During the recent Sundance Film Festival, Summit Entertainment had bought the worldwide distribution rights to Once, the Irish musical that premiered at the festival. Now Summit has sold the film's North American distribution rights to Fox Searchlight. The price was under $1 million -- not bad for a movie that cost about $100K to make. Fox hasn't publicized a possible release date yet, except to say it will be released in 2007.

Once was written and directed by John Carney, and won the World Cinema Audience Award for a dramatic film at Sundance this year. James Rocchi caught the film at Sundance and said it "isn't just the standard-issue struggling artist story it could have been, but, rather, a symbol for moving on, daring to be happy, daring to reach out." Once sounds like a charming love story, and hopefully, since a larger distributor like Fox Searchlight has the film, more of us will get the opportunity to see it later this year. Other movies Fox Searchlight bought at Sundance include the Adrienne Shelly film Waitress, Joshua and La Misma Luna (partnering with The Weinstein Company).

Want to see a satire about the Ten Commandments? ThinkFilm is hoping you will -- the company just partnered with City Lights Home Entertainment to buy the North American distribution rights to The Ten, which premiered at Sundance this week. The deal was estimated at $4.5 million to be shared between the two companies. ThinkFilm will handle the theatrical distribution, and City Lights will work with Warner on DVD and digital distribution.

The Ten was directed by David Wain, one of the comic talents behind the TV show Stella. The cast includes Jessica Alba, Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, Oliver Platt, Famke Janssen, Winona Ryder and a bunch of other actors you probably know that I don't have space to list here. In his review for Cinematical, Scott Weinberg called it "a skit-intensive (and entirely bizarre) amalgam of ideas -- clever, silly and just plain stupid." This sounds like a fun (if uneven) movie, although admittedly I'm a sucker for anything with Paul Rudd. And Oliver Platt, for that matter. No word yet about when the movie will be released, although it would be awfully nice to have even a semi-intelligent comedy opening during the summer as an alternative to the big dopey blockbusters.

In other deal news, Variety is predicting a bidding war over The Good Night, another star-filled film that premiered at Sundance, written and directed by Jake Paltrow. Two other high-profile films, Hounddog and Chicago 10, still haven't found distributors.

I thought the number of distribution deals that were finalized at Sundance yesterday was impressive -- and then I woke up this morning and found out about yet more deals. Distribution companies seem to be buying films left and right. Here are the latest deals reported from the film festival:

• After Dark Films bought the worldwide distribution rights to the teen-crime film Weapons for an estimated price of slightly over $1 million. After Dark will likely distribute the film theatrically through Lionsgate, with which it has a partnership, and plans to release the film late this year. Weapons is written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough, and is about a group of angry, violent youths. Scott Weinberg has described this film as "bleak and listless" -- look for his review on Cinematical later this week.
• Summit Entertainment acquired the worldwide rights (except Ireland) for the Irish musical Once for an undisclosed amount. The low-budget film was written and directed by John Carney. James Rocchi found the movie charming, and called it "a true pleasure that only the rankest cynic couldn't enjoy." Somehow I think I'd prefer this movie to Weapons, but obviously I'm not the target demographic for that film.

How soon do you think it will be before more Sundance deals are finalized, and for which films? I thought The Devil Came on Horseback was supposed to sell soon, but I haven't heard any rumors lately. What about Broken English, which stars indie-film darling Parker Posey? And everyone's talking about Dakota Fanning's rape scene in Hounddog, but no one's bought the distribution rights yet.

I went to a meeting tonight and returned home to discover that the industry wheeling and dealing at Sundance had produced a number of distribution deals. An LA Times article refers to the latest round of deals as "a spending spree reminiscent of drunken sailors on shore leave." I can't top that description. Here's the scoop, as well as some updates on previous deals in progress:

• Fortissimo Films has bought the worldwide (except China) distribution rights to Nanking for an as-yet undisclosed price. Nanking is about the Japanese invasion during WWII of Nanking, China. At first, I thought Nanking was a feature because well-known actors are listed on the film's IMDb page, and some controversy has occurred about writing credits, but apparently it's a documentary that contains a filmed stage reading of pertinent letters and documents. Look for a review of Nanking by Kim Voynar later this week.
  
