'Quiet' Sundance - "I told you so".
Rick in Oz
Niche Sundance
From: Reuters From correspondents in Park City, Utah
January 24, 2006
» THE Sundance Film Festival is in its second week, with more stars and
parties than ever before, but only one big movie sale and the lack of action
had industry tongues wagging "I told you so".
The film that was sold - Little Miss Sunshine - went for a hefty price, more
than $US10 million, which when all the contract details are known may
surpass the festival's record film sale of $US10.25 million spent for Happy,
Texas in 1999.
But while, people were busy congratulating the Miss Sunshine's filmmakers
who had spent years getting their project developed, some festival watchers
cautioned not to expect many more sales of such magnitude.
They say that the lack of acquisitions highlighted what many festival
watchers expected: the 2006 film slate was much less mainstream than in
recent years.
Sundance, which is the top US event for independent movies and a launching
pad for art house films, has always focused on filmmaking outside the
commercial mainstream.
Before the opening, festival director Geoffrey Gilmore told Reuters: "It's
a festival that feels more independent, that feels less mainstream." The
lack of dealmaking has surprised few of the distributors that come here
looking for movies.
Sunshine was the only movie, so far, that ran counter to that expectation.
Twentieth Century Fox specialty division Fox Searchlight bought it for the
eye-popping sum that topped $US10 million plus extra money based on the
film's potential box office performance.
The offbeat comedy stars Steve Carell, the star of the hit film The 40
Year-Old Virgin, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette, and tells of a family
trying to get their seven-year-old to a beauty pageant. It premiered to a
packed house on Friday, won a standing ovation and sparked a bidding war
that lasted until Saturday morning.
While the price tag seems high, it keeps with a trend that started last year
when the sums independent films fetched from distributors began to rise.
Industry players here cite many reasons for the uptick ranging from higher
production costs to the potential of some of the more commercial-oriented
films.
GOOD TIMES ROLL
Movies seeking to appeal to art house audiences like Brokeback Mountain,
Crash, and Good Night, and Good Luck, are major players in this year's
Oscars race. Brokeback, the story of a romance between two cowboys is
climbing at the box office, having so far grossed $US42 million.
As a result, more money has flowed to small, independent style films.
Fox Searchlight head Peter Rice, told Reuters that this year, more than
ever, he can look at his rival distributors and know that each one is
well-funded.
Among the films getting good buzz at Sundance are Thank You for Smoking, a
comedy about a man promoting tobacco sales which Fox Searchlight will
distribute, Little Miss Sunshine and The Illusionist, which tells of a
magician played by Edward Norton, who uses his tricks to battle an Austrian
prince for the woman he loves.
Sundance also spotlights documentaries, and one hot title is Wordplay, about
New York Times crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz. Its filmmakers were in
talks about a sale but had not been closed one as of Monday morning.
Music documentaries such as Leonard Cohen: I'm Your Man, and former Police
drummer Stewart Copeland's Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out also found
rabid fans.
Meanwhile, Hollywood's stars have come out in droves to promote their films
and pick up many of the gift bags that are handed out.
At Self magazine's Ultimate Luxury Lounge & Spa, Lucy Liu and Paris Hilton
picked up new BlackBerry 8700c wireless devices and were able to download
customized workout routines at Podfitness.com.
- Additional reporting by Jane Clark