In the year of its 25th anniversary, the Sundance Film Festival coincided with the inauguration of a new president who offers hope to a country beaten down by war and a tough economic climate; it's the first time in my own adult life I've ever cared enough about the inauguration to block out time on my own schedule to watch it, and you could hear the crickets chirping around Park City the morning of January 20th as folks skipped screenings to attend any number of inauguration bashes. The mood at Sundance this year, especially given the quality of films, should have felt festive, even buoyant. Overall though, the air at the fest was low-key and somber.

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Posted by kvoynar at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Carey Mulligan was this year's IT Girl at Sundance, with her debut as a lead in An Education helping that film to the Sundance Audience Award and her performance in The Greatest, opposite Susan Sarandon and Pierce Brosnan, showing that she can keep up with the industry's big guns.

The video interview, with a cameo by director Lone Scherfig, after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - Carey Mulligan (content)" »

Posted by poland at 09:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

In the ninth (and probably last) sale during Sundance, Arthouse Films nabbed worldwide rights to Doug Pray’s history-of-advertising documentary Art & Copy.

The deal, announced in the wee hours of Sunday morning, is said to be in the low six figures. Its fate – and how high those low six figures were -- were likely influenced by the awards ceremony beforehand. Several bidders were interested in the acclaimed doc frontrunner since its Jan. 16 screening in the fest’s US documentary competition, but it failed to win any awards.

Copy did, however, win a lot of fans for its perceptive examination of the ad industry’s influence on our culture since the 60s. The doc-heavy distributor Arthouse plans a theatrical release later this year.

Arthouse and Curiously Bright Entertainment’s David Koh and Lilly Bright negotiated the deal with Copy sales rep Josh Braun of Submarine Entertainment.

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44 seconds of insight.

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We Live in Public, Push, Rough Aunties and The Maid (La Nana) Earn Top Jury Prizes; Audience Favorites Feature Afghan Star, An Education, The Cove and Push
January 24, 2009

Park City, UT–The jury and audience award-winners of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony hosted by actor Jane Lynch in Park City, Utah. Films receiving jury awards were selected from the four categories: U.S. Dramatic and Documentary Competition and World Dramatic and Documentary Competition. Films in these categories were also eligible for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards. The U.S. Audience Awards presented by Honda were announced by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The World Cinema Audience Awards were announced by Benjamin Bratt. Highlights from the Awards Ceremony can be seen on the Sundance Channel, the Official Television Network of the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, beginning Sunday, January 25, as well as on the official Festival website, www.sundance.org/festival.

Continue reading "Sundance Winners Press Release (content)" »

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Susan Sarandon, Pierce Brosnan, and writer/director Shana Feste sit down to chat about their Sundance premiere, The Greatest.

The interview after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - The Greatest (content)" »

Posted by poland at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adam opens with a female voiceover talking about how her favorite book when she was growing up was The Little Prince (you know, the book about the pilot who crashes in the desert and meets a little prince from a tiny distant planet who teaches him all sorts of interesting and meaningful things), and how when she met Adam, she thought she was the little prince -- the one who would teach him things -- but at the end, she realized she was really the pilot all along.

My immediate reaction to this was to roll my eyes and inwardly groan at the set-up that this film was going to be about a magical differently-abled person who shows a "normal" person some wonderful and mysterious things about life through his different perspective, thus teaching her important life lessons she couldn't have learned had she not met him. Which it kind of is, and kind of isn't, but the opening set-up isn't the only problem the film has.

Read the rest of this review...

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By Gregg Goldstein

In the biggest sale of this year's Sundance fest, the Ashton Kutcher sex dramedy, Spread, sold US and Australian rights to Overture's sister company Anchor Bay and Canadian rights to TVA in a deal totaling just under four million dollars.

It's a rare case of the top Sundance sale coming just before the end of the festival. Graham Taylor of Endeavor Independence and Roeg Sutherland of CAA spearheaded the deal.

It could be the biggest release so far for Anchor Bay, which plans an aggressive late summer release. Anne Heche also stars in the Shampoo-like tale of an ambitious almost-gigolo.

Posted by poland at 08:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In what could be viewed as a victory for a film potentially headed to DVD shelves - or a film's failure to find outside distribution - Sony Pictures Classics will handle the theatrical release of Duncan Jones’ sci-fi psychological thriller “Moon.”

The film arrived at its Friday night Sundance premiere with all rights pre-purchased by Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group. But according to a production source, the division was unsure of the theatrical viability of the 2001-style tale of an astronaut (Sam Rockwell) stuck in space with no one to talk to but his robot friend (voiced by Kevin Spacey).

In effect, Moon's Sundance run (including pre-fest and press and industry screenings) was both a test marketing effort and a chance to quietly shop the film to theatrical distribution partners. Senator uses SPWAG as its ancillary distribution venue, and Samuel Goldwyn is a frequent partner, but SPC or straight-to-video were other backup options.

It's unclear if growing press acclaim or lack of outside partner offers rising to SPWAG's expectations was the deciding factor - most likely both - but SPC announced on the eve of the film's premiere that it will distribute the film theatrically in June.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The co-writers and, respectively, director (Scott Saunders) and star (Michael Jai White) of Black Dynamite. take some time off from kicking ass for a chat.

The video interview is after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - Black Dynamite (content)" »

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211: Anna, a documentary by Italian directors Paolo Serbandini and Giovanna Massimetti, has an interesting subject but unfortunately fails to shed much new light on the life and death of its subject, murdered Russian political journalist Anna Politkovskaya. I first became familiar with Politkovskaya through Eric Bergkraut's 2005 documentary Coca: The Dove from Chechnya, which focused primarily on Chechen human rights activist Zainap Gashaeva and also featured Politkovskaya's journalist work on the Russia-Chechnya conflict. And although Politkovskaya was not the primary subject of Coca, that doc actually revealed more about the work she did than this one, which is completely about her.

Continue reading "Short Take: 211: Anna (views)" »

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Lucille Hadzihalilovic was one of five winners of the NHK award, helping her get her new film Evolution made. She directed Innocence (2004) and co-produced and edited Gaspar Noe's I Stand Alone.

[Below the fold, Mike Plante on keys to getting work done.]

Continue reading "OnePiece: talking future with Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Mike Plante" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 02:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Lee Krieger's second feature, The Vicious Kind, is a tale of forgiveness and redemption told through the character of Caleb Sinclaire (Adam Scott), an intensely unpleasant construction worker whose bitterness and misogyny masks a deeply wounded man whose outward anger acts as a shield against the world.

Continue reading "Short Take: The Vicious Kind (views)" »

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7:45a, Friday - Apparently, The Man doesn't want you to know about Black Dynamite. At 6:23 am the YouTube upload of the trailer was pulled down for violating community standards. But The Google Man is comin' to the rescue!

Posted by poland at 11:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...no one listens. Who trusts what anyone on Wall Street has to say anymore? But when Manohla talks, well, that's another story.

You'll want to read what she has to say about her fave Sundance films: Big Fan, Big River Man, Unmade Beds, In The Loop, Crude, Cold Souls and Lulu and Jimi.

Her sole pan - of Steven Soderbergh's work-in-progress The Girlfriend Experience - mirrors the bad buzz we've been hearing.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 11:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Director Nicholas Jasenovec, actors Jake Johnson and Michael Cera, and co-writer Charlene Yi sit down with DP to discuss their Sundance release, Paper Heart.

The video interview after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - Paper Heart (content)" »

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By Gregg Goldstein

IFC Films has nabbed all US rights to the James Gandolfini-toplined political satire In The Loop in a just-under $1 million deal. It debuts tonight at the Eccles in the Sundance Premieres section.

Loop is the latest case of a slow Sundance sales market putting a seller known for low-budget buys on the same playing field with bigger distribs, and producers accepting the day-and-date model to deliver a film in theaters and on VOD simultaneously. It's one of IFC's biggest buys since launching its IFC In Theaters program, and the distrib plans a 2009 release.

Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, Mimi Kennedy, David
Rasche, Chris Addison, Anna Chlumsky and Steve Coogan also star in the satire of British and US governments as they ramp up to a Middle Eastern war. British comedy writer Armando
Iannucci helmed the film, which has similar themes and writers with his BBC TV series "In The Thick of It."

Buyers got a look at the film in select screenings before the fest, and after its Monday press and industry screening, five buyers had made offers.

Sellers Cassian Elwes of William Morris Independent and Ben Roberts of Protagonist Pictures, who repped the film on behalf of BBC Films, Aramid Capital and UK Film Council, are still fielding deals for Canada and other territories.

"We are going to celebrate tonight," said IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring. "In The Loop is one of those rare movies that you know is destined to be a classic. Its going to do incredibly well on all of our platforms."

The deal was negotiated by Arianna Bocco and Betsy Rodgers for IFC Films.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

IFC FILMS ACQUIRES US RIGHTS TO ARMANDO IANNUCCI'S COMEDY IN THE LOOP
Film will have its World Premiere this evening in the Premieres Section of the Sundance Film Festival

Park City, UT (January 22, 2009) - IFC Films, one of the leading American distributors for independent and foreign films, announced today at the Sundance Film Festival it has acquired U.S. distribution rights to IN THE LOOP, a comedy about politics set in London and Washington.

Continue reading "IFC Grabs Gandolfini Comedy "In the Loop" (press release/news)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 06:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In 2009 Williamsburg, Shelly, a woman of 23 or so, (Stella Schnabel) contends with intense desires, average expectations, quotidian disappointments. Shelly's inner life is suggested by a voice-over that's as much interior monologue as diary entry or recitation to a therapist, as well as a visual style that works in several bold formats as well as an intermittent score by Will Bates that uses a percussive tattoo like an accelerated heartbeat, shared by Stella and the film itself, in the same fashion Jon Brion did with his music for Punch-Drunk Love. Ry Russo-Young's second feature, You Wont Miss Me (sic), at first glance traffics in contemporary low-budget, digital video idioms, but in fact is a well-constructed, sharply observed, unsentimental modern-moment "Alice in Wonderland." The final shot of the movie is a gorgeous slap, prompting that reference, ending with just the right note of the character's knack for provocation but also her essentially uncentered existence. There are elements I wouldn't cite as influences, but as parallels that rang true to me. In the nonjudgmental approach to depicting Shelly's instability but also youthful female sexuality, a fond comparison could be made to the sensual nightdream of Claire Denis' Friday Night.

