SUNDANCE, ‘98. DAY VII. 1/21...
Since his earlier diatribe on the Nick Broomfield/Courtney Love situation was cut from his report, on DAY 7, "At Large" has re-grouped, studied the issue, and been doing a lot of thinking. In response to a flurry of e-mail received in the FauxReal59@aol.com box, with deepened perspective, the following question comes to mind:
Since when does Courtney Love get to decide what's not to be screened at the Sundance Film Festival?
By now, the major media has covered only part of how Nick Broomfield's documentary film, "Kurt and Courtney" was pulled from the fest, to date hinging on soft-pedaling statements made through Love's flacks and from the Horse Whisperer's mouth at the official Redford press conference. They make it seem like it dropped like a bomb, casting an unexpected pall over Park City proceedings. Not so.
A full month before the festival began, "At Large" was looking for Nick Broomfield -- hoping to score a chat with him, and maybe get a sneak peek of his film. Repeated calls to the Sundance offices in both Santa Monica and Salt Lake City offered no help in finding the director. Not even a contact number would be provided. Interesting. Nobody knew where the five-time Sundance veteran, Sundance '98 juror could be found? The truth is that festival officials not only knew of Broomfield's whereabouts, they also most likely knew they were going to pull his film months ago, and have been scrambling since to prepare for the worst media onslaught in the history of the ‘Dance.
No preparation can spin Sundance away from the fact that they bowed to the ultimately flimsy legal maneuverings by Courtney Love, knowing full well that they, being a non-profit festival and all, were indemnified (by festival agreements) against any insinuated legal responsibility. Come on. Does anyone really believe that Love's muscle would actually sue Bulletproof Bob Redford over song rights? Please. Broomfield had his rights pre-cleared from the BBC, and besides, more than half the films at the 'Dance could not be screened if clearance rights were the case. Take "Dead Man's Curve" for instance. Dan Rosen's film has 22 uncleared songs (from Bauhaus to Sarah McLachlan) in his film, yet there is even a soundtrack offer on the table from MCA.
Sundance has bowed to the Courtney Love machine including PMK, EMI, ICM et acronym. As much as "At Large" would love to see Broomfield get his due at Sundance, there's small satisfaction seeing the Sundance publicist, Stephen Rivers, eating some of the same shit he's flung at reporters over the years. You see, he is known primarily in Hollywood Press Corps circles as a "damage control," or "crisis control" publicist with a couple of hip-pocket personal star clients like Kevin Costner (How many times will he appear on the cover of Premiere in a year????) and - Surprise! - Gentleman Bob Redford.
Through double dealing and other dirty tactics like duplicitous, simultaneous past employment by the Creative Artists Agency and Premiere Magazine, this "At Large" reporter has had more than one mainstream entertainment story unethically shut down by Rivers. So, the inherent, ironic beauty of this First Amendment fuck-up on the part of Sundance is that they are feeding into exactly the hand that Broomfield bites in his film, while at the same time being powerless to stem the bad publicity they hired Rivers to stop.
At Broomfield’s press conference a couple of days ago, "At Large" offered up his condo for the documentarian to screen his film in. The journalists present laughed, yet, from behind his microphone, Broomfield asked whether or not I could secure a 35mm projector. I assured him I could, knowing full well that my boys at Slamdance - although not deign to screen it themselves -- would help the cause. In the hallways after his conference, I gave Broomfield my number. He actually called, but alas I was not there to take the call. Nonetheless, Broomfield got his clandestine screening at the Elks Lodge, courtesy of the latest rogue festivalians, SlamDunk. Reactions have been mixed, with detractors claiming that "Kurt and Courtney" is too "one-sided." Hello? Ever try and go up against a machine like the one backing Love? The mere thought harkens me back to when I infiltrated Scientology for Spy Magazine. The last people you’re going to trust for reliable info are the PR people up front. With protective walls up around your subject, what does any self-respecting journalist do? With a tip of the press card to Hunter S. Thompson, he infiltrates. Subjective journalist, Nick Broomfield is did just that.
Although I haven’t seen "Kurt and Courtney," I’ve gleaned that, included in his footage, is the amazing moment when he confronted Love while she was at an ACLU event of all affairs. Caught like a deer in the headlights, Love was stymied, and - an ACLU official of all people - ordered Broomfield "the fuck out of there," leaving the director asking the question, "What ever happened to free speech?"
Having been met with the same kind of deceitful censorship in my days as a reporter, I have found a kindred soul in Broomfield. We’ll no doubt be having drinks later, after a couple of screenings.
Speaking of screenings, I saw Saul Rubinek’s "Jerry And Tom" this morning. Yeah, he had a Coen Brothers thing going in his well shot hit men comedy, but the standout minutes of this fine first feature belong to Ted Danson. Joe Mantegna, Sundance favorite Sam Rockwell, Bill Macy, Charles Durning, and Peter Riegert were all fine in this character actor’s movie (Rubinek has had a long career as a character actor himself) -- but Danson’s turn in the film is on par with what Alec Baldwin accomplished in his memorable scene in "Glengarry Glen Ross." I caught Max Wong from Beacon Pictures ("Air Force One") on the shuttle from the theater, and she told me that her company had an offer out to Danson for their next big feature. Cheers! Beacon is right on time.
Incidentally, "Jerry And Tom" was purchased today by -- you guessed it -- Miramax.
Okay, I’m off to check the festival screening of "Slam" -- a film featuring spoken word artists holding "poetry slams" from a DC prison. Vibe writer, Bonz Malone is in the film. For his appearance, Malone is pedigreed with a criminal record and time served in the slammer. Guess I’ll have to beef up on my petty crimes.
In other news, it’s been announced that Christine Lahti will be hosting The 1998 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony on 1/24, to be aired on several outlets through the Sundance Channel.. With any luck, "At Large" will be covering the same.
Don’t forget to "Click here" ASAP on January 25, to find out what the other electronic media missed the night before!