ABSTRACT
It can be argued that two distinct attitudes exist towards the screenplay within American independent cinema. One strand has tried to find ways to move away from the written script through a variety of alternative filmmaking strategies, which include improvisation, psychodrama and visual storytelling (Murphy 2010: 17596). The other response is more firmly rooted in the primacy of the screenplay as an essential feature of dramatic film production. This latter strain of indie cinema has been the legacy of two major institutions created in the early 1980s. The first of these was the Sundance Institute, a laboratory workshop experience specifically targeted to independents with more commercial ambitions.1 The second was the PBS-backed American Playhouse television series, which provided funding and showcased independent feature work.2 Both the Sundance Institute and American Playhouse placed a major emphasis on the screenplay (and working with writers) as a key factor in developing stronger independent films that could compete more successfully within the marketplace.