Continue reading "Review: You Wont Miss Me (views)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 05:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Several sites have offered great Sundance coverage (the acerbic Defamer and intrepid Carpetbagger are two of many that come to mind), but it was especially nice to read a post I wish I’d written years ago from Variety’s Mike Jones.

Do I agree with his thoughts as a defense of John Anderson's attack on Jeff Dowd? Absolutely not, and his points don't justify Anderson's behavior, but they do sum up the trade journalist experience pretty well. Every film journalist feels fest spin, but those at the trades routinely get spun like a top from all quarters, and Jones puts it all in perspective quite nicely. Stay strong, bro.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 03:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Gregg Goldstein

Last year’s Oscar nomination day at Sundance may have been the worst one ever.

Indie execs were trying to recover from a Fall season filled with political and Iraq war film bombs, most of which didn’t score nominations - so much for noble aspirations. A series of big-star Sundance entries that opening weekend failed to deliver artistically or show commercial potential. Then news came of Heath Ledger’s death, severely dampening enthusiasm at Focus and many other studios.

Today was a much different story. Sony Pictures Classics, which picked up the $500,000 Frozen River for just under $1 million the night before those nominations, just scored best actress (Melissa Leo) and best original screenplay (Courtney Hunt) nominations from the film, its first pickup ever during the fest. It went on to win the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize that weekend and a $2.3 million at the boxoffice – the DVD hits Feb. 10.

Despite mixed reactions to last year’s opening night film, the Focus entry In Bruges, the film scored a best original screenplay nomination for Martin McDonagh. Three post-fest Sundance premiere doc buys, Man on Wire (Magnolia), Trouble the Water (Zeitgeist) and The Betrayal (Cinema Guild) earned three of five best documentary nominations.

How will all this good news affect the available film remainders at Sundance? It’s been a remarkably slow sales year for acclaimed docs, so that could change. Last year’s first weekend started with What Just Happened. . . and Sunshine Cleaning as frontrunners, then ended with docs Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired and American Teen as the big buzz titles, but neither lit a fire in theaters – one contributing factor.

If best acting nominations for no-name vets like Richard Jenkins (Overture’s 2007 Toronto buy The Visitor) and Leo can be had for $1 million-range purchases, it could cause execs to take a second look at talent in each title with a fine-toothed comb. SPC’s $3 million pickup of An Education came with an eye towards making breakout star Carey Mulligan next year’s Leo.

But perhaps the biggest boost from today may be to the Weinstein Co., which managed to score a best picture, best director (Stephen Daldry) and best actress (Kate Winslet - not supporting, thank you) noms for The Reader – a shocker given the film’s mixed reviews and Scott Rudin’s decision to pull his name off the film to protest TWC rushing it to the finish line. Suddenly Harvey's first impression isn’t that of a guy who may be having money problems, or the one who made several big Sundance buys he dumped (Grace Is Gone, Dedication) or bought at other fests & let go elsewhere (Penelope, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, the Vince Vaughn comedy doc). He’s the guy who made the Academy forget about all of the above.

As one of several execs interested in acquiring Push (in a joint deal with, rumor has it, BET), his street cred has risen in producers’ eyes. Though they’re still likely to insist that their checks clear quickly.

The nominations may also put some wind into the sails of a few last-minute deals for titles viewed as awards-worthy (SPC, it should be noted, picked up The Wackness just hours before its Sundance narrative audience award win).

But don’t expect any bidding wars – the pressure for those is off, and it’s still a buyers market. Late Wednesday night, I asked a seller behind several big titles if it matters whether a film sells now or, say, next week. “Not really,” he said.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 02:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's not every day that Lifetime cable gets to premiere one of its movies here at Sundance.

Well... Motherhood isn't actually set to premiere on Lifetime yet. But give it a few weeks.

The alternate title for this film should be "Bueller's Beautiful Mom's Day Out."

You know... I am willing to roll with most conceits... but the "every damned thing is going to happen to me and redefine my life all in one day" genre requires some very specific skills. And Katherine Dieckmann, while reaching for something more, I think, doesn't seem to have perspective on just how unrealistic her ode to female power is, not because women aren't that strong, but because bringing home the bacon, frying it up in the pan, giving a birthday party, getting a flat tire, flirting with infidelity, seeking a new job, humiliating a friend thoughtlessly, getting a car towed, blogging repeatedly in under 100 words, writing self-imagined deeply insightful words, wearing 3 outfits and more all in one day is enough to make anyone choke. Some days may seem like that, but they really aren't.

The oddest thing for me was that cinematographer Nancy Schreiber's work here is so slick that it takes away from the idea of a rough hewn day in the life... thus the TV reference. They shoot all these great NY locations and the actors are so beautifully lit that it feels like they are on a stage and the real world is just a backdrop.

I won't begin to deconstruct the obvious plot errors in the film. Not the point. It certainly isn't a terrible movie. And grown grrrl power can be fun to watch. But the ambitions of this movie seemed to be more about making something palatable than something extraordinary. And this year at Sundance, that is a notion on the outs.

Posted by poland at 09:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I expect most men might have a hard time relating to Motherhood; it's a very femme-centric film, almost to the extent of being like an insider-Hollywood flick, only it's insider-mommy-blogger, and as a consequence there are bits in there that are very funny if you've ever been Eliza, struggling to find five minutes in your day to jot down your thoughts that won't resonate if you can't relate.

Read the rest of this review ...

Posted by kvoynar at 02:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The video after the jump... audio is quite low for the first minute...

Continue reading "Jeff Dowd Explains What Happened (content)" »

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Bill Hader & Kristin Wiig, Greg Mottola, and Jesse Eisenberg & Kristen Stewart sit down to discuss their Sundance release (coming soon via Miramax), Adventureland.

The Video after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - Adventureland (content)" »

Posted by poland at 12:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'd planned to catch Dada's Dance by Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yuan today, but ended up running late for the screening, so I decided at the last minute to catch Paul Solet's Grace instead, having heard from my good friend and horror buff Scott Weinberg that he liked the film and thought I would find it interesting.

Interesting? Oh. My. God.

Continue reading "Short Take: Grace (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 08:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Earlier, I overlooked John Anderson's quotes in the Anne Thompson piece from Variety MCN linked to earlier in the day, but you'd think the dust might have settled. Yet The Dude is still reaching out. Via publicist Mickey Cottrell, Jeff Dowd continues to roll with the punch heard 'round the Yarrow (mild copyedits): "My disagreement with John was not over his critical reaction which he has every right to, but his statement that the film wouldn't appeal to the public. I suggested he come back into the theater for the Q&A and he would observe what we had seen at all for screenings—that audiences felt the film had all kinds of new information and practical solutions. It wasn't home work, but hope made pragmatic on how we can change the planet in keeping with Obama's Inauguration speech. I told John one of scores of examples of this was when John Densmore of The Doors stood up at our first screening (after a sustained audience applause at the end) and said ‘I have my own film here—which I clearly care about--but here is my ballot which I marked 4 stars because Dirt! is the film that should win the Sundance Festival.’ That was emblematic of all the great feedback. I just asked John Anderson to put that in the mix before making assumptions that audiences would respond negatively. It should also be said that a vast majority of audience members liked the film not just because they "support the cause" we have heard dozens of comments about the quality of the filmmaking as well. In the spirit of John Waters we even had smellovision at one screening where you could smell the sweet earthy scent of dirt and mother earth."

Posted by Ray Pride at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

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It feels dirty to report gossip like this, but former fiancees Josh Brolin and Minnie Driver will be dining within a stones-throw away of each other within the hour: Brolin at Yuki Arashi on Main Street, Driver at the Greenhouse on Heber for the Motherhood dinner.

Brolin, now married to Diane Lane, is in town for The People Speak: Voices of A People’s History of the United States, a Thursday 1pm reading at the Sundance ASCAP Music Café. It’ll be interesting to see if he shows up for the Motherhood after-party tonight at the St. Ives Sensor Spa and Gallery, where Driver is expected to sing.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 06:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Spotted around Main Street: The Greatest writer/director Shana Feste chatting with Miramax and Sony Pictures Classics execs. Unlike during the film's screenings, however, no one was crying.

The family tearjerker from executive producer/star Pierce Brosnan has already attracted interest from Senator, Roadside Attractions and, in another return from the distribution dead, Newmarket Films. But it remains to be seen how quickly co-reps Endeavor and CAA can turn emotional audience responses into cash from buyers. Stay tuned.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 06:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As most buyers pack their bags to head home, Spread, I Love You Phillip Morris, The Greatest and World’s Greatest Dad could sell by tomorrow… if sellers are to be believed.

The reality is that by Wednesday at any Sundance, bidding wars are replaced by wars of attrition. Buyers know they have the upper hand and can afford to be patient – the 800 job cuts at Warners and stock market dive yesterday didn’t put the wind in anyone’s sails, reminding distribs that their slates could be cut back by corporate overlords in a few months anyway.

But that’s not to say Sundance has been disappointing – far from it. The magic number seems to be $3 million - the approximate check from Lionsgate for The Winning Season and Sony Pictures Classics for An Education - certainly not disappointing considering their lack of star power. The nearly $5 million Brooklyn’s Finest raked in from Senator (plus hefty p&a and back end) can be viewed as a good sale given some fiercely negative reaction to some of it, and that the film still needs work.

Even if there’s no $10 million-plus buy like Little Miss Sunshine or Hamlet 2, people seem happy the films are good, and that slower sales will mean better deals on films likely to have legs with audiences.

In the rumor mill, Summit’s name is being floated for both Spread and Morris, but back-end deals for those films big stars seem to be dragging things along. Push has Weinstein Co. and BET potentially circling for a joint deal. The BET side will presumably help assure buyers the film won’t get dumped or sold elsewhere like several other TWC buys in the past. If talks drag, a distributor like SPC could make a post-fest buy.

Nervous sellers of smaller movies might be more quick to accept a modest, early deal on a gem like Don’t Let Me Drown, Peter and Vandy or several others picking up acclaim.

