Hollywood’s Indies: Classics Divisions, Specialty Labels and American Independent Cinema

For over three decades the major Hollywood studios have operated specialty film divisions, companies that were originally established to focus primarily on the European arthouse film market, before moving on to the burgeoning American independent film market and in the process transforming it in fundamental ways. Hollywood’s Indies is the first book to offer an in depth examination of the phenomenon of the studio specialty film labels, by tracing their history since the establishment of the first such division in 1980, United Artists Classics. The book provides a detailed account of these divisions, their business practices, their position within the often labyrinthine structure of contemporary entertainment conglomerates, their relationship to the Hollywood majors and their contribution to independent cinema in the United States. In examining these companies Yannis Tzioumakis provides a fresh perspective on the history of contemporary American independent cinema, which he divides into three periods: the independent, the indie and the indiewood. Each of these eras is characterised by a particular group of studio specialty labels and, to a large extent, by a distinct expression of independent filmmaking. A number of case studies are provided, including such celebrated films as Lianna, Mystery Train, The Brothers McMullen, Barcelona, Greenberg, and many others.