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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: independent film

independent film stories: 23 news summaries

1 - 20 of 23 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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AO SCOTT

 A Look Back at 
 Movies of the '00s 

Which films will be remembered, and which ones deserve it?

Nov 14, 09 11:50 AM CST
(Newser) - The shifting sands of entertainment technology make a look at the past decade's movies a tricky proposition simply because standing the test of time means something different almost daily. "The possibility of a digital, on-demand afterlife guarantees at least a theoretically universal long-tail immortality to blockbusters and curiosities alike,... More »

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entertainment • Steven Spielberg • independent film • film • Coen brothers • Joel Coen • Ethan Coen • Joel and Ethan Coen • movies • film criticism • indie film • 2000s

MEOW

 Demi Moore: 
 Call Me Puma, 
 Not Cougar 

Actress dishes on Ashton Kutcher, Twitter, and making indie films

Nov 10, 09 8:08 AM CST
(Newser) - Demi Moore is back in the spotlight at 47, thanks as much to her Twitter account as to her film career. She talks to W about upcoming roles in indie films The Joneses and Happy Tears, family life, and more:
  • On her status as a cougar: “I’
... More »

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entertainment • independent film • celebrity • Ashton Kutcher • Demi Moore • Twitter • indie film

MOVIE REVIEW

 Smarten Up and See Education 

Carey Mulligan's performance stands out in British indie film

Oct 9, 09 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Carey Mulligan's impressive performance in An Education stands out, as does novelist Nick Hornby's script. Critics agree the story of a 16-year-old seduced by an older man is a dazzling mix of acting, writing, and direction that transcends the typical coming-of-age tale:
  • “Prepare to be wowed by
... More »

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entertainment • independent film • film • movie review • Nick Hornby • Peter Sarsgaard • Carey Mulligan

 Credit Crunch Saps 
 Funding for Indie Films 

Drop-off in foreign rights sales leaves producers looking for cash

Apr 20, 09 2:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Independent film producers are losing a once-reliable source of funding, the sale of foreign-distribution rights. Traditionally, the demand for American movies has been so high that producers can sell the rights to distribute the film—in many cases, even before it’s finished—in order to cover costs. But the... More »

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independent film • Producer • foreign film • movie deal • movie financing • music distribution • financing

MOVIE REVIEW

 Sunshine Cleaning 
 a Delightful Mess 

Poignant comedy manages to scrub past the indie film clichés

Mar 13, 09 11:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - Humor and poignancy don't merge that neatly in Sunshine Cleaning, but its offbeat charm managed to win over most critics. The story of sisters from a troubled family who go into the crime-scene cleanup business delves deep into emotional issues but remains a comedy, Kirk Honeycutt writes in the Hollywood ... More »

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independent film • movie review • Alan Arkin • Amy Adams • movies

OPINION

 What to See From Sundance 

Film festival spawns potential hits

Jan 26, 09 10:45 AM CST
(Newser) - This year’s indie love-fest Sundance spawned several movies that have a shot at real commercial success, with a roster of films showcasing “more old-fashioned storytelling,” writes Andrew O’Hehir in Salon. Jury prizes went to Push and We Live in Public, but here’s a sampling of... More »

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independent film • film • movie review • Sundance Film Festival • movies • indie film • I Love You Phillip Morris

Batman's Commissioner Gordon Dies

Pat Hingle, veteran tough-guy actor, mentored young

Jan 5, 09 2:49 AM CST
(Newser) - Actor Pat Hingle—whose characters included Commissioner Gordon in the '90s Batman movies and Norma Rae's father in the 1979 film—has died of blood cancer at his Carolina Beach home at the age of 84, the Wilmington Star-News reports. The Tony Award nominee and Broadway star had said he... More »

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Hollywood • independent film • obituary • Broadway • cinema • actor • Pat Hingle

MOVIE REVIEW

 Rourke Clinches Wrestler 

Actor makes a bodyslam of a comeback with portrait of a has-been

Dec 18, 08 10:55 AM CST
(Newser) - Mickey Rourke takes the title role of The Wrestler and pins it to the mat in a stunning comeback, say critics. The tragicomic portrait of a washed-up star still hitting the circuit decades past his prime "is not just a comeback performance but something much rarer: a rounded, raddled... More »

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independent film • wrestling • movie review • movies • Mickey Rourke • Darren Aronofsky

OPINION

 Ironically, Indie Movies All Alike 

Meet Little Miss Juno Dynamite

Oct 11, 08 4:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - From their sketched opening credits to obscure pop culture references to painfully hip soundtracks and formulaic plots, “indie” flicks have grown just as many clichés and conventions as their big-budget counterparts, writes Ann Hornaday of the Washington Post. “What started as a fiercely autonomous cinematic... More »

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independent film • film

 Carefully, Williams 
 Opens Up 

Actress gives first interview since Heath Ledger's death

Sep 7, 08 1:38 PM CDT
(Newser) - In the wake of the media circus surrounding Heath Ledger's death, ex-fiancee Michelle Williams laid low and threw herself into her work, refusing all interviews until the New York Times recently sat down to discuss the four movies the actress has shot since last summer. "I don’t want... More »

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independent film • Heath Ledger • Michelle Williams • acting career