What’s making buyers most hesitant, it seems, are documentaries. They can afford to wait for such acclaimed films as Passing Strange, The September Issue or Art & Copy, given home audiences saturated with nonfiction fare.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 05:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Our earlier story about the Dowd/Anderson closed fist slap fest seems to be wrong.

We now hear that Anderson had not yet written his Variety review and that Dowd was insisting on talking to him before he wrote.

This frames the incident a little differently, as many critics really, really don't want to talk to anyone from a film before writing or even to be asked for a short take.

But the bigger question is, can Variety legitimately review the film, for better or worse? A positive review is suspect... and so is a negative one.

Posted by poland at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Update: Apparently the players involved were Variety's John Anderson and Jeff Dowd, producer of Dirt! The Movie. Karina Longworth over at Spoutblog has more details. This is already the buzz of the fest today; while I was sitting here discussing the incident with a friend, another journalist walked by and joked, "Careful, don't get punched in the face!"

You don't usually see a bad review of a film at a festival result in violence, but that's what happened at the restaurant at the Yarrow (home of one of the press screening venues) this morning. When I arrived at the Yarrow for a screening this morning, the police were just arriving to deal with an assault at the restaurant. They pulled several people out, and there was much yelling back and forth going on a the police tried to sort everything out.

I just spoke with a source, and here's what allegedly went down: a filmmaker confronted a journalist in the Yarrow lobby this morning over a negative review of his film. The journalist walked away and went to the restaurant to eat, and the filmmaker followed him into the restaurant and continued to try to talk to him about the review; at some point, things got ugly, and the journalist reportedly punched the filmmaker in the face. Police were called out to deal with it. The source told me that so far as he knew, the filmmaker had decided not to file charges against the journalist and no one was arrested.

The Yarrow and festival staff, it should be noted, handled the situation quickly and as unobtrusively as possible; it's unfortunate for the festival that a negative review of a film would leave to this kind of situation, but so it goes ... jeepers.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I was going to call this "the silence," but Sundance is not silent yet... but it is shockingly quiet on Main Street and elsewhere in Park City. Ask anyone who makes 10% of their annual income in these 10 days each year, whether restaurateurs, taxi drivers, or even grocers.

It will be fascinating to see if the festival acknowledges just how off this year was. Personally, I think it is important to acknowledge it. The fest still works as a market and as a quality festival. But facts is facts and reality is more valuable than poor perspective.

P.S. Talking to out waitress at Bandits on Main Street, she told us that business is not just off this week in comparison to Sundance weeks past, but that this last 3 days was off even by non-festival weeks for the restaurant.

Posted by poland at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

IFC Films has bitten off domestic rights to the Norwegian Midnight Nazi zombie entry Dead Snow.

Tommy Wirkola’s subtitled horror flick premiered Saturday night at the Egyptian amidst many bigger titles. The gore-filled story follows eight med students on an Easter ski vacation and their encounters ravenous Nazis.

Sales agent Elle Driver also sold the film to Germany and Benelux (Splendid), the U.K. (Entertainment One) and Canada (Seville). Additional foreign territory announcements are expected soon.

IFC has traditionally waited till after the fest to buy smaller titles (as with two of last year’s award winners, “Mermaid” and “Ballast” – the latter returning to its producers for self-distribution). Their relatively quick fest buy is further indication of a strong buyers’ market.

“We are thrilled to work with Tommy and our friends at Elle Driver on this unique film,” said IFC Entertainment president Jonathan Sehring, who plans a 2009 release. “Tommy is a talented new filmmaker in world cinema and we look forward to helping introduce him to U.S. audiences."

IFC Films' Arianna Bocco negotiated the deal with Adeline Fontan Tessaur and Eva Diederix at Elle Driver.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're heading into Day Seven of the Sundance film festival, and so far it's been a great fest. Today's highlights include a screenig of Anna:211, a documentary about Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, who was assasinated in 2006. Politkovskaya wrote extensively about the Russian's brutality toward Chechnya and I'm very excited to see this one.

Next up today will be Dada's Dance, the newest film by director Zhang Yuane, who previously brought his film Little Red Flowers to Sundace. The film is about a flirtatious young girl who sets out on a quest to find her birth mother.

Following those two screning, I'm going the premeiere of Motherhood, starring Uma Thurman as a harried mother in Manhatten juggling a million things to do.

Posted by kvoynar at 02:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Peter and Vandy, the feature writing and directorial debut by Jay DiPietro, follows the love story of one couple through the ups and downs of their relationship. It sounds simple -- and it is -- but the beauty of this film is in the execution. The story is scripted in a non-linear fashion, jumping back and forth in time from the day Peter (Jason Ritter) and Vandy (Jess Weixler) meet, and we come to know the couple through the happy little moments of their relationship and, equally importantly, through their bickerings over small things and blowout fights over bigger issues.

Read the rest of this review ...

Posted by kvoynar at 07:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

Was everyone just waiting for Obama to take office?

Amidst a post-inauguration flurry of deals, Lionsgate nabbed North American and UK rights to James Strouse's dramedy The Winning Season.

Sam Rockwell stars as a Bad News Bears-style coach of a high school girl's basketball team. Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry and Shareeka Epps also star.

The film gained traction after its Monday night premiere slot. Gigi Films and Plum Pictures had high hopes for Season after it received a late December entry and garnered the same slot Hamlet 2 had last year.

"I’m delighted about joining forces with Lionsgate, a studio that personifies the value of teamwork," said Strouse, a 2007 Sundance winner for the drama Grace is Gone. "This is a great day for our movie.”

The deal was negotiated by Eda Kowan, Jason Constantine and Wendy Jaffe on behalf of Lionsgate, and by Cinetic Media on behalf of the filmmakers. Jamie Carmichael of ContentFilm is handling sales in other foreign territories.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 05:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

James C. Strouse's The Winning Season, a sports drama about Bill, an alcoholic former high school basketball star and coach (Sam Rockwell) who's given a chance to redeem himself by coaching a varsity girls' basketball team. Feels a bit like The Bad News Bears meets A League of Their Own: a rag-tag, disorganized group of girls who have little chance to win at all, much less have a winning season, pull together to win enough games to qualify to play at sectionals.

Continue reading "Short Take: The Winning Season (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 05:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Steven Soderbergh is rolling of his latest film tonight at 6:15p at Eccles for a crowd that is probably just expecting clips and tales of Sex, Lies AND select press... which is selected by Sundance and not, according to the film's distributor Eamonn Bowles, Magnolia Pictures.

So you will read the reviews tomorrow in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, indieWIRE, Cinematical, and anyone else who has a fast pass or whatever that is called. I can't just look around my neck to know, since in spite of having more readers and deeper coverage than all but a couple outlets, we have been passed over by Sundance for this pass. Frankly, it's not been a priority - aside from the embarrassment - becuase I have never had any issue getting a ticket for any screening I wish to attend.

Until tonight.

So now I will me forced to make a real effort to acquire something I haven't needed and only my ego cared about before, wasting more of my time (and the time of others).

It is a good reminder that the politics of it all are as important to some as the myth of independence.

Posted by poland at 04:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

By Gregg Goldstein

Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed North American and Latin American rights to An Education in a $3 million deal, following a winding series of deal moves since its Sunday premiere that had Miramax and Fox Searchlight in play.

With all the buzz about Searchlight's low bid on the 60s coming-of-age saga An Education -- first from Anne Thompson's blog late Sunday, then from THR late Monday -- two important players were overlooked: Miramax and Sony Pictures Classics.

As every big indie exec attended the Sunday night screening of I Love You Phillip Morris starring Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, at least two titles were in play: the Saturday premiere sex comedy Spread (also co-repped by CAA and Endeavor - read about the possible sales impact from Ashton Kutcher's bodacious back end here - it's expected to close soon) and the CAA-repped Education, which gained unexpected heat from a strong debut that afternoon.

Less than halfway through Morris, Miramax president Daniel Battsek and one of his execs bolted from their seats in the Eccles to pow-wow about Education. Like Searchlight (whose topper Peter Rice was also in the screening), they felt the high-seven-figure asking price was way too high.

By the time the Eccles screening ended, Miramax and Searchlight had backed off. But it was clearly a high priority if they were interested enough to leave one of the biggest marquee-name films of the fest (and a recipient of some great reviews, despite concerns over graphic gay sex scenes and drastic switches in tone).

By Monday night, the film's agreed-upon market value was now back down to a Sony Pictures Classics-level price range. The company made some uncharacteristically early Sundance moves last year in similar situations when bidding wars failed to erupt, and Education is similar to several period/pedigree films they've handled before.

Any of the distributors could do a great marketing job - both Battsek and Rice know the film's British milieu, that's for sure - but all have to overcome having a talented cast with no boxoffice pull, taking a bit of a risk on quality. The last Sundance film led by its star Peter Sarsgaard, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, just sold to Peace Arch... a year after its premiere here. But Nick Hornby's script and Lone Scherfing's script have drawn acclaim, and young newcomer Carey Mulligan's breakout performance as a 16-year-old London girl swept off her feet by a British playboy could be marketed well in the right hands.

After buying stayed in a holding pattern, SPC swept into the lead, willing to outbid competitors that usually sign bigger checks. Endgame Entertainment (which recently sold its Chorus Line doc Every Little Step to Sony Classics) and BBC Films produced the film, which is expected to open this fall.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

...is one of the most bodacious selling points of Spread, the Shampoo-style sex comedy that everyone thought would sell quickly after Saturday night’s premiere, even if they didn’t think the film was quite the sum of its body parts. There his bare back end was, parading through several scenes, thrusting onto Anne Heche and other naked actresses his wannabe-gigolo character beds.

Ironically, Kutcher’s back end might be a big-ass factor slowing a Spread sale. Back end as in profit participation, that is. Despite widespread agreement the film has the appeal for a widespread theatrical release, not to mention video and Skinamax, it appears to be too high for even some bigger buyers.

(It isn’t always a stumbling block: Senator was happy to pony up significant back end – plus just under $5 million, plus a $10 million p&a commitment – for some of the talent behind the under-$20 million Brooklyn’s Finest.)

