by Jordana Merran
“Studios make passenger cars; independents make race cars,” explained actor John Schneider (best known for his role in The Dukes of Hazard), sitting on a National Press Club table last Tuesday with guitar in hand, joined by former CNN anchor-turned independent film producer Mark Joseph. Promoting their latest film Doonby, in which Schneider plays the starring role of a mysterious blues-playing drifter who settles in a small Texas town, the duo discussed the nature and evolution of indie film making.Joseph, who produced the soundtrack for Passion of the Christ, explained that for all its controversy, it may actually have been Mel Gibson’s epic film which changed the rules. On paper, a film in Aramaic, about Jesus Christ, laden with violence, just shouldn’t sell. Through independent distribution – and a shock to everyone’s system – that film grossed over 80 million in its first weekend.
These results highlighted the “silent majority” of film audiences to which big Hollywood studios had yet to cater, spurring the big name studios to create independent branches. “It’s like the car company that makes the Taurus, who realizes the Miatta isn’t such a bad idea,” says Schneider.
Of course as evidenced by The Passion, any film—independent or not—needs certain ingredients for success (Joseph counts eleven, specifically). The most important? A charming star. After Schneider’s soulful blues guitar serenade at the Press Club, Doonby seems set.
