Monday, February 2, 2009

The Cinematic Civil War - Prologue: Choosing Sides

Recently, Brooks Barnes wrote an article about the risk-levels of Film Investment shrinking in these uncertain economic times. The article ends with a quote that I believe is the true, fundamental and cultural argument amongst Cinephiles and Filmmakers; "If you can find the right film executives, people who consider themselves fiduciaries more than producers, it's one of the best bets you can make right now. Just remember that it's over when you start taking yourself so seriously that the project stops becoming a commercial movie," he continued, "and starts becoming an art project." - Daniel Crown, the former chief executive of Crown Theaters.

Crown has managed to articulate part of the argument amongst our community by reminding us that because films cost money to make, they are, by right and ritual, a business.

While Barnes' article mainly addresses the Studio side of film financing, Indie Films are of course a factor. Join us here each Monday for the next 5 weeks as we explore what this statement means and how its very philosophy creates a divide among filmmakers.

2 comments:

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  2. This will be interesting. There has always been a "war" between business people and "the talent" in the arts world.

    It is a hard divide to bridge when one group functions largely through a left-brained thought process, and other largely through a right-brained process.

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