Thursday was somewhat like Wednesday as far as Sundance deals go. Only one film was picked up, and IFC Films did the buying. This time, the patient distributor acquired U.S. rights to Armando Iannucci’s In the Loop, a British political comedy starring James Gandolfini.

There are only a few more days left in the festival, but sales may continue through Sunday (and likely beyond). So keep checking SpoutBlog’s Sundance deals chart for any further updates over the weekend.

Only one acquisition to report this morning: IFC Films’ purchase of U.S. rights to the Swedish Norwegian zombie Nazi flick Dead Snow. It’s typical for many buyers to head home after Wednesday, so yesterday’s single deal may be the last major pickup we hear about for awhile.

But there are a number of films still receiving buzz and interest, so remember to keep checking SpoutBlog’s Sundance Deals chart for any updates that may come in.

• A few films were sold in the past 24 hours, but Lone Sherfig’s An Education was not one of them. Reportedly, Fox Searchlight offered around $1 million for the Nick Hornby-scripted coming-of-age drama, yet the film’s co-reps CAA and Endeavor are asking closer to $10 million. As if any title could seriously expect that high an amount during the “subdued” Sundance of ‘09.
• Oh, by the way, here’s another possible reason for slow sales this year that we missed yesterday: too many co-repped films make for confusing negotiations.
• IFC Films held a press conference yesterday to reveal that, for the first time, the distributor will release a film to VOD day-and-date with its world premiere at this Spring’s SXSW. The film will be Joe Swanberg’s Alexander the Last, and it’s one of a bunch of new titles, including the latest from both Phillipe Garrel and Denys Arcand, slated for IFC’s Festival Direct VOD channel. Steven Soderbergh says that these days filmmakers’ have to “let go of the fantasy” of receiving conventional theatrical releases for their work.
• Also from the IFC press conference: Karina asks about whether on demand data will ever be released a la box office figures; Swanberg tells festival directors that its up to them whether or not VOD kills festival runs; Soderbergh calls BluRay “the worst launch of a new format in the history of formats.”
• And in other IFC VOD news, the NY Times got it wrong last week when it reported that IFC’s hoped-for 250,000 VOD viewers for Soderbergh’s Che would be the equivalent of an $18 million box office take. The figure, corrected during a Sundance panel discussion, would be more like $1.8 million.

• Aside from the Brooklyn’s Finest deal, there haven’t been any major acquisitions in Park City yet, even after a full weekend of significant premieres. The Hollywood Reporter headlines with “Sales stuck” but optimistically notes the following titles are expected to be picked up soon: Humpday; Amreeka; The Killing Room; Push: Based on the Novel by Sapphire.
• One reason for such a slow sales weekend may be that one of the only distributors with a lot of money to spend is IFC Films, the head of which told the New York Times, “We’re not going to get into a bidding war. That’s not our business.”
• Tech company B-Side Entertainment, which last year was a partner in the release of Super High Me, is now becoming a full-fledged distribution player. With $4.25 million in financing, B-Side aims to release 10 films in 2009, whether theatrically or via other outlets.
• 2008 Sundance doc Flow: For the Love of Water has been acquired by Sundance Channel, along with 25 other films including David Lynch’s Inland Empire and Eraserhead, to air on the cable station in 2009.
• Another 2008 selection, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, has also been picked up. Peace Arch will release the film this Spring.

• It was only a matter of time before some journalist tied Barack Obama to the outlook of this year’s fest. In the Toronto Sun, which says to “call it the Obamafication of Sundance,” festival director Geoff Gilmore is quoted as saying “A lot of the work seems to be putting us into another world — I don’t know if it’s escapist, but it is about fantasy and the future, and there’s animation we didn’t see in the past … Whether that’s a reflection of the times we live in, or just an aesthetic trend line of the moment, I don’t know.”
• While the fest has been called “subdued” this year, some non-film nonsense will still be occurring this weekend as Ashton Kutcher and Digg co-founder Kevin Rose co-host an interactive online game show in Park City called 24 Hours of Sundance and viewable at Qik.com.
• Two distributors actually looking to load up on a few films this year, in spite of the economy: Oscilloscope and IFC Films. Also at Variety: a list of the 19 films with buzz going into the fest.
• The Hollywood Reporter spotlights the growing trend not to use Sundance as a film market. They also highlight lower-profile buzz films to watch out for, including dramas Amreeka; Five Minutes of Heaven and Bronson and docs The Cove and The Carter, and predict acquisition for 10 films.
• Stu Van Airsdale, at Defamer, meanwhile predicts bidding wars for five films: I Love You Phillip Moris; An Education; The Greatest; Cold Souls; and Bronson.

