Do the creative giants of the past still dominate, or has a new generation truly taken hold?
The creative giants, the generation that came along in the 1970s, still have an enormous power-the Coppolas, the Scorseses, the Spielbergs. But their dominance isn’t singular. You have a very different economic situation in Hollywood now as far as how films are financed and budgeted. Four directors have come out of Sundance in the last two years who are now stepping up to direct $100 million movies. Do you see the economic downturn having ominous overtones for independent filmmaking? The sources of funding that 20 years of stock market increases helped fund-the enormous amount of foreign sales and video-support work-are not going to be there anymore. Is that going to stop a young adult with a camera and a dream from making movies? No. It means that instead of an independent film being made for $5 million, it may have to be made for $1 million. And then it’s a question of whether or not that kid can get his or her film seen. To sum up, then, looking forward? We’ve barely begun to see th
