That's a wrap

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN SALT LAKE CITY AND LOS ANGELES

Well folks, this is it for me from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Over the past five days I've caught twenty-five films, including shorts, and am now in serious need of sleep and relaxation. Hopefully you've enjoyed at least some of my ramblings and have caught a slight glimpse into this year's 25th anniversary festival. For those wanting a quick summary of all the films, here goes...

Documentary

• Afghan Star - Follows several contestants on "Afghan Star, " an "American Idol"-like television program in Afghanistan. A great window into post-Taliban Afghanistan through the eyes of a pop music contest.
• Art & Copy - If you have any interest in the inner workings of the world of advertising and how campaigns are created, this documentary is for you.
• Boy Interrupted - "The boy who wanted to die." A mother chronicles her own son's bi-polar disorder that ultimately leads to his own suicide at the age of 15. Intense but well done.
• Burma VJ - Get close up and personal with the events of the 2007 revolutionary uprising in Burma. Through the eyes of a dozen undercover reporters with handheld video cameras, an amazing story takes shape. Excellent.
• It Might Get Loud - If you like electric guitars, this is the film for you. It brings together Jack White, The Edge and Jimmy Page to give their version of the instrument's history and what it means to them as music artists. Excellent.
• Joel Stein's Completely Unfabricated Adventures - Documentary short covering Orange County's toilet to tap program for recycled drinking water. Plays like a more-fun-than-usual educational film.
• Lies - Short film with three lies put to animation. Nothing to write home about.
• Over the Hills and Far Away - Fantastic documentary about a family's quest to "cure" their son of autism by traveling across Mongolia on horseback in search of shamanic healers.
• The Archive - Excellent short film about the man who owns the world's largest vinyl record collection - more than 2.5 million of them.
• The Kinda Sutra - Fun short film giving a humorous slant on what we were told as children about where babies come from.
• The Yes Men Fix The World - The Yes Men document several of their own "culture-jamming" activist projects, including coming forward as Dow Chemical to take full responsibility for the largest industrial disaster in the world. Well done.
• Theresa's Story - Short film overcutting two versions of a child telling a story. Most of the world won't be ready to understand this film.
• Tyson - Can world heavyweight champion Mike Tyson come across as a human being who now sees the damage he's done to himself and those he loves? Experience some emotionally raw moments with the boxer in this excellent film.
• We Live in Public - Does the Internet bring us closer, or make us feel more alone? Internet media pioneer Josh Harris conducts social "experiments" on himself and others to show the impact of overly-public lives, with debilitating results.

Narrative

• Brooklyn's Finest - Antoine Fuqua brings "Training Day" to New York. It's a classic return to a familiar genre that will leave you bleeding. Powerful stuff, though not as good as it's predecessor.
  
• Cold Souls - Paul Giamatti as Paul Giamatti, a man who choses to have his soul put in storage to lift emotional weight from his shoulders. If you like "Being John Malkovich," this film is for you.
• Dead Snow - Undead Nazis unleashed on Norwegian students vacationing in the snowy mountains. Possibly the most awesome film I've seen in months. Sure to become a cult classic.
• Endgame - Chronicles what lead up to the fall of apartheid in South Africa. Very historical.
• I Love You Phillip Morris - Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor make out and get it on. But beyond that it's actually a pretty fun, comic film that keeps you guessing.
• Sex, Lies and Videotape - Screened this year for its 20th anniversary. Go rent it.
• Spread - Ashton Kutcher is a young man in LA looking to find fame and fortune... by trading sex with powerful women for a place to stay and free meals. Better than I expected and not half bad.
• The Messenger - Two military men form a strong friendship when assigned to notify next of kin when soldiers die in combat. Not much to write home about, though not a bad film.
• This is her - Excellent short film about a woman who delves into her own future to draw lines between herself, her husband and the "bitch" who will one day steal him away and ruin her life.
• Treevenge - Christmas trees have had enough and now they're fighting back. Don't watch this until your own Christmas tree is safely recycled. You'll never look at Christmas the same way again. Brilliantly fun.
• Unmade Beds - Two people in their early 20s float adrift in London looking for personal connections. Unless you're into European cinema, you'll hate this film.
  

Unmade Beds

Fernando Tielve, Déborah François and director Alexis Dos Santos talk about making "Unmade Beds"

MAIN STREET, PARK CITY

Having just taken in my last screening of the 2009 festival, I'm taking a brief pause up on Main Street before heading to the airport for a flight back to LAX. The weather is warm, the crowds have thinned quite a bit from the past few days and there are camera crews everywhere talking to people about today's historic inauguration of Barack Obama.

This last film for the festival was "Unmade Beds," a quirky British film that takes place in an exuberant London where longing and zeal plunge young expatriates into lusty adventures and momentous encounters. When wide-eyed Spaniard Axl comes to London on a quest for the father who abandoned him before his earliest memories, he lands in the middle of a creative hotbed - a free-spirited community of squatters. Among them is Vera, a Belgian girl seeking to restore her faith in romantic destiny after meeting a charismatic stranger. As Axl and Vera separately pursue these connections, they circle each other's orbits.

