cover image The Sundance Kids: How the Mavericks Took Back Hollywood

The Sundance Kids: How the Mavericks Took Back Hollywood

James Mottram, . . Faber and Faber, $24 (512pp) ISBN 978-0-571-22267-4

Mottram covers the same territory Sharon Waxman did in 2005's Rebels on the Backlot , including extensive considerations of directors Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino, but the British film journalist adds several filmmakers into the mix, including Sofia Coppola and Wes Anderson, concentrating primarily on hot young talents discovered at the Sundance Film Festival. He's also more interested in what's on the screen than Waxman was, so nearly every chapter has lengthy analyses of the movies discussed. But these interpretive flights distract from the reportage, especially when Mottram dismisses successful directors like Robert Rodriguez (who arguably have taken back Hollywood) because he doesn't consider movies like Spy Kids mature enough for serious consideration, or when he insists on linking every modern maverick to a counterpart in '70s cinema. He also links some films together by simplistic means, grouping a trilogy of films set in high schools in one chapter and building another chapter around Elmore Leonard adaptations. Mottram does give insight into the career trajectories of a few of his subjects, most notably Soderbergh, David Fincher and Bryan Singer, making his history a useful starting point. 50 b&w photos. (Apr.)