Joss-whedon-boycott-sleepwalk-224x124[Update: Mike Birbiglia and Ira Glass have responded.] For too long now independent and low-budget films have been taking attention away from more important Hollywood films. While most of us work more hours on our films than we would ever think possible, highly paid actors and producers are slaving away trying to produce quality, fun-filled, and family-friendly (albeit violent) entertainment. It's time now to boycott these heartfelt and powerful independent films because they are taking away dozens, maybe even hundreds of screens away from more deserving spectacle films, especially a little film called Sleepwalk with Me, a partially true story from the mind of Mike Birbiglia. If your sense of humor is broken, it's probably best to look away now...

Thanks to Scott Myers at Go Into The Story for posting this. First, here is the trailer for the film Sleepwalk with Me:


Here is big-time Hollywood mogul Joss Whedon (director of on why we should all boycott the film (and all independent films in general):

Update: Here is the video response from Birbiglia and Glass:

A couple more videos with the producer of the film and Ira Glass himself, the latter video is from Filmmaker Magazine:

Am I slightly jealous that Birbiglia, who happens to be from my hometown and also went to high school with my brother for a short period of time, has gotten distribution for his first feature? Possibly...Yes. Am I also a little jealous that he's a major successful comedian with a pretty large and faithful fan base? Maybe. Now before your head explodes from the sarcasm, I wanted to share this because I think it's exceptional that someone who has always been an outcast in Hollywood (and has now finally seen some major success with The Avengers), took the time out of his day to show some love for the little guy.

I personally like independent films because they tend to challenge the viewer more often than big studio films. Everything isn't always so cut-and-dry, and there is a rawness about these lower-budget films that comes from both a lack of a budget and a love of storytelling. Independent films, regardless of what some might say about quantity over quality in this age of DSLR filmmaking, can do things Hollywood films never will. For that reason alone, we have to continue supporting each other and keep working hard to build a community of people who just want to tell the best stories they can tell.

Link: Sleepwalk with Me

[via GITS]