Category: Independent Film

Goodbye to Park City

Jonathan Demme, the Coen Brothers & me (up top) at the 1985 U.S. Film and Video Festival

For the last couple of weeks, I‘ve been chewing over my experience at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.  As one would expect, there was much written about the festival this year that focused on its status as the final edition to be held in Park City, and the first to be held after the death of its visionary founder. And on the ground in Park City, it was the most common conversation. “How do you feel about Sundance leaving Utah?” 

Side-by-side with that question was another one that was hovering over the festivities, having to do with the health, or lack thereof, of the film business, or more specifically the indie film world that Sundance has been more or less synonymous with since its founding.

I found myself having tremendously mixed feelings. As a long-time participant, of course there was a sense of nostalgia that a chapter in my life was coming to an end. But there was a palpable backlash on the street to the entire concept of nostalgia. The old indie film business, as represented by Sundance was dead. The only focus should be on reinvention. Continue reading “Goodbye to Park City”

Exciting News about “Hester Street”

After many years of development, a pandemic delay and a lot of sweat, I’m pleased that the theatrical production of “Hester Street,” based on the film by Joan Micklin Silver, is finally happening. Joan worked closely with us on the adaptation when we first got started and my only regret is that she didn’t live to see the result. I’m confident that she would have been very pleased.

The first out-of-town production will be in Washington DC with an official opening date of April 1. You can read the details in the press release below, which went out earlier today. Tickets are already on sale at THIS LINK. 

If you would like to get involved, you can make a fully tax-deductible contribution here… Donate to Theater J Hester Street.

If you would rather invest in the commercial production of the show, just contact me directly.

Here is the complete press release:

For Immediate Release 10/23/23

OLIVER BUTLER TO DIRECT STAGE ADAPTATION OF
JOAN MICKLIN SILVER’S “HESTER STREET”

Sharyn Rothstein’s new play-with-music will have its world premiere in the Spring of 2024

A new adaptation for the stage of Joan Micklin Silver’s 1976 critically acclaimed film, HESTER STREET will have its world premiere on April 1, 2024, at Theater J in Washington DC, it was announced today by Producers Michael Rabinowitz and Ira Deutchman. The play-with-music adaptation was written by Sharyn Rothstein and will be directed by Oliver Butler. The new original music was written by Joel Waggoner. Continue reading “Exciting News about “Hester Street””

Movie Theater Update, Missing Movies and More…

I have a number of things on my mind right now, the first of which is to give you all a quick and overdue update on the Upper West Side Movie Project I wrote about last month, which brought a remarkable response. It seems I hit a nerve with the community, and I now have a long list of folks who have come forward to help in any way they can. What is it we need? For the moment, a space and, of course, money.

Since I last wrote, I have continued to be in touch with the landlords of the building I originally hoped could house the theater. While they claim to be closing a deal with another tenant, that deal is still not done as far as I can tell. I’ve scouted one other location that seemed promising, but after consulting my architect, it doesn’t seem ideal. So, at this moment, we still do not have a target location. Continue reading “Movie Theater Update, Missing Movies and More…”

The Upper West Side Needs More Art Film Screens

When the Lincoln Plaza Theater closed in January of 2018, it was like a body blow to the Upper West Side, an area that historically housed a huge community of arts lovers who were educated, sophisticated and open to a wide variety of cinema experiences.

It wasn’t as if there weren’t alternatives. Film at Lincoln Center is one of the best curated art houses in the country. AMC has two large multiplexes that, in addition to playing the latest Hollywood movies, also squeeze in the occasional Focus, Searchlight, A24 or Neon film. But, with the passing of the Lincoln Plaza Theater, a stalwart community institution was gone.

In the time since that closure, there have been some good and some bad developments. On the bad side, The Landmark on 57th Street also closed. While it was never going to fulfill the UWS neighborhood’s needs due to its incredibly inconvenient location, Landmark did attempt to play some of the smaller art films that couldn’t find a home elsewhere. I’ve heard that someone is taking over that theater, but I’m guessing it will end up mainly playing commercial Hollywood films. Continue reading “The Upper West Side Needs More Art Film Screens”

Bill Thompson: Indie Film Stalworth and Dear Friend

Bill Thompson, who passed away earlier this week, was a true mensch.  I first met Bill in 1977, when we both worked at Cinema 5, and we remained friends over all these years. Through his long career, as Bill went back and forth between being a film buyer for various theaters, and a film salesperson for various distribution companies, he never lost his capacity to be one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. This, in spite of how vicious and competitive the indie film business can be. It’s hard to get across how special that quality was, and how much his presence in our world will be missed. 

