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The emergence of the double-bill in the 1930s created a divide between A-pictures and B-pictures as theaters typically screened packages featuring one of each. With the former considered more prestigious because of their larger budgets and more popular actors, the lower-budgeted Bs served largely as a support mechanism to A-films of the major studios-most of which also owned the theater chains in which movies were shown. When a 1948 U.S. Supreme Court antitrust ruling severed ownership of theaters from the studios, the B-movie soon became a different entity in the wake of profound changes to the corporate organization and production methods of the major Hollywood studios.InThe Battle for the Bs, Blair Davis analyzes how B-films were produced, distributed, and exhibited in the 1950s and demonstrates the possibilities that existed for low-budget filmmaking at a time when many in Hollywood had abandoned the Bs. Made by newly formed independent companies, 1950s B-movies took advantage of changing demographic patterns to fashion innovative marketing approaches. They established such genre cycles as science fiction and teen-oriented films (thinkDestination MoonandI Was a Teenage Werewolf) well before the major studios and also contributed to the emergence of the movement now known as underground cinema. Although frequently proving to be multimillion-dollar box-office draws by the end of the decade, the Bs existed in opposition to the cinematic mainstream in the 1950s and created a legacy that was passed on to independent filmmakers in the decades to come.

American independent cinema has gained mainstream popularity in recent years as audiences tire of the bloated, clichéd spectacle of Hollywood films. But how independent are these movies? As John Berra contends in Declarations of Independence, the supposedly alternative film scene employs the same production techniques as its Hollywood counterparts and may find an uncritical audience in fans looking to attach personal sentiments and social reference points to art forms. This provocative volume questions the autonomy of independent film, asking if it is possible for a unique filmic vision to thrive in an industry of mass production.    

Indie Film Producing explains the simple, basic, clear cut role of the independent film producer. Raising funds to do your dream project, producing award-winning films with a low budget, putting name actors on your indie film-it's all doable, and this book guides you through the entire process of being a successful producer with bonus tips on how to effortlessly maneuver through the sphere of social media marketing and fundraising tactics. Indie film producer Suzanne Lyons pilots you through the actual making of low budget films to show you how easy and fun it can be. Laid out in a step-by-step, A to Z, matter-of-fact style that shows how the producer's role can be easy, how to treat the film as a business, and especially how to avoid the painful pitfalls faced by so many producers, this book gives you the essential tools you need to make your film a success from the ground up. . Begins with the earliest stages of concept development, continues through production & post, and ultimately concludes with distribution . Shows you how to create a buzz for your film through marketing and promotions . Interviews with global producers who produced films using social media, festivals, apps, and more, give you real-world insight that can be applied to your own films . Website points you to a fantastic collection of resources that you'll need to produce your own films (http://booksite.focalpress.com/indiefilmproducing)

A Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses is an outrageously rollicking account of the life and career of Roger Corman-one of the most prolific and successful independent producers, directors, and writers of all time, and self-proclaimed king of the B movie. As told by Corman himself and graduates of \"The Corman Film School,\" including Peter Bogdanovich, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola, Robert De Niro, and Martin Scorsese, this comprehensive oral history takes readers behind the scenes of more than six decades of American cinema, as now-legendary directors and actors candidly unspool recollections of working with Corman, continually one-upping one another with tales of the years before their big breaks. Crab Monsters is supplemented with dozens of full-color reproductions of classic Corman movie posters; behind-the-scenes photographs and ephemera (many taken from Corman's personal archive); and critical essays on Corman's most daring films-including The Intruder, Little Shop of Horrors, and The Big Doll House- that make the case for Corman as an artist like no other. Praise for Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen, and Candy Stripe Nurses: \"This new coffee table book, brimming with outrageous stills from many of Corman's hundreds of films, looks at the wild career of the starmaker who was largely responsible for so much of the Hollywood we know today.\" -New York Post \"Vividly illustrated.\" -People \"An enthusiastic ode to colorful, seat-of-your-pants filmmaking, this one's hard to beat.\" -Booklist (starred review) \"It includes in-depth aesthetic appreciations of ten of Corman's movies, which, taken together, make a compelling case for Corman as an artist.\" -Hollywood.com \"Author Nashawaty deftly describes how Corman's legacy is far more nuanced than most realize.\" -American Way magazine \"Outrageously entertaining . . .\"A -Parade magazine \"Endlessly fascinating.\" -PopMatters.com \"You'd think it'd be impossible for any writer to put together a Roger Corman biography that's anywhere near as fun as his movies, but Entertainment Weekly writer/critic Chris Nashawaty has done just that.\"A -Complex magazine

