Strictly Business Daily Variety -- Voices of Sundance With Natalie Portman, Gregg Araki, Daniel Kwan, Judd Apatow and More
Jan 28, 2026
Rapid-fire Sundance interviews cover politics, free speech and industry safety. Filmmakers debate AI risks, regulation and the global tech race. Actors and directors discuss preserving thoughtful filmmaking amid social media buzz. Musicians recall changing economics and touring challenges. Production topics include tax credits and the rise of intimacy coordinators.
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Festival Joy Meets Political Reality
- Sundance mixes celebration with real-world political pain, making festival appearances inevitably political.
- Cynthia Littleton frames guests' comments about ICE and national trauma as part of festival conversation.
Free Speech Under Threat Resonates Deeply
- Extremism and erosion of free speech alarm artists who came to the U.S. for its First Amendment.
- Salman Rushdie frames threats to free expression as deeply depressing and personally resonant.
Revise Tax Credits To Attract Big Shoots
- Do change tax-credit rules to include above-the-line costs to keep major productions in Los Angeles.
- Rob Lowe argues this single policy shift would attract big shows back to Hollywood.