Although it was filmed in Idaho and axed by a TV channel that most Chicagoans can’t see, the Bruce Willis-vs.-John Pierson drama is headed this way.
Pierson, who made his reputation as an indie film representative and the author of “Spike, Mike, Slackers & Dykes,” hosts “Split Screen,” a weekly Independent Film Channel program that presents filmmakers’ short works, often shot for the show. The Oct. 18 episode was supposed to include a 16-minute segment by two Los Angeles filmmakers recounting how Willis had moved to the valley town of Hailey, Idaho, opened several businesses and later abruptly closed them, leaving workers unemployed and some locals fuming.
Pierson said the footage includes director Brian Flemming being surrounded by security personnel whom police later identified as being employed by Willis or his local businesses.
Before the episode could air, Willis attorney Martin D. Singer sent Pierson and the Independent Film Channel an Oct. 6 letter that accuses the “so-called `film makers’ ” of intentionally soliciting negative comments about Willis.
“Mr. Willis has filed several lawsuits for defamation in the past and has either obtained judgments or obtained substantial settlements in all of his lawsuits for defamation,” it warns. “This is not an idle threat. If you broadcast the Segment containing defamatory information about our client, be assured that you will be sued.”
Singer did not respond to a phone call for this column.
Pierson said the channel “wanted so many things changed in the piece before they would consider broadcasting it that it stripped it bare.” The episode was replaced with a “Split Screen” rerun.
Pierson then figured he’d show the segment at a “Split Screen” presentation at last weekend’s Independent Feature Project/West conference in Los Angeles. He said he told the event’s organizers: ” `I’m informing you that I’m showing this. If you can’t deal with that, you’ll have to cancel the show.’ And so they did.”
Now the Chicago-based IFP/Midwest is hosting its 8th annual Independent Filmmakers Conference Thursday through Sunday, and guess what Friday night’s main event is? Pierson’s “Split Screen” presentation. Again he plans to show the Willis segment.
Now what will the IFP/Midwest do? Earlier this week, the organization had no official response. Meanwhile, the Independent Film Channel remains listed as the program’s sponsor. Whatever decision is made, Pierson said, he still plans to attend.
“The IFP/West is a powerhouse; they raise millions of dollars with the (Independent) Spirit Awards,” he said. “The IFP/Midwest I have more underdog sympathy for.”
Nevertheless, he remains frustrated that so much trouble has been stirred up by a lawyer who hasn’t even seen the segment. “(A)ll because of threats, nothing more,” Pierson wrote in a statement describing the controversy. “It may be smart business, but it’s a horrible way to live.”
IFP4U: The IFP/Midwest conference will include three movie screenings open to the public. Thursday’s Opening Night double feature, which begins at 6:30 p.m. at Pipers Alley, presents Alison Maclean’s “Jesus’ Son,” starring Billy Crudup, and “All the Rage,” directed by Chicagoan Jim Stern from the Keith Reddin play that premiered at the Goodman Theater in 1997.
Sunday’s closing night film, which begins at 7 p.m. at the Fine Arts, will be “Takedown,” Chicago director Joe Chapelle’s take on real-life computer hacker Kevin Mitnick. Each program is $10.
The conference also will include screenings of local shorts and seminars covering various aspects of making and selling films. Among the guests will be producers of “The Blair Witch Project” (first shown in part as an early 1998 “Split Screen” segment) and screenwriter/novelist Richard Price (“Clockers,” “Sea of Love”), who will be the subject of a 75-minute interview and Q&A (hosted by yours truly) at 2:45 p.m. Saturday.
Registration for the conference, which takes place at the James R. Thompson Center (100 W. Randolph St.), is $145 for non-IFP members, $50 for students. For more information, call 773-281-5177.
IMAX or MINI: IMAX has yet to deliver as the film format of the future, at least in areas nowhere near a Ferris wheel or submarine exhibit. While the Navy Pier IMAX and Museum of Science and Industry Omnimax Theater still attract crowds, efforts to take the giant-screen format to suburban malls, such as in Lincolnshire and Addison, have yet to catch on.
“It’s obviously not one of the busiest IMAXes in the country, but we knew going in that it was going to take a while to build” an audience, Regal Cinemas senior marketing/advertising vice president Phil Zacheretti said of the chain’s first-ever IMAX screen, which opened in the Lincolnshire 20 megaplex about a year ago. “Business is fair but not great, but we are continuing to stay open as the IMAX.”
One problem is the IMAX audience remains comprised largely of tourists and school groups who might work a 50-minute movie into their sightseeing day. Regular moviegoers still generally don’t think of “Africa’s Elephant Kingdom” or “Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box” when deciding what to see. Yet audiences probably never will rush to IMAX if the movies don’t do what the producers keep promising they’ll do: rival the not-exactly-high standards of regular movies.
“I think 1999 has been kind of a dry year for spectacular IMAX movies,” said Marcus Cinemas president Bruce Olson, whose chain’s Addison megaplex opened an IMAX screen in July. He cited the lack of a breakthrough hit like last year’s “Everest.” “With only one screen if you pick the wrong movie or there aren’t a lot of great movies to pick from, you’re stuck.”
In a sense, the IMAX theaters’ predicament echoes that of the old one-screen movie houses, which lived and died by their bookings. The difference is that IMAX films are so costly to produce and distribute that new ones come around only every few months.
Prospects look brighter come Jan. 1, when the theaters open Disney’s new IMAX-only “Fantasia 2000.” Next in line: “Michael Jordan To the Max,” which includes building-size footage of MJ and the Bulls’ last championship season to remind us how puny the current team seems.
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E-mail: mcaro@tribune.com
