Down and Dirty Pictures: Miramax, Sundance and the Rise of Independent Film

In the late 1980s a generation of filmmakers inspired by the directors of the 1970s began to flower outside the studio system. In the following decade, the independent movement bloomed. Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, and dozens of lesser known filmmakers began walking away with prizes at Cannes and eventually at the Academy Awards. Many of these directors were discovered at Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival and were scooped up by Harvey and Bob Weinstein, whose company, Miramax, laid waste to the competition. In Down and Dirty Pictures, Peter Biskind tells the story of the filmmakers and the independent distributors who revitalised Hollywood over the past decade. As in Easy Riders, Biskind's incisive account is loaded with gossip and outrageous stories, all of it blended into a fascinating narrative.