New Boutique Distributors Step Up to Meet the Needs of the Independent Film Market
variety.comGregg Goldstein Jack Huston is no stranger to the movie business. So when the longtime actor and grandson of filmmaker John Huston launched his directorial debut — the boxing drama “Day of the Fight” — to good reviews at last year’s Venice Film Festival, he knew it would still be tough to find distribution in today’s theatrical marketplace.
But he had no idea how tough a fight it would be. “We took on a sort of impossible feat by making a black-and-white period movie starring Michael Pitt,” Huston says of his film, which boasts supporting turns from Joe Pesci, Ron Perlman and Steve Buscemi. ”People walk out of this film so joyous, even [reps from] the biggest distributors.
But some of these companies aren’t contractually allowed to take on black-and-white movies, which to me is the death of art.
I put everything into this movie, so when it came to distribution, I said, ‘The way this film gets lost is if I make some bullshit deal for a one-theater and same-day PVOD release.
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