Sharon Waxman On the Business of Entertainment
The founder and editor of TheWrap’s take on life on the left coast, high culture, low culture and the business of entertainment and media. Waxman writes frequently on the inside doings of Hollywood, and is is also the author of two books, Rebels on the Back Lot and Loot
Apart from a visible glow from the thrill of being back together in person, industry professionals at the Sundance Film Festival are undergoing a sort of crisis as they debate how serious the problems are facing independent film.
The one point of agreement: With theatrical in a state of severe decline, the future of independent and art house film is very much in a state of limbo. The business model for arthouse film has been crumbling for years, but now just resembles a haze of confusion. Regal just closed 39 theaters, AMC is expected to close venues to stave off a cash crunch, Landmark shut down in Los Angeles and the box office has re-set to a new, low baseline.
That leaves the streamers as the main port of call, but let’s face it — indie filmmakers would really prefer not to end up in the bottomless pit of Netflix.
Where will all these films go?
The conversations ebb and flow, between premiere screenings at the Eccles Theater and random encounters at the bar of the Doubletree Hotel, formerly the Yarrow but still with a big theater and the hardest working barkeeps in town. (And absolute worst hot chocolate ever, but we digress.)
A consensus exists that the array of films this year are strong. There are new voices — like Elijah Bynum, here with the beautifully shot “Magazine Dreams” — and familiar ones like Nicole Holofcener (“You Hurt My Feelings”) and William Oldroyd (“Eileen”). But there aren’t enough places for those films to seek a wide audience and a financial return after their Sundance debut.
“It is a tough time,” said Bob Berney, a veteran of the independent film world who ran marketing at Amazon Studios and owned Picturehouse with his wife Jeannie. “I don’t know where these small films will go. Whoever financed them, there won’t be a lot there” for a financial return.
The Berneys were among the executives lined up at the Eccles, waiting for another film to premiere.
Peter Kujawski, the chairman of Focus Features, was among those relishing the experience of seeing a movie with a crowd. “Across the board the films have been really good — and seeing films in person with a crowded room, it fundamentally alters things,” he said. “I think these movies will find homes. I genuinely do.”
But not, most likely, at Focus Features. Kujo, as most call him, is not at Sundance to buy films unless there’s something his team just can’t pass up. And neither, it appears is Searchlight, the Disney-owned arthouse distributor with legendary good taste. They too have a full release slate for 2023 though that didn’t stop them from winning a fierce bidding war for one of the buzziest Sundance crowd-pleasers, the musical comedy “Theater Camp.” The distribution rights were going for around $10 million. That still leaves specialty distributors like A24, Magnolia, Neon and Roadside Attractions. It’s unclear that they can bring big bucks to a sales conversation.
So who remains at the front of the line? Netflix, Amazon, Apple are the big streamers who can afford to pay big. After all, Apple bought “CODA” here a year ago for a reported $25 million, the largest sum ever paid at the festival. The film went on to win the Best Picture Oscar. An Apple executive said so far they had not found a must-have film to acquire.
Just this morning Chloe Domont’s “Fair Play,” a Wall Street drama that premiered at Sundance, sold to Netlfix in a $20 million worldwide rights deal. The film sparked a bidding war that included Searchlight and Neon, and while it fell short of the $25 million record for “CODA,” it did surpass the $17.5 million of the previous record holders — 2020’s “Palm Springs” and 2016’s “The Birth of a Nation.”
“Streamers find a film more valuable once it’s had a theatrical release,” observed producer Jamie Patricof, also loitering in the Eccles lobby. But he too acknowledged that the release options have narrowed, and wondered aloud if film festivals themselves just become the place one goes to see independent film.
“As we figure out how theatrical changes and adapts, festivals become even more critical places for film,” he said.
The talent agencies seem to believe there’s a business here to nourish. All of the big agencies — WME, CAA and UTA — set up fancy lounges or posh mountainside houses where they were schmoozing both talent and potential buyers. UTA’s message practically screamed “Check out our slate” in the lavish brunch spread it put out on Sunday at its signature snow chalet up in Deer Valley. WME had a well-appointed space on Main Street near the Egyptian theater that hummed with humanity.
One film that exemplified the limited options for indie film is “Justice,” the documentary by director Doug Liman about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The film was kept under wraps until its debut at the festival, and played to a packed house on Friday night. The film made several revelations about Kavanaugh, and seemed to guarantee wide PR for any distributor.
But by Sunday there were no known bids for the film, and the word on the street was that the film would court too much controversy — and possibly lawsuits — to find distribution.
For his part, Liman practically pleaded at the premiere for a buyer, since he’s been financing the film out of his own pocket.
“It would take a lot of guts for a bigger company to buy it,” observed Berney. “It’s really about do you want to get the message out there, or do you see business there. These big companies — they’re not going to ruffle feathers.”
