TC and Kim list some films to watch for from the Big Four winter film festivals - Sundance, Slamdance, Palm Springs, and Santa Barbara.
Also on The Show: The Callback, Bonehead OF The Week, an extended E-Mail segment, and TC and Kim face the biggest chasm they've ever had in their review of the JJ Abrams/Matt Reeves flick Cloverfield.
THIS WEEK'S NOTES:
Full notes coming Monday morning!
Here are the press releases announcing the winners for Sundance and Slamdance jury prizes....
First up, Sundance...
2007 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
JURY AND AUDIENCE AWARDS
Park City, UT–The jury and audience award-winners of the 2007 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at the Festival’s closing Awards Ceremony in Park City, Utah. The films receiving jury awards were selected by distinguished jurors from films screening in the Independent Film Competition and the World Cinema Competition. Awards were given to both dramatic and documentary films screening in the four competitive categories: Documentary Competition, Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The films in these categories were also eligible for the 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences.
The premier showcase for U.S. independent film, the Film Festival is an important new platform for international independent film and screens films that embody risk-taking, diversity, and aesthetic innovation.
In addition, the Shorts Jury awarded a Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to a U.S. and international filmmaker. Other awards recognized at the ceremony include the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Prize, awarded to a film which excels in addressing compelling topics in science or technology and the recipients of the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award, created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays.
“The films in this year’s program have opened up the possibilities of what independent film can be and will be in the future,” said Geoffrey Gilmore, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “The 2007 Sundance Film Festival award-winners reflect the talent, diversity, and evolution of independent film and exemplify the artistic power of film to illuminate and explore issues that are prevalent in our global society.”
The Independent Film Competition is the heart and soul of the Sundance Film Festival program. It has introduced audiences to many of the best American and international independent films and filmmakers of the past 24 years. Films selected to screen in the Dramatic and Documentary Competitions were eligible for a number of jury awards.
The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Award-Winners are:
The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was given to MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET), directed by Jason Kohn. In Brazil, known as one of the world's most corrupt and violent countries, MANDA BALA follows a politician who uses a frog farm to steal billions of dollars, a wealthy businessman who spends a small fortune bulletproofing his cars, and a plastic surgeon who reconstructs the ears of mutilated kidnapping victims.
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was given to PADRE NUESTRO, directed by Christopher Zalla. Fleeing a criminal past, Juan hops a truck transporting illegal immigrants from Mexico to New York City, where he meets Pedro, who is seeking his rich father.
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was given to ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS (VORES LYKKES FJENDER)/Denmark, directed by Eva Mulvad and Anja Al Erhayem. In ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS, Malalai Joya, a 28-year-old Afghani woman, redefines the role of women and elected officials in her country with her historic 2005 victory in Afghanistan's first democratic parliamentary election in over 30 years.
The World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic was given to SWEET MUD (ADAMA MESHUGAAT) /Israel, directed by Dror Shaul. On a kibbutz in southern Israel in the 1970's, Dvir Avni realizes that his mother is mentally ill. In this closed community, bound by rigid rules, Dvir must navigate between the kibbutz motto of equality and the stinging reality that his mother has, in effect, been abandoned by the community.
The Audience Awards are given to both a dramatic and documentary film in the Independent Film Competition as voted by Sundance Film Festival audiences. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards for the Independent Film Competition are presented by Volkswagen of America, Inc.
The Audience Award: Documentary was given to HEAR AND NOW, directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky. Brodsky tells a deeply personal story about her deaf parents and their radical decision–after 65 years living together in silence–to undergo cochlear implant surgery, a procedure that could give them the ability to hear.
The Audience Award: Dramatic was given to GRACE IS GONE, directed by James C. Strouse. After learning that his wife has been killed in Iraq, a father finds the courage to tell his daughters the news during a quixotic road trip to an amusement park.
The World Cinema Audience Awards are given to both a dramatic and documentary film in the World Cinema Competition as voted by Sundance Film Festival audiences.
