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Last summer, Paul Schrader was about to start shooting \u201cOh, Canada,\u201d his adaptation of Russell Banks\u2019 novel about a troubled artist taking stock of his life, when the major actors union went on strike. For a second, it looked like all that hard work, passion and planning might be for nothing \u2014 with performers on the picket lines and major studios holding out on their contract demands, it was hard to see how cameras would ever roll on the low-budget indie.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverything shut down,\u201d said Brian Beckmann, the CFO and COO of Arclight Films, which is selling international rights to the film. \u201cWe were in this position where we had spent all this money and secured all this talent and we weren\u2019t sure we could move forward until the strikes were over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Because it was made outside the studio system, \u201cOh, Canada\u201d was able to get a union waiver and that\u2019s a big part of the reason that it is one of the only U.S. films shot during the strike to premiere at this year\u2019s Cannes. Others weren\u2019t as lucky, with one project after another abandoned or delayed indefinitely, a victim of an industry in turmoil.<\/p>\n
And even though Hollywood\u2019s labor issues have been resolved, it\u2019s never been harder for the independent producers and financiers who flock to Cannes each year looking to make and then sell their movies. They\u2019re grappling with soaring interest rates, a fading theatrical marketplace and a new spirit of downsizing that\u2019s gripped the industry. That\u2019s to say nothing of a hangover from the COVID era, which made it costly and logistically challenging to make movies for more than a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cPost-strike and post-pandemic, the business is still sorting itself out,\u201d said John Sloss, a veteran sales agent and the founder of Cinetic Media. \u201cIt\u2019s been an enormously disruptive time and the industry is still trying to find its footing.\u201d<\/p>\n
But others feel that the European Film Market in Berlin was an unexpectedly robust marketplace, where movies like Celine Song\u2019s \u201cBig Bold Beautiful Journey\u201d and the Will Smith action film \u201cSugar Bandits\u201d scored impressive sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re on an upswing,\u201d said AGC Studios\u2019 Stuart Ford. \u201cI see the independent sector as a beacon. There\u2019s a resilience and a continued willingness to back creativity and originality while the rest of the film and TV sector is still creaking and groaning under the strain of the strikes, changing business models and pressure from Wall Street.\u201d<\/p>\n
Will that optimism carry over to Cannes? On paper, there\u2019s plenty of compelling projects for buyers, even if the crop of movies are lower-budgeted than ones that inspired bidding wars at past festivals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might change Monday, Tuesday, but right now there are fewer [bigger] commercial projects,\u201d Oliver Berben, at Germany\u2019s Constantin, said last Friday.<\/p>\n
The situation in international markets is brighter than the darker one facing the domestic film industry. After all, European companies like Constantin weren\u2019t hit hard by the Hollywood strikes. They\u2019ve been able to remain active as their American competitors labored to get their films completed.<\/p>\n
Among the projects looking to find a home are action-thriller \u201cBear Country,\u201d which finds Russell Crowe re-teaming with \u201cUnhinged\u201d director Derrick Borte, and \u201cFlesh of the Gods,\u201d which brings together the high wattage of stars Kristen Stewart and Oscar Isaac. Elsewhere, Ben Stiller and Colin Farrell headline \u201cBelly of the Beast,\u201d a true crime drama from Andrew Haigh (\u201cAll of Us Strangers\u201d). The companies behind many of these movies are confident that the market in Cannes will build on the momentum from Berlin.<\/p>\n
\u201cBuyers have recovered a great energy and have appetite for quality,\u201d said Marie Laure Montironi at Path\u00e9, which is introducing Antonin Baudry\u2019s \u201cDe Gaulle\u201d as well as \u201cIn the Hell of Kabul,\u201d directed by Martin Bourboulon (\u201cThe Three Musketeers\u201d). <\/p>\n
Since horror films have delivered at the box office, companies are leaning into the spooks and scares. It helps that these movies don\u2019t need pricey stars or extensive CGI. \u201cGenre films are often modestly budgeted and are more reliant on concept and execution than major talent involvement,\u201d explained Ford.<\/p>\n
Some titles carry production pedigree, others are made by genre auteurs. Ford\u2019s AGC Studios is bringing \u201cThe Menace,\u201d from \u201cLast Night With the Devil\u201d producers Image Nation\/Spooky Pictures; Neon is selling \u201cIt Follows\u201d sequel \u201cThey Follow\u201d and \u201cKeeper,\u201d from \u201cLonglegs\u201d director Osgood Perkins. Starring Hassie Harrison and Jai Courtney, \u201cDangerous Animals\u201d helmer Sean Byrne is one of Rotten Tomatoes\u2019 highest-rated horror directors of all time.<\/p>\n
For the executives who hit the Croisette each year, the week and change spent in the South of France is a blur of pitching and glad-handing. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour days start early and you\u2019re in nonstop meetings in 30-minute increments until the evening,\u201d said Janina Vilsmaier, senior VP of sales and distribution at Protagonist Pictures. \u201cThen you get a little bit of sleep and do it again. We\u2019re all running on adrenaline. By the time you get home, you just collapse.\u201d<\/p>\n
View this article at Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rising Interest Rates, a Fading Theatrical Movie Business and a Post-Strike Hangover: Breaking Down the Threats Facing the Cannes Market: Last summer, Paul Schrader was about to start shooting \u201cOh, Canada,\u201d his adaptation of Russell Banks\u2019 novel about a troubled artist taking stock of his life, when the major actors union went on strike. For
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