Sundance films are finding buyers

PARK CITY — The national economic crisis has been blamed in part for keeping some patrons, stars and studio executives from attending the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

Apparently it hasn't stopped movie distributors from embarking on spending sprees, though. Millions of dollars are being thrown around to pick up "free agent" movies that are playing in this year's festival, which is regarded as the premier showcase for independent film and world cinema in the United States.

So far, the biggest deal has been the reported $5 million that fledgling distributor Senator Films paid for "Brooklyn's Finest," a crime-thriller starring Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, Ethan Hawke and Wesley Snipes.

Sony Entertainment was part of the "Brooklyn's Finest" deal as well. Sony also spent $2 million for the Park City at Midnight selection "Black Dynamite," a "blaxploitation" spoof.

Meanwhile, Magnolia paid a similar amount for the porn-centric comedy "Humpday."

And two films — the Mexican sports comedy "Rudo y Cursi" and the documentary "Burma VJ" — were acquired in the days before the festival began. (Sony Pictures Classics and HBO did the honors there.)

The deals are some of the earliest in Sundance history. But festival director Geoff Gilmore speculated that might be the case, due to the "strong festival slate."

"Part of our mission is to not only get these films seen by the public but also to people who might be able to get it seen by even more people," Gilmore said.

Also, big deals at Sundance are nothing new — witness the $25 million spent to acquire films at Sundance last year.

But securing a deal doesn't necessarily ensure a bright theatrical future. The Weinstein Company paid $4 million for the rights to the Iraq War drama "Grace is Gone" in 2006. Though it had a brief theatrical release in a couple of major cities, in essence the film went straight to video.

British author Nick Hornby is hoping for better things for "An Education," a comedy-drama he scripted and executive produced.

Hornby called the Sundance marketing process stressful. "Even a supposedly low-budget movie costs millions of dollars," he explained. "So you feel a certain responsibility to help your investors make their money back."

"An Education" was one of the hotter festival commodities and has been part of a bidding war among Fox Searchlight and other companies.

Thanks to good audience reaction, the drama "Push: Based on a Novel by Sapphire" also was getting significant studio interest.

More uncertain was the fate of "I Love You Phillip Morris." The high-profile movie stars Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor, but there were some concerns about the film's strong gay themes.

E-mail: jeff@desnews.com