This is a film as much about people trying to reconnect with themselves as it it about people looking for meaning within their external relationships. The film, much like its characters, spends much of its time adrift in search of a connection, feeling a bit work-in-progress as it winds its way through the streets of London. Does this impact the ultimate message of the film? It does, but mostly through imbuing a sense of disconnect in the audience that's an echo of the experiences of those on screen. Those not up for a slightly-quirky, very European film that focuses almost entirely on character without bothering to develop much of a story arc will feel immensely disappointed by this film.

Preceding "Unmade Beds" was a fantastic dramatic short film from first-time director Katie Wolfe entitled "This is her." It's a 12-minute tale about the bitter aftertaste of love. As she watches her younger self in the throes of childbirth, a woman's wry commentary reveals exactly what life has in store for her, her loving husband, and the 6-year-old, "bitch", who will one day steal his affections and destroy her life. Masterfully directed - I expect to see great things from Wolfe in the near future.

The Messenger

Director Oren Moverman, Woody Harrelson, Ben Foster and a large group of other cast and crew at the world premier of "The Messenger"

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

With three months left in the service, Will (Ben Foster) has spent a good deal of time in army hospitals, healing scars from his time in Iraq. His chance at a fresh start lies in working shoulder to shoulder with Tony (Woody Harrelson), a senior officer who teaches him the ropes of his new post with the Casualty Notification Office. Will, who narrowly escaped death, must now break the news about those who didn’t. Between assignments, these two soldiers form a bond that helps them in their struggle to get back to "normal" life, fully knowing nothing will ever really be normal again. Foster adds yet another layer when Will faces an ethical dilemma because he is drawn to one of the young widows, played by Samantha Morton.

At it's center, this is a film about two guys who choose to live life and the relationship that grows between them. The fact that it's painted over the backdrop of the military is mostly inconsequential. It's a film that doesn't pack a huge emotional punch and leans toward predictability, but still proves to be enjoyable and insightful. It keeps a mostly even-keel, rarely challenging the depths of the characters.

We Live in Public

Director Ondi Timoner, Internet pioneer Josh Harris (who flew in from Ethiopia) and others take audience questions

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

This film is a total mind trip.

Internet pioneer Josh Harris has spent his life implementing his unique vision of the future, where technology and media dictate human social interaction and define our personal identity. At the turn of the millennium, Harris launched an art experiment called Quiet: We Live in Public. He created an artificial society in an underground bunker in the heart of New York City. More than 100 artists moved in and lived in "pods" under 24-hour surveillance in what was essentially a human terrarium. They defecated, had sex, shared a transparent communal shower—all on camera. On January 1, 2000, after 30 days, the project was busted by FEMA as a “millennial cult.” Undeterred, Harris struck again, this time using himself as the subject. Rigging his loft with 32 motion-controlled cameras, he convinced his girlfriend to allow him to record streaming video of every moment of their lives from the toilet to the bedroom. After several months, the project backfired, his relationship imploded, and Harris went broke. Mentally unhinged, he fled to an apple farm in upstate New York and later to Ethiopia to escape creditors.

This documentary film is quite a ride, ultimately serving as an exploration of the way society and interpersonal relationships react to the proliferation of technology that's supposedly there to "help" us communicate. It reveals some pretty scary stuff, namely that the more "public" our lives become, the more we feel alone. Technology is an enemy with great power and must be dealt with carefully. Most of the audience left the screening with their heads reeling and with great fear over what humans can do if pushed to certain limits. An extremely well-made film.

Harris himself appeared for the Q&A following the world premier screening to take questions, though he admitted that he hadn't actually come in to watch the film saying that he ironically didn't want to watch himself relive all that history.

Check out a sneak peak at some of the early work-in-progress of the film at http://www.vimeo.com/457221

Sex, Lies and Videotape

Steven Soderberg, Laura San Giacomo, Andie Macdowell and Peter Gallagher talk about making "Sex, Lies and Videotape"

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Earlier today I attended a 20th anniversary screening of "Sex, Lies and Videotape." This film quite literally changed the landscape for independent cinema when it came out in 1989. At the time, the filmmakers didn't really realize what they had. In fact, they weren't even certain that an audience would show up for the screenings as they had no posters or advertising. But by the second screening it was clear the film had found a voice. It went on to win the Audience Award for drama at the festival and soon landed the Palme d' Or and the best actor award for James Spader at Cannes. Suddenly, for good or bad, Sundance was on everyone's radar.

Screened from Steven Soderberg's personal print, the film was followed by one of the best Q&A sessions I've encountered at Sundance. Soderberg, joined by Andie Macdowell, Peter Gallagher and Laura San Giacomo reminisced quite casually about their experiences shooting a film with nearly no budget and no idea where it would ultimately take them. It's what you really want from those silly featurettes on a DVD, as opposed to the typical "praise the director and cast" creations that you typically get. Great insight into the creative process as well as some fantastic stories about how they all ended up working on the film.

Sundance 2009: State of the festival

Everyone's ready to throw in their version of how this year's Sundance Film Festival is going to be different from years past. Films will find it tough to find buyers." "Attendance will be way down." "Corporate America is staying home this year."

