{"id":2248559,"date":"2026-01-24T16:10:04","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2248559"},"modified":"2026-01-24T16:10:04","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T16:10:04","slug":"sundances-second-day-brings-charli-xcx-and-fandoms-of-all-kinds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/sundances-second-day-brings-charli-xcx-and-fandoms-of-all-kinds\/","title":{"rendered":"Sundance’s second day brings Charli XCX and fandoms of all kinds"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PARK CITY, Utah\u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/span>Welcome to a special Sundance Daily edition of the Wide Shot, a newsletter about the business of entertainment. <\/i>Sign up here<\/i><\/a> to get it in your inbox.<\/i><\/p>\n

Good morning! It\u2019s another crisp, beautiful day in Park City: Saturday, Jan. 24. It will be mostly cloudy today with a high (if you can call it that) of 28 degrees.<\/p>\n

Are you following along at our page collecting all our videos<\/a>? Everything from celebs visiting our photo studios, quick reactions outside of screenings, carpet arrivals and more \u2014 you can find it right here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Today\u2019s newsletter brings you some scene reports (what exactly went down at Charli XCX\u2019s world premiere of \u201cThe Moment\u201d?) and recommendations for what to watch today, plus Samantha\u2019s thoughts on crowdfunding and its potential in the indie sphere.<\/p>\n

A listening party for the world\u2019s most expensive album<\/h2>\n
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From left, Raekwon, GZA, RZA, Ghostface Killah and Inspectah Deck of Wu-Tang Clan perform in 2025 in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

(Brian Feinzimer \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

On Thursday night I watched Cappadonna<\/a> take viewers through the Wu-Tang Clan\u2019s humble Staten Island origins in \u201cThe Disciple,\u201d the documentary partially about the creation of the group\u2019s \u201cOnce Upon a Time in Shaolin,\u201d the most expensive album ever sold<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Friday afternoon I was in a swanky house a couple of miles away from downtown Park City listening to a portion of the only copy in the world as Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins<\/a> wrote in a notebook a few feet away. All attendees obviously had phones locked away, while others sampled an incredibly fancy charcuterie spread.<\/p>\n

Billed as an album listening party, we got to hear the 13-minute sampler that was originally played for potential buyers and two other tracks, including the title cut of the 31-song album, totaling about 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

It matched what was described in Joanna Natasegara\u2019s documentary: a return to the early Wu-Tang Clan sound. The rhymes were layered with strings, sirens, gunshots and a horn part reminiscent of Jr. Walker & the All Stars\u2019 \u201cShotgun,\u201d the latter of which got some of the biggest reaction from the pretty stoic crowd, except for the people who kept talking over the rare listen. \u2014 Vanessa Franko<\/i><\/p>\n

Waiting on line for Charli XCX<\/h2>\n
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Fans in brat wear wait at the Eccles Theatre for the world premiere of Charli XCX\u2019s \u201cThe Moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

(David Viramontes)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Charli xcx\u2019s \u201cThe Moment\u201d was easily the buzziest film going into Sundance 2026 \u2014 at least to those of us still reliving the highs of \u201cbrat\u201d summer. That 2024 album unleashed a pure, unadulterated strain of Charli\u2019s particular brand of celebrity into the world and became a ubiquitous pop culture sensation.<\/p>\n

When the movie \u201cinspired by an original idea by Charli xcx\u201d was announced, many were curious what her first major foray into film would look like. Well, the moment has come.<\/p>\n

An hour before the premiere, moviegoers crowded in front of the Eccles, many of them in \u201cbrat green\u201d beanies, some homemade and some that looked like official swag, waited for a chance to see Charli. A group of fans were seen walking down the line of attendees trying to buy tickets, with someone offering me $150 for mine. (I was never going to miss the opportunity to see the film at the premiere.)<\/p>\n

Inside, some of Charli\u2019s tracks played before the film. During their intro, director Aidan Zamiri said, \u201cThis movie is about the end of an era,\u201d setting the tone for the film. What followed was part fever trip through the machine of the music industry and part satirical mockumentary that felt both real and exaggerated. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s mocking herself,\u201d The Times\u2019 Suzy Exposito said<\/a> immediately following the screening, \u201cbut she\u2019s also at her commercial peak.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charli has three films playing at this year\u2019s fest. That feels like both an exclamation point on her pop-music conquest and a signal of the next evolution of her career, which includes the soundtrack for the upcoming \u201cWuthering Heights\u201d adaptation. <\/p>\n

One audience member wanted to know, how does she find the time? Charli couldn\u2019t have responded more perfectly, quoting her own lyrics: \u201c365. Don\u2019t eat, don\u2019t sleep, just put it on repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The movies worth standing in line for<\/h2>\n

