"I'm real happy," said Pekar, who had already returned to Cleveland from Park City, Utah, where he had helped promote the film earlier in the week with his wife and co-writer, Joyce Brabner, and their foster daughter, Danielle Batone. All three appear in the film as themselves, with actors Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis and Madalyn Sweeten portraying them as fictional characters.
"I don't know about awards," Pekar continued. "I mean, if a film like 'Forrest Gump' can win the Academy Award, how much can they mean? But I'm happy for the people who made it. They're very, very nice, they're bright, they're talented. If I had contact with people like that every day, I wouldn't be depressed and everything."
The film, produced by Ted Hope and written and directed by Bob Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, was financed by HBO, where it was originally scheduled to premiere. But Pekar said a bidding war was under way for the rights to distribute the film theatrically.
"It makes people feel good to win the prize, but what everybody's looking for is that it gets in theaters," Pekar said.
"We're really excited that the movie has been recognized by Sundance in this way," said Chris Carmody, president of the Cleveland Film Commission, which helped the "American Splendor" production in Cleveland. "This kind of recognition will greatly help our efforts as a film commission to bring new film and television production to our city."
Pulcini, accepting the award, said, "Harvey, we share this with you. I hope this cheers you up for a couple of days."
Zitieren
Lesezeichen