“‘Dark Knight’ Producer Charles Roven Launching Indie Shingle”

In the around-and-around cycle that is Hollywood’s attitude toward low-budget movies, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, a major player makes a move. Per THR:

One of hollywood’s most prolific blockbuster factories is thinking smaller.

Charles Roven and his Atlas Entertainment, producers of such hits as The Dark Knight, Get Smart and the upcoming The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, is unveiling Atlas Independent, an affiliated company that will produce indie-minded movies.

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“You don’t need a lot to get even, and you may have a breakout,” Roven said. “In addition to nurturing talent, there’s also a relationship aspect. Being there for them at a very important time in their careers, we obviously hope that they will remember us as good partners and good producers and will want to be in business with us again.”

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In August, the company quietly wrapped the dramatic dark comedy Revenge for Jolly, written by Brian Petsos, directed by Chadd Harbold and starring Petsos, Kristen Wiig, Elijah Wood, Adam Brody and Ryan Phillippe. The company’s development slate includes a project involving the DJ trio Swedish House Mafia and the 2006 Black List script Open Grave by brothers Eddie and Chris Borey.

Three things:

* “You don’t need a lot to get even.” This has always been the appeal of low-budget movies, how they represent significantly less risk than larger budget movies. And when a movie like The Help comes along that will end up with a staggering ROI, the potential for that type of profit margin is alluring.

* “…we obviously hope that they will remember us as good partners.” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen this sentiment expressed in quite this way as it represents a shocking degree of long-term thinking in a town which is increasingly obsessed with quarterly earnings. Roven is saying that by stepping up to the plate to make movies with lesser-known talents at the beginning of their careers, once they become stars, hopefully they will remember Atlas’ original support and agree to work with them again on projects in the future, perhaps lending their ‘big’ name to a small project, enhancing the film’s marketability.

* “…the 2006 Black List script Open Grave.” This is what I mean when I say the Black List has become a Hollywood brand. Almost every time a project moves forward that was on the Black List, the trades note that fact, like it’s a badge of honor or a seal of approval.

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