Robert Redford
Hollywood is headed for the slopes, and Robert Redford is the reason that stars like Ben Affleck, Nicole Kidman, and Ashton Kutcher are escaping to Park City, Utah.
The legendary Redford kicks off the opening of the Sundance Film Festival Thursday, and tells us how he and his staff turned a sleepy town's annual event into a star-studded gala.
Redford says, "We started with nothing. In fact I was pulling people off the streets to get them into the theaters the first year we started."
Twenty years later, the Sundance Film Festival, which celebrates independent film, is one of the biggest in the world.
Redford reveals a shocking secret about the movie that would cement Brad Pitt as a huge star. He says, "Probably the most independent film I've ever made was ‘A River Runs Through It.’ Hollywood at that time, they wouldn't make it. They said, ‘Well, it's Redford's fishing movie.’"
But that wasn't the only surprising headline: Redford said that he never expected his own new film, "The Clearing," to be chosen for this year's festival. He says, "I said, ‘Guys you have to be kidding.’ And they said, ‘No, we really want this in the festival.’"
There is a reason that the humble star is so loved here-- he doesn't seek out the spotlight. Redford says, "These guys run the show. They're not the right hand; they're the main hand as far as I'm concerned."
At the age of 66, Redford is still uncomfortable being the center of attention. He spends much of his time at his hilltop estate far from the lights of Hollywood. Redford says, "To me, it is a dangerous dance-- publicity. You have to find your own dance with it."
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