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132-512: The Splat Pack is a group of independent filmmakers who, since 2002, have directed, written and produced horror films which are notable for their low budgets and extreme violence. The term was coined by Alan Jones of Total Film . The group has been credited with bringing back ultra-violent movies, moving away from PG-13 rated movies and into the R-rated spectrum, all while operating with low budgets. The members have met opposition from

264-594: A Chicago-based syndicate led by shady dealers without motion picture experience. The deal fell through, so Hughes was back in charge when the RKO theater chain was finally sold off as mandated in 1953. That year, General Tire and Rubber Company, which was expanding its small, decade-old broadcasting division, approached Hughes concerning the availability of RKO's film library for programming. Hughes acquired near-complete ownership of RKO Pictures in December 1954 and consummated

396-418: A backer-distributor, financing independent productions and releasing their films. The studio system was challenged under the antitrust laws in a 1948 Supreme Court ruling which sought to separate production from the distribution and exhibition and ended such practices, thereby hastening the end of the studio system. By 1954, with television competing for audience and the last of the operational links between

528-423: A big boost to the then midsized Warner Bros. studio. The following year saw both the general introduction of sound throughout the industry and two more smashes for Warners: The Singing Fool , The Jazz Singer' s even more profitable follow-up, and Hollywood's first "all-talking" feature, Lights of New York . Just as significant were a number of offscreen developments. Warner Bros., now flush with income, acquired

660-424: A big budget adaptation of Frank Herbert 's science fiction novel Dune for Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis 's De Laurentiis Entertainment Group , on the condition that the company release a second Lynch project, over which the director would have complete creative control. Although De Laurentiis hoped it would be the next Star Wars , Lynch's Dune (1984) was a critical and commercial flop, grossing

792-410: A billion-dollar deal, acquired New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features , and Castle Rock Entertainment in 1994. The acquisitions proved to be a good move for Turner Broadcasting as New Line released The Mask and Dumb & Dumber , Castle Rock released The Shawshank Redemption , and Miramax released Pulp Fiction , all in 1994. The acquisitions of the smaller studios by conglomerate Hollywood

924-475: A built-in national rating, in order to avoid presenting movies to inappropriately young audiences. Following the advent of television and the Paramount Case , the major studios attempted to lure audiences with spectacle. Widescreen processes and technical improvements, such as Cinemascope , stereo sound, 3-D and others, were developed in an attempt to retain the dwindling audience by giving them

1056-459: A centralized archive. Founded in 1962 by Jonas Mekas , Stan Brakhage , Shirley Clarke , Gregory Markopoulos , and others, the Cooperative provided an important outlet for many of cinema's creative luminaries in the 1960s, including Jack Smith and Andy Warhol . When he returned to America, Ken Anger would debut many of his most important works there. Mekas and Brakhage would go on to found

1188-481: A costly distribution system or concede defeat. The veteran producer Joseph Schenck was hired as president. Not only had he been producing pictures for a decade, but he brought along commitments for films starring his wife, Norma Talmadge , his sister-in-law, Constance Talmadge , and his brother-in-law, Buster Keaton . Contracts were signed with a number of independent producers, especially Samuel Goldwyn , Howard Hughes and later Alexander Korda . Schenck also formed

1320-490: A crowd of like-minded avant-garde filmmakers who were interested in creating films as works of art rather than entertainment. Based upon a common belief that the "official cinema" was "running out of breath" and had become "morally corrupt, aesthetically obsolete, thematically superficial, [and] temperamentally boring", this new crop of independents formed The Film-Makers' Cooperative , an artist-run, non-profit organization which they would use to distribute their films through

1452-482: A decade. Unlike the former, John Waters released most of his films during his early life through his own production company, Dreamland Productions . In the early 1980s, New Line Cinema agreed to work with him on Polyester (1981). During the 1980s, Waters would become a pillar of the New York–based independent film movement known as the " Cinema of Transgression ", a term coined by Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe

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1584-639: A distributor and small production company owned by Joseph P. Kennedy , father of future president John F. Kennedy . In October, through a set of stock transfers, RCA gained control of both FBO and the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chain; merging them into a single venture, it created the Radio-Keith-Orpheum Corporation, Sarnoff chairing the board. With RKO and Warner Bros. (soon to become Warner Bros.–First National) joining Fox, Paramount, and Loew's/MGM as major players,

1716-505: A fellow studio convert, George Lucas , a fan of Eraserhead and now the darling of the studios, offered Lynch the opportunity to direct his next Star Wars sequel, Return of the Jedi (1983). However, Lynch had seen what had happened to Lucas and his comrades in arms after their failed attempt to do away with the studio system. He refused the opportunity, stating that he would rather work on his own projects. Lynch instead chose to direct

1848-546: A few dozen or possibly a few hundred screens in select urban markets. Films like these usually cost less than $ 10 million, but frequently less than $ 5 million, with small marketing budgets that escalate if and when a particular film performs. The independent film industry exists globally. Many of the most prestigious film festivals are hosted in various cities around the world. The Berlin International Film Festival attracts over 130 countries, making it

1980-405: A larger-than-life experience. The 1950s and early 1960s saw a Hollywood dominated by musicals, historical epics, and other films which benefited from these advances. This proved commercially viable during most of the 1950s. However, by the late 1960s, audience share was dwindling at an alarming rate. Several costly flops, including Cleopatra (1963) and Hello, Dolly! (1969) put severe strain on

2112-478: A loose-knit group of like-minded New York artists using shock value and humor in their Super 8 mm films and video art . Other key players in this movement included Kembra Pfahler , Casandra Stark , Beth B , Tommy Turner, Richard Kern and Lydia Lunch . Rallying around such institutions as the Film-Makers' Cooperative and Anthology Film Archives, this new generation of independents devoted themselves to

2244-497: A mainstream film production if it has the necessary funding and distribution. In 1908, the Motion Picture Patents Company or "Edison Trust" was formed as a trust . The Trust was a cartel that held a monopoly on film production and distribution comprising all the major film companies of the time ( Edison , Biograph , Vitagraph , Essanay , Selig , Lubin , Kalem , American Star , American Pathé ),

