www.thewrap.com: Over the course of his lengthy career, Tim Blake Nelson has seen it all. An actor, director, writer and producer whose latest film, “The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd,” is premiering at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, he’s seen the industry evolve dramatically over the decades. And although he’s continued to work through all of it, this hasn’t always been an easy undertaking — especially in independent film.
7 comments:
It feels like in the modern day everyone is so obsessed with how profitable an idea is, which at least for artistic endeavors, feels like the wrong tree to be barking at. I am a firm believer that if a project is trying to please everyone, in the end all it does is piss everyone off because the message feels overly vague and inspecific, and there is no boldness to take any ideas to any point that is interesting. Its annoying that the indie film area is becoming so difficult to create in, because that feels like a great place for the weird little stories that are created from the heart and for a specific reason used to be able to go. It also creates a space for people to become successful. If investors are only investing in people that are already successful, eventually they are going to run out of people. Interesting art comes from people willing to take risks, so its nice to hear that there are still people out there fighting to make weird little movies even if they aren't going to gross a billion dollars at the box office.
I had no idea that Tim Blake Nelson, one of my favorite actors (watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, please, I beg you), was making a film, which is really just a confirming detail that Nelson is spot on. Studios and investors want to play it safe, want to minimize risk in order to maximize potential audience and, therefore, profit. Which, on one hand, fair enough -- money in and out is their job. But, man oh man is it depressing to hear about even David Lynch, icon of cinema, having his final film being thrown to the wayside after the pandemic slowed production. It can be easy to look at some of the recent successes of indie cinema and get all caught up in the storybook wonder of it all, ignoring the countless artists who can't even get in the door.
Independent filmmaking is such a vital part of the entire filmmaking industry, and yet it still doesn’t get the recognition it fully deserves. But, I was happy to reach the end of this article and hear that many heads of the independent film industry are still hopeful that they can continue to create meaningful work. I believe that there will be a resurgence of support for these movies, especially with so many large movie studios receiving backlash for creating mostly sequels recently. Nelson said in this article that independent films are typically surrounded by socially conscious issues recently, or are focusing on subjects that they know will bring audiences in. In a way, independent filmmaking might become more popular because it would be an outlet for more authentic work. A resurgence of independent films also aligns with the recent trend of “analog culture,” where people purposefully buy the older version of things, or purchase the “not mainstream” side of media. Supporting independent films aligns very well with this movement and could contribute to its resurgence.
I think it’s really interesting how independent filmmaking looks so different from an outsider looking in. I feel like a lot of news I’ve heard about indie filmmaking has been relatively positive lately. With how popular indie films and projects have become, as an outsider, I would think they would be doing better and better. I consistently see things about how much smaller, indie studios are helping to produce some of the biggest successes–my brain immediately goes to Obsession and the phenomenon it became after the release in theaters. It also makes me think of Glitch Studios who publish their work on youtube, one of their series just had its finale and screened it in theaters all around at least America. I think the issues that the article brings up are definitely real, but it’s not only indie films or companies struggling to get story ideas okayed and picked up.
When I read this article, I was first tempted to be like “if you think producing a movie is hard, what do you think producing a play is like!” but honestly, I don’t think that’s true at all. I think there is a lot more enthusiasm in making shows happen in the theatre world than there is in the film world according to this article. Perhaps most theatres that produce new work don’t make enough money off of ticket sales in the first place to be worried if one of the shows doesn’t make a profit. I also suppose the commitment time on one given project in the film world would be longer than it would be for a theatre to produce a single project within a season.
I have thought about whether the scales of these films talked about in the article are comparable to what a broadway show would be in the theatre world. Like, you could still make a movie with very few resources and a small budget, but of course Tim Blake Nelson is very accomplished in the entertainment industry and would be seeking of a higher level out.
One part of social media, of being as online as much as we all seem to be nowadays, is the ease in which we catastrophize. (And this is not to say it’s a new problem, only that it has been exacerbated by algorithms that feed this more charged media in order to increase clicks and website traffic.) Nelson doesn't do this, nor does he necessarily accept the current climate of the film industry either. Honestly, I respect him more for it. He had two lines that stuck out for me, first being, “I don't think the sky has fallen or is falling.” I think this is something that as a reader I will take with me, that even when things look rough, it’s not always the end. I am as guilty of catastrophizing as the next person. This article was a good reminder that even when things are bleak it’s more important to take action then simply bemoan the state of affairs. There’s a grit to Nelson's words that I think is important. When things are important to you it's about getting back up again and trying. The article finishes with the second quote I really liked. It wasn't flowery but simple and earnest, he says, “We’ve got to earn our audiences back, and damn it, there is a group of us, we’re going to do that.” This is what I mean by grit. I appreciate his determination, especially as someone making a career in theatre where success and audience are not guaranteed, yet vital to the continued creation of theatre.
In this short article Tim Blake Nelson remarks the dire conditions of indie filmmaking in the present, but also throughout the past decade. With most investors concerned more about making money than creating art, film writers and directors are finding it difficult to finance their projects. As large media companies are becoming even larger media conglomerates, it seems less and less likely the situation will improve greatly any time soon. Nelson does think the climate has improved every so slightly recently.
One thing that might help is just getting more young people in the door at these festivals and premieres in the first place. Most of what I hear about them is from film blogs or industry Twitter, never anything that feels aimed at someone my age. I've never actually been to one myself, but if there was better outreach, or even just cheaper student tickets and a bit of promotion at schools, I think I'd go. A lot of people my age probably would too if the right festival or premiere ever came somewhere nearby.
Post a Comment