Since it unfolds like an engrossing Hollywood caper film, some wonder whether James Marsh's doc "Man on Wire" is ripe for remaking.  Its subject, Philippe Petit who walked the WTC Towers on a tightrope in 1974, has published his story as a biography and a children's book. 

The Circuit hears the big screen rights to the story are with Robert Zemeckis, who may animate the story a la "Beowulf."

At Sundance, Petit answered questions after a screening:

I haven't changed. I'm still a struggling artist. I still fight for my books to published, my films to be produced... I have many hats. I'm still a street juggler. Nothing has changed. I'm still fighting for what I want to do.

As a street juggler I draw a circle of chalk on the sidewalk, and I juggle and pass my hat around before the police come and arrest me. But I am stupid. I should put a little clipping there saying "I am the man who walked the Towers." I'd make double the money. I refuse to do that because it's not nice, it's not pure.

I should not share those thoughts [on 9/11] because the Towers were so much a living entity growing inside of me, becoming married by the smile of my curve, that when they died something so alive was pulled out of me. But I have no right to talk about that when actually in their death they took out thousands of lives. It's something very intimate.

Here's the Q&A:

There's a lively discussion on the Filmmaker Mag blog about online distribution.

Noah Harlan reports back from the Sundance Producers Conference that amidst all the parting-the-seas talk of online exhibition, there are some real concerns.  It is the natural ebb and flow of a new delivery device whose possibilities are borderless but whose business model is having a fitful birth.

As people thrash about looking for a revenue model that works the notion of ad-paid content is rising. A stunning statistic came up at one point which no one followed up on and it has to do with Hulu's ad-generated model. Hulu places 4-6 ads on your content for a feature film and you get paid 50/50 with them at $40-$60 CPM per ad that is viewed (ie: if the viewer doesn't watch the whole movie you don't get paid for all the ads, only those that are watched). That means, assuming everyone watches your film all the way through, and you are getting the most number of ads at the highest pay rate, the absolute maximum that 100,000 views of your film will pay you is only $18,000.

In the end, it's the people with the gold that'll probably win:

The mid-term mistake of Cinetic Rights Management and other similar ventures is that they are going to be eclipsed in value by the companies that bring the marketing muscle (read: dollars) and savvy to the table. Figuring out what platform you should be on is akin to figuring out what theater to program a film into. It is a good skill but one that is of marginal use if no one shows up at the theater.

Make sure to check out the comments, too.

John Anderson writes at the NY Times of "Bottle Shock's" self-distrib efforts. 

According to the film's director Randal Miller, and the co-producer, (former Sarasota fest exec) Marc Lhormer told The Circuit that deals with various distribs seemed within their grasp.  But the landscape has dramatically changed since Sundance 2008.  Going it alone now seems the best way to some.

By going their own way, Mr. Miller (whose directing credits include “Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School” and the upcoming “Nobel Son”) and his wife and co-writer, Jody Savin, retain the DVD and other rights to their dramatic comedy. They also get to control how their movie is rolled out and marketed.

The downside? “An enormous amount of work, an enormous amount of stress, no sleep and lots of people I’ve come to know and love who have given me millions of dollars,” Mr. Miller said.

Lhormer posted some info to The Circuit's Facebook Wall and Discussion Boards.  Check it out here.

The Sundance Institute has picked 16 projects for its Documentary Fund.  Vetted out of 325 applications, the projects will receive creative and financial support for development, production, and post. 

The international selections cover subjects such as democratic efforts in Burma in Nic Dunlop's "Burma Soldier," Amlan Datta's study of Indian elections in "Image: Democracy," and foster care in America via Heather Rae's project "Family: The First Circle."

"From China, Kyrgyzstan, Indonesia, Iran and the United States, this program is considered our most international docket yet," said Cara Mertes, Director of the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program. 

The Institute also announced two Engagement grants to provide seed money toward a project's distribution efforts.  Grant winners are Pamela Yates' docu on repression in Peru, "State of Fear," and Sundance Grand Prize winner "Trouble the Water," Tia Lessin and Carl Deal's (pictured above) portrait of Katrina survival.

PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT

Tomáš Kudrna
ALL THAT GLITTERS (Kyrgyzstan/Czech Republic)

Nic Dunlop
BURMA SOLDIER (Burma/Thailand/U.S.)

Maria Teresa Rodriguez
¿DÓNDE ESTÁN? THE DISAPPEARED CHILDREN OF EL SALVADOR (U.S./El Salvador)

Amlan Datta
IMAGE: DEMOCRACY (India)

Bishnu Dev Halder
A TALE OF THREE SISTERS (India)

Leonard Retel Helmrich
POSITION OF THE STARS (Indonesia/Netherlands)


PROJECTS IN PRODUCTION/POST-PRODUCTION

Carol Dysinger
CAMP VICTORY: AFGHANISTAN (U.S.)

Heather Rae
FAMILY: THE FIRST CIRCLE (U.S./Native American)

Michael Collins
GIVE UP TOMORROW (U.S./Philippines)

Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater
GOUNDO'S DAUGHTER (U.S.)   

Lixin Fan
LAST TRAIN HOME (China)

Jennifer Maytorena Taylor
NEW MUSLIM COOL (U.S.)   

Orhan Eskiköy and Özgür Dogan
ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL (Turkey)

Laura Poitras
RELEASE (U.S./Yemen)   
 
Jakob Preuss
THE OTHER CHELSEA (Germany)  

Gef Senz
VIRTUAL FREEDOM (Australia)  

Farid Haerinejad and Mohammad Reza Kazemi
WOMEN IN SHROUD (Iran/Canada)


AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT GRANTS

Pamela Yates
STATE OF FEAR (U.S./Peru)

Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
TROUBLE THE WATER (US)

Pamela McClintock and Winter Miller have a primer on the Cannes buying activity, framing it within lackluster activity at Sundance.

The sellers are trying to put a good face on lean times. “At the end of the day this Sundance will have been less profitable than the previous Sundance, but we’ve got more of a 52-week business than we’ve ever had,” says Cinetic’s John Sloss, who had brought a whopping 19 films to sell at the January fest, including “What Just Happened?”

“I debate on a daily basis whether we should have taken it to Sundance. The bloggers and press outlets had it in for the movie. It had a big bull’s eye painted on it.” Cinetic says they sold every film but one, with several on the verge of closing.