In 1978 an offbeat film school graduate named Sterling Van Wagenen came up with a plan to help independent filmmakers reach wider audiences with their projects. The idea was to lure Hollywood's business elite to the mountains, where the Utah/US Film Festival would screen a retrospective of classic American cinema, hold panel discussions, and host a friendly competition.

Wagenen ran the festival haphazardly, and after the first year the board found itself $40,000 in debt. But sitting at its head was Lola Redford, Robert's wife and Wagenen's cousin. And over the next ten years helped grow the festival's name and move it from Salt Lake City to Park City, where Sundance still resides. And then, in 1988, a Park City bus driver named Steven Soderbergh screened his first film, sex, lies and videotape, sparking a studio bidding war and transformed an eccentric rural film festival into Hollywood's least-kept secret.

Nowadays, millions of dollars change hands over hot cocoa in ski lodges, all in the hopes that studios will release the next Little Miss Sunshine. This week marks the 30th anniversary of Sundance, and a lot has changed.

Continue reading "Sundance: What Happened?" »

It's hard to believe that the Golden Globes red carpet ceremonies will not be televised. It seems so 1947, so prehistoric. And even if NBC does end up broadcasting the ceremony, the Screen Actors Guild has officially stated that its members will not attend. That means no George Clooney, no James McAvoy, and no Denzel Washington. But before you despair, take heart. Those three stellar contenders for Best Actor met with Shootout hosts Peter Bart and Peter Guber. That means that while you might not get to hear them thank their agent, their mother, and God, you will get to hear what they actually thought about the films and performances in contention. A complete list of the nominees in the major award categories follows as well as links to AMC's relevant video interviews.

Continue reading "The Golden Boys of the Golden Globes" »

The Golden Globes have become such a constant feature on the road to the Oscars that recent rumors (reported today by the New York Times) of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association's annual gala being shut down by the threat of a few thousand picketing writers have turned the industry on its head. Will Steven Spielberg receive his Cecil B. DeMille Award without any fanfare? Will the entire affair be webcast or, worse yet, proceed without any form of broadcast at all? Will the WGA strike end in time—namely, Sunday, January 13? Talk about a cliffhanger. And the nominees for Best Drama are...

John Pearson's "Painfully Rich: The Outrageous Fortune and Misfortunes of the Heirs of J. Paul Getty" will be adapted for the screen by Robin Shushan, with Peter Berg (The Kingdom) set to direct.

The 1995 nonfiction book has a broader scope than the film, which will focus on the kidnapping of J. Paul Getty III, the oil billionaire's grandson.

The 16-year-old was abducted in July of 1973; his Calabrian kidnappers demanded $17 million in ransom. When October rolled around and the Getty patriarch still hadn't coughed up the cash, the kidnappers sliced off the teen's ear. That didn't sway Grandpa either, so the kidnappers reduced the ransom to a more palatable $3.2 million, which Getty reluctantly paid.  The boy was finally released in December.

 Diana B. Henriques' "New York Times" review called the Getty fortune "a dynasty founded on the seven deadly sins" (I see evidence mostly of greed and lust), and faulted the book for its "purple prose and unconvincing pop psychology."

Pearson has also written biographies of the literary Sitwell family, Winston Churchill, Edward VII and, um, James Bond.

The DreamWorks Tintin trilogy, due out in 2009, will be scripted by British television writer Steven Moffat (Jekyll, Dr. Who, Coupling).

Peter Jackson and Stephen Spielberg are each slated to direct a film in the trilogy; a third director has yet to be announced.

The beloved comic series on which the new films will be based, "The Adventures of Tintin," was created by Belgian artist Herge (real name: Georges Remi) and debuted in the newspaper "Le Vingtieme Siecle" on January 10th, 1929.

Tintin is an investigative reporter who travels to exotic locales like Tibet, Peru and even the moon, always  accompanied by his dog, Snowy. Joined by a gang of colorful supporting characters, the 23 complete stories have been adapted into films, television shows and video games several times over.

The Tintin trilogy will employ performance-capture technology, which will be familiar to viewers of Monster House and The Polar Express.

MGM is marshaling the forces of YouTube and Google to publicize Lions for Lambs, which opens November 9th and stars Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, who directed.

In the tradition of 'make your own commercials' (for everything from ketchup to cars) and 'ask the candidates a question' (your turn, Republicans), MGM has launched a "What Do You Stand For?" contest, calling for 90 second videos on the social issues people care most about.  So far, you can watch impassioned pleas to adopt a shelter animal, recycle, preserve wildlife, and allow same-sex marriage.

