{"id":1511,"date":"2019-01-31T22:05:33","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T22:05:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/?p=1511"},"modified":"2020-12-15T02:02:38","modified_gmt":"2020-12-15T02:02:38","slug":"amazon-rules-sundance-spending-41-million-as-traditional-distributors-lie-low","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/amazon-rules-sundance-spending-41-million-as-traditional-distributors-lie-low\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Rules Sundance, Spending $41 Million as Traditional Distributors Lie Low"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"logo\u201cThat\u2019s a great Netflix movie,\u201d said one premium cable executive of \u201cBrittany Runs a Marathon,\u201d a scruffy New York comedy based on rookie writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo\u2019s best friend, an overweight 30ish party girl (TV star Jillian Bell), who changes her life by committing to run the New York Marathon. After the world premiere at the Eccles, the executive was wiping her eyes as a heated Sundance bidding war was already under way. However, the buyer wasn\u2019t Netflix; it was Amazon Studios. It wasn\u2019t chasing the big numbers at first, but as soon as new chief Jennifer Salke saw it, she rushed back into the fray to nail down the movie for $14 million worldwide. It was their third big buy of the festival.<\/p>\n

“Brittany Runs A Marathon”<\/h1>\n

Jillian Bell appears in Brittany Runs A Marathon by Paul Downs Colaizzo, an official selection of the Shorts Programs at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jon Pack. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and\/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and\/or photos is strictly prohibited.<\/p>\n

The shift in the market for Sundance titles is dramatic, as the buyers with the most to spend and the most need for ample content \u2014 Apple, Amazon, HBO, Hulu, and Netflix \u2014 competed for the most commercial titles with global appeal.<\/p>\n

Under the direction of artistic director John Cooper and chief programmer Kim Yutani, many films at the most diverse festival ever told stories of people trying to manage shifting and clashing cultures. These ranged from Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert\u2019s documentary \u201cAmerican Factory,\u201d to Gurinder Chadha\u2019s \u201cBlinded by the Light,\u201d Lulu Wang\u2019s \u201cThe Farewell,\u201d Minhal Baig\u2019s \u201cHala,\u201d and Julius Onah\u2019s \u201cLuce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Traditional specialty brick-and-mortar distributors played at a more affordable level. Bleecker scooped up senior romance \u201cThe Tomorrow Man\u201d while Kino Lorber bought Venice Film Festival premiere \u201cThe Mountain.\u201d Others are producing and pre-buying, in order not to overspend as Neon did last year on the $10 million Sundance flop \u201cAssassination Nation.\u201d Among these was Neon itself, which arrived in Park City with stunning CNN documentary \u201cApollo 11,\u201d and Magnolia Pictures, which quietly financed two Sundance documentaries, Penny Lane\u2019s \u201cHail Satan?\u201d and Alison Klayman\u2019s Steve Bannon study, \u201cThe Brink.\u201d<\/p>\n

All that demand made for a robust market. \u201cSundance was more healthy than last year,\u201d said distributor Paul Davidson, who bought documentary \u201cHalston\u201d and Olivia Colman Appalachian thriller \u201cThem That Follow\u201d for a company formerly known as The Orchard. \u201cIt\u2019s always good to see big dollars being paid. It\u2019s a shot in the arm to encourage people to spend more at larger levels. There\u2019s a range of solid films not in the $7 million-$15 million range with good casts, and great documentaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

What happened to Amazon Studios between 2018, when nothing seemed to fit its finicky commercial parameters, and 2019, when it became the festival\u2019s most aggressive buyer? After a management shakeup that threw many projects into turnaround, former network executive Salke came in with an appetite and deep pockets to buy pictures to fill her slate. (Amazon had already booked Ritesh Batra\u2019s \u201cPhotograph\u201d and Bert & Bertie\u2019s \u201cTroop Zero\u201d into the festival line-up.) She was also eager to find movies with appeal to women.<\/p>\n

\u201cLate Night\u201d<\/h1>\n

Going into the festival, writer-star Mindy Kaling\u2019s New York comedy \u201cLate Night\u201d was already being compared to Amazon\u2019s $12 million 2017 buy \u201cThe Big Sick,\u201d which went on to earn a writing Oscar nomination and grossed $54 million worldwide. \u201cLate Night,\u201d which was developed at Fox 2000, is an entertaining culture-clash story about a canny diversity hire (Kaling) on an all-male writing team for an acerbic talk show host (Emma Thompson).<\/p>\n