A Los Angeles Times Bestseller The most important development in American culture of the last two decades is the emergence of independent cinema as a viable alternative to Hollywood. Indeed, while Hollywood's studios devote much of their time and energy to churning out big-budget, star-studded event movies, a renegade independent cinema that challenges mainstream fare continues to flourish with strong critical support and loyal audiences. Cinema of Outsiders is the first and only comprehensive chronicle of contemporary independent movies from the late 1970s up to the present. From the hip, audacious early works of maverick David Lynch, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee, to the contemporary Oscar-winning success of indie dynamos, such as the Coen brothers ( Fargo ), Quentin Tarentino ( Pulp Fiction ), and Billy Bob Thornton ( Sling Blade ), Levy describes in a lucid and accessible manner the innovation and diversity of American indies in theme, sensibility, and style. Documenting the socio-economic, political and artistic forces that led to the rise of American independent film, Cinema of Outsiders depicts the pivotal role of indie guru Robert Redford and his Sundance Film Festival in creating a showcase for indies, the function of film schools in supplying talent, and the continuous tension between indies and Hollywood as two distinct industries with their own structure, finance, talent and audience. Levy describes the major cycles in the indie film movement: regional cinema, the New York school of film, African-American, Asian American, gay and lesbian, and movies made by women. Based on exhaustive research of over 1,000 movies made between 1977 and 1999, Levy evaluates some 200 quintessential indies, including Choose Me , Stranger Than Paradise , Blood Simple , Blue Velvet , Desperately Seeking Susan , Slacker , Poison , Reservoir Dogs , Gas Food Lodging , Menace II Society , Clerks , In the Company of Men , Chasing Amy , The Apostle , The Opposite of Sex , and Happiness . Cinema of Outsiders reveals the artistic and political impact of bold and provocative independent movies in displaying the cinema of outsiders-the cinema of the other America.

The legendary figure who launched the careers of Spike Lee, Michael Moore, and Richard Linklater offers a no-holds-barred look at the deals and details that propel an indie film from a dream to distribution.

Movie industry sources and academics claim that film production is a risky business in which revenues and profits accrue to a few successful releases, most of which happen to be big-budget productions. At the same time, Hollywood produces hundreds of low-budget movies annually that seemingly have low chances of success from the outset. This is the paradox that the current research seeks to explore. We hypothesize how key elements of small films' business strategy serve to help low-budget film ventures to achieve profitability. We then draw on rich data assembled specifically for this research to explore the hypothesized cost-side and revenue-side inputs and also to compare the profitability of low-budget and big-budget film ventures. Contrary to the prevailing wisdom, we find that, on average, both big-budget and low-budget films generate a profit, when all major sources of revenue and cost are considered.

This book focuses on England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It takes a look at the cultural and artistic significance of British cinema from the silent era to the present, providing critical essays and insights into the shifting notions of Britishness, important industry developments and the endurance of the British film industry.

This chapter directs readers to Provincetown on Cape Cod for an interview with novelist-turned-filmmaker, Norman Mailer, and his adaptation of Tough Guys Dance. Although he had made several independent films before this, Mailer says this is his first time with a significant budget, a real script, and a cast of all professional actors including Isabella Rossellini and Ryan O’Neal. He calls this crime film “medium-boiled” and “a commercial picture” and says that directing movies is easier than writing novels. He hopes to make more films after this one on even larger budgets.