2376-493: A major production studio and theater chain broken, the historic era of the studio system was over. The years 1927 and 1928 are generally seen as the beginning of Hollywood's Golden Age and the final major steps in establishing studio system control of the American film business. The success of 1927's The Jazz Singer , the first feature-length " talkie " (in fact, the majority of its scenes did not have live-recorded sound) gave

2508-526: A mere $ 27.4 million domestically against a $ 45 million budget. De Laurentiis, furious that the film had been a commercial disaster, was then forced to produce any film Lynch desired. He offered Lynch only $ 6 million in order to minimize the risk if the film had failed to recoup its costs; however, the film, Blue Velvet (1986), was a resounding success, earning him another Academy Award for Best Director nod. Lynch subsequently returned to independent filmmaking, and did not work with another major studio for over

2640-543: A movie and look at the smiling face of a baby and forget his troubles". By 1939 there were 15,000 movie theaters in the United States, more than banks; the number of theaters per capita was twice that of the mid-1980s. The cinema industry was larger than that for office machines. While only the 14th largest by revenue, it was second in the percentage of profits that its executives received. Top stars such as Bing Crosby and Claudette Colbert were paid more than $ 400,000

2772-651: A number of filmmakers responded by building their own cameras and moving their operations to Hollywood, California , where the distance from Edison's home base of New Jersey made it more difficult for the MPPC to enforce its patents. The Edison Trust was soon ended by two decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States : one in 1912, which canceled the patent on raw film, and a second in 1915, which cancelled all MPPC patents. Though these decisions succeeded at legalizing independent film, they would do little to remedy

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2904-450: A number of young film makers began to experiment with transgression not as a box-office draw, but as an artistic act . Directors such as John Waters and David Lynch would make a name for themselves by the early 1970s for the bizarre and often disturbing imagery which characterized their films. When Lynch's first feature film, Eraserhead (1977), brought Lynch to the attention of producer Mel Brooks , he soon found himself in charge of

3036-456: A percentage of profit instead of a salary—became a status symbol for stars. A top actor could expect 50% of profit, with a minimum guarantee, or 10% of gross revenue. Cary Grant , for example, received more than $ 700,000 (equivalent to $ 6.2 million in 2023) from his 10% of the gross for To Catch a Thief (1955), while director and producer Alfred Hitchcock received less than $ 50,000. In one extreme case, Paramount promised Marlon Brando 75% of

3168-519: A percentage of the film's profits, rather than in a guaranteed salary as in the past. This is most notable among the top stars. Most actors became freelancers after the end of the studio system. Financial backers increasingly demanded star actors, directors, and writers for projects to reduce risk of failure. The growing importance of the overseas market—40 to 50% of Hollywood's total revenue by 1957—also emphasized stars' names as box-office attractions. With their new power, "working for nothing"—receiving

3300-623: A result of the falling cost of technology to make, edit and digitally distribute films, filmmaking is more widely accessible than ever before. Full-length films are often showcased at film festivals such as the Sundance Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, South by Southwest Festival, Raindance Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Palm Springs Film Festival. Award winners from these exhibitions are more likely to get picked up for distribution by major film distributors. Film festivals and screenings like these are just one of

3432-502: A retrospective on the studio system, "It wasn't good entertainment and it wasn't art, and most of the movies produced had a uniform mediocrity, but they were also uniformly profitable ... The million-dollar mediocrity was the very backbone of Hollywood." On May 4, 1948, in a federal antitrust suit known as the Paramount case brought against the entire Big Five, the U.S. Supreme Court specifically outlawed block booking. Holding that

3564-479: A sale with General Tire for the entire studio the following summer. The new owners quickly made some of their money back by selling the TV rights for the library they treasured to C&C Television Corp., a beverage company subsidiary. (RKO retained the rights for the few TV stations General Tire had brought along.) Under the deal, the films were stripped of their RKO identity before being sent by C&C to local stations;

3696-508: A separate partnership with Pickford and Chaplin to buy and build theaters under the United Artists name. Still, even with a broadening of the company, UA struggled. The coming of sound ended the careers of Pickford and Fairbanks. Chaplin, rich enough to do what he pleased, worked only occasionally. Schenck resigned in 1933 to organize a new company with Darryl F. Zanuck , Twentieth Century Pictures , which soon provided four pictures

3828-481: A similar consent decree the following February. The studio, which had fought against divorcement for so long, became the first of the majors to break up, ahead of schedule, finalizing divestiture on December 31, 1949. By this time, there were 19,000 movie theaters in the United States. Through Hughes's deal with the federal authorities, and those by the other studios that soon followed, the studio system lingered on for another half-decade. The major studio that adapted to

3960-581: A studio's ability to package and release their work. This table lists the companies active in late 1935 illustrates the categories commonly used to characterize the Hollywood system. The studio system quickly became so powerful that some filmmakers once again sought independence. On May 24, 1916, the Lincoln Motion Picture Company was formed, the first movie studio owned and controlled by independent filmmakers. In 1919, four of

4092-569: A studio; unlike UA, it barely owned its old movies and saw no profit in the making of new ones. In 1959 it abandoned the movie business entirely. While the studio system is largely identified as an American phenomenon, film production companies in other countries did at times achieve and maintain full integration in a manner similar to Hollywood's Big Five. As historian James Chapman describes, In Britain, only two companies ever achieved full vertical integration (the Rank Organization and

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4224-515: A vacant lot near Georgia Street in downtown Los Angeles . While there, the company decided to explore new territories, traveling several miles north to Hollywood , a little village that was friendly and positive about the movie company filming there. Griffith then filmed the first movie ever shot in Hollywood, In Old California , a Biograph melodrama about California in the 1800s, while it belonged to Mexico. Griffith stayed there for months and made several films before returning to New York. During

4356-429: A variety of reasons: if they truly believe in the message of the film, they feel indebted to a filmmaker for a career break; their career is otherwise stalled, or they feel unable to manage a more significant commitment to a studio film; the film offers an opportunity to showcase a talent that has not gained traction in the studio system; or simply because they want to work with a particular director they admire. Examples of

4488-403: A year ($ 8,761,722 today ). One of the techniques used to support the studio system was block booking , a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Such a unit—five films was the standard practice for most of the 1940s—typically included only one particularly outstanding film, the rest a mix of A-budget pictures of lesser quality and B movies. As Life magazine wrote in 1957 in

