So here it is my second installment of the Girl in the 6th Row. I know I was going to talk about music this time but something else got stuck in my craw this week so music will come another time.

There was a recent US study that claimed that "children gain weight as they watch television." Something like 500 children aged 11 to 13 were monitored over a period of 20 months. For each hour they spent watching television, their food intake was found at the end of the period to have increased by 167 calories a day. This doesn't surprise me nor should it you, but it got me thinking that if kids are getting fat at home eating whatever is in the fridge, what happens when they go to the movies. Is the fat content consumed at home all day balanced out by the 2 (sometimes 3) hours of nonstop consumption of popcorn, nachos, candy and soda all having little or no nutritional value at all? I mean, I don't think I have ever seen anything in a movie theater that was good for me to eat or drink besides a $4 bottle of water.

So not only are we (sadly more often than not) giving kids' (and everyone else's) minds junk at the movies we are giving their bodies junk as well. No wonder people think that going to the movies is an unpleasant experience. It is also no wonder that in addition to the junk food sold at movie theaters, they also sell antacids. What would happen if the popcorn was made fresh hourly with canola oil and no fake butter? Or instead of nachos with fake cheese there were veggie chips, nuts or fruit? Parents would be much more likely to patronize theaters that didn't feed their kids crap and didn't smell like a fast food restaurant all of the time. The experience of going to the movies would be a healthier one (at least for the body). Maybe just maybe, if the indie movie chains - Landmark, Laemmle, etc. got together and established a healthy menu for their patrons, their audiences would feel better while they are there - be more apt to enjoy the experience and then be a bit more open to the indie/foreign movie fare that was being offered to them. I am not saying that there needs to be gourmet organic food. Putting out a basket of fruit or juice instead of soda would be a start and is not going to break the bank.

I don't think you are going to be able to change the big movie chains from their unhealthy menus but a little variety and consideration of health would be great especially b/c those of the chains that get the most kids.

I don't know. Maybe I am ranting for nothing. Maybe people love to eat and feed junk to their kids all of the time especially in the movie theater where it is dark and no one can see them eat enough popcorn to feed 5 other people. Not to mention the fact that they can also throw the crap on the floor and someone else will clean it up.
I would like to think that we care a little more about ourselves and each other.

Keeping it indie,
Julie

Is this thing on?

Sometimes it's hard to believe, but I have worked in the indie film industry for almost ten years. I have been a movie lover all of my life. And for as long as I can remember, there has been a constant dialogue on whether there is an audience for independent film. The conversation goes round and round and everyone has their own opinion.

Some say things are better for indie filmmakers. Some believe only people in the coastal cities want to see independent film. Others are convinced that people in the midwest (from where I hail) will only see a film if there's stars in the lead. Millions of dollars are spent on ads. Distributors come and go. Now ON Demand is the new item because "people don't go to the movies anymore."
It all comes down to money and box office.

indieIN was born from this as well. Julie and I were convinced that one of the reasons indie films struggle is because indie films don't have the marketing dollars to reach the film-going public. Enough with speculation, I want to hear YOUR opinion.

If you are reading this column and have an opinion, please post a comment and let me know how you feel about indie films?

Moviegoers: What makes you seek them out? Do you prefer them to other films, and if so why? What makes you see (or not see) a film?

If you are a filmmaker, what do think is the biggest obstacle to getting your film seen by an audience?

As someone who has spent the last ten years of her life "supporting indie film," I'm curious to hear what indie film has to say to me...

Long live indie film,

Michelle

Is it too much to advertise a movie on a banana?

With the summer blockbusters coming out earlier and earlier each year—this year I think the front runner is MI:3 in early May—Los Angeles has become a veritable monopoly board of summer blockbuster billboard real estate. Everywhere you go, you see billboards for the aforementioned MI:3, XMEN 3 (one of my personal fave campaigns) and Superman. It got me thinking about advertising and how much is too much? Then I remembered the below:

A while ago, I bought a bunch of bananas in my local Ralphs supermarket. Though Ralphs is a place I rarely shop in, it was close to another store I was in, open and I needed some bananas for breakfast the next morning. I vaguely noticed the stickers on my bananas (most fruit has some sort of "Made in..." sticker on them, don't they?), packed them in my basket, paid and headed for home.

The next morning, as I went to peel the banana to slice and put in my cereal, I noticed something odd about the sticker. It had a monkey on it. Kind of cute, I guess. Something familiar caught my eye and I looked closer. The monkey sticker was not the logo for the company that produces the bananas but a nickel size advertisement for the movie, Curious George. I couldn't believe it. I know I live in LA, a city inundated with advertisements for movies on everything from bus shelters to billboards to movie tickets to in-store displays, but on bananas! Would having a sticker on the banana make me want to see Curious George because Curious George presumably eats bananas? Do studios think that the public is that dumb? Or is it that they think that the target audience for Curious George are clearly banana lovers? Just to see if perhaps this might have been some stunt put on by my local Ralph's the next day, I went to another to check out the bananas. Sure enough, the ever so subtle Curious George stickers were on every single banana in the store. Is this even legal? How can a studio buy out the Ralphs banana supplier sticker space? Why is that okay?

As someone who has spent their career as a marketer (especially one who has had to market indie films) I applaud anyone that thinks out of the box to get their product across. But I have to say, having a movie promotion sticker on my banana crossed some weird moral line with me. Do we have to resort to marketing on fruit because the advertising marketplace is so saturated with cereal boxes, beer, diet soda, and cookies that we have to start marketing on stuff that is good for you.

Ohmigod, maybe that is it. Bananas are good for you so therefore Curious George is good for you too. Genius.

Keeping it indie,
Julie

Truly Indie?

It’s ironic that Caveh Zahedi won the “Best Film Not Playing in a Theater Near You” at this year’s IFP Gotham Awards. If Mark Cuban has his way, it will stay that way.

Zahedi’s award-winning film, I am a Sex Addict, picked up distribution from IFC Films after a long and successful festival tour. And then, his film was chosen as one of the first to be a part of IFC First Take, a day-and-date release agreement where the film opens simultaneously in theaters and offered On Demand through Comcast.

But in a surprise move, Mark Cuban, head of Landmark Theaters, pulled Zahedi’s film from Landmark theaters because he would not support the “competition.” I know this shouldn’t surprise me. It’s the nature of the business and everyone is looking out for themselves.

I think it’s a real shame that as a result, this will limit the audience for Zahedi’s film.

Maybe it’s because I worked at IFP for so many years, but I look at the independent film industry as a true community. WE (indie film biz peeps) look out for each other (other indie film biz peeps) to ensure that our work is seen and supported, because if one indie film succeeds, that opens the doors for the rest of us. Right?

We started this site because we wanted to make indie films more accessible to the general public. I ask you to support this film out when it comes to your town.

If you’re in New York, check out the panel presented by IFP and Filmmaker Magazine entitled “Distribution Now: Distribution How” featuring Zahedi, Debra Granik, and Jay Duplass as panelists. Moderated by Scott Macaulay, this panel will cover all the practical things every indie filmmaker should know regarding distribution, post production, and festivals. IFP has committed that $8 our of every $10 spent on the panel wil go directly to Zahedi’s opening box office and guaranteeing each participant a ticket to the film.

To learn more about Zahedi’s film, go to www.iamasexaddictthemovie.com.

Long live indie film,

Michelle