The Sundance Film Festival has become sort of the Farmer’s Almanac for American independent cinema by providing a forecast for the upcoming year.
Two years ago Sundance unveiled “Shine,” “Big Night,” “Welcome to the Dollhouse,” “The Spitfire Grill” and “Bound,” kicking off what became known as the year of the independents.
The 1997 festival previewed a more scattershot year, mixing acclaimed, moderate hits by established filmmakers (Victor Nunez’s “Ulee’s Gold,” Kevin Smith’s “Chasing Amy”) with the occasional modest breakout (Neil LaBute’s “In the Company of Men”) and a slew of films that failed to take off at the box office (“The House of Yes,” “The Myth of Fingerprints,” “All Over Me,” “Going All the Way”).
From the looks of this year’s festival, which begins Thursday and runs for 10 days in Park City, Utah, 1998 may feature an especially broad array of independent offerings. Screens will be populated by hit men (Saul Rubinek’s “Jerry and Tom,” written by Chicago playwright Rick Cleveland), hit women (Jennifer Leitzes’ “Montana”), Native Americans directed by a Native American (“Smoke Signals”), African-American twentysomethings (Chris Cherot’s “Hav Plenty”), Irish immigrant construction workers (Jimmy Smallhorne’s “2by4”), melodramatic gay lovers (“Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss”) and a Hasidic woman who runs a jewelry store (Boaz Yakin’s “A Price Above Rubies”).
Which of the festival’s 103 features will beat the odds and find an audience remains to be seen. The movies being screened already have cleared a significant hurdle just by being selected from more than 700 submissions, up 100 from last year.
“The good news is that 700 independent films have gotten made, and the bad news is that 700 independent films have gotten made,” said festival program director Geoffrey Gilmore, noting that if 900 American independent films are made annually, “less than a third of them will see any significant light of day, and I’m including festival visibility.”
A Hollywood feeding frenzy
The trick for this year’s Sundance will be to provide a hospitable setting for its offerings. The rap on the festival is that it has grown from an intimate, communal showcase for independent filmmakers to a Hollywood-driven feeding frenzy in which more attention is paid to the deal than what’s on the screen.
Sundance has been a victim of its own success. By launching hit movies such as “sex, lies and videotape,” “Reservoir Dogs” and “Shine,” the festival helped fuel a boom in independent American cinema and lured the checkbook-carrying Hollywood crowd to town.
Organizers hope to dampen the rushed, marketlike atmosphere by reducing the number of screenings per day and total films shown (20 fewer this year), opening a new 1,300-seat theater and streamlining the festival’s organization and transportation.
But the biggest impetus for change could come from the industry itself. Two years ago the bidding wars peaked as New Line spent $5 million on “Shine” (wisely, it turns out), and Castle Rock plunked down $10 million for “The Spitfire Grill” (not so wisely).
Last year’s acquisitions were more modest and didn’t necessarily pan out. TriMark spent more than $2 million for Tom DiCillo’s “Box of Moonlight,” but the movie earned just $800,000 at the domestic box office in late summer. Miramax’s $2 million or so deal for the Parker Posey vehicle “The House of Yes” also didn’t pay off, taking in just $670,000 in North America. Distribution companies didn’t exactly hit pay dirt by acquiring “Star Maps,” “Dream with the Fishes,” or “Going All the Way,” either.
High-impact directors
The biggest success story out of Sundance was “In the Company of Men,” which writer-director Neil LaBute made for less than $100,000 and which grossed a decent $3 million in a late-summer release by Sony Pictures Classics.
“The number of directors entering the work force from last year is at an all-time high,” said indie film rep and Independent Film Channel “Split Screen” host John Pierson, referring to directors such as LaBute who signed deals to make subsequent films. “The number of films that actually made any impact theatrically is at an all-time low.”
Logically, distributors such as Miramax, Fine Line, October Films and Sony Pictures Classics might be expected to keep a tighter hold on their wallets this year. But logic doesn’t necessarily dictate how movie companies behave when they want a movie desired by a rival.
“There are just so many companies right now (looking for product),” said one distribution official, who nevertheless added that a high amount of activity may not translate into high prices for movies.
“I think people will be conservative about prices because this wasn’t a big indie year,” he added, noting, “The norm for an indie film is that it (collects) a million dollars or less.”
If Sundance has a less frenetic feel this year, that will be all right with Gilmore.
“It felt to me like too many different people, not just kvetchy press, was telling us their experience of the festival was not what it had been and what they wanted it to be,” Gilmore said. “We used to have a situation where films didn’t get their real buzz until their third screening. Now you had people rushing to judgment 15 minutes into the first day, and we’re trying to mitigate that.”
