Category Archives: Scene

It’s A Buyer’s Market; Sundance Films For Sale

It’s not the floor of the NY stock exchange but the buying is brisk in Park City this week as film distributors, filmmakers and acquisitions departments hustle to find the next “Beasts of the Southern Wild.”

After the slew of 2013 Oscar nominees that came from last year’s Sundance pool in the best documentary category, it was expected that distributors would have their eyes on the documentaries.    HBO Films has just purchased Pussy Riot- the film that chronicles the story of the radical, feminist punk rock band that went to jail after a Moscow performance. This becomes the fifth documentary purchase so far after Twenty Feet From Stardom (Radius), Dirty Wars (Sundance Selects), The Summit (Sundance Selects) and History of the Eagles (Showtime) sold early this week.  Michael Winterbottom’s “The Look of Love,” was the first dramatic feature sold do far at Sundance. It premiered last Saturday night at the Eccles Theatre. 

Free Sundance Fest Tours Courtesy HP

I just got stopped on the street and invited into the HP Tent for some live music. Must have been my new doo from the DoveColorCare popup salon that’s winding down today at the TR Suites Gifting Lounge. But actually, the tent is open to anyone! It’s yet another opportunity for the general public to participate in Sundance. HP is serving fresh hot cocoa and offering free “Festival Tours” to “enhance your Sundance experience”. Guides leave from the tent at 10 a.m. and noon every day and walk you all over Main Street to show you the inner workings of the Fest venues and offer a low-key introduction to the mayhem.

If you already know your way around, hang out at the tent and take in some excellent live music. The spot next to the Kimball Art Center has been rocking all weekend. This morning it’s a new rock band out of Vancouver, B.C. called Lift Off. But you”ll never know what you’re going to hear and like throughout the day so make the HP Live Tent a regular stop on your own Fest tour. Not to mention that the location has the best WiFi hotspot I’ve found in Park City so far.

 

Catdance at Sundance

Is it really almost 3 a.m.? I’m finally in bed. The night ended with a brilliantly themed party at the Sundance Channel Headquarters at the top of Main Street in Park City. Hosted by AnnaLynne McCord, the “skinny bitch” from the CW’s 90210, Catdance drew a huge crowd to celebrate Fresh Step Litter’s feline film fest. The event goes beyond YouTube cats getting cute. It celebrates the best original, scripted cat short films.

I have a cat. I get it. People are passionate about their pusses; passionate enough to make movies about them and now they have a chance to make $10 thousand off them.

Fresh Step selected five films from a nationwide search, and premiered them last night. The finalists were then awarded with a golden scoop. The contest, however, has just begun as Fresh Step wants you to vote for the winner. There’s “Catalogue,” a short about a couple who order a bedroom set and it comes with the cat in the catalog picture; a mock biography of an aging YouTube cat sensation called “Fallen Star,” an animated film that brought tears to our eyes called “Dear Rocky,” a how-to video called “A Cat’s Guide To Caring For A Human,” and a story that shows cat love defies stereotypes in “A Change of Heart.”

Each film has its own charm but the standout was “Fallen Star”. Funny, charming, clever; the story of a cat who has lost his fan base is a tongue-in-cheek allegory for every one-hit wonder ever farmed by YouTube – or Hollywood for that matter.

To screen all of the Catdance finalists and cast a ballot for the viewer’s choice award, visit www.freshstep.com Jan. 20 through Feb. 28, 2013.  All voters will have a chance to win great prizes, including the limited-edition cat hat gifted at last night’s party.

Catdance hat

The hat, designed by Sunghee Bang, is popcorn knit in a black and grey stripe complete with two pointy cat ears. It can be a bit itchy if you are sensitive to wool but otherwise it’s adorable. If you want one of your own go to www.aspcaonlinestore.com to purchase for $39.99. One hundred percent of the purchase price will benefit the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

Catdance at Sundance

Is it really almost 3 a.m.? I’m finally in bed. The night ended with a brilliantly themed party at the Sundance Channel Headquarters at the top of Main Street in Park City. Hosted by AnnaLynne McCord, the “skinny bitch” from the CW’s 90210, Catdance drew a huge crowd to celebrate Fresh Step Litter’s feline film fest. The event goes beyond YouTube cats getting cute. It celebrates the best original, scripted cat short films. I have a cat. I get it. People are passionate about their pusses; passionate enough to make movies about them and now they have a chance to make $10 thousand off them.

Fresh Step selected five films from a nationwide search, and premiered them last night. The finalists were then awarded with a golden scoop. The contest, however, has just begun as Fresh Step wants you to vote for the winner. There’s “Catalogue,” a short about a couple who order a bedroom set and it comes with the cat in the catalog picture; a mock biography of an aging YouTube cat sensation called “Fallen Star,” an animated film that brought tears to our eyes called “Dear Rocky,” a how-to video called “A Cat’s Guide To Caring For A Human,” and a story that shows cat love defies stereotypes in “A Change of Heart.”