• Variety continues the coverage of how “subdued” this year’s festival will be. Reportedly, the cool new trend is regifting swag bags to charity. Meanwhile, IFC’s Arianna Bocco points out the should-be-obvious truth: “If people love something, they will still compete to get it, regardless of the larger economic situation.”
• And the Los Angeles Times seems certain there’s a lot to love. Rather than concentrate on the negative ramifications of a recession-set Sundance, Kenneth Turan notes the number of films selected this year is still staggering, the “hubbub” over swag and celebrities is still in full force, and the quality of the films should be as high as usual.
• But why worry about the economic troubles of Sundance anyway when, according to Michael Cieply at The Carpetbagger, there are more pressing matters at hand involving a complicated issue with festival films produced under waiver agreements from the Screen Actors Guild. Studios may not legally be able to pick up these films as long as there’s no contract and still threat of a SAG strike.
• Fortunately, for those films that aren’t picked up, Anthony Kaufman has a focus on the DIY release alternative over at indieWire.
• The Hollywood Reporter highlights the 10 films likely to acquire distribution, as well as five additional, lesser-known titles that may be underdog performers.
• Apparently those Sundance attendees on their way to Park City today or tomorrow are already too late to the parties. Last night, Real World Brooklyn cast member Baya Voce kicked things off early at The Star Bar.

Here’s our running tally of each of the distribution deals announced just before, throughout the course of, and just after the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. We will update this post whenever new information comes in, so bookmark it and keep checking back for the newest latest.

• Tom Cruise is potentially re-teaming with Valkyrie screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie on up to three projects, including another WWII flick that would put Cruise in the pilot seat again, Flying Tigers. Cruise is likely happy with the initial reception of Valkyrie, though sticking with McQuarrie for so long may keep him from diverse roles. The other two projects include the espionage drama The Tourist and the adaptation of the 60s TV show The Champions, which deals with super-powered spies.
• Frank Miller is re-teaming with Odd Lot Entertainment for a dark Buck Rogers movie that he’ll write and direct. The announcement comes just in time, before an onslaught of bad reviews of The Spirit join Variety’s pan.
• Stephen Chow will no longer direct but will still co-star in The Green Hornet. Apparently his creative differences don’t extend to his onscreen role of Kato. Maybe this is co-scribe and star Seth Rogen’s chance to try directing?
• Clearly wise to how The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is beating Australia in the kudos department, Baz Luhrman is taking on his own F. Scott Fitzgerald adaptation: The Great Gatsby.
• Jim Carrey will beat Will Smith at the box office this weekend, simply because his film, Yes Man, is a comedy. In other theatrical release news, the four-hour version of Che has been so popular that IFC is keeping it in cinemas another two weekends before separating it into two films.

I “eeee!”ed too soon. Yet another snag has come up in the distribution future for the film that’s become my most picked scab over the past year, Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light. Just yesterday, Anthony Kufman passed along news that Palisades Media, the company that purchased the back catalogs of both Tartan Uk and Tartan US, were planning a theatrical release for some time in the vague future. But today. Kaufman says he’s been emailed by Camille Neel of Bac Films International, who own worldwide rights on Reygadas’ film.Though Tartan did release the film in the UK, a report in Screen Daily suggesting that they had purchased US distribution rights to the film was apparently erroneous––whether they wanted to or not is unclear, but the distributor apparently never closed a deal before shutting down. Kaufman quotes Neel, italics mine: “The film is still available today for the US and of course, if we have strong interests, we are still looking for distribution [for] all rights in the US.”

Paging all distributors with notoriously strong interests!!!