Ruthe and Me (My Sundance Enemy)
At Sundance 2005, I lost my mind, but only briefly. Fortunately, my hysterics garnered me more fans than detractors, and yet for a moment there, I was not in control of myself. The story, of how the San Francisco Chronicle’s Ruthe Stein stole my seat at a press screening of “The Jacket” and my subsequent vituperative attack, has already been recounted elsewhere by some bloggers, on Defamer and San Jose Mercury News. And while I appreciate my 15 minutes of fame, I regret that I ever came to blows with Ruthe Stein.
That’s not to say that she didn’t richly deserve it. Judging from those who spoke to me afterwards, it sounds like Ruthe Stein has been in need of a serious chewing out for some time now.
But the incident reflects something wider, indicative of the entire film festival environment, where people filled with entitlement, privilege, and selfishness think they are more important than you. Has Ruthe cut in front of people while waiting in line for a movie? Has she waved at the shuttle bus to pick her up at an unofficial stop? Has she snuck into parties, passing people by who are waiting patiently outside? Has she taken into consideration anyone in the world besides herself? I’m sure she has done all these things.
But the problem is, so have I. Why did I freak out in the first place? Because what she did was totally unethical, unreasonable, and downright inconsiderate. Of course. But also because I was thinking only of myself. The only person in the room who wasn’t thinking of himself was the man gracious enough to give up his seat for me, not a journalist by the way, but an industryite named Paul Schwartzman (who Ruthe whispered to me took her seat—I don’t believe her).
Who ever is to blame, I’ll bet most of us Sundancers have done these things, too. Although I’ve never thrown someone’s things off their chair and stolen their seat, I have edged in front of people in line for a movie and squirmed my way into the VIP entrance for a party. Maybe the reason I was so angry with Ruthe is she reminded me of the dark side of myself. But I guess the difference between Ruthe and me is she didn’t seem to mind.
Ruthe Stein obliged RR by breathlessly printing whatever he whispered into her palpating little ear, no fact-checking necessary…
I was just a few rows back in the Yarrow2 screening when the fireworks began, Anthony, and I think you had every right to make the stink that you did. I don’t think it makes you rude or pompous (or whatever) to react angrily when some jerk throws your COAT on the FLOOR so they can get your seat. My colleagues and I were the ones who started clapping. And yes, I thought it was very classy of that gentleman to give you his seat. We just felt bad that you had to sit next to the offending party for the next 100 minutes. (Plus the movie stank.) - SW
Boys and girls, ladies and gentlemen, let us all take a moment to put this situation into perspective. Talk about entitlement, can anyone in this discourse keep in mind that the mere priviledge of being at the festival and having the opportunity to see great films months(sometimes as the only ones)before others…is enough to keep everyone in this situation civil? As one who has experienced such behavior and responses from all sides of this discussion, try to remember one thing: the film is the thing! And being film, oh beautiful art, it exists to be seen again and again for those who cherish it. I can not tell you how many times, I have either personally or in aiding/counseling others, about a missed opportunity at a festival (screening or otherwise) have I or they found the when the future came, a grand misjudgement proven in the amount of urgency created about the experience. Leave a little to the magic of the moment…often you will find that the moment knows what you need. With that in mind, I just want to remind everyone who had the good fortune to be at this screening, that it is the passion and energy of the film itself that should be remembered and discussed here. Do not forget how priviledged all of you were to be there at all and to have the good fortune to experience this art in what I consider one of the most resectful “cinema cathedrals” in the world. For only at a place like Sundance are you in the company of others who not only show the proper respect and love for the art by keeping perfectly still, quiet and attentive to the art on the screen, but they are also those others, like yourself, who are so passionate that they are willing to “fight” for their seat. This is the real beauty of this situation and should not be forgotten by anyone, regardless of who is right or wrong. And in the end, isn’t that what should be remembered? How was the film?
Admittedly, I’m not one of those people who knows all the names.
But WHO THE FUCK IS RUTHE STEIN?
(And why is she fucking with my favorite film journo?)
“But I guess the difference between Ruthe and me is she didn’t seem to mind.”
That, and the fact that she’s a lousy writer.
