De Niro
Sean Penn stars in 'The Interpreter,' which opens up the Tribeca Film Festival.
Rosenthal
Hatkoff
NEW YORK -- Reflecting the schizoid nature of the Tribeca Film Festival, the fourth installment of the high-profile indie film event kicks off tonight not with a high-profile indie pic but with a premiere of Universal's star-pumped thriller "The Interpreter."
Bow of the Sydney Pollack-helmed pic has become one of the town's hottest tickets, despite the film's decidedly mixed buzz. On Monday, U brass Ron Meyer, Stacey Snider and newly promoted Donna Langley were touching down as the studio booked overflow theaters to accommodate the crowds who want to bask in Tribeca's opening glow.
Tribeca has emerged as an intriguing -- and at times flustering -- hodgepodge of upscale galas and downtown fetes, the funky (the fest's Tribeca Drive-In series) and fun (its Family Film Festival). Screening of the opening film is being held nowhere near Tribeca proper, for example, but smack-dab in Midtown at the Ziegfeld, with an after-party at MoMA.
Thanks in large part to backing from eager sponsors like American Express, Budweiser, Prada and NBC, Tribeca has become a booming brand with consumers, and major studios seem happy to launch their pics at the fest. However, the event still has a way to go in endearing itself to the indie film world, which is in the throes of getting ready to head to Cannes next month.
To address the situation -- and warm the buying climate here -- Tribeca organizers moved the fest's dates back slightly so as not to butt up against Cannes.
"The mission of the film festival hasn't really changed," fest co-founder Jane Rosenthal said, referring to Tribeca's goal of revitalizing lower Manhattan in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. "It will always have an economic development component to it, drawing on the unifying power of films."
However, she added that the annual event has its eyes on becoming a more viable film marketplace.
"It's a natural evolvement for any festival to really be in the business," she added. "Last year, we had about eight pictures picked up. As soon as one pops, it will become a market."
While films were bought out of the fest, no deals had a whiff of the frenzied bidding wars that go down in Park City, Toronto or Cannes between the studio subsids.
Pics looking to click this year include the family drama "Aurora Borealis," "The Tenants," gay romantic comedy "Adam & Steve," Snoop Dogg-starring spoof "The L.A. Riot Spectacular," 9/11 aftermath story "The Great New Wonderful" and "Slingshot."
Image polishing
Beyond the studio pics, films seeking pickups and panels -- with big names from Irwin Winkler and Mort Zuckerman to Tom Wolfe and Charles Koppelman -- one trend that will continue at this year's Tribeca fest is cable companies using fests to boost their cred with filmmakers and the press.
Showtime, for example, is bowing no less than three pics at Tribeca this year, including "Rikers High," "Same Sex America" and "After Innocence."
"The lines (between theatrical and cable) are blurring," said Showtime exec veep of programming Ann Foley. "MOWs don't exist anymore. We are pursuing projects with a very specialized vision, and that philosophy overlaps with some of the things festivals are looking for. It also says something about the kind of business we want to be in."
Studios are also dragging their cable counterparts into the front lines of the festival wars: Paramount Classics bought the dancing docu "Mad Hot Ballroom" at Sundance with Nickelodeon and also picked up the hot "Hustle & Flow" with MTV Films. The trend could continue in lower Manhattan if buys are made.
Following IFC's model, Showtime and HBO have both launched theatrical divisions to drive their brands.
Cable at the table
Josh Braun, who co-heads sales banner Submarine, said cable outfits have become more aggressive in buying films at festivals. His company recently sold off the doc "Three of Hearts" to Bravo and theatrical distrib ThinkFilm.
"Cable companies had been sniffing about at festivals but not being aggressive," he said. "Now some channels, like Court TV, A&E and Bravo, that weren't really thinking about this area are coming in and carving out their own niche."
Submarine also paired Court TV and Wellspring to buy the docu "Unknown White Male" together at Sundance.
"For a lot of people, (film) is the sexiest part of the business," said IFC Entertainment prexy Jonathan Sehring, whose theatrical division is launching romantic comedy "The Baxter" at Tribeca this year. "The motion picture business is on the front page (of the trades) every day, and made-for-cable movies do not make the front page. There's a perception that (an original cable film) is a second-tier film."
While many tiers of the film biz will collide over the next two weeks at the Tribeca film fest, it remains to be seen whether the richest pickups will be the lunch tabs at Nobu.
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