Dan Krovich and Chris Hyde's
2004 Indie Preview
January 20, 2004
The indie and foreign film world can be a frustrating one some times. Sure,
there are the occasional breakout hits, but often fans are stuck waiting for
a film to make it to their city, or for a distributor to take it off its
shelf, or for the film to get any distribution whatsoever. So it takes
something of an intrepid person to try to plan out what indie films they
want to see in the next year. But that never stopped us from listing the
films that we really want to see. (Though some of us are beginning to think
these lists are just signals to tell Harvey Weinstein what films to buy to
lock away in the Miramax vault.) There is no guarantee that these films
will make it to theaters this year, but from a production standpoint they
should be ready to go. Before we get to what we're looking forward to in
2004 (to be posted tomorrow and Thursday), we'll look at what happened to our picks for 2003. (We're still
waiting for some of them.)
The Adventurer
When Canal Plus changed their rules and withdrew
funding, director Christope Gans bailed out on this one like a rat
leaving a sinking ship. It's likely that this one is dead, dead, dead.
Sigh. When last heard from, Gans was being considered for the
directorial duties on the live action Mulan film with Chow Yun-fat.
All the Real Girls
David Gordon Green's rumination on true love was
released by Sony Pictures Classics in February and made a respectable
half a million dollars (plus) at the box office. The film has also
garnered a smattering of year-end award and top ten list recognition
that should help it sustain a life on DVD. Green's next movie is
Undertow before he moves on to direct Confederacy of Dunces.
Amen
Costa-Gavras' latest political-minded film took on the Catholic
Church's lack of action against the Holocaust of WWII. The film had
fared well in France as it grabbed multiple Cesar Award nominations,
but was little seen in a limited release in the U.S. and is now
available on DVD.
Bollywood Queen
Premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, but
did not pick up U.S. distribution. There are currently no known plans
for release in the U.S.
The Company
Robert Altman's look into the world of ballet was
released in December by Sony Pictures Classics, presumably with the
hope of picking up some awards attention. The film has not caught on
either in terms of box office or awards. Altman's next film, Paint,
will take a look into the New York art scene.
Dirty Pretty Things
Stephen Frears' look at the lives of illegal
immigrants in London performed well for Miramax. Marketed as an
Audrey Tautou movie, it was Chiwetel Ejiofor's performance as Okwe
that was the breakthrough that stood out.
Down and Out with the Dolls
Indican Pictures released this tale of
an all-girl rock band in March, but it barely registered as a blip at
the box office.
800 Bullets
The film performed well in its native Spain, including
picking up multiple Goya Award nominations, but has yet to find a U.S.
distributor.
Fassbinder in Hollywood
Received a small theatrical release and
Wellspring has also gathered many of Fassbinder's films into a series,
which has played around the country.
Good Fences
Did not receive theatrical release, but did air on
Showtime and has picked up several NAACP Image Award nominations.
Director Ernest Dickerson's new film, Never Die Alone, will premiere
at Sundance before being released by Fox Searchlight in March.
Hypnotic
Thriller starring ER's Goran Visnjic has been sitting on
the shelf for a while with rotating release dates. The current plan
from First Look Pictures is to release it in April.
It's All About Love
Did not receive release in 2003. Focus Features
plans to release Thomas Vinterberg's latest some time in 2004.
Ju-On: The Grudge
Instead of releasing the film, Columbia pictures
instead decided to buy the rights and then hire director Tamashi
Shimizu to direct the English language remake of his Japanese film.
The English film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jason Behr will
combine elements of Ju-On and its sequels and is scheduled to begin
filming this month.
Kaante
Had a rather successful release for a Bollywood film in the
U.S. It grossed over a million dollars with a release early in the
year and is now available on DVD.
Laurel Canyon
Performed fairly well at the box office for Sony
Pictures Classics, grossing nearly $3.7 million. The film has also picked
up
a pair of Independent Spirit Award nominations, and Frances McDormand's
performance in particular gained notice. Lisa Cholodenko continues
with her music theme with her next film, Cavedweller starring Kyra
Sedgwick, Aidan Quinn, and Kevin Bacon.
Legend of Suriyothai
Francis Ford Coppola had been trying to
"present" this film since 2001. The record-breaking Thai film finally
received a release in 2003.
Lost in La Mancha
While this IFC Films release made reasonable money
for a documentary (nearly three-quarters of a million dollars), it was
overshadowed by what turned out to be a breakout year for docs at the
box office. There
have been rumblings that Gilliam may get another chance to make his
Don Quixote movie, but in the meantime he is finishing up The Brothers
Grimm.
Lost in Translation
Became the breakout indie hit of the year, doing
solid business and racking up year end critics awards while becoming a
major Oscar contender.
Madame Sata
Though successful on the festival circuit, this loose
biopic on the famous (infamous?) Brazilian transvestite performer did
not create many sparks in general release by Wellspring.
