Though the Sundance Film Festival is famous for its small budget indie projects and laid-back feel, the star power at this year’s Park City, Utah event was anything but low-key. Brad Pitt stepped out to support wife Jennifer Aniston for the premiere of her latest film, Mariah Carey was on hand to promote her second foray onto the big screen and Nicole Kidman posed for pics on the beefy arm of GladiatorRussell Crowe.
Nicole and Russell both had films premiering at the star-studded annual event. The Moulin Rouge actress flew in from Sweden to attend the preview of her newest endeavour, Birthday Girl. Her close chum Russell made the trip for the premiere of Texas, a documentary in which he appears with his rock group, 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were there in connection with Stolen Summer by writer/director Pete Jones, the first winner of Project Greenlight, a screenwriting contest that was the brainchild of the famed best buddy team. The movie, which looks at two families in a Chicago suburb, was selected from more than 7,500 submissions from novice screenwriters who competed for a $1 millon budget to bring their work to the big screen.
A showcase for efforts by little-known filmmakers, Sundance, founded by actor Robert Redford, has become a magnet for established stars who are looking to branch out. In the low budget dark comedy The Good Girl, Jennifer Aniston plays against type as a bad girl who, disgusted by her lazy husband, goes on to forge a passionate connection with her young discount store co-worker.
Mariah Carey sported dark glasses as she arrived for the debut of her new film Wisegirls, in which she co-stars with Mira Sorvino as a waitress working in a mafia-run restaurant. Her first big screen outing, last year’s Glitter, was not received well by critics, but the Mariah says she’ll be keep her head high this time round, regardless of press reviews. “If I was gun-shy I’d be home hiding under the covers,” she says. “I’m a fighter.”
Other highlights of the 120 films screened at the festival were John Malkovich’s directorial debut The Dancer Upstairs, starring Oscar-nominated Spanish actor Javier Bardem, and Mick Jagger’s critically acclaimed portrayal of a male escort boss in The Man From Elysian Fields.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
