On the opening day of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, Robert Redford was shown the door. Keri Putnam, Sundance Institute’s Executive Director, reminded Redford to not let the door hit his ass on the way out.
Then in a scene, that some called Redford’s finest acting of his career, he and Ms. Putnam reenacted the the final scene of Braveheart. Ms Putnam said, “It can all end right now, just say it. Cry out mercy.” The rich and powerful, and the the press, then began to cry out “mercy.” She then continued, “just say it, mercy.” Mr Redford, then cleared his throat. Some thought he would yell mercy but instead he screamed “FREEDOM.” While Ms Putnam appeared remiss, she then beheaded Mr. Redford.
Thus ends the influence of Robert Redford on Sundance. Ms Putnam told E Entertainment that she was sorry to see Robert go but that she was looking forward to a film festival without his archaic view of the world. “Robert was great until 1985 but recently he just didn’t get what we are trying to do. We need to maximize revenues from our sponsors. We need to bring in as many people as possible. It’s not so much about the stories our films tell, it’s about seeming like we are part of current culture. Robert really held us back from our upcoming IPO that will help us maximize share holder value.”
So, with that, the Robert Redford era is over at Sundance. Ms. Putnam commented that people shouldn’t worry. “Next year’s festival will concentrate on virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and whatever is hot at Netflix.”