Sundance: Chris Pine, Jenny Slate and Judd Apatow Kick Off Bittersweet Opening Night of Final Park City Edition

Key Highlights

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• It was a packed first day of programming with Pine and Slate hitting the Eccles, the festival’s largest venue, for the afternoon premiere of “Carousel,” a lyrical drama about a divorced doctor who reconnects with his high school girlfriend after she returns to their hometown.
• Ahmed was on hand for his new Amazon series “Bait,” in which he plays an actor whose star rises when he auditions to play James Bond, while observational humorist John Wilson touched down in Sundance to debut his new documentary “The History of Concrete.” Popular on Variety Despite the challenges that have been roiling the industry, Pine insisted he’s optimistic about the future of arthouse films and feels strongly that independent cinema “is still alive and kicking.” “People want to go see cinema.
• Whether or not it looks anything like 20 years ago or 30 years ago, it doesn’t really matter,” he told Variety on the red carpet prior to the “Carousel” premiere.
• “We may have some diminishment in terms of cinema being the center of the zeitgeist, but my god, people still want to see it.” One of the opening night’s most warmly received offerings, comedic drama “Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty!,” entered the festival with a relatively low profile.