Hollywood
Movie Glut Wallops Indies

Many go straight to DVD as too many films vie for screens

Sep 3, 08 10:46 AM CDT
(Newser) - A surplus of Hollywood movies is forcing many independent films off the big screen, and driving down box office takes for those that do make it, reports the Wall Street Journal. Mainstream films with bankable stars are being sent straight-to-DVD, as too many movies fight for too few theater slots... More »

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Hollywood • independent film • film • finance • movie industry • movies

ANALYSIS

 Dark Days Ahead
 for Little Movies 

Big money has bankrolled some bad small films lately; now it's pulling back

Jun 30, 08 9:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - This has been a banner year for Hollywood blockbusters, but things look dour for explosion-free cinema, David Carr writes in the New York Times reports. Small movies have flooded multiplexes, choking each other out—a sign, producer Mark Gill says, of big-money backing meeting the ease of digital film-making. The... More »

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independent film • film • movie industry • Hollywood studios • art-house movies

 Warner Bros.
 Closes 2 Indie
 Divisions 

Shakeup was expected; 70 jobs will be cut

May 9, 08 12:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Warner Bros. announced yesterday that it is closing both its indie arms, Warner Independent Pictures and Picturehouse. Speculation had the studio merging the indie and art-house divisions, but the studio opted for even more cost-cutting, the LA Times reports. More than 70 employees will lose their jobs in the shakeup. More »

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independent film • layoffs • Warner Brothers • art-house movies • Warner Independent Pictures • Picturehouse

movie revew

 People Not Smart Enough 

Critics say indie romantic comedy needs an IQ test

Apr 11, 08 1:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - Critics like the big-name actors in family serio-comedy Smart People —especially Dennis Quaid, who stars as a cranky professor with much to learn about people—but think they might have been smarter to choose a different script. Screenwriter Mark Jude Poirier "is aiming for Scrabulous dialogue but his... More »

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independent film • film • movie review • Sarah Jessica Parker • Dennis Quaid • Ellen Page • movies • Thomas Haden Church

 LiLo Going
 Full Frontal
 for $40K 

Lohan asks to bare all in upcoming movie

Apr 10, 08 12:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - Lindsay Lohan wants to bare the full monty in an upcoming flick where she's making a paltry $40,000 to play a nymphomaniac waitress. The sex scene only required a topless shot but she asked for the direction change so she could prove she was a "mature actress,"... More »

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independent film • nudity • Lindsay Lohan • Los Angeles • celebrity • acting career

Web Videos
May Be Ad
Gold Mine

Market expected to explode as media companies retool

Apr 4, 08 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - TV networks, major news organizations, and independent producers are all scrambling to create Web videos that will let them snag a portion of the ad dollars flowing online. Ad spending on Internet videos will grow to $4.3 billion by 2011, say researchers—a 455% increase over today. "It's... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Internet • NBC • independent film • CBS • advertising • online advertising • online videos • Disney • video • LonelyGirl15

MOVIE REVIEW

 No Juice in My Blueberry Nights 

Film starring Norah Jones doomed by hackneyed script

Apr 4, 08 11:01 AM CDT
(Newser) - As the lead in My Blueberry Nights, Grammy-winning jazz-pop chanteuse Norah Jones doesn't exactly dazzle. Her performance as a waitress, who ditches New York City for the open road after being ditched by her boyfriend, is "agreeable but bland," writes Todd McCarthy of Variety and "oddly behind... More »

MORE ABOUT:
independent film • movie review • Jude Law • Natalie Portman • art-house movies • Norah Jones • Wong Kar Wai

movie review

 Faithfull Shines in Irina Palm

1960s icon plays a grandma-turned-sex-worker

Mar 21, 08 10:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - Irina Palm, about a frumpy grandmother who resorts to prostitution so she can pay for her desperately ill grandson's operation, is winning over critics, both because of its unsentimental portrayal of the sex trade and because of the performance given by its star, singer/songwriter/actress and '60s icon Marianne Faithfull. More »

MORE ABOUT:
health care costs • prostitution • independent film • movie review • movies • Marianne Faithfull • sex trade

Juno Scores at Spirit Awards

Film picks up 3 awards, along with The Savages, I'm Not There

Feb 23, 08 10:36 PM CST
(Newser) - Little-indy-that-could Juno won big at today’s Independent Spirit Awards, netting best actress for its star Ellen Page, best first script for writer Diablo Cody, and best feature film, the Los Angeles Times reports. The awards show, which honors only films made for less than $20 million, has... More »

MORE ABOUT:
independent film • Julian Schnabel • Santa Monica • Todd Haynes • Cate Blanchett • Heath Ledger • Philip Seymour Hoffman • Diablo Cody • Independent Spirit Awards • Ellen Page • Tamara Jenkins

Compass Leads at Top Spot,
Yet Falls Short

Small films fare well
as New Line admits dismay over megapic

Dec 9, 07 7:56 PM CST
(Newser) - The Golden Compass took top spot at the weekend box office but fell short of its expected $30-40 million tally, Variety reports. The flick grossed $26.1 million, chump change for a film costing $180 million—and New Line execs didn't hide their disappointment as they touted its sales abroad.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
independent film • box office • Beowulf • Enchanted • Juno • The Golden Compass • Atonement • This Christmas

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