One of independent film’s key players, Ray Price, died July 16 at the age of 75 from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his long-term partner Meg Madison confirmed.
Talking to Price about movies, past and present, was an exhilarating sport that could take a while. He knew his stuff — no one loved movies more — but more than anyone during the great indie decades of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, he was a respected innovator who thought outside the box. He began as an exhibitor in San Francisco and moved on to marketing, releasing, and distributing movies, leaning toward the outrageous in how he lured audiences to sample challenging fare.
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles wrote me in an email. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he...
Talking to Price about movies, past and present, was an exhilarating sport that could take a while. He knew his stuff — no one loved movies more — but more than anyone during the great indie decades of the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, he was a respected innovator who thought outside the box. He began as an exhibitor in San Francisco and moved on to marketing, releasing, and distributing movies, leaning toward the outrageous in how he lured audiences to sample challenging fare.
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles wrote me in an email. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he...
- 7/21/2023
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Ray Price, a respected producer of indie filmmaking, died July 16 from heart failure after a long battle with cancer. The news was confirmed by his long-term partner Meg Madison. He was 75 years old.
Price launched his film career in 1972, managing the Berkeley storefront theater the Rialto, and went on to build with Allen Michaan Renaissance Theaters, an independent art film chain that became one of the largest (33 at its peak) in the Bay Area and was later sold to the Landmark Theatre circuit.
A tough negotiator and exacting exhibitor, under Price’s stewardship, Renaissance Theaters were renowned for redesigning marketing materials, from posters to press books — designs that fledgling distributors often adopted when the films hadn’t found success in other markets.
At a time when most top arthouse distributors focused on established auteurs from Europe and Asia, Renaissance Theaters exploded those norms by programming new American directors like Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes.
Price launched his film career in 1972, managing the Berkeley storefront theater the Rialto, and went on to build with Allen Michaan Renaissance Theaters, an independent art film chain that became one of the largest (33 at its peak) in the Bay Area and was later sold to the Landmark Theatre circuit.
A tough negotiator and exacting exhibitor, under Price’s stewardship, Renaissance Theaters were renowned for redesigning marketing materials, from posters to press books — designs that fledgling distributors often adopted when the films hadn’t found success in other markets.
At a time when most top arthouse distributors focused on established auteurs from Europe and Asia, Renaissance Theaters exploded those norms by programming new American directors like Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes.
- 7/21/2023
- The Wrap
Ray Price, an indie film producer and marketing veteran, died on July 16 of heart failure after battling cancer, his longterm partner Meg Madison confirmed. He was 75.
During his career in film, Price was president of Francis Ford Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope and First Look Pictures and a marketing and distribution exec for Landmark Theatres, Trimark Pictures and 2929 Entertainment. He also supported up-and-coming filmmakers like Tran Anh Hung (“The Scent of Green Papaya”), Gurinder Chadha (“Bhaji on The Beach”), Carl Franklin (“One False Move”), Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging”) and John Sayles (“The Secret of Roan Inish”).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” said Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles in a statement. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he always sought out novel ways of approaching things. He truly was a rebel...
During his career in film, Price was president of Francis Ford Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope and First Look Pictures and a marketing and distribution exec for Landmark Theatres, Trimark Pictures and 2929 Entertainment. He also supported up-and-coming filmmakers like Tran Anh Hung (“The Scent of Green Papaya”), Gurinder Chadha (“Bhaji on The Beach”), Carl Franklin (“One False Move”), Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging”) and John Sayles (“The Secret of Roan Inish”).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” said Magnolia Pictures co-ceo Eamonn Bowles in a statement. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he always sought out novel ways of approaching things. He truly was a rebel...
- 7/21/2023
- by Jordan Moreau
- Variety Film + TV
Ray Price, the respected indie film innovator who served as president of American Zoetrope and First Look Pictures and as a marketing and distribution executive for companies including Landmark Theatres and Trimark Pictures, has died. He was 75.
Price died Sunday at Whittier Hospital Medical Center from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his longtime partner, Meg Madison, said.
Throughout his career, Price displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of film, mentored generations of executives and leaned toward the outrageous in the ways he lured audiences to sample challenging movies.
