The Circuit

Sony Pictures Classics has finally sealed the deal for North American rights to James Toback's docu "Tyson," unspooling in the Sundance Film Festival's Spectrum section.  SPC began talks to acquire the controversial boxer's portrait after its Cannes fest preem.

NBA All-Star Carmelo Anthony will join the project as exec producer.


As reported earlier, the distrib is also near a pact for U.S. rights to Carlos Cuaron’s dramedy “Rudo y Cursi,” ahead of its Sundance world preem. 

Pic reunites “Y Tu Mama Tambien” co-stars Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna as two brothers who become rivals on the soccer field.  It opened December 19 in Mexico to good business.

“Rudo y Cursi” is the first project to come out of Cha Cha Cha, the production shingle of helmers Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron, who is Carlos’ brother. Cha Cha Cha has a financing and distribution deal with Focus Features, which has all rights to the pic outside the U.S.  Cha Cha Cha retained U.S. rights. WMA and CAA co-repped the film.

Sundance has announced members of the six juries who will dole out awards at the fest's end on January 25.


Dramatic Jury

Virginia Madsen – (Actress: Sideway, Number 23, The Rainmaker, David Lynch's Dune)
Scott McGehee – (Producer/Director/Writer: Uncertainty, The Deep End, Suture)
Maud Nadler – (Producer/HBO Films: Relative Values)
Mike White – (Writer/Director/Producer: Year of the Dog)
Boaz Yakin – (Director/Writer/Producer: Fresh, Remember the Titans, Hostel)

Documentary Jury

Patrick Creadon – (Cinematographer/Director/Writer: Wordplay, I.O.U.S.A., Flow: For the Love of Water)
Carl Deal – (Director/Producer: Trouble the Water)
Andrea Meditch – (Executive Producer/Producer: Man on Wire, In the Shadow of the Moon)
Sam Pollard – (Editor: When the Levees Broke, Jungle Fever, Mo' Better Blues)
Marina Zenovich – (Director/Producer/Writer: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired)

World Dramatic Jury

Colin Brown (New York) – (Editor: Screen International)
Christine Jeffs (New Zealand) – (Director/Writer: Rain, Stroke; Director: Sunshine Cleaning)
Vibeke Windelov (Denmark) – (Producer: Dogville, Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark)

World Documentary Jury

Gillian Armstrong (Australia) – (Director: Death Defying Acts, Oscar & Lucinda, Little Women)
Thom Powers (New York) – (Documentary Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival)
Hubert Sauper (France) – (Director/Producer: Darwin's Nightmare)

Shorts Jury

Gerardo Naranjo – (Director/Writer/Producer: Voy a explotar, Malachance, Perro Negro)
Lou Taylor Pucci – (Actor: Thumbsucker)
Sharon Swart – (Reporter: Variety)
                                                                                                           
Alfred P. Sloan Jury

Fran Bagenal – (Professor of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado)
Rodney Brooks – (Panasonic Professor of Robotics, MIT Computer Science & AI Lab)
Ray Gesteland – (Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah)
Jeffrey Nachmanoff – (Writer: The Day After Tomorrow; Writer/Director: Traitor)
Alex Rivera – (Director/Writer/Editor: Sleep Dealer)

 

An exclusive clip from Shana Feste's "The Greatest" starring Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon:

On the Sundance site, director Lynn Shelton talks about "Humpday," her film about two straight, best friends who decide to have sex for the glory of art:

"They're trying to out-dude each other by trying to do each other, which is the ultimately irony."

Check it out here.

Regent Releasing has acquired Lynn Roth's period drama "The Little Traitor," starring Alfred Molina as a British officer in occupied Palestine.  Pic won the Audience Award at the Palm Beach Int'l. Film Festival and is set to unspool at the Palm Springs fest on January 16.  Regent will release the film in Fall of 2009.

"Although 'The Little Traitor' is a historical drama, it has tremendous relevance to the Israeli and the Palestinian conflict," said Roth.  Set in 1947-months before Israel becomes a state-story centers on a militant 11-year-old Palestinian seized by Molina.  Pic was adapted from Amos Oz's tome 'The Panther in the Basement."

Deal was negotiated by Regent's Mark Reinhart with Lynn Roth and co-producer William Jarblum for Panther Productions along with Todd Leavitt.

The trailer we found on YouTube for Glenn Ficara and John Requa's "I Love You, Phillip Morris" looks like a 15th generation copy of a copy of a copy.  But it's still funny. 

From the "Bad Santa" writers, pic stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor as gay prison lovers.  What an easy pitch that is.

Sundance regained some territory in their war-without-end against "ambush marketers" -- those companies that set up in Park City yet aren't official sponsors.  The fest announced that they'll take over The Lift -- which last year was a gifting suite morass.  They'll re-name it The Sundance Lift, using it for official events, press junkets, and other functions.