• Paramount Vantage picked up near-worldwide distribution rights to How She Move (pictured at right), a Canadian feature about urban step dancing. Is this the same as stepping, which was featured in Stomp the Yard? If so (or if buyers are similarly confused), Stomp the Yard's box office success might explain the estimated $3-4 million sale for this film. The plot of How She Move also sounds Save the Last Dance-ish.
  

Just because everyone's been analyzing and criticizing Oscar nominations this morning doesn't mean that the dealmaking stands still at Sundance. Some of the biggest deals of the festival have taken place in the past 18 hours:

• It's just been confirmed that Fox Searchlight has partnered with The Weinstein Company to acquire worldwide distribution rights to La Misma Luna (The Same Moon) for an estimated $5-6 million. This is a significantly large deal for this year's festival, in which deals had previously topped out at around $4 million. The movie is about a boy in Mexico who attempts to travel to the U.S. to find his mother. Rumors had been circulating that this film was generating a lot of interest in buyers at Sundance, who packed the film's Sundance screening on Monday. La Misma Luna is the feature directorial debut for Patricia Riggen.
• According to Variety, a fierce bidding war has taken place over distribution rights for the feature Son of Rambow (pictured at right), which premiered last night at Sundance. It's estimated that competitive bids from Fox Searchlight, Paramount Vantage and Miramax were climbing as high as $8 or $9 million, which would make the deal the biggest yet for this year's festival. Although unconfirmed, it currently appears that Paramount Vantage has won the deal for the British film about a young boy transformed by exposure to the Rambo movies. The movie is directed by Garth Jennings, who also directed The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
  
• Magnolia Pictures has bought the North American and UK distribution rights to The Signal, a horror film about a supernatural radio/TV transmission that brings out the killer instinct in those who receive it. The film is told in three episodes from differing perspectives. Magnolia is estimated to have paid $2 million in the deal. The film is co-written and co-directed by David Bruckner, Dan Bush and Jacob Gentry.
  

Thought that Sundance had generated enough deals today? Think again! Here's another round of distribution news related to the festival.

• The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate secured worldwide distribution rights to Teeth (pictured at right), the bizarre horror movie about a young woman with a case of vagina dentata. It's the feature debut for writer-director Mitchell Lichtenstein. No financial details have yet been disclosed. One important detail: Harvey Weinstein doesn't want the film cut to qualify for an R rating -- apparently he thinks those more graphic scenes are "the fun part." As David Poland explains, TWC normally partners in theatrical releases with MGM, which is required to go through the MPAA ratings process. Since Teeth will likely remain unrated, Lionsgate would handle the U.S. theatrical release. Scott Weinberg enjoyed the film very much, calling it "one of the grade-A highlights of this year's Sundance Film Festival." I originally found the concept of this film extremely distasteful, but I'm starting to reconsider this Austin-shot film.
  
• Warner Independent Pictures has made its first deal of the festival, buying the North American and UK theatrical distribution rights for the Australian feature Clubland at an estimated price of $4 milllion. The film was directed by Cherie Nowlan, who's directed movies for Australian television. The cast includes British character actress Brenda Blethyn. Clubland, which premiered Sunday night at Sundance, is a coming-of-age film about a young man's romance that affects his family. This one sounds like my kind of movie -- I'm a sucker for anything where the family is described as "unconventional."

