Oscar Season Versus Sundance: Here’s What the Crowded Season Says About the Film Industry

Screen Talk, episode 275: It's a busy January and about to get a whole lot busier. But what's the big picture?

By Eric Kohn, Anne Thompson

January 24, 2020 8:00 am

A woman walks up Old Main Street the day before the start of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, USA, 22 January 2020. The festival runs from 23 January to 2 February 2020.2019 Sundance Film Festival 'Sundance Preparation on Old Main Street', Park City, Usa - 22 Jan 2020 — Park City this week.

George Frey/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

January 2020 may be the busiest month for the film industry in recent memory, thanks to a short Oscar season and altered Sundance dates that are causing stress on both ends. While the awards conversation continues to hover around a very unpredictable Best Picture race, Sundance brings its own fair share of questions pertaining to the marketplace. (Documentaries stand a good chance at standing out more than narratives.)

But how about that Oscar race? Last weekend’s big SAG win for “Parasite” suggests the momentum for Bong Joon Ho’s dark crowdpleaser is constant, but where does that leave “1917”? In this week’s episode of Screen Talk, Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson debate the “Parasite” factor and the changing nature of the Sundance landscape, both of which provide intriguing windows into the state of the film business. In related news: Sundance attendees are invited to attend a special live recording of Screen Talk at the Canada Goose Basecamp at 558 Main Street this Monday, January 27, at 1:00 p.m. MST.

Listen to the full episode below.

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