Deconstructing Sundance
We're in the thick of Sundance prognostications, from the casual to the complex. And as "Once" and "Hamlet 2" have proven, no one's got it right yet -- "Once" bought for near nothing, going on to good business and an Oscar; "Hamlet 2" bought for a king's ransom, and going to a pauper's grave.
Enter Matthew Prince of Unspam Technologies, a company that fights the impossible fight against spam and telemarketers.
As best we can tell, Prince uses "analytical technology" to predict "what films are going to become box office hits and what films are going no where... even before the first kernel is popped."
They gave us an advanced look at their Sundance results without explaining much about them. It seems their percentages are a measurement of quality. "Taking Chance" is 90% "great," though "Amreeka" is only 54% "great" (so it's just "gre").
Yet the "Ameeka" crew should be happy they aren't "The Greatest," which according to the secret formula is 98% not great. In fact, it's 98% bad.
We'll see what pans out, but if Sundance history proves anything perhaps Unspam ought to stick to spam. They may have better success.
Dramatic Competition
Great
• Amreeka (54.40%)
• Big Fan (73.40%)
• Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire
(70.18%)
• Sin Nombre (51.81%)
• Taking Chance (90.03%)
Ok
• Arlen Faber (47.51%)
• Dare (65.97%)
• Toe to Toe (51.64%)
Bad
• Adam (78.17%)
• Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
(93.49%)
• Cold Souls (99.73%)
• Don't Let Me Drown (60.38%)
• Humpday (89.69%)
• Paper Heart (99.95%)
• Peter and Vandy (96.23%)
• The Greatest (98.66%)
Documentary Competition
Great
• Art & Copy (99.01%)
• Crude (93.15%)
• Reporter (82.26%)
• Sergio (88.96%)
• The September Issue (96.92%)
• We Live in Public (97.10%)
Ok
• Boy Interrupted (70.37%)
• Dirt! The Movie (79.74%)
• El General (99.94%)
• Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge
of Free Speech (93.71%)
• The Cove (58.10%)
Bad
• Good Hair (95.34%)
• Over the Hills and Far Away (72.55%)
• The Reckoning (57.27%)
• William Kunstler: Disturbing the
Universe (99.78%)
Enter Matthew Prince of Unspam Technologies, a company that fights the impossible fight against spam and telemarketers. As best we can tell, Prince uses "analytical technology" to predict "what films are going to become box office hits and what films are going no where... even before the first kernel is popped."
They gave us an advanced look at their Sundance results without explaining much about them. It seems their percentages are a measurement of quality. "Taking Chance" is 90% "great," though "Amreeka" is only 54% "great" (so it's just "gre").
Yet the "Ameeka" crew should be happy they aren't "The Greatest," which according to the secret formula is 98% not great. In fact, it's 98% bad.
We'll see what pans out, but if Sundance history proves anything perhaps Unspam ought to stick to spam. They may have better success.
Dramatic Competition
Great
• Amreeka (54.40%)
• Big Fan (73.40%)
• Push: Based on the novel by Sapphire
(70.18%)
• Sin Nombre (51.81%)
• Taking Chance (90.03%)
Ok
• Arlen Faber (47.51%)
• Dare (65.97%)
• Toe to Toe (51.64%)
Bad
• Adam (78.17%)
• Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
(93.49%)
• Cold Souls (99.73%)
• Don't Let Me Drown (60.38%)
• Humpday (89.69%)
• Paper Heart (99.95%)
• Peter and Vandy (96.23%)
• The Greatest (98.66%)
Documentary Competition
Great
• Art & Copy (99.01%)
• Crude (93.15%)
• Reporter (82.26%)
• Sergio (88.96%)
• The September Issue (96.92%)
• We Live in Public (97.10%)
Ok
• Boy Interrupted (70.37%)
• Dirt! The Movie (79.74%)
• El General (99.94%)
• Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge
of Free Speech (93.71%)
• The Cove (58.10%)
Bad
• Good Hair (95.34%)
• Over the Hills and Far Away (72.55%)
• The Reckoning (57.27%)
• William Kunstler: Disturbing the
Universe (99.78%)
Michael Jones is the film festival editor at Variety.com. 
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