Back in June, after I reported on Alex Gibney’s lawsuit against THINKFilm, I tried to wrap up the whole sordid THINK financial crisis storyline with a magnanimous “it’s just sad for all involved”. And barring definitive movement one way or the other, I was content to leave the story alone.
And, in truth, I’d been encouraged by various reports that THINK was moving forward, trying to settle old debts, having some success with ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, mending fences.
It was a promising development, not just because THINK remains an important player in the indie film world generally and the doc world specifically. I’m rooting for the individuals there, some who are friends and others who are people I respect, and would like nothing more than to see them come out of this.
However, there is a problem still at THINK, and a piece yesterday in the Hollywood Reporter – vintage news though it may mostly be – clarified the culprit.
Provocatively titled “Has THINKFilm Lost It’s Mind”, Alex Ben Block’s article focuses on THINK owner David Bergstein, who digs his own grave with a remarkably rant that both denies and diminishes THINK’s money trouble.
The money quote (or should I say lack-of-money quote) comes 1/3 of the way into the piece:
“’Some of what is out there is true,’ Bergstein said. ‘The vast majority is not true. And for the stuff that is true, my answer is, 'So what? So what if X, Y or Z might be owed money?'"
Bergstein goes on to blame THINK’s money woes on the company’s move from Toronto to Los Angeles, which was what THINK was telling everyone months ago before it became obvious that the troubles were more endemic – Friday ads couldn’t be bought, contractual advances and payments were either very late or never delivered, vendors told that they would never be paid. Does Bergstein even know that people stopped using this excuse months ago?
While the article goes on to quote aggrieved filmmakers (WAR/DANCE producer Albie Hecht calls Bergstein “the biggest disgrace in the film business”) – and despite rumors that THINK has laid off staff or has been, at various points, close to shuttering, Bergstein claims that THINK’s finances are solid.
But it’s the “let them eat cake” moment that had much of the indie film world talking Tuesday. While no one has ever confused Bergstein for a great humanitarian, there was shock and anger over his “so what” justification.
It’s the great indie film conundrum of course. We all need money (filmmakers individually and collectively, not to mention distributors) to keep doing what we do. And occasionally this requires us to climb into bed with, well, if not the devil, then certainly one of his minions.
Still, the thing that makes the indie world great is community, the collective rooting and support that defines a great deal of what we do. Despite the occasional broadside attack that we launch from here, we really do want everyone to succeed. We’re glad to see one another in Park City or Toronto or Silver Spring or Durham or Columbia. “A rising tide lifts all boats,” we’ve heard it said and we agree.
So, while not a person would have ever claimed David Bergstein as one of our own (he’s not a part of the community, purely of his own choice, despite his buying into it), it’s distressing to read such a callous dismissal of those who are.
For the “X, Y or Z” that Bergstein writes off as irrelevant are our co-workers, our friends, our fellow filmmakers, journalists. Despite one’s hopes that the good people at THINKFilm can get their personal house in order, that as individuals they will continue to support nonfiction filmmaking in thought, word and deed, the truth is that – with Bergstein’s purchase and reckless stewardship – THINK as an entity in and of itself is now impossible to cheer.
Fuck us, David Bergstein? No. Fuck you.
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