A Second Chance for Indies

First-time writer-director Eric Mendelsohn won the directing award at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival for his eccentric black-and-white fable “Judy Berlin,” starring a pre-”The Sopranos” Edie Falco and the late Madeline Kahn in her final film role.

Like many Sundance entries, “Judy Berlin” attracted some studio nibbles, but none bit.

Until now.

The Shooting Gallery, the Manhattan-based company that produced the acclaimed indie films “Sling Blade” and “Henry Fool,” hopes to improve the fate of “orphan” independent films--those that may generate a lot of interest at festivals but on which film distributors are afraid to take a chance. The company has joined forces with Loews Cineplex Entertainment to create the Shooting Gallery Film Series.

Beginning today in 17 cities around the country including Los Angeles and New York, the Shooting Gallery Film Series will present six noteworthy but underexposed independent films over a 12-week period. Each film will have a two-week engagement on a dedicated screen in one of Loews’ multiplexes, and if it does enough business, the film will move to another theater within in the multiplex for a longer run.

The film series, scheduled locally at the Loews Cineplex’s Fairfax Cinemas, kicks off with “Judy Berlin.”

“I am completely indebted to the Shooting Gallery,” says Mendelsohn. “They have really come up with a solution to the question that everybody in every film festival panel has been asking. You go to a film festival and everyone in the local audience says, ‘We love this. Is this going to go on to other towns like our town?’ The answer is always no.”

Mendelsohn says it is important that “Judy Berlin,” which also stars Bob Dishy, Anne Meara, Julie Kavner and Barbara Barrie, find an audience because the “performances that these actors are giving demand to be seen.”

“These people are the American national treasures, and they happen to be in this little independent film,” says the filmmaker, who made the movie for $180,000.

Larry Meistrich, chairman and CEO of Shooting Gallery, says that in the past decade independent films have had a harder time getting seen because of rising costs. “The pressure is on to have something broad enough to make a big enough return,” Meistrich says. “These are films that needed a break and needed a chance for someone to take a chance on them.

“We did something really hard in getting an outlet for really quality, individual, unique storytellers,” he adds. “But now it is up to the consumers to go. All of those people who complain about not having choice and variety in their diet of films better go. We built the model, and now it is your responsibility.”

Along with “Judy Berlin,” the series includes:

* “Orphans,” Peter Mullan’s dark comedy, which won four awards at the Venice Film Festival.

* “Such a Long Journey,” Sturla Gunnarsson’s humorous tale set against the eve of India’s 1971 war with Pakistan.

* “Southpaw,” an Irish documentary about a real-life Rocky.

* “Croupier,” a British thriller directed by Mike Hodges (“Get Carter”).

* “Adrenaline Drive,” a wry Japanese comedy from director Shinobu Yaguchi.

Shooting Gallery President Paul Speaker points out that his company didn’t produce any of the films. “We just thought these were six really great movies,” he says. The company already has candidates for the second film series, which will begin in mid-September.

Besides L.A., New York and Chicago, the series will be seen in smaller cities such as Indianapolis; Auburn Hills, Mich.; Richmond Heights, Ohio; and Tucson, Ariz., which don’t get the opportunity to see many indie films.

The Shooting Gallery’s proposal intrigued Loews Executive Vice President Robert Lenihan.

“The more they talked, the more they convinced us that their passion may carry through to making it a successful program. So we, being a strong national chain, had a lot of opportunity in various cities to launch the program. It made a good fight for them to come to us, and we thought, ‘Why not take a shot at something that could bring movies to a broader audience?’ ”

The Shooting Gallery also has lined up numerous corporate sponsors for the series, including Heineken, Polo, Encore Media Group, Yahoo and Hollywood Video.

“We have moved across the windows of distribution,” Speaker says. The films will start out in the theaters, eventually air on Encore and Starz premium cable channels and then will have a three-month exclusive window at Hollywood Video. “Then our distributor will take the videos to the other chains,” says Speaker.

Attendees will be able to purchase tickets for a single movie or a six-film subscription.

For $90, moviegoers in L.A. can purchase a “season ticket” for the opening night of each film, which will feature discussions with the filmmakers, actors, film critics and local personalities.

Speaker says he believes independent films can be more than “just a two-hour experience. They are four-, six-, eight-week experiences,” says Speaker. “Building that community is very important.”

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* The Shooting Gallery Film Series is at the Loews Cineplex Fairfax Theatre, 7907 Beverly Blvd. For information, call (877) 905-FILM or go to https://movies.yahoo.com/sgfilmseries, or call the theater at (323) 653-3117.