SINGLE SETTING MOVIES

Um p-m-boyer I think you are confusing the term CULT FILM with INDEPENDENT FILM, to be an independent picture the movie simply needs to not be financed by a major production company. For example Smith paid to make Clerks mostly with credit cards aka INDEPENDENT of a major financial backer. The reason you have seen Clerks is because Miramax bought it after it's screening at I believe the Cannes film festival (It may have been a different festival, I'm not sure). So after buying the film they paid to distribute it aka put it in theaters, and then kept the profits and paid Smith (or technically his production company, View Askew) whatever royalties were contracted.

His next movie Mallrats was made by Gramercy Pictures and Alphaville Films, meaning they paid the 6 Million dollar budget to make the film and owned it out right, Gramercy also handled distribution on Mallrats. If you'll notice in the credits View Askew is also listed as an associate production company, this is not because Smith funded any of the film but in this case he, or more specifically Scott Mosier, spent the 6 million through View Askew. This movie was undeniably a studio picture.

Smith’s third film falls somewhere in between and for the most part is considered an independent film. Chasing Amy was made and owned by View Askew productions, but Miramax paid it for. What happened was that Askew sold the USA theatrical distribution rights on Amy to Miramax before the film was made for I believe $250,000, Askew then took this money and made their movie. They stilled owned the movie but Miramax put it into theaters, depending on how much the film made Askew may or may not have seen direct profit on the picture (I am not sure of the numbers on this film). Also after the film left theaters Smith and Askew were free to sell the home video rights to whomever they pleased eventually selling to The Criterion Collection for the making of a Special edition DVD. So based on the fact that the film was stilled owned by its maker and the very low budget Chasing Amy is considered Smith’s second Independent film even though Miramax essential fronted the budget of it.

The only thing you really need to be a CULT FILM is unsuccessful in theaters and then moderately successful in home video and DVD especially if your moderate success is based in a single group of people (like Half Baked is a cult film for pot heads), Mallrats is a Cult Film.

I hope to god someone reads this or I just wasted a half hour of my life!

P.S. Technically Star Wars Episodes V & VI are both Independent films, because Lucas used a private bank loan to pay for each picture.




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