Seeing Canadian heavy metal rockers Anvil take the stage Monday night with "surprise guests" Scott Ian of Anthrax and Slash was the perfect way to end a day that began with seeing the group in their darkest hour. The documentary "Anvil! The True Story of Anvil" has already gotten lots of attention here and here. I won't add to the film's synopsis except to say that seeing singer Steve "Lips" Kudlow attempting to rock out in some of Eastern Europe's most foreboding rock joints for no pay, then returning home to raise his child with a hopeful smile on his face was as anguishing as any invented Sundance-drama-type misfortunes I've yet seen.
If you ever watched "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster" and wondered what those guys would be like minus the scads of money they had to blow on life coaches, you get an answer with Anvil.
Reminiscent of a previous Sundance doc, "American Movie," Anvil's story is something we're preconditioned to snicker at. Who could resist rolling their eyes at some aging, balding, semi-anonymous metal dude trying desperately to achieve his dreams of rock demi-godhood? But no longer. Seeing "Anvil" should give anyone who ever perused a county fair performance lineup and mused "They're still performing?" reason to find newfound respect for the dedication involved.
The first Sundance baby of the year arrived early Monday morning, and it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Kim Roberts, the central figure in "Trouble the Water," the powerful competition documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, arrived in Park City, Utah, nine months and two weeks pregnant. The film had its Sundance premiere before an enthusiastic audience at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, and about 12 hours later, Roberts, who is here with her husband and a nurse, felt it was time to go to the hospital. A midnight ride down the mountain to Salt Lake City with co-directors Tia Lessen and Carl Deal ensued, and baby girl Skyy Kalien Roberts weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce, about six hours later. There are a million stories coming out of Sundance, but this one is one of a kind.
There are probably few journalists, probably few individuals period, who can inspire comments from characters ranging from former presidents and presidential hopefuls to ex-Hell's Angels leaders. But after watching the documentary "Gonzo: The Life and Work of Hunter S. Thompson," viewers should have a clear understanding of why this man and his work affected so many from a wide variety of lifestyles.
The film cobbled together comments from friends, ex-wives, politicians (Pat Buchanan, President Jimmy Carter, Sen. George McGovern) and co-workers. Then added a dash of Johnny Depp reading from Hunter's work and a splash of Hunter himself being irreverent.
The audience, mostly press since it was a press screening, chuckled throughout and nodded understandably as statement after starement reinforced how talented, courageous, and sometimes crazy he was. Historical footage from things like "The Dating Game" added other dimensions of his life to the collection.
If you're a fan, it's a great reaffirmation of his worth. If not, it provides a historical context for one of the country's most celebrated writers.
Got into my first screening tonight -- the premiere of writer-director Sharon Maguire's "Incendiary."
Michelle Williams stars as an unhappy working-class British mom (named in the credits as Young Mother), who is passionate about her son, but seems frustrated with her husband, who works on Scotland Yard's bomb squad and never seems quite present.
One night, she embarks on an affair with her hotshot journalist neighbor, played by Ewan McGregor. But in the midst of carrying on this affair, her world is destroyed when her son and husband are killed in a massive suicide bombing.
What follows veers uneasily between melodrama and thriller, with the melodrama elements being much stronger, thanks in large part to the heartbreaking performance of Williams as a woman wracked with equal parts guilt and anguish.
She finds herself being pursued by McGregor -- the shifty Lothario -- and her husband's awkward colleague, played by Matthew Macfadyen. She also finds herself drawn in a mothering way to the young son of the suicide bomber who killed her husband.
"Incendiary" is director Maguire's follow-up to "Bridget Jones' Diary," and one could see Williams' plight as the very-very-not-funny version of Bridget Jones -- she's surrounded by men who just aren't right for her. The title could also be used to describe a very explicit sex scene that occurs between McGregor and Williams early in the movie.
Reaction to the film, which was just complete on Friday, seemed to split down gender lines, with the female audience members I talked to gushing about how their maternal instincts kicked in when seeing Williams' aching love for her lost child, while their stoic boyfriends shrugged and mumbled platitudes about Williams' performance.
To say Elle Fanning's Sundance coming out party was well-received would be an understatement. On the tram ride back, groups were talking about tearful moments, scenes that angered them, and how they, as parents, were so connected to Bill Pullman and Felicity Huffman's characters' emotions when they dealt with their children.
"Phoebe in Wonderland" is about a little girl who, because of her strange ways, is an outcast among some of her schoolmates and a building problem at home. Despite being cast as Alice in the school play, Phoebe's actions and words continue to be a disruptive force in her life and the lives of anyone close.
All of the film's lead actors showed up for the screening, with Elle the center of attention. I finally got to speak to her! Video is to come, but when I asked what she planned to do here, seeing as how it's her second straight Sundance, she replied in a practiced but very excited tone, "See the opening of my movie!" Bill Pullman, on the other hand, recounted his craziest Sundance moments mentioning that they could involved 'urination.' More on that in the video. I hope to speak more with the stars in the afterparty. Going now!
Also on the tramride back, I stood next to the woman who I believe the Fanning sisters may imitate one day: Jodie Foster.
Phot: Getty Images (pictured: Patricia Clarkson, Elle Fanning, Felicity Huffman)
Showing up at Sundance midway through is a little bit like transferring high schools your junior year. By the time I arrive in Park City on Sunday afternoon, most people will already have found their cliques and formed their routines. Attendees zip on and off the shuttle buses with the nonchalance of lifelong Park City-ers, and everyone wants to tell you all about the movie they just walked out of. Meanwhile, I'm having trouble finding my hotel room and wishing I'd eaten a bigger breakfast.
At the Salt Lake City airport, I catch sight of my first Sundance celebrity. At least I think I do. I could swear that Cheech Marin is standing next to me at the luggage carousel, but when I turn back to get a better look, he has vanished. Maybe it's always like this with Cheech sightings.
One of the first films to get a 'buy' at Sundance, "Ballast" premiered to a very receptive crowd at the Racquet Club Theatre. The movie explores the effect one man's suicide has on the three people closest to him.
Director Lance Hammer and most of his cast and crew came onstage afterward for a Q&A session. The first-time director talked about the biggest challenge he faced (writing and dealing with "the demons in your own head"), shooting time ("I don't know. We would film and I would rewrite...") and his decision to use local first-time actors in many of the main roles (He wanted them to use "their own idioms, expressions and dialogue.")
The crowd included some Mississippians who were more than proud to see their home state on the big screen.
"It's my first Sundance, and it was just great to see a local film. And for it to have been done by all first-time actors was a great thing as well," said a female moviegoer from Mississippi.
One first-time actor, Michael J. Smith Jr., gained a lot of respect for the thespian profession after working on this film.
"It was hard going up and down emotionally, but it was fun." He also expanded on his Sundance experience, calling it a lot "different" from Mississippi.
Park City may draw the feckless filmmakers, stars and swag whores, but the festival premiere of “The Great Buck Howard” at the Rose Wagner Center in Salt Lake City brought out the PWGs (People With Gravitas).
Introductory remarks were delivered by none other than Jon Huntsman Jr., the Republican governor of Utah, who regaled the opening night crowd with boasts of the “impact” of the fest: 50,000 visitors from 35 countries bringing in $60 million to the state. Ka-ching! Looking dashing in a blazer and turtleneck, he also proudly proclaimed that this is the first year a filmmaking delegation from China was appearing at the festival and then thanked them for coming. . . in Mandarin.
It was a hard act for the film’s producer Tom Hanks to follow, but the “Charlie Wilson’s War” star was equal to the task. As the flash guns bathed him in white light, creating an almost saintly aura, Hanks cracked that although Huntsman wasn’t in the race at all, his position in the South Carolina primaries had just surged. “I might even vote for him,” Hanks added, tongue-in-cheekily.
In a rapid-fire monologue that reminded us what a truly witty man he is, Hanks trotted out the cast of the film produced by his production company Playtone: John Malkovich, Emily Blunt, Tom Arnold, Don (formerly Donnie) Most (fondly remember as Ralph Malph from "Happy Days") and a “man I have known for 30 years and every day he just gets better” — his son, Colin Hanks. (FYI: This is the first time the two Hanks have shared appreciable screen time, and while their scenes in this gently quirky comedy aren’t two-hanky dramatic, they do play father and son.)
Standing at the podium, Hanks concluded his remarks by tapping the top of the lectern and asking, “Is this going to be moved so the people in the cheap seats get to see the film?” As crickets chirped and no stagehand rose to the occasion, Hanks grabbed the sides of the lectern, found it surprisingly manageable and announced, “Oh, I’ll just do it myself,” dragging it into the wings and shouting “Enjoy the film!”
By this point in the festival two years ago, Fox Searchlight had wrapped up the final negotiations for the Sundance record-setting $10.5-million deal for “Little Miss Sunshine.” By early Saturday, there hadn’t been any sale remotely like it — let alone any news of a major acquisition. But buyers were starting to circle several well-received movies available for distribution.
The movie generating the most interest from acquisitions executives was “Sunshine Cleaning,” which stars Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters struggling to make ends meet in Albuquerque. The two decide to start a business that scrubs down crime and suicide scenes.
The second-hottest title so far was “The Wackness,” a comedy about a pot-dealing high school student (Josh Peck) and his eccentric, drug-addled therapist (Ben Kingsley). Among the buyers pursuing the movie was Harvey Weinstein, who showed up at the film’s ear-blasting after party.
The odds of producer Occupant Films and writer/director Jonathan Levine selling to Weinstein seem slim at best. The Weinstein Co. bought Occupant and Levine’s “All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, but then tried to ditch the movie in what was essentially a direct-to-video release. Occupant was able to find a new “Mandy Lane” distributor, and Senator Entertainment plans to release the acclaimed thriller this spring.
Other Sundance movies drawing distributor attention were “The Great Buck Howard” and “Bottle Shock.”
Something was fractured in "The Broken." The midnght screening played to a packed house at the Egyptian, with many turned away and others looking to buy tickets from anyone not attending. I actually tried to give mine away when I found that I could get in with my press pass, but the cold had driven away the few people that stood outside waiting with signs. Oh well.
The sci-fi thriller starred "300" star and Sarah Connor herself, Lena Headey, as a woman who believes that she is being hunted by beings, including a copy of herself, that come from a dimension on the other side of the mirror. They've seemingly taken over her family and friends, and now they're coming for her -- or are they?
Great idea, but as one person put it afterwards, "never explained." The constant broken mirrors became a theme, and all the horror cliches of people going where they shouldn't and not looking where they obviously should, were all represented.
Problem was, despite the suspense and the sometimes overpowering scary music, most went away from the film not knowing what had happened at the end. Oh, there were theories galore, but confusion seemed to be the overall theme.
Guess the fiction overwrote the science a little too much. Audience reaction video follows ...
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The first Sundance baby of the year arrived early Monday morning, and it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Kim Roberts, the central figure in "Trouble the Water," the powerful competition documentary about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, arrived in Park City, Utah, nine months and two weeks pregnant. The film had its Sundance premiere before an enthusiastic audience at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, and about 12 hours later, Roberts, who is here with her husband and a nurse, felt it was time to go to the hospital. A midnight ride down the mountain to Salt Lake City with co-directors Tia Lessen and Carl Deal ensued, and baby girl Skyy Kalien Roberts weighed in at 7 pounds, 1 ounce, about six hours later. There are a million stories coming out of Sundance, but this one is one of a kind.
