2000 killed Independent Films

It seems that the 1990's were king when it came to Independent Films, I loved going to my local Video store and picking up all of Hal Hartley's movies along with stuff like "Party Girl", "Welcome to the Dollhouse", "The Doom Generation", "Kids", etc. These were quirky movies, character driven. You didn't know where the plot was going or how it would end, but you couldn't wait to get there.

Now it seems that when I walk into a Blockbuster the rare time (all about Netflix), the shelf is full of new releases along with Direct to DVD releases.

Where have all the indy movies gone? I know they will still be made but the wide release and DVD releases seem to be few and far between. I also saw an interview with Parker Posey saying Independent is really no more.

It's now small budget movies with famous names now in the leads working cheap for maybe the challenge. Really no more unknowns that could become a huge star that producers or directors take a chance on.