How "Indie" Will DF Indie Studios Be?

With the economy hurting, what better time to start up a new film studio? DF Indie Studios officially announced itself to the world yesterday, though news broke first via our friends at indieWIRE the other night. The company "is uniting veteran producers with sales and distribution experts." DF Indie Studios says it will "fully finance as many as a dozen films per year, each at a budget of up to $10 million. Significantly, the movies will also have guaranteed U.S. theatrical distribution through the company."

Notable names such as veteran producer Ted Hope (Adventureland, In the Bedroom) and distribution ace Ira Deutchman are involved with the company, as well as Scott Free, the production company of Ridley Scott and his brother Tony Scott (The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3). Company executives told indieWIRE that "the first five films will go into production this fall and hit the festival circuit next year." They also expressed the rather incredible hope that they will create between 10,000 and 15,000 (!!!) film jobs over the next five years. DF Indie Studios is still raising money for their venture, and is about halfway to their $100 million goal, according to the Associated Press.

What type of films will the company be backing? The press release mentions "commercially viable" twice and says they are partnering with "established producers with successful box office track records." Film journalist / critic Anthony Kaufman points to the Variety story, "which reported the company's aims are to make films such as 'the Saw franchise, Juno, Good Night, and Good Luck and Little Miss Sunshine.'"

He adds: "I'm sure that list sounds nice to equity investors, but it doesn't offer much hope to cineastes (with the exception, perhaps, of Good Night). Despite the involvement of indie stalwarts Ted Hope and Anne Carey, I am (as always) entirely skeptical about how 'indie' DF 'Indie Studios' will turn out to be."

Indeed, it sounds as though DF wants to jump into the space currently occupied by Fox Searchlight and Lionsgate. The AP story says that they "a $150 million revolving credit line with a major bank to pay for film printing and advertising, and $150 million in deals with domestic and foreign distributors who have seen a proposed slate of films." And they are holding out the promise of more than a token theatrical release: "A small theater chain has guaranteed even the smallest of the new studio's films will be able to debut in up to 50 U.S. locations, while larger chains have also been receptive."

As BusinessWeek points out, "Hollywood companies have a long history of being short on details and making announcements before contracts have been signed." We'll have to wait and see what kind of films DF Indie Studios will actually be making -- i.e., what is their definition of "indie" -- and if they'll make their fall production start dates.