Co-financiers 30West and international sales\/production company FilmNation sold \u201cLate Night\u201d (for the U.S. only) in the festival\u2019s first bidding war: Amazon picked it up for $13 million. Even with great reviews (current Tomatometer is 87 percent), by conservative estimates \u201cLate Night\u201d would need to make some $60 million in order to recoup after marketing costs. But online shopping site Amazon operates by different metrics than other theatrical distributors. Both films should open this summer.<\/p>\n

Anette Benning appears in The Report by Scott Z. Burns, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Atsushi Nishijima.All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and\/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and\/or photos is strictly prohibited.
\n\u201cThe Report\u201d<\/p>\n

Atsushi Nishijima<\/h1>\n

Salke also paid $14 million for writer-director Scott Z. Burns\u2019 post-9\/11 CIA thriller \u201cThe Report,\u201d which is a feat of dramatic writing for smart audiences that imparts reams of info about CIA interrogation techniques and makes heroes out of investigator Dan Jones (Adam Driver) and Senator Dianne Feinstein (Annette Bening). Steven Soderbergh collaborator Burns (\u201cContagion\u201d), making his directing debut, emerges as not only an ace screenwriter but a filmmaker. This well-reviewed movie (Tomatometer: 95 percent) will hold for rebranding in the fall as an Oscar contender.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a mixture of new and established talent we hope to build a future with,\u201d stated Salke, \u201cand continue to produce content for audiences around the world on Amazon Prime Video.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Farewell\u201d<\/h1>\n

Also having a strong festival was A24, which backed three of the best-reviewed movies in the U.S. dramatic competition with homegrown productions \u201cShare\u201d and \u201cThe Last Black Man in San Francisco,\u201d and pre-buy \u201cNative Son.\u201d However, rather than take the financially risky theatrical route, A24 sold to frequent television partner HBO Films both first-time filmmaker Pippa Bianco\u2019s low-budget high school thriller \u201cShare,\u201d and visual artist Rashid Johnson and playwright Suzan-Lori Parks\u2019 stylish adaptation of the Richard Wright Chicago classic \u201cNative Son,\u201d starring Barry Jenkins discoveries Ashton Sanders (\u201cMoonlight\u201d) and Kiki Layne (\u201cIf Beale Street Could Talk\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what artists do, we fuck shit up,\u201d Johnson told the Eccles opening night audience of the hard-hitting movie update, which HBO bought for a reported eight figures.<\/p>\n

HBO also screened the most talked-about film at the festival, four-hour Michael Jackson serial pedophile expose \u201cLeaving Neverland,\u201d which will permanently alter perceptions of one of the world\u2019s biggest pop stars.<\/p>\n

At Sundance, A24 acquired Competition breakout \u201cThe Farewell,\u201d Lulu Wang\u2019s poignant true-story family comedy, shot in English and Mandarin and showcasing \u201cCrazy Rich Asian\u201d star Awkwafina, for $6 million for the world outside China. (That threw new Sundance buyer Apple out of the bidding, as it sought worldwide rights only.)<\/p>\n

Like studio specialty distributors Focus Features and Fox Searchlight, A24 is producing and pre-buying more. But the opportunistic company is also offloading risk with other companies \u2014 not only to HBO, but Apple. These partners are looking to A24 to help them brand and build buzz for their titles.<\/p>\n

Tom Burke, Joanna Hogg, Honor Swinton-Byrne. Tom Burke, from left, writer\/director Joanna Hogg, and Honor Swinton-Byrne pose for a portrait to promote the film “The Souvenir” at the Salesforce Music Lodge during the Sundance Film Festival, in Park City, Utah2019 Sundance Film Festival – “The Souvenir” Portrait Session, Park City, USA – 28 Jan 2019<\/p>\n

Also world premiering at Sundance were two other A24 pre-buys, British filmmaker Joanna Hogg\u2019s moody romantic drama \u201cThe Souvenir,\u201d starring Tom Burke, Tilda Swinton, and her debuting daughter Honor Swinton-Byrne, and Irish rookie Lee Cronin\u2019s horror thriller \u201cHole in the Ground,\u201d which will be released in partnership with DIRECTV.<\/p>\n

Warner Bros. label New Line Cinema made the biggest buy, paying $15 million for worldwide rights to exuberant crowdpleaser \u201cBlinded by the Light,\u201d about a Pakistani teenager (Viveik Kalra) who comes into his own via the music and lyrics of Bruce Springsteen. Audiences are cheered and delighted by this upbeat movie.<\/p>\n

