Last weekend, a local TV station asked Robert Redford if he would mind doing an interview on a hotel room balcony, so they could shoot him in front of the throngs of visitors to the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
Redford, whose Sundance Institute took over the festival in 1985 and turned it into the highest-profile film festival in the U.S., was happy to oblige. Before the camera could roll, though, fans below spotted him, and he found himself waving and smiling, like the pope of independent film, bestowing his blessing on the faithful.
“Jeez, you see how an image can be manipulated?” says Redford, laughing. He’s just come from a news conference about the evolution of Sundance from a showcase for independent filmmakers into a brand-name cultural event.
Once, he admits, he fretted about Sundance getting too big for its black jeans. Now he views it as an opportunity to “provide a balance and an alternative to big-time commercial filmmaking all around the United States.”
“I really believe the spirit of this thing can be spread,” says Redford, looking far fitter than any man of 65 should.
“Our business now is providing more choices. We’re doing it with the Sundance Channel on cable, and now with our DVD line, where we give some of the films that for one reason or another didn’t get wide distribution after the festival another shot. And now we’re taking that further with the Sundance Film Series.”
The Sundance Film Series will debut in Loews movie theaters in 10 cities (including Chicago) from August through November. The initial series, Redford says, will showcase four yet-to-be-announced films that were well-received at festivals but were not acquired for theatrical distribution. One will play each month, and each will then be released on DVD and shown on TV’s Sundance Channel.
“I believe we have to take chances, especially on smaller films,” Redford says. “It’s amazing how much fear there is in the corporate world these days. Once upon a time, forward-thinkers saw economies like this one as opportunities to be creative.
“Look at what happened to ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ and ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien.’ We have a chance to build on that kind of success, and I say we go for it.”