4620-557: A year later. From 1990 to 1995, New Hollywood turned into more of a conglomerate Hollywood and quickly dominating the entire global entertainment industry. Today, two of the five vertically integrated Golden Age majors (Paramount and Warner Bros.), continue to exist as major Hollywood studio entities along with major-minor Universal and Sony Pictures (formed by a merger between Columbia and TriStar), all of which were taken over by many different companies that were acquired by and merged with larger media conglomerates. Furthermore, in 1986,

4752-403: A year to UA's schedule. He was replaced as president by sales manager Al Lichtman who himself resigned after only a few months. Pickford produced a few films, and at various times Goldwyn, Korda, Walt Disney , Walter Wanger , and David O. Selznick were made "producing partners" (i.e., sharing in the profits), but ownership still rested with the founders. As the years passed and the dynamics of

4884-478: Is also more of a push from EU National governments to fund all aspects of the arts, including film. The European Commission for Culture has an Audiovisual sector, for example, whose role is most notably to help distribute and promote films and festivals across Europe. Additionally, the Commission organizes policymaking, research, and reporting on "media literacy" and "digital distribution." As with other media,

5016-410: Is said to have observed, "The inmates are taking over the asylum." The four partners, with advice from McAdoo (son-in-law and former Treasury Secretary of then-President Woodrow Wilson ), formed their distribution company, with Hiram Abrams as its first managing director. The original terms called for Pickford, Fairbanks, Griffith, and Chaplin to independently produce five pictures each year, but by

5148-436: Is to make a million-dollar mediocrity. One of these you can lose not only your total investment but your total shirt." By that year Hollywood was only making about 300 feature films a year, compared to about 700 during the 1920s. Darryl F. Zanuck , head of 20th Century Fox, had no direct involvement with the studio from 1956 to 1962, and Louis B. Mayer , sacked in 1951 from MGM, died in 1957. Harry Cohn of Columbia, who died

5280-537: The MPAA board over the content of their work, but nevertheless continue to find box-office success. In 2010, a documentary film on the Splat Pack was made featuring interviews with members Alexandre Aja, Adam Green, Eli Roth, Darren Lynn Bousman, Neil Marshall, and Greg McLean. Independent filmmakers It is not unusual for well-known actors who are cast in independent features to take substantial pay cuts for

5412-546: The de facto ban on small productions; the independent filmmakers who had fled to Southern California during the enforcement of the trust had already laid the groundwork for the studio system of classical Hollywood cinema . In early 1910, director D.W. Griffith was sent by the Biograph Company to the west coast with his acting troupe, consisting of performers Blanche Sweet , Lillian Gish , Mary Pickford , Lionel Barrymore , and others. They began filming on

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5544-648: The American Civil Liberties Union . Following on the heels of Easy Rider shortly afterward was the revived United Artists' Midnight Cowboy (also 1969), which, like Easy Rider , took numerous cues from Kenneth Anger and his influences in the French New Wave. It became the first and only X rated film to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. Midnight Cowboy also held the distinction of featuring cameo roles by many of

5676-555: The Anthology Film Archives in 1970, which would likewise prove essential to the development and preservation of independent films, even to this day. Not all low-budget films existed as non-commercial art ventures. The success of films like Little Fugitive , which had been made with low (or sometimes non-existent ) budgets encouraged a huge boom in popularity for non-studio films. Low-budget film making promised exponentially greater returns (in terms of percentages) if

5808-541: The Associated British Picture Corporation ). Other countries where some level of vertical integration occurred were Germany during the 1920s (Universum Film Aktiengesellschaft, or Ufa ), France during the 1930s ( Gaumont -Franco-Film-Aubert and Pathé -Natan) and Japan ( Nikkatsu , Shochiku and Toho ). In Hong Kong, Shaw Brothers adopted the studio system for its wuxia films throughout the 1950s-'60s. India, which represents perhaps

5940-491: The Big Five that would remain for thirty years were now in place. Although RKO was an exception, the heads of studios on the west coast, the 'movie moguls', had mostly been in place for some years: Louis B. Mayer at MGM, Jack L. Warner at Warner Bros., Adolph Zukor at Paramount, William Fox and Darryl F. Zanuck (at 20th Century Fox from 1935), Carl Laemmle at Universal, and Harry Cohn at Columbia. The ranking of

6072-617: The Mirisch brothers, Billy Wilder , Joseph E. Levine and others. By the late 1950s, RKO had ceased film production, and the remaining four of the big five had recognized that they did not know how to reach the youth audience. In an attempt to capture this audience, the Studios hired a host of young filmmakers (many of whom were mentored by Roger Corman ) and allowed them to make their films with relatively little studio control. Warner Brothers offered first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of

6204-403: The Paramount suit had originally been filed on July 20, 1938. However, behind the scenes at RKO, long the financially shakiest of the conglomerates, the court ruling came to be looked at as a development that could be used to the studio's advantage. The same month that the decision was handed down, multimillionaire Howard Hughes acquired a controlling interest in the company. As RKO controlled

6336-461: The U.S. domestic box office revenue was from independent studios. The 1990s saw the rise and success of independent films not only through the film festival circuit but at the box office as well while established actors, such as Bruce Willis , John Travolta , and Tim Robbins , found success themselves both in independent films and Hollywood studio films. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990 from New Line Cinema grossed over $ 100 million in

6468-549: The Walt Disney Studios has emerged as a major in place of MGM, maintaining a "Big Six" until its acquisition of 20th Century Fox in early 2019 resulted in a "Big Five" once again. With the exception of Disney, all the other four of today's Big Five major studios (Paramount, Sony Pictures, Universal and Warner Bros.) are essentially based on the model not of the classic Big Five (at that time Paramount and Warner Bros. in addition to 20th Century Fox, MGM and RKO), but of

6600-599: The World War I effort. Already veterans of Hollywood, the four film stars began to talk of forming their own company to better control their own work as well as their futures. They were spurred on by the actions of established Hollywood producers and distributors, who were making moves to tighten their control over their stars' salaries and creative license. With the addition of Griffith, planning began, but Hart bowed out before things had formalized. When he heard about their scheme, Richard A. Rowland , head of Metro Pictures ,

