The reigning American box office champion (per theater average) is “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” an independent science-fiction film by the Daniels (Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), exploring parallel universes through the eyes of a downtrodden mother.
Chinese superstar and martial artist Michelle Yeoh is the beleaguered heroine searching for purpose in life, only to find it in unexpected (and unimaginable) places.
Historically, independent films made outside the studio system, or lacking an established distributor, struggle to financially break even or turn a small profit. The “Star Wars” and Marvel Universe films are safe, tailor-made productions with massive budgets — in return for even more obscene profits.
But every so often, a small independent film breaks through and becomes a critical and financial blockbuster.
Take One
The blueprint for all modern independent films remains 1969’s “Easy Rider,” produced by Peter Fonda, directed by Dennis Hopper and starring both actors along with Jack Nicholson, in a performance that shot him to stardom. This counterculture phenomenon is revered for its psychedelic visuals and rocking soundtrack. With themes exploring the hippie movement, drug use and communal living, many audiences were introduced to a country they didn’t recognize. The production cost just $400,000 and the film grossed over $60 million.
How do two twenty-somethings win an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and then star in their own movie to launch major careers as A-list celebrities? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are the driving force behind “Good Will Hunting” (1997), directed by Gus Van Sant and also starring Robin Williams and Minnie Driver. Damon portrays a genius working as a janitor at MIT who has the ability to solve complex mathematical formulas but prefers to bar-hop with his South Bawston buddies and resolve disputes with his fists. Affleck is Will’s blue-collar BFF who recognizes a life outside their local haunts is Will’s destiny. Nominated for nine Academy Awards with a production cost of $10 million, the film grossed over $225 million.
Let’s look at another film starring Yeoh, along with Chow Yun-fat, “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) by acclaimed director Ang Lee. Filmed with a Chinese cast, this is the most successful wuxia (martial arts heroes) film of all time. The story is a parable based upon a 1940s’ serialization of a popular novel, and features remarkable gravity-defying special effects. Nominated for ten Academy Awards; it won for Best Foreign Language Film, Cinematography, Art Direction and Music Score. The production cost $17 million and the film grossed over $215 million.
Take Two
In terms of actual net gain from production cost to box office revenue, you’d be hard-pressed to beat Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’ 1999 horror touchstone “The Blair Witch Project.” The title itself conjures up feelings — equally loved and maligned — but the film’s impact is inarguable. Not only did it spawn a new genre of countless found footage horror films, but it bears another hallmark it’s rarely given credit for: It’s really scary. Focusing on a group of college students who venture into the Maryland wilderness to make a documentary about a local legend, the film is endlessly innovative in its ability to build suspense. Yet, unlike the wave of empty Hollywood slasher films, it never shows the audience enough to spoil the tension. Structurally it’s more indebted to Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho,” a fellow horror masterpiece which deescalates the violence in order to ramp up the terror through its plot. It was produced for approximately $25,000, and the film went on to make $250 million.
If we’re going for longevity, it’d be hard to hold a candle to Jim Sharman’s 1975 musical comedy, “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” Produced on a shoestring budget (and it shows), the film has gone on to make over $226 million in the decades since. Even more impressive: the film is still regularly shown on screens around the world to this very day. Carving out a strange niche in the pornographically-inclined late-night crowd of the mid-’70s, the film is a mainstay of midnight movie culture. A young couple end up stranded in the elaborate haunted home of a mad scientist (yes, Dr. Frank N. Furter) who is an “alien transvestite from the planet Transsexual in the galaxy of Transylvania.” Great Scott! As you may have guessed, college students, bohemians, queer communities and the burgeoning punk scene all leapt to embrace the film. Its impact on independent cinema, especially camp, is so vast that even the Library of Congress inducted it to its renowned National Film Registry. For all its transgressive (pun intended?) flair, it continues to speak to and for those traditionally without a voice in mainstream Hollywood.
(This column is written jointly by a baby boomer, Denny Parish, and a millennial, Carson Parish, who also happen to be father and son.)
