Studios and independent film

What went wrong in the past indie cycle?

By VARIETY STAFF

"Studios came into this business and used the one-in-a-million film as the basis of their business plan."
-- Bingham Ray, prexy, creative affairs, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

"Growth in the studios' specialized divisions created a major studio approach to independent pictures, which does not work. People went to film

festivals, bought films and tried to blow them up into blockbusters, which only happens once in a blue moon. A lot of the independent pictures have not done that badly, but do not justify all of the marketing and other unnecessary costs involved."
-- Sam Goldwyn Jr., chairman & CEO, Samuel Goldwyn Co.

"I think that this summer was very reflective of the industry as a whole. Audiences want to see good movies: 'The Dark Knight,' 'Ironman,' 'Tropic Thunder' -- these are all great movies. The studios are luring great independent directors and actors into studio movies. Jon Favreau, Christopher Nolan, who got their start helming independent pictures, and great indie actor Robert Downey Jr., all were involved in this year's biggest blockbusters. The indie industry has always had great talent, and it's good to see the studios tapping into that."
-- Harvey Weinstein, co-chairman, the Weinstein Co.

"Money."
-- Mark and Michael Polish, filmmakers, "Twin Falls Idaho" (1999), "Manure" (2009), "Stay Cool" (2009)