Ray Price, Indie Film Producer and Veteran Marketer, Dies at 75

Ray Price, an indie film producer and marketing veteran, died on July 16 of heart failure after battling cancer, his longterm partner Meg Madison confirmed. He was 75.

During his career in film, Price was president of Francis Ford Coppola’s production company American Zoetrope and First Look Pictures and a marketing and distribution exec for Landmark Theatres, Trimark Pictures and 2929 Entertainment. He also supported up-and-coming filmmakers like Tran Anh Hung (“The Scent of Green Papaya”), Gurinder Chadha (“Bhaji on The Beach”), Carl Franklin (“One False Move”), Allison Anders (“Gas Food Lodging”) and John Sayles (“The Secret of Roan Inish”).

“Ray, while being a defiantly singular individual, was also emblematic of a bygone age of independent film,” said Magnolia Pictures co-CEO Eamonn Bowles in a statement. “From theatre chain owner to distributor, exquisite marketer, and production exec, he always sought out novel ways of approaching things. He truly was a rebel and my heart goes out to his family.”

In 1972, he managed the Rialto theater in Berkeley, Calif., and later worked with Allen Michaan Renaissance Theaters, one of the largest indie film chains in the Bay Area that was later sold to Landmark Theatres. Under his leadership, Renaissance Theaters became known for redesigning movie posters, programming films from upcoming American directors, like Martin Scorsese and John Cassavetes, and relaunching films from studios’ vaults, like Ridley Scott’s “The Duelist,” Jonathan Demme’s “Melvin and Howard,” Brian de Palma’s “Blowout,” Lewis John Carlino’s “The Great Santini,” and Christopher Guest’s “The Big Picture.”

“He pulled ‘Repo Man’ from the slush pile, designed a poster with his own money, and put it in his theater. The rest is history,” Price’s former assistant Marti Mattox said in a statement.

“Ray was the best tactician I’ve ever known,” said Bert Manzari, who co-founded San Francisco’s independent booking company ManRay Booking with Price. “Ray not only taught me about tactics, he also introduced me to Cognac, Armagnac, and other delightfully decadent pursuits. We had a hell of a good time. Ray had the best film sense and his persuasive powers were unmatched.”

After moving to Los Angeles in 1988, Price helped create IRS Pictures, First Look Pictures and TriMark Entertainment’s theatrical arm. He also distributed and marketed indie films like “Gas Food Lodging,” “One False Move,” “The Secret of Roan Inish,” “The Scent of Green Papaya,” plus Mira Nair’s “Kama Sutra,” Kasi Lemmon’s “Eve’s Bayou,” Stacy Cochran’s “My New Gun,” Wayne Wang’s “Chinese Box,” Bobcat Goldthwait’s “Shakes the Clown,” Mary Harron’s “I Shot Andy Warhol” and Vincenzo Natal’s “Cube.” He especially championed women filmmakers, people of color and first-time directors.

“He had a deep knowledge and love of movies, and was the source of great lore about the theatrical distribution business,” Roadside Attractions co-president Howard Cohen said in a statement. “He was part of what I might call a vanishing breed of indie film executive, along with the late Bingham Ray, who came at the business from a unique combination of cineaste love and down-to-earth, on the ground movie theatre perspective, often starting out managing local theatres.”

Price was also the first person to play a new feature film online. On June 3, 1995, he streamed Daisy von Scherler’s Mayer’s “Party Girl” on the internet in black-and-white at 14 fps with a T1 cable. He joined American Zoetrope in the late ’90s and helped with the sales and marketing of Sofia Coppola’s “The Virgin Suicides” and the “Jeepers Creepers” movies. In the early 2000s, Price rejoined a struggling Landmark Theatres and launched its FLM indie film magazine to heighten awareness for its films.

In 2007, he became senior vice president of marketing and distribution at 2929 Entertainment. Before his death, Price was marketing Rodrigo Reyes’ documentary “Sansón and Me,” which is planned for a theatrical release and PBS broadcast in the fall.

Price is survived by Madison; her sisters Liz and Sean Madison; his children Antigone Dempsey, Dierdre Price and Asher Price; and his brother Brian Price. In lieu of flowers, the Price family requests donations be made to give.translifeline.org.

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