The deals at Sundance are flying thick and fast. As I'm typing this, another distribution sale is being finished, and another, and another ... I've got a whole other list going of films that might be scoring distribution, but nothing's been finalized. Here's what has been confirmed so far today, besides the Waitress deal:

• Fox Searchlight has bought all worldwide distribution rights (except Canadian) for the feature film Joshua, which premiered at Sundance on Saturday night. The movie is about a child who wreaks psychological havoc on his family. Joshua was written and co-directed by George Ratliff, who directed the 2001 documentary Hell House, and was allegedly shot in 25 days. The cast includes Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga. Fox Searchlight plans to release the film this summer. Variety's blog reports a sale price of around $4 million.
  
• ThinkFilm has bought theatrical rights for the documentary In the Shadow of the Moon for a price estimated in the $1-2 million range. Discovery Films had already bought the North American television rights for the film, which includes interviews with and profiles from astronauts in the Apollo space program. In the Shadow of the Moon is David Sington's directorial debut.
  
• Sony Pictures Classics has picked up theatrical rights for My Kid Could Paint That for a price estimated in the $1-2 million range. A&E IndieFilms had previously cut a deal for television rights and to become an equity partner in the film. The documentary, directed by Amir Bar-Lev, is about child-prodigy painter Marla Olmstead and the controversy surrounding her father's influence in her artwork.
  

From a look around the Web at unconfirmed deal speculation, I'm guessing we'll hear news soon about Teeth, Weapons and maybe The Devil Came on Horseback. Which Sundance films do you think will get distribution soon?

Fox Searchlight has just purchased theatrical distribution rights to Waitress, written and directed by the late Adrienne Shelly (pictured at right), which premiered at Sundance yesterday. Variety's blog estimates a sales price of around $5 million, one of the larger deals made at Sundance this year. No details are available yet on release timelines or the extent of the rights purchased by Fox Searchlight (North American, worldwide, etc.).

Waitress was one of the more talked-about and anticipated films at Sundance this year because of Shelly, who died in early November shortly after wrapping up work on Waitress and submitting it to Sundance. While some had speculated that the death might have been by suicide, police uncovered evidence that led to an arrest on murder charges. Shelly had made a name for herself as an indie-film actress in Hal Hartley films such as the 1989 film The Unbelievable Truth, then later moved into filmmaking herself.

Shelly didn't take the lead acting role in Waitress, which stars Keri Russell (Felicity) as a pregnant waitress stuck in an abusive relationship who ends up having an affair with her doctor. She does appear in a supporting role as a co-worker of the titular character. At last night's screening of the film, Shelly's husband Andrew Ostoy announced the creation of an organization to help female independent filmmakers, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation.

Sometimes writing about distribution deals at Sundance makes me feel like I'm doing play-by-play. I can hear a Howard Cosell voice in my head saying, "And that's Harvey Weinstein out in front, scoring his first deal at Sundance this year with the tearjerker drama Grace is Gone. Look at Harvey go! He passes Fox Searchlight. He passes Sony Pictures Classics. He doesn't leave the room until the deal is won!" Okay, I think I just frightened myself with my Cosell voice, so I'll stop.

The Weinstein Company has bought worldwide distribution rights for Grace is Gone, which stars John Cusack as a widower who takes his two daughters on a road trip to avoid telling the girls about their mother's recent death in Iraq. The Hollywood Reporter notes that some audience members were moved to tears during the premiere at Sundance on Saturday night. The movie is written and directed by James Strouse, who also wrote Lonesome Jim, which premiered in Sundance in 2005. No info has yet been released on how much TWC paid for the rights to Grace, but the film's budget is estimated at under $5 million. Even without the figures, this deal is considered to be on a larger scale than the deals made so far at Sundance for various documentaries. However, I hope that when calculating potential box office, someone factored in those hideous glasses that Cusack is wearing in the film.

Sundance had its first bidding war of the festival over the documentary Crazy Love, and Magnolia Pictures emerged triumphant. This is considered the first distribution deal to emerge from the festival -- a few earlier deals occurred before Sundance technically began. Magnolia purchased the North American rights to the documentary on Saturday for a mid-six-figure sum. Other companies involved in the bidding war included Netflix and ThinkFilm.

