SAN FRANCISCO — Rumor had it that Robert Redford would headline his own Sundance Film Festival in January by having "The Clearing," the first independent film in which he's acted, open the event. But Redford would have none of it.
"That would be too self-serving," he said.
Instead, he wants to open the annual Utah festival with a project he worked on behind the scenes as a producer. "The Motorcycle Diaries," starring hot Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal ("Y Tu Mama Tambien"), presents a young Che Guevara as a biker with the wind in his hair. "(Guevara) rode through South America, starting as a lark in Buenos Aires but along the way had his eyes opened to politics and poverty," Redford said.
He also told us that opening night would move from Salt Lake City to mountain neighbor Park City, where the bulk of the festival takes place.
Sundance hasn't been quite as independent as he would like, Redford says, because state support for the event came with a nudge. "We had to adhere to Salt Lake (on opening night), and with all due respect, that made me uncomfortable," he said. One of Utah's premier events, Sundance now gets to open where it wants.
Redford has spent less time lately in Utah and more in San Francisco's North Bay, where he resettled a few years ago to be closer to lady friend Billie Szaggars, a Tiburon artist. He says San Francisco is his kind of town.
"It's very similar to Chicago (in that) people are very proud of their city, and they should be," he says. "It's the most beautiful place in the world."
A native of Southern California, he headed first to the Sierra, then to New York and Utah, to escape the smog.
"I was so miserable being a Southern Californian once (World War II) ended and concrete replaced trees," said Redford, 66, the rare actor in his age group to underline his senior-citizen status. "I always connected with the north of California . . . so I thought, 'You should settle where your heart is.' The trick is keeping a low profile and still being part of the community."
When he's recognized around here, "I get treated great," Redford said. "People are always very nice."
From all accounts, the star has been equally gracious when spotted at gyms and restaurants. Redford sightings might even increase because he's working on a sequel to "The Candidate," the 1972 movie shot in San Francisco. Leave it to Redford to revive a California political story at a time of such gubernatorial intrigue in the state.
He's also still determined to turn the old theater in the Presidio into one of a proposed chain of Sundance Cinemas, despite setbacks such as seeing the project's backer, General Cinemas, go bankrupt.
"They were looking to slap the Sundance brand on these diseased theaters," Redford said. But his current partner, George Gund III, has impeccable credentials. He's chairman of the board for the San Francisco International Film Festival.
The Sundance Cinema concept will get a run-through when the Sundance Film Series hits 10 cities. "The Other Side of the Bed," a Spanish musical romp, opens the two-month series on Aug. 29.