Indie Rights

Indie Rights, Inc.

Industry| Film
Founded| 2007; 19 years ago (2007)
Headquarters| 825 S Hill Street, #604
Los Angeles, California
United States

Key people

| Linda Nelson (CEO)
Michael Madison (COO)
Products| Motion pictures
Parent| Nelson Madison Films (est. 2003)
Website| indierights.com

Indie Rights, Inc. is an American distributor of independent films, based in Los Angeles, California. Indie Rights is a subsidiary of Nelson Madison Films and was incorporated in 2007 to act as distributor for other independent filmmakers.[1] The corporation began as a private MySpace group where the makers of independent films could get information about the changing face of film distribution; founders Linda Nelson and Michael Madison created Indie Rights so that distribution contracts could be signed by a legal entity. The corporation distributes films largely through video on demand services, though more recently it has overseen such theatrical releases as We Are Kings and Fray, both in 2014.

Nelson Madison Films has produced three features: Bigger Than Live (2002), Shifted (2006) and Delivered (2011).[2][3]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 1.1 Background
* 1.2 Lawsuit and recovery
* 1.3 Film distribution
* 1.4 Filmmaking
* 2 Films
* 3 See also
* 4 References
* 4.1 Footnotes
* 4.2 Sources
* 5 External links

## History

### Background

Linda Nelson is a former investment banker and computer systems analyst based in Los Angeles since 1980;[2] Michael Madison moved there in 1999 from Duncanville, Texas, to work as an actor and film producer.[4] They first partnered in 2000 to create and distribute the NSYNC concert film Bigger Than Live for IMAX theaters. In 2003, they formed their own company[1] with the goal of making independent features using local talent. Madison acts and handles writing, producing and directing duties; Nelson writes and produces[4] while developing distribution plans for other filmmakers.

### Lawsuit and recovery

Bigger Than Live broke even during its theatrical run, but Nelson and Madison "failed to tie up the necessary rights in our initial contract" and lost home video distribution in a lawsuit that shut down their production office. They moved into "more humble digs" and tried again with the crime thriller Shifted, learning the ins and outs of distribution while attending film festivals.[3] Nelson soon discovered that the chances of getting a film seen at a major festival such as Sundance or Cannes without having connections in the industry "are slim to nothing."[5] The company began a private group on MySpace called Indie Co-op, where filmmakers could get details on self-distribution, including attendance at smaller festivals where films are likely to benefit from local coverage and reviews.[6]

Nelson believed that film distributors didn't have any systems for accountability in place,[2] and that they tended to buy the rights to entire catalogs rather than individual films,[7] so she and Madison decided to do it themselves. Since they needed a legal entity to make distribution contracts valid,[3] they incorporated Indie Rights in 2007.[8] Nelson said doing both film production and distribution gives them a greater understanding of the challenges that filmmakers face than would a company that focuses only on distribution.[9]

### Film distribution

Indie Rights distributes globally to on demand platforms such as Amazon Video, Google Play, Hulu and iTunes,[10] where filmmakers can earn up to 80 percent of the revenue.[11] Innovations include searchable film rentals on YouTube and through video game consoles. In 2014, the company was the first independent studio included on M–GO, a subscription service supported by six major studios that offers films for home viewing while they are playing in theaters.[12]

Filmmaker and Baylor University professor Christopher Hansen turned to Indie Rights in 2015 when his film Where We Started failed to make the major festival circuit. After a short run at the Arena Cinema Hollywood led to favorable reviews, the film was released via digital platforms.[13] Theatrical releases by Indie Rights also include 9 Full Moons (2013), featuring Amy Seimetz and Harry Dean Stanton;[14] We Are Kings, the feature-film debut of America's Got Talent winner Bianca Ryan,[15] Move Me No Mountain (2023), and Druid Peak, starring Spencer Treat Clark and winner of Best Feature Film at the 2014 Omaha Film Festival.[16]

Indie Rights became part of the Independent Online Distribution Alliance in 2008,[17] and is a member of the Independent Film & Television Alliance,[18] which presents the American Film Market each year in November. Nelson and Madison also conduct seminars for independent filmmakers looking to build an audience through social networking.[19] In 2016, Indie Rights launched its own subscription channel available through services including Roku.[20]

### Filmmaking

Starting in 2010, the budgetary constraints of independent film-making required that Nelson Madison Films go tapeless. Delivered, their second "crime thriller", was their first to utilize Red Digital Cinema cameras and Adobe CS5 production software.[21] Madison directed, and played the lead role in an "uneven performance" where "at times he's spot-on".[22]

## Films

By early 2018, Indie Rights had distributed a catalog of more than 450 films.[23] The list includes:

* Unconformity (2022)[24]
* Bluff (2022)
* Active Shooter (2020), Robert Bryce Milburn's feature film debut starring Joshua Mikel from The Walking Dead and Catherine Dyer from Stranger Things.
* American Songwriter, Michael Altman 's award-winning 2012 documentary that spawned a sequel[25]
* Butterfly Crush, the 2010 Australian film that won multiple Best Feature awards on the U.S. independent film circuit[26][27]
* Capps Crossing, a 2017 slasher horror film[28]
* Carving a Life, a 2017 romance drama about the effects of alcoholism.
* char-ac-ter (2009), a documentary about "the life and craft of acting" featuring Dabney Coleman, Peter Falk and Charles Grodin[29]
* Delivered, winner for Best Supporting Actress (Alana Stewart) and of the Special Jury Award (Action/Adventure) at the 44th WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival[30]
* Dreams on Spec, a 2007 documentary featuring interviews with James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron and Carrie Fisher[31]
* Ekaj (2015)[32]
* Entwinement (2013), multiple award nominee at the Madrid International Film Festival and London Portobello Film Festival[33]
* Flesh On Fire: Addicted to a Dream, winner of the 2014 LA Film, TV & Webisode Festival Audience Award for best documentary[34][35]
* Fools On the Hill, a 2012 political documentary featuring Ed Begley Jr. and Dean Cain[29]
* Fray, 2012 Best Feature Film winner at both the UK Film Festival[36] and the Arizona International Film Festival[37]
* Love All You Have Left, a 2017 drama about Anne Frank living in the attic of a grieving family.
* OzLand, a 2014 fantasy/sci-fi drama inspired by L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz[38]
* The Playground, a 2017 thriller about five individuals intertwined in a fable orchestrated by a dark entity.
* Purdah (film), a 2018 documentary by Jeremy Guy that is 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes
* Sincerely, Brenda, the 2018 film by Kenneth Nelson Jr. that won multiple Best Feature awards on the U.S. independent film circuit
* Shifted (2006), the company's first production, featuring Jeris Poindexter, Jill Wagner and Vanessa Johansson[39]
* Skid Row, a 2008 documentary starring Pras (credited as Pras Michel) of Fugees[40]
* The Story of Lovers Rock (2012) featuring Maxi Priest[29]
* Tovarisch, I Am Not Dead, a documentary by Stuart Urban first screened in theaters in 2007[29]
* Transatlantic Coffee, winner of seven awards (including First Place [feature film] and Best Directing) at the Spring 2012 Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival[41]
* We Make Movies, a 2017 comedic mockumentary about a group of college students making a movie for their town's Film Festival.[42]
* The Bestowal (2019), a sci-fi drama from filmmaker Andrew de Burgh.[43]
* The Forgiving (2020), a drama centered around a despondent writer finding his salvation through the ghosts of his past.[44]
* Goodbye, Petrushka (2022), a comedy about an American girl who goes to Paris. [45]