6732-404: The blockbuster Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises. In fact, the only two movies of the movement which can be described as uncompromisingly independent are Easy Rider at the beginning, and Peter Bogdanovich 's They All Laughed , at the end. Peter Bogdanovich bought back the rights from the studio to his 1980 film and paid for its distribution out of his own pocket, convinced that

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6864-659: The "prosumer" camera segment and film schools for those who are less autodidactic. Film programs in universities such as NYU in New York and USC in Los Angeles have benefited from this transitional growth. The economic side of filmmaking is also less of an obstacle than before, because the backing of a major studio is no longer needed to access necessary movie funding. Crowdfunding services like Kickstarter , Pozible , and Tubestart have helped people raise thousands of dollars; enough to fund their own, low-budget productions. As

6996-485: The $ 5 million film The Elephant Man (1980) for Paramount. Though Eraserhead was strictly an out-of-pocket, low-budget, independent film, Lynch made the transition with unprecedented grace. The film was a huge commercial success, and earned eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay nods for Lynch. It also established his place as a commercially viable, if somewhat dark and unconventional, Hollywood director. Seeing Lynch as

7128-544: The 1930s and Universal ahead for most of the 1940s. Hollywood's success grew during the Great Depression , possibly because films helped audiences escape their personal difficulties. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said of Shirley Temple , "When the spirit of the people is lower than at any other time during this Depression, it is a splendid thing that for just fifteen cents an American can go to

7260-426: The 1950s Hollywood faced three great challenges: The Paramount case ending the studio system, the new popularity of television, and consumer spending providing its audience with many other leisure options. The scale of both box office successes and flops grew, with a "dangerous middle" consisting of films that in the previous era would have made money. A filmmaker stated in 1957 that "[t]he one absolute disaster today

7392-423: The 1950s progressed, the new low-budget paradigm of filmmaking gained increased recognition internationally, with films such as Satyajit Ray 's critically acclaimed Apu Trilogy (1955–1959). Unlike the films made within the studio system, these new low-budget films could afford to take risks and explore new artistic territory outside the classical Hollywood narrative. Maya Deren was soon joined in New York by

7524-479: The B-grade shlock film soon fell to the level of the Z movie , a niche category of films with production values so low that they became a spectacle in their own right. The cult audiences these pictures attracted soon made them ideal candidates for midnight movie screenings revolving around audience participation and cosplay . In 1968, a young filmmaker named George A. Romero shocked audiences with Night of

7656-609: The Big Five for the first time since then), and RKO Radio Pictures (the last of these five, which emerged in 1928). Also at this time, two of the Little Three major-minors ( Columbia Pictures and Universal Pictures ) were similarly organized, though without more than small theater circuits, and the third ( United Artists ) owned a small number of theaters and had access to two production facilities owned by members of its controlling partnership group, but it functioned primarily as

7788-532: The Big Five in terms of profitability (closely related to market share) was largely consistent during the Golden Age: MGM was number one eleven years running, 1931–41. Paramount, the most profitable studio of the early sound era (1928–30), faded for the better part of the subsequent decade, and Fox was number two for most of MGM's reign. Paramount began a steady climb in 1940, finally edging past MGM two years later; from then until its reorganization in 1949 it

7920-615: The Edison era of the early 1900s, many Jewish immigrants had found jobs in the U.S. film industry. Under the Edison Trust, they were able to make their mark in a brand-new business: the exhibition of films in storefront theaters called nickelodeons . Within a few years, ambitious men like Samuel Goldwyn , Carl Laemmle , Adolph Zukor , Louis B. Mayer , and the Warner Brothers (Harry, Albert, Samuel, and Jack) had switched to

8052-627: The Hollywood movie studios to sell their theater chains and to eliminate certain anti-competitive practices. This effectively brought an end to the studio system of Hollywood's Golden Age . By 1958, many of the reasons for creating the SIMPP had been corrected and SIMPP closed its offices. The efforts of the SIMPP and the advent of inexpensive portable cameras during World War II effectively made it possible for any person in America with an interest in making films to write, produce, and direct one without

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8184-668: The Hollywood Golden Age, eight companies constituted the major studios that promulgated the Hollywood studio system. Of these eight, five were fully integrated conglomerates known as the original Big Five, combining ownership of a production studio, distribution division, and substantial theater chain, and contracting with performers and filmmaking personnel: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (owned by Loews Incorporated , owner of America's largest theater chain), Paramount Pictures , Warner Bros. , 20th Century-Fox (later renamed 20th Century Studios after its Disney acquisition brought back

8316-534: The Living Dead , a new kind of intense and unforgiving independent horror film. This film was released just after the abandonment of the production code, but before the adoption of the MPAA rating system . As such, it was the first and last film of its kind to enjoy a completely unrestricted screening, in which young children were able to witness Romero's new brand of highly realistic gore. This film would help to set

8448-526: The Pickford/Fairbanks Studio, but did not own a studio lot as such. Because of this, many of their films would be shot on location. Primarily acting as bankers, they offered money to independent producers. Thus UA did not have the overhead, the maintenance or the expensive production staff which ran up costs at other studios. UA went public in 1956, and as the other mainstream studios fell into decline, UA prospered, adding relationships with

8580-449: The United States . The Hollywood oligopoly replaced the Edison monopoly. Within this new system, a pecking order was soon established which left little room for any newcomers. By the mid-1930s, at the top were the five major studios, 20th Century Fox , Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , Paramount Pictures , RKO Pictures , and Warner Bros. Then came three smaller companies, Columbia Pictures , United Artists , and Universal Studios . Finally there

8712-404: The United States making it the most successful indie film in box-office history to that point. Miramax Films had a string of hits with Sex, Lies, and Videotape , My Left Foot , and Clerks , putting Miramax and New Line Cinema in the sights of big companies looking to cash in on the success of independent studios. In 1993, Disney bought Miramax for $ 60 million. Turner Broadcasting , in