One step was to streamline the schedule so films in each category have their own “home” theater. Previously, movies from the same category would be playing simultaneously in different theaters, leading to tough choices and snap judgments. This year’s schedule also allows more time between screenings to cut down on the mad dashing through the snow.
The festival has responded to criticism of substandard screening conditions by adding the new theater and making equipment and sight-line improvements in the other venues, which include hotel function rooms and a library auditorium.
One trend unlikely to be reversed is the crowds, which mob screenings from morning through midnight. Even the parties inevitably include fire marshals on the guest lists.
Last year’s attendance was about 13,000, the biggest ever. Gilmore said he expects this year’s to fall somewhere in the 13,000-15,000 range, but he hopes the increased theater capacity and additional volunteers will help alleviate the problem.
Festivalgoers often can avoid the crunch by seeing documentaries, though this year’s competition includes some relatively high-profile offerings: Penelope Spheeris’ “The Decline of Western Civilization, Part III,” which revisits the punk-rock scene 19 years after her first installment; “Wild Man Blues,” a chronicle of Woody Allen’s European jazz band tour from two-time Oscar winner Barbara Kopple (“Harlan County, U.S.A.”); and “Frank Lloyd Wright,” a look at the legendary architect co-directed by Ken Burns (“The Civil War”).
The premiere section includes new films from Tom DiCillo (“The Real Blonde”), Paul Schrader (“Affliction”) and David Mamet (“The Spanish Prisoner,” which debuted in Toronto). And it wouldn’t be Sundance without a Parker Posey comedy, “The Misadventures of Margaret.”
The competing Slamdance film festival once again will try to draw crowds from Sundance, this year with a 12-feature lineup of low-budget indies by first-time directors. Slumdance, last year’s tongue-in-cheek/seat-of-the-pants alternative, isn’t back, but yet another upstart festival is tooting its horn: Slamdunk, which will show 15 new independents in one of the Park City hotels.
Making calls on behalf of that festival was none other than Justin Henry, the Oscar-nominated kid from 1979’s “Kramer vs. Kramer.” He co-stars with Ally Sheedy in the Slamdunk film “Groupies.”
A PRIZE IN PARK CITY DOESN’T GUARANTEE BOX-OFFICE SUCCESS
Here’s how some of last year’s Sundance films fared in general release:
– “Sunday.” This quirky romance between a homeless man and an aging actress didn’t land a distribution deal until after winning the festival’s Grand Jury Prize. In limited release, it pulled in $436,000, including a below-average run at Chicago’s Music Box Theater.
– “In the Company of Men.” This gritty, shoestring-budget look at backstabbing and misogyny won Neil LaBute the Filmmakers Trophy yet wasn’t picked up by Sony Pictures Classics until after the festival. Standing out amid a late-summer indie blitz, it earned a healthy $3 million.
– “love jones.”Although not technically an indie — New Line financed and released it — debuting director Theodore Witcher’s Chicago-based love story shared the festival’s Audience Award and drew a respectable $12.5 million in general release.
– “Hurricane.” The other Audience Award winner, this tale of troubled New York kids was bought by MGM and, after delays, comes out Feb. 13 under the title “Hurricane Streets.”
– “The House of Yes.” Miramax picked up this quirky play adaptation at the festival for a reported $2 million, but despite Parker Posey’s stand-out performance (which netted her a special Sundance award) the movie drew a mere $670,000.
– “Ulee’s Gold.” Presented as the festival’s “Centerpiece Premiere,” Victor Nunez’s drama about a Florida beekeeper drew raves, Oscar talk for star Peter Fonda and a solid $8.7 million box office.
“Box of Moonlight.” Acquired at Sundance by TriMark for reportedly more than $2 million, this charmer by “Living in Oblivion” director Tom DiCillo earned just $800,000 in stiff competition.
“Chasing Amy.” Presented out of competition by Miramax, Kevin Smith’s acclaimed third movie boosted Ben Affleck and Joey Lauren Adams while reaping a respectable $12 million.
– “Kiss Me, Guido.” Paramount bought this gay-straight comedy with thoughts of another “Birdcage,” but it earned just $1.1 million.
– “Eye of God.” This haunting drama starring Martha Plimpton and Kevin Anderson drew little festival attention and no major distribution deal. It finally arrives in Chicago Jan. 30 to play a week at Facets Multimedia.
– “All Over Me” and “The Myth of Fingerprints.” Their studios hoped Sundance would propel these dramas, but neither won awards and both fizzled at the box office.
– “Going All the Way,” “Star Maps,” “Dream With the Fishes,” “The Last Time I Committed Suicide.” These Sundance acquisitions became theatrical roadkill.
– “The Full Monty.” This beloved British comedy had its world premiere at the festival, but no one really noticed. It subsequently broke overseas box-office records and pulled in $35.3 million here.
