Is 'Anvil' strong enough to sell?

The Sundance buyers' market opened late Thursday, with a special screening of "Anvil! The Story of Anvil," a documentary about a 1980s Canadian heavy metal band that never made it big but kept on rocking regardless. Festival programmers privately said they believe it could be one of the festival's more commercial titles, and buyers were trying to gauge how strong audience interest might be, which is especially tricky as the documentary market has been weak. Two of last year's biggest documentary sales, "My Kid Could Paint That" and "In the Shadow of the Moon," failed to do much business at movie theaters.

Friday opened with light snow and an equally cool reaction to "Good Dick." All of the major buyers -- Fox Searchlight, Miramax, etc. -- were on hand for the 11:30 a.m. screening of a movie about a sexually confused woman and the video store clerk determined to break through her emotional problems. But several buyers said after the screening that it was a tough sell and made plans for sales screenings ("The Great Buck Howard," "The Wackness") later in the day.

--John Horn

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[ANVIL ROCKER]

ANVIL!!! ANVIL!!! ANVIL!!!! ANVIL ROCKS!!!