This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The dealmaking was solid at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival, with two major new players in the mix: Netflix and Amazon.
Both streaming services nabbed some big titles before and during the festival, which concludes Sunday with screenings of the award winners in Park City — as well as screenings in three Salt Lake City venues (The Tower, the Rose Wagner and the Grand) and at the Sundance resort.
Amazon's biggest acquisition was Kenneth Lonergan's family drama "Manchester by the Sea." Amazon Studios, the new theatrical arm of the company, reportedly paid $10 million for domestic rights to the film, which boasts a potential award-winning performance by Casey Affleck as a man returning to his hometown after his brother's death.
Amazon partnered up with theatrical distributors on two films: with Open Road on Clay Tweel's documentary "Gleason," which follows former NFL star Steve Gleason's battle with ALS; and with Roadside Attractions on Whit Stillman's adaptation of a Jane Austen novella, "Love & Friendship."
On its own, Amazon acquired rights to Todd Solondz's dark drama "Wiener-Dog," Joshua Marston's romance/mystery "Complete Unknown" and Jeff Feuerzeig's documentary "Author: The JT LeRoy Story."
Netflix spent big and early, paying $7 million for the Paul Rudd vehicle "The Fundamentals of Caring," directed by Rob Burnett, and $5 million for director Sian Heder's baby drama "Tallulah," starring Ellen Page and Allison Janney. Netflix also acquired worldwide streaming VOD rights to the Iranian horror thriller "Under the Shadow," the Indian nerd comedy "Brahman Naman" and the documentary "Audrie & Daisy," which profiled two teen girls who were victims of sexual assault and online harassment.
Netflix was, according to the Hollywood trade papers, instrumental in the biggest deal at the festival: the $17.5 million Fox Searchlight Pictures paid for Nate Parker's historical epic "The Birth of a Nation." According to reports, Netflix offered a $20 million bid, but was rejected because it wanted to offer the movie for streaming online the same day it would open in theaters.
Paramount bought two films, with plans for worldwide day-and-date releases (meaning they would be available in theaters and on video-on-demand the same day): Andrew Neel's fraternity hazing drama "Goat" and Clea DuVall's ensemble comedy "The Intervention."
Sony Pictures Classics, a Sundance regular, will take home at least two films: director Meera Menon's female-centric Wall Street thriller "Equity" and Thorston Schütte's documentary "Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words."
Magnolia Pictures grabbed two documentaries: Werner Herzog's look at the Internet, "Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected Age," and "The Lovers and the Despot," a ripping yarn (told by British directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam) about a South Korean director and his leading-lady wife becoming captives of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il.
Other Sundance titles that landed distribution deals, as of Friday:
• Anna Rose Holmer's teen drama "The Fits," by Oscilloscope Laboratories.
• Taika Waititi's road comedy "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," by The Orchard.
• James Schamus' Philip Roth adaptation "Indignation," by Lionsgate/Summit.
• Chad Hartigan's coming-of-age comedy "Morris From America," by A24.
• JD Dillard's street thriller "Sleight," by Blumhouse and WWE Studios.
• Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg's documentary "Weiner," which followed the scandal-prone New York politician Anthony Weiner, to IFC Films (under its Sundance Selects label) and Showtime.
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