In Hollywood, Woody Allen is the guy at the beach who gets sand kicked in his face by the musclebound bully.
But in indie-land, he does the sand kicking.
Today’s independent films make a fraction of what most mainstream movies make, and we’re talking about a tiny fraction in the best-case scenarios.
“The Visitor” was one of 2008’s breakout indie hits. It’s total box office take? $9.4 million, according to Box Office Mojo. Other indies are lucky to crack the $2 million mark.
And then there’s the Woody Allen collection.
Take “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Allen’s latest film has earned $21 million - and counting. And while his previous film, “Cassandra’s Dream,” delivered a very ordinary $1 million, recent flicks like “Scoop” ($10 million) and “Match Point” ($23 million) greatly overachieved by indie standards.
The Allen brand, after all these years, still packs a wallop. Other indie films feature just as many good actors, and they often deal with themes far more pulp-worthy than Allen’s introspective fare. But people remain loyal to Allen and his neurotic storytelling.
(Photo: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Scarlett Johansson confer with Woody Allen, right, on the set of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” - photo credit: Victor Bello/TWC 2008)
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I'm an award-winning journalist and film critic with more than a decade of experience in newspapers, magazines and the Web. I'm a member of both the Washington, DC Area Film Critics Association and the Denver Film Critics Society.
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