Welcome to Kickin' it Old School. It has been 3 weeks since we started this adventure and I must say I am pretty proud of the progress we have made in this short period of time. If you have missed any of the previous 21 postings, please click on the little orange button in the left column that looks like this...  That will give you a list of all of the postings, but remember if the topic does not necessarily interest you there are always the special features at the end of each posting (including "check this out," "quote of the day" and "download this"). Please feel free to subscribe to the blog, too, because I try to keep up with at least one posting per day. As always, send me your comments and I appreciate you taking the time to read Kickin' it Old School.

Hope you read my January 8^th posting regarding Art Monk needing to be voted into the pro football hall of fame. If not, click here to check it out. I was made aware of a grass roots effort to get Monk this deserved honor and I would like to direct you to another site where you can find out more about the situation and what you might be able to do to help. Please go here now or after you're done reading the rest of mine  Hopefully , Art Monk will be a part of this next class inducted later this year.

On to today's topic... The 30th Sundance Film Festival is wrapping up this weekend out in Park City, Utah. If you are not familiar, Sundance and Cannes (held in France during May) are the most renowned of the many film festivals held all over the world each year. These film festivals are really an outlet for independent film makers to show their work. Indie filmmaking has really changed over the years, but undoubtedly has made a major impact on Hollywood. I came across a great article which really explains the evolution. I could not explain it any better, so I direct you to this article now (but please come back and finish reading here)... www.independentfilms.org/independent-film.html. Many deals are made at festivals like Sundance by studios to distribute what were originally independent films. For some, this can be the big break that an indie filmmaker needs to start a career. For others, they simply do not want to deal with the studio's intrusions and mandates during the making of the film, but then look for the studio's help distributing it after it is made. Many studios even have divisions that are indie film focused. Independent films have received much more attention in recent years from the big studios as well as the average movie fan. There are several films that have premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to be quite popular. Some achieve box office success, but many do not find a following until they are out on DVD. Indie films like Reservoir Dogs, Donnie Darko and Clerks are now considered classics, but were relatively unknown until they found an audience on DVD. The movie to premiere at Sundance and go on to the biggest box office success happens to be The Blair Witch Project (1999). My all time favorite movie, Pulp Fiction, earned more, but actually debuted at Cannes. I decided to do a Top 10 list of my favorite independent films, but most of the films I chose are probably not considered "true" indie films. I also chose to only go back to 1994 when both Pulp Fiction and Clerks were released. Some movies from before 1994 that are technically independent films surprisingly include: Psycho (1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Graduate (1967), Halloween (1978) and The Terminator (1984). The very funny Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979) are also indie films. You will find that many of the films on the following list have appeared on one of my previous Top 10 lists and I find it interesting that so many technically started as independent films. It was very difficult to narrow it down to just ten movies. Here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 FAVORITE (technically) INDEPENDENT FILMS (1994-present):
Honorable Mention. Clerks (1994) - This film launched Kevin Smith's career and he now is one of my very favorite filmmakers. It was a true independent film made by Smith for just over $25,000 (which he raised by maxing out ten credit cards, selling his comic book collection and his college fund) at the convenience store that he actually worked at while it was closed between 10:30 pm and 5:30 am. The film features some outstanding dialogue and introduces the iconic characters of Jay & Silent Bob. I love this film and wanted to give it some credit, but just could not break it into the top 10.
10. Lost in Translation (2003) - This film, written and directed by Sophia Coppola, will appear on my Bill Murray Top 10 list once I publish that one. Several other films could have taken this #10 slot including: Memento (which I have mentioned before), Being John Malkovich (which I mentioned in my John Cusack Top 10 list) or even Seven (the 1995 thriller starring Brad Pitt & Morgan Freeman). Tough decision, but I gave the spot to this movie because it seemed to have more of an idie feel than the others.
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) - This movie stars Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet and was written by Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman's work, like Being John Malkovich, can be quite unique but that makes it more interesting and entertaining to me. The story is about two people who try to have their memories erased in order for them to forget about eachother. I enjoyed this film quite a bit and recommend you check it out if you have never seen it.
8. Little Miss Sunshine (2006) - This film made my Top 10 for movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but that did not win.  Go back to that list to read about it. It is one of the most successful films to premier at Sundance and one that I highly recommend.
7. American Beauty (1999) - Written by Alan Ball (who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and who also wrote the HBO series Six Feet Under), this film won the Oscar for Best Picture that year. It stars Kevin Spacey who also won the Oscar for Best Actor in a leading role. It is just an amazing piece of cinema which should be obvious based on all of the awards it was given.
6. Juno (2007) - I have mentioned this film several times before in my postings (January 6^th & again January 22^nd). Outstanding movie and I recommend it to everyone.
5. Sideways (2004) - This film also made my Top 10 for movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but that did not win.  Great characters make this movie great. As with any movies on this list, I highly recommend them to everyone.
4. The Usual Suspects (1995) - Won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay which is always one of the most important awards in my opinion. Surprisingly, this cast comes together superbly to tell this story that features several twists and turns. Who is Keyser Soze??? Fantastic film from start to finish.
3. Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) - This is one of my personal favorites as discussed during the John Cusack Top 10 list.  I am sure this film would not appear as highly on most people's list of favorites, but I think it is fantastic. Kind of dark comedy, but that is right up my alley.
2. Swingers (1996) - A true indie film, written by and starring Jon Favreau, Swingers is one of my all time favorites. The film also stars Vince Vaughn and launched the career of one of the funniest actors in all of Hollywood. It is the first major film for Ron Livingston who would later star in one of my all time favorite comedies, Office Space, which we will definitely discuss more in a future posting. Admittedly, this is more of a "guy's movie" but is still one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. "Vegas, baby!"
1. Pulp Fiction (1994) - This film ranked #1 on my Top 10 for movies nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, but that did not win. It happens to be my favorite movie of all time and, in my opinion, a masterpiece created by Quentin Tarantino. I concede that it is definitely not everybody's taste level for entertainment, but I think it is pure genius. A truly special piece of cinema.

There's my Top 10 and, as always, the order is not set in stone (except for Pulp Fiction at #1). Another Tarantino movie, Reservoir Dogs, is a classic indie film that appears highly on most list, but not quite as high on mine. I enjoy that movie, but it just does not make my Top 10. A few other indie films with incredible cult followings that do not appear on my list also include Donnie Darko, The Big Lebowski and Napoleon Dynamite, though I do enjoy each of them. What films do you feel are missing???

OK, that does it for another Kickin' it. Thanks for reading and please subscribe to be sure you don't miss any of them. Remember, to go to the website I noted above to support Art Monk's hall of fame induction. Peace and much love.

Check this out: I am sure most of you have heard the song "We Didn't Start the Fire" by Billy Joel. Here is a link to a VERY cool video for this song. It is definitely worth checking out.

Quote of the day: "The greatest mistake a man can make is to be afraid of making one." -Elbert Hubbard (American write in late 1800's and into the early 1900's)

Download this: "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green - This song was originally released back in 1972, but it was also featured on the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction. I felt it was fitting to list it here based on this posting's topic.