Sounding, in no way, like someone who just got very publicly dumped, Utah governor Spencer Cox has announced that the Sundance Film Festival made a big mistake in leaving him, before then attempting the extremely tricky “And I’ve actually moved on already, anyway” pivot. In a public statement made late last night, Cox said that “In the meantime”—i.e., until Robert Redford and the planet’s most ski-holiday-minded movie buffs come crawling back to him after their planned decade-long dalliance with Boulder—”We’ll keep doing what we’ve always done: supporting filmmakers and building a world-class film economy right here in Utah. We have already begun meeting with partners, stakeholders, and creative voices to create a new festival—one that honors our legacy and writes the next chapter of independent film in Utah.”
(Cox did not go on to add that his own film festival would also have blackjack, and sex workers, because, well… Utah.)
Despite his sudden “Who even needs Sundance, anyway?” attitude, it’s worth noting that Cox tried like hell to keep the festival in the state, allocating millions in incentives in order to try to keep it away from that rectangular hussy, Colorado. Of course, he couldn’t change the basic fact that he was doing all of this in Utah; Cox is a somewhat moderate Republican operating in a state where his legislatures run way more right-wing than he is, to the point that he’s vetoed multiple instances of MAGA red meat—including bans on transgender athletes—only to have his veto overridden. The most recent issue to poke up was a ban on displaying non-official flags in government buildings that pretty much everyone involved understood as a tacit attack on Pride flags; Cox let the bill pass without his signature this week, alongside a public statement that basically said “What would even be the point?” None of this stuff reportedly endeared the state to the people deciding Sundance’s future, especially as one of the bill’s sponsors, state senator Dan McCay, made public statements that “Sundance promotes porn.” (He also said “Bye, Felicia” in 2025, which is a whole separate category of pubic embarrassment.)
Still, though, we’re excited to see what kind of film festival Cox is able to whip up now; nothing like watching independent film flourish in an environment where lawmakers are actively condemning you for things like “promoting alternative lifestyles,” right?
[via Deadline]