\u201cExtra Geography\u201d<\/b> (Megaplex Redstone, 1:10 p.m.)<\/p>\n

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Galaxie Clear and Marnie Duggan in the movie \u201cExtra Geography.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Clementine Schneiderman \/ Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

I haven\u2019t seen a good new teen movie in ages. My era had oodles, most of which still hold up. But Generation Alpha deserves their own potential classics.<\/p>\n

Maybe one will be Molly Manners\u2019 \u201cExtra Geography\u201d which combines the friendship psychodrama of \u201cHeavenly Creatures\u201d<\/a> and the aspirational-chic of \u201cClueless\u201d<\/a> into a comedy about two competitive and codependent girls, Minna and Flic (fantastic first-time actors Galaxie Clear and Marnie Duggan), who act in lockstep from joining the school play or forcing themselves to both fall in love with their awkward geography teacher, Miss Delavigne (Alice Englert). <\/p>\n

Minna is rich and pretty; Flic, her follower, is a scholarship student who mimics everything her idol does a millisecond later. Life is destined to divide them and maybe that\u2019s fine. (It\u2019s at least brutally hilarous.) <\/p>\n

But what elevates the movie is Manners\u2019 recognization that Minna also wishes they could stay best friends forever. Don\u2019t hate her because she\u2019s beautiful. \u2014 Amy Nicholson<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Invite\u201d<\/b> (Eccles Theatre, 6 p.m.)<\/p>\n

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Olivia Wilde, left, Seth Rogen, Pen\u00e9lope Cruz and Edward Norton in the movie \u201cThe Invite.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Sundance Institute)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

Part of the excitement of festival premieres is when a movie arrives with a certain what-is-this? air of mystery about it. So it is with the first feature directed by Olivia Wilde since her ill-fated \u201cDon\u2019t Worry Darling\u201d<\/a> from 2022.<\/p>\n

The new film feels like a purposeful reset, reportedly based on Spanish filmmaker Cesc Gay\u2019s \u201cThe People Upstairs\u201d with a screenplay adapted by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. The movie features Wilde and Seth Rogen as a couple who invite their neighbors (played by Edward Norton and Pen\u00e9lope Cruz) over for dinner, setting in motion an emotional evening of revelations as long-simmering tensions come to a boil. <\/p>\n

Said to be shot chronologically on 35mm film with a cast of four unpredictable performers, this could go off in any number of directions, which makes it feel like a must-see. \u2014 Mark Olsen<\/i><\/p>\n

Will crowdfunding keep growing in the film business?<\/h2>\n

Indie filmmakers have had a tough last few years.<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve faced a softer market at festivals like Sundance, where all-night bidding wars or at least the hope of a distribution deal after a premiere have become few and far between.<\/p>\n

That, in turn, has made it tough to get financing to make more films, as private equity has shied away.<\/p>\n

As the industry shifts, that has left a gap for alternative sources of funding, including crowdfunding.<\/p>\n

I spoke with Taylor K. Shaw-Omachonu, film lead at Kickstarter, to learn more about why some filmmakers are turning to crowdfunding and the company\u2019s expansion into distribution.<\/p>\n

Though crowdfunding campaigns are typically ways for filmmakers to raise money for their projects, it can also allow them to build an audience and prove there\u2019s a market for their work \u2014 a key aspect, particularly for indie films.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an opportunity to say, \u2018I know who my audience is, and I have a direct relationship with them,\u2019\u201d Shaw-Omachonu said. \u201cAnd that is the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kickstarter itself has also branched out beyond funding. The company now has a partnership with streaming service Tubi, where users can watch dozens of films that got funding through Kickstarter. There\u2019s no guarantee that all Kickstarter-backed films will get a distribution deal with Tubi, but it\u2019s a potential option, Shaw-Omachonu said.<\/p>\n

Crowdfunding isn\u2019t the silver bullet to the financing woes of the film business. But it can make sense for some films, like 2024\u2019s \u201cThe Apprentice,\u201d which struggled to find a distributor after legal threats from then-presidential candidate Donald Trump. Producers turned to Kickstarter to raise money for the film\u2019s marketing and release. (The film was distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment.)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I always say to filmmakers is work the traditional system, if you can get millions of dollars that way, amazing,\u201d Shaw-Omachonu said. \u201cAlso leveraging, connecting with your audience, running a Kickstarter campaign \u2014 it is a tool that you can put in your toolbox of how you get your slate made.\u201d \u2014 Samantha Masunaga<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n