8844-459: The aforementioned MGM (acquired by Amazon in 2022). They stand somewhere between latter-day versions of the old "major-minor"—just like Columbia and Universal were in the 1930s and 1940s, except Lionsgate has about half their market share—and leading Golden Age independent production outfits such as Samuel Goldwyn Inc. and the companies of David O. Selznick . In the mid-2010s, major studios shifted towards producing mainstream films that appeal to

8976-530: The aid of any major film studio . These circumstances soon resulted in a number of critically acclaimed and highly influential works, including Maya Deren 's Meshes of the Afternoon in 1943, Kenneth Anger's Fireworks in 1947, and Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin and Ray Abrashkin's Little Fugitive in 1953. Filmmakers such as Ken Jacobs , with little or no formal training, began to experiment with new ways of making and shooting films. Little Fugitive became

9108-442: The annual Academy Awards ) typically award Best Picture Oscars to films of artistic and scientific merit rather than the franchise films. In recent years, the multiple award wins for independent films such as Spotlight ( Open Road , 2015), Moonlight ( A24 , 2016), Parasite ( CJ / Neon , 2019), and CODA ( Apple TV+ , 2021) has had a notable impact on box-office revenue of other major studio films. The continuing praise of

9240-603: The audience (genre films, sequels, 3-D , and superhero films). Many of these films risk losing money at the box-office (and some, in fact, have). This in part precipitated the Second Decline, as audiences began to turn away from movie theatres. With this new decline, an opportunity opened up for independent companies to produce films have upset major studio films for the Academy Award for Best Picture . The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (which produces

9372-411: The availability of new technologies has fueled the democratization of filmmaking and the growth of independent film. In the late forties and fifties, new inexpensive portable cameras made it easier for independent filmmakers to produce content without studio backing. The emergence of camcorders in the eighties broadened the pool of filmmakers experimenting with the newly available technology. More recently,

9504-433: The business changed, these "producing partners" drifted away. Goldwyn and Disney left for RKO , Wanger for Universal Pictures , Selznick and Korda for retirement . By the late 1940s, United Artists had virtually ceased to exist as either a producer or distributor. In 1941, Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Walt Disney , Orson Welles , Samuel Goldwyn , David O. Selznick , Alexander Korda , and Walter Wanger —many of

9636-546: The climate of independent horror for decades to come, as films like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and Cannibal Holocaust (1980) continued to push the envelope. With the production code abandoned and violent and disturbing films like Romero's gaining popularity, Hollywood opted to placate the uneasy filmgoing public with the MPAA ratings system, which would place restrictions on ticket sales to young people. Unlike

9768-523: The conglomerates were indeed in violation of antitrust, the justices refrained from making a final decision as to how that fault should be remedied , but the case was sent back to the lower court from which it had come with language that suggested divorcement —the complete separation of exhibition interests from producer-distributor operations—was the answer. The Big Five, though, seemed united in their determination to fight on and drag out legal proceedings for years as they had already proven adept at—after all,

9900-569: The craft. Aspiring filmmakers can range from those simply with access to a smartphone or digital camera, to those who write "spec" scripts (to pitch to studios), actively network, and use crowdsourcing and other financing to get their films professionally produced. Oftentimes, aspiring filmmakers have other day-jobs to support themselves financially while they pitch their scripts and ideas to independent film production companies, talent agents, and wealthy investors. This recent technology-fueled renaissance has helped fuel other supporting industries such as

10032-551: The defiance of the now-establishment New Hollywood, proposing that "all film schools be blown up and all boring films never be made again." In 1978, Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison , with Chairperson Robert Redford , (veteran of New Hollywood and star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ) founded the Utah/US Film Festival in an effort to attract more filmmakers to Utah and showcase what

10164-406: The demise of the studio system), wherein studios produced films primarily on their own filmmaking lots with creative personnel under often long-term contract, and dominated exhibition through vertical integration , i.e., the ownership or effective control of distributors and exhibition , guaranteeing additional sales of films through manipulative booking techniques such as block booking . During

10296-755: The extensive Stanley theater chain in September 1928. One month later, it purchased a controlling interest in the First National production company, more prominent than Warners itself not long before. With the First National acquisition came not only a 135-acre (55 ha) studio and backlot but another large string of movie theaters. The last of the "Big Five" Hollywood conglomerates of the Golden Age emerged in 1928: RKO Pictures . The Radio Corporation of America ( RCA ), led by David Sarnoff ,

10428-413: The famous opening logo, with its globe and radio tower, was removed, as were the studio's other trademarks. Back in Hollywood, RKO's new owners were encountering little success in the moviemaking business and by 1957 General Tire shut down production and sold the main RKO facilities to Desilu , the production company of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz . Just like United Artists, the studio now no longer had

10560-489: The features released in the United States and usually cost between $ 5 and $ 10 million to produce. Hollywood was producing these three different classes of feature films by means of three different types of producers. The superior products were the large, budget blockbusters and high-cost star vehicles marketed by the six major studio producer-distributors. Budgets on the major studios' pictures averaged $ 100 million, with approximately one-third of it spent on marketing because of

10692-489: The fewest theaters of any of the Big Five, Hughes decided that starting a divorcement domino effect could actually help put his studio on a more equal footing with his competitors. Hughes signaled his willingness to the federal government to enter into a consent decree obliging the breakup of his movie business. Under the agreement, Hughes would split his studio into two entities, RKO Pictures Corporation and RKO Theatres Corporation, and commit to selling off his stake in one or

10824-406: The film could have a successful run in the theaters. During this time, independent producer/director Roger Corman began a sweeping body of work that would become legendary for its frugality and grueling shooting schedule. Until his so-called "retirement" as a director in 1971 (he continued to produce films even after this date), he would produce up to seven movies a year, matching and often exceeding

10956-563: The film studios' own TV divisions helped save the industry by using otherwise-unused facilities. At the beginning of the 1960s the major studios began to reissue older films for syndication and transformed into mainly producing telefilms and b-movies to supply TV's demand for programming. The industry underwent a severe recession, due in part to big-budget flops, but soon recovered artistically with such films as The Godfather (1972) and Chinatown (1974). Steven Spielberg 's 1975 Jaws and George Lucas 's Star Wars (1977) became