Summit was one of several upstart distribs to make a distribution deal offer, but sales reps thought it was low (low-seven figures, rumor has it). Perhaps Kutcher’s wife Demi or her old co-star Robert Redford felt they were indecent proposals and advised him against them.

Whatever the reason, it’s led sales reps CAA and Endeavor - which has taken pride in getting good deals from extended bidding periods - to not put out too quickly. Summit has since withdrawn interest, but may get back into bed with negotiations at some point if another distrib doesn’t pony up for Kutcher’s back end (and a substantial MG) beforehand.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 02:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Later tonight, Steven Soderbergh's premiering his first of probably three features this year, his life-of-a-high-end-call-girl tale, The Girlfriend Experience as a TBA. Just before Monday morning's IFC Films presser, Soderbergh whips out his FlipVideo to survey the assembled journos and industryites, arm upraised like Che's in the background. He's flanked by SXSW's Janet Pierson and the arm of Joe Swanberg.

Posted by Ray Pride at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Ray Pride at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The screening of The Informers just let out, and I had conversations with several film journalists and a fest rep on their way out of the screening who said overall response to the film was very negative, and that the film is "bad ... really, really, bad, just terrible," "completely disjointed and makes no sense whatsoever," "one of the worst films I've ever seen," "repulsive," "appalling" and "is utterly unwatchable." Ouch.

I'm disappointed to hear that, as the film has what looked to be a solid cast in Billy Bob Thornton, Mickey Rourke, Kim Basinger and Winona Ryder with a screenplay by Bret Easton Ellis and Nicholas Jarecki off Ellis' novel. Too bad to hear response on this one is so negative.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Documentary stalwart Sandra Whipham is a producer on Havana Marking’s Afghan Star.

[More video at the jump.]

Continue reading "OnePiece: the future as seen by Sandra Whipham, Eddie Schmidt, Ira Deutchman, Jeff Dowd" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 01:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[Two more tales at the jump]

Continue reading "OnePiece: Future musings from Braden King, Jesse Epstein, Jason Silverman (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Adventureland, the newest feature by Greg Mottola (Superbad), is a fun trip back to the '80s, when glamour-rock, mall hair and blue eyeshadow were cool. James (Jesse Eisenberg), newly graduated from college, is planning his long-promised post-graduation backpacking trip across Europe with his college (his roommate, when his parents drop the bomb that dad's been demoted and there's no longer money for trips to Europe or tuition at Columbia.

Forced to find a summer job but lacking any actual job skills, the best job he can find is at Adventureland, the local amusement park, where he finds himself relegated to "Games," the lower tier of Adventureland employee-dom. At Adventureland, James meets Em (Kristen Stewart), to whom he's immediately attracted, and makes a host of new friends, including the lovely but vacuous Lisa P., who's attracted to him.

The film plays well overall, but pacing is a bit uneven, going from hills of laughter to valleys where it drags along a bit, and there's little conflict to drive the plot; the story is basically just this guy and his friends, working in an amusement park, and what happens with his relationship with Em, who's also involved in a relationship with the married maintenance worker. I'd have liked to have seen the script delve a little deeper into some of the characters and their motivations; the one character we learn a fair amount about is Em, who's dealing with the fairly recent death of her mother and her father's remarriage in addition to the complication of an affair with a married man.

Nonetheless, the film is largely buoyed by the charm and natural on-screen presence of Eisenberg, and there's some funny stuff involving the amusement park owners, Bobby and Paulette (Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig). This isn't a raucous comedy, it's more of a dramedy, with a sweet, simple storyline about these kids making the best they can of a crappy summer job, something most of us will relate to -- who hasn't had a crappy summer job? Audience response at the packed premiere screening at the Eccles last night was very positive, lots of laughter throughout and enthusiastic applause at the end. It's overall quite mainstream-accesible, and could have decent cross-over appeal across age ranges.

Posted by kvoynar at 12:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The producers of Dirt, with the collaboration of producer's rep Jeff Dowd and publicist Mickey Cottrell and convened an inauguration-watching breakfast on Main Street near the Egyptian Theater. The streets of Park City have been uncommonly quiet this Sundance and never more so than this morning. Figures scurry toward the indoor glow of plasma screens. There's a legend that when Little Ricky was born on "I Love Lucy" on January 19, 1953, cities came to a standstill. Traffic silent. And come the commercial break? America's water systems collectively failed when everyone ran to the bathroom at the same time. Other waterworks expected today...

[MORE IMAGES AND STORIES FROM THE EVENT AT THE JUMP.]

Continue reading "Glimpsing morning in America: a Sundance inauguration-watching breakfast (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're in Day Six of Sundance, and people have seen enough films now that we're starting to hear a fair amount of buzz, good and bad, around this year's fest. I have to say that so far, this has been a really good fest, film-wise. I've only seen one film that I was lukewarm on, and the rest I've either loved or at least liked.

I was talking to a colleague while I was hanging out at the Yarrow between screenings yesterday who observed that this is one of the best Sundance Film Festivals he's been to (and he's been coming here a lot of years); I'm hearing the same sentiment from others as well. This time last year, there was a lot of grumbling amongst the press about the overall quality of the slate, but this year, folks seem much more happy with what they're seeing.

Continue reading "Day Six: What's the Buzz? The Good, the Bad, the Indifferent (rumor)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Ray Pride at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Ray Pride at 11:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You could hear the screams of pleasure echo, quite literally, through the hills of Park City this morning.

Do artists - people who love, create, and truly support artistic aspiration - understand the fight of the heart as well as any? Perhaps. Do they feel more deeply... more on their sleeves? Perhaps.

Today, we are all Americans, even in a town where questions of who deserves what rights has been a hot button for months. Today we are brothers and sisters, if just for a few hours.

Like a film crew, particularly at this years fest, we have reason to gather our effort and our passion to do what sometimes seems impossible. Yes, we can. Yes, we must. Yes, we will.

Posted by poland at 10:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by poland at 09:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The video interview after the jump...

Continue reading "DP/30 @ Sundance - Ashton Kutcher, Spread (content)" »

Posted by poland at 08:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by poland at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

Fox Searchlight has swept up worldwide rights to Adam, writer/director Max Mayer's tale of a man with Asperger's Syndrome (Hugh Dancy) who falls for his Manhattan neighbor (Rose Byrne).

While the US Dramatic Competition title didn't grab the attention or enthusiasm of many at its 12:15p Monday screening, Searchlight saw an opportunity, having done well with such low-budget, romantic Sundance pickups as Once and Waitress.

“Adam has deeply satisfying and romantic storytelling, pitch-perfect performances and the discovery of a new American filmmaker," said Searchlight topper Peter Rice in a statement.

The distributor is planning to release the film this year. Film Sales Co. repped the filmmakers in the deal.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 03:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Inauguration Day! When's the last time we had an inauguration during the fest that people actually care about?

Along with most everyone else here in Park City, I'll be taking a break from all things Sundance for a few hours this morning to attend an Inauguration party (pity the poor films slotted to screen against Obama's big day). But after that, it's straight back to work, promise.

Continue reading "Sundance Preview Day Six: Inauguration Day! Plus The Winning Season and Peter & Vandy (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

Humpday has finally gotten over the Sundance hump.

In the answer to the parlor game of a slow initial sales weekend, Magnolia Pictures nabbed worldwide rights to Lynn Shelton's surprise hit comedy in a low-to-mid six-figure deal.

It's all the more notable because the film has no name talent attached, save 'mumblecore' fave Mark Duplass. The Friday premiere in the US Dramatic Competition section stars Duplass and Joshua Leonard as straight best buds who dare each other to costar in a gay porn film.

Continue reading " Humpday Over Sundance Sales Hump with Low-to-Mid Six-Figure Magnolia Deal (news)" »

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An Education, Lone Scherfig's much-anticipated film about Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a British schoolgirl in the 1960s who gets swept off her feet by an older man (Peter Saarsgard) is beautifully directed, smart and engaging -- and one of the best films at Sundance thus far.

Continue reading "Short Take: An Education (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 04:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alycia Delmore, Joshua Leonard, Mark Duplass, and writer/director/co-star Lynn Shelton discuss their Sundance film, Humpday.

Posted by poland at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There’s nothing that can prepare you for I Love You Phillip Morris, a con-man, gay-romantic, prison-escape, sex-farce comedy-drama (based on an unbelievable true crime story… or was it?) which defies any expectations you bring to it.

First-time writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa are trying for something much more than the bitter satire of their great Bad Santa script. The subject is Steve Russell (Jim Carrey), a married cop who comes out of the closet and into a life of crime-fueled luxury, landing him in prison. There he falls in love at first sight with the shy, blonde title character (Ewan McGregor), but he’s just as in love with con artistry. The result is a series of dizzying twists and turns that would be a crime to spoil.

The film’s tone stays devoted to whatever Carrey’s character wants you to feel (well, most of the time), a dizzying experience that veers from comedy to drama to romance to suspense and many places in between. It’s a daring move to go from prison oral sex jokes to a completely serious, intense romantic scene between two men within minutes of each other. Both would work perfectly on their own terms if viewed as separate clips. Together the effect is disorienting, and surely will alienate even some open-minded viewers, but it's key to the filmmakers’ audacious agenda.

Some will see lost opportunities for laughs (and rightly so, given the principals' track records). But others could justifiably argue it would’ve erased some affecting poignancy in key scenes, rare in any romantic drama these days, let alone a gay one with movie stars.

It’s a testament to Carrey’s ability that fears of “can-he-tone-his-shtick-down” don’t haunt the viewer. He segues from characteristically goofy moves to earnest moments that don’t seem as maudlin as he’s been at times. McGregor is as good as ever, completely authentic. You totally buy the passion between them.

