John Cassavetes is the father of independent film industry and has, doubtlessly, influenced many independent and Hollywood filmmakers and actors. Many film critics and authors, actors, cinema producers and directors in both the independent film industry and Hollywood have referred to John Cassavetes as the father of the independent cinema. His style of film making, considered by many of his lovers and critics alike as simplistic yet influential, was exceptional in its own right. There is no doubt that John Cassavetes had a passion for acting and film production, and not even lack of professional actors or money would deter him from making his first film, Shadows. His unique directing style, including using handheld cameras to shoot on location, use of unusual locations (he even used his own home as a location when producing his first movie), theme development and strong beliefs in the cinema industry have clearly influenced many filmmakers, directors and actors not only in the independent cinema world, but also the Hollywood system. This draft write up outlines the particular ways through which John Cassavetes influenced the independent film industry as well as the Hollywood system, providing justifications for the thesis that John Cassavetes is rightly the godfather of the independent cinema industry and has influenced many filmmakers to this day.
How Did John Cassavetes Influence the Cinema Industry?
John Cassavetes, born in 1920, had a strong belief in the movie industry and was determined to produce a movie although he faced many technical and financial challenges. His style of movie directing has influenced many filmmakers who look up to him as an embodiment of the fact that everything is possible in the film industry as long as one is determined (Lopate 2006; Kover 2004). One such movie director is Martin Scorsese, who scripted and directed Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese 1973). The influence, particularly the improvisatory style, was so evident in Scorsese’s film that Cassavetes actually complained about it (Film 4 2013). Cassavetes would improvise locations and instruments and create sophisticated yet compellingly effective characters, acted out by non-professional actors (Legacy News 2010). He would use simple, handheld cameras to shoot his films on location and make a film based on his own complicated yet relevant stories, which nevertheless brought out the theme and caught the attention of cinemagoers. According to Legacy News (2010), Cassavetes used the then popular late night talk radio program “Night People”, where he would solicit for donations towards cinema production by asking the listeners why there could not be off-Broadway movies if there were off-Broadway movies plays. Raymond Carney, a personal friend of John Cassavetes, notes in his book that the ardent cinema producer had a staunch passion for cinema and was happy to produce his movies even if they did not make him money (Carney 2001). Cassavetes once said that;
“It was more important to work creatively than to make money. We would never have been able to finish if all the people who participated in the film hadn’t discovered one fundamental thing: that being an artist is nothing other than the desire, the insane wish to express yourself completely, absolutely” (Legacy News 2010).
This underscores his love for cinema. Carney’s book (2001) portrays John as a man who wanted to make a mark in the film industry regardless of what it would take. This was so despite the fact that this cinema enthusiast, celebrated and criticized in equal measure, was an alcoholic and would later succumb to liver disease. For taking unusual initiatives to solicit for funds from friends and family to ensure that his film is in the screen, one would be right to refer to Cassavetes as the godfather of independent cinema (Kover 2004; Carney 1994). He made aspiring and possibly established film producers and actors realize that one did not have to work with the Hollywood system to have their own movies in the film screens. This is perhaps best epitomized in his second movie, Faces, which took him six months to shoot and another three years to edit and release to the audience. Not only did John make the film using his own money, but also filmed it using his home and that of his mother-in-law as the locations (Kover 2004). Outstandingly, the movie’s (Faces) theme is as clear as any other. To this end, filmmakers in both the independent and mainstream Hollywood system, who create movies using shoestring budgets and improvisation, and utilize basically non-professional actors to act out effective yet complex characters and stories, rightly owe their influence, style and determination to succeed to Cassavetes (Legacy News 2010; Kover 2004; Lopate 2006).
Cassavetes’ love for independence, which is by no doubt one of the main reasons he is celebrated as the father of indie cinema, was evident when he chose to continue working outside Hollywood, although Faces had registered remarkable success. It is almost certain he would have made millions of dollars from this success, but he refused to tie himself to the mainstream movie industry. He went on to work independently, writing movie scripts, getting talented but unprofessional actors and producing and directing movies in his own style (Carney 1994; 2001). Without relying on the Hollywood system, but instead using his own money or funds from friends and family, Cassavetes had by 1997 managed to create five movies in the screens since Faces. These include Opening Night, A Woman under the Influence, Husbands, Minnie and Moskowitz and Killing of a Chinese Bookie. This was a tremendous success for a man who shunned the mainstream Hollywood systems and opted to do things unconventionally. It is little wonder, therefore, that he is called the godfather of the independent cinema industry and, equally importantly, a key influencer of many independent and Hollywood filmmakers and actors (Legacy News 2010; Lopate 2006).
Notably, and perhaps literally, both Cassavetes’ daughter Zoe Cassavetes and son Nick Cassavetes are independent movie makers who have registered outstanding success in the film industry without working with the Hollywood system. This gives evidence of his influence as the father of independent cinema. It may also be argued that besides his own persistence in movie writing and directing works, Cassavetes has continued to influence filmmakers through his two children. The movie Trees Lounge (Buscemi 1996) by Steve Buscemi was also influenced by Cassavetes as evidenced by, among others things, independent filmmaking and the directing style. Cassavetes’ influence is also evident in the acting and directing works of Gary Oldman and Tim Roth, who used their own money to film Nil by Mouth (1997) and The War Zone (1999) respectively. Carney (1994) describes Cassavetes’ thinking and perspectives as far as the movie industry is concerned, and depicts Cassavetes as a man who was not actually isolated, because his film works is connected in one way or the other to those of other American artists, including filmmakers and authors.
Conclusion
John Cassavetes’ success working as an independent script writer and movie director, using his own money or getting financing from his family and friends, improvising available resources, and using non-professional actors to act out complicated yet compelling characters justify the assertion that the he is the father of the independent industry and a key influencer of filmmakers.
Works Cited
Carney, Raymond. Cassavetes on Cassavetes. London: Faber, 2001. Print.
Carney, Raymond. The Films of John Cassavetes: Pragmatism, Modernism and the Movies.
Cambridge: Cambridge Univ., 1994. Print.
Film 4. John Cassavetes. Film 4, 2013. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Kover, Steve. “Under the Influence of Cassavetes”. Amsterdam Weekly. Amsterdam Weekly, 26
May 2004. Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Legacy News. John Cassavetes – Godfather of Indie Cinema. Legacy News, 12 Sept. 2010.
Web. 26 Oct. 2013.
Lopate, Phillip. "Under His Influence." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Jan.
2006: n. page. Print.
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