11088-428: The filmmaking business would slowly squeeze out the more idiosyncratic of these young filmmakers, while ensconcing the more malleable and commercially successful of them. Film critic Manohla Dargis described this era as the "halcyon age" of the decade's filmmaking that "was less revolution than business as usual, with rebel hype". She also pointed out in her New York Times article that enthusiasts insisted this era

11220-608: The first independent film to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay at the American Academy Awards . It also received Silver Lion at Venice . Both Engel and Anger's films won acclaim overseas from the burgeoning French New Wave , with Fireworks inspiring praise and an invitation to study under him in Europe from Jean Cocteau , and François Truffaut citing Little Fugitive as an essential inspiration to his seminal work, The 400 Blows . As

11352-401: The five-per-year schedule that the executives at United Artists had once thought impossible. Like those of the avant-garde, the films of Roger Corman took advantage of the fact that unlike the studio system, independent films had never been bound by its self-imposed production code . Corman's example (and that of others like him) would help start a boom in independent B-movies in the 1960s,

11484-456: The following year, informed investors in the studio's annual report of 1957 that: We find ourselves in a highly competitive market for these talents [stars, directors, producers, writers]. Under today's tax structures, salary to those we are dealing with is less inviting than the opportunity for capital gains . We find ourselves, therefore, dealing with corporations rather than with individuals. We find ourselves, too, forced to deal in terms of

11616-508: The following year, two New Hollywood directors had become sufficiently established for Coppola to be offered oversight of Paramount's The Godfather (1972) and Lucas had obtained studio funding for American Graffiti (1973) from Universal. In the mid-1970s, the major Hollywood studios continued to tap these new filmmakers for both ideas and personnel, producing films such as Paper Moon (1973) and Taxi Driver (1976), all of which met with critical and commercial success. These successes by

11748-652: The game. Though the eventual breakup of the studio system and its restrictive chain-theater distribution network would leave independent movie houses eager for the kind of populist, seat-filling product of the Poverty Row studios, that same paradigm shift would also lead to the decline and ultimate disappearance of "Poverty Row" as a Hollywood phenomenon. While the kinds of films produced by Poverty Row studios only grew in popularity, they would eventually become increasingly available both from major production companies and from independent producers who no longer needed to rely on

11880-475: The gross on his film Bonnie and Clyde (1967) instead of a minimal fee. The movie had grossed over $ 70 million worldwide by 1973. These initial successes paved the way for the studio to relinquish almost complete control to the film school generation and began what the media dubbed " New Hollywood ." Dennis Hopper , the American actor, made his writing and directing debut with Easy Rider (1969). Along with his producer/co-star/co-writer Peter Fonda , Hopper

12012-491: The industry had been organized for three decades finally expired in 1954, when Loew's, the last holdout, severed all operational ties with MGM. Hughes's gambit helped break the studio system, but it did little for RKO. His disruptive leadership—coupled with the draining away of audiences to television that was affecting the entire industry—took a toll on the studio that was evident to Hollywood observers. When Hughes sought to bail out of his RKO interest in 1952, he had to turn to

12144-487: The large release campaigns. Another class of Hollywood feature film included art films, specialty films, and other niche-market fare controlled by the conglomerates' indie subsidiaries. Budgets on these indie films averaged $ 40 million per release in the early 2000s, with $ 10 million to $ 15 million spent on marketing (MPA, 2006:12). The final class of film consisted of genre and specialty films whose release campaigns were administered by independent producer-distributors with only

12276-778: The largest film festival in the world. Other large events include the Toronto International Film Festival , Hong Kong International Film Festival , and the Panafrican Film and TV Festival of Ouagadougou . The European Union , specifically through the European Cinema and VOD Initiative (ECVI), has established programs that attempt to adapt the film industry to an increasing digital demand for film on video on demand services, outside of theatrical screenings. With this program, VOD offerings are paired with traditional movie screenings. There

12408-579: The latter include John Travolta and Bruce Willis taking less than their usual pay to work with Quentin Tarantino on Pulp Fiction . Generally, the marketing of independent films is characterized by limited release , often at independent movie theaters , but they can also have major marketing campaigns and a wide release . Independent films are often screened at local, national, or international film festivals before distribution (theatrical or retail release). An independent film production can rival

12540-510: The leading distributor ( George Kleine ) and the biggest supplier of raw film, Eastman Kodak . A number of filmmakers declined or were refused membership to the trust and came to be described as "independent". At the time of the formation of the MPPC, Thomas Edison owned most of the major patents relating to motion pictures, including that for raw film . The MPPC vigorously enforced its patents, constantly bringing suits and receiving injunctions against independent filmmakers. Because of this,

12672-427: The leading figures in American silent cinema ( Mary Pickford , Charles Chaplin , Douglas Fairbanks , and D. W. Griffith ) formed United Artists. Each held a 20% stake, with the remaining 20% held by lawyer William Gibbs McAdoo . The idea for the venture originated with Fairbanks, Chaplin, Pickford, and cowboy star William S. Hart a year earlier as they were traveling around the U.S. selling Liberty bonds to help

12804-473: The members of New Hollywood led each of them, in turn, to make more and more extravagant demands, both on the studio and eventually on the audience. While most members of the New Hollywood generation were, or started out as, independent filmmakers, a number of their projects were produced and released by major studios. The New Hollywood generation soon became firmly entrenched in a revived incarnation of

12936-518: The new circumstances with the most immediate success was the smallest, United Artists; under a new management team that took over in 1951, overhead was cut by terminating its lease arrangement with the Pickford-Fairbanks production facility and new relationships with independent producers, now often involving direct investment, were forged—a business model that Hollywood would increasingly emulate in coming years. The studio system around which

13068-549: The norm, with hits such as the sequels to Lucas's Star Wars , The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi , Spielberg's back-to-back successes with Raiders of the Lost Ark and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial , and the development of home-video and cable television. Meanwhile, the uncontrolled budget of Heaven's Gate (1980), and its limited box-office revenue, resulted in the sale of United Artists to MGM

13200-495: The old United Artists: that is, they are primarily backer-distributors (and physical studio leasers) rather than actual production companies. In 1996, Time Warner acquired the once-independent New Line Cinema via its purchase of Turner Broadcasting System . In 2008, New Line was merged into Warner Bros., where it continues to exist as a subsidiary. Each of today's Big Five controls quasi-independent " arthouse " divisions, such as Paramount Vantage . Miramax Films (which originally

