The Rise of Independent Movies: The Birth of Independent Films

United Artists, which was formed by four major Hollywood stars in 1920-1921, was the first American independent studio. Becoming independent of the major Hollywood studios of the time allowed the stars to create films as they wanted to and with much more freedom than the studios of that time allowed.

Unfortunately, by 1924 the United Artists studio was facing a financial crisis. Without the backing of major Hollywood studios, and with the cost of making films on the rise, it appeared to be the end of a dream for these artists. Although they were able to hang on for several more years, the changing technologies and business dynamics eventually overcame the company and by the late 1940s it ceased to exist.

Still unwilling to be controlled by major Hollywood studios, however, Mary Pickford along with many of the same people who were members of United Artists created the Society of Independent Picture Producers. This society filed the first antitrust lawsuit, against Paramount's United Detroit Theatres, in 1942. In 1948, in another suit, courts ordered studios to stop many of the practices that had created their controlling monopoly. By 1958 many of the complaints SIMPP had were corrected and they closed their doors.

During the second World War a new, portable camera was invented. This new camera, and the efforts of SIMPP allowed most anyone with an interest in film to write, direct and produce their own films. In 1953 Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, and Ruth Orkin's film "Little Fugitive" was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay. Its theatrical trailer is below.

Because films were becoming more easy to make and produce, low-budget and independent films were able to take risks that Hollywood studios were unable to take. By the late 1950s, Hollywood studios were turning out films like this:

New York was exploding with artists wanting to use film as an art form. These artists were turning out films that looked more like this:

In 1962 Jonas Mekas, Stan Brekhage, Shirley Clarke, Gregory Markopoulos and others founded the an artist-run non-profit organization called The Filmmaker's Cooperative which they would use to distribute their films. For filmmakers such as Andy Warhol and Jack Smith, the Cooperative proved to be an important outlet. In 1970 Mekas and Brekhage founded the Anthology Film Archives, which to this day has proven essential to the preservation and development of independent films.

In 1951, with major Hollywood studios struggling to compete with television, Arthur Kim and Robert Benjamin made a deal with the remaining stockholders of United Artists. The deal consisted of Kim and Robert attempting to revive the company. If they were successful at this they would be able to buy the company in five years. The attempt was successful and United Artists broke new ground again by becoming the first studio without an actual studio. Rather than paying the overhead necessary for running a studio, studio space was either rented or films were shot on location. After going public in 1956 United Artists began to flourish as other studios started declining.

Unable to reach younger audiences many studios began hiring young filmmakers and allowing them to create their films with little control. This idea led to Warner Bros offering first-time producer Warren Beatty 40% of the film's gross earnings rather than a minimal fee in 1967. By 1973 the film, "Bonnie and Clyde" would bring in 70 million dollars worldwide. The success of this film helped usher in a new era for Hollywood as well as pave the way for major studios to give up most control to the film school generation.

One of the first completely independent films of the "New Hollywood" era was "Easy Rider", which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival. At Cannes the film received the "First Film Award", and later received two Oscar nominations, one for best original screenplay and one for best supporting actor. Its theatrical trailer is below:

Around this same time, the now revived United Artists studio released their film, "Midnight Cowboy" which is still the only X-rated film to win the Academy Award for best picture.

With a new crop of talent emerging through independent films, major Hollywood studios began to offer deals to these young filmmakers. This new generation include names like George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. Although they came from an independent background, these filmmakers soon found themselves entrenched in a new version of the studio system.

With the once independent filmmakers going mainstream, the line between "New Hollywood" and independent became incredibly blurry. While the films created by these directors flourished, a small group of filmmakers remained in New York creating art films and rebelling against the rise of the "New Hollywood" system.

In 1978 the Utah/US Film Festival was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen and Charles Gary Allison, with chairperson Robert Redford. The initial goal of the festival was to attract filmmakers to Utah and showcase the potential of independent films. Four years later, in 1981, United Artists was bought out by MGM and was no longer an avenue for independent filmmakers. That same year Van Wagenen left the film festival to found the Sundance Institute with Redford. In 1985, with the film festival facing financial troubles, Van Wagenen took over its management responsibilities, which led to the creation of the Sundance Film Festival.

The 1990s saw a new wave of independent films. In 1990 the release of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" by New Line Cinema grossed 100 million dollars at the box office making it the most successful independent film in box-office history. Noting the success of independent films, major Hollywood studios bought out the smaller indie studios. Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Focus Features, and Warner Independent Pictures are all indie studios that are now owned by Hollywood conglomerates.