Sure, the hard economic times have had their impact on the festival and the film industry in general, but the evidence of such play has been hard to find for those of us "on the ground" at the fest. Shuttle buses are as crowded as ever, many being so full that the doors won't close. Some screening lines are so long that even those who have purchased tickets in advance aren't guaranteed a seat. And the Main Street Deli is still doing booming business. From the trenches there's no noticeable reduction in attendance. Hard statistics may tell a separate tale, but for all ostensive purposes it appears business as usual here at Sundance. Certainly this feeling is mutual amongst other festival goers based on those I've chatted with while waiting in line. Films are being picked up (HBO and Sony just made a number of buys in the past few days) and, if anything, sale quantity seems to be on the rise. I spoke with one producer during the opening night gala who exclaimed she'd already made three sales. And that was before the full festival even got into swing.

However, even with "Brookly's Finest" selling yesterday to Sony for an undisclosed figure of up to $5m, there's little buzz of a breakout sale at the fest and it's uncertain whether there will be anything like last year's much talked about "Hamlet 2" deal. Perhaps that will be this year's defining aspect - no "big" sale. Certainly plenty of industry players have been saying for the past few years that an end to expensive pickups at the fest is overdue. And that was before the financial system soured. Have we hit a point where festival buying has finally gone south? Maybe, but bear in mind that Hollywood just closed out one of its best years on record according to total box office sales. Certainly, from my own perspective in the thick of the studio production system, the amount of "work" in the pipeline over the past six months has done nothing but increase. While conglomerate parents decry that pennies must be pinched, distributors are still thirsty for product, particularly product that's already been developed, has a known audience reaction, and is effectively screen-ready. The films offered for acquisition at Sundance provide cost-effective options for studios looking to fill slates and cash in on the fact that hard economic times seem to bring people to movie theaters just as they did during the Great Depression.

Perhaps the only thing that's certain this year is that sponsor representation isn't what it used to be. Indeed, "subdued" seems to be the word du semiene for corporate involvement with this year's festival. They're here and making their presence known, but parties and overall strength are definitely more anemic that in years past. One woman who was in attendance on behalf of a corporate sponsor said that she knew of many cases where both her company and others were at the festival, but instead of sending the usual 30 people they'd sent only 10.

So what is the legacy of the 25th Sundance Film Festival? From where I stand here in the midst of the festival it seems very much to be that "film prevails" even with much-subdued corporate attendance. The industry, for all the disorder of the past year, is alive and well.

Burma VJ

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Insanely intense. That's probably the best way to describe this documentary film from Danish director Anders Ostergaard.

Armed with pocket-sized video cameras, a tenacious band of Burmese reporters face down death to expose the repressive regime controlling their country. In 2007, after decades of self-imposed silence, Burma became headline news across the globe when peaceful Buddhist monks led a massive rebellion. More than 100,000 people took to the streets protesting a cruel dictatorship that has held the country hostage for more than 40 years. Foreign news crews were banned, the Internet was shut down, and Burma was closed to the outside world.

We witness these events through the eyes of shaky, handheld footage shot entirely by the undercover reporters and then smuggled out of the country first via the Internet and then on the backs of elephants once network servers are shut down by the government. It's an emotionally raw experience seeing tensions build, watching people take to the streets in protest and then seeing the military respond with intense force leaving many dead and wounded. Culled from what must have been thousands of hours of eyewitness footage, this is not your typical documentary. You can't help but feel like you're right in the midst of the conflict as the reporters themselves fight to save their own lives. It's a view unlike any you've ever seen.

"Burma VJ" was preceded by the short film "Lies," directed by Jonas Odell, joining animation to three stories of lies told by various people.

I Love You Phillip Morris

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

This film has nothing to do with tobacco. There... that's out of the way.

Last night was the world premier screening of "I Love You Philip Morris." With both Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor in attendance, this was a close second to the most "Hollywood" screening I've attended this year in terms of screaming fans, red carpets and paparazzi chaos ("Spread" takes first place with Ashton and Demi getting mobbed by a crowd of mostly screaming teenage girls).

So what is this film about? Well, it's an improbable but true story of a spectacularly charismatic and resourceful con-man’s journey from small-town cop to flamboyant white-collar criminal. Created by the guys who brought you Bad Santa, what lands on screen is truly stranger than fiction. It's a comedy. It's a love story. And you never really know where it's going to go next. When a local Texas policeman, Steve Russell (Carrey), turns to cons and fraud to allow him to change his lifestyle, his subsequent stay in the state penitentiary results in his meeting the love of his life, a sensitive fellow inmate named Phillip Morris (McGregor). What ensues can only be described as a relentless quest as Russell attempts escape after escape and executes con after con, all in the name of love. And yes, it features many scenes of Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor making out and otherwise getting it on.

I'll admit I have mixed feelings about this film. I came in with low expectations, primarily because I've been burned far too often by films that bank on people being drawn by the idea of two brand-name male actors humping each other. But the film doesn't use anything like that as a crutch and I found myself genuinely enjoying the film for the most part. I wouldn't say it was way up there on my top films of the fest, but it exceeded expectations and I wouldn't be adverse to watching it again. It does help to be in a theater with 1200 people, most of whom are friends of those involved with the film.

Endgame

Jonny Lee Miller, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Pete Travis take audience questions

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

The time - late 1980s. The place - South Africa. Buried under years of oppression, the African National Congress (ANC) wages an armed struggle against apartheid. President P.W. Botha clings to the last threads of power as the country finds itself on the brink of bloody civil war. Based on true events, this film follows the struggle from Nelson Mandela’s prison, to Botha’s chambers, to ANC headquarters, and, to the car of a British businessman. Consolidated Gold, a British mining company, is convinced that a peaceful resolution to the conflict in South Africa serves their interests. Thus, they initiate covert, unofficial talks between the opposing sides while bombs continue to destroy civilians. "Endgame" chronicles these talks where Michael Young, Consolidated’s head of public affairs, pushes a reluctant group to confront intractable obstacles in the way of reconciliation.