Tony,
The difference between Ruthe and you (besides the obvious) is that removing someone’s belongings from a seat they had already claimed is far worse of an infringement than sneaking into a VIP room @ a party or waving down the shuttle. In both of those cases, someone else makes a choice to either let you into the VIP room or to stop the shuttle. In her case, it was a unilateral case of reprehensible behavior. The fact is, to use random numbers, she was the 201st person in a 200 seat theater. She was late and “someone” didn’t save her a seat. Funny how she didn’t ID that “someone” and ask them why they hadn’t saved her seat. The odds of that saved seat being right next to your original seat are astronomical and she sounds exactly like the sort of person (a certain Hollywood Reporter critic comes to mind) that needs to be smacked across the face with a fresh mackerel.
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What’s Wrong With Sundance
As we prepare to navigate the snowy wilds of Sundance, my email has been loading up with the most unseemly litany of items that don’t have anything to do with celebrating American independent cinema.
Perhaps, between screenings, I’ll pick up a coffee at the Yahoo! Cafe, and grab a drink at the Heineken Green Room, then take a rest on one of those La-Z-Boy chairs or on the InterfaceFLORnd custom carpets, followed by an aperitif at the Crown Royal’s Sippin’ at Sunset happy hour before getting a bite to eat at the Lean Cuisine food bar.
Why doesn’t everything in Park City take a corporate sponsor: I’ll just get on the McDonald’s shuttle to the Chevrolet Eccles theater and buy me a Microsoft ticket, and drink from the Coca Cola drinking fountain before settling into my Gap seat.
Why stop there? Every person who arrives in Park City should take a sponsor, too. “Hey, look, there’s Gatorade Geoff Gilmore, Wallgreen’s Robert Ebert and who might that be, I think it’s Staples Sandra Bullock!”
For further gross offenders, prime examples of corporate co-option, repulsive exploitation and shameless marketing, here are a few of my favorite things:
1. $50,000 CELEBRITY GIFT BAGS TO PREMIERE AT THE UPCOMING SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL—Acclaimed Ultimate Comfort Bag to Benefit A Place Called Home Charity: “At this years Sundance Film Festival celebrities will get a lot more than great films and beautiful scenery. They will also be offered the most expensive, decadent gift bags ever distributed to celebrities at a luxurious suite at the Park City Marriott located in the heart of the festival, outdoing last years record setting giveaway.”
2. CHEFDANCE—“For ten days, ChefDance features an all-star line up of celebrity chefs and wine makers from across the country in a series of private dinners that are truly extraordinary in their breadth and range. Invited guests will have the opportunity to indulge in the very finest that the culinary world has to offer.”
3. Volkswagen Rides High As Official Automotive Sponsor of Sundance 2005—“A number of celebrities will be driving their own Volkswagens, including Steve Buscemi (of Sopranos fame) and David Schwimmer of Friends. . . Finally, Festival Founder Robert Redford will kick off the celebrity signing of the commemorative 2005 Sundance new Jetta. The all-new Jetta, on display throughout the Festival at Main Street and Heber, is slated to be signed by 2005 Festival filmmakers and talent. The signed hood will then be auctioned at the end of the festival. All proceeds from the sale will benefit the Sundance Institute.”
Isn’t it redundant to use “celebrity” and “media whore” in the same sentence?
Boy, given all the promotional content plaguing the fest, it’s a good thing the films themselves are so truly independent, and not beholden to any corporate interests whatsoever.
Sundance is a market. Market’s are crowded with products. I’m pretty certain indiewire is, and always has been, a promotional tool for said products. Furthermore, your argument is antiquated (this has been going on for almost ten years), and your writing is horrid (fear the critics that try to get creative and fail miserably, please stop writing jokes). Lastly, that should say “Why stop there?”, not “Why not stop there?”. Someone take this blog away from this man.
doesn’t P. Biskind’s bk say that Redford loaded even the very first Sundance Board w/producers & agents, who in turn bought the pricey houses he built among the snowslopes?
& as i recall, “sundance” is also the name of an Indian ritual which was perhaps an early intuitive depiction of the basic position one must assume upon entering hollywood ... or more subtly but growing less so, Sundance!
You are a tool! Look in the mirror, kill yourself and save air for people that aren’t dumb. DEEERRRR!
Sundance is Hollywood in the snow.
This has been a long time coming, hasn’t it? When corporate invasion of festivals began back in the 90s, fest directors assured those concerned that such corporate cooperation would be confined to financial sponsorship. The doom-sayers who suggested otherwise were roundly ridiculed, their devotion to capitalism questioned, their intelligence impugned, and their conspiracy mindset mocked. Whose laughing now? No one but the marketeers.
Sundance seems to be more and more like Cannes “West”, and perhaps that’s where this industry is at right now, it needs an epicenter for all these stars to come together, see and be seen and have tons of press talking about them.