The World Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was given to IN THE SHADOW OF THE
MOON/United Kingdom, directed by David Sington. One of the defining passages of American history, the Apollo Space Program literally brought the aspirations of a nation to another world. Awe-inspiring footage and candid interviews with the astronauts who visited the moon provide unparalleled perspective on the precious state of our planet.
The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic was given to ONCE/Ireland, directed by John Carney. ONCE is a modern day musical set on the streets of Dublin. Featuring Glen Hansard and his Irish band "The Frames," the film tells the story of a busker and an immigrant during an eventful week as they write, rehearse and record songs that reveal their unique love story.
The Directing Awards recognize excellence in directing for dramatic and documentary features.
The Directing Award: Documentary went to Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine, directors of WAR/DANCE.
The Directing Award: Dramatic was presented to Jeffrey Blitz, director of ROCKET SCIENCE.
The Excellence in Cinematography Awards honor exceptional photography in both a dramatic and documentary film at the Festival. Heloisa Passos for MANDA BALA (SEND A BULLET) from the Documentary Competition and Benoit Debie for JOSHUA from the Dramatic Competition received the 2007 Cinematography Awards.
The Independent Film Competition Documentary Jury presented the Documentary Editing Award to editors Hibah Sherif Frisina, Charlton McMillian, and Michael Schweitzer for their work on the film NANKING.
The Jury for the Independent Film Dramatic Competition presents the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for outstanding achievement in writing. The 2007 prize was given to James C. Strouse for GRACE IS GONE.
The Documentary Jury presented a Special Jury Prize to NO END IN SIGHT, directed by Charles Ferguson, “in recognition of the film as timely work that clearly illuminates the misguided policy decisions that have led to the catastrophic quagmire of the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq.”
The Jury for the Independent Film Dramatic Competition also presented two special Jury Prizes. Special Jury Prizes for Acting were presented to Jess Weixler in TEETH “for a juicy and jaw-dropping performance” and to Tamara Podemski in FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND “for a fully realized physical and emotional turn.” The Jury also presented a Special Jury Prize for Singularity of Vision to Chris Smith, director of THE POOL.
The World Cinema Documentary Competition Jury presented a Special Jury Prize to HOT HOUSE/Israel, directed by Shimon Dotan.
The World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury presented a Special Jury Prize to THE LEGACY (L’HERITAGE)/France directed by Géla Babluani and Temur Babluani.
The Shorts Jury presented the Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking to EVERYTHING WILL BE OK directed by Don Hertzfeldt.
The Jury Prize in International Short Filmmaking was given to THE TUBE WITH A
HAT/Romania, directed by Radu Jude.
The Shorts Jury awarded Honorable Mentions in Short Filmmaking to DEATH TO THE TINMAN, directed by Ray Tintori; THE FIGHTING CHOLITAS, directed by Mariam Jobrani; MEN UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER BETTER (MARDHA HAMDIGAR RA BEHTAR MIFAHMAND)/Iran, directed by Marjan Alizadeh; MOTODROM/Germany, directed by Joerg
Wagner; SPITFIRE 944 directed by William Lorton; and t.o.m./United Kingdom, directed by Tom Brown and Daniel Gray. The 2007 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Awards are presented by Adobe Systems Incorporated.
The Shorts Jury also presented a Special Jury Prize to the documentary short film
FREEHELD, directed by Cynthia Wade.
The 2007 Independent Film Competition Documentary Jurors are Alan Berliner, Lewis Erskine, Lauren Greenfield, Julia Reichert, and Carlos Sandoval.
The 2007 Independent Film Competition Dramatic Jurors are Catherine Hardwicke, Dawn Hudson, Pamela Martin, Elvis Mitchell and Sarah Polley.
The 2007 World Cinema Competition Documentary Jurors are Raoul Peck, Juan Carlos Rulfo, and Elizabeth Weatherford.
