Title Hollywood Renegades: The Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers Author J. A. Aberdeen ISBN 1-890110-24-8 Specifics 334 pages - includes original sources and comprehensive index.

How A Secret Society of Filmmakers Re-Invented Hollywood

They fought for creative freedom in an industry dominated by big business. They independently produced such classics as Snow White and the Seven Drawfs, Citizen Kane, and Gone with the Wind. And on the side, they fought against the monopolies that threatened their independence.

Everyone knows the names Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin, and Orson Welles, but few know that these "lone wolf" filmmakers secretly formed their own independent society with a mission to bring an end to the studio system of old Hollywood. In an era of movie monopolies, these independent filmmakers answered to no one. They made their films with complete creative control, and taught generations who followed how to make their own movies with singular vision.

In this never-before-told story, discover how the SIMPP filmmakers battled one of the largest entertainment monopolies of all time while independently producing such classics as Citizen Kane, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Gone With the Wind.

• Hollywood Renegades reveals how SIMPP assisted the antitrust division of the U.S. government by taking the major studios to trial — and winning the landmark Supreme Court case.
• See how the producers gave rise to the blockbuster-driven mentality of modern Hollywood, and pioneered the industry practice known as synergy.
• Find out what happened when the filmmakers helped end the studio system, only to argue amongst themselves and eventually bring an end to the illustrious SIMPP organization.
• Discover how the independent struggle from over 50 years ago continues in Hollywood today.

The author has uncovered extensive new material and the original Society records that were never intended to be published — until now. Hollywood Renegades gives an inside account of the rise and fall of the Society of Independent Motion Picture Producers which was eventually taken over by Walt Disney Productions.

J. A. Aberdeen spent years researching SIMPP and independent filmmaking. A recipient of several awards for historical writing, Aberdeen is a graduate of Brigham Young University in both history and cinema. With close ties to the motion picture industry, the author is married to a studio manager at DreamWorks SKG.