Overview

For over three decades the major Hollywood studios have operated specialty film divisions, companies that were originally established to focus primarily on the European arthouse film market, before moving on to the burgeoning American independent film market and in the process transforming it in fundamental ways. Hollywood's Indies is the first book to offer an in depth examination of the phenomenon of the studio specialty film labels, by tracing their history since the establishment of the first such division in 1980, United Artists Classics. The book provides a detailed account of these divisions, their business practices, their position within the often labyrinthine structure of contemporary entertainment conglomerates, their relationship to the Hollywood majors and their contribution to independent cinema in the United States. In examining these companies Yannis Tzioumakis provides a fresh perspective on the history of contemporary American independent cinema, which he divides into three periods: the independent, the indie and the indiewood. Each of these eras is characterised by a particular group of studio specialty labels and, to a large extent, by a distinct expression of ""independent"" filmmaking. A number of case studies are provided, including such celebrated films as Lianna, Mystery Train, The Brothers McMullen, Barcelona, Greenberg, and many others.

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9780748685936

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Reviews

Yannis Tzioumakis is a key scholar in charting the historical development of independent American cinema. His meticulous historical research and attention to detail makes this book an authoritative account of Hollywood's takeover of independent filmmaking via its specialty divisions.--Warren Buckland, Oxford Brookes University Hollywood's Indies is a major advance in our understanding of the art, commerce and industry of American independent cinema. From his ground-breaking survey of the studios' 'classics' divisions of the 1980s, to his in-depth analysis of Sony Classics, Fox Searchlight, and the other indie divisions in the 1990s and 2000s, Tzioumakis provides an invaluable, endlessly insightful history of independent film in the age of Conglomerate Hollywood. Moving deftly from the big picture to the tight, carefully composed close-up, Hollywood Indies examines the industry at large and also the inner workings of the companies - and the films - that defined the American indie film movement.--Thomas Schatz, University of Texas

Author Information

Yannis Tzioumakis is Reader in Film and Media Industries at the University of Liverpool. His research specialises in American independent cinema and the business of media entertainment. His books include American Independent Cinema: An Introduction (EUP, 2006), The Spanish Prisoner (EUP, 2009), and Greek Cinema: Texts, Histories Identities (Intellect, 2011). He is also the co-editor of ""American Indies"" (EUP), a 6-volume book series that examines key titles from the contemporary US independent film scene.

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