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John August’s on the “death” of independent film

John August replies to Mark Gill’s LA Time’s article “The sky is falling on indie film.” In the process he discusses his independent film “The Nines,” the roll of Sundance in the indie film world, the realities, the future and other great advice for anyone wanting to distribute their small film. Some may find it not very encouraging, but you need to know what you are in for if you have any hope of becoming successful.

…There are lots of ways to criticize his logic. For starters, most Sundance movies are way under $10 million. Many are under a million. And he seems to omit a figure for how many indie films are getting a theatrical release now as opposed to three years ago.

We need to ask, “Failure for whom?” Even a movie that doesn’t earn its budget back will likely make money for its distributors, once you factor in video and TV sales. More crucially, a good indie film generates future work for its stars and filmmakers. So there’s a lot of success to be found in that 99.9% failure.

All that said, he’s kind of right.

— John August | Read The Full Article

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Tags | Distribution, Film Festivals, John August, LA Times, Mark Gill, Self Distribution, Sundance, The Nines