Day Six: What's the Buzz? The Good, the Bad, the Indifferent (rumor)
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.
It's probably also helping the mood among press that this year that the weather's been nice, and more importantly, that the fest, responding to the perennial bitching of film journos, finally got rid of those god-awful hard plastic torture devices that passed for chairs in the Yarrow press screening room, and brought in real theater seats (comfortable, with cup holders for those lattes and energy drinks) rented from the Telluride Film Festival, and it makes such a difference to sit in a comfortable seat when you're seeing 3-4 films a day.
Films that seem to be getting a very positive response in conversations in line and on the shuttles include Humpday (which sold last night), An Education, Moon, Burma VJ, The September Issue, Thriller in Manilla, Spread, and Don't Let Me Drown.
Films I'm hearing middling response include Paper Heart, 500 Days of Summer,, Arlen Faber, and Good Hair. Critics and fest attendees seem divided on The Greatest, Mary & Max, Cold Souls, 500 Days of Summer, Black Dynamite and Push, while Big Fan, Brief Interviews with Hideous Men and When You're Strange (aka The Doors doc) generally seem to be getting negative response.
Two sales broke late last night: audience favorite Humpday went to Magnolia, while Adam was picked up by Fox Searchlight in a deal that seemed to catch a lot of folks by surprise. Overall, it's a solid fest so far, the weather's been lovely and spirits seem to be good, especially today -- lots of folks spent their morning at one of the various inauguration parties going on. As I've been sitting here at the Yarrow writing, half a dozen different people have walked by saying to friends, "Happy Inauguration!" or better yet, "Happy Obama!"