From director Pete Travis, this film is not an action movie. This is first and foremost about the history of South Africa, the fall of apartheid and the steps taken to resolve the conflict between the ANC and the white government. While strong performances abound from the likes of William Hurt, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Jonny Lee Miller, you're not going to walk away feeling like you really saw the true Mandela or really dug deep into the psyche of those involved.

Calling it a night

I'm three films behind for the day - "Endgame," "I Love You Phillip Morris" and "Burma VJ." Pretty far past exhaustion at this point, having been on the go for the past 20 hours - since 7am this morning. Will post the balance tomorrow after so much-needed sleep.

The Yes Men Fix the World

The Yes Men, along with one of their Haliburton natural disaster suits, answer questions following the screening

ECCLES THEATRE, PARK CITY

Back in line at Eccles awaiting my fourth screening of the day after seeing the world premier of "The Yes Men Fix the World." This is a self-produced documentary following the Yes Men on several of their "projects." For those of you unfamiliar with the Yes Men, they're a pair of activists who look to call attention to the ridiculous nature of various corporate and political positions through targeted "pranks." These pranks typically take the form of them posing as spokespeople for these organizations at conferences and other events where they take the stance that they believe that organization should be holding. Examples? Going live on the BBC News as a spokesperson for Dow Chemical to "take full responsibility for Bhopal" and promise to spend upwards of 12 billion dollars to compensate people affected by what was the largest industrial accident in history. Or posing as guys from Exxon at a national petroleum conference where they presented new technology that would convert dead human beings into fuel to reduce dependency on oil. The thing about these stunts is that generally no one realizes that they're not who they say they are. What's worse is that many people who are on the wrong end of the pranks actually think their ideas or decent. When presenting a new Haliburton product to a large group of insurance industry people designed to withstand nearly every conceivable natural disaster (it's basically a giant inflatable sphere costing an exorbitant amount of money), people think it's a great idea. The point of all these stunts is to open people's eyes to how crazy things have gotten with the "free market" and the corporate world in general. Anyone who's looking in from the outside is in for a good laugh laced with disbelief, but the wanted impacted amongst those they're targeting is virtually nonexistent.

Though not the first documentary to highlight their work, this film is really a chance for the Yes Men to tell their own story. Mostly, though mixed with plenty of humor, it's a depressing commentary on our current world of corporate greed, government mismanagement and human suffering. However, they manage to turn things around to a very positive place by the end and really make you feel like there's hope for "saving the world." Any self-respecting left-leaner will find this film eye-opening.

Learn more at http://www.theyesmen.org/theyesmenfixtheworld

"The Yes Men Fix the World" was preceded by "Joel Stein's Completely Unfabricated Adventures," a short film documentary that runs a quick pass at the new and somewhat controversial Orange County toilet-to-tap program. It's a comic, animated look at Stein's visit to an OC water treatment plant to learn about the process and sample processed water.

Cold Souls

Paul Giamatti, director Sophie Barthes and other cast and crew from "Cold Souls"

LIBRARY THEATRE, PARK CITY

Now back the the Library Theatre having just a few minutes ago left the Racquet Club and the screening of "Cold Souls." From director Sophie Barthes, this film centers on Paul Giamatti as... Paul Giamatti. He's doing a stint as Chekhov's Uncle Vanya and is having trouble separating himself from the role. His agent turns him onto soul storage, a new service in which the soul is removed from the body and stored, leaving the person feeling light and unburdened. Unfortunately it also has side effects, ultimately leading Paul to "try out" the imported soul of a Russian poet. This works wonders for his Vanya, but causes much internal struggle that ultimately leads him to demand his original soul back, with all its weight and imperfections. But the soul has gone missing. Thus we tumble into a world of soul trafficking, soul "mules" and an exploration of what a soul is really worth.

The film, despite its crazy premise, is actually quite believable. The concepts are equally absurd to the characters as they are to the audience, so suspension of disbelief comes easily. There are echoes of familiar absurdest fare such as Being John Malkovich, but the inspiration ultimately comes much more from French surrealist cinema. It's a good ride that doesn't screw too much with your head and is easily likened to a strange dream that seemed all too real - not a stretch considering the original inspiration for the film came when Barthes had a dream one night several years back where she and Woody Allen found themselves going through their own soul extraction procedures.

The ending comes a bit abruptly and without a lot of closure, but that doesn't much sour the film.