Sarah Pearce, Director of Festival Operations, said. "The Sundance Lift will provide well-needed space for press junkets and filmmaker events, free from gifting suites and other non-film-related activity. Our hope is that it will send a message to those hangers-on who do not support the Festival."

What's the big deal about non-sanctioned companies?  Aren't leeches and parasites a vital part of any ecosystem?  Not really, says the fest.  The non-profit Sundance Institute uses the fest as its biggest fundraiser, spreading the money year-round to programs worldwide.  And while doctors sometimes use leeches to in re-attachment surgery, the Institute says their leeches are re-attaching or contributing anything to filmmakers.

The following trailer for Dan Eckman's comedy "Mystery Team" may not be suitable for younger viewers. 
What's the film about?  To crib from Sundance senior programmer Trevor Groth:

"If Encyclopedia Brown, the kids from American Pie, and Nancy Drew all had sex, their baby would probably look something like Mystery Team." 

Check out their site here.

In indieWIRE's write-up of the National Society of Film Critics honors, which gave best pic to docu "Waltz with Bashir," included this paragraph:

The group chose Ari Folman's animated documentary -- about the atrocities that young members of the Israeli army witnessed during the early 80s Lebanon War -- on the day that Israeli ground troops launched an attack on Hamas in Gaza. Sony Pictures Classics opened the anti-war film in U.S. theaters last week.

FishbowlLA blog, reading a bit too much into the award's timing, stirred things up:

The National Society of Film Critics, normally an apolitical bunch, decided to make a stand against Israel on the same day that the embattled nation launched a ground attack on Hamas in Gaza.

While the editors did change some wording in the story (The Circuit didn't read the original version), Eugene Hernandez clarified it before the post got out of hand:

I certainly didn't write that the critics took a political stance, nor was I intending to do so. Rather, I was trying to note that numerous people yesterday noted the topicality of the group awarding "Bashir" the prize on the same day of the ground invasion.

French actress Isabelle Huppert will serve as Jury President of the 62nd Festival du Cannes.

"I am very glad and very proud," said Huppert. "I've had a long relationship with Cannes and this next meeting will definitely seal my love for the Festival and thus for global cinema."

Over the years, Huppert has come to the festival more than twenty five times -- as an awards presenter, jury member, symposium head, and with films in or out of competition.  She won Best Actress at the fest for "The Piano Teacher" (2001) and "Violette Noziere" (1978).

Cannes will unspool May 13-24, 2009.

For those confused about all the "Watchmen" hype -- nevermind the confusion on who owns the rights -- MySpace put up a very good primer on Zack Synder's adaptation of Alan Moore's landmark work. 

Here, Synder breaks it down without giving away the store, which moved Matt Goldberg at Collider to write:

"...after seeing it, you should be reminded of why people are freaking out a bit over the whole legal situation."

Watchmen Exclusive

Can a short cowboy have a short horse?  Kinda.  Can a short film have a short trailer?  Well... kinda. 

From helmers Jessica Burstein and Robbie Norris -- who call themselves Dumb Bunny -- comes this very short trailer for her/his Sundance short film, "Abbie Cancelled."  The duo is behind several cool MTV spots and music vids, which can be checked out at dumbbunnyproductions.com.

Greg Mottola's "Superbad" follow-up is finally a pic he also wrote -- "Adventureland," about the worst job ever.  Though "Daytrippers" had its preem at Slamdance in 1996, "Adventureland" will open in Sundance's Premieres section.

Well-timed for Sundance rejects, Calabasas-based Media Bella is offering a 4-wall package for DIY distributors that includes four screenings during Friday and Saturday at Laemmle Monica 4-Plex.  

They also get TV airtime -- a 30-second trailer will run for two weeks prior on five networks, chosen from a list that includes E!, Bravo, USA, Sci-Fi, Cartoon Network, TBS, and Comedy Central. 

The TV spots are ROS, though, which means "run of schedule," which really means the network choses if the trailer runs within "The Daily Show" or preceding a late-night Soloflex infomercial.  We're betting the latter.

Filmmakers keep 100% of the gate.  The cost -- $15 grand.

Worth it? 

Update:  An informal poll of filmmakers who've done it before raised some skepticism. 

• Randy Miller, who contracted Freestyle Releasing to take out "Bottle Shock" (which had a successful run) wasn't sure about it:  "Sounds a little thin." 

• Lance Hammer, who released "Ballast" on his own, put it more bluntly: "This makes no sense to me."

Ross Katz's film preems in Sundance's Dramatic Competition section.  Kevin Bacon stars in what looks like the longest, saddest roadtrip movie ever.