Morris cons its audience, but in a good way. We’re its victims, and the strength of its appeal will lie mainly in your ability to sit back, go along for the ride, let where it takes you affect you and not mind the manipulation.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 03:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Eccentric without ever becoming unduly whimsical, Sophie Barthes' surrealism-lite Cold Souls (which she co-film-bys with cinematographer-partner-soul mate Andrij Parekh) pirouettes near Charlie Kaufman's dance floor. Paul Giamatti plays blocked actor Paul Giamatti, who's having agonies over his role in a production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya," much to the chagrin of his fellow actors, director Michael Tucker and wife Emily Watson. An article in the New Yorker leads Giamatti to one Dr. Flintstein (David Strathairn), who specializes in "soul storage" from an office on Roosevelt Island. There are clever, understated visual touches throughout—Giamatti's journeys to-and-from on the red tram that rises above the river toward the soul storage unit suggests the confinement of consciousness inside the body; the final image is an alarmingly wistful going-out-of-focus shot that suggests a watercolor Rothko—even when the parallel tales of Giamatti's tortures and a "mule" (Dina Korzun) who transports souls within herself for Russian soul-traffickers becomes a little complicated. The low-tech technology draws from 1960s-pop-style furnishings, as if from an Italian movie that in some kind of time warp was influenced by Michel Gondry forty years before his time. Still, Barthes has an idiosyncratic sensibility worth taking seriously; influences she cites include Jung and Woody Allen, for whom she briefly considering writing the script. (She also cites dreamy photog Deborah Turbeville and the painter Francis Bacon.) There's a strong underlying metaphor for the trafficking of bodies, especially of women, from countries like Russia and Moldava but that stress will lie mostly in the viewer's take on the tale. The dovetailing of Chekhov with contemporary Russian real-life drama is also dryly suggestive. "I don't want to be happy," Giamatti-Giamatti wails. "I just don't want to suffer." Later, it's noted, "Soullessness has its own peculiarities." And the most loaded line? "And how was Uncle Vanya?" The soul shrieks in silence.

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a short take on a short take that somehow got lost in electronica.

World's Greatest Dad is perverse Capra. A Heathers/Meet John Doe combo platter by a much better director in his second shot.

Posted by poland at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning IFC Films announced a new partnership with the South by Southwest Film Festival in which five IFC films will simultaneously screen at the fest and be released nationwide on the IFC Festival Direct on-demand platform. Director Joe Swanberg's newest film Alexander the Last will be the first of the five films testing the waters of this idea; also on the slate will be two SXSW premieres, Javor Gardev's Zift (Bulgaria's foreign films Oscar entry) and Matthew Newton's Three Blind Mice, and encore screenings of two films from last year's fest, Barry Jenkin's Medicine for Melancholy and Joe Maggio's Paper Covers Rock.

Continue reading "IFC Partners with SXSW in New Initiative (news)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Continue reading "OnePiece: talking future now with Richard Shepard, Sam Green and Joel Heller" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

In a rare Sundance buy from a major studio, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group picked up all North American rights to Black Dynamite for a cool $2 million.

The blaxploitation satire screened at a Library Midnight screening late Sunday, garnering late-night bidding before closing near dawn. Endeavor Independent reps stayed up all night at their Park City condo finishing the deal for the filmmakers.

Should the Scott Sanders-helmed spoof take off, a source in the deal says Sony is expected to create a franchise with the project. Co-screenwriter Michael Jai White, Tommy Davidson, Salli Richardson-Whitfield and Arsenio Hall star.

It was the second major deal of the weekend for SPWAG, which will handle ancillary distribution with Senator Distribution for the under-$5 million sale of Antoine Fuqua's cop drama Brooklyn's Finest. The Sony division paid a record $11.5 million for We Own The Night in Cannes in 2007.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 10:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Why is Black Dynamite the best film at Sundance so far?

Because it knows exactly what it is, why it is, and what it wants you, as an audience to experience.

It's not perfect - the last 15 minutes needs one or two more bits with a clearer drive to the big finale - but it is everything that Grindhouse so desperately wanted to be yet couldn't seem to achieve, in part because it was trying sooooo hard. (Note: I still really like Death Proof, but it was Tarantino's take on a car movie and most certainly not a real homage to those films.)

I was shocked to hear that director Scott Sanders' last movie, Thick As Thieves, was a decade ago. I am old. But this one really makes you wonder where he has been all our lives.

The film, obviously a riff on Dolemite, et al, has a letter-perfect performance in the lead by Michael Jai- White, great support all around him (including all them bodacious bitches), and a strong, clear view of where the lines in this film are... how and when the fourth wall is cracked.

The smartest thing is how rarely the film smirks at the audience. It respects us enough to let us find the laughs, even though the form being satirized (and this really rises to satire and not parody) is so over the top.

It's easy to over reach regarding quality when a film makes you feel deeply, whether the feeling is sadness or laughter. But Black Dynamite kicks some serious ass, even for jive ass honky muthafuckas.

Hell, even The Man might give it two nunchucks up... WAY up... up yo ass, that is!

And when I say "The Man" I don't mean Ms. Dargis... I mean THE MAN... though Manohla might like it too!

(PS - If you are still thinking about the "bitches" comment... and obvious joke on my part... because that phrase offends your sensibilities on principle, get a sense of humor and-or skip this film.)

Posted by poland at 10:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As sometimes happens at a major fest like Sundance, my carefully plotted schedule for Sunday went awry. I missed the Women in Film panel, but caught a screening of Moon, which had just been added to Sunday's slate in place of Shrink. I also missed 500 Days of Summer, which I'm hearing great things about, due to press schedule changes that caused a conflict. I did, however add Paper Hearts, which is also getting some positive word-of-mouth, to Sunday's slate.

Continue reading "Sundance Preview Day Five: Soderbergh, Shelton, An Education and Adventureland (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 03:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In her novel, Sapphire doesn't pull any punches with laying out the blame for the plight of Precious and those like her who've fallen through the cracks of society; Precious knows what society thinks of her: "Don't nobobdy want me. Don't nobody need me ... ugly black grease spot to be wipe away, punish, kilt, changed, finded a job." And until she comes to Each One Teach One, that's all she thinks of herself; how could a 16-year-old girl be expected to think otherwise, with a mother who unleashes a constant barrage of physical and verbal abuse, telling Precious she's fat, ugly, stupid, worthless, with or without the slightest provocation.

Read the rest of this review ...

Posted by kvoynar at 12:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Artist and comedian Charlyne Yi puts a spin on the quest-for-love story in which she plays herself filming a documentary about her search for the meaning of love. Her search takes her, among other places to Oklahoma City to a biker bar (and as a native Oklahoman I just have to add that not all Oklahomans look and talk like that. Really.) and the Cowboy Hall of Fame, wedding chapels in Las Vegas, Nashville, Amarillo, the Los Angeles Zoo, and even a playground, where she gets astute advice from a pack of kids.

It also takes her to a party, where she meets Michael Cera, also playing himself, and the pair take the first tenative steps toward a relationship -- all on camera.

Continue reading "Short Take: Paper Heart (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At least one Sundance title is arriving with one distributor, but may leave with two: Duncan Jones’ sci-fi psychological study Moon, starring Sam Rockwell as an isolated astronaut and the voice of Kevin Spacey as his robot companion.

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group owns the rights for all English-speaking territories, and Independent is repping other regions. SPWAG could conceivably release the Premieres section entry through any one of their own divisions, but the film is artier and more unconventional than most Sony fare, so they’re quietly looking for a theatrical distribution partner while retaining ancillary rights.

Reviews from advance screenings have been positive - Jones (son of the Space Oddity himself, David Bowie) seems born to the 2001-style material - and SPWAG is waiting for audience reaction at the film’s Friday night Eccles unveiling before making any decisions. Rockwell is the unofficial mascot of Sundance, appearing in at least five selections (plus one Slamdance) in the past three years, but none have scored at the boxoffice. Samuel Goldwyn often teams with SPWAG for releases, so if no bigger fish bite, it may have the inside track. Check out Kim Voynar's review on our Sundance blog.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 05:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Director Duncan Jones makes a solid directorial debut with the sci-fi thriller Moon, starring Sam Rockwell as Sam Bell, the sole crew member of a helium harvesting station on the moon. Sam's nearing the end of a three-year contract in which he's passed his solitary time interacting with the base's robot helper, Gerty (Kevin Spacey), building a model town started by his predecessor, and talking to his plants. Two weeks before the end of his contract, Sam's starting to unravel; he has a hallucination that causes him to crash his moon rover and wakes up in the infirmary uncertain how he got there. Soon, he learns that his three years on the moon base have not been what he thought they were ...

Continue reading "Short Take: Moon (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 02:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Scenes before and after the Saturday afternoon Eccles premiere of Shana Feste's The Greatest, including tears, standing ovations and a Harvey sighting. (Plus, the Brosnan Ultimatum.)

[MORE IMAGES AND STORIES AFTER THE JUMP.]

Continue reading "Prelude to a standing ovation: The Greatest (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Writer/Director Adam Elliot & Producer Melanie Coombs chat about the Sundance opener

Posted by poland at 09:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bitter cold may have finally settled on Park City, but film execs were basking in the afterglow of Senator’s $5 million Brooklyn’s Finest pickup Saturday night, and warmed by the heat that could make Ashton Kutcher’s sex comedy Spread one of the biggest sales of the festival. On the flip side, a gay panic comedy with unknowns, Humpday, was in talks to make a deal with (rumor had it) Sony Pictures Classics or another small-scale specialty distributor.

After fest upon fest of disappointing big-name projects, Spread almost seemed too good to be true: a Sundance comedy with name actors (and nudity!) that seemed to live up to its commercial promise. Kutcher plays a wannabe gigolo with a variety of clients who seemingly meets his match (Anne Heche). The very indie director David Mackenzie (Young Adam) delivered a less-than-indie movie, and while Sundance purists could balk, in this economy it was cause for celebration. Any number of new distributors (Summit, Senator, Overture) looking for mainstream films on the cheap would be a good fit.

William Morris Independent’s Cassian Elwes, whose company co-repped the Finest sale with CAA, said “we were very conscious about getting our sale done within 24 hours of its premiere,” in part to give the market a much-needed psychological boost. The unfinished film was rushed into Sundance because the sellers didn’t want to wait until Cannes, he said, and to capitalize on having many key buyers assembled together. Senator president Mark Urman tracked down Elwes’ hotel room Friday night and knocked on his door at 2am, convincing sellers his new distribution firm was right for the film.

While it’s too early for buyers to be singing Happy Days are Here Again, the sale of Finest (despite some harsh criticism) and the appeal of Spread gives hope that the Jim Carrey/Ewan McGregor gay prison love comedy “I Love You Phillip Morris,” will live up to the same commercial expectations, even if it needs a little tweaking in the edit room. (Late-night Lil’ Wayne doc The Carter may also benefit from the up-with-stars mood). But even before the Sunday night Eccles premiere of Morris, buyers will have a host of films to scout.