The 2007 World Cinema Competition Dramatic Jurors are Carlos Bolado, Lynne Ramsay, and U-Wei Bin Haji Saari.
The 2007 Shorts Jurors presenting awards to U.S. and international short films are Jared Hess, Daniela Michel, and Mark Elijah Rosenberg.
The Alfred P. Sloan Prize carries a $20,000 cash award and celebrates the work of emerging independent feature filmmakers tackling compelling ideas and issues in science and technology. The 2007 Alfred P.Sloan Prize was presented to DARK MATTER, directed by Chen Shi-Zhen. The 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Jurors are Darren Aronofsky, Ann Druyan, Dr. Brian Greene, Howard Suber, and John Underkoffler.
Now in its eleventh year, the Sundance/NHK International Filmmakers Award was created to honor and support emerging filmmakers with their next screenplays–one each from the United States, Japan, Europe and Latin America–who possess the originality, talent and vision to be celebrated as we look to the future of international cinema. The winning filmmakers and projects are: Lucía Cedrón, AGNUS DEI from Argentina; Caran Hartsfield, BURY ME STANDING from the United States; Tomoko Kana, TWO BY THE RIVER from Japan; and Dagur Kári, THE GOOD HEART from Iceland.
And Now, Slamdance...
THE MILESTONE
2007 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES AWARDS AND PRIZES
Festival Winners to Screen in Salt Lake City
The 13th edition of the Slamdance Film Festival has announced 16 film and screenplay prize winners in three categories who will share more than $125,000 in cash and prizes. The just-concluded 2007 Festival in Park City, Utah, shattered all previous submission and attendance records, having received over 3,600 submissions from 20 countries for less than 100 slots, a milestone that catapults the movie showcase into one of the largest film festivals in the world, and attracted approximately 20,000 attendees.
There are three competitive divisions at Slamdance – Grand Jury, Audience and Writer Awards, in addition to a Special Award given by Kodak. Select winning films will be shown in Salt Lake City tomorrow, Saturday, January 27th, at the Trolley Square Cinemas. Audience Award winners will be screened beginning at 12:30 p.m., followed by Documentary Jury Award winners at 2:45 p.m. and Narrative Jury Award Winners at 5:00 p.m. Trolley Square Cinemas is located at 602 E. 500 South.
A further highlight of Slamdance this year has been the sale thus far of two films: “The King of Kong” to New Line Cinema and “Over the GW” to Seventh Art Releasing. It is expected several more acquisition deals will be announced shortly.
All 2007 Festival tickets and passes that were purchased online (http://slamdance.com/2007/festival/tickets.asp) helped support people in need, close to home. A percentage of proceeds from each Slamdance ticket purchase was donated to the Utah Food Bank, serving the community that has supported the Slamdance Film Festival for the last 13 years.
“With this year’s extraordinary success on all levels, I am proud and honored to say that Slamdance has justly become one of the pre-eminent film festivals in the world ,” said Peter Baxter, the President and Co-Founder of Slamdance, whose sole mission is to nurture, support and showcase truly independent works. “We had an astonishing array of narrative films, documentaries and shorts, and audiences happily found them. Nearly all of our screenings were sold out. Our stated goal of premiering new films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets has grown dramatically, and we could not be more thrilled.”
The winners of the Grand Jury Awards are as follows:
Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature
Prize: $15,000 credit at Filmworks/FX
“Tijuana Makes Me Happy”
Written/Directed by Dylan Verrechia
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature
Prize: Sony HDV Camera and tape courtesy of Media Distributors
“Unsettled”
Written/Directed by Adam Hootnick
Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short
Prize: $2,500 credit at Filmworks/FX
“The Ballad of Mary Slade”
Directed by Robin Fuller
Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short
Prize: $2,500 credit at Filmworks/FX
“A Map with Gaps”
Directed by Alice Nelson
Grand Jury Award for Best Experimental Short
Prize: $2,500 credit at Filmworks/FX
“Avant Petalos Grillados”
Directed by Cesar Velasco Broca
Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short
Prize: $2,500 credit at Filmworks/FX
“The Cow Thief”
Directed by Charles Williams
The winners of the Audience Awards are as follows:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
Prize: $2,000 credit from Alpha Cine; 1,000 retail ready DVDs from Seraphic Studio; and legal services at Funkhouser, Vegosen Liebman and Dunn Ltd.
