The Circuit

The IFP's Independent Film Week kicks off today.  Conference info here.

In my articles covering the 30th anniversary of the IFP and the evolution of the Independent Feature Film Market, Ted Hope reminisced about his "The Brothers McMullen" experience, which typifies what the IFP is trying to do with its Labs and Project Forums.

"The Brothers McMullen was just another no-bud indie that everyone passed on until Michelle Byrd and the IFP agreed to screen it at their Independents' Night at Lincoln Center. 

"This was November and pre-Sundance though so Ed Burns and us had quite a dilemma: we couldn't miss such a great opportunity, but we needed to premiere it at Sundance.  Eddie had been re-cutting furiously every night when he finished work until sunrise each morning and the movie had transformed from the version all distributors were first submitted.  The film was now clearly a comedy and one of the biggest jokes came at around twelve minute mark (when Eddie's character is cutting a banana into his rice krispies discussing the windfalls of marriage).

"What to do?  Miraculously, when we screened to a packed house of indie film lovers, critics, and quite a few distribs, right after that joke, with the crowd roaring in laughter, the Walter Reade with its state-of-the-art projection had an abrupt interruption.  Technical difficulties.  We had to leave when laughter was the loudest.  That wave of support carried us all the way to Park City where the anticipation was fantastic and right to the table that night with Tom Rothman signing aboard to make "The Brothers McMullen" Fox Searchlight's first acquisition and release."

"The IFP had stepped in at the exact critical moment and gave us the opportunity to reposition the film on the top of buyer's acquisition list, and to define it to the world as what it really was: a remarkably fresh and honest comedy about romance, its pitfalls and pleasures."