Each film has its own charm but the standout was “Fallen Star”. Funny, charming, clever; the story of a cat who has lost his fan base is a tongue-in-cheek allegory for every one-hit wonder ever farmed by YouTube – or Hollywood for that matter.

To screen all of the Catdance finalists and cast a ballot for the viewer’s choice award, visit www.freshstep.com Jan. 20 through Feb. 28, 2013.  All voters will have a chance to win great prizes, including the limited-edition cat hat gifted at last night’s party.

Catdance hat

The hat, designed by Sunghee Bang, is popcorn knit in a black and grey stripe complete with two pointy cat ears. It can be a bit itchy if you are sensitive to wool but otherwise it’s adorable. If you want one of your own go to www.aspcaonlinestore.com to purchase for $39.99. One hundred percent of the purchase price will benefit the ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).

The List, The Parties, The Pomp at Sundance 2013

My feet throb. I hit the ground trudging yesterday after picking up my Sundance Press Pass. The credential gets me into films. My moxie gets me into everything else. And for me, Sundance is mostly “everything else.”

Parties, gifting houses, elaborate VIP dinners transform Park City’s Main Street into this urban Hollywood movie set. It’s a 10-day infusion of fashion, style and attitude that Utah rarely sees the rest of the year. Where people dressed in black crawl over each other while talking or texting on cell phones, trying to make it to some gallery or restaurant that’s been converted into a VIP lounge. (BTW, if you don’t have a black puffy you’re slacking. I got mine from Timberland at last year’s Sundance.)

Variety Lounge

IMG_1401Speaking of which, the regular cast of characters have returned- Village at the Lift, Grey Goose Lounge, TR Suites, Eco Hideaway, Fender Music Lodge, Sundance Channel HQ, Variety, AFI, Samsung, Sorel, Stella Artois Lounge, Oakley/Hyde Lounge, Chefdance- with some noticeable exceptions. Bye Bye Bing Bar although Bing is still a Fest sponsor. So long Timberland and Gibson; and the Fred Segal swag suite has yet to return as the premier gifting spot. TR Suites has subsequently supplanted them, offering an innovative mix of glam and technology that changes every year.

[youtube=http://youtu.be/npWa3FwUpjU]

We also have some newcomers to the scene – The Zen Den for holistic retreating, the PAX cabin, Google +, the Rock and Rally, The RedTouch Media Lounge, and the Social Lodge; some companies had such a great time last year, they beefed up their presence (Udi’s Gluten Free Foods, Miami Lounge), and others like House of Minerva and Saga skiwear who got their start at smaller pop-ups like the Flight Boutique on Main have joined up with some of the bigger Lounges.

But the one thing everyone will agree on is that Sundance is late this year. Maybe because the Christmas break went late into January?

The spaces were rented with only a few days to spare. Many VIP invitations didn’t go out until the week of the Film Fest. As proof, Chris Ryan’s notorious “List” of parties and lounges that is kept under super stealth, password protection and non- downloadable form debuted just last week with only about half the projected shindigs listed along with RSVP names and emails. “No one was ready,” said Ryan who runs the film promotions firm Oceanside Entertainment. Being late to plan your lounge or party could spell what’s akin to death in the PR biz- an empty house. “It’s hard to get people there if no one knows about it,” explains Ryan. “That’s if you can even open. There are payments to make, city approvals to get. Thirty additional venues could have happened if they had sponsorship.”

Ryan’s seven-year-old List benefits sponsors because they get the right people in the door. “People started depending on me,” he said.

sundance-2009-82

Chris Ryan is the one to know when it comes to Sunadancing.

Press who cover parties not film, film publicists, talent publicists and their celebs are the only ones access to the List. Last year, Ryan had the Bing List, sponsored by, duh, Bing. It was this mysterious Holy Grail of access. The minute someone shared it with a plebe, it was yanked off the internet and a new password created for only the worthy to see. Ryan will sometimes put fake parties on the List so the RSVP goes back to him and he can check to see if that person should have had the List in the first place.

The List lists only VIP and extremely private parties and they’re rarely events officially sponsored by Sundance. If the general public can pay to get in it’s not on the list. Sundance hates this form of “ambush marketing”. They’ve spent thousands of dollars putting on a world-class film festival and they have a right to get proprietary. They ask a lot of their sponsors and, here, other companies come in and benefit from the exposure without giving a cent to the Sundance Institute.

But the reality is that indie filmmakers don’t have that kind of money Sundance asks from their sponsors and yet someone has to pay for that promotional party that could attract acquisitions and buyers, said Ryan. “They find ‘unofficial’ sponsors who can reap the benefit of celebrity and press attention.”  Unfortunately, for us media types a story is a story no matter who sponsors what. So yes, my feet hurt, my arms are heavy and my eyes tired. This Sundance VIP thing is grueling. Cue fake whine. Fade out.

So now you know.  🙂

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