Hype Dreams
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Sundance annually attracts around 500 film executives from major studios and distributors. All of them are searching for low-budget features with box office appeal as well as fresh talent capable of turning out Hollywood hits. The festival annually screens 26 new independent feature films out of a pool of around 600 submitted for consideration. Almost half of the movies are nominated for awards each year, while the other half, usuallybyfirst-time directors, are screened out of the competition. Schwahn’s a first-time director, so 35 Miles From Normal won’t be in the festival competiton. But if film executives like what they see, the movie may get a distribution deal.
A low-key figure on the Chicago entertainment scene, James Stern has concentrated his efforts on theater rather than motion pictures. In 1992 he produced the well-received play Wild Men, a satire of the men’s movement that starred TV actor George Wendt. Written by members of the comedy group Friends of the Zoo, Wild Men was mounted at the Body Politic and ran for nearly a year. Stern subsequently took the production to New York, where it failed.
The production budget for 35 Miles From Normal is under $1 million, according to Stern, who raised most of the capital from a limited partnership. The film was shot in a mere 19 days last fall. Location shooting took place in downstate Pontiac, north suburban Glencoe, and at a steel mill in south Chicago. They had a rough cut ready to submit to Sundance by early November. At first Stern was worried that Schwahn’s connections would hurt the film’s chances of getting into the festival. He was told by Sundance executives that it would have to be especially good to avoid the look of impropriety. But, apparently, they liked what they saw.