Visitors to the site can upload submissions and vote for their favorite entries. The most popular video will be announced on the film's opening day, with $25,000 going to the winner's charity of choice.

MGM's senior vice president of theatrical marketing, Amy Elkins, told Variety, "We really wanted to bring out the themes of the movie and tell a story in a relevant way. To do that, we wanted to look at the widest platform we could and build a community around the film’s message, namely 'What do you stand for?'"

In addition to building a community, MGM would probably also like to sell some tickets.

Connie Britton, one of the stars of The Last Winter, the just-released Larry Fessenden film, was interviewed on the radio program "Fair Game" last night. Britton played Sharon Gaines in the film Friday Night Lights (she appears in the television series as well). Her first film was indie fave The Brothers McMullen.

Host Faith Salie called The Last Winter "The Shining for environmentalists" (heeeeere's global warming!) and Britton concurred: "That's a great description...I've been calling it an environmental ghost story."

Friday Night Lights notwithstanding, Britton said she was not a football fan, and furthermore, she also wasn't "a big horror fan per se, but this movie is so interesting to me, and it was such a passion project for Larry...it's really a commentary on what we're doing to our earth and just suppose the earth really...came back and decided to have a little vengeance!"

But she noted that although recently seeing the final cut of The Last Winter "really creeped me out," it isn't truly a horror film, anyway, and it has much to offer an audience beyond the considerable scares. Shot in Iceland, "the photography in that movie is some of the most beautiful photography I've seen anywhere. It is just breathtaking, those Icelandic landscapes."

So, go for the thrills, stay for the vistas.

CBS President and CEO Leslie Moonves has named Amy Baer to head that company's film division. Baer has been the Executive Vice President for Production at Columbia Pictures since 1998; films under her supervision there include My Best Friend's Wedding, Adaptation and Something's Gotta Give.

Baer, currently Number 44 on the Hollywood Reporter's  "Women in Entertainment Power 100," told that publication that "Leslie Moonves really wants a film division that makes a wide range of films for a broad spectrum of the audience. That's historically what I've always wanted to do. I'm a bit of a generalist. I've never specialized in one kind of movie. She said she intends "to have something in production within the next 12-18 months. 

CBS Films is six months old, and plans are in place for the unit to put out four to six theatrical releases a year. 

Noah Baumbach's new film, Margot at the Wedding, screens at the New York Film Festival on October 7th and 8th (the festival starts Thursday and runs through October 14th). Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh play sisters who spend a (very dysfunctional – you've seen The Squid and the Whale, right?) weekend together. Adding to the usual complications present on any film set, Baumbach and Leigh are husband and wife, and this is the first project they've worked on as a couple.

It certainly sounds like a true team effort. In an interview with New York Magazine, Baumbach said, "I show Jennifer every draft...It's not as if I’m writing a page and ripping it off and reading it to her—but it's a natural outgrowth of everything else we do."

Leigh remembered, "I was so excited to work with him as an actress. It was wonderful, just talking about scripts and film and all of that. When he's given me notes, they've always been good and specific. So I was excited to show off for him in a way—for him to see how easy I am to work with, what a pro I am, you know? I'm not a complain-y girl. I love the work, and I'm really serious, but I’m also easygoing. I couldn’t wait for him to see that side of me."

Last Tuesday, Viacom chief executive Philippe P. Dauman spoke at an investment conference at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. He praised his company's acquisition of DreamWorks and said of that company's co-founder, "Now, we have Steven Spielberg in the house as part of the deal. He's currently working on 'Indiana Jones,' a Paramount movie, which is releasing next year. We're doing everything possible to make him happy."

But Dauman also referred to speculation that Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner David Geffen would exit the company when their contracts expire late next year, saying that the financial impact on Paramount and Viacom "would be completely immaterial" in the event of their departure.   

 Although DreamWorks' successes have been good for Paramount, Spielberg and Geffen are said to be displeased with the scant credit they've received within Viacom.

The day after the conference, Jeffrey Katzenberg responded to the slight by calling Spielberg "a national treasure" and suggesting that "calmer heads need to prevail here."

By Thursday, Paramount Pictures chairman Brad Grey had acknowledged that the deal with DreamWorks "really accelerated our turnaround" and said he had "the greatest respect for the creativity of Steven Spielberg and the entire DreamWorks team, as well as the immense entrepreneurial business skills of David Geffen."

Perhaps calmer heads have prevailed.