After years of disrupting Hollywood, Steven Soderbergh finds an unlikely ally in Netflix
PARK CITY, Utah - At the Treasure Mountain Inn, home to the Slamdance Film Festival, Steven Soderbergh arrives at the top of the stairs leading to the crowded lobby, pauses and takes a hard right, heading down a narrow path to a side door.
Soderbergh's entire career might be seen as a series of hard turns and side doors, the constant being a commitment to the unexpected. So of course while the world-famous Sundance Film Festival is in full swing elsewhere in Park City, the Oscar-winning filmmaker is here at its upstart neighbor for the premiere of his new film "High Flying Bird" while also accepting Slamdance's Founders Award.
"High Flying Bird," out on Netflix and in a limited theatrical release, is unfiltered Soderbergh, the kind of movie he has fought hard for the freedom to make. His twin interests in how things get done and how people work - on display in "Out of Sight," "Erin Brockovich," "Traffic," the three "Ocean's" pictures and "Magic Mike" - is once again a main concern.
"High Flying Bird" unfolds during a pro basketball players' lockout, as sports agent Ray Burke (Andre Holland)
