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Sundance Buzz: The Weinstein Co. Picks Up Roman Polanski Doc

Let’s see how far they will go to screw up the marketing on this one…
By  · Published on January 19th, 2008

I will certainly admit to not having seen the film in question, Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, a documentary about Roman Polanski’s life and times, directed by Marina Zenovich. It is on my list of films to see before I depart Park City, so its really hard to comment.

Of course, it appears that The Weinstein Company didn’t want to wait to hear my opinion before they swooped in and picked up the film’s distribution rights. According to Anne Thompson at Variety, the Weinstein Co. reps were making the deal with Zenovich and her people in the car just after the premiere of the film. Once the deal was complete, Zenovich returned to the theater and completed a Q&A with the audience. Just in time, to say the least.

This marks the first acquisition by a major studio, outside of IFC picking up international rights for a few flicks. The only problem is — as far as the Weinstein Co. is concerned, their marketing team has struggled mightily to market indie films over the past few years. Bobby, anyone? Only time will tell how they handle this film, but either way it is exciting for director Marina Zenovich. Marina, tonight we will toast to your impending wealth — among other things.

Keep it locked to our 2008 Sundance Film Festival Homepage all week as I will bring you up-to-date reviews, news and features from Park City, Utah.

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Neil Miller is the persistently-bearded Publisher of Film School Rejects, Nonfics, and One Perfect Shot. He's also the Executive Producer of the One Perfect Shot TV show (currently streaming on HBO Max) and the co-host of Trial By Content on The Ringer Podcast Network. He can be found on Twitter here: @rejects (He/Him)