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In 2006, Flavorpill covered the Sundance Film Festival firsthand, dispatching daily video and blog posts from Park City. Relive some of the highlights here.

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The Biz

Deals and Hits

Lionsgate plunked down $2 million for first-time director Chris Gorak's Right at Your Door, a dark thriller about the aftermath of a dirty bomb attack on Los Angeles. The Darwin Awards was acquired by Bauer Martinez; the financial specifics haven't been released. A big deal is expected any minute for the fest's still unattached hot commodity The Illusionist. Produced by Michael London (Sideways) and starring Edward Norton, Neil Burger's period romance certainly has good credentials.

Bobcat Goldthwait's provocative and perverse romantic comedy Stay also had a big premiere, audiences laughing their heads off (while staying attached, of course). Discussing the film, Goldthwait made every possible effort not to sound like a clown. It was standing room for An Inconvenient Truth, the sizzling Al Gore documentary about global warming. Considering the fact that 2005 was the warmest year on record, here's hoping the film gets major international play.

IFC Films Gets Wordplay

Lisa reviewed Wordplay. IFC Films bought it. Which confirms what you probably suspected: IFC has become a serious player, with their own branded art house theater, a Bukowski movie, and the soon-to-come IFC's First Take, a video-on-demand program that allows subscribers access to independent films at home on the day of their theatrical release.

Night Listener, This Film Is Not Rated

The industry types are already complaining that the festival is a big old letdown, that nothing will top that $10.5 million Little Miss Sunshine deal. As a faithful member of the audience, I'm always tempted to tune out the biz noise. It's not about the money and the business, dammit, it's about the artistry! But box office takes and distribution rights have become an essential part of film news. So, here they are, the two latest Sundance deals.

Night Listener: Miramax Films picked up the North American rights. "A highly cerebral and a great popcorn movie simultaneously," Pattrick Stettner's adaptation of the Armistead Maupin story features Robin Williams, Rory Culkin, and Toni Collette (who also stars in Little Miss Sunshine).

This Film Is Not Rated: BBC acquirred British broadcasting rights for Kirby Dick's IFC-produced documentary about the MPAA film ratings board. Who gave it, as you might have heard, a damning NC-17 rating.

Warner Independent Gets Sleepy

Deal of the hour: Warner Independent Pictures put down $6 million for Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep. "Breathtakingly original," gushed WIP president Mark Gill of the dreamy, romantic, multilingual fantasy film, which takes place primarily inside the mind of always wonderful Gael Garcia Bernal. Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Miou Miou, Aurelia Petit and Sacha Bourdo also star. Paramount, Fox Searchlight, Picturehouse and Focus Features all expressed interest in the Gondry mind bender, but not the necessary willingness to show the money.

And finally, a little film gets some glory. 23-year-old Pablo Veliz (according to his official bio, the guy is still in college) also made a sale. His first film, La Tragedia de Macario, the story of a Mexican peasant worker drawn uncontrollably to thoughts of crossing the border, was acquired by Arrival Pictures. Imminent deals are coming down for Half Nelson, Wordplay, and The Illusionist. I won't, however, be reporting any more rumors.

Factotum Finds Buyer

Bent Hamer's Bukowski opus Factotum is hilarious, heartbreaking, and yes, inspirational. Matt Dillion does the alcohol-loving, job-hating, hard-writing Henry Chinaski proud. Lili Taylor makes pancakes in her underwear. The best news: the film landed a suitable distributor at Sundance. IFC Films will release Factotum later this year. Also: indieWire reports Patrick Creadon's crossword doc Wordplay is the next hot commodity.

The Truth About Little Miss Sunshine

Did I say Paramount? Oops. Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris' Little Miss Sunshine was scooped up by Fox Searchlight for roughly $10 million. Roger Ebert laughed out loud at the premiere, so consider the money well spent. Ebert also raved about Hadjii Hand's Somebodies, a remarkable comedy that "breaks through the conventions that wall in films about African-Americans." Fanatic Cinematical bloggers report that Hand, the first time director from Georgia, is in talks with four potential distributors; deal to be announced when the facts are certain.

Little Miss Sunshine

Time to start spreading the rumors. It has been "officially" overheard in a nameless restaurant on Main Street: a big money distribution deal is in the works for Little Miss Sunshine. Paramount wants it; by now, they've probably got it. This comes, of course, as a major suprise. Who would have thought a studio would want a little movie that stars Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, and Alan Arkin?

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