Schamus, former studio head, turns director in 'Indignation'
NEW YORK (AP) — F. Scott Fitzgerald estimated that less than six people had ever fully grasped "the whole equation" of the movie business.
Schamus is, somehow, equal parts film executive (he ran Focus Features for 12 years), academic (he's taught film theory at Columbia for more than 20 years) and filmmaker (he's Ang Lee's near-constant collaborator and screenwriter).
[...] like most things Schamus has been a part of, he's done it with a strong belief in the enduring appeal of smart, adult dramas.
The film's centerpiece is a colossal 30-page scene of back-and-forth between Marcus and the university dean (Tracy Letts).
"Indignation" has won warm reviews, an audience award at Sundance and — most incredibly — the endorsement of Roth, whose books until now have proven difficult to adapt.
Running the art house division of Universal, Schamus was responsible for dozens of good films, many of them Oscar winners: Brokeback Mountain, ''Dallas Buyers Club, ''Lost in Translation, ''Milk, among them.
"When I got the boot from Focus, I made that decision that executives do where they go through the production slate and say 'I'll be the executive producer on that and I'll be the producer on that,'" he says.
Schamus grew up in Hollywood, but got into producing in New York, where he co-founded the famed "no-budget" production company Good Machine.
Money may flow in and out of independent cinema (as it is now, courtesy of Amazon and Netflix), but it continues on despite the fears that it won't.