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Stephen Frears Also Comes To Sundance Unwed

Written by: FFT Webmaster | January 16th, 2012

Another high profile filmmaker coming to Sundance without a distribution deal in place is the Oscar-nominated director of THE QUEEN, Stephen Frears. In his long career that began with such UK indie films as MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE and SAMMY AND ROSIE GET LAID, Frears has moved between bigger budget films and smaller ones that have had a tougher ride at the box office. His latest film LAY THE FAVORITE is a dramatic comedy starring Rebecca Hall as a stripper turned sports bettor. Marquee names Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta-Jones are also in the cast, so it is kind of curious that this film has not yet found a home with a domestic distributor (although its Sundance exposure, if positive, should quickly remedy that). The fact that a world renowned director is in this position points underscores the degree to which the mainstream movie business, focused on churning out big-budget sequels, has turned its back on smaller films aimed at audiences with more sophisticated tastes. In an interview in the New York Times, when asked why he was taking an unsold film to Sundance at this point in his career, Frears replied, “It’s very simple, what you’re trying to do is survive.” For more information on the film, visit: http://filmguide.sundance.org/film/120064/lay_the_favorite

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