13332-536: The old studios from financial ruin by providing them with a new formula for success. Indeed, it was during this period that the very definition of an independent film became blurred. Though Midnight Cowboy was financed by United Artists, the company was certainly a studio. Likewise, Zoetrope was another "independent studio" which worked within the system to make a space for independent directors who needed funding. George Lucas would leave Zoetrope in 1971 to create his own independent studio, Lucasfilm , which would produce

13464-480: The only serious rival to the U.S. film industry due to its dominance of both its own and the Asian diasporic markets, has, in contrast, never achieved any degree of vertical integration. For instance, in 1929 nearly 75 percent of Japanese movie theaters were connected with either Nikkatsu or Shochiku, the two biggest studios at the time. We find ourselves ... dealing with corporations rather than with individuals. In

13596-516: The options in which movies can be independently produced/released. Studio system A studio system is a method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios . It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the early years of the Golden Age of Hollywood from 1927 (the introduction of sound motion pictures ) to 1948 (the beginning of

13728-474: The other by a certain date. Hughes's decision to concede to divorcement terminally undermined the argument by lawyers for the rest of the Big Five that such breakups were unfeasible. While many today point to the May court ruling, it is actually Hughes's agreement with the federal government—signed November 8, 1948—that was truly the death knell for the Golden Age of Hollywood. Paramount soon capitulated, entering into

13860-628: The picture was better than what the studio believed — he eventually went bankrupt because of this. In retrospect, it can be seen that Steven Spielberg 's Jaws (1975) and George Lucas 's Star Wars (1977) marked the beginning of the end for the New Hollywood. With their unprecedented box-office successes, these movies jump-started Hollywood's blockbuster mentality, giving studios a new paradigm as to how to make money in this changing commercial landscape. The focus on high-concept premises, with greater concentration on tie-in merchandise (such as toys), spin-offs into other media (such as soundtracks), and

13992-431: The potential of independent film could be. At the time, the main focus of the event was to present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions; however it also included a small program of new independent films. The jury of the 1978 festival was headed by Gary Allison , and included Verna Fields , Linwood Gale Dunn , Katherine Ross , Charles E. Sellier Jr. , Mark Rydell , and Anthea Sylbert . In 1981,

14124-485: The principal aim of which was to bring in the youth market which the major studios had lost touch with. By promising sex , wanton violence , drug use , and nudity , these films hoped to draw audiences to independent theaters by offering to show them what the major studios could not. Horror and science fiction films experienced a period of tremendous growth during this time. As these tiny producers, theaters, and distributors continued to attempt to undercut one another,

14256-638: The production code, this rating system posed a threat to independent films in that it would affect the number of tickets they could sell and cut into the grindhouse theaters' share of the youth market. This change would further widen the divide between commercial and non-commercial films. However, having a film audience-classified is strictly voluntary for independents and there is no legal impediment to releasing movies on an unrated basis. However, unrated movies face obstacles in marketing because media outlets, such as TV channels, newspapers and websites, often place their own restrictions on movies that do not come with

14388-434: The production side of the business. After hearing about Biograph's success in Hollywood, in 1913 many such would-be movie-makers headed west to avoid the fees imposed by Edison. Soon they were the heads of a new kind of enterprise: the movie studio . By establishing a new system of production, distribution, and exhibition which was independent of The Edison Trust in New York, these studios opened up new horizons for cinema in

14520-598: The production, distribution, and exhibition of films. In 1942, the SIMPP filed an antitrust suit against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres. The complaint accused Paramount of conspiracy to control first-run and subsequent-run theaters in Detroit. It was the first antitrust suit brought by producers against exhibitors alleging monopoly and restraint of trade. In 1948, the United States Supreme Court Paramount Decision ordered

14652-1005: The profit of what became One-Eyed Jacks (1961). (Because of Hollywood accounting , studios still received much of the revenue before any profit sharing; thus, they preferred 50% of profit to 10% of gross.) The larger paychecks also increased the power of talent agents such as Lew Wasserman of MCA , whose office was now nicknamed " Fort Knox ". By 1957, independent producers made 50% of full-length American films. Beyond working for others, top actors such as Gregory Peck and Frank Sinatra created their own production companies and purchased scripts. Top independent directors George Stevens , Billy Wilder , and William Wyler also saw their paychecks increase, in part because their involvement attracted star actors. Studios increasingly provided funding and facilities to independent producers as opposed to making their own films, or just like United Artists, they focused on distribution. While television had damaged Hollywood, TV production companies such as Desilu and

14784-552: The prototype for the modern blockbuster . Prior to Jaws , most films would initially be released in a few key cities, and would later spread to "secondary markets" across the country based on the response in those markets — a system called "platforming." Jaws was instead immediately released simultaneously across the country, and backed by a $ 700,000 TV advertising budget — the first time that trailers were released on network television — along with extensive promotional merchandising. The release of films at hundreds of venues became

14916-466: The same people who were members of United Artists—founded the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers . Later members included William Cagney , Sol Lesser , and Hal Roach . The Society aimed to preserve the rights of independent producers in an industry overwhelmingly controlled by the studio system. SIMPP fought to end monopolistic practices by the five major Hollywood studios which controlled

15048-559: The same time that the maverick film students of the American New Wave were developing the skills they would use to take over Hollywood, many of their peers had begun to develop their style of filmmaking in a different direction. Influenced by foreign and art house directors such as Ingmar Bergman and Federico Fellini , exploitation shockers (i.e. Joseph P. Mawra , Michael Findlay , and Henri Pachard ) and avant-garde cinema, ( Kenneth Anger , Maya Deren and Bruce Conner )

15180-561: The same year that United Artists, bought out by MGM after the financial failure of Michael Cimino 's Heaven's Gate (1980), ceased to exist as a venue for independent filmmakers, Sterling Van Wagenen left the film festival to help found the Sundance Institute with Robert Redford. In 1985, the now well-established Sundance Institute, headed by Sterling Van Wagenen, took over management of the US Film Festival, which

