Less than a month until the Sundance Film Festival starts, and all most of us can do is speculate.

Will the films be any good? Will one film break out as a mainstream success story? Will it snow?

And this year, a more pressing question: Will the lousy economy have any effect on the party atmosphere in Park City?

Not so much, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Steven Zeitchik, who reports that many companies who sponsor the festival - as well as the "ambush marketers" who piggyback on the festival's success - will still be in attendance, attracting stars such as Paris Hilton (pictured here at a party at Sundance '08).

Some sponsors are cutting costs, though. Entertainment Weekly will shelve its annual gala party, and Delta and Stella Artois are cutting back, too. But even where sponsors have dropped out of Sundance - Volkswagen is the most notable example - someone comes along to take up the slack (in this case, Honda).

Labels: parties