DISNEY - TIMES GET TOUGHER FOR INDIE FILMMAKERS

TIMES GET TOUGHER FOR INDIE FILMMAKERS

The Walt Disney Co.'s decision to drastically cut back its Miramax specialty division has come as a heavy blow to the already hammered independent film industry, Daily Variety indicated today (Thursday), noting that Miramax's staff will be cut by almost 75 percent and that it will change focus from being a company that acquires "genre" movies to one that produces or co-produces such fare itself. However, the trade publication observed, some industry observers sees Miramax's restructuring as a prelude to the complete elimination of the division -- a repeat of what occurred at Paramount with the recent demise of Paramount Vantage. Variety noted that independent film producers now have less chance of finding distributors. "People are behaving really badly," one sales agent told the publication. "They're basically saying, 'We'll pay you whenever we want too pay you, no matter what the contract says. ... There were 20 places to distribute your film before, and now there are 10.'"

08/10/2009