Sundance: Robert Redford and John Cooper Talk Sundance
By Mali Elfman
Today the brains behind Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford and John Cooper sat down to a press conference at the Egyptian theater to talk about going back to the festivals roots and why it’s still so important to keep making indie films and getting them seen. As you may remember from some of my earlier comments, one of my bring problems with the festival is that the majority of the feature films do not seem that “indie.” Most of them have a minimum of 3 huge A-list faces on the poster and most likely so wealthy producers to back it, which hardly seems fair to the little guy. Luckily both Redford and Cooper had something to say on the matter…
With technology, a $5 million dollar film can be made for a couple hundred grand by upcoming filmmakers, which sounds great! Until you realize that also means that a $20 million film can be made for $5 million and get a few names attached to it so it’s gaurunteed distrubution on the backside. Although it’s nice to see Hollywood making films for smaller amount of money, they are totally pummeling the little guy and giving themselves the title of “small indie filmmaker.”
Although, that’s merely one side of an argument. While I listened to Redford talk, he did make a few solid points which can’t be overlooked. Maybe Sundance isn’t filled with as many “little guys” as it was a decade below, but it is filled with quality smaller films which have recently been banished from the mainstream media and need a place to survive. He also made a very good point about the documentary section of the festival which has reached out to filmmakers all over the world, who have literally risked their lives to make films that matter and would never get them released if not for festivals like this and people like Redford.
I’m not saying I’m completely okay with everything, but I’ve found a middle ground. I’ll break down the press conference a bit more when I have time tomorrow, but until them you can listen to the full one hour press conference below…
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