“Murder Party”
Written/ Directed by Jeremy Saulnier*
*Saulnier previously won the Slamdance 2004 Grand Jury Sparky Award for Best Narrative Short, “Crabwalk”
Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
Prize: $2,000 credit from Alpha Cine; 1,000 retail ready DVDs from Seraphic Studio and legal services at Funkhouser, Vegosen Liebman and Dunn Ltd.
“Red Without Blue”
Written/Directed by Brooke Sebold, Benita Sills & Todd Sills
Global Audience Award for Best Anarchy Film
Prize: RESIN Software, from Caucho Technology, Inc. ($5000 value)
“Commode Creations: The Artwork of Barney Smith”
Directed by Danny Bourque
Spirit of Slamdance Award
Prize: Michael Collins Irish Whiskey gift bag
“The Mallorys Go Black Market”
Directed by JoEllen Martinson and William Scott Rees
The winners of the Writer Awards are as follows:
Award for Best Feature Length Screenplay
Prize: $7,000 cash
“Drool”
By Nancy Kissam
Award for Best Short Screenplay
Prize: $500.00 cash
“4 Corners”
By Ken Pisani
Award for Best Teleplay
Prize: Blind Script Deal to develop an original pilot with fox21 ($45,000 value)
“Ghost Towns”
By Marcus Clay Carmouche & Seamus Kevin Fahey
Award for Best Horror Competition Screenplay
Prize: $10,000 cash prize and a production deal with Angel Baby Entertainment & Maverick Red
“Slaughter”
By Bobby Darby & Nathan Brookes
Creative Excellence Award for the Horror Screenplay Competition
Prize: $1,000 cash
“Blood-Sucking Leeches and Flesh-Eating Maggots”
By Adam Balsam
Special Award:
Kodak Vision Award for Best Cinematography
Prize: $10,000 worth of Kodak film (16mm or 35mm)
This is the 10th year Kodak is sponsoring the Kodak Vision Award at Slamdance
“Under the Sun”
Director of Photography: Nikolaus Summerer
In a spirit of solidarity, and in recognition of the reduced list of finalists, the participants in the 2007 Slamdance Guerrilla Gamemaker Competition choose to not compete with one another for awards, but rather wished to acknowledge the efforts and achievements of everyone who screened at the Festival.
Maverick Red, the newly formed horror division of Maverick Films, has signed on to co-produce with Angel Baby Entertainment and Slamdance a feature film based on the annual prize-winning entry of the newly-created Slamdance Horror Screenplay Competition. In addition to having their screenplay guaranteed to be made into a feature motion picture, the winning writer will receive an upfront payment of $10,000 against 5% of the film’s budget, plus net profits participation on the movie and payments for any sequels made of the motion picture. Production of the completed script will occur during the ensuing months, with the intent of having the film’s World Premiere during the follow year’s Slamdance Film Festival. A landmark precedent, no other film festival produces feature films that originated whose genesis began at that festival.
As a year-round organization, Slamdance serves as a showcase for the discovery of new and emerging talent and is dedicated to the nurturing and development of new filmmakers and their cinematic vision. The feature competition programs are reserved for first time directors working with limited budgets, thus enabling the Festival’s mission to give exposure to emerging filmmaking talent. Slamdance is programmed through a unique democratic method. Every film is programmed by majority rule by a committee of filmmakers. Slamdance alumni are recruited to serve as programmers, so first-timers are represented and assisted by Slamdance veterans. The mantra of “by filmmakers, for filmmakers” resounds at every level of the organization, and plays a part in all of its undertakings.
