Session Five Indiewood Dr. Richard Nowell Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture Masaryk University ¨16:15 – 17:45 ¨Rushmore (1998) ¨ ¨17:45 – 18:00 ¨Break ¨ ¨18:00 – 19:15 ¨Indiewood & Specialty Cinema rushmore_ver1.jpg ¨New suggests that an Indie culture has developed in the US ¨ ¨Based on its belief that it is distinction from a perceived mainstream, based on a taste for … ¨ ¨1. Autonomy –free-thinking, leftist-individualism that characterizes lifestyle and consumer choices 1. ¨2. Authenticity – not compromised by mass-market forces 2. ¨This is an elitest position that distinguishes members from a supposelyd conformist, unimaginative, undiscerning mass ¨How does Rushmore address the Indie sensibility of the members of Indie culture? ¨ ¨To what extent does Rushmore balance its use of Hollywood conventions with markers of distinction – of a cool, hip, sense of prestige? ¨ ¨To what extent is Max Fischer a “typical” Hollywood protagonist? ¨ ¨To what extent is this “typical” Hollywood storytelling? ¨ ¨How would you describe the tone of the film? Being John Malkovich Poster Lost in Translation Poster Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Poster juno_ver2.jpg sideways.jpg magnolia_ver1.jpg life_aquatic_with_steve_zissou.jpg i_heart_huckabees.jpg about_schmidt.jpg inglourious_basterds.jpg ¨Indiewood as industrial reorganization ¨ ¨Indiewood as product differentiation ¨ ¨Reading individual Indiewood films ¨ ¨Branding Indiewood films ¨ ¨ ¨In institutional or corporate terms, what was Indiewood? focus-features-logo.jpg sony classics.jpg warner_independent_onpage.jpg Paramount_Vantage.jpg Fine_Line_Features-logo-C1B1BC8053-seeklogo_com.gif miramax-570x320.png fox searchlight.jpg logo_timewarner.gif viacom-media-logo-design.jpg walt-disney-media-logo-design.jpg news-corporation-media-logo-design.jpg general-electric.jpg logo-sony.gif http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa20/seanandgoggles/Columbia_90s.jpg http://fusedfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/walt_disney_pictures_logo_disney_4_44518dd38cc33292 1201beda99592cf1_490x350.png http://ban-sidhe.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2006/04/Paramount_logo.jpg http://www.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/universal_pictures_logo_01.jpg http://www.sandropellegrini.com/pics/Warner_Bros.png Logo_20th_century_fox.jpg ¨What were some of the broader forces that led to the rise of Indiewood? ¨Hollywood had previously handled quality fare (it should be stressed) ¨ ¨Institutionalization of a new type of middle brow cinema ¨ ¨New systematic effort to court indie sensibility that was skeptical of Hollywood ¨ ¨Distanced from Hollywood via conglomerate indie divisions ¨ equus.jpg easy_rider.jpg shining_ver1.jpg blue_velvet_ver2.jpg ¨Rise of Miramax signals economic potential of fairly challenging fare ¨ ¨But, also highlights potential competition for the majors ¨ ¨Hit films show wide(ish) audience for Hollywood Art cinema ¨ ¨Complex narration becomes widely accepted and spawns hits ¨ ¨ pulp_fiction.jpg sixth_sense_ver1.jpg scream.jpg usual_suspects_ver2.jpg ¨In general terms, what distinguished the Indiewood films from their contemporaries? ¨Imagined Hollywood acts as foil: various acts of differentiation ¨ ¨Complex or flawed protagonists ¨ ¨Looser/complex/subjective narration ¨ ¨Visual style beyond needs of story ¨ ¨Ambiguous or undulating tone ¨ ¨Self-reflexivity = authorial presence ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ being_john_malkovich_ver2.jpg royal_tenenbaums.jpg kill_bill_ver3.jpg fight_club_ver4.jpg paul-thomas-anderson2.jpg wesanderson.jpg sophia_coppola_narrowweb__300x423,0.jpg charlie-kaufman.jpg alexander-payne.jpg David+O+Russell.jpg ¨Hollywood actors ¨ ¨Still coherent narrative films ¨ ¨Create coherent (familiar) universes ¨ ¨Style rarely overwhelms narration ¨ ¨Characters fairly goal-orientated ¨ ¨Use recognizable genre frameworks ¨ ¨ before_sunrise.jpg lost_in_translation.jpg life_aquatic_with_steve_zissou.jpg inglourious_basterds_ver9.jpg ¨How does Adaptation comment on the industrial and aesthetic character of Indiewood Cinema? ¨ adaptation.jpg ¨How does Rushmore reflect an Indiewood sensibility? ¨ ¨ rushmore_ver1.jpg ¨How does Rushmore address the Indie sensibility of the members of Indie culture? ¨ ¨To what extent does Rushmore balance its use of Hollywood conventions with markers of distinction – of a cool, hip, sense of prestige? ¨ ¨To what extent is Max Fischer a “typical” Hollywood protagonist? ¨ ¨To what extent is this “typical” Hollywood storytelling? ¨ ¨How would you describe the tone of the film? ¨Adaptation Trailer ¨http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HtZ2M4e_AM ¨ ¨Magnolia Trailer ¨http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYTqhmzROko&feature=related ¨ ¨Sideways Trailer ¨http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS9ocP6FNvM ¨ ¨Juno Trailer ¨http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0SKf0K3bxg ¨ ¨Lost in Translation Trailer ¨http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sU0oZsqeG_s ¨ ¨ ¨Emerges after New Line and Miramax become established as major independents ¨ ¨Refers to films that exhibit similarities to “Hollywood” fare and to independent films (independence of spirit) ¨ ¨Combines “conventional” content with “edgy”, “off beat” elements and “quirky” or “idiosyncratic” characters ¨ ¨Display more complex storytelling than Major studio films ¨[even though Hollywood was continuing to deal in so-called Puzzle Films such as The Sixth Sense (1999)]. ¨ ¨ ¨Conglomerate Hollywood’s attempt to capture indie market that existed for challenging, off-beat films ¨ ¨Made marketable and enjoyable to middle-brow consumers by mobilizing aspects of art cinema ¨ ¨Expand potential audience by also mobilizing Hollywood content and stars – appeal to less “sophisticated” audience ¨ ¨Entertainment conglomerates maintain dominance over the American film market by capturing niche audiences and forcing smaller outfits out of business •