Crazy Love premiered at Sundance on Friday night, although industry pre-screenings supposedly occurred beforehand in New York and Los Angeles. The documentary was directed by Dan Klores and co-produced by Klores and actor/filmmaker Fisher Stevens. It's about Linda Riss and Burt Pugach and their tumultuous (to the point of incredulity) relationship. James Rocchi described Crazy Love as a "horrible, clammy, grim and pathetic tale of co-dependent madness," which actually makes me more interested in the film. I'm weird that way. But how successful are pathetic tales at the box office? At least three distribution companies seemed to think that audiences would love to exercise their voyeuristic tendencies with this twistedly romantic story. Magnolia hasn't yet announced a timeline for release.

Since I studied screenwriting in college (which qualifies me to write this post) and have a number of acquaintances who are screenwriters, I hear all kinds of colorful and sometimes depressing anecdotes about film credits for screenwriters, Writers Guild of America arbitration, and who really worked on a certain screenplay. And now that some screenwriters are keeping blogs, I get to read even more of these stories. You hear these tales from all kinds of angles: the writer who originally was signed to rework the script for the remake of Movie X, but then a big-name director took over who rewrote the script enough to get the writer removed entirely from the credits of the film; the writer who doesn't quite understand why his name is still on the credits of Movie Q, since she knows at least three other people have worked on the script since she turned in a draft five years ago; the writer who has asked to have her name removed from Movie B, because it's so far removed from what she originally wrote, and the stink lines from the finished product radiate across the country.

David Poland of Movie City News recounts one such story for us in "Little Red Writing Hood Goes to Sundance." His fairy tale concerns the credits for the film Nanking, and Elizabeth Bentley's battle to get her screenwriting work recognized in the movie's writing credits. In Poland's version, Bentley is portrayed as poor little Red, who narrowly escapes being devoured by the big bad wolves: directors Bill Guttentag and Dan Sturman, who want to take all the writing credit upon themselves. It's a sad story, and as a former screenwriter, I want to sympathize most with Bentley. But as a cynical reporter who's been keeping an eye on the workings of the film industry, I want to hear what the directors and producers have to say about it, and I'm skeptical that this whole situation would fit nicely into a fairy tale with clearly delineated heroines and villains.

This year's Sundance Film Festival has barely started and already I'm writing the first of what I expect to be a number of news items about distribution deals taking place during or related to the festival. Distribution deals with studios and other major players have become a big part of what Sundance is all about, like it or not ... for many indie films, this is their best chance of finding theatrical, DVD and/or TV distribution for their features and documentaries. The following documentaries are now among the lucky ones:

• The Sundance Channel bought the television rights to the six-hour film Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman, which will premiere in North America during the festival. The length of the film makes it ideal for television, and Sundance Channel intends to air it as a six-part miniseries. The autobiographical documentary was directed by Jennifer Fox, whose previous film, the ten-hour An American Love Story, also premiered at Sundance back in 1999.
• A&E IndieFilms bought the North American television rights for the documentary My Kid Could Paint That, which will have its world premiere at Sundance this year. The film is about four-year-old painter Marla Olmstead, whose artwork has become internationally known, and is directed by Amir Bar-Lev. The deal is unusual in that it makes A&E IndieFilms an equity partner for potential theatrical distribution, which of course they hope to secure during the festival.
  
• Atopia acquired the North American distribution rights to the documentary The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez, which debuted at Sundance in 2006. German director Heidi Specogna filmed this look at the first American soldier to be killed in Iraq in 2003. Atopia is a production and distribution company based in Montreal; recent releases include the French-language Canadian features On the Trail of Igor Rizzi and Missing Victor Pellerin. Atopia intends to release The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez in U.S. and Canadian theaters this March, followed by a summertime DVD release.