An Education, Arlen Faber and World’s Greatest Dad are just some of the films showing promise. Check out the full list at the 10 Days of Sundance Sales Chart, and check it again late, late Sunday night to see which films beat the odds to score a sale.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 03:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The director and some stars of the ad doc, Art & Copy.

Form left to right, Lee Clow, Doug Pray, Dan Weiden, Rich Silverstein, (and arriving late) David Kennedy

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Day Four of Sundance promises to be a busy one for me. First up is the Women in Film panel, which usually offers some interesting persepctives from femme filmmakers around both the fest and independent filmmaking. The topic of this year's panel is "A New Consciousness in Film"; the female writers, directors and producers on the panel, according to the press release, will "discuss among other themes, how their films and artistic choices are being influenced by the social issues of the times, how they got their films made and the changes they foresee in the future of the industry."

My first screening of the day will be Marc Webb's 500 Days of Summer, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. The film takes a spin on the romance genre, spinning around a boy-likes-girl-more-than-she-likes-him premise. Gordon-Levitt is one of my favorite young actors, and has a solid track record of making smart script choices, but Deschanel's Sundance film history is a bit dicier; I'm curious to see which way this one swings.

Tomorrow evening I'm planning to catch Cold Souls; I'm hearing middling response from those who've caught it, but the premise is intriguing. Paul Giamatti plays himself as an actor having anxiety around an upcoming performance; he seeks out a company that extracts and deep-freezes souls, and has his removed until after the performance. Sounds like it could have an Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind vibe, but is it executed as well? I'm hoping also to squeeze in an interview with Humpday director Lynn Shelton about the writing and directing process of her film.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Another doc that falls into the realm of a fascinating subject not exceptionally well-executed, Big River Man follows world-famous endurance swimmer Martin Strel on his historic swim down the length of the Amazon river. The film delves somewhat into the interesting aspect of what drives the 53-year-old, overweight, heavy-drinking Strel to conquer the world's largest and most dangerous rivers, but could have delved deeper into that aspect; the narration by Strel's son aims the focus more on the father-son dynamic than on what drives Strel and the more interesting contradictions of his character.

As Strel's health begins to fail during the mission, there's certainly dramatic tension as to whether he'll accomplish his goal, but the use of music is grating and often distractingly over-loud, some of the directorial decisions are overly cutesy in their execution, and the apparent staging of certain scenes detracts somewhat from the overall effect. Nonetheless, the film is notable for its focus on a man who's accomplished feats that no one else has even attempted, and worth a watch as a study in what drives a person to achieve extraordinary goals and the effect on the mind when the body is pushed to hard.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:18 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

When Andrew (Joshua Leonard), a career traveler and sometime artist, shows up at the picket-fenced Seattle home of his longtime friend Ben (Mark Duplass) in the middle of the night, he turns Ben's life with wife Anna (Alycia Delmore) upside down. It sounds reminiscent of the tepid comedy You, Me and Dupree, but really, trust me -- it's not. Unlike You, Me and Dupree, Humpday actually has interesting characters who act and react in realistic ways, good dialogue, and a well-structured plot. Also, it doesn't have Kate Hudson in it, which automatically ups the odds that it won't suck.

Read the rest of this review ...

Posted by kvoynar at 10:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

In a deal that took several twists and turns on Sundance’s opening weekend, Senator Entertainment US and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group have picked up North American rights to Antoine Fuqua’s dark, all-star cop drama Brooklyn’s Finest. The low-to-mid- seven figure pact comes with a $10 million P&A commitment.

It's the first substantial sale of the fest, and one of the titles buyers approached with high hopes. The fate of the unfinished, under-$20 million project starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke, Wesley Snipes and Ellen Barkin in intertwined police plotlines was the biggest question mark this weekend, given the reportedly hostile reception it received at the film’s premiere, especially to an ending that shocked and angered many.

“Yes, of course” the controversial ending will be cut, said Senator president Mark Urman, who began pursuing the film shortly after its debut Friday night. “It’s apparently not even in the script, and I view the very ending as something that's not even in the movie.” Yet it wasn’t a deal-breaker in the negotiations, he said. “We didn’t go into [talks] with the sense of ‘Here’s what’s wrong.’”

William Morris Independent’s Cassian Elwes, whose company co-repped the Finest sale with CAA, said “we were very conscious about getting our sale done within 24 hours of its premiere,” in part to give the market a much-needed psychological boost. The unfinished film was rushed into Sundance because the sellers didn’t want to wait until Cannes, he said, and to capitalize on having all the buyers assembled together. Urman tracked down Elwes’ hotel room Friday night and knocked on his door at 2am, convincing sellers his new distribution outfit was right for the film.

Urman plans a fourth-quarter theatrical rollout and an awards campaign for what he feels is Hawke’s best performance ever. SPWAG will handle ancillary distribution as part of its deal with Senator.

They were one of three serious bidders on the table for the CAA/William Morris Independent-repped film after midnight, but on Saturday afternoon, Millennium Films producer Avi Lerner claimed there were no serious offers for the film, just interest. Hours later, however, another insider said negotiations were down to two bidders before the deal closed Saturday evening.

The first indication all might not be fine with Finest came weeks before Sundance, when a key member of the film’s team initially didn’t want press at the Friday night premiere--an impossibility at the fest. Shortly after the screening and negative reaction to the depressing, bloody material, another Finest exec said the film was not finished, and that Fuqua was open to editing the film.

“It was never tested, it hasn’t been scored,” said Urman. “It was important that Antoine felt comfortable with us, and had the time to finish the film and soundtrack without having a gun to his head.” Several distribs had seen about an hour of footage in the editing room before the fest, according to producer John Thompson.

Urman and Senator CEO Marco Weber negotiated the deal with the agency reps. The pair arrived at Sundance to present one of their company’s first releases, The Informers, another Premieres section entry bowing Thursday.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 09:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It happens every year. The biggest crowds, the hottest parties, and the most attention go to, as in all other forms of public display, the movies with the biggest names.

But here’s the rub… if it needs Sundance, it simply can’t be imbued with the elements that make for successful movie marketing. That doesn’t mean that Sundance films can’t be sold and/or be big hits. What it means is that if you have the stars or the hook or the big name director and it comes down to trying to use the roar of the Sundance crowd to sell your film, something is wrong.

The classic of this was What Just Happened, a film with pedigree in almost every area of the credit roll. So what was it doing at Sundance? It was trying to find someone… anyone… who might think it was worth distributing.

There are, of course, exceptions…

Continue reading "Why Sundance + Big Names = Crap (views)" »

Posted by poland at 07:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My first word was "Wow." I've begged permission to purloin five minutes of wifi from a joint that's closing just to say The Greatest killed an entire notebook for me (so much filigree to footnote in a gorgeously acted, poetically written story). It's a magnificent, heartfelt romantic melodrama with startling acting, bold yet telling production design, and a worthy great-granddaughter to the films of Douglas Sirk. Bonus: I think I spied at least one great homage to a particular painting of Vermeer, and a marital bed that is at once mid-20th century modern and suggestive of a troubled long-term marriage, and most strikingly, the killing cages that painter Francis Bacon often entrapped his screaming popes within. John Bailey shot Ordinary People, which director Shana Feste cites as a primary influence on her story of grieving, loss and love. I am shaken, almost as much as the multiple women near me whose shoulders were quaking during the debut's end credits. But I'm also grateful to have seen an accomplished debut so early in the festival. I think I've just fallen for 2009 Sundance's Once: a life-filled, love-filled, tear-filled gem. [More later.]

Posted by Ray Pride at 05:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[EIGHT MORE IMAGES AND STORIES AT THE JUMP.]

Continue reading "Glimpsing Friday and Saturday (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 01:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At Slamdance's opening night pour after the successful preem of I Sell The Dead, TLA's Lewis Tice says hello and suddenly there's an eruption, one of those great moments to catch in the din of a Park City party. Derek Curl's just been named Head of Production and Development for TLA Releasing, and they've got a four-picture deal with Larry Fessenden's GlassEye Pix, which produced ISTD. But in the moment caught here, Mr. Curl shows the kind of enthusiasm filmmaking and distribution's going to need going forward.

[Below the fold, later in the evening, the 1am traffic in front of the Library on Park Avenue: shuttles, taxis, awkward confusion in the unseasonably cool (not cold) weather.]

Continue reading "OnePiece: a man happy to get a job (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 01:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Push (A Novel by Sapphire), received a standing ovation at its premiere screening last night, and while it's a difficult film, it's easy to see why the fest crowd had such a positive response. The film's about Precious Jones (Gabourey Sidibe), an illiterate Harlem teenager pregnant with her second child by her father, who gets placed in an alternative school, where for the first time in her life she finds people who believe in her.

Mo'Nique, as Precious' abusive mother who blames her daughter for being raped by her father, turns in a powerful performance as the parent-from-hell; newcomer Sidibe's performance isn't slick and professional, but is actually more powerful and real for it's roughness. One of the more interesting potentially commercial films at the fest, but it could benefit from some editing, and cross-appeal to mainstream white audiences may be a tough sell.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I don't know whether anyone will say this out loud, but this is a very, very Black movie.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

In fact, this gives this weighty, weighty film a commerical advantage, since the box office gross for White America will be $176,403 and the "urban" audience could throw $20m - $30m in the bank.

As for the movie itself, it's a mixed bag. Interesting, relentless material. Lots of make-up-free-looking performances by actresses known for being funny and ripping up the raging drama here. A little too stunty for me... "Look, it's Mariah Carey... and she has a 3 week growth of mustache !". Ironically, she and the others all give strong performances.

And isn't of a little convenient that he savior femme is the most beautiful creature on the planet without make-up AND she's a lesbian. Hmmmm...

My biggest problem is the bleakness combined by director Lee Daniels with a lot of music video slickness. I don't like the combo. But for critics, this could be a great way to alleviate white guilt. It should have been tougher, better, and smarter.

But it will be profitable.

