Ever since his 1995 directorial debut, The Brothers McMullen, which grossed over $10 million at the U.S. box office on a budget of just $23,800, Edward Burns has been at the fore of cutthroat, low-budget indie filmmaking. With his latest film, Newlyweds, released Dec. 26 on video-on-demand, the director opens up about how independent film distribution models have changed, and what it means for the future of indie moviemaking.
Sixteen years ago as a film student at Hunter College, I made my first movie—The Brothers McMullen. While film technology has made rapid leaps and bounds since then—I shot my most recent film on a Canon 5D—the method of exhibiting indie films theatrically has seen little change over the years, and it is still as difficult as ever for independent filmmakers to reach a sizable audience in movie theaters.
In fact, there are also fewer specialty theaters than ever before; the specialty-film theater in my hometown, Valley Stream, Long Island, where McMullen played, is now gone, just one of many to disappear. This is not surprising given the explosion of affordable home entertainment systems and giant flat-screen televisions, as well as the advent of terrific original programming on cable. And we can’t underestimate the not-so-insignificant cost of a night out at the movies in these economic times. The incentives to stay in the comfort of one’s own home are greater than ever.
Read the full piece HERE.
- Lena
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