Sundance Weekend Round-Up

19 January 2009

0Comments | Comment on this Article

After the rather quiet opening of this year's Sundance Film Festival proceedings are now well and truly underway as we enter day four of the festival.

And Antonie Faqua's, director of Training Day, Brooklyn's Finest is one of the fist films to get snapped up after being screened. The thriller, which stars Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke has been picked up by Senator Distribution for a reported $5 million.

The film, which follows three police officers. was one of the first big premieres. Tango is an undercover officer on a narcotics detail that forces him to choose between duty and friendship. Having been to hell and back, he wants out, but the powers that be won't let him quit.

Family-man Sal is a detective tempted by greed and corruption. He can barely make ends meet, and now his wife has an illness that threatens the life of their unborn twins.

Eddie is nearing retirement age and has long since lost his dedication to his job as a cop. He wakes up every morning trying to come up with a reason to go on living...and he can't think of one.

Sam Rockwell returns to Sundance this year, after the success of 2008's Choke, with his new sci-fi film Moon, a film that is rumoured to be picked up by Sony Picture Classics.

Taking Chance was also on view this weekend which follows Lt Col. Michael Strobl (Kevin Bacon) as he escorts the body of fallen soldier to his family. The film will air on HBO next month.

But at the moment Sundance is all about the documentary with Reporter leading the way. Directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar the film is about New York Times columnist and reporter Nicholas Kristof and follows him and his photographer to Darfur and into the Congo.

And a string of big named stars are getting behind the documentary movie with Ben Affleck lending his support to Reporter while Chris Rock is getting behind Good Hair.

Rock also appears in Jeff Stilson's Good Hair travelling around salons to see how hair has an impact on self esteem. Boxer turned movie subject was at the festival for his screening of Tyson, a film that looks at the rise and fall of his boxing career.

The most successful documentary in recent years at the festival has been Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, which went on to win an Oscar for Best Documentary and Best Original Song.

In the documentary category coming up is The Reckoning, Crude; which follows 30,000 plaintiffs from five Indigenous Ecuadoran tribes trying to get justice from Chevron, one of the world’s largest oil producers?

Sundance runs until 25th January

FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw

0Comments | Be the first to comment!