James Mangold, Cynthia Erivo Honored at Sundance Opening Night

James Mangold misses the era when movies weren’t embarrassed to get an audience feel something. The director of the Bob Dylan musical biopic “A Complete Unknown” and the comic book adaptation “Logan” believes there is a growing hostility toward movies that wear “their heart on their sleeve.”

“Most of my generation, my peers, have generally been fascinated by irony or detachment. I never really felt at home in that idiom because I felt they (films) were cool and clever but not necessarily moving,” said the newly minted Oscar nominee at Sundance’s annual gala on Friday night, where he was honored with the second Trailblazer Award (the first was awarded to Christopher Nolan in 2024). the way we talk about them and use words like melodramatic or chewing the landscape or too much we kill some of the fearlessness (of executives).”

Mangold expressed his excitement about returning to Sundance, where the filmmaker got his start in 1994 when he participated in the Sundance Lab to develop the script for “Cop Land.” He was back the following year with his first feature, “Heavy,” which won the director’s award. He has since made films spanning genres and styles, from unsettling dramas (“Girl, Interrupted”) and superhero sequels (“Logan” and “The Wolverine”) to big-budget blockbusters (“Ford v Ferrari” and “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) and portrayals of musical greats (“Walk the Line” and “A Complete Unknown”). His latest film earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Director, Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.

“(Filmmakers) don’t do anesthesia,” he said while accepting his award at the annual fundraiser held at the Grand Hyatt Deer Valley in Park City. “We don’t need to make things that help people pass the time.”

At this point in his remarks, someone in the back of the room shouted, “This is what TikTok is for!”

A confused Mangold wasn’t sure if he agreed with him. “Do you like it or dislike it?” he asked, to which the bold listener replied, “I loved it!”

After gathering his thoughts, Mangold concluded, “In this age of irony and snark and Internet nightmares, we need sincerity and seriousness more than ever. That doesn’t mean every movie has to be a history lesson or depressing or weepy. It just means we shouldn’t be embarrassed to feel shit and show it.”

The importance of art in culture was a recurring theme of the night. “Never before in human history has the voice of artists been more crucial—to speak truth to power, to keep us connected to our humanity,” said Glenn Close while introducing Sundance Institute founder Michelle Satter. In an emotional speech, Satter, who was embraced by a standing ovation, told the tearful audience that her Palisades home burned down in the Los Angeles wildfires. “Leading with love and building community is our defining path forward,” said Satter, who was one of Sundance founder Robert Redford’s first-ever hires.

Other guests who followed the “mountain chic” dress code included Jon Hamm, Joel Edgerton, Olivia Colman, “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” director Marielle Heller, “Sorry to Bother You” filmmaker Boots Riley and “Survivor” svengal Mark Burnett, President Donald Trump’s newly appointed special envoy to the United Kingdom. Sara Bareilles ended the evening with a two-song set, first performing a ballad she wrote for the new Sundance film “Come See Me in the Good Light” as well as “She Used to Be Mine” from her Broadway hit “Waitress .”

Colman presented the night’s Visionary Award to Cynthia Erivo, who just received her third Oscar nomination, this time for playing Elphaba in “Wicked.” Colman, wearing a “Wicked”-esque tiara, recounted her first time seeing Erivo on screen in Steve McQueen’s 2018 heist thriller “Widows.”

“I thought, now there’s a smart, young American woman who’s going places,” Colman recalled, only to discover that Erivo is actually English and has a British accent.

While accepting the trophy, Erivo picked up the bedazzled crown Colman left on the podium and adjusted it to her head. “It must be worn,” she said. “That’s the point of it.”

Erivo, who is just one Oscar away from EGOT status after winning a Grammy and Emmy for her performance as Celie in the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple,” said she had to beat the definition of visionary up when she heard she would receive this honor.

“Yes, I know what that means. But what does it do mean” she said. “A visionary is someone who can see into the future. I’ve never considered myself a person who can see what’s coming. I have blindly followed what I believe could be my path. I put one foot in front of the other and keep chipping away at the road until I can reach my destination.”