Sundance embracing social media

“There is a hunger for alternatives,” says Sundance director John Cooper, noting the success of Precious and An Education, both of which premiered here in 2009.
“Those films are a good barometer of what audiences will accept.”
They’re also an indication of what kind of roles stars seek between romantic comedies and superhero extravaganzas.
For this reason — the career credibility it offers amid the slopes and swag — Sundance remains a potent draw for Hollywood’s elite.
Thus, Twilight’s Kristen Stewart is doing double-duty: in both Welcome to the Rileys as a stripper, and in The Runaways as rock icon Joan Jett.
Cooper acknowledges that Stewart’s inclusion has raised some hackles among cinephiles, but defends both the selections and the actress. “She’s putting her money where her mouth is,” he says. “I think it’s great. These are tough parts.”
Still, Cooper says he’s not swayed by fame. After viewing the gritty drama Twelve, he remembers asking his staff who the star was, referring to Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford. “They’re like, ‘He’s from Gossip Girl!’ To me, he’s a complete unknown. TV stars mean nothing to me. But I’ve caught up on Chace Crawford since.”
For other stars, the indie route can be a path to respect behind the camera. Actors directing features here include Mark Ruffalo (Sympathy for Delicious), How I Met Your Mother’s Josh Radnor (Happy Thank You More Please) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Jack Goes Boating).
Cooper believes this could be a new chapter in Ruffalo’s career. “He talks and thinks like a director. This may be big for him, and he’s serious about it.”
Other themes this year? Cooper says among submissions there were “a lot of films with the war as the back story: Soldiers returning home. That’s definitely in the zeitgeist.”
(One of them, The Dry Land starring America Ferrera, is in the U.S. dramatic competition.)
On the non-fiction front, Cooper says documentary filmmakers continue to become “better storytellers,” noting the harrowing dolphin slaughter expose The Cove, which bowed here last year. “It was like watching a thriller.”
Ten of the most buzzed-about films that will play at Sundance 2010:
• The Runaways: Twilight’s Kristen Stewart is born to be bad as Joan Jett in this rock bio-pic. New Moon’s Dakota Fanning joins her as Cherie Currie.
• Welcome to the Rileys: If The Runaways isn’t scandalous enough, Stewart’s second Sundance flick casts her as a stripper who bonds with a depressed businessman (James Gandolfini).
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 ~Robstenfan