Paramount absorbs indie studio

[Above: The cast of Little Miss Sunshine]

It's a sad season for independent films everywhere, but especially in Hollywood. As more and more movies flood the market, studios are being forced to scale back or absorb their indie studios. According to the Wall Street Journal, Paramount will disperse its label Paramount Vantage. The move will essentially save them a few million bucks per year.

Little movies like Juno and Little Miss Sunshine that could, and did, are easily an excellent source of income once they strike a chord with audiences. But since production in the indie studio moves at the sluggish pace of six to eight movies a year, the income isn't enough to sustain its employees. Ten to 12 is an ideal range, and even though Paramount Vantage was tied in with No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, the competition is sucking the budget dry.

Other studios to close their labels have been Time Warner's Warner Bros., which shut down Picturehouse and Warner Independent Pictures and acquired New Line Cinema. As Hollywood continues to stroke its chin over independent studios, we have to wonder: What will become of the the indie-film market?