PARK CITY, Utah -- Here's a new twist on life imitating art. An independent film company has taken a cue from a popular investing game in an effort to get funding.
Civilian Pictures hopes to convince investors to play the independent film market, similar to the Hollywood Stock Exchange.
Civilian Pictures has set up a website that will enable film companies to list their projects as initial public offerings.
"It'll be like e-trade or Ameritrade, but with an entertainment focus," said CEO Barry Poltermann, a former commercial director and the editor of the 1999 Sundance hit American Movie.
Individual investors will be able to gamble on numerous projects in a range of genres with budgets between $3 million and $25 million. Using descriptions of the projects and biographies of the filmmakers and actors, investors can choose the films they think are likely to make money.
Poltermann said Civilian is just weeks away from receiving legal clearance to list its first film production. Once started, Civilian plans to offer up to 15 new projects each year.
It's a concept that Civilian founders hope will be popular both with filmmakers, who may be able to retain more creative control, and investors, who will be able to connect two American obsessions: the movies and personal investing.
"I think it'll be an attractive way for the public to get involved in the filmmaking process," Poltermann said. "And I hope it'll help filmmakers to make some good movies."
Tree killing times three: With all of the premieres, parties and celebrities to keep track of at the festival, attendees need a program to keep score. This year, they have three.
Circulating throughout Park City this week are three daily printed newsletters, each of which is produced by an Internet movie news site. The three newsletters, published by Indiewire, Inside and Roughcut.com, seem to be everywhere -- in theater lobbies, at coffeehouses, in the hands of filmgoers who wait in line for their next screening.
Indiewire first passed around free pages at the 1997 Sundance. But having three companies spilling ink does represent a change, one that Indiewire editor-in-chief Eugene Hernandez said may reflect the evolution of the audience.
"Five years ago, the Sundance audience was our audience -- it was largely independent filmmakers," Hernandez said. "But today it is a much broader group of people."
All three newsletters, with filmmaker interviews and business news, cover similar editorial ground. But the three are quite distinct in terms of their look and attitude.
Inside.com is all business, skipping the photos to focus on industry issues --such as lawsuits, mergers and box office revenues -- surrounding Park City.
Roughcut.com's pages consist largely of reviews and cheery first-person narratives. And the photo-friendly Indiewire includes a "buzz" section, highlighting some of the area's hot-button issues of the day.
Indiewire doesn't have the powerful connections of its rivals. Inside, which targets media professionals, is connected with The Industry Standard, and Roughcut.com is a production of the cable station TNT.
"The goal of Indiewire is to take the approach of the independent filmmaker, of the little guy," Hernandez said. "All of the writers and editors are part of that independent filmmaking community in one way or another."
Inside.com went to considerable expense to help draw interest to its webzine by creating a print version.
"The entire independent film world is here, and there is no better way to get exposure to them," said Chris Petrikin, Inside's film editor. "Inside is only eight months old, and doing a print version might serve as a good introduction to an audience that may not know about us yet."
Searching for the next Kevin Smith: Madstone Films is using Sundance as a platform to announce its second hunt for young filmmakers. Last December, the company signed its first three filmmakers who will participate in the company's innovative projects.
Founded last year, Madstone has drawn attention by offering filmmakers a two-year contract, including a $50,000 salary, financing for a DV feature and a benefits package, including a dental and medical plan and a 401(K) plan.
Filmmakers will collaborate on a series of DV films, which Madstone hopes to release through the Madstone Digital Distribution Network. This proposed network includes theaters nationwide that Madstone will equip with digital delivery and projection systems.
Through its new search, Madstone expects more than 1,000 applications, and hopes to find at least three new directors.
