Screenwriter Jeremy Pikser's (Bulworth, War, Inc.) post over at Ted Hope's Truly Free Film blog got me thinking about independent film and movie stars. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend you check it out. It's titled "Audiences: Made, not Born", and it discusses how the "audience" is not a spontaneous expression of public desire but rather the product of a market. "The market creates the audience, the audience drives the market by following its lead," Pikser writes, describing the process as part of a feedback loop that also includes, particularly in the case of art and specialty cinema, historical, cultural and political developments.

As Pikser writes, movie stars are important elements in the creation of audiences: "The audience wants stars (which basically means a very small pool of lead actors) because [as] the studios figured out a long time ago, repeating casting that had successful audience results, and exploiting those repetitions to the hilt through publicity anointing the actors as 'stars' was the most profitable way to sell films."

Sometimes independent films wind up creating stars for the Hollywood system. But sometimes independent films work precisely because they don't use stars - because the actors in these films seem like real people enmeshed in real life, not Hollywood fiction.

Many independent filmmakers believe that stars will help their films get made, marketed and seen. Often that's true. But here's another thing that's true too: stars often don't act like stars in independent films. They don't give the iconic, larger-than-life, zeitgeist-zinging performances they'd give in a Hollywood film. Instead, they bury themselves in the fabric of the film in a way that's perhaps good acting but not satisfying to an audience wanting to see their star power at work. (These days, actually, stars often don't act like stars even in Hollywood films, as this piece by filmmaker Noah Buschel points out. I experienced this feeling the other day when I started recasting in my head the mainstream movie I was watching. I thought about how much better the movie would have been if the very hot young star had been as good as, say, a young Al Pacino - but that's another blog post.)

Pikser's piece and the recent re-release of Godard's Breathless got me thinking about another kind of movie star -- the self-anointed one. Jean-Paul Belmondo wasn't a huge star when Breathless premiered, but the film made him one. More importantly, in the film he acted like one, making the distance between his small-time criminal character and the "real" movie stars of Hollywood part of the film's subject matter. A few years later Andy Warhol would make a series of films using his own homemade "superstars," and in the 1970s Rainer Werner Fassbinder turned his group of repertory theater players into art film icons. In the 1980s, the No Wave film scene borrowed from this playbook, transforming the artists and musicians who populated the city's downtown club scene into charismatic figures who brought star power to their micro-budgeted films. You might even say that Hal Hartley in the '80s did something similar with his discovery of a new generation of actors.

Significantly, none of the films of these filmmakers were "realistic." They were all smartly aware of the popular culture, subverting it through a playful use of irony and the presence of these actors, whose performances commented on the artifice employed by the Hollywood star system while, at the same time, giving audiences charismatic on-screen performers who were a lot of fun to watch.

So, filmmakers, stop thinking about casting those unattainable movie stars in your next movie. Go out there and make your own.

See you next week.

Best,
Scott Macaulay
Editor THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX OFFICE: 2-DAY WORKSHOP WITH JON REISS ON JUNE 5-6 Within the current distribution landscape it appears that for any truly independent film to have a sustained life – and a chance at monetization – filmmakers themselves to need be planning and deeply involved in the process from an early stage. Among those in the forefront as critical thinkers and strategists in this sphere is Jon Reiss. The critically-acclaimed director of BOMB IT! and distribution expert and author will present a step-by-step guide into the Dynamic New World of Hybrid Distribution and Marketing. Day One goes over how to create a distribution strategy and marketing plan unique to your film, the various available markets for your film's release, how and why to engage your audience as early as possible, digital rights, and more. Day Two discusses advertising campaigns, and transmedia platforms, as well as live workshopping of a few films. Special guest speakers will include Lance Weiler (The Workbook Project) and Caitlin Boyle (Film Sprout). All attendees will have access to a networking happy hour with industry reps and will receive a DVD-Rom toolkit as a takeaway. Additional workshop details and ticketing info here . Our Forums page is new and improved! Check out the new categories: how to make films, discuss the current trends in the business, job opportunities and look out for guest filmmaker moderators. Click here to get started.
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