Slamdance 2007 is presented by Kodak and fox21. Additional sponsors include Directors Guild of America, Maryland Film Office, Studio Number One, All Seasons Resorts, Dos Equis, FIJI, Jewel Winery, jRag, Langley Productions, Michael Collins Irish Whiskey, Steaz, Timbuk2 and XMission.
For more information and for a complete listing of films in the Festival, log on to www.Slamdance.com
...while the schmoes in Park City look idiotic as usual....
Seriously, as I said over the weekend, as a fledgling site, going to Sundance this year was out of the question. But I've been trying to keep up on all the goings on there and at Slamdance up the road...and I've got to say it's been a trip.
Yes it would have been fun to do it in person for the first time. But I think I probably would have dropped dead of exhaustion two days ago...or have laughed myself into a coma even sooner.
You sit back and read the big trades (and their bloggers) and there's a lot of kvetching about "oh, poor us, we have to go higher than we wanted to" when talking about a major sale. Now for some companies, like ThinkFilm which is a small, niche indie distributor (and very good at what they do), it's understandable. But when a major indie distributor (no names, please...)is whining the same way about the deals he's doing, I'm sorry...I have NO sympathy whatsoever.
There have been some very lucrative deals floating around for movies made with the kind of indie budgets we usually think of. Sure, $4 million might seem piddly to a big name, big studio guy like Steven Spielberg, but I can assure you it's NOT piddly to the small filmmaker of Grace Is Gone, now looking for distribution.
Of course, the fest has had it's share of controversy, the biggest of which has been a total non-issue, really...that of Dakota Fanning doing a rape scene in her new movie, Hounddog. For the past two weeks, fueled mainly by the overly excitable Sean Hannity on Fox News, the conservative media have been FREAKING OUT over this, demanding to know how Dakota's parents DARED to let her do such a thing on celluloid.
Yesterday, the day after the premiere of the movie (which got mostly bad word of mouth except for her performance), Dakota faced reporters for a few interviews.... and boy, was she PISSED....and rightly so. How dare reporters bring her parents into the matter, when she's growing up and is interested in doing more daring parts, she told people.
As well she should have. This is such a non-issue that it's not funny, and I'm one of those conservatives that Hannity is supposedly watched by (I've got news for them....). The press simply had no right to start questioning whether or not Fanning's parents were good parents simply because they let her do a scene which LOOKS WORSE ONSCREEN than it really would have been filming, with 50 or so other people standing by.
The right-wing media should be ASHAMED of themselves on this one...they took a non-issue and blew it so completely out of proportion that it makes me shudder....
Give young Ms Fanning a break please....she's not being led around by her parents. She seems to be a smart young lady, wise beyond her years, and more than capable of telling fantasy from reality, which many members of the media seemed to think she couldn't do. She's almost 13, and while an onscreen rape is not pleasant, neither is it detrimental to the actress performing it, especially if she read and loved the script herself, which she did...
Needless to say, since Fanning's mini-blowup yesterday, the uber-critical right wingers have fallen almost completely silent...so THANK YOU DAKOTA!!!
A lot of quality films are on the market at Sundance, and several of them already have done deals with studios for releases later in the year...but a few more will go without, and that's unfair.
Two of my favorite contenders last year, Right At Your Door and Wristcutters: A Love Story, remain distributor-less a year later, despite tremendously favorable word of mouth last year, and Wristcutters has made the rounds of other festivals too, even landing a nomination as Best Film Not At Your Theater from one of the critics groups at years' end (it lost, but you get the idea).
This while other Sundance alumni from last year, including Half Nelson, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints, and audience award winner Quinceanera, have gone on to critical acclaim in limited but fruitful releases.
Consider this - my Poppies award for best picture of 2006 went to Brick, a tiny little gem of a movie with a $500,000 budget that got its start at Sundance two years ago. Back then, when it was actually playing at Sundance, I probably wouldn't have cared that much - I was still an indie plebe at the time, pooh poohing it for mainstream films. But Brick, which initially interested me because of stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lukas Haas, became an TRUE epiphany for me - it really opened my eyes for the first time to the incredible world of independent cinema, and it would be a crime to see this masterful Rian Johnson creation floating around now, unreleased and sadly gathering dust somewhere...