Posted by poland at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I had a great first full day of Sundance screenings on Friday, with the three films I caught -- Lymelife, Rough Aunties and Humpday -- all being solid, enjoyable picks; unfortunately I missed catching Johnny Mad Dog, the fourth film I'd planned to catch on Friday, but hopefully I'll be able to catch up with it later in the fest.

Continue reading " Sundance Day Three: Push, Big River Man and The Greatest (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 05:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The well-crafted script feels real and honest, but the solid acting throughout elevates Lymelife above your average indie coming-of-age drama. The Culkin brothers bring their real-life brotherly dynamic to their roles, and their interactions -- Jimmy's minor bullying of Scott, even as he defends him from anyone else who would dare to mess with him, the looks across the dinner table as they struggle to find the right things to say when Brenda's fragile and upset, ring true at every turn; one of the film's best visual moments is the framing of the amused smirk of an older brother as his kid brother pukes after drinking too much for the first time in the background, while Brenda comforts Scott, thinking it's just a stomach bug.

Read the rest of this review ...

Posted by kvoynar at 05:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not quite what you'd think it is from the title or description. Ben (Mark Duplass) and Andrew (Joshua Leonard), two old friends, have taken very different paths in life; Ben's gone the "responsible" route with the wife, the job, and the house with the picket fence, while Andrew's been a vagabond artist and traveler. After a night of partying, the two agree, after triple-dog daring each other, to make an "artsy" amateur porn film of two straight men having sex with each other -- with them as the stars. Now Ben just has to get his wife, Anna (Alycia Delmore) to agree to let him do it.

Director Lynn Shelton has made a surprisingly insightful indie character drama about male relationships, what adulthood means, and the ways in which we compartmentalize our lives.The players actually act and react like real people and the dialogue rarely feels contrived. Loved it ... longer review coming soon.

Posted by kvoynar at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Yes Men are presenting their "screwball comedy about the Apocalypse [and] call to arms, The Yes Men Fix The World at Sundance. How funny are unregulated markets? And in the question I pose, "Why is capitalism funny?" Mike Bonanno, here, commented on the "John Alton criminal lighting." Below the fold, Andy Bichlbaum, co-prankster-writer-director-producer picks examples from their deadpan doc to illustrate. [At New Frontier on Main.]

Continue reading "OnePiece: The Yes Men on the humor of capitalism (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 02:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You, Me & Do He

Posted by poland at 02:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For buyers and sellers at Sundance, hump day comes well before the middle of the fest. By Sunday night some will be licking their wounds, some toasting success and others lying in wait, waiting for prices to drop on good films.

All eyes will be on the all-star cop drama Brooklyn’s Finest, questioning whether it will ignite a bidding war or have a slow sales burn. Last year was the opening weekend when docs beat big features just like it, with American Teen and Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired prompting the most immediate bidding wars for much smaller than hoped for amounts. Friday will indicate if the same scenario could play out this weekend.

Five of at least a dozen potential sales are unveiled: the eco-family saga No Impact Man, the advertising study Art & Copy, the Anna Wintour portrait The September Issue (in a far-away SLC theater, natch), the journo examination Reporter and Spike Lee’s filmed Broadway musical Passing Strange. A sixth doc available in the industry office, the Doors study When You’re Strange, has failed to light any fires so far.

Sundance insiders say the extreme coming-of-age saga Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire (yes, that's the full name) may be a surprise hit, but the speed of its sale will likely be linked to response to Finest. Buyers will likely be finishing a 6:15 screening at the Eccles when the 8pm Push screening begins at the Racquet Club.

Early viewers are getting an advance look at the gay porn-themed buddy comedy Humpday and the interracial teen friendship drama Toe to Toe, but no film seems huge enough to generate any immediate sales. Stop back late tonight for a preview of (and road map to) a busy Saturday, along with our chart updates on the odds each film has to nab a buyer.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 12:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well, now I feel like I have a completely frivolous life. I just came from the press screening of Rough Aunties, a documentary about a group of women in South Africa who work with the police to bring child abusers to justice and help hurt children heal. Director Kim Longinotto doesn't follow a strict dramatic structure with the film; she simply takes her camera and follows the women behind the child welfare group Bobbi Bear -- Jackie, Eureka, Mildred, Thuli, and Sdudla -- and the one white male police officer assigned to help them track down and arrest the adult abusers -- as they interview abuse victims, arrest perpetrators, and deal with tragedies that affect their own lives.

The result isn't the most beautifully shot theatrical doc you'll ever see, but these strong, feisty women are inspiring as they work to help the young victims who come into their care. David saw Rough Aunties in Amsterdam and raved about it, and while I'm perhaps not quite as completely over the moon about it as he was, there's no doubt it's a powerfully affecting film about a group of women who are fighting to make a difference in the lives of the kids they work with.

Batting two-for-two on the first full day of Sundance ... a pretty good start to the fest. More to come later, after I gulp down some dinner to keep going for my next screening, Humpday.

Posted by kvoynar at 12:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two Sundance titles have snagged international sales rights deals: Cinemavault will be repping Derick Martini’s late 70s coming-of-age tale Lymelife and Wild Bunch will be handling R.J. Cutler's doc on Vogue editrix Anna Wintour, The September Issue. Both films are unveiled at Sundance tonight, but the Issue bow in Salt Lake City means many buyers won’t see it until tomorrow afternoon closer to their condos. CAA is repping domestic sales.

William Morris Independent snagged Lymelife a US distribution deal with Screen Media Films about a month after its Toronto world premiere, where it won the International Critics Prize for Discovery. The film boasts an impressive cast: Alec Baldwin, Kieran Culkin, Rory Culkin, Jill Hennessy, Timothy Hutton, Cynthia Nixon and Emma Roberts. Behind the scenes, Martin Scorsese lent his name as an executive producer, the latest of many collaborations with longtime producing partner Barbara De Fina.

While both deals ideally help the films reach wider audiences, they don’t put them in theaters, just in the hands of agents who sell them to foreign distributors. An old Scottish colleague of mine loved to shout “Let ‘em buy an ad!” when receiving news of such announcements, but for such worthy projects we’ll be happy to pass along sales news for your tracking pleasure.

Posted by Gregg Goldstein at 10:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just had my first "sit down, relax, and oh, it's the wrong movie that I just crossed down in 3.28 minutes for" moment of my fest. I will be returning to the scene of the scheduling crime in 3 hours.

Had a great chat with the Mary & Max team and will get that to you soon. Not only interesting stuff about them (he is the real-life Mary and his autistic pen pal is a real person he has never met), but also a very interesting perspective on the Aussie film biz. I am kinds thinking of the film as this year's Momma's Man.

The main conversation is still how few people are here, whether studio Dependents will spend, and whether anyone indie can get production funding.

Posted by poland at 09:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Posted by Ray Pride at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Derick Martini's Lymelife, whose international rights were just picked up by Cinemavault on the eve of its Sundance debut, is one of those indie dramas at Sundance that mostly hits all the right notes. The film centers around Scott (Rory Culkin), a 15-year-old kid living in the suburbs of Long Island, pining after his long-time best friend, Adrianna (Emma Roberts) as he comes to terms with the reality that his parents' marriage is finally falling apart after years of contentious coexistence.

Excellent performances by Rory Culkin and Roberts (who's really coming into her own -- I'd love to see her do more indie work like this film) and Kieran Culkin as Scott's older brother, Jimmy, who comes home on leave from the army and ends up brawling with both the school bully and their father, anchor the film. Jill Hennessy, Alec Baldwin, Cynthia Nixon and Timothy Hutton are all solid as the adults dealing with their own suburban dramas.

And boy, can that Alec Baldwin play a jerk to perfection.

Longer review will be coming later tonight, stay tuned for more ....

Posted by kvoynar at 09:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[EIGHT MORE PHOTOS AND TALES AT THE JUMP.]

Continue reading "Glimpsing opening night (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 08:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tyson is not the only battler in town. Opening night attraction of Sheffield's Doc/Fest back in November, Thriller From Manila is an exactingly made documentary made to fulfill a pre-determined thesis: Ali bad, Frazier good. After that screening, the producers and director conceded as much. The film works to prove Joe Frazier's view that Muhammad Ali was a champion Machiavellian and taunter for the ages, as if weakening your opponent before a hoped-for pummeling were not simply good form. Further, a provocative case is made for Ali's verbal jousting rising to vicious racism. Formally, John Dower's a talented director; the editing, from montage to pacing, is aces, and the choice of music from the 1975 era is often choice. (The clearances must have cost a fortune.) The eye-opening archival footage of events before and during the third, final Frazier-Ali match-up are sweet, but boldly from Frazier's point-of-view. There's a bit from Frazier's last surviving ring man, an elderly man in his kitchen wearing his finest plumage that erupts unexpectedly in a scene of documentary Kismet, the finest thing in the enterprise. It's a great, heretofore-unheard anecdote. Frazier comes off as a survivor, a battler, and a resentful dullard.

Posted by Ray Pride at 08:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary and Max, the claymation opening film of the Sundance Film Festival directed by Adam Elliot, who previously won an Oscar in 2004 for his animated short Harvie Krumpet, is a darkly whimsical fable about two lonely people who connect with each other in the most unlikely of ways.

Continue reading "Sundance Review: Mary and Max" »

Posted by kvoynar at 06:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

8:30 screening of Tyson.

Toback looks a little beat.

The movie is better than the Cannes response, but in its powerful, simple intimacy, it doesn't excite as much as the fight sequences. But that, it seems to me, is the point.

I'll be chatting with Toback tomorrow... after seeing the film, it's an even more fascinating prospect.

Posted by poland at 05:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today is Day Two of Sundance; we're past opening night now, and the serious work of watching and reviewing three to four films a day sets in. First up for me today is Derek Martini's Lymelife, which was developed in the Sundance Filmmaker's Lab and won the International Critics Award (FIPRESCI) at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film, set in the late-1970s, is about a 15-year-old boy (Rory Culkin), his best friend Adrianna (Emma Roberts), and what happens within their families and communities during a devastating outbreak of lyme disease.

