ABSTRACT
Independent films are not just creative exercises but rely on deal-making and contracting to balance artistic, financial, and political needs. Tracing the production and distribution history of I Want to Live! (1958), this chapter looks at how the film’s independence relied on a careful set of negotiations between three critical players – executive producer Joseph Mankiewicz, producer Walter Wanger, and star Susan Hayward – and particularly how their representatives brokered their conflicting interests. Through memos and telegrams, each party – none representing the director of the film or the film’s distributor – fought to craft the film their way in both pre-production and reception. By understanding the business of independent films, this chapter demonstrates the increasing importance of deal-making as critical to American independent cinema.
