Film Scouts and Newsweek at Sundance 1999

1999 Sundance Film Festival Buzz
Cool Runnings

by Andréa C. Basora

The snow wasn't the only cool thing about the Sundance Film Festival this year. Here are the other things people were talking about:

The "Beefcake" Pen: The publicists for this Canadian documentary about a photographer of male models sent out a pen that everybody was whipping out at the slightest provocation. It features pictures of hunky male models in skimpy swimsuits - but turn the pen over and the swimsuits disappear altogether.

Sarah Polley: "Guinevere" may have been mediocre, but Canadian actress Sarah Polley was a standout and had everybody buzzing about a breakthrough performance.

The Gap Jackets: These bright orange parkas provided to the Sundance workers by The Gap, one of the sponsors of the festival, were in great demand. Festival volunteers were being offered prices as high as $500 to part with their coats - one door guard was even accosted by Glenn Close. But nobody I interviewed was willing to part with the down-filled collectible.

"The Blair Witch Project:" It is being touted as the scariest film ever made and it was certainly the fastest to pick up a distributor. At its first midnight showing there were over 400 people on the waiting list.


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