It’s just unfortunate that this needs seems to be eclipsing the need to have a place for indie filmmakers to have their work seen and even possiably get picked up for distribution.
It’s sad that there are SO many films this year which are debuting at Sundace with a distribution already lined up. In many ways their taking the spots which are really needed by indie filmmakers.
The good news is that Slamdance looks GREAT this year and they’re helping fill the need for filmmakers to get their work seen.. even if they don’t have a big name star in the picture.
what are you, a commie?
it’s a market!!
artist market good and bad ideas
companies market good and bad products
i wish someone would invite me to chefdance
It’s a shame that Sundance has turned into a moth light for media whore Hollyweird celebrities attempting to increase their street credibility amongst the indie community.
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Before the Revolution
In a Village Voice article this week titled “Living in Oblivion” (okay, written by me), I suggest that Bush II could inspire the same type of American movie renaissnace that the Reagan-era helped produce in the late 1980s.
It’s mostly speculation, but I clearly tapped a nerve. Just check out Ted Hope’s response when I asked him if he had any thoughts on the subject. There’s, of course, many factors that allowed for the American indie movement (the rise of video, for example) that I neglected to mention, but it’s a nice thought: that something good could actually come from the four miserable years we have ahead of us.
Besides shameless shelf-promotion, I also wanted to take this opportunity to include some worthy quotes from some industry folks that didn’t make it into the final article:
Jeffrey Levy-Hinte (producer, thirteen, Mysterious Skin, The Hawk is Dying):
“You can start to see how mainstream film is the reflection, in an uncritical way, of the current political economic formation and how that reverberates through this aesthetic system in a way that solidifies and makes this system more acceptable and pervasive and disables people from being critical, strictly on an aesthetic level.
“I really felt that Spiderman 2, since Goebbels passed away, was the most effective piece of political propaganda. In addition to other straightforward ways, it pervaded this great sense of fraudulence, of the way in which it recreated the city in this fantastically and unrealistic way, this generalized acceptance that fraud, inconsistency and doing things simply because theyre convenient to this superficial storyline are all okay. It’s as far a way from the revolution of the ‘60s and ‘70s that you can possibly be. It’s so dishonest.”
Ira Sachs (director, The Delta, Forty Shades of Blue):
“I came to New York at a time when filmmaking and politics were totally linked, theoretically, conceptually and physically. Half of the filmmakers I knew were involved with ACT UP. I think we’ve all become more bourgeois; it’s just a different time and it has to be about not being young. And we all come from bourgeous culture. I grew up with a swimming pool and I think there’s a way in which one navigates back to that. I think there’s some guilt that I’m not a more political filmmaker.”
Christine Vachon (producer, Happiness, Boys Don’t Cry, Far from Heaven):
”Poison was very much made in reaction to the AIDS crisis, and Safe was, as well, and a reaction to the world we were living in, and a feeling of alienation and these terrible things were happening to these people around us and no one was paying attention.”
I feel like there’s lately been some nostalgia among people my age about the old Act Up days, because people were really mobilized. Todd [Haynes] was a big force, Tom Kalin was a big force, they were both really active in ACT UP and Gran Fury, so there was a real sense of immediacy, like my girlfriend was a member of Gran Fury and she created a lot of the artwork for ACT UP and there was this sense that you could create something and people would response.”
James Schamus (producer, executive):
“Todd [Haynes] had the advantage of not only having Jesse Helms to kick around, but also having Jesse Helms stand up in the Senate and denounce him, because he got an NEA grant. Today, Todd Haynes couldn’t get an NEA grant, because it isnt around. So now you have guys yelling at you, but they haven’t paid you anything. So you’re in a market context.”
Colin Callender (executive):
“Even in sophisticated markets, there is no longer a circuit of foreign language films, so it’s a difficult to see movies about the world outside of America, because you don’t get that international perspective, and increasingly, even though there are a number of specialty divisions, in truth, it’s still very hard for a small movie to break out and find an audience.”
perhaps you under-rate the dramatic awareness of our commander-in-chief! The age of Bush has already seen the Gibsonian revival of the medieval passion play, so central to the festive pogrom season… plus an ongoing re-enactment of The Crusades, the inspiration of many a king & martyr, & the means by which the Middle East became impressed with Western Culture. Plus a deep revival of God’s own Bible, wherein He spake to Moses from…yes!...a Burning Bush!
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