## See also

* Film distribution

## References

### Footnotes

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Graser, Marc (April 12, 2009). "Osiris Adds To Its Indie Library". Variety. https://variety.com/2009/film/news/osiris-adds-to-its-indie-library-1118002358/. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Thompson, Anne (April 13, 2007). "Anne Thompson On Hollywood: Independent Films Going Online". Variety. https://variety.com/2007/digital/news/independent-films-going-online-1117963017/. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Courshon, Jerome. "Interview with Indie Rights". http://www.distribution.la/rights.html. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Meyer, John P. (February 2, 2007). "DVD Review and Commentary: Shifted, By Nelson Madison Films". The Dallas Morning News. http://go.dallasnews.com/news/2007/feb/02/movie-review-and-commentary-ishiftedi-nelson-madis/. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
5. ↑ Parks 2007, p. 89.
6. ↑ Parks 2007, p. 87–88.
7. ↑ Parks 2007, p. 87.
8. ↑ "Indie Rights Inc – Glendale, CA – Business Profile". http://www.dandb.com/businessdirectory/indierightsinc-glendale-ca-23357961.html. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
9. ↑ Minding VOD Windows, 3:00–3:05.
10. ↑ Kendrick, Tommy G. (January 2014). "047 ATP Intro to VOD Distribution with Linda Nelson". http://actorstalkacting.com/047-vod-distribution-with-linda-nelson/. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
11. ↑ Koungoulos, Afrodite (April 13, 2007). "Take Two Film Festival to support independent creators". New York City: Spectator Publishing. https://www.columbiaspectator.com/arts-and-entertainment/2015/04/09/take-two-film-festival-support-independent-creators/. Retrieved April 9, 2018.
12. ↑ Minding VOD Windows, 27:26–28:43.
13. ↑ Kosek, Jane Kelly (June 19, 2015). "Q&A with Christopher Hansen, Writer/Director of Where We Started". http://www.allaboutindiefilmmaking.com/2015/06/q-with-christopher-hansen.html. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
14. ↑ "9 Full Moons". IndieWire. http://www.indiewire.com/film/9-full-moons. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
15. ↑ Rechtshaffen, Michael (September 19, 2014). "Review: We Are Kings Has Heart of Blues but Misses Art of Filmmaking". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-we-are-kings-review-20140920-story.html. Retrieved September 19, 2014.
16. ↑ "Results From the 2014 OFF". http://omahafilmfestival.org/category/winners/. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
17. ↑ Hoffman, Jessica (June 26, 2008). "IODA Expands Video and Film Distribution Network Onto Amazon". Marketwired. http://www.marketwired.com/press-release/IODA-Expands-Video-and-Film-Distribution-Network-Onto-Amazon-873239.htm. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
18. ↑ "IFTA Members 2018". Independent Film & Television Alliance. Winter 2018. http://www.ifta-online.org/sites/default/files/IFTA Members 2018.pdf. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
19. ↑ "Industry Panels Downtown Film Festival Los Angeles". http://www.eventbrite.com/e/industry-panels-dffla-tix-will-be-sold-at-door-ltd-quantities-tickets-3836069788. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
"A Day of Free Industry Panels and Seminars". http://www.burbankfilmfest.org/seminar-schedule/. Retrieved October 21, 2014.
20. ↑ "Indie Rights Movies". Roku Channel Store. October 8, 2016. https://channelstore.roku.com/details/112162. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
21. ↑ Blair, Iain (October 20, 2010). "Special Delivery: Using RED Cameras, Adobe CS5 and Social-Networking Sites Like Facebook and YouTube, Delivered Could Be the Next Model for Indie Film". http://www.hdvideopro.com/film-and-tv/feature-films/special-delivery.html. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
22. ↑ Bell, Mark (February 15, 2012). "Delivered". http://www.filmthreat.com/reviews/46778/. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
23. ↑ "Indie Rights". Independent Film & Television Alliance. https://www.thefilmcatalogue.com/companies/indie-rights. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
24. ↑ Ng, Alan. "Unconformity". Film Threat. https://filmthreat.com/reviews/unconformity/.
25. ↑ Yeghiayan, Michael (August 8, 2013). "Glendale: Ready for Its Close Up". Crescenta Valley Weekly. http://www.crescentavalleyweekly.com/news/08/08/2013/glendale-ready-for-its-close-up/. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
26. ↑ "2011 2nd Annual Reel Independent Film Extravaganza Event Recap". 2011. http://www.reelindependentfilm.com/2011-recap. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
27. ↑ "2011 Indie Gathering Winners". 2011. http://theindiegathering.com/page23.php. Retrieved November 20, 2014.
28. ↑ Myers, Kimber (8 June 2017). "Review: Low-budget slasher 'Capps Crossing' gets lost in the woods of overexplaining". https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-capsule-capps-crossing-review-20170608-story.html.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 "'Indie Rights': Movies & TV". https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=movies-tv&field-keywords="indie+rights". Retrieved September 26, 2014.
30. ↑ Parks, Louis B. (April 18, 2011). "Banquet Brings WorldFest to Close". Houston Chronicle. http://www.chron.com/entertainment/article/Banquet-brings-WorldFest-to-close-1617420.php. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
31. ↑ "Dreams on Spec". http://www.indiepixunlimited.com/film/5102. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
32. ↑ "Ekaj". Rotten Tomatoes. https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ekaj.
33. ↑ "Entwinement". http://www.solarusfilms.com/films/entwinement/. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
34. ↑ "Awards". http://lafilmtvnewmediafestival.com/Awards.html. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
35. ↑ "Flesh on Fire: Addicted to a Dream". Entertainment Printing Services. http://www.gofobo.com/movie/flesh_on_fire_addicted_to_a_dream_2012. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
36. ↑ "Awards". http://ukfilmfestival.com/awards/. Retrieved July 21, 2016.
37. ↑ "2012 Arizona International Film Festival Best of Category". http://www.filmfestivalarizona.com/2012/festivalawards.php. Retrieved September 27, 2014.
38. ↑ "Williams' 'OzLand' picked up for distribution". 10 October 2015. http://www.cdispatch.com/lifestyles/article.asp?aid=45345. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
39. ↑ "Shifted". https://www.amazon.com/SHIFTED-Michael-Madison/dp/B000FTJ66A. Retrieved October 8, 2014.
40. ↑ "Skid Row". http://www.indiepixunlimited.com/film/5015. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
41. ↑ "Los Angeles New Wave International Film Festival Fall 2011/Spring 2012 Festival Winners". http://www.lanewwave.com/lanewwave/spring_2012_Winners.html. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
42. ↑ "We Make Movies". https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4136534. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
43. ↑ "The Bestowal; Tubi". https://tubitv.com/movies/513118/the-bestowal. Retrieved March 10, 2025.
44. ↑ "Watch the Forgiving | Prime Video". https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08ND84TKW/.
45. ↑ "Watch Goodbye, Petrushka | Prime Video". https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B0B5JD6592/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_r.

### Sources

* Parks, Stacey (2007). The Insider's Guide to Independent Film Distribution. Focal Press. ISBN 9780240809229. Cited as Parks 2007.
* Parks, Stacey (September 11, 2014). Startup Film School Presented by FilmSpecific.com: Minding VOD Windows with Linda Nelson of Indie Rights. libsyn.com. Retrieved October 17, 2014. Cited as Minding VOD Windows.
* Parks, Stacey (July 17, 2013). Startup Film School Presented by FilmSpecific.com: New VOD Platforms and Revenue Streams: An Interview with Linda Nelson of Indie Rights. libsyn.com. Archived from the original on October 17, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2014. Cited as New VOD Platforms.

## External links

* Official website
* Indie Rights on Facebook

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