Sundancers enjoyed unseasonably warm weather (41 degrees in the afternoon) as the festival headed toward its concluding weekend.
Deals. After picking up the Nazi zombie flick Dead Snow, IFC Films added another comedy to its roster, acquiring Armando Iannucci's In the Loop just hours before its premiere, according to Mike Jones at Variety. The film stars Tom Hollander, Peter Capaldi, James Gandolfini, and Steve Coogan. A 2009 theatrical release is planned, per indieWIRE. But where's the bidding wars for docs? A. J. Schnack of All these wonderful things writes: "For the first time in anyone's recent memory, the first half of the fest had come and gone without a major doc sale."
Reviews/Interviews. Would-be comedy Paper Heart is "partially built around Charlyne Yi's persona," says Eric D. Snider, "and I find her persona boring." Oh, dear. The "typically hilarious" Michael Cera also appears. James Rocchi was busy, interviewing the great Kevin Spacey about Shrink and talking with actor / director / writer John Krasinski about Brief Interviews with Hideous Men. James also reviewed Ondi Timoner's documentary We Live in Public, which he called "incisive, exciting and thought-provoking."
Prison drama Bronson, from Pusher trilogy director Nicolas Wining Refn, has created a fair amount of buzz, and Scott Weinberg knows why, describing it as "raw, blistering, harsh and compelling." Scott also took a bemused gander at Bobcat Goldthwait's World's Greatest Dad, with Robin Williams essaying the titular role of a father dealing with life after his teenage son "dies while masturbating." Yes, folks, it's a comedy! To end on a musical note, Erik Davis caught The Carter, a doc about rapper Lil' Wayne, "a passionate, talented man who's slowly losing himself." You can check out all our coverage at the fabulous Sundance hub at Moviefone.
Blog Talk. After the jump: Woody Allen's soul, Bobcat's schedule, and Paris Hilton.
"Woody Allen's turn came, and he opened his box and his soul is a little chickpea. So he's super upset, and he said there's no way he made 43 movies and his soul is a chickpea." -- Cold Souls writer/director Sophie Barthes, explaining that the genesis of her film came from a dream, as quoted by Peter Knegt at indieWIRE.
"I'm probably the only director here who in three weeks is going to be playing an Indian casino in Iowa." -- World's Greatest Dad writer/director Bob Goldthwait, discussing his upcoming schedule with Karina Longworth at Spout.
"Good news! Sundance's insidious freebie parasites avoided the swag cutback forecast for 2009, with Paris Hilton actually picking up 10 bags totaling $7,000 worth of shit from one lounge on Main Street. The economy is OK after all!" -- S.T. VanAirsdale, Defamer.