\u201cHala\u201d<\/h1>\n

New buyer Apple, with an acquisitions team led by SXSW and Cinetic Media veteran Matt Dentler, showed TIFF pickup \u201cElephant Queen,\u201d an eight-year odyssey for wildlife documentary-makers Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, who said they loved collaborating with Apple on a wide-ranging marketing strategy for the world. And Dentler bought \u201cHala,\u201d a coming-of-age drama shot in English and Urdu from producer Will and Jada Pinkett Smith\u2019s Overbrook Entertainment. Expanded from her short by \u201cBojack Horseman\u201d story editor and music-video director Minhal Baig, the movie stars Geraldine Viswanathan (\u201cBlockers\u201d) in the title role as a Muslim teenager dealing with her dysfunctional family. At IndieWire\u2019s dinner for first-time filmmakers, Baig said she was impressed with Dentler\u2019s cinephile bonafides. Clearly, while Apple is not revealing its releasing strategy, there is going to be a theatrical component.<\/p>\n

Never one to overpay is Sony Pictures Classics, which has pivoted into buying more documentaries. Michael Barker and Tom Bernard came into Sundance with TIFF women sailor documentary \u201cMaiden\u201d and dramatic water experience \u201cAquarela.\u201d They also acquired Cameron Crowe and A.J. Eaton\u2019s music biodoc \u201cDavid Crosby: Remember My Name\u201d and Matthew Tyrnauer\u2019s \u201cWhere\u2019s My Roy Cohn?,\u201d a searing portrait of the New York powerbroker described by many as evil incarnate. They are also expected to pick up \u2014 after backing her Oscar-winning \u201cAlice\u201d \u2014 Julianne Moore vehicle \u201cAfter the Wedding,\u201d adapted by her husband Bart Freundlich and co-starring Michelle Williams, a gender-flip update of Susanne Bier\u2019s Oscar-nominated original, which should play well for the mainstream older specialty crowd.<\/p>\n

Streamer Hulu followed up last year\u2019s strong Sundance buys (\u201cCrime + Punishment\u201d and Oscar nominee \u201cMinding the Gap\u201d) by acquiring for $2 million TV director Ben Berman\u2019s popular \u201cUntitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary,\u201d about a magician.<\/p>\n

\u201cLuce\u201d<\/h1>\n

Before the festival, Neon and Hulu partnered on U.S. rights to the zombie midnight title \u201cLittle Monsters,\u201d starring Lupita Nyong\u2019o, for mere six figures. And at Sundance Neon scooped up three of the five movies it tried to buy. This time Neon CEO Tom Quinn stopped short of the top bidding on \u201cThe Farewell\u201d and \u201cLate Night,\u201d but landed genre title \u201cThe Lodge\u201d as well as Julius Onah\u2019s coming-of-age thriller \u201cLuce.\u201d<\/p>\n

Based on J.C. Lee\u2019s play, the film is a provocative (and often disturbing) dissection of a well-intentioned suburban couple (Naomi Watts and Tim Roth) whose adopted African-born overachieving teenage son (breakout Kelvin Harrison, Jr.) runs into conflicts with his teacher (Octavia Spencer) that spiral out of control. Neon also acquired one of the filmmaker discoveries of the festival, Colombian hostage thriller \u201cMonos,\u201d directed by Alejandro Landes and starring Julianne Nicholson.<\/p>\n

Sitting out the festival so far are the once-primary buyers Focus Features and Fox Searchlight. And what of Netflix? The antipathy toward the mighty streaming behemoth was palpable, but this year Netflix used Sundance as a launchpad for its own movies: art-world satire \u201cVelvet Buzzsaw\u201d starring Jake Gyllenhaal and actor-turned-director Chiwetel Ejiofor\u2019s \u201cThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.\u201d<\/p>\n

Late Wednesday, Netflix announced the acquisition of Rachel Lears\u2019 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez documentary, \u201cKnock Down the House,\u201d and bought the seven part Indian series \u201cDelhi Crime,\u201d but has otherwise remained on the sidelines. On a plane home, one buyer texted an apt explanation: \u201cNetflix finally met their match in Amazon, Hulu, and Apple. They were definitely \u2018buying\/making offers,\u2019 but apparently didn\u2019t drink enough coffee.\u201d (Last year, Netflix picked up several movies without theatrical futures post-Sundance for a song.)<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if you\u2019re spending $15 billion a year on original content, who needs Sundance anyway?<\/p>\n

View this article at IndieWire<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThat\u2019s a great Netflix movie,\u201d said one premium cable executive of \u201cBrittany Runs a Marathon,\u201d a scruffy New York comedy based on rookie writer-director Paul Downs Colaizzo\u2019s best friend, an overweight 30ish party girl (TV star Jillian Bell), who changes her life by committing to run the New York Marathon. After the world premiere at
+ Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,59],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1511","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-indiewire","category-new-line-cinema"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1511"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3809,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1511\/revisions\/3809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ramolawpc.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}