Redford's Sundance Brand: The Epitome of One Percent Perks

Robert Redford wants everyone to know his beloved Sundance Film Festival considers the Occupy Wall Street movement its spiritual cousin. Redford made that clear during his state of the Sundance union address on the first day of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

But Redford and his annual gala seems out of step with the Occupy marching orders. Consider the following the next time you hear Redford cozy up to the so-called 99 percent. From corporate sponsorship to ritzy giveaways to encouraging consumerism, it turns out his iconic festival has very little in common with Joe and Jane Sixpack:

• Shop Sundance! Need a Wild West satchel and have $300 burning a hole in your pocket? Check out Sundance’s goodies store, where you can scoop up a $298 Morrison bag or slip on a pair of Sandy Clogs by Lucchese for a mere $235. And don’t forget to sign up for “private sales and exclusive online products” at the Sundance Catalog’s main site.
• Swagapalooza: Redford may recoil at the avalanche of swag being handed out during his festival, but that isn’t stopping companies from carpet bombing the attendees with gaudy goodies. A choice selection of everything from Samsung Galaxy Tab handheld computers to skiing lessons from the likes of Olympic gold medalist Shaun White can be had if you drop by the right parties. Heck, they even made a film about it.
• Pretty Suite: Sundance sponsors HP, Acura, Chase Sapphire and the Sundance Channel are hosting suites along Main Street in Park City.
• Hotel Sticker Shock: Want to spend the night at the Marriott in Park City Utah Friday night? It’ll cost you $469.95 for the evening. The same hotel’s rate two weeks from Friday, after the Sundance bunch have came and went? $239.95.
• Eco-Hypocrite: Filmmakers Ann McElhinney and Phelim McAleer exposed Redford’s environmental schism with a video showing how the actor opposed an eco-village near his property in the Napa Valley while selling $2 million lots in the Sundance Preserve for luxury vacation homes. Surely the Occupy movement would frown on such capitalistic, Mother-Earth-be-damned behavior.