PARK CITY, Utah -- By tonight, we should know what's damaged Sundance more: The economic meltdown or the new Ashton Kutcher comedy.
(Not overheard on the streets: "Tickets to the Kutcher gigolo flick? Score!")
Until then, the collapse of the global financial apparatus will just have to be enough to keep Hollywood's gifts-and-glam glitterati occupied.
At the very least, there's a whole new lingo to learn. A stimulus package, for one thing, has nothing to do with Colin Farrell. And, for another, "Swag-dance" -- as the world's premiere indie-movie festival has become disparagingly known in recent years -- isn't "recession-proof." Seriously, who knew "invest" and "ingest" didn't mean the same thing?
So after a decade in which historic, red-brick Main Street has been swarmed by lookie-loos, hangers-on, pseudo-celebrities and so-called "ambush marketers," the film festival's miniature Mardi Gras of merchandise, private parties, swanky lounges and swag suites is being downsized.
"It's going to be the quietest Sundance in quite a while," says Christopher Ryan, owner of the L.A.-based marketing and management outfit Oceanside Entertainment.
In brief: Smaller entourages, subdued soirees, fewer visitors -- down from the 45,000 who descended on this mountain ski town in 2008. And yet for all that, many believe Sundance's shrinkage, regardless of the reason, is overdue. It's almost like somebody threw a recession and everybody went willingly.
"It used to be a film festival, and what it turned into was random people just coming to party and gawk at celebrities," says celebrity chef Bethenny Frankell, host of Chefdance, one of the events that has endured the crunch.
"The people that are going to be there this year are going to need to be there -- because they have a film or they're a marketer. It's a lot like the economy. There's been a correction. But that means there will be more focus on the films and if you're a marketer, you'll be able to make a bigger splash."
Naturally, not everyone is ready to embrace the downturn -- least of all the Park City merchants who have abruptly found their coveted space considerably less desired.
Compounding that is the blow Sundance organizers struck to pirate marketers by initiating a "peaceful takeover" of party apex Village at the Lift. Renamed the Sundance Lift, it will now supply space for press interviews as well as play host to after-parties.
While no one expects gifting suites to vanish from Main Street, as Sundance's director of operations Sarah Pearce observes, the economic climate may change how openly stars want to load up on $30,000 gift-bags.
"The economy the way it is, going to gifting booths and getting gifts probably won't sit right with a lot of people."
For Sundance founder Robert Redford, the breather from the swag-jam is clearly welcome. "It's beginning to recede," he said, adding that although "everybody's welcome" to the festival, he admits it bothered him to see the sideshow overshadow the main event.
Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore says the past few years were merely reflective of the prevailing culture.
"People are seeing this as a cycle that happened -- the excess of a certain period contributed to that."
So far, the festival is weathering the economic storm just fine, Gilmore adds. Ticket sales are actually ahead of what they were at the same time last year, and while Volkswagen and Adobe System dropped out as sponsors, others such as Google and Timberland outdoor gear came on board.
One more upside of the trimmer, toned-down Sundance for those bracing to brave the notoriously long lines to catch a flick?
"You might be actually able to get a ticket to a movie," Ryan says.
