 167 awards and was nominated for 238 awards. What makes this film special is it's different type of cinematography. The scenes are never cut, and is if the 2hour long film is one continuous shot. Unlike Grand Budapest the colour is dark and not as bright, in fact shows Broadway as a dirty, confound, unglamorous place. Shaky cam is also extremely noticeable in the film as it help aids the audiences understanding that we are supposed to feel like we are following the actors. The main thing to take away from this is the cinematography as it is totally unique to this film.

Halloween:

This is a 1978 release directed by John Carpenter. Unlike the previous two films we've looked at the budget was significantly less. This film having $325,000 whereas films like Birdman having a budget of $18 million. It was produced by Falcon International Productions and Distributed by Compass International pictures. It also doesn't have an all star cast. But the thing that makes this film a memorable and decent independent film is the memorable character of Michael Myer/ The shape played by Nick Castle. Michael Myers is now one the most iconic horror and film character to date, with the Halloween franchise spawning many sequels, prequels and remakes. If we were to take anything a way from this film as research it is that we need a strong, memorable character that can be recognised by anyone.