• While many cinephiles were watching indie films at Sundance and celebrating the nominations of little-seen Oscar-hopefuls, regular moviegoers were buying tickets to Paul Blart: Mall Cop, which topped the box office for a second weekend in a row. With 10-day earnings at $65 million, the comedy has already outgrossed Best Picture shoo-in Slumdog Millionaire. Of course, nearly all major Oscar contenders did at least see a boost in box office following the announcement of nominees (Doubt being the exclusion).
• Was anyone else watching the SAG Awards last night and wishing it would turn into a death match, or at least a debate? Well, Variety has a multitude of backstage quotes from actors from both sides of the infighting union. And of course there’s the onstage taboo-breaking prophecy of Tina Fey.
• In an admitted attempt to battle piracy and boost the Hong Kong film industry, producer Stephen Shiu Jr. is making a 3D sequel to the 1991 erotic adventure movie Sex and Zen. Simply titled 3D Sex and Zen, it will apparently be the first 3D erotic film ever made. Perhaps this is just what digital 3D needs to get that much-needed rise in interest.
• Universal has moved Sacha Baron Cohen’s Bruno from mid-May to mid-July, reportedly to fill a gap left by 2012, which was pushed back to November. Of course, it also won’t hurt Cohen to avoid getting hammered by Angels & Demons.
• And for those of you who missed the additions to our Sundance deals chart, the films Spread, Moon and Art & Copy were all picked up for distribution over the weekend.

• 50 Cent announced a new production company, Cheetah Vision, which currently has eight scripts in development, including the company’s inaugural movie, The Dance, starring Nicolas Cage. 50 Cent will also see his directorial debut, Before I Self Destruct, released this year for free as a supplement to his latest album.
• Despite the fact that the presidential inauguration typically occurs during Sundance, this year the festival took a more noticeable pause to watch Barack Obama sworn in yesterday. Sundance Institute’s Michelle Satterberg on the event: “I think we just didn’t care about it [before]. But this is different.”
• Steven Soderbergh hosted a “secret screening” of his latest, The Girlfriend Experience. Check out Karina’s review here.
• As Sony Classics and Lionsgate make their first festival buys, Summit is reportedly interested in I Love You Phillip Morris. Meanwhile, at Slamdance, North American rights to The Ante have gone to Panorama Entertainment. Other Sundance titles likely to sell soon, according to Anne Thompson: Shana Feste’sThe Greatest; Bobcat Goldthwait’s World’s Greatest Dad;  the Ashton Kutcher-produced Spread; and the Anna Wintour doc The September Issue.
• Thompson also looks at the movie-related internet companies at this year’s fest. And on a similar subject, LouisGray.com asks,”Could Sundance do for Qik what SXSW did for Twitter?”
• According to E!, the whole “subdued” thing hasn’t actually affected the swag.
• Regarding the minor trend in Sci-Fi films this year, Moon star Sam Rockwell says, “I think in-camera effects are coming back full-throttle. I think people are getting a little sick of the glossiness of CGI and want to see old-school effects like they used to.” Hallelujah to that.
• Another trend this year: romantic comedy. Or, is it more like romantic “dramedy”?

• Robert Redford’s opening address yesterday offered a hopeful horizon. Though this year’s festival (and independent film in general) may face hard times, at least the Obama presidency is here. “This could be a very inspiring time for artists,” he told the crowd. And the concurrence (not coincidence) of the inauguration happening at the same time as Sundance, “draws attention to the fact that we’re going to be seeing changes coming when it comes to art.”
• Focus Features’ James Schamus also brings hope that passion for films could beat the empty wallet woes: “I’ve lost money on movies I’ve loved and acquired and made money on movies I’ve loved and acquired. I’ll overpay this year if I feel like it.”
• Update on the SAG controversy: Anne Thompson posts the guild’s response to the waiver “issue.” And if you want it more heated than that, check out the snowballing discussions from Nikki Finke and Patrick Goldstein.
• Sundance vet and regular Gregg Araki on the Prop 8 controversy: “a Sundance boycott would end up being a profound disservice to the gay civil rights movement as a whole.” Plus, the filmmaker takes a look at this year’s gay-themed films at the fest.
• Sundance and iTunes have gotten together again to make 10 of this year’s festival’s shorts available for free download during the event.
• Defamer’s Stu VanAirsdale lists this year’s “10 Celebrities With the Most to Lose,” with Spread star and online Sundance game show host Ashton Kutcher in the most “severe” position.
• E! ups the initial buzzed about titles to 25. Anyone want to go to 50?

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.

• The cat is out of the bag for Paper Hearts, a new movie starring Michael Cera about his real-life relationship with actress Charlyne Yi (Knocked Up). The part-doc, part-scripted comedy was apparently hoping to slip into the 2009 Sundance Film Festival completely under the radar in order to keep expectations in check. Now we’re all talking about it, and it’s sure to be one of the hottest tickets in Park City (as long as it’s indeed selected for the fest). Other titles expected to be named next week for the Sundance slate include the Ashton Kutcher starrer Spread, the Nick Hornby-scripted An Education and Antoine Fuqua’s Brooklyn’s Finest.
• Following in his sister’s footsteps, Madonna bro Christopher Ciccone will make his feature directorial debut with a teen thriller titled Twist.
• The Dardenne brothers have accepted the position as heads of Europa Distribution, a two-year-old collective of independent film distributors that acts as a lobby, think-tank and network for the European film industry.
• In other European cinema news, due to the current economy, both the San Sebastian and CineKid film festivals are on the verge of going out of business.
• This should have been the year everyone got a Blu-ray player for Christmas, but despite lowered prices, the current recession will likely still keep consumers from adopting the format.