The 40th Sundance Film Festival kicks off Thursday in snow-covered Park City, Utah. In the wake of twin strikes and an indie biz still recovering from the Covid pandemic, it’s difficult to read how hungry buyers are for films that are mostly light on starpower and an overtly commercial premise.
For instance, the buzziest title seems to be Love Me, because it stars Kristen Stewart and freshly minted Emmy-winning Beef star Steven Yeun. But it is a completely execution-dependent premise — long after humanity’s extinction, a buoy and a satellite meet online and fall in love. Two fine actors, but neither is a giant theatrical So there could be competition for this one, but buyers will be coming in cold and, as one veteran fest buyer said, “it’s like every other movie here. Let’s see what you got.”
One wrinkle in the continuing tectonic shifts in the theatrical space is a number of titles on my cheat sheets that have distributors aligned with them. Buyers are being encouraged to come kick the tires, and if the studios can find a better home for a film it invested in early, deals could be made.
To read more, visit Deadline.