Afghan Star

Director Havana Marking and "Afghan Star" host Daoud Siddique take questions

RACQUET CLUB, PARK CITY

Just got out of "Afghan Star," the first of six screenings of the day. This documentary film centers on "Afghan Star," a televised competition program in Afghanistan similar to "American Idol." Themes here at first appear similar to what you'd expect for a competition - who will win, who will be cut before the final round. But the canvas on which the stories are painted are markedly different from what those of us in the West are familiar with. The country is divided amongst many ethnic groups and each supports their own "star." The Taliban decries that all cell phone networks in "sensitive areas" be shut down at night, effectively cutting off voting for the show which is done via SMS. When one woman dares to dance as part of her song on the program, she receives many death threats and is unable to return to her home for nearly three months due to safety concerns. Dancing of any kind is ultimately banned from television. Fear is constant and the show, then in its third season, is nearly shut down on several occasions. But the show is extremely popular, drawing viewership from a third of the country for its final showdown episode. People cross ethnic boundaries, voting for singers who come from backgrounds different from their own. It's even rumored that members of the Taliban have texted in some votes. Unifying a diverse country takes unorthodox means, and it's clear that "Afgan Star" is a strong force in that battle.

For the Q&A following the film, director Havana Marking was joined by Daoud Siddique, the host of "Afghan Star," who had come all the way from Afghanistan to see the film screen at Sundance.

"Afghan Star" was preceded by a short film entitled "Theresa's Story," which explores the unique storytelling abilities of young children. The film was quite non-traditional, employing a technique where two different tellings of the same story by a particular child were placed side by side and overlaid in audio. The rest was mass confusion, punctuated by the fact that the audience couldn't figure out that the short had ended until titles for "Afghan Star" appeared on the screen. Interesting, but it managed to convey little or nothing to the audience. So much for storytelling.

Dead Snow

Cast and crew of Dead Snow talk about the film

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

A Norwegian Nazi zombie horror film. Need I say more?

It is nothing less than pure awesomeness destined to become a cult classic I originally landed tickets to the screening on a complete whim when I made selections for the fest back in late December. Left with a hole in my schedule at the 'Dance, I was poking around for films that sounded worthwhile and, well, I couldn't pass this one up.

The basic premise: At the close of WWII, Nazi soldiers near the snowy village of Øksfjord were driven into the hills by an angry mob where they supposedly froze to death, never to be seen again. In the present day, eight medical students take a ski trip, fueled by mostly beer, to these same hills. Raucous behavior and promiscuity of this younger generation raise some evil spirits and... well... soon you have machine guns strapped to snowmobiles and undead Nazis being blown sky-high. Will anyone make it through the night alive?

As one of the senior Sundance programmers said while introducing the film, "if you're queasy at the sight of blood, this ain't the film for you." The filmmakers used over 450 litres of blood to create a horror film that harkens back to the feel of those created in the 1980s: little substance and a lot of slashing. The film is spiced with a number of great moments of homage to other horror films.

Where else other than Sundance can you expect to see such cinema?

Check out the trailer and more at http://www.dodsno.no/

Screening prior to "Dead Snow" came a fantastic short horror film from Jason Eisner entitled "Treevenge." The basic premise? After years of being brutally sawed down and forced to endue tinsel and ornaments, Christmas trees take matters into their own hands and fight back. Gallons of blood ensue.

You can find out more at http://www.treevenge.com/

It's now past 3am and my next screening is at 8:30. Time for some sleep.

Spread

Ashton Kutcher and crew answer questions from the audience  

EGYPTIAN THEATRE, PARK CITY  

I'm now awaiting the dimming lights of my fifth screening of the day.  It's amazing how doing little other than seeing movies all day can completely wear you down.  Today I had five films.  Tomorrow I have six.  That's going to be interesting, since two of them are back to back in completely different locations. We'll see how my sprinting skills shape up against the thin air of 6,000 feet someone like myself who lives at sea-level is unaccustomed to.  Part of the Sundance experience.  

Before landing myself here at the Egyptian I caught the world premier screening of "Spread," a new comedy from director David Mackenzie starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche.  Seemingly inspired by the tradition of classic films like "American Gigolo" and "Shampoo", "Spread" follows the trails and tribulations of a sexual grifter working to sleep his way to wealth and success.  It's not a film that breaks any new ground, but still manages to provide for a really enjoyable, eh hem, experience regardless.  Rising to the top only means that you've got further to fall.  Ultimately it's a comic love story that was surprisingly decent.  I'll admit that I went into it with incredibly low expectations, but the experience was really quite enjoyable.  There's heart, but don't expect anything terribly deep or insightful.  Kutcher feels all too at home in this sexually charged role, but pulls it off in a believable way.  And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it's likely the film's going to get cut a bit more before any kind of theatrical release in order to land an R rating.

Now I await the screening of "Dead Snow."  Undead Nazis are patrolling the theater and posing for pictures as we speak.

Tyson

Mike Tyson and James Toback run a Q&A session following the film

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Would you knowingly choose to lock yourself in a room with Mike Tyson for 30 hours in the name of cinema?

I'm back in the warmth for a few brief moments before heading off to my next screening. Just moments ago I left a screening of "Tyson," a brutally frank, no-holds barred documentary about the life of former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson. Winning standing ovations from the audience tonight as well as those at the Cannes film festival last May, this film definitely opens your eyes to the soul of a unique and frightening individual. From director James Toback, "Tyson" tracks the boxer's career from his days as a teenage thief and drug dealer in Brooklyn, to undisputed world boxing champion, to his dramatic fall from grace and incarceration for rape. The film mixes archive footage with raw interviews Tyson himself. Through the course of the film, Tyson himself reveals how he lost more than $300m in the last few decades and once sought to conquer and possess the women in his life.

