Speaker says plenty of demand for 'indie' films

04/02/08 - The U.S. head of Theatrical for THINKFilm, an independent cinema production company, highlighted the history of movies in a speech at the annual Graduate Student Conference Saturday.While URI graduate students dominated the presentations, there were also students from across the country and a few international presenters. Though the event was sponsored by the URI English department, the students represented a variety of disciplines including literature, feminism, music, technology and fashion.

Urman, who was producer of "Monster Ball," starring Halle Berry, and has worked on numerous other films, talked about the development of the independent film industry and its clash with mainstream cinema. Urman has also worked for Miramax, Columbia Pictures, Lionsgate, United Artists and several other film companies.

After his speech, Urman said it's not just actors or screenwriters that make a good film.

"It's the totality of the experience," Urman said. "A film can only be great if it stands the test of time. If a film continues to give year after year, generation after generation, that is a truly great film. Anything else is merely excellent."

He began his speech with an anecdote that reflected on the progression of indie films he observed throughout his career.

"Independents are getting more mainstream attention more than ever before," Urman said. "For those of us who are in the game, it's ironic and it's also surprising."

He explained that most independent producers don't expect to make a big hit with their films, and instead set out with a goal to make movies that are less "polluted" by commercialism and aimed at a smaller audience. Yet, these low budget films appear to be taking off with audiences, he said.

Urman said that indie films, which are supposed to be smaller and less lucrative than mainstream films, can make a lot of money.

"Today's low-budget director is tomorrow's superstar," Urman said.

The indie film industry began when individuals financed their own movie production, and companies would pay them for the rights and release the film. One of those companies, United Artists, hired Urman after he graduated from college. The tactic gave movie makers total control over their content, he said.

Other things that helped the indie film industry, Urman said, were the invention of Home Box Office (HBO) in 1972, which Urman called "pivotal," and the home video in 1975. Urman said HBO was crucial to the success of indie films because it was the first time people could view movies in their home and the movies were "fresh."

He also said that the new technologies were a historical pattern of movie makers having to compete with home entertainment. He said radios prompted movies to go to color and televisions in the 1950s prompted better sound quality.

Urman claimed that this pattern eventually leads to dull movies.

"Whenever [the pattern] happens, movies get big, movies get homogenized, they get dumb," Urman said.

He explained that releases got bigger, like with the 1977 release of "Star Wars: A New Hope," which Urman called a "global phenomenon." Urman said "Jaws" was another big release, and the two films were successful because they appealed to audiences everywhere.

The release of "The Godfather" was also a pivotal point in movie history, Urman said, debuting on 400 screens. The premiere was huge at the time but is modest when compared to today's blockbusters, he added.

Urman said that shortly after, cinema production companies put out several poor releases, the industry began to restructure its releasing strategy. He said his company heard of a French film that wasn't expected to be popular.

"We thought 'let's plunk it on 3rd Avenue [in New York City] and see if anybody comes to see it,'" Urman said. "It ran for 57 weeks at that same theater."

According to the THINKFilm head, 1996 was a monumental year for indie films. He said there were five Best Picture nominations at the Academy Awards, and four of the nominations were indie films, which Urman said had never happened, and no one ever expected Hollywood to "surrender" to the indie film industry.

While working at Lionsgate, Urman said he released a film called "Dogma," a Kevin Smith film, and it was the freedom of the indie industry that allowed Lionsgate to release it.

"[Dogma] was offensive to Catholics," Urman said. "And Disney has theme parks, and Catholics go to these theme parks, and there would be protests. When you're an independent, you don't have a theme park. Do I care if they protest and picket at Lionsgate? I don't care."

Urman concluded his speech by saying that technology, like Netflix, a DVD rental company that has an online, downloadable index, is allowing people to watch movies in new ways, and viewers will create demand for quality films.