Hi. My name is Christopher Campbell, and I’m not going to Sundance next year. In fact, 2008 will be the third consecutive year I don’t attend the festival. I’ve actually only been once, in 2005, and it was one of the best times I’ve ever had. Without much of an assignment, without anybody to schmooze with, interested only in seeing films and avoiding actually writing about them, I saw 37 features in seven days (do the math). I was in heaven. But, alas, I will not be heading to Park City this January. And therefore I won’t be seeing Oscar-winner Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges, which has been announced as the festival opener.

At least In Bruges, which stars Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes, already has a distributor, Focus Features, so it might not be too long before I get to see it. I can’t stand when I read about hot Sundance titles and then have to wait months, or even more than a year, to see them released to theaters. And by that time, I’ve usually lost interest — unless it’s supposed to be life-altering-good. According to The Hollywood Reporter, there may be a lot of English-language movies with strong star appeal in next year’s program, and more studios may be out and about making deals. Could this mean I’ll see more Sundance 2008 movies within a reasonable time?

I highly doubt it. And well, despite the big names involved, these higher profile features probably won’t even be the movies that have me wishing I was there. Still, some of them do sound pretty sweet. THR lists some of those likely to make it on the 2008 program, and a few of them have me upset that I’ll be taking a winter intersession class instead of sitting in a screening room at the Yarrow. There’s Phoebe in Wonderland, which stars Bill Pullman and Patricia Clarkson, both of whom I would watch in anything. Barry Levinson’s got a new Hollywood spoof — possibly doing for movies what he did for Washington with Wag the Dog — starring Robert DeNiro. And Dodgeball director Rawson Marshall Thurber may bring his follow-up, the Michael Chabon adaptation, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Then there’s The Wackness, the set of which I visited awhile back. I didn’t think it looked all that great, but of course I’d like to see if I’m proven wrong.

None of these movies, nor the rest listed by THR are definitely set to screen at Sundance. I’d actually be surprised if Levinson’s film wasn’t deemed even too large for the big-deal festival. But then, what do I know? I haven’t been to Utah in three years; I can’t even tell you one film that premiered there in ‘07. And a year from now, I probably won’t be able to name a film that played there in ‘08. But I’ll be available to attend in ‘09, if anybody wants to send me …