Sue Bird says the WNBA’s TV deal is flawed. And she knows just how to fix it
Welcome to a special Sundance Daily edition of the Wide Shot, a newsletter about the business of entertainment. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
What to expect for Sunday, Jan. 21
A fresh blanket of snow couldn’t put a damper on the buzz at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, where “Succession” fans gathered outside the L.A. Times Studio for a glimpse of Emmy winner Kieran Culkin, currently receiving raves for his turn in Jesse Eisenberg’s “A Real Pain,” and the chatter inside pointed ahead to another flurry — this one of deals — come Monday, when everyone will have had a chance to assess the films still in search of a dance partner.
Among those currently in talks is documentary “Sue Bird: In the Clutch,” which follows the WNBA’s GOAT as she soaks in her final season in the pros in 2022. Accompanied by director Sarah Dowland, producer Emily Singer Chapman and executive producer Jay Ellis, the Seattle Storm and UConn point guard stopped by on the eve of the film’s world premiere to discuss the project, her showbiz future and the key points in the WNBA’s upcoming TV rights negotiations.
Read excerpts from our interview with Bird below, plus recommendations for what to see and do on Sunday in Park City.
WATCH: Kieran Culkin and Jesse Eisenberg disagree strongly on why ‘A Real Pain’ works so well
The movies worth standing in line for
“Love Lies Bleeding” (9 p.m., Redstone Cinemas - 1)
One of the first things you see in Rose Glass’ squalidly exhilarating ’80s lesbian bodybuilder revenge noir is Kristen Stewart elbow-deep in human waste, trying to unclog a toilet. It’s a grotesquely funny image, and it’s also a warning: Things aren’t going to get any cleaner from here. A bonkers, blood-spattered amalgam of hot sex, extreme ’roid rage and pungent Southwestern atmosphere, graced with some of the ugliest hair (Ed Harris and Dave Franco, take a bow) and bulgiest muscles (the extraordinary Katy O’Brian) that I’ve seen at this year’s Sundance, this standout Midnight entry more than bears out the talent Glass displayed in her acclaimed religio-horror debut, “Saint Maud.” But she’s painting on a vastly broader and richer canvas in “Love Lies Bleeding,” one that makes room for surreal flights of fancy as well as intense ultraviolence. It’s a scuzzy delight, the kind you watch through your fingers — and, preferably, the biggest festival crowd you can find. —Justin Chang
READ MORE: Specters, lies and videotape: Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’ jolts Sundance to life
“Devo” (10 p.m., Library Center Theatre)
Chris Smith’s documentary “Devo” presents a different kind of origin story — how a group of Ohio art students transformed their disillusionment after witnessing the 1970 shootings at Kent State University into a philosophy of “de-evolution” and became the conquering rock ‘n’ roll heroes known as Devo. With astonishing archival footage and new interviews with the surviving original band members, the film presents a remarkably candid story about the ups and downs of the music business, while also showing the group held onto its creative spark. If all you know of Devo is its hit “Whip It” and those cone-shaped helmets, this is an exciting and inspirational primer on how much more there is to the band’s history. —Mark Olsen
READ MORE: Still whipping it good, Devo looks back on 50 years via a new Sundance documentary
Movers and shakers from around the fest
For very possibly the best person ever to do what she does, Sue Bird seems remarkably well-adjusted. She can be self-deprecating, but not annoyingly so; she is decisive, but never domineering; she understands, for all the heartbreaks of a competitive life, that she’s had it good, and then some. Which may be the secret to “Sue Bird: In the Clutch,” premiering Sunday at 4:30 p.m. at the Eccles (1750 Kearns Blvd.): It’s an introduction to Bird, the WNBA’s all-time record holder in assists, starts and all-star appearances, that neither undersells her talents nor places her atop Olympus. Her combination of abnormal talent and approachable persona is at the heart of her off-court charm.
Which is not to say that Bird is reserved, exactly. Outspoken about social justice in sports, savvy about media’s double-edged sword and about as competitive as it is possible for a person to be, she is clear-eyed about her future, and her sport’s, even as she leaves room for post-basketball careers she hasn’t even considered yet.
I spoke with Bird in the L.A. Times Studio on Saturday and selected some of the best excerpts. Check out my full conversation with the WNBA superstar and her “In the Clutch” collaborators at the link below. — Matt Brennan
WATCH: The team behind ‘Sue Bird: In the Clutch’ on how the WNBA is growing
In the film, your friend Brad describes you as someone who is comfortable being “the Robin to someone else’s Batman,” but here you’re the star of the show. Was he wrong, or has that changed?
Even though the documentary is obviously about myself, my career, my retirement, I still actually view it as a Robin. I wanted to do this documentary, yes, to tell my story, but really to open up doors. And here we are at Sundance, and hopefully this is just a moment where you’re going to see more women’s docs, more women’s sports docs getting the looks that they’ve always deserved, but sometimes just need that one person to set the scene. And that would be the Robin.
One of the strengths of the film is to step back to show things like the pay disparity, the financial pressure to play overseas, the fight for the new collective bargaining agreement, with protections for maternity leave, etc. And yet I am told by our sports editor that WNBA players still have to fly commercial. Do you think that’s soon in the offing that the league will offer charter flights for players? And in addition to that, what are some of the other issues that you see the league needing to tackle on this path toward equity?
