How does that foot taste, Robert?
(Fox News) — Attention, One Percenters! You can go home now. The Sundance Film Festival is not … repeat NOT … for you. (Except of course our corporate sponsors and super rich celebrity guests. You can stay. As a matter of fact, we’d be lost without you!)
That’s the mixed message the was being sent as Robert Redford opened the 34th annual Sundance Film Festival with a populist pitch on Thursday, slamming the government for failing its citizens and talking about how Sundance exists for the forgotten “99 percent.”
“We show stories of what people in America are really dealing with, and really living with, against a consequence of having a government that’s let them down,” Redford said. “People can come and say, ‘God, at least we’re seeing how people are really living in America, and what they’re up against.’ We square away on the 99 percent.”
But the scene in Park City, Utah, where Sundance is held, would seem to run counter to Redford’s characterization, with big corporations sponsoring virtually every event and venue, and super rich celebrities racing each other to scoop up corporate sponsor freebies.
First, let’s look at the sponsors. The official Sundance headquarters “proudly brews Starbucks” with a pop-up stall assembled just for the festival. The Bing Bar hosts press conferences and interviews. Grey Goose Vodka sponsors several Blue Door events. The Acura Studio hosts premiere dinners. Even the city of Miami brought the Miami Oasis Suite to Park City to lure folks to the beach capital. And one of the hottest late night tickets is quite the sponsor mouthful: The T-Mobile Presents Google Music at TAO in Park City, which serves to recognize and support independent musicians through the launch of a new Google Music Magnified program.