QUESTION FOR FILMTVLAW.COM:
I’ve been noticing a lot of indie films at my local theater, and it’s not any kind of an arthouse either. It’s a big multiplex but it’s showing about 5 different indie films. How do I become a part of this?
ANSWER BY BRANDON BLAKE, ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER:
Indie filmmaking is undergoing a renaissance today and becoming more mainstream than ever as indie hits and obscure titles have invaded multiplex theaters across the country. It’s arguably one of the best times ever to get an indie feature film seen. But where do you start and what does it take to get noticed in the indie filmmaking world today?
In addition to this article, I share more than a hundred in-depth entertainment industry articles on my website at www.filmtvlaw.com/entertainment-lawyer-qa. Please also check out my bio at www.imdb.me/brandonblake.
How We Got Here
It wasn’t supposed to go this way. If you can still vaguely remember the “COVID” era, we were all going to be living in bubbles and watching 24 hour a day Netflix streams. But post-COVID and post-strike, people began to emerge from their bubbles and started going out again.
Then a funny thing happened: Studios cut down the release window for theatrical features by more than half in an attempt to feed the studio-owned steaming platforms and keep all those premium viewers happy. Combine that with a dramatic cut in the number of studio features being produced and we ended up with a giant vacuum of content for multiplexes. Fewer films showing for less weeks, means a lot of empty theaters.
In steps opportunity for the indie filmmakers and the specialty distributors and studios who have been filling the empty screens with original, new content that to everyone’s surprise viewers have loved. The era of wide release indie filmmaking is upon us.
How Do Independent Films Get Developed?
It is increasingly rare for any movie to be developed in-house, both studio films and independent fair alike. Every film put into development represents a big investment of time and money on a project that is not guaranteed to gain audience traction or, indeed, ever reach the release point of its development cycle. Studios are interested in well-established IP or well-known brands with a pre-exiting audience, so they have been bowing out of “original IP”, meaning anything that doesn’t have a forty or fifty year track record in publishing, series television or film.
To be even more specific, according to industry figures, only 10% of films with original scripts developed between 2022 and 2024 benefited from strong in-house development support at the executive level from MPA member companies. These often represent the “Originals” on Netflix and Amazon, while a few like Cocaine Bear end up becoming unexpected theatrical hits.
The vast majority of films greenlit with original scripts, however, either got set up at specialized Hollywood divisions (Focus Features, Searchlight), were festival acquisitions, or otherwise came packaged with name directors and talent. Even the specialty studios, like Neon and A24, generally do very little internal development. They are relying on the producers to bring them packages on a silver platter, ready to greenlight.
A big part of the reason is economic. Many of the indie studios and specialty distributors are simply not set up for, nor capable of investing in, major in-house development work. Recent examples include Neon’s latest blockbuster hit, Longlegs. With a breathtaking $104M at the box office, this breakout hit for Neon was not developed by Neon itself. The film came in financed by C2, with an A-list cast already attached, and Neon acquired it in 2023 at the European Film Market as a package from Black Bear. This is an example of an awesome indie development coming together and generating a bidding war, with Neon being the eventual winner.
A Need for Originality… And Cast
Anyone who has been to a movie theater lately knows that a wave of original films is just what the entertainment business needs right now. The legacy titles based on movies, books, TV shows and even car brands of 50 years ago can only take us so far, and the monotony of it all has opened a path for new, original creators and stories.
However, there’s a big difference between a gorilla-style indie with no-name cast and a first-time director, and a truly viable indie with major box office potential. First-time filmmakers with nothing but a camera and a big idea are great (I worked with Daniel Myrick who pulled off one of the greatest indie feature successes of all time with “The Blair Witch Project”), but those are few and far between, and producers who want to get original films on screen, but utilize great cast and directing talent in the process, need to blaze a trail in between the Studio echelon and the no-budget filmmaking of the 1990s.
Capitalizing on Passion
Unless you are planning a micro-budget festival piece, you are going to end up needing more than just passion to make the film a success. The costs involved with developing original IP are the reason why studios don’t do it anymore. Development includes everything from the script and deck, to attaching name cast and director, and getting that project in front of production companies, distributors and financiers. It’s a lot of man and woman hours. While some of it can be done by a highly motivated filmmaker (with a lot of free time), certain things like attaching cast and a director, and getting to distributors and financiers can’t be done without a certain level of development financing.
Bootstrapping a great script into a $10 million dollar check is not a realistic strategy for developing a viable, theatrical feature film. So, for the financially strained filmmaker, the first stop might be a “friends and family” round of financing where you turn your passion into a capital foundation to support your feature project.
Pitch Perfect
When it comes to bringing the collaborative power of cast and directors to an independently developed feature, pitching once again takes central stage.
Gone are the days of “Swimming with Sharks” filmmaking, where one perfect pitch lands you a $50 million production/ distribution studio deal. Instead, imagine 50 or 100 perfect pitches, to everyone from agents and managers, to production companies, financiers, theatrical distributors, streamers, foreign sales agents, etc. Everyone needs to believe in and understand the project that the producer wants to create.
So, building the perfect wide-release independent feature involves a lot of pitching. I’ve been in the room for hundreds and hundreds of successful and unsuccessful pitches to all the parties mentioned above, so I have learned from experience what works and what doesn’t. That’s a knowledge that I’m happy to share, and I’m starting a Pitch Coaching Workshop that is no-cost, because I want to see everyone hit it out of the park when they get their big break. With so many costs for indie filmmakers, it’s great to be able to give something back to the indie community.
You can sign up for my Pitch Coaching Workshop here: https://www.filmtvlaw.com/pitch-coaching-workshop
There are a limited number of spots, so don’t wait to take advantage of the opportunity.
As with all complex entertainment matters, please seek experienced entertainment legal counsel before making legal and financial decisions. This article is for informational purposes only and does not represent legal, accounting or tax advice. Do not act on this article without hiring legal representation.
- By Brandon Blake, Entertainment Lawyer
Brandon A. Blake is an entertainment lawyer and producer who works with Academy Award winning actors, directors and filmmakers. A complete biography is available at www.imdb.me/brandonblake.
About the Entertainment Lawyer Q&A:
The Entertainment Lawyer Q&A does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor is the information treated as confidential. Responses to selected questions will be made public and shared with our subscribers. All entertainment law information is informational in nature and is not intended to be acted on without entertainment lawyer counsel.