The famed hip hop artist didn’t arrive on stage until after midnight and by then it was really hot in there and with the combination of altitude, booze and other substances most were not walking straight in the crowded venue.

Overall there is a feeling of optimism ringing through the snow-capped valleys of Utah this festival as Hollywood looks to be coming out of the Writer’s Strike (thanks to the Director’s Guild and no thanks to the WGA…) which up until recently made this year’s Sundance Film Festival seem like it was going to be a dud. Only William Morris Agency has a party scheduled (CAA, ICM, Endeavor and UTA bailed as cost-saving and face-saving measures) and the films themselves were given the spotlight.

However, this year’s festival seems to be the most marketing savvy festival. Everything is branded. The “Hollywood-Life Lounge,” “The Ray-Ban Lounge” – etc. etc.

One of the preeminent companies of recent years here in Sundance has been Fox Searchlight who currently are exhibiting their strength with strong numbers from “Juno” and let’s not forget last year’s “Little Miss Sunshine.” Fox Searchlight president Peter Rice said this of this year’s fare:

“I think the competition is always heated. In the past, we’ve always tried to find something to buy and hope we will this year…. I wouldn’t put it down to the writers strike. There’s always competition. … and if there are commercial movies there, it will be heated. There wasn’t a huge bidding war last year. I think it’s very film-dependent.”

Michael Schaefer, vice president of acquisitions for Summit Entertainment commented that the looming writer’s strike will not be too much of a worry for him or his company saying:

“We are just going to try to be as focused and determined to really only buy something we love…. We’re definitely not going to get caught up in any buying frenzies and pick up five movies. That’s just not going to happen.”

And Sundance legend Harvey Weinstein has added:

“People are going to be looking for that commercial movie out of Sundance, which very often happens…I think people are going to spend what they have to to get the film, because there’s going to be a paucity of films [because of the strike.]“

The top prospects this year for acquisition include:
“The Wackness” about a New York stoner who swaps marijuana for therapy
“Phoebe in Wonderland” starring Elle Fanning and Felicity Huffman
“What Just Happened?” Barry Levinson’s inside Hollywood film with Robert De Niro and Sean Penn
“Choke” starring Sam Rockwell which is an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s (”Fight Club“) book
“Hamlet 2” a comedy from English acting genius and celebrated partier Steve Coogan
“Assassination of a High School President” with Mischa Barton and directed by Brett Simon.