The Circuit

by Winter Miller
At my first Sundance, I'd been warned I wouldn't sleep, wouldn't see any movies, and would be fed like a foie-gras-bound goose.  I was told agents, publicists and sales reps would spin me, but nobody mentioned how dizzy the high altitude would make me. Or that my lungs would feel like they were suffocating, or that mornings meant a bloody nose. I did not see Robert Redford. But I have seen "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" enough times to feel as if I had.

The overcrowded streets, the frat-house vibe of many parties (what, no keg stands?) and the frigid chill made reporting Sundance rank up there with a visit the obgyn.  I don't ski, which admittedly is a draw for many with actual time on their hands, and not to be curmudgeonly but wouldn't this be a great festival in July? Dining al fresco, a hike up the mountain?

I saw four screenings during the ten day fest and I'm going to be unpolitically correct and list them not by director, sales rep or production company, but yes, mostly by actors. "Blind Date," (Stanley Tucci and Patti Clarkson), "Phoebe in Wonderland" (Patti Clarkson, Felicity Huffman, Bill Pullman and a stunningly good Elle Fanning who is all of nine), "The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo," (no Patti Clarkson!)  and "Birds of America" (the underrated Matthew Perry, with Ginnifer Goodman, Ben Foster, and Lauren Graham). I'm fairly sure they pay me not to have an opinion about movies so check out the crix for a roundup.

Herewith, the rookie writes, a perspective culled from interviews, overheard conversations, and the reportage of my colleagues.

Like Schultz's Peanuts gang lamenting the commercialization of Christmas, so went the mantra that Sundance had long outgrown its roots and Park City. Snaking lines of snow-capped cars crept up  Main street, the lack of parking spots,  and the fender benders (One cab I was in for a slow bumper-to-bumper ride out to Prospector for a screening reached a high speed of about 8 mph only to be rammed into. "That's it, I quit, I'm done," the driver said. "I'm a tattoo artist.") made for unhappy residents (approx 8,000 year round) and guests (approx 50,000).

The overcrowded restaurants with hour-long waits, sold-out hotels and price-gauging condos (a colleague rented a $7,000+ two-bedroom off Main for 10 days) caused further griping amongst purists. Disgruntled cineastes grumbled over the conundrum of too many films to see with too few available tickets. About 15 years ago, said a 22-year fest veteran, the 4 day fest screened 50 films. This year, 125 films screened over 10 days.

Sundance, in all ways, has been Super-sized.

After reporters and industry insiders swapped pre-fest predictions about this year's sales, it is yet another opportunity to quote Hollywood scribe William Goldman, "Nobody knows anything." Those who predicted a frenzy over a few big ticket buys or a slew of bargain-priced films in response to the Writers' Guild strike were probably surprised to see that the first few fest purchases, "The Blacklist," "Up the Yangtze" (the day before), and "Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired," were docs, bought by HBO, Zeitgeist and HBO, respectively.

Yes, three docs were the first sales. Which might not have been surpising save the fact that a funereal whisper had steadily increased to a drum beat over "the doc's demise" after the poor commercial response ThinkFilms' "Shadow of the Moon" and Sony Picture Classic's "My Kid Could Paint That." But snow fell from white skies and the fest screened more and more films, a new thought in hushed tones was oft-repeated: "the docs this year are stronger than the narratives."

Those who predicted a Harvey-effect of driving up prices and quick sales found themselves taking a lower-key approach to buying and selling. And with the press corps giving prime real estate to the outsize price tags and dismal commercial success for last year's "Grace is Gone" while focusing less on the success of good buys and crowd pleasers "Waitress" and "Once," buyers probably were wary of not just overpaying, but of being vilified by the press for it.

But aside from the hype either way, was 2008 really all that different from 2008 when it came to sales? In 2007, 20 titles were sold during the festival for about $53 million.  This year, as of Saturday morning, the fest's last day, 10 titles were sold for about $25 million,  including some rough (and possibly generous) estimates for three docs that went for an undisclosed sum. So in a word: Yes. It was about half the marketplace as it was last year.

That said, a good number of titles are still in play and a number of others will play out over the next days, weeks and months.  Cinetic's John Sloss said of the 16 films he repped at last year's fest, five sold on site and the rest of them sold after. 

"From an acquisitions perspective, people seem to be talking about the marketing first and then talking about how much they loved the film," said UTA's Rich Klubeck. "As if falling in love with the movie is nice, but if there's not a marketing hook then there's not much discussion."

So while there was not a flurry of open pocketbooks for  hyped and star-studded films like "Sunshine Cleaning," "What Just Happened?," and "The Great Buck Howard," it's possible the fat lady is merely on vocal rest.

See next post for the Sundance Deal Roundup, or click here.