Twenty years ago, a little movie about a dysfunctional family and a yellow VW bus premiered at the Eccles Theatre and changed the landscape of independent cinema. Little Miss Sunshine sparked a massive bidding war, selling for a record-breaking $10.5 million, and went on to win two Academy Awards. Now, the cast and crew have returned to Park City for a legacy screening to celebrate the film that proved R-rated comedies with heart could still conquer the box office.
FandomWire was on the red carpet at the Eccles Theatre to speak with the creative team behind this indie juggernaut. We caught up with directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, and producer Peter Saraf to discuss the magic of that first screening, the importance of the theatrical experience, and their advice for the next generation of storytellers.
Little Miss Sunshine Sundance Interview
Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris attend the Park City Legacy Showing of Little Miss Sunshine by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. © 2026 Sundance Institute | photo by Jemal Countess.
FandomWire: Jonathan and Valerie, this film was born out of an incredible theatrical experience twenty years ago. For young people today, what do you encourage regarding their theater-going habits?
Jonathan Dayton: Well, I think a lot of people know that it’s fun to see a scary movie in a theater, but I think it’s just as important, or maybe even more important, to see a comedy in the theater to laugh with people. That was the thing: when the movie came out, we would go to theaters, sit in the back, and just watch people respond. It was so fun to see people laughing and together.
Valerie Faris: I remember seeing them rocking in their seats. We couldn’t believe the movie was doing that for them. I think it’s that collective experience. You can tell when someone is moved, but you can feel it in the room when there’s quiet. I think we just need more togetherness right now than separation. We can all watch anything we want on our phones, but to go into a dark room… It’s just the coolest journey. It takes you somewhere, and you don’t get that from a little screen in your hand while all this other business is going on.
Dayton: To hear someone laughing next to you rather than wait for the emoji to pop up.
Faris: Movies are the original immersive experience. I just wish maybe they weren’t too expensive. But they don’t have to be. There are second-run movies playing all the time that are cheaper. I just hope that the pleasure of movie-going gets rediscovered.
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FW: Finally, for young filmmakers who want to be the people making these films we see in theaters, what words of advice would you give them?
Dayton: It’s important never to give up. It took us four years to make this movie. There are so many times when you think it’s never going to happen, but you just have to keep trying new things. Work on the script.
Faris: Tell an honest, good story that feels really true to you. Something that only you can tell. The more personal, the more universal it is. But, yeah, entertain. Don’t forget about entertaining. Or at least seduce them in some way.
Cast and crew attend the Park City Legacy Showing of Little Miss Sunshine by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. © 2026 Sundance Institute
FandomWire: Peter, twenty years ago, this film premiered right here at the Eccles and sold for a record-breaking $10.5 million. At what point during Sundance did you realize this film was a hit?
Peter Saraf: You never know. We felt like we were making something really great. This movie had a long path to getting made, and it was one of the greatest filmmaking experiences I’ve ever had. We had an incredible cast, and Michael Arndt wrote a perfect script. We felt like it was going right, but you never know. Before we got here, there was a lot of buzz about it because nobody had seen it. We were actually really nervous because we felt like we were being set up to let down the expectations. But about five minutes into the screening, this room was explosive, electric, incredible. It was one of the greatest screenings ever.
FW: You mentioned the difficulty of getting it made. Was there a particular low moment where you wondered if it would happen?
Saraf: It had been in development for a really long time, and it was just a really hard movie to make. It was at a time when everybody was saying R-rated comedies don’t work, so don’t make an R-rated comedy. Everybody was saying ensembles don’t work. Everybody was saying the foreign market is worthless because nobody knows what a child beauty pageant is outside of America.
We had an incredible cast, but were they super famous? No. The 40-Year-Old Virgin hadn’t come out when we shot it, so Steve Carell wasn’t a movie star yet. There were many reasons studios and financiers were afraid of it, but we just really believed in it. So we just managed to cobble the finances together and get it made on a really low budget.
Related: Alan Arkin, Oscar Winning Actor Best Known for Little Miss Sunshine and Argo, Passes Away at 89
FW: Looking back on all of this with a new generation of filmmakers who have been inspired by this movie, what advice would you give them?
Saraf: Just make your stuff to do what you really believe in. Find your original voice. Michael Arndt wrote this on spec. It’s literally a perfect screenplay. Here’s what I would say to a budding filmmaker: Watch Michael Arndt’s videos on YouTube about structuring a screenplay. They’re brilliant, and they’re better than any book out there. You’ll learn a lot.
Little Miss Sunshine screened at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, which ran January 22-February 2 in Park City and Salt Lake City, UT, and January 30-February 2 online.
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