Freezing can be fun!!
NO, I didn't see the Dakota Fanning rape movie, Hounddog, which everyone asks about!! However, those of you twisted may want to check out Zoo. The description on IMDB says it all.
I will try to be brief : )
Day one: Thursday, 1.18.07
Woke up at 4am to catch breakfast and get to the airport for the 8am flight. Esther, Brian, and I headed out at 5, so we would have enough time to get breakfast before the flight. Nothing like a little 6am Moons Over My Hammy to start the day. First flight took us to Denver where we immediately ran out into the parking lot to play with the snow. Hey it had been a while ; ) Then after our 4 hour layover we flew to Salt Lake City, yee haw! We caught the shuttle to Lara's house and got in about 5:30 Park City time. The house is amazing ...
We decided we'd settle for the meager accommodations. Esther and I loaded in and learned we'd be sharing a room with two single beds. The hot tub was on the porch just outside our room. Niiiiiice!!! We went out to the ole Hungry Moose for dinner with Lara and her friend Randy who had like 4 films showing which she'd worked on. Ate my hefty burger for dinner and then off to a bar for dessert & pool. At the bar ... Lance Bass ha!
Day two: Friday, 1.19.07
Today started the viewing. The way it works, if you don't have tickets, is you arrive a few hours before the film you want to see and get into a wait list line. Two hours before the film they give out sequential numbers to everyone in line. We are then free until 30 minutes before the film. Come back after and hope enough ticket holders don't show, and you have a low enough number to get in. We got to the showing of Delirious, starring Steve Buscemi & Michael Pitt, about two hours before it started. The four of us had numbers, like 120 - 123 or something like that. Luckily, we managed to get in. The movie was pretty good. It was well acted and fun. Buscemi played a character whom was a bit slimy, dirty, at times unlikable. Shocking, eh? After the film Buscemi and some of the cast and crew came out and answered questions. It was fun to see.
Day three: Saturday, 1.20.07
The plan was to see two movies. The first was Broken English, directed by Zoe Cassavetes, daughter of famed director & actor John Cassavetes, and featuring Parker Posey & Josh Hamilton. We arrived about an hour before the wait list numbers were given out. We were #'s 34- 36 or something like that. We caught some lunch at a sports bar around the way and went back at our designated time. We waited and waited and only the first 20 got in. Shit! Waste of like 3-4 hours. Luckily Randy (who worked on the film) managed to find a ticket so she got in. Esther and I split for Main St. to do some shopping instead. : P We got back in time to get in line for what sounded like a fun thriller, Joshua. We made it into this one as we were 3 & 4 on the wait list. It was kind of amusing because like 3 seats to the right of me was Dave Matthews and on the other side of the aisle was Elvis Costello. As for the film, I liked it a lot. The kid was kind of like Damien in the Omen ... without being the son of Satan. Really well acted and made me jump a few times. After we headed back to the house in a cab with our friend Dan Gloeckner, who we knew from Gainesville. A quick change, then we found out we were invited to the Joshua cast and crew party. We hit the party and I was a bit star struck. First thing I walk in to the liquor table and am having a conversation with Dave Matthews about using ice from the beer cooler for your mixed drink when the rest of the ice seems to be gone. For the record we both opted for the cooler ice ; ) Then Esther and I walked out to the back porch and had a chat with Sam Rockwell and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Now I understand Dave Matthews is huge in the world of music, and has millions of women who would throw their panties at him in a second, but I'm not the biggest fan, he was cool as shit, but not that awe struck. Philip Seymour Hoffman on the other hand ... are you fucking kidding me. He's the man! Pretty fucking cool! I also had a chat with the director George Ratliff (who also directed Hell House) for a few and then the cinematographer Benoît Debie. Esther ended up talking to Benoît for like an hour. He couldn't have been nicer and it was awesome that Esther really got to pick his brain about the industry and life in film. So, yeah it was an awesome night.
Day four: Sunday, 1.21.07
Or as I liked to call it, Documentary Day! We started off the day a bit early because we decided we were not going to miss out any films because our wait list number was too low. We were successful, #'s 1 & 2 in the wait line for Vores lykkes fjender (Enemies of Happiness). We got in, but had to sit way too close to the screen. I think we were in like the second row which gets old when you are reading subtitles. I had trouble keeping my eyes open, which is a shame because I liked what I saw, but was just beat! Note to self ... subtitles tired a bit hung over = not the most fun movie viewing experience. It was preceded by Make a Wish, which was a cute short about a Palestinian girl trying to get a birthday cake. I'm not sure why it was shot in the middle east by an American. It seems like it would have had the same effect if shot here. Oh well, perhaps it wouldn't have made Sundance with an American cast?!?! We came out of the theatre and got right back in line for For the Bible Tells Me So. We immediately struck up a conversation with out fellow wait line peoples Meredith & Fin who had arrived the previous night from England. There was another guy in line with us named Meghan or Reaghan, something like that. The Brits were awesome. We chatted with them for hours and went to dinner together before the film. I hope we get the chance to bump into them again onne day on the festival tour, or elsewhere. The conversations and people we met in line were truly my favorite parts of the festival. The film was AWESOME! My favorite of the festival. It took a look at how 5 different Christian families dealt with their children coming out. It had such a heart and a good amount of laughable parts. Esther and I agreed one of the best things about it was the fact that it didn't just blast organized religion, but showed how these families maintained their beliefs while dealing with adversity. Prior to it was a short called I Just Wanted to Be Somebody, which was about the life of Anita Bryant and her fight to keep gay rights out of the state of Florida as well as the rest of the country. Very amusing and well done! The two films were a great compliment to one another. We finished up the films and Meredith & Fin were good enough to give us a ride home to the house. Nothing like having someone with little experience of driving on our side of the road and in snow/ ice take ya hme. With that said, Meredith did wonderful : ) OMG it was so friggen cold that night. We got into the car and the temperature read 3 degrees! Brrrrrrr! We laid low that night and crashed out upon returning home.
Day five: Monday, 1.22.07
The final day and Esther and I decided we were going to get to three different showings to go out with a bang. We started the day early and caught the documentary Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade, which was directed by Lincoln Ruchti who went to UF a few years back. The film was clever and reminded of a time many years ago when arcades were the shit! He and I spoke briefly after the screening and it ends up we both took Julian Smith's Hitchcock class at the same time. Small world. We hopped back in line for a shorts program which was at the same theatre. The shorts were as follows, Gódir gestir (Family reunion), Der Ostwind, Conversion, The Oates' Valor, