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Sundance: ‘My Idiot Brother’ Heats Up; Kevin Smith Bummed, Morgan Spurlock Sells Out; Roger Corman Blows Up

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Sunday January 23, 2011 @ 7:29am PSTTags: 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 2011 Sundance Films, Corman's World, Kevin Smith, Morgan Spurlock, Movies, My Idiot Brother, Paul Rudd, Red State Premiere, Roger Corman, Sundance Film Festival
Mike Fleming

In other Sundance news… The action on the Paul Rudd comedy My Idiot Brother began right after the premiere screening finished. The two parties chasing it hardest were Relativity Media and The Weinstein Company, with talk of a third bidder as well. The discussions were still taking shape around 2 AM, and the feeling was the film had a good shot to reach $5 million. Reaction to the film was that it was more heartfelt than broad comedy, and some of the players looking for a can’t miss wide release weren’t biting…

The unfortunate timing of Sunday’s Red State premiere –it starts right around the beginning of the fourth quarter of the New York Jets-Pittsburgh Steelers AFC Championship game created misunderstanding between director Kevin Smith and partner Jon Gordon over a football viewing party organized by Harvey Weinstein, but Harvey was quick to make it clear he was there to show love for the filmmaker he launched with Clerks. Smith and Gordon, who named their Harvey Boys banner for Weinstein, felt this way, according to an insider: “Kevin and Jon feel like the kids whose dad doesn’t show up for their baseball game because he went to a strip bar with the guys from the office instead.” Weinstein told me that despite the party, he never planned to miss Smith’s film. And brother Bob flew out to see it also. Harvey, a big Jets fan, explained, and took a shot at rival Steelers. “I never thought there would be a reason for the Steelers to even be on the field by halftime,” he told me. “I’d always planned to leave by the end of the first half to see Kevin’s movie.” Smith still plans to auction the film in front of the premiere audience, and if he walks out with a deal, it will be a welcome respite to all the other deals slow to close…

Sporting an outfit that looked a hybrid between black tie and a NASCAR driver’s uniform, director Morgan Spurlock had happily sold out as he mingled with the sponsors of his latest documentary. The film’s title was revealed after its premiere, and it takes the product placement theme to its ultimate conclusion. The film’s called POM Wonderful Presents: The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, with POM putting up $1 million of a $1.5 million budget that came entirely from sponsorships that are all over the movie. Pic is a humorous docu based on an idea that grew in Spurlock’s mind after he watched an episode of Heroes, when Hayden Panetierre’s cheerleader character was gifted by her father a Nissan automobile. The blatant plug triggered Spurlock’s sponsorship campaign to mount a movie that, despite some unabashed whoring, delivers a message. Spurlock wore a black suit—designed by Ted Baker–that was embroidered with not only the film’s logo, but logos from numerous sponsors that included Jet Blue and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts. They were among a litany of sponsors ranging from Sheetz Convenience Stores to Ban Deodorant that paid up. Brand reps, who saw the movie for the first time Saturday, took the stage at the film’s conclusion. Spurlock, who lacerated the fast food industry with Super Size Me, isn’t down on product placements at all. In an age where viewers fast forward through commercials, it is a necessary evil that “can be a way to empower artists,” he said. Oh, yeah, Spurlock said he will absolutely wear his sponsored suit to the Oscars if the film got a nomination…

Legendary low-budget producer producer Roger Corman had an army of vocal supporters cheering him during the midnight premiere of the Alex Stapleton-directed Corman’s World. Corman took the stage and showed he’s not slowing down. He’ll continue to explore the hybrid toothy creature genre that began with Sharktopus, prepping a new one called Piranhaconda. The crowd-pleasing documentary had a litany of Corman colleagues who regaled with tales of Roger’s passion for not spending money, and for blowing shit up. Among those giving humorous testimony: Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese and Jack Nicholson—who actually became overcome and cried while expressing his love for the filmmaker…

While Sundance films have been slow to close, premiere tickets sure are selling. On Craigslist, there was a $100 asking price for a ticket to last night’s premiere of the Lee Tamahori-directed The Devil’s Double, about the man forced to become body double for Saddam Hussein’s brutal son Uday. Dominic Cooper plays both roles and his work is being hailed as a breakout performance, even though buyers tell me the torture and violence scenes are tough to watch.