Along the way, he championed filmmakers including Carl Franklin (1992’s One False Move), Allison Anders (1992’s Gas Food Lodging), Tran Anh Hung (1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya), Gurinder Chadha (1993’s Bhaji on the Beach) and John Sayles (1994’s The Secret of Roan Inish).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,...
Price died Sunday at Whittier Hospital Medical Center from heart failure after a long battle with cancer, his longtime partner, Meg Madison, said.
Throughout his career, Price displayed an encyclopedic knowledge of film, mentored generations of executives and leaned toward the outrageous in the ways he lured audiences to sample challenging movies.
Along the way, he championed filmmakers including Carl Franklin (1992’s One False Move), Allison Anders (1992’s Gas Food Lodging), Tran Anh Hung (1993’s The Scent of Green Papaya), Gurinder Chadha (1993’s Bhaji on the Beach) and John Sayles (1994’s The Secret of Roan Inish).
“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The danger of crafting a complicated heist flick is the risk that your audience won’t quite understand what’s going on. That’s the case in writer-director Stacy Cochran’s “Write When You Get Work,” a romantic comedy with a criminal bent that undertells its story and therefore oversells how smart it really is.
The film begins with an up-close-and-personal shot of teenagers rolling around in the sand, though these teens look like adults: It’s Jonny and Ruth. Their tryst results in a child, whom we find out, when the film jumps ahead nine years, that they gave up.
Their forfeited offspring doesn’t add anything to the story, other than perhaps suggesting a bond stronger than most high school sweethearts have; when Jonny spots Ruth at a wake those nine years later, he breaks into her apartment later that day. It turns out that they’re both comfortable with such illegal pastimes,...
The film begins with an up-close-and-personal shot of teenagers rolling around in the sand, though these teens look like adults: It’s Jonny and Ruth. Their tryst results in a child, whom we find out, when the film jumps ahead nine years, that they gave up.
Their forfeited offspring doesn’t add anything to the story, other than perhaps suggesting a bond stronger than most high school sweethearts have; when Jonny spots Ruth at a wake those nine years later, he breaks into her apartment later that day. It turns out that they’re both comfortable with such illegal pastimes,...
- 11/23/2018
- by Tricia Olszewski
- The Wrap
An outer-borough grifter finds a rich Manhattanite who doesn't even need to be conned in Write When You Get Work, Stacy Cochran's peculiar blend of crime flick and class-conscious love story. Boasting a strong cast and stronger Super 16 lensing by the great Robert Elswit, the picture benefits from a want-to-like-it factor that may carry some viewers through a scenario that grows increasingly shaky from the second act onward. Marking Cochran's return to the director's chair after 18 years, it seems unlikely to much surpass the limited success of her 1992 effort My New Gun and the 1996 Winona Ryder...
- 3/12/2018
- by John DeFore
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The 2018 SXSW Film and TV lineups have landed, and Austin’s programming of new films and TV shows looks like nothing else out there. As the film section enters its 25th anniversary and the festival’s top programmer Janet Pierson enters her 10th, SXSW remains a distinctive presence on the festival circuit, one that speaks to an ever-changing media landscape and the variability of filmmaking outside of Hollywood. Here are some of the standouts from the announcement.
See More:sxsw Film and TV 2018 Lineup: Jordan Peele, Female Directors, and More Lead Latest Announcement
Daryl Hannah Made an Experimental Western With Willie Nelson
As calls for supporting women filmmakers continue to dominate the industry, SXSW’s program provides a compelling response. Its 10-movie narrative competition is dominated by eight women directors, varying wildly in age and experience. These include first-time director Hannah Marks, who co-directed the drama “Shotgun” with Joey Power. Marks...
See More:sxsw Film and TV 2018 Lineup: Jordan Peele, Female Directors, and More Lead Latest Announcement
Daryl Hannah Made an Experimental Western With Willie Nelson
As calls for supporting women filmmakers continue to dominate the industry, SXSW’s program provides a compelling response. Its 10-movie narrative competition is dominated by eight women directors, varying wildly in age and experience. These include first-time director Hannah Marks, who co-directed the drama “Shotgun” with Joey Power. Marks...
- 1/31/2018
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
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