Karina on SpoutBlog

Sundance 2008 Deals

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Under discussion:

Up the Yangtze (2008)

CSNY Déjà Vu (2008)

The Black List (2008)

Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced throughout the course of the Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.

Title	Distributor	Rights Bought	$$$	More Info
The Black List	HBO	Domestic TV, Oscar qualifying	N/A	indieWIRE
CSNY Deja Vu	Fortissimo	Worldwide Theatrical	N/A	indieWIRE
Up the Yangtze	Zeitgeist	Theatrical	N/A	indieWIRE

Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 5:01 PM by Karina | with 0 comments

Sundance 2008: The First Sales

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Under discussion:

Up the Yangtze (2008)

Neither the press nor public screenings have yet begun, but indieWIRE reports that there have already been two sales here at the Sundance Film Festival. Up the Yangtze, a much-buzzed-about documentary by Yung Chang about the construction of a super-sized hydroelectric dam on the the ancient river and its effects on the lives of those living alongside it, has been acquired by Zeitgeist for release in April. Meanwhile, the festival’s closing night film, the Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert film CSNY Deja Vu, has been picked up by Fortissimo.

In other news, the Spout team is in Park City and ready, as our banner ads promise, to crash Sundance. We’ll start posting reviews late tomorrow, but check back later today for the first installment of our video coverage of the fest, produced by Ronnie Bronstein and Joe Swanberg of Butterknife.

Originally posted on:SpoutBlog » karina

Posted Thursday, January 17, 2008 2:00 PM by Karina | with 0 comments

Trade Roughage 1/17/08

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What Just Happened? (2008)

Will the strike motivate buyers to stock up on content, or will the rough recent art house climate discourage them from picking up all but the safest work? When it comes to the marketplace at the Sundance Film Festival (which begins today), all that seems certain is that star heavy, light-leaning comedies like What Just Happened? and Sunshine Cleaning are expected to have an easier time leaving Park City with a deal. So, in other words, no news to report yet.
AMPAS is planning two separate Oscar shows: one in case the WGA makes nice with the studios or grants them a waiver to use writers, and an “alternative” strike-proof telecast. Oscar telecast producer Gil Cates is keeping quiet on what form the “alternative” show could take, but Variety speculates that it would probably “rely on industry heavyweights penning their own speeches and presenting the awards.”
“Anticipation of a DGA deal is amping up the pressure from all sides on the leadership of the Writers Guild,” says Dave McNary. The AMPTP is expected to hand down an offer this week, and writers are apparently threatening that they’ll resign from the WGA and go “financial core,” allowing them to go back to work without union protections, if the DGA rejects it out of hand.