...this forum needs some life.

I have no clue as to the "big" indies coming out next year. Obviously Notes on a Scandal will expand and Pan's Labyrinth should run strong into the early parts of the year, but what else is there to be seen next year?

Ah yes, Sicko will perhaps be one of the most mainstream of 2007's indies. I'm sure there is a list floating around somewhere, I'll see what I can find.

Speaking of Sicko, anybody else greatly looking forward to this?

I was looking forward to this a while back - but have heard very little about it in recent months. IMDB also lists that Moore will have an update Farenhight 911 out in 2007 aswell. Not sure if that will still happen seeing as Sicko was delayed from 06.

Fahrenheit 9/11 2 will be interesting, or could be anyway. Coming from someone who loved Bowling for Columbine and Roger & Me, I was not a big fan of the first Fahrenheit 9/11 at all. Just wasn't as well made of a film and not as convincing in my opinion.

As I mentioned in the award forum, I'm highly interested in Wong Kar-Wai's "My Blueberry Nights", and certainly Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution".

Warner Independent
Funny Games, from the director of Cache starring Naomi Watts
In the Valley of Elah, from Haggis, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Charlize Theron
Rails & Ties, from Alison Eastwood... Kevin Bacon and Marcia Gay Harden

Weinstien
Virgin Territory, starring Hayden Christensen among other (interesting storyline... a period drama about the Plague)
The Nanny Diaries, from the directors of American Splendor... Johannson, Giamatti, Linney, etc.

Focus
Reservation Road from the director of Hotel Rwanda... Phoenix, Ruffalo, Sorvino, Connelly
Into the Wild from Sean Penn starring Vince Vaughn
Atonement from the director of Pride & Pred... starring Knightly, Redgrave, Blethyn, etc.
Be Kind Rewind from Michel Gondry

Wong Kar-Wai + Norah Jones + Natalie Portman = I'm there.

I was fairly impressed with 2046 style-wise. It was lacking in some other ways definately but it was visually stunning, which bodes well for My Blueberry Nights I think.

And of course, anything Ang Lee will lead to my interest. I loved Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon as well as Brokeback Mountain so I'm interested to see how this film unfolds.

Oh gosh Gondry has another film coming out? That'll be interesting. Judging from the title it doesn't sound as mainstream as Eternal Sunshine, and probably will end up an off-beat ... film ... such as The Science of Sleep.

...as I was typing this I checked out IMDB:

A man (Black) whose brain becomes magnetized unintentionally destroys every tape in his friend's video store. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films, which include Back to the Future, The Lion King, and Robocop.

2046 suffered maybe for being too much of a passion project. He worked on it for years... I think it suffers from a lack of focus and purpose because maybe it wasn't re-addressed as a whole. I would never fault Wong Kar-Wai for it though.

Fox Searchlight isn't really interesting at the moment.

I prefer Bowling for Columbine over FH911 aswell so look forward to Sicko just as much as I do Fh911 2 - which potentially could be better than the first one.

Be Kind Rewind - I forgot this was opening. This sounds like it could be a cult hit!

Good to see I'm not alone. I didn't loathe FH9/11, I just didn't care for it. To me, it just felt like an ego trip if you will. He knew it would be controversial, he had enough clout to get away with it, so he just shoved as much stupid shit in there as he could. Don't get me wrong...I'm no Bush supporter, or anything like that, but if you are going to make a political documentary ... make it good, you know?

I generally hate it when Hollywood gets involved in politics, as they really are just out there to get attention for themselves. There was an article floating around when FH911 opened in Hollywood two days before its nationwide premiere, and how Demi Moore was very vocal during the premier "pumping her fist in the air, saying 'Yes! That was crucial'", etc...like these logs have any idea what they are talking about anyway...

Ok, end rant. But yeah, Fahrenheit 9/11 1/2 as it is called...could be very could. I'm sure we will see an official Fahrenheit 9/11 2 once Bush leaves office in 2009...

F9/11-2 would be easy now, like shooting fish in a barrel. When the original came out, it was amidst a very hostile and/or paranoid political climate...

After Columbine I was really pumped for FH911 too. Felt exactly the same way you did when I saw it though. It was entertaining to watch but terribly manipulative. Interesting note about Demi Moore. No wonder she and Willis could no longer stand each other

It's kind of difficult to pin-point potentially "big" indie films.

The best ones typically sneak up on you.

Well there's independent films, and then there are vanity projects with major actors slumming it for scale and Oscars.

It's probably got too hefty of a budget to be an indie, but as far as Fox Searchlight goes I really can't wait to see Sunshine, the new Danny Boyle film. If the premise isn't exactly original, it's at least a pretty neat take on it. Boyle can be somewhat hit and miss, but this sounds very promising.

Also, is Miyazaki's Tales from Earthsea going to be released in 2007? If so I think that'll be one of the highlights of the year, I really want to see an Ursula LeGuin piece done right.

It should be noted that Earthsea is not Hayao Miyazaki, it's his son.

Woah. Really? Interesting, I wonder if the talent was genetic?

Dunno... it's his first... anything.

He has no other credits on IMDB.

Is Funny Games the same as this one: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119167/ ?

Cuz I've heard that was pretty bad. Otherwise, I got nothin'.

Here's the list for Sundance: http://festival.sundance.org/filmguide/

Among the interesting:

Angel-A directed by Luc Besson
Away From Her directed by actress Sarah Polley
Black Snake Moan directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle & Flow)
Broken English directed by Zoe Cassavetes
Mushishi ("Bugmaster") from Katsuhiro Ôtomo the director of Steamboy, (part of) Memories, Akira
Chicago 10 from Brett Morgen director of The Kid Stays in the Picture (Chicago 10 is a doc)
Finishing the Game from Justin Lin (director of Better Luck Tomorrow, Fast and Furious 3)
Interview by Steve Buscemi
The Last Mimzy directed by Robert Shaye, studio guy of New Line and producer of Lord of the Rings
Slipstream directed by Sir Anthony Hopkins
Snow Angels by David Gordon Green (All the Real Girls)
Summer Rain directed by Antonio Banderas
Year of the Dog from Mike White (you know, the albino guy who's friends with Jack Black, he played his roomate in School of Rock, etc.)

Just as reference, the following films came out of the 2006 Sundance schedule:

Thank You For Smoking
The Proposition
Little Miss Sunshine
The Science of Sleep
Art School Confidential
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
Friends with Money
Kinky Boots
Lucky Number Slevin
The Illusionist

Typically we should get a few worthwhile films out of Sundance.

Funny, I had tickets to go see Black Snake Moan a few weeks ago, guess it was one of those test screenings, but I didn't make it.

The Last Mimzy is considered indie? Looks fairly mainstream to me, but who knows.

The Last Mimzy (better title then the original "Mimzy") looks like a mainstream Donnie Darko that'll be much lighter. Indie is such a loose term, very few of the breakout ones are true independent films in my mind.