The holidays have come and gone, leaving us with a gray slush that hardly resembles the fluffy white powder of winter wonderland fantasies. And the cinemascape isn't much more appealing since January, February, and early March are the notorious dumping grounds for movies that studios know are flops and have been looking to dump quietly.
In fact, that reputation for the post-holiday cinema season has become so engrained in movie culture that when the announcement came last fall that Universal was pushing back the already-completed Matt Damon sci-fi flick ""The Adjustment Bureau"" from a September release all the way to March 4, it was instantly assumed that this was because the movie was a dud. But, while mainstream cinema is on vacation, the indie film world is already thawed out and steaming hot. Every January, Park City, Utah, a small town outside Salt Lake City usually known for its ski resorts, hosts the largest independent film festival in the U.S.—Sundance.
Sundance 2010 showcased the impact the festival continues to have on film culture. Last year's festival, my first in attendance, played host to the premiers of ""The Kids Are All Right,"" ""Winter's Bone,"" ""Blue Valentine,"" ""Exit Through the Gift Shop,"" and ""Waiting for Superman""—all films that have become Oscar contenders a year later.
Sundance 2009 held the premier of ""(500) Days of Summer"", a movie that went on to screen at the Wisconsin Film Festival in the spring and culminated in becoming the indie smash of the summer. In fact, Sundance 2009 may prove to have been the defining moment in the life of one Madisonian—Marc Webb, director of ""(500) Days of Summer.""
Webb was raised in Madison, graduated from Madison West High School, and eventually graduated from UW-Madison with an English degree. Before Sundance 2009, Webb was primarily known for his work on music videos for bands like Brand New, My Chemical Romance, A.F.I. and Yellowcard. After receiving standing ovations at Sundance, the film went on to gross almost 10 times its budget for Fox Searchlight and launched Webb's feature film career.
Webb parlayed his Sundance success into a gig directing the new Spider-Man reboot starring Golden-Globe nominees Andrew Garfield of ""The Social Network"" and Emma Stone of ""Easy A.""
The first Spider-Man film and its subsequent sequels transformed cult director Sam Raimi into a blockbuster commodity. And if the reboot is anywhere near as successful, Webb may just be the next iconic director who was ‘made' at Sundance.
Webb definitely won't be the first, though. He'll be getting in line behind the likes of Steven Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan, Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater, Darren Aronofsky and countless others.
Chances are, if there's a great independent movie you are going to see in 2011, it's going to screen at Sundance. And while most serious Oscar contenders may not start appearing until September, I can guarantee at least a few of them are making their debut right now, almost a year ahead of time.
Which is why I'm heading to Park City Tuesday—to cover the second half of the festival for The Daily Cardinal. I hope to see somewhere between 15 and 20 films while I'm there. The problem is, there are so many films, and I have so little time. I'll be posting live updates from the festival on Twitter @SundancinDave and on The Daily Cardinal's arts blog Birdwatching. You can also expect more in-depth coverage of the festival's hits and misses to grace the pages of The Daily Cardinal once I return.
Have any suggestions for what films David should catch at Sundance? Skiing tips are also welcome, David needs something to do when he isn't mingling with celebrities. Please send all advice to dcottrell@wisc.edu.
