Film Friends Forever Monthly Promo and Short Film Festival - Buzz Summary 14/01/08

Buzz Summary

14/01/08-21/01/08

The Buzz Summary is a weekly snapshot some of the data we collect, track and analyse. We provide a much more detailed and comprehensive analysis on more diverse subjects. To find out more about what we can provide for you get in touch with us at

Film Festivals

Almost 60% of the buzz we tracked film festivals was about Sundance Film Festival, and around 6% was about the upcoming Berlin Film Festival. As the Sundance Festival is happening right now it is normal for it to have a high level of buzz, However a more detailed look at the what people are saying about Sundance (below) reveals some very interesting trends.

What they said

“Michael Moore: Documentaries Need More Exposure”

“Michael Moore - who sat behind me in the newly renovated State Theater in downtown Traverse City, Michigan last week - is mad as hell, and he’s not going to take it anymore. Somehow, that doesn’t surprise me....”

From http://www.filmgecko.com

“Sundance Film Festival: The Hip-Hop Influence”

“Just a couple of years back, The Sundance Film Festival was reserved for White-affluent-slope-skiing-film aficionados and indie film banners such as Fox Searchlight, Sony Classics, Fine Line Features, etc. Back then,....”

From http://www.wooohah.com

Sundance Festival

Very interestingly the top 20 topics that were being talked about in relation to Sundance Festival were about celebrities. Two films feature at the very end of the list. This does seem to support some people’s views that Sundance is selling out, however it is also possible that due to the cancellation of the Golden Globe’s award ceremony the celebrities have flocked to Sundance to get their media exposure fix.

In fact closer analysis reveals that the majority of the buzz comes from sites and blogs which focus on celebritiy spotting, and celebrity culture.

What they said

“Like, WHAT Was Paris Hilton Doing At The Sundance Film Festival?”

“For some reason unbeknownst to the masses, Paris Hilton showed up at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah Sunday night. She was flitting around all over the place, singing karaoke and posing wherever possible, in her new...”

From http://www.connietalk.com

“Sundance Blog: Alcohol and High Altitude Don’t Mix”

“Thanks the cinematic gods for another day at the Sundance Film Festival. Yesterday was all kinds of fun, with plenty more screenings. I took in the fantastic documentary American Teen, the not so fantastic thriller Funny Games, the silly and stupid Adventures of Power and ...”

From http://www.filmschoolrejects.com

Independent Film

Perhaps unsurprisingly Heath Ledger came top of the our buzz list for Independent Film, while No Country For Old Men was second. The documentary about the typeface Helvetica, entitles "Helvetica" also popped in to the list, as an illegal copy of it was uploaded on to Google Videos.

What they said

“The Heath Ledger aftermath”

“With regard to “Parnassus” Ledger will either be replaced in the role or the director will shoot around him or shut the production down entirely. The insurance and bond guarantee company will determine the best option for the producers to take. The $30 million independent film produced by Samuel Hadida, Bill Vince and Amy Gilliam is being financed by Hadida’s company based in France....”

From http://www.boxofficepsychics.com

“So you want to know about screenwriting?”

“Right now is NOT the time to be sending your scripts to Hollywood in hope of breaking in to screenwriting. As I posted about here, the Writers Guild is on strike and anyone who tries to scab will be blackballed from working guild-covered jobs for life. DON’T DO IT...”

From http://www.storytellersunplugged.com