The Man Without a Past
Finnish master Aki Kaurismaki's film lost the
Best Foreign Film Oscar to Nowhere in Africa. A win would have
probably helped it crack the million dollar mark at the box office,
which it just missed.
May
Performed well on the festival circuit and then received a
light
theatrical release from Lions Gate before trying to find an audience
on DVD. Lucky McKee next is directing the horror film, The Woods,
featuring Bruce Campbell.
A Mighty Wind
Christopher Guest et. al. had another hit in the late spring/early summer.
The film is also picking up end of year awards,
particularly for the acting ensemble, music, and Eugene Levy.
The Motorcycle Diaries
Did not receive release in 2003, and will
instead debut at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Walter Salles' Che
Guevera pic was picked up by Focus Features for release some time this year.
My Little Eye
Has done well in release in Europe, but Focus Features
apparently still has no plans to release the film in the U.S. Perhaps
it will at least be able to get a direct-to-video release.
Owning Mahowny
Scraped together $1M at the box office during the
competitive summer months. Philip Seymour Hoffman's performance
received praise, but the movie overall was unable to grab a lot of
attention.
The Passion
Mel Gibson's pet project was not released in 2003, but
it still made a lot of waves.
Newmarket Films now currently plans to put the film (now titled The
Passion of the Christ) into wide release on February 25th (Ash
Wednesday).
Purple Butterfly
This historical drama from China played at Cannes
and has reportedly been picked up by Palm Pictures, but Palm's website
makes no note of release plans.
The Reckoning
Did not receive release in 2003. Paramount Classics
now plans to release this Paul Bettany starrer in March.
Runaway Pistol
Released in Asia and played some on the film
festival circuit, but currently no plans for any U.S. release.
Shaolin Soccer
$!?&*$#!?#$@! Weinstein. $!?*%$#%$!?@?! Miramax.
The Singing Detective
It seems kind of odd that two of the movies in
our look at the more obscure foreign and indie films coming last year
featured Mel Gibson in one way or another. The film adaptation of
Dennis Potter's British miniseries was something of a disappointment
all around.
Spellbound
Another documentary hit in "the year of the documentary
breakthrough." This spelling bee doc found a sizable audience and was
perhaps the most edge of your seat thriller of the year with its "Ten
Little Indians" approach.
Spider
The plan was apparently to have an Oscar qualifying run in
2002, and then use nominations to fuel its box office performance in
2003. When the nominations never materialized, then neither did the
box office.
Spun
Newmarket's release of this dark drug comedy failed to catch on
in its theatrical release, making under half a million dollars.
Ten
Iranian veteran filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami's film received a
small release from Zeitgeist films over the summer.
Thirteen
Became a bit of a sensation for Fox Searchlight during its
summer release, garnering praise for performances by veteran Holly
Hunter and newcomers Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed. Hunter remains
near the top of many people's lists for a Supporting Actress Oscar.
Director Catherine Harwick is currently working on Lords of Dogtown, a
sort of fictionalized reworking of Stacy Peralta's Dogtown and Z-Boys
skateboarding documentary.
Three
Pan-Asian collaboration never really had much chance for a
U.S. release. Three short films on the supernatural (one from Korea,
one from Thailand, and one from Hong Kong) were combined to make this
feature film that apparently didn't get much theatrical release
outside of Asia.
The Tulse Luper Suitcases
Peter Greenaway's trilogy continues to
make the festival rounds, and it is doubtful that it will ever receive
U.S. distribution, though the relative success of Matthew Barney's
Cremaster Cycle may prompt a small distributor to take a chance.
28 Days Later
Became Fox Searchlight's biggest grossing movie ever
when it enjoyed an impressive wide release in the middle of the summer
amongst higher profile films. Also rejuvenated Danny Boyle's career.
He has his next film, Millions, on the way.
Twins Effect
Enjoyed a highly successful run in its native Hong Kong
where it beat out big American films such as Terminator 3 and Charlie's
Angels: Full Throttle. In fact, it grossed more than any other
summer film in Hong Kong except Finding Nemo. Features a pop duo, who
play twin sisters who have to save the world from vampires. The film
will debut in the U.S. on cable network Starz. (Can the Olsen twins
English language remake be far behind?)
Vidocq
The film played in several European countries, but never
found distribution in the U.S. Don't feel too sorry for the film's
director, Pitof, though. He was able to parlay this into a gig
directing the Catwoman movie starring Halle Berry.
Winged Migration
Became the highest grossing non-IMAX documentary of
the year in a year where documentaries performed well as moviegoers
flocked to theaters to see this film about migrating birds.
Young Adam
Did not receive release in 2003, though Sony Pictures
Classics will open the film in April. Apparently Ewan McGregor's
naughty bits will be edited out of the U.S. release in order to garner an R
rating. (A note to the MPAA: oh grow up, we've already seen Ewan's penis
multiple times.)
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