I've noticed that the big splashy film festivals, like Sundance or Cannes, always have an eclectic mix of members on their award juries. For example, the feature film jury at Cannes in 2006 included Samuel L. Jackson, Wong Kar-Wai and Helena Bonham Carter (wouldn't you love to see those three involved in a film together?). This year's Sundance juries, which have just been announced, are no exception. Jurors for the dramatic competition include actor/musician Mos Def, actress Sarah Polley (whose feature directorial debut Away from Her is the festival's Gala opener), director Catherine Hardwicke (The Nativity Story and Thirteen), editor Pamela Martin (Little Miss Sunshine and Slums of Beverly Hills) and Dawn Hudson, executive director of Film Independent/LAFF. I'm pleased to see the high percentage of women on this jury, too.

Other Sundance 2007 juries don't have quite so many high-profile names but are still interesting: the documentary jury consists mainly of doc filmmakers, many of whom have had movies premiere at Sundance themselves: Julia Reichart, Alan Berliner (Wide Awake), Lauren Greenfield (Thin), editor Lewis Erskine and playwright Carlos Sandoval. The jury for the Alfred E. Sloane prize for indie films related to science and technology contains professors and science consultants ... and director Darren Aronofsky (The Fountain). And the short film competition jury includes Jared Hess, who directed a past Sundance hit, Napoleon Dynamite. Hess based Napoleon Dynamite on a previous short film he made, but I've never thought of him as someone with a background in short filmmaking. Still, his name will help generate popular interest in the short-film category, which always seems to need more attention than it gets.

Poor little me, left out of all the Sundance fun. You won't see me in Utah in the next week -- I've never been to Sundance and 2007 isn't yet the year for me to go. At least I cherish the satisfaction of having seen Black Snake Moan before its big premiere at the festival (thank you, BNAT). I can't wait to hear if it meets or exceeds James Rocchi's expectations.

From my nice warm desk in Austin, I'm keeping an eye out for festival-related news, but I enjoy reading the personal stories about Sundance more than the lists of distribution deals. So I'm not just monitoring the wire services, I'm also watching the blogs. Film bloggers who are lucky enough to travel to Park City have been sharing anecdotes and gossipy tidbits about the upcoming festival, and are letting us know which films they're planning to see. Check out the following blog entries from a handful of Sundance attendees all preparing in earnest for a busy week of film-festival madness ... and check back with these bloggers in a week or so to see how it all panned out for them.

If you feel like you've been hearing a lot of news lately about movie distribution deals, that's because the annual American Film Market (AFM) has been going on in Santa Monica for the past week. The AFM website claims that more than $800 million in deals are made every year at the industry event. Three more distribution deals have just been announced:

• The Weinstein Company bought the U.S. distribution rights to Death Defying Acts, a feature about the life of illusionist Harry Houdini. Perhaps the recent success of The Prestige and The Illusionist inspired the deal. The film is directed by Gillian Armstrong and stars Guy Pearce as Houdini, who becomes involved with a psychic played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. One of the writers is Tony Grisoni, whose writing credits include Brothers of the Head, Tideland, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Armstrong is good at turning a biography into an interesting movie, as with My Brilliant Career, and the combination of her direction and Grisoni's writing has suddenly made me twice as interested as I would normally be in a film about Houdini. (Okay, Guy Pearce was also an influence.) TWC intends to premiere the film at Cannes in 2007.
• Palm Pictures picked up the North American rights to distribute Solo Dios Sabe (Only God Knows), a Brazilian drama that debuted at Sundance earlier this year. Palm plans to release the film in theaters in early 2007. The film stars Alice Braga (City of God) and Diego Luna (Y Tu Mama Tambien) as a Brazilian student and Mexican journalist travelling together.
• Strand Releasing acquired the North American rights to White Palms, a Hungarian movie about young gymnasts. The movie is Hungary's entry in the Academy Awards' Foreign Language Film category for 2006. Strand is apparently betting the movie will make the cut to the final Oscar nominations and subsequently garner more publicity. White Palms sounds fascinating to me, as it contrasts Eastern European and North American methods of training young athletes in gymnatics. I'm looking forward to the chance to see the film.