Questions about Independent film
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What was the Motion Picture Patents Company and how did it affect independent film?
The Motion Picture Patents Company, also called the Edison Trust, was formed in 1908 as a cartel controlling all major film patents, including the patent on raw film stock. It comprised every major film company of the era plus Eastman Kodak and leading distributor George Kleine. Filmmakers refused membership were subjected to constant lawsuits and injunctions, driving many to build their own cameras and relocate to Hollywood, California to escape enforcement from Edison's New Jersey base.
When was United Artists founded and who were its original partners?
United Artists was founded in 1919 by Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith, each holding a 20% stake. The remaining 20% was held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo, former Treasury Secretary to President Woodrow Wilson. The idea originated in 1918 as the four film stars were traveling the U.S. selling Liberty bonds for the World War I effort.
What was the 1948 Paramount Decision and why did it matter for independent film?
The 1948 United States Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered Hollywood's major studios to sell their theater chains and eliminate anti-competitive practices. The ruling effectively ended the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age, in which the major studios had controlled production, distribution, and exhibition. The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers had been fighting for this outcome since its founding in 1941, filing the first antitrust suit by producers against exhibitors in 1942.
How did the Sundance Film Festival get its name and when was it officially renamed?
The festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival in 1991, taking its name from Robert Redford's role as the Sundance Kid in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It had begun as the Utah/US Film Festival in 1978, co-founded by Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison with Redford as chairperson. The Sundance Institute, which Redford and Van Wagenen helped found in 1981, took over management of the festival in 1985.
What budget did The Blair Witch Project have and how much did it gross?
The Blair Witch Project was made for approximately $60,000 and grossed over $248.6 million. The film is cited as a landmark example of how affordable digital filmmaking technology enabled independent productions to reach audiences that were previously accessible only to studio-backed films.
What role did Night of the Living Dead play in the history of independent horror film?
George A. Romero released Night of the Living Dead in 1968, in the gap between the abandonment of the Hollywood production code and the adoption of the MPAA rating system. Because of that timing, it screened without any audience restrictions, making it the first and last film of its kind to do so. It set the climate for independent horror for decades, influencing subsequent films including The Texas Chain Saw Massacre in 1974 and Cannibal Holocaust in 1980.