This film does a phenomenal job humanizing Tyson. While not the first film to do so, it's certainly the first to really gain wide exposure and acceptance. Told entirely through Tyson's own words, this film cuts deep into his persona, exposing a raw, no-holds-barred look at his own success and failure. More than once, Tyson even breaks down and cries on camera. This, my friends, is a unique window into an amazing character.

Following the film, Tyson and Tobeck took questions from the audience. Not surprisingly, most questions centered on Tyson's own journey and not so much on the film itself. Tyson said he was actually quite "intimidated" by getting up in front of the audience tonight since he was so far out of his element. He stated that more than anything he was "working on being humble" and trying to be a better person who was finally at peace with the world. He had spent so much of his life being "afraid of failure" that he wasn't even aware of who he'd become. "I was just a moral mess," Tyson said, going on to talk about how it was "very hard to watch" the film because it meant that he had "become very vulnerable." Speaking on the subject of his heyday as Heavyweight Champion, he said that he "became scared of that guy [on the screen]." "[At the time] I never understood why people looked at me and made those judgements against [my character]." It must be amazing to look at himself now in such a different light.

Even for those who aren't into boxing (I'm not at all), this is still a pretty amazing film as a window into a larger-than-life character. It will no doubt find a large audience.

Glad I caught this film. Trying to get there from "Over the Hills and Far Away," I quite literally had to throw myself on the hood of a taxi to make it in time. Shuttle busses were backed up or so full people were being crushed by the doors. I entered the theater with less than one minute left to spare.

Over the Hills

LIBRARY CENTER, PARK CITY

Just got out of the world premier of "Over the Hills and Far Away." This documentary follows a family's journey as they travel halfway across the world in search of a miracle to heal their autistic son. The father is a British
journalist and human-rights activist. The mother a psychology professor from suburban California. A perfect life begins to unravel when their son is diagnosed with autism at age three. They try conventional therapies, diets, and medication, all without luck. The father feels that traditional healing is the only route remaining and, seeing a special bond that his son has developed with horses, seeks to find a place where shamanic healing and horseback riding can be combined. That place, it turns out, is Mongolia. And so, they set off on a month-long journey to Ulaanbaatar and travel on horseback searching for reindeer herders and the most powerful shaman in the country.

Directed by Michel Orion Scott, it's an amazingly spiritual film that finds you questioning your own relationships and personal journey. And I know you're asking this: does the journey "cure" Rowan's autism? In many ways, yes. Miracles occur and Rowan finds a new footing. But, as his father is quick to point out in the film, the autism itself is still very much there. That hasn't changed. What did change is the physical and psychological manefestations of the autism that were keeping Rowan from leading a "normal" life. Gone are the tantrums. Gone is the propensity for Rowan to completely pull into himself and escape from physical and emotional human contact. Was he healed by the shaman or merely the Mongolian journey itself? Difficult to say.

I'm not certain if this film has been picked up or not, but it's straight up the alley of HBO. I sincerely hope that this film finds a larger audience because it's honestly one of the best documentaries I've seen.

During a quite emotional Q&A following the screening, the film's director along with both of Rowan's parents spoke further on their amazing journey and how their views toward autism have changed over the course of their time with Rowan. Pretty amazing stuff.

Learn more at http://www.horseboymovie.com

"Over the Hills and Far Away" was preceeded by a screening of the short film "The Kinda Sutra," directed by Oscar-winner Jessica Yu. It's a comic mixture of animation and live-action interviews that digest the crazy stories we're fed as children about where babies come from. Very well done.

Brooklyn's Finest

Director Antoine Fuqua and writer Michael Martin discuss Brooklyn's Finest

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Grabbing a quick lunch following the world premier screening of Antoine Fuqua's newest film, "Brooklyn's Finest." The film is a return to a familiar genre for Fuqua and could, in many ways, be pitched as the New York version of "Training Day." Here once again we find ourselves in a gritty, raw world of cops and crooks with lines constantly blurred between the two. Ultimately it's a story of corruption and attempted redemption for three unconnected Brooklyn cops who find it necessary to take the law into their own hands. As writer Michael Martin put it during the Q&A, it's essentially "one story told three times." Sure, on paper the basic premise seems a bit cliché, but Fuqua as you'd expect finds plenty of ways to bring the concept to a brutal reality. The end point is that there are plenty of cases where there's no such things as right or wrong - as Martin put it, "nothing is ever black or white, but shades of grey." He continued saying that the script was all about "complexity and levels" as a way to "see behind the [murder] headlines" to get a glimpse of the decisions and situations that lead up to something going horribly wrong. Without Denzel Washington, the film doesn't carry quite the emotional punch of Training Day, but the cast, including Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle, Wesley Snipes and Richard Gere (playing against type), all pull strong performances.

This is classic Fuqua, so if you like his style of brutal realism in service overall story, then this film is for you. Those not comfortable with people getting gunned down at close range, then "Brooklyn's Finest" is not a film you're likely to get very far through.