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SUNDANCE OVERVIEW From Mike Fleming: Is Dealmaking Avalanche In The Forecast? Handicapping The High Priority Acquisitions

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Thursday January 20, 2011 @ 1:23pm PSTTags: 2011 Sundance Dealmaking, 2011 Sundance Film Festival, 2011 Sundance Films, Becoming Chaz, Corman's World, Knuckle Documentary, Movies, Project Nim, Sundance Film Deals, Sundance Film Festival, Take Shelter Distribution, The Music Never Stopped Rights
Mike Fleming

PARK CITY, UTAH: The acquisitions crowd rolls into the 2011 Sundance Film Festival today with a sense of optimism that dealmaking could pick up where it left off at the Toronto Film Festival last fall. On paper, the signs are encouraging: new buyers and hungry established distributors; plenty of titles with name casts and intriguing plot lines; and a sense of urgency created by sellers bold enough not to prescreen titles for buyers. Several that did screen early wound up with pre-festival deals. Roadside Attractions bought the Grateful Dead-themed drama The Music Never Stopped; Sony Pictures Classics’ bought Take Shelter, sight unseen, as SPC read a script and gambled on the elements; OWN acquired the documentary Becoming Chaz; HBO bought the documentary Project Nim and will sell feature rights; and A&E IndieFilms bought TV rights to Corman’s World. Not to mention that Knuckle, a documentary about two families in Ireland that periodically engages in bare knuckle brawls because of a long simmering dispute, has more than one suitor circling remake rights after CAA sent DVDs because bootlegs already were making the rounds.

There is optimism about the indie business in general right now. Indie films have made a strong awards season showing, with 2010 Sundance films The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone and Blue Valentine in the mix for acting categories at least. Buyers and sellers said the indie business is past its painful bottoming-out phase of the last few years. A leaner, smarter model has emerged and while minimum guarantees and P&A commitments are smaller than years past, filmmakers are keeping their budgets at sensible levels. They’re still drawing stars attracted to provocative material. There were also enough success stories from last year to stoke the fire. “You had this period of too much financing, and over production that left too many movies looking for distribution,” said WME Global’s Graham Taylor. “We saw things stabilize in 2010 and we will see growth in 2011. Demand has definitely picked up, and there are new distributors and players coming in.” Added UTA’s Rena Ronson: “We’ve gone through the slates of the major buyers, and there are major holes. Every major buyer has told us they need films.”

There could well be bidding battles on several fronts this year. There is a bumper crop of buyers looking for product that can open on between 1,500 to 2,000 screens. After absorbing Overture Films, Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media, and Peter Schlessel and Bob Berney’s FilmDistrict fall in step with a reinvigorated Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight, Summit, Lionsgate, Focus and CBS Films. The question: will any of the Sundance films justify spending the $20 million or more in P&A required to support that kind of release? Dark Castle thought it had such a candidate last year when it committed $25 million in P&A to the horror film Splice, only to see it gross about that much, worldwide. Despite this, several horror titles are high priorities for distributors because they can be opened wide.

All of those players but FilmDistrict will be on the prowl for the specialty films that most of the festival films fall into. Sony Pictures Classics, IFC, Anchor Bay, Roadside Attractions and others that stepped up at Toronto last fall are also expected to be aggressive on films that can be platformed, and widened if audiences respond. “There is clearly a strong market for platform films,” said CAA agent Micah Green. “Those titles can bring their distributors both prestige and profit. Also, the lower cost of entry into platform distribution makes it attractive for independent companies who lack the capital to open films wide.‬‪ ‬We have seen a surge in ancillary value for star-driven specialty films. That was the primary driver for the quick pace of business in Toronto — star talent is very attractive for buyers focused on VOD, DVD, digital distribution and cable outlets. There’s a bullishness on the distribution side of the market. You can feel it‬.”

After checking with several major buyers, here are the films most often identified as priority targets:

MY IDIOT BROTHER - The  Jesse Peretz-directed comedy stars Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer.  Rudd plays a guy who, after serving time for pot dealing, moves in with each of his three sisters as he tries to get back on his feet. His best intentions quickly bring the family to the cusp of chaos and ultimately the brink of clarity.

THE SON OF NO ONE - The Dito Montiel-directed drama stars Channing Tatum, Al Pacino, Katie Holmes, Tracy Morgan, Ray Liotta and Juliette Binoche. Two men in post-9/11 New York are forced to relive two murders they committed as young boys. Their lives start to unravel by the threat of the revelation. Read More »

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