When juries are put together for these film fests, chances are the everyday person wouldn't have the slightest idea who most of the people are -- perhaps they make ultra-arthouse films, or they work behind the scenes in some capacity. But for Sundance, they've collected a bunch of names that are pretty recognizable -- coming from both the world of big-budget film and indie wonder. The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Marcia Gay Harden, Sandra Oh, Quentin Tarantino, Jason Reitman, and Alan Alda are heading the list of 24 jurors chosen to hand out prizes at Sundance this year, which starts later this month.There are six juries selecting the prizes, and this is how it is broken up:
Dramatic Competition Grand Jury -- Harden, Diego Luna, Oh, Mary Harron, and Tarantino.
Documentary Competition Grand Jury -- Michelle Byrd, Heidi Ewing, Eugene Jarecki, Steven Okazaki, and Annie Sundberg.
World Dramatic Competition Jury -- Shunji Iwai, Lucrecia Martel, and Jan Schuette.
World Documentary Competition Jury -- Ilda Santiago, Leena Pasanen, and Amir Bar-Lev.
American & International Shorts Jury -- Jon Bloom, Melonie Diaz, and Jason Reitman.
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize Jury -- Alda, Michael Polish, Evan Schwartz, Benedict Schwegler, and John Underkoffler. (It's awarded to a film focusing on science or technology, and most of these names are in the biz.)
Ah, if only I could be there! Stay tuned to Cinematical for lots of Sundance goodies as the fest heats up.
1. I wonder if Sienna Miller has sat on any of the juries laps?
Sean penn is on the jury for the Cannes festival this year in May!
Some actresses get nominated for awards because of their talent and some actresses use other methods to influence the jury.
Sienna is definitely the latter sort.
Smells a bit fishy and off white I say.
Posted at 1:33PM on Jan 19th 2008 by bradford