This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Last week, the Cricket wrote about Utah filmmaker Daryn Tufts and his low-budget romantic comedy "My Girlfriend's Boyfriend" — a movie that is finding its distribution path via the new-tech world of digital releasing, via video-on-demand, iTunes and Amazon.
("My Girlfriend's Boyfriend," by the way, did a respectable amount of business at the two suburban Salt Lake City theaters where it opened this weekend. It scored $10,300 — or $5,150 per screen, which is more than many of the weekend's top 10 films made, according to Leonard Klady at Movie City News.)
But it's not just an unknown filmmaker like Tufts who has to go the digital route. Even filmmakers who are familiar names are going that route.
One of them is Ed Burns, the writer-director-actor who made his name at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival with his debut film "The Brothers McMullen," then hit acting success in "Saving Private Ryan," "27 Dresses" and other films.
Burns' ninth movie as a director, "Nice Guy Johnny," was made for a budget of around $25,000, with unknown actors and a bare-bones esthetic: "No hair, no makeup, wear your own clothes, shot in my parents' house again," Burns told the Associated Press.
Burns said one of the reasons he was able to make the movies he wants, like this one, is because of the advent of digital release platforms. ("Nice Guy Johnny" will debut Tuesday on iTunes, Netflix and video-on-demand.)
Said Burns:
"Distribution models are starting to dismantle. For every indie film that does a decent number at the box office, there are dozens who do no business. ... If these new revenue streams weren't being uncovered, I know I would be out of business. The kind of stories I like to tell, I would be incapable of telling them."