Commercial flights, charter flights are such an interesting topic because it’s a lot of money. There’s actually not that many people that charter in the world, yet I think in professional sports in this country, it is this benchmark for people who are maybe casual fans. It does represent something. So with that, I think everyone in the WNBA, myself included, we understand that that is where we want to get because that does give us some sort of validation. We also understand there’s a lot that needs to be done in order to achieve that. On our side, we have to continue to show up, play, be entertainers, perform, fight for the things. But on the other side, you need brand investment, corporate sponsorship.
Another benchmark is the media deal that we have coming up. Our media deal runs out in the next year or two. I’m sure negotiations have already begun. And that is really going to put us in a different category, financially. And then we’re going to see higher salaries. Right now, the max salary is $250,000. That’s pretty good. For some reason, because we get compared to the men, it doesn’t look so great. I don’t know why — $250,000 sounds great to me. But with this new media deal, you might see salaries that are $500,000, $1 million. And then all of a sudden narratives change. People look at us different. They start taking note. And then everything falls into place. Including those coveted chartered flights.
Qualitatively, what would you like to see from that media deal in terms of what that coverage actually looks like — what teams are showing where. What would be the dream scenario?
Historically, all of our partners have done a great job of putting the right games on at the right time, with some exceptions here and there. I’d love to see all the playoff games, on whatever network we end up on, on the main channel. There’s been times, with our partnership with ESPN, where some of the games have ended up on ESPN News or ESPN U.
Otherwise, I would love to see an investment around pregame shows, postgame shows, because covering the game has been pretty great. Can we have some more camera angles? Absolutely. But when you turn on a game, you’re getting really good quality. But I’d love to have a pregame show. Let’s talk about the story lines. Let’s talk about the two teams playing. Let’s talk about how so-and-so got injured yesterday and what’s going to happen, or this one just had a baby. All the different story lines that WNBA players bring, I love to talk about that, both pre- and postgame and at halftime, because that is a part of what connects fans to us as players and really moves the needle.
Very early in the film, you ask the camera/yourself, “What am I if I’m not a basketball player?” How would you answer that question now after having gone through this process? Is there a career in media or entertainment ahead for you?
What I have found is I’m still the same person. And a lot of the skills that I developed through sport, developed through basketball, through all of my experience there, I can take with me into these other places, these other avenues. I do have a production company, A Touch More [founded with fiancée and U.S. soccer star Megan Rapinoe]. I just joined Deep Blue, which is a sports entertainment forum that really focuses on media buying. I am hosting a show called “Sue’s Places” in the “Peyton’s Places” family. So as you can see, I’m dipping my toe everywhere, and really what I’m seeing is, “What am I if I’m not a basketball player?” I’m actually just still the same person. All of me is showing up in all of those rooms as I start to figure out, I guess, who I am, in terms of what career path I’m going to take. But I don’t know, I think I’m just going to take all of them. I kind of like all of them.
Where you’ll find us in Park City today
If the altitude, late nights and open bars have you feeling off center, Sunday is the last day to catch one of meditation teacher and mindfulness artist Dora Kamau’s guided meditation and journaling sessions. Each 30-minute session, at 10:30 and 11 a.m., takes place at the World of Hyatt activation at 440 Main St. (But no shame if you decide to just sleep in.)
You’ll have plenty of time to squeeze in brunch — if you can get a table anywhere — before an illuminating afternoon and evening of programming on some of the most pressing issues facing the entertainment industry today.
First up, prepare yourself for a possible defense, or at least a “rebranding,” of artificial intelligence in pop culture, courtesy of a Sundance Institute Technology panel of New Frontier alumni and creative technologists to be held at the Filmmaker Lodge (550 Main St., second floor) at 2 p.m.
Then, in the same space at 4:30 p.m., Brady: United Against Gun Violence hosts its president, Kris Brown, gun violence survivor Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), Leaders Forum’s Lorna Randlett, producers Jelani Johnson and Laura Lewis and “Thelma” star Clark Gregg for a discussion of the gun control advocacy group’s #ShowGunSafety initiative, which hopes to turn gun violence prevention into a successful Hollywood campaign like anti-smoking, anti-drunk driving and pro-seat belt use.
From here you have a fork in the road. If you’re interested in politics and comedy, head to Muslim House at the Park (950 Iron Horse Drive) for an evening of three panels beginning at 7 p.m., led by a conversation with comedians Dean Obeidallah and Maysoon Zayid about the U.S. Arab and Muslim experience; if you’re interested in music, The Cabin (427 Main St.) will host “Suncoast” composers Este Haim and Christopher Stacey for a DJ set from 9:30-11 p.m.
At that point, you should go to bed. Tomorrow’s Monday! —Matt Brennan
Photo of the day from L.A. Times Studios
The L.A. Times Studios at Sundance are underway, and we’ll be sharing our favorite photos and videos from our space at 580 Main St. with you in each Sundance Daily edition of the Wide Shot. Be sure to check out all of our portraits of Hollywood stars at the festival in our updating photo gallery below, and find full coverage of the festival at our Sundance landing page.
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