Art & Copy

Director Doug Pray, along with his crew and a smattering of advertising luminaries highlighted in the film, present the world premier of Art & Copy at Sundance

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Though the weather is far warmer than last year's balmy 5 degree highs, it's still most definitely winter outside in Park City. Thus I'm quite glad to be back in front of a nice, warm fire after returning from the world premier screening of "Art & Copy." Here's a documentary film that's really masterfully put together. It at once informs while still being incredibly entertaining and even, dare I say it, uplifting. The film centers on the world of advertising, specifically the huge creative revolution that occurred in the 1960s and what ended up coming out of that. It's a "celebration" of the top advertising creatives (words of Doug Pray, the film's director). Sure, there's a slight history lesson hidden between the pages, but really it's about what creative advertising attempts to accomplish and how that process has formed over the years. Various advertising luminaries, including Lee Clow, George Lois, Hal Riney and Dan Wieden, present their own views of how campaigns like "Got Milk," Nike's "Just Do It," and the famous Apple "1984 won't be like 1984" came into being and how, in many cases, they almost didn't even make it to market. Portions get a bit long in the tooth, but overall it's quite an enjoyable ride. Masterfully directed and edited, this doc really stands out in my eyes as a shining example of what documentary filmmaking should be. And for anyone who works or aspires to be in a creative field, this film definitely leaves you excited about possibility.

"Art & Copy" was preceeded by a short film entitled "The Archive," a seven-minute documentary focused on Paul Mawhinney, the owner of the world's largest collection of records. Numbering over two and a half million, the vast majority of his collection can't even be purchased anymore. Due to health issues and a struggling record industry Paul is being forced to sell his collection. It's quite a fascinating window on an individual, as well as on the state of phonographic records in general. Very well directed and edited... I wouldn't be at all surprised if we find director Sean Dunne doing more great cinematic things in the near future.

You can watch the entire documentary on Vimeo at www.vimeo.com/1546186

I'm going to try and get in some downtime tonight before launching into tomorrow. I've got five scheduled screenings starting with the 9am premier of Antoine Fuqua's newest film, "Brooklyn's Finest" with Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke, Don Cheadle and Wesley Snipes. Catch you all on the flipside.

Boy Interrupted

Dana Perry, Hart Perry and editor Geof Bartz discuss their film

PROSPECTOR THEATRE, PARK CITY

"Oh my God, we're at the Sundance Film Festival because my son killed himself."

These are the words spoken by Dana Perry, director of "Boy Interrupted," when asked what was going through her head while watching the world premiere of her documentary film.  Since leaving Temple Theater about 30 minutes ago, I've been searching for the right way to talk about this film - a film directed by the mother of a boy who committed suicide at age 15 after 10 years of battling with diagnosed bipolar disorder.  He goes through periods of happiness, then periods of extreme depression.  Suicide is a subject all-too-common since the age of 5.  All seems to be going well for the first time in years as he moves into his teenage years, but then he's slowly taken off meds and, without warning, he jumps from his New York apartment bedroom window. It's a heavy experience, so here's what I'm going to do - split this two ways:

Emotional:  Hard to argue with such a personal story.  With both parents of Evan Perry, the subject of the film, intimately involved with the project as director and cinematographer, respectively, it's nearly impossible to imagine how it must have been to distance themselves enough from the material.  Hart, the father, made it clear to the audience during the Q&A that this film was really about sharing the experience of their journey toward trying to make Evan well and not about the extreme grief of losing a child to suicide.  However, it's tough to escape that framing since it underscores so much of the film.  Both Dana and Hart entered into the project also hoping it might allow them some closure, but found that not the case in the slightest.  Though Evan's death is now three years in the past, the wounds are clearly still fresh.  As Dana said following the film, "that's the first and last time I'll have seen this film with an audience."

Technical:  This is not a film that prides itself on production quality.  Told mostly through somewhat blurry home video clips and talking-head interviews, it's not a film that will win awards for cinematography or for editing.  At first I was struck by the lower perceived level of quality, but at the end of it all, the quality of the imagery on screen doesn't really matter.  The story is communicated effectively and with a lot of emotion.  What more is needed?

Should you see this film?  Not if you're disturbed by teen suicide or the thought of your children killing themselves.  But if you're up for an emotional story about loss and a family's journey to try and save their son from his own mind, then it's definitely worth a look.

You can find out more at www.boyinterruptedfilm.com

It Might Get Loud

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

Just returned from the US premier of "It Might Get Loud," my first screening of this year's fest. I was pretty excited to be able to catch this film here at Sundance since it got pretty good buzz when it first screened back in May at the Cannes Film Festival and subsequently in September at the Toronto Film Festival. Sony Pictures Classics has already picked up distribution for the film, so it'll definitely find a home at a theater near you.

Directed by Davis Guggenheim, who most recently directed "An Inconvenient Truth" and made Al Gore a movie star, "It Might Get Loud" is a documentary film about the history of the electric guitar framed through the eyes of three accomplished guitarists - Jimmy Page (of Led Zeppelin fame), the Edge (of U2 fame) and Jack White (of the White Stripes and the Raconteurs). The basic premise... take all three musicians and lock them in a soundstage together for two days and see what comes out. It sounds unstructured, but out of this loose idea Guggenheim manages to get some really interesting things out of all three as they trace their steps back through their own artistic upbringings to arrive at where they are today. Each has a unique sound and a very different story, but at the end all three find many common threads. As Guggenheim mentioned during the Q&A following the screening, most documentaries about music are either encyclopaedic and try to cover everything or they focus on the personal stories of drugs, alcohol and bus crashes. With this film, he made a concious decision to not do either, instead opting to simply let the three artists tell their own stories and develop from that an arc that allows you glimpses into some of the definining moments that lead each to their current relationship with their instruments and music. Jack White talks about how for him it's all about creating a "challenge," eschewing the synthetic and fighting with instruments, Jimmy Page disusses his beginnings creating Musak (really), and the Edge allows a brief glimpse into what his work sounds like once you turn off all the layered effects that so define his style. Ultimately it's a fantastic glimpse into each artist's process and how they relate to their work.

