Elliot Grove of Raindance says, Hollywood Doesn’t Need Saving: It Needs Ignoring.
His belief is that:
“The answer (to Hollywood) is beer. Because beer figured this out decades ago, while filmmakers were still begging studios to love them back.”
He explains:
“Craft brewers didn’t try to beat Big Beer at scale. They made Big Beer irrelevant to people with taste. You are not here to replace Hollywood. You are here to make it look boring. Big Beer lives in supermarkets and football stadiums. Craft beer lives in taprooms.
Taprooms do three things Hollywood hates:
- They put makers in front of consumers.
- They reward experimentation.
- They create loyalty, not just transactions.
Make films so clearly yours that ten thousand people would riot if they disappeared. That’s the business model. Do this: Shorts. Micro-features. Proofs-of-concept. Rough work. Ugly work. Fast work. Momentum beats perfection every single time.
Independent Cinema needs:
- Events
- Mailing lists
- Subscriptions
- Touring screenings
- Education
- Merch
- Community
Here are the Three Golden Rules for success in today’s brave new world:
- Own your IP.
- Own your audience.
- Own your escape routes.
Hollywood is the supermarket aisle. The future of cinema is poured fresh, by stubborn people, in crowded rooms, to audiences who know exactly why they’re there. And it doesn’t need permission.”
My take: I’ve quoted liberally because this is such a great article. The analogy truly holds!