So let's get cracking , people! I don't want to see the same fate happen to Snow Angels, The Good Life, Finishing The Game, or Four Sheets To The Wind. I'm EXCITED about these movies and I WANT to see them! So, dammit, you dealmakers need to get cracking and get some distributors lined up for them...
As Stan Lee says, "'Nuff Said", I think...
This weekend, PNR's podcast, Subject:CINEMA will have a rundown of Sundance as part of it's look at Film Festivals overall, and hopefully, we'll have good things to report about these movies and others like them, then.
Stay tuned for more Sundance coverage over the course of the weekend...
Well, the deals continue to be made at this year's Sundance Film Festival (a complete - or near complete - wrap up will happen on this weekend's edition of Subject:CINEMA).
Fox Searchlight, who bought Little Miss Sunshine last year at this time and has now seen that become money well spent with several Oscar noms this morning, has bought the rights to Adrienne Shelley's final film, Waitress. Shelley, you remember, was a favorite indie actess who was murdered in November by an illegal alien doing some construction work near her New York apartment, and he tried to cover it up as a suicide. The movie got good buzz from the audiences attending it, and since it has a good ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell in a starmaking turn, Fox couldn't resist.
They also have finalized the deal we mentioned yesterday, for the thriller Joshua; Warner Independent has picked up the Aussie romance Clubland.
And also as mentioned yesterday, Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company will go halvsies on Teeth, a bizarre new horror comedy. Apparently neither studio felt comfortable with a solo investment.
Monday's crowds were buzzing about other hot titles. Patricia Riggen's small-scale La Misma Luna (The Same Moon) was drumming up big interest from several distributors. Evening screenings of Son of Rambow, How She Move and the controversial Dakota Fanning project Hounddog were pulling in interested crowds.
Five more movies screened over the weekend - Once, Delirious, Snow Angels, The Ten and Chicago 10 - have entered extended negotiations with various studios and distributors and should secure major deals as the week goes forward...
More SUNDANCE News later today and continuing all week....
The weekend started seeing some deals being made at this year's festival. After all, let's be honest - deals are WHY Sundance has become what it is - THEbiggest indie showcase in american film.
The big winner at the fest so far is Grace Is Gone, a new anti-war drama starring John Cusack. The movie is getting great word of mouth, and has already sold to The Weinstein Company for $4 million. Weinstein gets the worldwide rights to the movie; they had been bidding against Fox Searchlight and Sony Pictures Classics for the rights. Cusack stars as a man who's military wife is killed in Iraq, and his struggles to figure out the way to tell their children.
Another movie attracting lots of buzz (and buy interest) is Joshua, a suspense drama about a couple and their 9 year old prodigy son after the parents bring his baby sister home from the hospital. With a plot sounding a bit like the Andrew Gold hit Lonely Boy from the late 70s, its most likely home is Fox Searchlight, who has shown keen interest. I have to admit, having seen a couple of clips from the movie over the weekend, it looks downright creepy...and may be a solid sleeper hit once it has a solid sale.
While Grace might be the winner in terms of positive word of mouth, the honor of first sale goes to the documentary Crazy Love, which went to Magnolia Pictures for a six figure deal. It's the story of Burt and Linda Pugach, a couple out of New York who got married several decades after Burt spent years in prison for blinding Linda. Yep, now THERE'S a party movie!
But so far, no frenzied bidding wars similar to that which erupted over Little Miss Sunshine last year. Several more films could yet trigger such a war, however.
Still coming up in the next few days is the controversial Hound Dog, which has been vilified all over the media, and especially by Fox News, for the last week; the movie features a graphic rape scene with 12 year old actress Dakota Fanning, who for her part is pooh-poohing all the bad hype over it.
