Sundance. Mention the word, and almost any aspiring anything salivates at the idea of schmoozing with the biggest of Hollyweird’s kingpins. But was Sundance always a schmoozefest filled with Establishment moguls? Of course not.

Don’t forget that there was actually a time before Disney owned Miramax and before Bob and Harvey Weinstein (co-chairmen at Miramax) showed up and walked off with Quentin Tarantino in their back pockets. Then Sundance was a showcase for the independent film, and the word “indie” meant “pioneer.” Indie was cool. Indie was art. Indie raided the Lost Ark of huge market success all on low-budget investment.

As one New York University film professor says, Sundance originated “to open a place to filmmakers who did not find Hollywood hospitable.”

It was a refuge for those who financed their movie-making dreams on credit cards, life savings and second mortgages, hoping one day to cash in on their celluloid creations.

Even to this day, making movies “their way” is the groovessential American Dream – it still drives those who are starving to make their way in the film world. As independent producer Nicole Possert rationalized her reasons for producing her husband’s film: “[I did it] so [he] could make the dream he had a reality without competing ideas from others.”

However, in the past few years, many have accused Sundance of losing its “alternative” edge – in essence, they claim that it’s mainstreamed. And Robert Redford, the patriarch of Park City (where Sundance is held), is now probably hoarse from whispering curses on commerce-ing Angelenos who overrun this rustic Utah community.

“The Hollywood industry has looked to Sundance for young talent who can make films cheaper and then co-opt them,” says NYU’s film professor. “They become the low-budget arm of a big corporation.” Hey — if you can’t stick it to the Man, you can at least make him pay you a bunch of money, right?

To combat this “mainstreaming,” alternatives to the alternative have popped up — festivals like “Slamdance” and “Slumdance ” have come to the forefront in varying degrees of success. But what’s next? “Scumdance” featuring the new Kevin Smith-directed film “Chasing Harvey”?

But of course, the other alternative is to just go to Sundance, ignore the politicking and enjoy the party, so to speak.

“As far as schmoozing goes, I didn’t do a damn thing,” says Richard Speight Jr., one actor who attended Sundance last year. “And what parties! Sure, you’re supposed to be on a list. [But] some freshman at the University of Utah who has volunteered to work the festival is not gonna stop me from going to the Miramax party. Hell, for all they know, I’m Harvey Weinstein. Everybody looks alike in a down jacket and stocking cap.”

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