The Circuit

As temperatures rose slightly, there were whispers of deals and wildly successful screenings but nothing concrete.  Nanette Burstein's doc "American Teen" (pictured) unspooled to huge raves followed by a rumored bidding war starting at $3 million.  Alex Rivera's "Sleep Dealer" had been quiet building buzz in the weeks before, but last night's screening was called "sleepy" by one critic.  The Q&A began with the theater not half full.

While being heavily courted, the team behind "Sunshine Cleaning" have said they aren't rushing into a deal. 

A North American deal still hasn't has closed for "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired."  The film is repped in part by the sales company, Submarine, which has a lot of product this year.  They stepped into Slamdance last night and signed a deal to rep a much-talked about doc, "Dear Zachary."  Submarine head Josh Braun said, "Submarine does not traditionally pick up films to represent once we get to Park City but this amazing and emotionally charged film packed such a punch we couldn't get it out of our heads."  It's the film's ending that leaves many people breathless.

Anne Thompson has a view of last night's two biggies, Barry Levinson's "What Just Happened?" and Sean McGinly's "The Great Buck Howard."

Both of these movies feel like tentative low-budget efforts on the part of folks who are accustomed to a much bigger playpen. They are turning to the indies and Sundance to give them a chance to escape from that studio prison.

But they don't escape enough. Levinson's film is far superior, and feeds off heart-felt personal experience. After the screening, buyers filed out into the night. Some will call Sloss and line up outside his Deer Valley condo. Others will take a pass.

The expected buying frenzy has been muted as buyers seem more cautious this year. Unless it's all about to explode.

Full post here.