Griffin Dunne to Receive Indie Star Award in Poland — SkimNews
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- Practical Magic saw interest begin picking up about 10 years ago, especially around Halloween; Dunne recalls midnight-margarita memes and says the Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman film received a sequel this year.
- An American Werewolf in London became more appreciated years after its release, following the same delayed-love trajectory as Practical Magic; Dunne calls himself the “king of lapsed love” and says recognition would have been sweeter then.
- TAURON American Film Festival will honor Griffin Dunne with its biggest honor, the Indie Star Award, during his return to Poland for the event.
- The Wall brought Griffin Dunne to Poland in 1980, but martial law and his involvement with the Solidarity movement turned an intended three-week stay into three months; he says numerous crew members were arrested.
- Addicted to Love is one of two films Dunne wants audiences to rediscover; he says only a handful know the well-reviewed Meg Ryan movie, Warner Bros. had no copy when he called, and Lisa Picard Is Famous is the funniest movie he has made.
- Paramount is going to own Warner Bros., which Dunne says will leave overlooked movies harder to find; he also says mergers make distributors difficult for independent filmmakers to secure, and distribution still does not guarantee a significant theater release.
- You Can See Everything drew crowds around the block, and Dunne says cinema needs a younger audience; he compares the excitement with East Village bagel queues driven by TikTok and hopes moviegoing follows a similar route.
Why it matters: For independent filmmakers, the material change is already here: Dunne says they now struggle to secure distributors, and even a distributor no longer guarantees a significant theater release. Paramount’s planned Warner Bros. ownership supplies the corporate context, while his two-film wishlist gives viewers two immediate rediscovery targets.
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