Half the stars in Hollywood, and many directors and producers, have their own independent production companies (not studios).
It doesn't mean much. Often just an office, and maybe one or two staffers.
The power is in distribution, which the big studios control. There are some indie distributors, include micro-distributors like Newmarket, but they're fly-by-night, often leading precarious existences from year to year.
They can't plan longterm, because they don't know when, or if, they'll next luck out on a big hit, like Passion, or Pi, or The Blair Witch Project.
Conservatives should join with "progressives" in opposing big media consolidation. For more media diversity, including conservative voices, we need to break up Viacom, Disney, News Corp, Time-Warner, etc.