Posted by Michael Raben at spider-wa023.proxy.aol.com on February 13, 2000 at 21:13:09:
In Reply to: 3 Questions for Kevin. posted by ghostmann on February 13, 2000 at 17:48:08:
: 1. How much was Clerks bought for when it hit the film fests?
I believe that 'Clerks' was picked up, at Sundance, for something like $200,000 above cost, but don't quote me.
: 2. Does it bug you now that lackluster films like Happy Texas are being bought for 10 million?
If somebody thinks that 'Happy, Texas' is worth the bucks, more power to them and the filmmakers who made it. Life's too short to get in a twist over somebody else's good fortune.
: 3. Has Blair Witch corrupted Sundance in terms of not wanting to miss the next big thing, but will soon backfire (ie: Happy Texas) and the film fest circut will end up biting the hand that feeds it.
Sundance has been 'corrupt', by your definition, long before 'The Blair Witch Project' came along. But that's just the nature of the business. The largest, successful *thing* in any *pool* becomes corporatized; that's just the nature of business.
As far as the fest circuit as a whole, the two facets that are most important are the filmmakers and the audiences. Hype doesn't last, but there's always going to be something *new* and interesting to be seen. People like movies; until that changes, the fests will keep doing their thing.
Always,
Michael Raben