Inside Sundance, Miramax, and Independent Film

The idea for "Down and Dirty Pictures" came to Peter Biskind while he was on the road promoting "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls." A one-time doc filmmaker who was active in the indie film community, Biskind later edited American Film Magazine.

"I found myself saying that the independent scene carried the torch of the 70s, in the 90s," Biskind told indieWIRE. But, those familiar with Biskind's "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" will notice a different approach to this decade. It's no longer about the films, it is about the business of the movies, that's the story that, according to Biskind, defined the 90s. "This is a distribution and marketing story," he said.

The decade began with some low-budget films from unproven filmmakers getting attention at Sundance. Weinstein in particular grabbed attention with movies like "Sex, Lies and Videotape" and "Clerks."

Quentin Tarantino, Steven Soderbergh, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and more inspired other filmmakers to create a steady pipeline of movies. Sundance and Miramax ignited a frenzied period in which first-timers sought stardom from their small movies and then Hollywood took notice, setting the stage for a round of corporate involvement in independent film that continues today.

Countless stories from interviews with an array of insiders offer first-hand accounts and Biskind's story picks up at the intersection of Miramax and Sundance (he calls them the "twin towers of the indie world").

READ MORE by Eugene Hernandez - http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_040106biskind.html