- Banned
- #41
okay, but you don't "keep things simple" by picking and choosing which of Ted Hope's films you are going to include as to validate your assertion that he is part of the problem that gave rise to 'little miss sunshine' and 'napoleon dynamite'.
It seemed simpler to exclude Hal Hartley films because, as far as I know, Ted Hope was never his prime or sole producer, the funding came from elsewhere, Good Machine had little or nothing to do with the development of the films, and Hartley was not Good Machine's "discovery". Most indies have multiple producers out of necessity, and Hartley was no exception.
Same with "Safe". It was Christine Vachon's project (and Haynes'), though James Schamus, who had a prior association with Todd Haynes, was a producer on it, along with Ted Hope.
But these atypical projects (for Good Machine) did not originate with the company, occurred quite early on, and don't reflect the direction it chose to go.
The inevitable result of Good Machine probably *was* "Little Miss Sunshine" and "Napoleon Dynamite" -- or, for that, "Adventureland" -- though nobody can blame them for keeping the company solvent. Difficult or formally challenging films wouldn't have sold, and they would have had far more difficulty raising money for such productions. A number of films in their catalog were also works for hire, and Good Machine had little to do with them -- thematically.