Sundance paradox

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There is something profoundly wrong with the mentality behind the Sundance aquisition frenzy. No, not Paramount Vantage paying $7 million for Son of Rambow (i.e., Billy Elliott if directed by Tim Burton). Not Adrienne Shelly's Waitress selling to Fox Searchlight for $4 million, despite it being a somewhat hammy, too-obvious thing. And not Harvey Weinstein buying Grace is Gone, a steady, honest film about loss and denial that may find fans among the rural reds. All of these are solid deals that make sense.

What's mind-blowing is the fact is that none of them deliver as much of an exquisite, true-hearted high as John Carney's Once, and this little Irish film isn't even getting mentioned as a curious non-seller in articles about Sundance pickup action. Forget bottom-line distribution execs -- even journalists are ignoring it. The problem, as everyone knows, is that it's seen as a marketing challenge. Maybe, but it works when you sit down and watch it.

There's one particular acquisition -- First Look's payment of $3 million for a piece of shit called The King of California, which is basically about a bearded Michael Douglas acting wiggy and eccentric and Fisher King-y -- is driving me up the wall. Mike Cahill's movie is a wash, a throwaway...but it sold because distribs believe they can sell Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood in the leads. Once, trust me, is several times more likable and engaging, and yet distributors are reportedly steer- ing clear. As Jack Nicholson's gangster says in The Departed, "That's called a paradox."

Here's one way to sell Once.....ready? Sell it as the best date movie since The Notebook. No, since Titanic. Use the old Don Juan DeMarco line -- "If you can't get laid after taking her to see Once, you can't get laid."

Here, if you're interested, is the film's signature song -- Glen Hansard's "Slowly Falling".

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Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 26, 2007 at 8:47 PM

comment #1

Craig Kennedy says ...

I'm intrigued. When are the Sundance awards announced? If 'Once' wins any, will that help it get picked up or is it already screwed?

Posted by Craig Kennedy at January 26, 2007 9:57 PM

comment #2

berkguru says ...

are you friends wiht the people that made this film? unclear why you keep hyping it up

Posted by berkguru at January 26, 2007 10:25 PM

comment #3

Craig Kennedy says ...

berkguru, what's your problem with the fact that Wells liked the movie and is using his blog to pass the word? Have you recently suffered some kind of head trauma? Are you hearing voices? You might want to have that looked into.

Posted by Craig Kennedy at January 26, 2007 11:03 PM

comment #4

D.Z. says ...

Didn't someone once criticize me for calling the premise of "King of California" a yuppie angst fantasy? Judging by Jeff's comments, I appear to be on the nose.

Posted by D.Z. at January 26, 2007 11:13 PM

comment #5

Noah says ...

I hope Once gets picked up so I can see it, but even if it wins an award, that's no guarantee. The Believer won the Grand Jury Prize the year it showed at Sundance and didn't find distribution for like two years and then was shown on Showtime. I hope Once has a better fate ahead of it.

Posted by Noah at January 27, 2007 12:13 AM

comment #6

fnt says ...

Did you see KING OF CALIFORNIA? I don't see how you could have, since it premiered after you left. Please tell me you did or else that's pretty fucking arrogant...

Posted by fnt at January 27, 2007 12:16 AM

comment #7

hiviper says ...

The film premiered Wed night. Wells left thursday am, so he could have seen it

Posted by hiviper at January 27, 2007 12:34 AM

comment #8

Jeff says ...

hmm, I have heard nothing about good things about King of California. It got pretty good reviews in both trades today, and people I know at the festival said that people seemed to really like it.

Posted by Jeff at January 27, 2007 2:31 AM

comment #9

JD says ...

Sorry to beat a dead horse, but I'm more concerned that Snow Angels hasn't been picked up. It used to be that films with a genuine sense of artistry got picked up at Sundance -- remember when people like Jim Jarmusch, Steven Soderbergh, and Richard Linklater were the stars of Sundance? -- particularly if they had actors like Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale in them. But people almost seem resentful toward any movie that isn't a strictly literal-minded, functional piece of storytelling these days.

Posted by JD at January 27, 2007 7:00 AM

comment #10

romeoisbleeding says ...

I guess I am the only one here but that song gave me the chills. I loved it. And from what Wells said about the movie I would go see it in a heart beat and buy the soundtrack. It sounds like the kind of movie I like. Their voices remind me abit of Richard and Mimi Farina from back in the 60's. Yeah I am dating myself here. I hope someone buys it.

Posted by romeoisbleeding at January 27, 2007 7:20 AM

comment #11

gruver1 says ...

Wells to fnt: I saw "The King of California" on a DVD at the Park City hotel (i.e., an agreeably funky and familial place called the Star) I was staying at. On the second day of the festival. I decided to wait until it had shown at a public screenings to say anything.

Posted by gruver1 at January 27, 2007 7:36 AM

comment #12

Webster says ...

Believe the hype. "Once" knocked me out. I only less than a handful of films I can recommend without reservation ("Chasing Ghosts," "Broken English," and "The Great Wall of Sound," for the terrific Kene Holliday), but "Once" is the true keeper of the lot.

Posted by Webster at January 27, 2007 8:43 AM

comment #13

corey3rd says ...

David Green's Snow Angels not selling or being a hot property isn't that much of a shocker. He's made 3 movies that haven't grossed a million dollars total. How does a guy who has three films that Roger Ebert jizzed over not even make more than "Million Dollar Mystery." Undertow pulled in $124K. And you may say that UA tanked it, but if Green had paying following, people in NY/LA/Chicago would have shown up based on Ebert's praise.

Can you blame an indie film company for not tossed $4 million at this film thinking this Green film is going to make the Napoleon Dynamite dollars? There's too much risk.

Posted by corey3rd at January 28, 2007 7:40 AM

comment #14