Variety is returning to the Sundance Film Festival, hosting virtual interviews in the Variety Studio in collaboration with Audible. Throughout the festival, videos from the studio will appear on Variety.com beginning on Jan. 21.
The virtual interview studio will feature interviews with the festival’s top directors and talents including Elizabeth Banks (“Call Jane”), John Boyega (“892”), Connie Britton (“892”), Sterling K. Brown (“Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul”), Oscar De La Hoya (“La Guerra Civil”), Abigail Disney and Kathleen Hughes (“The American Dream and Other Fairy Tales”), Lena Dunham (“Sharp Stick”), Daisy Edgar-Jones (“Fresh”), Jesse Eisenberg (“When You Finish Saving the World”), Colin Farrell (“After Yang”), Regina Hall (“Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul” and “Master”), Dakota Johnson (“AM I OK?” and “Cha Cha Real Smooth”), Eva Longoria Bastón (“La Guerra Civil”), Leslie Mann (“Cha Cha Real Smooth”), Michelle Monaghan (“Nanny”), Thandiwe Newton (“God’s Country”), Keke Palmer (“Alice”), Aaron Paul (“Dual”), Aubrey Plaza (“Emily the Criminal”), Amy Poehler (“Lucy and Desi”), Sebastian Stan (“Fresh”), Emma Thompson (“Good Luck to You, Leo Grande”), Jodie Turner-Smith (“After Yang”), and Sigourney Weaver (“Call Jane”).
In addition, Variety will present two exclusive streaming room conversations, featuring Audible talent. The first is a spirited conversation on Jan. 24 in anticipation of the upcoming Audible Original, “Prophecy,” from Kerry Washington. Washington will participate in a panel discussion alongside writer/director Randy McKinnon, executive producer Brian Kavanaugh-Jones of Automatik, and Zola Mashariki, Head of Audible Studios. The group of industry veterans will dive into the creative process behind scripted audio storytelling and their experience creating “Prophecy” in the dynamic medium.
The second panel on Jan. 26 will focus on the world of audio storytelling and the innovative and immersive process of creating specifically for audio, from diverse points of view. Four storytellers will gather to discuss the audio medium — its opportunities, creative challenges and possibilities, and the industry as a whole — in addition to their projects in the space. Panelists include record producer, songwriter and singer Maejor, whose Audible Original “Maejor Frequency” debuts on Jan. 20; star and executive producer of the upcoming Audible Original “The Miranda Obsession,” Rachel Brosnahan; creator and performer, Jesse Eisenberg whose Audible Original “When You Finish Saving the World” has been adapted into a film which will premiere at Sundance; Alan Cumming, who most recently starred in the Audible Original “The Cinnamon Bear” and whose Audible Original credits also include “Hot White Heist” and “Alan Cumming: Legal Immigrant;” and Rachel Ghiazza, EVP, Head of US Content for Audible.
“We are so pleased to be collaborating with Audible for the Variety Sundance Studio video series,” said Variety’s President and Group Publisher Michelle Sobrino-Stearns. “Our collaboration with Sundance is one of our most important partnerships in celebrating independent cinema and storytelling, and we’re excited to bring this dynamic content to the festival.”
To register for “Prophecy” A Preview and Behind the Scenes Conversation, please register here variety.com/prophecy.
To register for Audio Storytelling: The New Frontier, please register here variety.com/audiostorytelling.
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