Next year's Sundance lineup features an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doc and Zac Efron going full serial killer
Aux Features FilmCombining one of America’s fastest growing political talents with that classic Hollywood standby, the hot young actor deciding to fuck up his image with a little old-fashioned serial killer work, the Sundance Film Festival released the majority of its schedule for its 2019 outing tonight. Among the numerous films on display: The documentary Knock Down The House, which follows recently elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from Bronx bartender to legitimate political force, and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, which sees Zac Efron step into the dapper ’70s styles of serial killer Ted Bundy.
Besides the list of titles—which also features the Mindy Kaling-penned Late Night, which stars Emma Thompson as a TV talk show host, and Honey Boy, in which Shia LaBeouf plays his own dad in a recreation of his childhood—Sundance also released a list of encouraging statistics about the festival’s demographics next year. Of the 112 films that’ll be displayed in Park City in January 2019, 40 percent were directed by at least one woman, and 36 percent by a person of color. It’s hard not to see the release of that statistical info as a deliberate fuck you to the Venice Film Festival, which played host to exactly one film directed by a woman that screened in competition in 2018. But it’s also an acknowledgement of the new realities facing Hollywood (and indie film) as they struggle to be better about inclusion and representation.
You can see the full list of films announced for the festival so far—which also includes Rashid Johnson’s Native Son, and the sex-talk doc Ask Dr. Ruth—over at Variety.
18 Comments
I feel like Ocasia-Cortez is exactly the wrong person to be focusing on now. I get the appeal; she’s young, and lretty, and female, and Hispanic. She checks every progressive box. But, come on. She won because she’s lucky as hell. Her opponent in the primary didn’t even show up for debates, and her opponent in the general election alwas a complete mess who didn’t even get endorsed by his own party. And she says a lot of really, REALLY foolish things, very publicly. I’m sure a lot of that will change with some experience, but right now she’s just making her party look bad.
And she says a lot of really, REALLY foolish things, very publicly.This is probably the thing that gets me most. I agree with some of her broader concepts (mind you, concepts that she couldn’t come close to having an actual impact on for 20 years), but she says an unbelievable amount of dumb, factually incorrect things. And when she gets called on it, she goes to the misogyny card. Sure, some idiots from the far right come at her, but I think the reason she doesn’t debate is because she knows she would absolutely get crushed in one.
It’s pretty bad that even the Washington Post called her out on the ridiculous things she says. I feel like she COULD be a force for good if she’s given time to mature, but there are way too many people counting on her to be the future of the party, and she’s just not ready for that.
Saying she doesn’t want Amazon? Not the best thing to say…
Yeah someone who gets young people excited is bad for the party. Better court them than internet people who parse over every word a politician says looking for a gotcha.
“She won because she’s lucky as hell.”
Yeah, sure as fuck wasn’t because she spent weeks going door-to-door campaigning! Just luck! She didn’t do any work at all to make it happen. She just got lucky! You aren’t diminishing her at all with this completely balanced take that didn’t ignore any factors at all.
“I’m sure a lot of that will change with some experience, but right now she’s just making her party look bad.”
Eh, I’d say Chuck Schumer negotiating how much money to give to Trump for his border wall is a much worse way of making the Democrats look bad. Or when Schumer didn’t even bother trying to stop judicial nominees with McConnell. But sure, keep focusing on one person who’s not even in power yet instead of the Wall Street crony who’s the most powerful Dem senator right now.
She did do those things, but so did countless other candidates across the country who then proceeded to lose. She was lucky.Also, it would be super weird if I saw an article about a documentary on Ocasio-Cortez as a good place to complain about Chuck Shumer. Relax. People can have thoughts about several things.
and 36 percent by a person of color. It’s hard not to see the release of that statistical info as a deliberate fuck you to the Venice Film FestivalConsider this a deliberate fuck you to AV Club for 24 of 27 staff members being white people, and 10 of 11 editors.
That’s like complaining that there were too many white passengers on the Hindenberg. This site is on its last legs. Don’t need to set anybody up for failure by diversifying the staff.
This site is on it’s last legs isn’t it? The AV Club and Birth.Movies.Death used to be my go-to blogs for movie news and now you can hear a death rattle from both sites.Where is a good new place to go?
Damned if I know. I’m about to just stick wifh Ain’t It Cool News. It’s the same garbage it has always been, but Harry Knowles’s baffling decision to never update the layout lets me pretend it is 2002 again.
HA! That’s true. Man Knowles is such a train wreck. Last I heard, he was writing AICN articles under his sister’s name ever since he was publicly called out for being a horrible person.
Be gentle. Barely any of that dead horse left to flog, and your flogger is pretty tired and rusty too since you’ve been using it so extensively.Or, you know, just stick that flogger in your asshole.
one of America’s fastest growing political talentsI’m all for optimism, and her energy is exciting, but I feel like we should probably let her actually, you know, legislate, before we call her one of America’s fastest growing political ‘talents’. Right now all we know is that she can beat two opponents that aren’t trying very hard to beat her and that she is suitably progressive.
Can’t believe I’m staying this, but I’m genuinely interested to see that Zac Efron movie. It’s the first film featuring Zac Efron that I would willingly watch. He also looks like he might be entertaining in that new Harmony Korine flick, Beach Bum. Still not sold on him as a legitimate talent though but I’ll go see them flicks!
I used to hate him more than Jared Leto years ago. Now I hate him less than Jared Leto. Sidenote, the lack of an Oxford comma in that title annoys me. I think most film titles should avoid commas, but multiple commas? Oh well, at least it’s not whatever Fantabulous Trainwreck title DC came up with for Birds Of Prey.
Anything Ocasio-Cortez is hilarious! Is it going to air on comedy central?
You could make any number of interesting docs (or features!) on Ocasio-Cortez: there’s actually a pretty interesting story to be told how a shockingly, objectively stupid person who explicitly identifies with the most destructive ideology in human history not only survived more than 30 seconds on the national stage, but succeeded in her initial campaign and was feted by many who should have known better as some sort of “rising star.” But I have a feeling this doc won’t actually tell THAT story.