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Indie Roundup is your weekly guide to what’s new and upcoming in the world of independent film. Pictured above*: American Splendor, Ghost World, Kick-Ass.
Where Are All the Indie Comic Book Movies? With motion pictures crowding out sequential art in the flood of news and reports from ComicCon, you’d think there would be be *some *indication that independent comics are being adapted for the big screen. And there is news, but it points to a very limited interpretation of the medium: superheroes, superheroes, and more superheroes. (At least Scott Pilgrim](http://www.cinematical.com/2010/07/22/sdcc-gallery-the-scott-pilgrim-experience/) only occasionally looks like a superhero).
Well-made superhero movies deserve a place at the table; the independently-financed Kick-Ass](Kick-Ass (2010) - Movie | Moviefone) was a personal favorite this spring. But there’s such a rich, wide vein of material to be mined from comics and graphic novels, why should indie filmmakers limit themselves to caped crusaders? Where are the successors to American Splendor](American Splendor (2003) - Movie | Moviefone) and Ghost World](Search Results for 'Ghost World' | Moviefone), indie films that drew their inspiration from Harvey Pekar and Daniel Clowes, respectively, but whose makers (Shari Springer Berman / Robert Pulcini and Terry Zwigoff, respectively) dared to fashion their own peculiar visions? Indie filmmakers could do worse than prowl the small-press aisles at ComicCon in search of gems not yet discovered by Hollywood.
Star-Studded Docs. In this week’s Doc Talk, Cinematical’s Christopher Campbell explores the “restriction-experiment-based genre” of documentaries, which is one way for filmmakers to get attention for their work. What about using celebrities? Is that legitimate? Or cheating somehow?
Also after the jump: Are indie filmmakers wasting their time on fantasies of social media salvation?
Continue reading Indie Roundup: Comic Book Movies, Social Media Fantasies