Film Society's Daily Buzz

Each year in Utah, the Sundance Film Festival offers an introduction to new crop of young filmmakers. In the case of Ryan Coogler, the festival has found a director with quite a backstory. The man behind "Fruitvale," Coogler is a former college football player who eventually discovered filmmaking as an outlet. "I was a little short for a receiver," Coogler admitted in a conversation on the Film Society's Daily Buzz with Eugene Hernandez. While in college, a professor impressed with his writing suggested that Ryan Coogler give screenwriting a try. He thought that perhaps his calling was a career in medicine, but in time embraced the idea that he could have a greater impact by telling stories. With "Fruitvale," he's found a topic that is close to him. The story of Oscar Grant, the tragic victim of excessing police force, is one that hit close to home for Coogler, a resident of the East Bay near San Francisco. The filmmaker opens his film with cell phone footage of Grant—the same age as the director and from the same neighborhood—being brutally beaten by local cops. Coogler explained that he was motivated by the protests and riots sparked by the shocking incident. "I saw it and I was affected by it and wondered what I could do to put that story out there in a way that could shine some light on the situation of police brutality," Coogler said on the radio show. He hopes that his film will invite viewers to reconsider the way they may judge people like Oscar. Namely, African American kids in his own city. While he acknowledges that California's liberal Bay Area is diverse, he added that some in the region are still grappling issues of race. "As a filmmaker," Coogler said, making movies is "my outlet to get my frustrations out and to ask questions." Guests: Hot Topics Roundtable: Scott Foundas/VILLAGE VOICE Dana Harris/INDIEWIRE Eric Kohn/INDIEWIRE Scott MacCauley/FILMMAKER MAGAZINE Interview Segment Ben Lewis/GOOGLE AND THE WORLD BRAIN Interview Segment Ryan Coogler/FRUITVALE Interview Segment Ben Wheatley/SIGHTSEERS Festival Veteran Jeanne and Bob Berney/PICTUREHOUSE

The Sundance Film Festival typically begins with a question. Which film on this year's slate will achieve the level of success found by one of last year's hits. And so, Sundance 2013 begins with festival goers asking: "What will be this year's Beasts of the Southern Wild?" Critics, journalists and buyers are all hoping to unearth the gems that will take the festival by storm. "You never know what's going to pop," the Film Society's John Wildman explained during a roundtable segment kicking off the first edition of the Film Society's Daily Buzz podcast. It can be even harder to assess the lineup, sight unseen, and find a trend. Yet, that won't stop people from trying. This year, in the wake of recent gun violence, insiders are already buzzing about school violence doc Valentine Road. "One of the hardest things about Sundance, I've found, is to find something new as a trend," explained New York Times writer Brooks Barnes. He explained that movements can emerge slowly at this festival even as attendees are out at the event hoping to harness a buzz title. Some warned that the movies to focus on are not big name entries that can often disappoint. "The real dirty secret of Sundance is that the movies with cast usually suck," quipped Dusty Smith, an acquisition exec from Roadside Pictures. Other buyers seemed to agree with Smith's assessment. "You think you know everything and then you come to Sundance and you know nothing," IFC Films acquisitions head Arianna Bocco summarized. Her colleagues seemed to agree, even as they remained coy about the sleeper titles that they have the highest hopes for. Guests: HOT TOPICS ROUNDTABLE - Brooks Barnes/NY TIMES - Brian Brooks/DEADLINE - John Wildman/FSLC, FILMCOMMENT.COM, FILM THREAT INDUSTRY ROUNDTABLE SEGMENT - Arianna Bocco/IFC FILMS - Dusty Smith/ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS - Tom Quinn/WEINSTEIN COMPANY - Jason Janego/WEINSTEIN COMPANY - Peter Van Steemburg/MAGNOLIA PICTURES FEATURED INTERVIEWS: - Julie Goldman/MOTTO PICTURES - Dan Mirvish/BETWEEN US - John Nein/SUNDANCE INSTITUTE - Shari Frilot/SUNDANCE INSTITUTE - Ricardo Rivera/NEW FRONTIER ARTIST - Lynette Wallsworth/NEW FRONTIER ARTIST

The future of Sundance, the war on drugs and Kubrick’s role in “faking” the U.S. moon landing: welcome to this year’s final edition of “The Daily Buzz.”

More than a week into this year’s Sundance Film Festival, "The Daily Buzz" reflects on the films that have impressed audiences so far, as well as what the festival still has to offer in its final days.

Today’s edition of “The Daily Buzz” marked one week into the Sundance Film Festival. Eugene Hernandez was joined by a half-dozen guests, including "Beasts of the Southern Wild" director Benh Zeitlin...

The legacy of indie film champion Bingham Ray with David Dorius and Christine Vachon, chats with Sundance directors Craig Zobel ("Compliance") and David and Nathan Zellner ("Kid Thing") and a very special appearance by comic book icon Stan Lee!

Monday's guests included a critics roundtable made up of Peter Debruge of Variety, Greg Elllwood of HitFix, and Logan Hill of GQ, directors and producers of Sundance films "Shut Up and Play the Hits" and "Finding North," as well as Janet Pierson of SXSW Festival.

Day four of our Sundance podcast saw guests John Cooper and Trevor Groth, the festival's Director and Director of Programming, respectively; Joe Berlinger, director of "Under African Skies;" Andrea Arnold, director of "Wuthering Heights;" and Matt Dentler of Cinetic Media / Film Buff.

Listen to our podcast of Saturday's show, featuring producer Ted Hope of Double Hope Films; the cast and crew of "Simon Killer;" Brian Knappenberger, director of "We Are Legion;" and a roundtable on the Slamdance Film Festival.

In a second installment from Park City, UT, conversations with a Ira Sachs, Sally El Hosani, Sheila Nevins and a roundtable of journalists.

Film Society's first broadcast from Park City is a preview of this year's festival including films & filmmakers to watch, a recap of Art House Convergence, and a discussion of the business side of one of the most exciting events on the cinema calendar!