Also looking promising from quick glances this weekend, the comedy-drama The Ten, with ten short short stories, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments; For The Bible Tells Me So, a searing documentary looking at how christian conservatives have used the Bible as a weapon and an excuse in their battle against gays and lesbians; and Girl 27, a documentary on how Hollywood covered up the rape of an underage dancer at an MGM Stag party in 1937.
More coming throughout the weekend, and all week this week...stay tuned!
Friday night, one of the most highly anticipated movies of this year's Sundance Festival, Snow Angels, had it's world premiere. Based on the highly-acclaimed novel by Stewart O'Nan, the movie version has been watched carefully since the project was first announced.
It also holds a fascination for me; if you listen to our podcast, Subject:CINEMA, (or bothered to read yesterday's post, heh heh heh) you know that my #1 Rising Star of 2006 is actor Michael Angarano, and he's frunt and center in this movie.
Director David Gordon Green talks about the project. Video courtesy of You Tube and Sundance Channel.
Michael Angarano talks about preparing for his role as "Arthur Parkinson" in David Gordon Green's Snow Angels
Video courtesy of Larry Richman and Google Video
Reviews coming in for the movie have been very very favorable, and it looks to be one of the major pickups of the festival this year.
Stay tuned for more coverage of the Sundance Film Festival
When you're a huge movie fan, and want to catch all the new "buzz" films, but can't afford to go to where they're playing, you have to do your best...
Take Park City, Utah, for instance...
Two of the biggest film festivals in the world are happening this week in Park City - Sundance and Slamdance.
I know of several indie bloggers and podcasters that managed to fork over the money to get to Sundance this year.
Popcorn N Roses is NOT one of them, unfortunately...
I'd LOVE to be there too...one of my favorite young actors, Michael Angarano, has a movie premiering there this year, the highly-anticipated Snow Angels, directed by Sundance favorite David Gordon Green.
So I've done the next best thing...I signed up for press access to the Sundance Press Pool and happily was approved, so PNR will be able to bring you some great photos from the various premieres. We'll also be able to bring you opinions on some of the movies based on the "buzz" as well as previews provided by Sundance Channel and by the festival's official website.
OK, so it's NOT the same. But as PNR is not a full-time job (not YET), and I have to WORK for my paycheck, so I can pay for this and the rest of our sites, it's better than nothing, I think.
And besides, what's good could a neo-conservative do trying to make headway in a sea of La La Land Liberals? Given Sundance founder Robert Redford's statement at the opening night premiere of Chicago 10, I don't think I'd especially be welcomed with open arms...
Fox 411's Roger Friedman put it this way in his column today:
Robert Redford opened the Sundance Film Festival last night with a bang. He told the audience assembled at the Eccles Auditorium, where Brett Morgen’s “Chicago 10” was about to screen, that we were owed an apology from the Bush Administration for everything that has happened since Sept. 11, 2001.
“Six years ago, we held off [saying anything negative about the administration]. But considering what’s happened, I think we’re owed an apology,” Redford declared.
He also said he wasn’t going to explain or defend how Sundance works anymore. After all these years, it should be obvious. He’s right: the festival is already packed and there’s a buzz in the air.
But Redford is conscious of the criticisms about too many parties, celebrities, gift suites, lounges and corporate involvement. He’s asking the serious attendees to wear a large button with the saying “Focus on Film.”
I'm all for freedom of speech, but shouldn't Redford be taking his own advice? I mean the whole POINT of Sundance, the REASON people gather in Park City for 10 days every January, are the FILMS. So doesn't that mean he should keep politics out of it?
See, I TOLD you I would have started trouble had I gone to Park City...
Anyway, over the course of the next ten days, like I said, we're gonna strive to bring you some good coverage, some comments on films, some looks behind the scenes from afar, and the like...and naturally, I hope you'll be along for the ride...
Stay tuned for more, same PNR Time, Same PNR Channel....(where have I heard THAT - or an unreasonable facsimile - before?)