Bill was one of the stars of my film “Searching for Mr. Rugoff,” and here is an outtake where he tells us a little about his own origin story in the film business. 

A Celebration of Joan Micklin Silver

Last June, at the Walter Reade Theater in New York, family, friends and colleagues of Joan Micklin Silver got together to pay tribute to the inspirational and ceiling-smashing legacy of one of independent film’s true heroes.  Somewhat belatedly, here is the memorial in its entirely for those of you who couldn’t be there.

Please comment after the break… Continue reading “A Celebration of Joan Micklin Silver”

Criterion Celebrates Fabled Distributor Cinema 5

When my film, Searching for Mr. Rugoff was released in the theaters, the most common feedback I got was how astounding it was that one company released so many of the definitive films from what, in retrospect, looks like a golden age of art films. I had so many requests for a list of the films that I included one in the press kit and provided it to anyone who asked.

It is with that in mind that I am so very pleased that the Criterion Channel is showing twenty Cinema 5 titles in conjunction with the exclusive premiere of my film. The series starts on September 12.

This collection of films might as well be a syllabus for anyone interested in non-Hollywood cinema from the ’60s and ’70s, a particularly ripe period of pushing the limits of what could be shown in commercial movie theaters. Many of the films were controversial in their day, and probably would be today. It took an off-kilter sensibility like Rugoff’s to see commercial potential in them, and many of them failed at the box office. But looking back after all these years, the collection seems downright inspired. Continue reading “Criterion Celebrates Fabled Distributor Cinema 5”

Seven Ways The New York Times Could Help Save Theatrical Moviegoing and Its Own Bottom Line

There isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t read The New York Times. I fully admit to being one of those old-fashioned people who reads the news on paper; I flip through every page, skimming the articles, diving into whatever grabs my attention, and feeling like I’ve absorbed enough information to be up to date on our crazy world.

There also isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t get pissed off at The Times for one reason or another. The insistence on presenting “both sides” of every issue, to the point of false equivalencies, is a particular source of anger. (Let’s not forget that it was The Times that broke the story of “Hillary’s emails” and continued to hammer it all the way to November.)

However, all told, The Times does a better job than most daily newspapers of at least trying to get things right. And in an environment in which newspapers around the world are under severe threat of extinction, I find it heartening That they have found a way to keep the paper alive while deftly navigating new business models to support it.

That said, what brings me to write comes less from my personal and political perspectives as a reader than my professional perspective as someone who lives in the world of movie marketing; more specifically someone who has spent their life trying to get audiences to see less commercial fare in movie theaters. The Times has always played an important role in that effort, but unfortunately in recent years, changes have been made that have created great obstacles to that effort. Continue reading “Seven Ways The New York Times Could Help Save Theatrical Moviegoing and Its Own Bottom Line”

“Searching for Mr. Rugoff” Now Available for Home Viewing

It’s been a long road. After five years in production and a nearly two-year pandemic delay in the theatrical release, my film “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” finally opened in theaters in over 40 cities this past August. The response has been beyond my wildest expectations, both the reviews, as well as all the wonderful notes I’ve been getting from audiences around the country and around the world. The most gratifying part has been the reception from younger audiences, who have no reason to relate to the film on a nostalgic level. Their response (thank you, Columbia students) gave me the confidence to complete the project, and ultimately to pursue as broad a release as possible.

Now comes the payoff. The film is now available for sale on DVD & Blu-ray, and for sale or rental on Amazon Prime Video, iTunes, Google Play, Vudu and Kino Now. So, gather around the biggest screen you have access to, and watch the movie that RogerEbert.com called “One of the top 10 documentaries of the year…a beautifully structured tale of movie love. “Searching for Mr. Rugoff” is both dramatic and enlightening, a moving document of an American life that has a bit of “Citizen Kane” to it.” 

You can see all the information about it, as well as outtakes and other fun stuff at http://mrrugoff.com. 

Irwin Young – Godfather of Independent Film

Upon hearing of the death of Irwin Young at the age of 94, I wrote a heartfelt remembrance of the man who played such an enormous role in the lives of so many independent filmmakers. It was originally published in Indiewire. I am reprinting it here it its entirety.

When prominent people die, obituaries often declare the end of an era. In the case of Irwin Young, who died this past Thursday at the age of 94, there’s an added poignancy to seeing his death through that lens, as we are living through a time when everything he stood for is under threat. Anyone who lived through the modern history of independent film can tell you: much of that history could not have happened without him. Continue reading “Irwin Young – Godfather of Independent Film”