Is this the dawning of a New Indie Age?
What do you think of Mark Ruffalo’s suggestion?
Is this a way forward that marks a new chapter in Indie Production?
However, Ruffalo sees this as a further opportunity to stick it to the studio system. “We just do what we always do — create great content and they can buy it, or we take it out ourselves and WE share in those sales,” he said. “They’ve created an empire of billionaires and believe that we are no longer of value. While they hang out in the billionaire boy summer camps laughing like fat cats, we organize a new world for workers.”
https://www.ign.com/articles/avengers-star-mark-ruffalo-suggests-alterna...?
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He wants competition, but I doubt indies like me can be real competition towards the usual blockbusters, and I can't afford Mark. I wish I could though. So, I think these 'indie productions' he is talking about are the ones he self-produced, or still have a big budget and yes, a million and about is a lot for an indie producer. The idea is a good one though.
Raymond Zachariasse perhaps it’s about opening doorways to potential? Establishing a wider indie market that doesn’t rely on the studios for distribution, and then leading to or facilitating a greater dispersal of talent? A slow process, but a worthy cause.
Out of interest, and you don’t have to answer this if it’s too intrusive - what kind of budget do you have for your films, Raymond?
Could be. But I think with indies it's mostly about distribution. How do you get the right audience? In The Netherlands, there are a few cinemas showing Indies, but not many. So, you need to be creative. Budget wise it's always a challenge. Yes, you can get a lot with 8 million, but it doesn't say anything about what and how you create it. The Dutch movie The Admiral was made for 8 million, while in America most budget movies had that amount. I am a strong believer in less it more. If you can't make a movie with 1000 dollars, you can't either with 1 million. Yes, the tools and the crew differ, but with just 1000 just need to rely on your own creativity. As for Mark, I love to put him in one room and create a movie like that. Think Buried.
I think what Mark is saying is terrific and inspiring. I made a micro-budget feature film many years ago and we landed several name actors in it. At that time, we had applied for a SAG Experimental Contract and once we had that we could reach out to actors and ask with some credibility. We got a lot of "no" but once we got a "yes" some dominoes fell. It was a no frills production but they showed up and, of course, elevated the whole experience. Actors at that level don't do Indies for money. They do them to support a project or filmmaker or the indie community in general. Just saying... I wouldn't put mental barriers up right now. I would recommend trying. If you have a script ready, look into the SAG-AFTRA waiver. Then reach out to name actors. You might just get a yes that changes everything. It happened to me once so it is possible.