Sean P. Means: In summer blockbuster season, independent film finds its niche

Las Vegas •

It's strange to think about independent film as a business proposition.

It's strange in part because most of the talk regarding independent film — the sort of talk you hear during the Sundance Film Festival every January — is about artistic motivations, of filmmakers sacrificing their industry ambitions and daddy's credit cards to tell the story that's burning inside them.

It's also strange because when one does talk about money and independent film, it's in terms of the distribution deals that Sundance films get — and how often those films fail to make back the money spent on them.

But, here in Las Vegas, people who measure movie success in box-office numbers and popcorn sales are talking about the independent film realm in terms of their business potential.

What the people attending last week's CinemaCon, the annual convention of theater owners held at Caesars Palace, learned was that business in the independent world is booming.

"The business is as healthy as it's ever been in my time," Tom Bernard, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Classics, said during a lunchtime panel discussion.

Of course, what's successful in the indie world isn't on the same scale as a Hollywood success. (Consider that shortly after this luncheon was over, these same conventioneers heard Universal Pictures tout its lineup — a presentation that included a victory lap for "Furious 7" producer Neil Moritz and star Vin Diesel, bragging about the $1 billion their movie had made worldwide.)

"If you made your money back, or a little bit extra, that was enough," said Julianne Moore, who credits independent film with giving her a rich acting career. "All of my successes, including my Oscar [for 'Still Alice'], have sprung from these teeny-tiny movies."

Moore now straddles both sides of the divide, making independent films as well as big-budget Hollywood blockbusters (such as "The Hunger Games" franchise). An actor, to satisfy artistic impulses while still eating regularly, must do both, Moore said.

"You cannot make a living making independent film," she said. Having a Hollywood profile also helps get independent films made, because investors will back a smaller film if there's someone famous in it.

On the other hand, she added, "Hollywood is not in the business of creating parts for actors."

Getting audiences to see those smaller movies takes creativity, Bernard said, because smaller distributors can't afford the massive marketing campaigns Hollywood studios use.

One handy way to drum up free publicity is an awards-season campaign — like the one that netted Moore her Oscar this year for "Still Alice," in which she played a linguistics professor in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease.

"We're using the awards game to slingshot our box office," said Bernard, whose Sony Pictures Classics distributed "Still Alice." Bernard noted that more than half of "Still Alice's" box office came after Moore won her Oscar.

According to Robert Lenihan, president of programming for the AMC Theatres chain, who also sat on the panel, independent films aren't just for awards season. The indies are finding niches even in the summer blockbuster season, counterprogramming against the big-budget movies. (One example this summer is the Sundance Film Festival double winner "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl," which is scheduled to open in major markets on June 12, the same day "Jurassic World" opens.)

It's still dimes next to dollars, but it's refreshing to know that every moviegoer isn't expected just to get in line for the next supersized Hollywood product.

Sean P. Means writes The Cricket in daily blog form at www.sltrib.com/blogs/moviecricket. Follow him on Twitter @moviecricket. Email him at spmeans@sltrib.com.