Logan Lerman, Cooper Raiff, Kali Reis and More Talk Navigating Studio Systems at Sundance and How ‘Risks Sometimes Create the Best Outcome’

variety.com:

Matt Minton mminton@variety.com Finding ways to take creative risks in the tricky environment of corporate studio financing was a major talking point at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

As a mixed Indigenous woman, Kali Reis, who’s featured in the drama “Rebuilding” alongside Josh O’Connor, often reflects on her own values before signing onto a role or agreeing to a new project. “I look like a lot of misrepresented and underrepresented communities and if they see me speaking up and staying true to myself, that means more to me than getting cast in a major project,” Reis explained.

Havana Rose Liu, Logan Lerman, Cooper Raiff and Sophie Nélisse joined Reis at the “Risk Takers” panel moderated by Matt Donnelly, Variety‘s Senior Entertainment and Media Writer.

The panel was presented by Variety & Acura Cocktails and Conversations at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. “Yellowjackets” star Nélisse, who was at Sundance this year for the Canadian sex comedy “Two Women,” described never having to worry about working with Showtime and the showrunners over the course of the show’s three seasons. “When you’re hopping onto such a big production, I make sure to choose the creatives I’m gonna work with wisely and know that we have the same vision for the characters and that we’re both creatively aligned,” Nélisse explained. “It is a show that I’ve never seen before.