Robert Redford on Net technology
Robert Redford believes Net technology will be the ally of the independent filmmakers.
“In years past, technology and the indie filmmaker seemed mutually exclusive in the sense that indie filmmakers were often disdainful of technology, or, as per their nature, more interested in the human aspects of narrative filmmaking,” he said at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival, which this year featured Wi-Fi hotspots and a workshop on the digital cinema.
“Technology will democratize film. There are alternative networks of distribution that are going to come on the horizon that are going to make filmmaking easier. But they are also going to have the problem of quality. A 14-year-old kid can grab camera and call himself a filmmaker, (but that) does not mean it is going to be any good. But for the filmmaker there is a positive sign in the marketplace, so I consider that positive.”
Quoted in a Hollywood Reporter story here, Redford said the industry is constructed against indie movie makers – “We no longer have the sorts of platforms where you could build word-of-mouth for such projects. Now, it is all about the big opening weekend. They get it (boxoffice) to figures where it almost reaches the negative cost of the film.
“This is a dangerous environment for artists to work in, and it is not likely to open.
“My gut is that new distribution forms will evolve with the new technology – DVDs, broadband.”
Earlier in the report, Redford said he didn’t see the MPAA’s ban on screeners as a threat to independent filmmakers.
“I don’t think it was an anti-indie stance,” he says.
“It was a fear of piracy. People are trying to make the adjustments to the new technology. There is a fear of being overtaken by something they can’t control, in this case, piracy. You have to understand where the MPAA’s decision came from: a desire to control the business part of the industry.”
But Redford stressed that technology, “or at least the mindset that develops it and celebrates it,” must also change in order for it to survive, adds the Hollywood Reporter.
“I think technology has got to lose its image as being cold, soulless, alien and geek-oriented. It must move to the humanistic side of things. It must ally itself with more humanistic elements out there. I think that is where Sundance is trying to move. You can’t go forward without emphasizing the human aspect.”