Continue reading " Sundance Day Two: Lymelife, Rough Aunties, Humpday and Johnny Mad Dog" »

Posted by kvoynar at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the opening press conference of the Sundance Film Festival on Thursday, Robert Redford kicked things off with a lengthy monologue looking back on the history of the fest which, as he reflected, started as a way to broaden the reach and appeal of independent films and to provide an audience for the filmmakers the Sundance Institute was working with at a time when the film business was largely a mainstream entity.

Continue reading "Press Conference Redux" »

Posted by kvoynar at 08:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mary and Max, the opening film of the Sundance film festival, wasn't quite what I expected it to be ... but mostly in a good way. The claymation film by Australian director Adam Elliot (who won the Best Short Animated Film for Harvie Krumpet in 2004) is a somber, moody tale about Mary Daisy Dinkle, a lonely, neglected eight-year-old girl in Australia who develops a pen pal relationship with a 40-something, grossly overweight, Asperger's-afflicted Jewish New Yorker named Max.

The claymation is great, and the story, though occasionally convoluted as it goes back and forth between the details of Mary and Max's wretched, solitary lives, is sad and whimsical and moving. I'll have a longer review of Mary and Max later, but for now, suffice it to say I was pleasantly surprised and touched by the characters and story; it's a quirky pick to open Sundance, but it's certainly original and charming, albeit in a somewhat depressing way.

Posted by kvoynar at 03:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

Robert Redford acknowledged the elephant in the Egyptian Theater Thursday afternoon during his 25th annual Sundance Film Festival press conference: the current global economic meltdown. He offered Obama-style hope, but no concrete answers for nervous filmmakers and execs. "Obviously the economic climate issue is giant," he said. "How its going to affect the festival, I can't say. In terms of overall, I guess it gets down to art, and art's relationship with society, and art's relationship with subsets of society like economics. Art will always find a way. I'm a firm believer in not only the strength of art but the importance of art.

"We're looking at a world now that's very very screwed up, but there are a lot of opportunities that come along with that," he said. "The part that obviously has our businesses in turmoil right now ... how people are going to adjust to it is one thing. But clearly distribution is the key. Distribution has been the one problem for filmmakers for a long time now, particularly independent filmmakers because it's very hard for them to compete with studios who put $40, $50, $60 million dollars into an opening weekend, but they've somehow managed to work their way through, kind of like grass growing through a sidewalk."

Fest director Geoff Gilmore was similarly vague on possible solutions to the obstacles facing indie film, but in all fairness, it's neither man's job to help the industry make money with the fest. (The inclusion of star-filled fare, while no guarantee of financial success in the arena, at least draws a media spotlight and industry execs to some deserving films.) After plugging Sundance Channel as one possible revenue stream for films, Gilmore offered one more suggestion. "I want to say that the internet is going to be one of the solutions, but it's not going to be the only solution."

Posted by kvoynar at 03:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The theme of today's opening press conference at Sundance was change, as Robert Redford and fest director Geoff Gilmore addressed issues ranging from how the downturn in the economy is likely to affect both the festival and the distribution of independent film to how the change of guard in the White House might impact funding and support for the arts under an Obama administration.

In spite of an economic climate that's seen studio distribution arms shut down and film journalists losing their jobs, Redford appeared optimistic about the future of independent film. "Sundance is constantly trying to promote the value of art in society," Redford said. "For art, when ecomonics gets tough, it will survive, it always has. And I think it always will. But certainly we're in tough times right now and it's affecting all areas of the business ... but i do believe art will find a way."

Redford also touched on the issue of Prop 8 and the talk of Sundance boycotts that had been the topic of much post-Prop 8 conversation in the independent film world, saying "I think to try to target Sundance seems self-defeating, since diversity is the name of our game, and we've presented all points of view across gender, class, race since our beginnings. We've been there giving full freedom of voice to all groups of all kinds."

More to come later tonight on the press conference, including Gregg Goldstein's take on the business side of the equation.

Posted by kvoynar at 01:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

[SIX MORE PICTURES AFTER THE JUMP.]

Continue reading "Glimpsing the opening press conference (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

***BREAKING NEWS STORY***

ONE OF THE GOOD GUYS RIDES INTO SUNDANCE
Consolidated Pictures Group in the market for new films

A new player in the film distribution ranks, CONSOLIDATED PICTURES GROUP, INC
has stratigically launched in time for the opening weekend of Sundance.
They will be heading to Park City to find good films to release… A story we’ve heard before,
the only difference is that this new company is headed by a filmmaker and alumnus of
the Sundance Film Festival.

Randall Miller was the director of last year’s indie hit BOTTLE SHOCK
which he and his partner Jody Savin produced and
self-released to the tune of $4.5M in domestic box. Freesytle Releasing
handled the theatrical bookings, 20th Century Fox is handling the home
entertainment and Netflix is handling the digital downloading. BOTTLE hits
DVD February 3rd. All those deals were brokered by the duo.

Continue reading "Press Release - A New Distributor (content)" »

Posted by poland at 10:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Is a much, much smaller festival, at least in terms of media, better or worse?

We're about to find out.

This is gossip, but we hear there were 400 fewer press applications... and that doesn't cover those who were credentialed and did not come.

Also heard that requests for permits to set up on Main Street for private companies dropped by three-fourths this year.

Posted by poland at 08:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Ray Pride

THE OTHER DAY, I READ A CYNICAL PIECE OF TRASH by someone who hates this film festival among other things in her or his life and career. It infuriated me. I wish it could be forgotten, made unread. The bit read like some other pieces, about myriad minor irritations, a day without dry socks, a slowly shuffling shuttle, the terror of slush and indifferent films among 150 or so on show, about branding and renegade brands skeeching behind the Sundance Express, rendered as a bewildered concatenation of kitten-like sneezes. "There are two kinds of music," Duke Ellington noted. "Good music and the other kind." The same applies to the movies coming up, and to be blunt about it, the days of your life, which include the moments in 10 days of Sundance to come, about which I roundly refuse to be uninformed and cynical, or non-analytic and pessimistic. Was it Oscar Wilde who observed that the worst belittlement you could bestow upon yourself is to boast that you are bored?

Continue reading "Why not so serious: an opening day homily (content)" »

Posted by Ray Pride at 05:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This gob of lingo is surely posted more places than the backside of the press pass and beside the Shasta Cola cooler in the filmmaker-press cafe-lounge: "By receiving admission, you irrevocably grant to Sundance Institute all rights to any audio and visual recordings made of you and the use of your name, likeness, and performance throughout the world in perpetuity in any and all media now or hereafter known, including for advertising and promotional uses, without any payment to, or approval from, you. You hereby waive any claims against Sundance Institute and its designees resulting from the use of the recordings or other rights granted by you." So help you Bob.

Posted by Ray Pride at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

By Gregg Goldstein

As the global economy teeters on the edge of the abyss, the parka-clad indie film community gathers once again in Park City for its annual ritual of celebrating (and, God willing, buying and selling) movies.

The on-the-record buzz phrase you most often hear is “cautiously optimistic,” with an emphasis on caution. Dig a bit deeper, however, and the caution has an edge of panic.

“There’s a lot of fear out there,” says Cinetic Media founder John Sloss. While pointing to several Fall boxoffice successes indicating health in the specialty film arena, the man who helped make Sundance Sundance, is tellingly cutting his traditionally huge Cinetic Media slate from 19 films last year to 10 this year, including the late-added Plum Pictures comedy “The Winning Season” starring Sam Rockwell and Emma Roberts. “We believe in the quality of what we’re taking, [but] we’re taking fewer films for passion. There are fewer buyers, and it came down to the number of available films we thought could do business.” Both Sloss and another seller with several high profile, star-laden films to brag about seemed genuinely uncertain how this year’s sales would be.

Continue reading "Sundance '09 Opener By Gregg Goldstein (news)" »

Posted by poland at 10:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Seems like time to actually start listing major outlets that have had a presence at Sundance for years that will simply skip it this year (the list of those reducing from multiple attendees is less gross)...

The Chicago Tribune
The Oregonian
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

We'll add to this list as more papers are no-shows...

Posted by poland at 11:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The last three categories to take a look at for the Sundance Film Festival are Spectrum, New Frontier and Park City at Midnight. Spectrum houses films that are often excellent, but for whatever reason are not in competition; New Frontier houses the edgier, more experimental fare, and Park City at Midnight is where the fun films for those late-night Park City frolics can be found. Here's a roundup of what looks most promising in each of those categories.

Continue reading " Sundance Preview: Spectrum, New Frontier and Park City at Midnight (views)" »

Posted by kvoynar at 10:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

How long before we get the story that this is the first Obama era film at Sundance?

Posted by poland at 03:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woke from a muzzy dream; it was Park City, mid-day Thursday, the sun was bright, I think I'd already lost a shoe, I'd lost a glove, I was wearing a stranger's hat. Better than a dream of losing an entire investment on a labor of love, I'd say.

Posted by Ray Pride at 12:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Melissa Leo, Misty Upham & director Courtney Hunt

Posted by poland at 08:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More on the actual movies to come, but the tone of Sundance 2009 is being set from a distance.

There are daily e-mails about who isn't coming this year.

An e-mail about Entertainment Weekly's beefed up presence was mostly about celebrities.

I hear that the festival itself is concerned about how much "serious" press is coming this year... the only people left with jobs that can cover the cost of hotel rooms and airfare are paparazzi and celebrity reporters.

Who will be the biggest star at Sundance this year? Spongebob Squarepants. He couldn't be much more indie... or less indie... but he's having a birthday party at the festival.

Continue reading "Here It Comes... (views)" »

Posted by poland at 07:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There's something special about Sundance that makes it like Winter Camp for film geeks. There's a certain sense of camaraderie that comes from being buried in snow with hundreds of your fellow journalists and lovers of film for 10 days, sloshing your way through the slush, elbowing your way through star-gazers on Main Street, cramming into the shuttles to get from Point A to Point B before you miss your screening, and talking over the films you've seen with friends and colleagues over late-night drinks at the Yarrow Bar or a plate full of steaming noodles and sweet-and-sour-meat-product at the dicey Chinese place next to the Holiday Village Cinema.

The competition films are my favorites to catch at this fest, although I inevitably end up missing something really good amid all the scheduling madness. Here are the competition films I'm most looking forward to.

Continue reading "Sundance Preview: The Competition Films (views)" »