(Corrects name of FilmDistrict exec in 17th para)
* “Don Jon,” “Lovelace,” “Look of Love” among sex-themed
films
* “jOBS” to close out film festival
* Film buyer says this year’s Sundance is more “uplifting”
By Piya Sinha-Roy
LOS ANGELES, Jan 16 (Reuters) – Movie executives and
first-time directors trudging through the snow this year at the
Sundance Film Festival in Utah will find tales of pornography
and sex addiction awaiting them, in a trend to show more skin at
Robert Redford’s annual film showcase.
Showing in theaters alongside the Steve Jobs biopic “jOBS,”
festival goers can catch a movie about porn star Linda Lovelace,
played by Amanda Seyfried in “Lovelace,” and British soft porn
publishing magnate Paul Raymond, played by Steve Coogan in
Michael Winterbottom’s “The Look of Love.”
“Sexuality and sexual relationships are an area that people
are naturally interested in but it has been so taboo that there
haven’t been a lot of films that get into the complexities of
it,” Trevor Groth, the festival’s director of programming, told
Reuters.
“Now those audiences are hungry for them,” he added,
“and filmmakers are feeling confident that there’s an audience
for those stories.”
One of the hotly anticipated premieres is comedy “Don Jon’s
Addiction,” actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut about
a porn addict who tries to change his ways. It opens on Friday.
Gordon-Levitt, who plays the title role leads a star-studded
cast including Scarlett Johansson and Julianne Moore, who play
two women who help the porn addict become less selfish.
In its 35th year, the annual Sundance Film Festival, held in
the snowy streets of Park City, Utah, has become a launch pad
for low-budget films and unknown stars in films that need
investors.
Co-founded in 1978 by actor-director Redford, this year’s
119 films were culled from 12,000 submissions. The ten-day
festival, starting on Jan. 17, showcases the films in
competitions and low-key premieres that serve as an antidote to
Hollywood’s glittering awards season.
Sundance has also become a more star-studded affair. This
year’s roster is expected to bring A-listers such as Nicole
Kidman and Jacki Weaver, who star in the mysterious thriller
“Stoker,” and Naomi Watts in the passionate drama “Two Mothers.”
Even in death, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is the festival’s
biggest star. The biography “jOBS, starring Ashton Kutcher as
the entrepreneur, claimed the coveted spot closing the festival.
It was selected in part because festival organizers wanted
to take advantage of the late computer executive’s enduring
popularity, said Sundance director John Cooper. It didn’t hurt
that the film is already selling well with buyers, he added.
Gordon-Levitt, 31, is no stranger to Sundance, having
featured in festival entries such as “Brick” in 2005 and more
recently the indie comedy “(500) Days of Summer,” which went on
to become a box office hit in 2009.
“Sundance is more than a festival, or even an institution.
It’s a community,” the actor said in an email. “Whether making
films or watching them, Sundance folks have a deep love of
cinema.”
The festival helped catapult the former child star into
mainstream movie roles such as “The Dark Knight Rises” and
“Inception.” His next film is the noir thriller “Sin City: A
Dame to Kill For,” alongside Clive Owen and Jessica Alba.
SEX SELLS AT “UPLIFTING” SUNDANCE
Gordon-Levitt’s “Don Jon” leads a slate of films about
pornography, adult entertainment and sexual relationships.
Actor James Franco, a co-star in “Lovelace,” is bringing two
sexually charged films – the documentary “kink,” which will play
in the festival’s midnight slot, and S&M; film “Interior. Leather
Bar.,” which will complete in the New Frontiers Films slot,
which showcases underground films and multimedia projects.
The diverse roster of films appeals to buyers, said Lia
Buman, executive vice president of acquisitions at independent
film company FilmDistrict. She said “In A World,” actress Lake
Bell’s directorial debut about a vocal coach’s attempt to become
a star, was getting “unbelievable buzz.”
“Each Sundance seems to have themes and this one seems to
have a more sexual coming-of-age trend … a theme is either
uplifting or challenging, and this one, it seems like they’ve
chosen a more uplifting list,” Buman told Reuters.
Sex isn’t just reserved for the feature film categories, as
director Freida Mock’s “Anita” explores the impact of Anita
Hill’s allegations in 1991 of sexual harassment against
then-U.S. Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas.
Documentary directors will also use the Sundance platform to
shine a spotlight on bigger social issues, such as economic
inequality, a topic that organizers believe would resonate
closely with Americans after last year’s presidential debates.
The widening income gap in America is explored by economic
policy expert Robert Reich in “Inequality for All,” while “99% –
The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film,” delves into the
Occupy Wall Street movement.
The documentary roster will also feature R.J. Cutler’s film
“The World According to Dick Cheney,” which profiles the former
U.S. vice president, and Alex Gibney’s “We Steal Secrets: The
Story of Wikileaks,” about the new era of information
transparency.
“All the films have a certain fearlessness to all the
subjects they take on,” Cooper said. “That’s what we’re drawn
to, the originality of a story.”
(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Edited by Ronald Grover and
Christopher Wilson)