15312-483: The scripts were based on studio pitches and subsequently paid for by the studios, the production financing was from the studio, and the marketing and distribution of the films were designed and controlled by the studio's advertising agency. Though Coppola made considerable efforts to resist the influence of the studios, opting to finance his risky 1979 film Apocalypse Now himself rather than compromise with skeptical studio executives, he, and filmmakers like him, had saved

15444-409: The studio system, which financed the development, production and distribution of their films. Very few of these filmmakers ever independently financed or independently released a film of their own, or ever worked on an independently financed production during the height of the generation's influence. Seemingly independent films such as Taxi Driver , The Last Picture Show and others were studio films:

15576-411: The studios. Meanwhile, in 1951, lawyers-turned-producers Arthur Krim and Robert Benjamin had made a deal with the remaining stockholders of United Artists which would allow them to make an attempt to revive the company and, if the attempt was successful, buy it after five years. The attempt was a success, and in 1955 United Artists became the first "studio" without an actual studio. UA leased space at

15708-408: The switch from film to digital cameras, inexpensive non-linear editing and the move to distribution via the internet have led to more people being able to make and exhibit movies of their own, including young people and individuals from marginalized communities. These people may have little to no formal technical or academic training, but instead are autodidactic filmmakers, using online sources to learn

15840-407: The time the company got underway in 1920–1921, feature films were becoming more expensive and more polished, and running times had settled at around ninety minutes (or eight reels). It was believed that no one, no matter how popular, could produce and star in five quality feature films a year. By 1924, Griffith had dropped out and the company was facing a crisis: either bring in others to help support

15972-636: The top Warhol superstars , who had already become symbols of the militantly anti-Hollywood climate of NYC's independent film community. Within a month, another young Corman trainee, Francis Ford Coppola , made his debut in Spain at the Donostia-San Sebastian International Film Festival with The Rain People (1969), a film he had produced through his own company, American Zoetrope . Though The Rain People

16104-444: The use of sequels (which had been made more respectable by Coppola's The Godfather Part II ), all showed the studios how to make money in the new environment. On realizing how much money could potentially be made in films, major corporations started buying up the remaining Hollywood studios, saving them from the oblivion which befell RKO in the 50s. Eventually, even RKO was revived, the corporate mentality these companies brought to

16236-401: Was " Poverty Row ", a catch-all term used to encompass any other smaller studio that managed to fight their way up into the increasingly exclusive movie business. While the small studios that made up Poverty Row could be characterized as existing "independently" of any major studio, they utilized the same kind of vertically and horizontally integrated systems of business as the larger players in

16368-636: Was "when American movies grew up (or at least starred underdressed actresses); when directors did what they wanted (or at least were transformed into brands); when creativity ruled (or at least ran gloriously amok, albeit often on the studio's dime)." During the 1970s, shifts in thematic depictions of sexuality and violence occurred in American cinema, prominently featuring heightened depictions of realistic sex and violence. Directors who wished to reach mainstream audiences of Old Hollywood quickly learned to stylize these themes to make their films appealing and attractive rather than repulsive or obscene. However, at

16500-522: Was a plan in part to take over the independent film industry and at the same time start "independent" studios of their own. The following are all "indie" studios owned by conglomerate Hollywood: By the early 2000s, Hollywood was producing three different classes of films: 1) big-budget blockbusters , 2) art films , specialty films and niche-market films produced by the conglomerate-owned "indies" and 3) genre and specialty films coming from true indie studios and producers. The third category comprised over half

16632-420: Was again the most financially successful of the Big Five. With the exception of 1932—when all the companies but MGM lost money, and RKO lost somewhat less than its competitors—RKO was next to last or (usually) last every year of the Golden Age, with Warner generally hanging alongside at the back of the pack. Of the smaller majors, the Little Three, United Artists reliably held up the rear, with Columbia strongest in

16764-516: Was an independent studio) was owned by Disney until 2010. Most also have divisions that focus on genre movies, B movies either literally by virtue of their low budgets, or spiritually—for instance, Sony's Screen Gems . One so-called indie division, Universal's Focus Features , releases arthouse films under that primary brand. Both Focus and Disney's arthouse division, Searchlight Pictures , are large enough to qualify as mini-majors. Two large independent firms also qualify as mini-majors, Lionsgate and

16896-481: Was experiencing financial difficulties. Gary Beer and Sterling Van Wagenen spearheaded production of the inaugural Sundance Film Festival which included Program Director Tony Safford and Administrative Director Jenny Walz Selby. In 1991, the festival was officially renamed the Sundance Film Festival, after Redford's famous role as The Sundance Kid . Through this festival the Independent Cinema movement

17028-645: Was largely overlooked by American audiences, Zoetrope would become a powerful force in New Hollywood. Through Zoetrope, Coppola formed a distribution agreement with studio giant Warner Bros., which he would exploit to achieve wide releases for his films without making himself subject to their control. These three films provided the major Hollywood studios with both an example to follow and a new crop of talent to draw from. Zoetrope co-founder George Lucas made his feature film debut with THX 1138 (1971), also released by Zoetrope through their deal with Warner Bros., announcing himself as another major talent of New Hollywood. By

17160-562: Was launched. Such notable figures as Kevin Smith , Robert Rodriguez , Quentin Tarantino , David O. Russell , Paul Thomas Anderson , Steven Soderbergh , James Wan , Hal Hartley , Joel and Ethan Coen and Jim Jarmusch garnered resounding critical acclaim and unprecedented box office sales. The significance of the Sundance Film Festival is documented in the work of Professor Emanuel Levy Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film, (NYU Press, 1999; 2001). In 2005, about 15% of

17292-489: Was looking for ways to exploit the cinema sound patents, newly trademarked RCA Photophone , owned by its parent company, General Electric . As the leading film production companies were all preparing to sign exclusive agreements with Western Electric for their technology, RCA got into the movie business itself. In January, General Electric acquired a sizable interest in Film Booking Offices of America (FBO),

17424-408: Was responsible for one of the first completely independent films of New Hollywood. Easy Rider debuted at Cannes and garnered the "First Film Award" ( French : Prix de la premiere oeuvre ) after which it received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for Corman-alum Jack Nicholson 's breakthrough performance in the supporting role of George Hanson, an alcoholic lawyer for

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