..Leonard Klady
..David Poland
..Ray Pride
..Patricia Vidal

Things got quiet on the streets of Park City on Tuesday and the calmness became almost eerie by Wednesday.

John Curran's We Don't Live Here Anymore became the first pick-up by Warner Independent. A bunch of people where caught off guard when Sony Classics' expected acquisition turned out to be a non-Sundance film, Merchant-Ivory's Heights.

There are eight titles that are still floating out there, waiting to see whether interest builds to actual buys. People are trying to figure out whether Dig! and/or Super Size Me can be turned into viable theatrical product, Super Size Me being the more widely popular of the two films. The Woodsman is a pedophile drama that has become the "I'm interested, but…" film of this year's festival. Expansive chick flicks Speak and Easy are still hoping to find homes, though Speak has not yet been viewed by as many as Easy. (Easy's Marguerite Moreau worked the festival so hard that she was squeaking when trying to talk on Wednesday.)

Finally, The Machinist is a must-buy for someone who wants a sure fire winner for the fall of 2005. Why? Christian Bale's Batman (Christopher Nolan's, really) will come out in the summer of 2005 and Bale's star should rise to the heavens. This film, which is worthy on its own, has a fine performance by Bale played at near-Holocaust thinness, as a man who has gone a year without sleep. If you can buy this one and put it on the shelf for 20 months, there is an eight-figure profit there for the taking.

There is also a little buzz around One Point O and November, two genre pictures that have a similar feel to The Machinist, but are probably both headed to cable premieres. Maria Full Of Grace, Edge of America and Home of Phobia are all niche titles that may not inspire enough confidence to get theatrical releases, though someone could get inspired along the way.

It'll be a short column today. Tomorrow, a look at few more films in depth. Saturday, a look at Slamdance. And Sunday, the wrap-up.

 

Day Six
Day Five
Day Four
Day Three
Day Two
Day One

 

- by David Poland