An exciting new strategy from Paramount pictures has independent filmmakers taking notice:

“Paramount Pictures is set to launch a new production business for movies budgeted at less than $100,000. The as-yet-unnamed division plans to finance as many as 20 “micro-budget” movies annually starting in 2010… Not all of the micro-budgeted movies Paramount intends to make will be released theatrically. Instead, the division will operate much like a studio’s development slate, where screenplays are purchased, rewritten and (in some cases) turned into movies. Paramount plans to target both established filmmakers and newcomers with its micro-budget pitch.” — LA Times

Everybody wins– the studio hedges its bets by funding a diverse array of low-budget projects, emerging filmmakers get a foot in the studio door, and (hopefully) audiences will be rewarded with more interesting, risk-taking films.

“People familiar with the studio’s plans say some of the movies may end up serving as “calling cards” — a showcase of a novice director’s storytelling talent for a future project. A handful of films may contain enough good ideas to merit a bigger-budget remake. And another group may rise to the top of the heap, getting a theatrical release.”

I’ll be keeping an eye on this yet-unnamed little studio; it seems like the future of the studio system, or at least a step in the right direction.