Sundance Opening Weekend Gets Snow, Stars, and Deals @SudanceFest

| Jan 23, 2012

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A blizzard hit Park City this weekend, covering slopes and Sundancers in a blanket of fresh powder.  The snow’s probably great news for the ski resort community, and didn’t appear to slow down any of the film-related festivities even the slightest bit.

Opening weekend parties at the Sundance Film Festival were flooded with celebs from the A-List down to the D-List (we’re looking at you, Paris) which included festival patriarch Robert Redford, Sigourney Weaver, Richard Gere, Liv Tyler, William H. Macy, and Lil John.  Rapper Drake and comedian Anziz Anzari DJ’d a notable party that kept the roof raised well into the morning hours.  I’m guessing that walking around Park City during Sundance week is like being on the set of The Player.

The snowfall failed to prevent a flurry of business deals as well.  In the opening weekend of the festival, a blizzard of films have already been bought & sold.  Searching for Sugar Man is a documentary with such an unbelievable story that it almost seems scripted.  It’s about a 70′s Rock icon who’s onstage suicide left some fans with a mystery to unravel.  It also has a great twist (that I’ve already spoiled for myself, so I won’t spoil it for you).  The folks at Sony Pictures Classics reportedly scooped this one up after it produced teary-eyed audiences and standing ovations all over the place.

Also, I’ve just learned that Slash (yes, Slash of Guns N Roses) loves horror movies and has decided to use his fame and wealth for evil, producing his own “Slasher” flicks.  His first project, titled Nothing to Fear, was picked up this weekend and will start shooting next month according to The Hollywood Reporter.  Incidentally, THR also broke news that the Bradley Cooper flick The Words (which was mentioned in my Sundance lead-up article) has been sold to CBS films and Black Rock was sold to LD Entertainment.  Black Rock sounds to me like Deliverance in 2012 with Kate Bosworth and Kate Aselton replacing Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight.

It’s only the 23rd, so Sundance trudges on through the fresh powder for another 6 days, culminating on Sunday.  The way things are going, we can expect there to be plenty more action as it moves forward.  We’ll be here Hounding the hell out of it, reporting the latest.

Filed Under: Festivals • Film

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About the Author: Matt hails from Boston and has a background in Film and Writing. As weather phenomena go, he prefers earthquakes to Nor'easters these days, so he's currently residing in the East Bay. He produced a feature film called "Night Sounds" after graduating from Emerson College, which premiered at a film festival in Massachusetts. Matt continues to write screenplays and work in the film community, while working as a freelance copywriter, editor, and part-time member of the Hound.