Will you like this film? Maybe, maybe not. For those who feel that rock music speaks to them or consider themselves electric guitar officianados, this film will land itself high on your "most awesome documentary ever" list. For those who don't feel rock music is a window to the soul or tire quickly of listening to artists spout what many might consider cliche words about their art, then you're probably better off seeing something else. I, for one, thought it was fantastic and want to immediately go back and watch it again.

Learn more at www.itmightgetloud.com

Perhaps there's still money flowing

EMPIRE AVENUE, PARK CITY

If the conversations at the opening night party are any indication of the festival landscape, it may well be that the 25th anniversary of the Sundance Film Festival proves that there's still plenty of opportunities to sell a film. While in the midst of flowing absynthe (not to be confused with absinthe, illegal in most countries) and, for once, a decent DJ, I picked the brains of several who were at the fest in support of particular films. Spirits are high. Interest seemingly abounds. One woman exclaimed that she'd already sold three films just tonight. The trades are also reporting that several deals have been made - HBO just today picked up US television rights to "Burma VJ" ahead of it's North American premier, which I'll be seeing Sunday night. Also today, Sony Classics reportedly finalized a deal for North American rights for James Toback's documentary "Tyson," which originally premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival and centers on none other than boxing heavyweight Mike Tyson.

Expectations are still tempered, but perhaps the economic downturn isn't going to breathe as strongly down the neck of the fest as most say it will. We'll see how the rest of the week shapes up.

Sundance 2009: The year of change?

SEAT 14B - SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LOS ANGELES AND SALT LAKE CITY

As I sit here crammed into an airplane seat the size of a tin can looking out at the Grand Canyon from 35,000 feet, it's tough to believe that we once again find ourselves in the middle of January on the first day of what's become an annual pilgrimage to one of the world's most revered film festivals. Yes, that's right - today marks the opening day of the annual Sundance Film Festival. On paper, this year's festival promises to be everything for those looking to explore the latest in independent cinema. Still trying very much to act like a small, hometown-style event, Sundance has long been proud of its humble beginnings and its unwavering focus on finding new talent and bringing a raw cinema to the people. However, over the years the reality of Sundance has grown to be something different. There are mobs of people, a dearth of parking and celebrities seemly go out of their way to make waves as they walk down Main Street. Still remaining are the vestiges of what Robert Redford and Geoff Gilmore believe to be at the heart of the festival, but it's now become a far more splashy affair with swag booths, miniature red-carpet-style premiers and celebrities that are there to be seen. More than anything, the festival now walks an interesting dichotomy between being the hometown festival it once was and a full-blown Hollywood event. It's not that the festival has lost its way, more that it's evolved due to its own success and the fact that it's now considered THE American film festival. Hard to escape Hollywood when that's exactly who the party of primary interest is.

This year's festival is likely to mark a change. I feel like I say this every year to an extent - there's always something that's different about the festival each year. But this year we're talking a whole new landscape. Economic times are a near 180 from what they were last year. Sponsors of the festival have dropped like flies. Volkswagen, long a staple, is nowhere to be seen. Adobe is no more. Delta is still the official airline of the festival, but is rumored to be scaling back quite heavily. Outside of the festival, independent film distributors have been through a rocky year with many not living to tell the tale. And then there's the whole money issue. Hollywood was flush with cash over the past few years as hedge funds became the hot funding source and investors were beating down doors left and right with money to burn. Hedge funds are now mostly a bad memory and tight credit markets mean that even the major studios are cutting way back on the number of films they're planning to release.

So what does this mean for Sundance? The answer depends on who you talk to. Some are decrying that this year's fest will be mostly a bust - well-received films with top talent won't be able to find buyers and the number of people who actually go to the festival will be a fraction of what we saw last year. On the other hand, many are saying that, while we'll certainly see distributors being far more selective with purchases than in the past, films that are ready for an audience will sell and sell well. After all, Hollywood had one of its best-ever years in 2008, so why wouldn't they snap up films ready for market? It's tough to say from here, on the day of the opening night festivities, who's going to be right. What we do know is that the fest will most definitely be more subdued this year - gifting suites will be scaled back, the once-ubiquitous bidding wars over film acquisitions will likely be few and far between and many serious journalists aren't able to even attend, thus cutting the buzz-building reviews that so many films rely on. Will this restore some of that low-key, independent vibe that Redford and Gilmore feel is still very much at the foundation of the festival? Probably not much as rumblings on the street suggest some semblance of the usual mixing of corporate sponsorship, Hollywood industry and filmmakers - and the general circus that defines the fest's opening weekend - will be very much in evidence.

Thus begin my annual postings direct from the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. As in the past, I'll be writing on-the-fly from a Treo mobile phone while standing in lines and traversing the gauntlet that is Sundance. First film for me, the guitarist documentary "It Might Get Loud," unspools at a bright and early 8:00am sharp. Hopefully the opening night party will still allow for some semblance of sleep before the dawn.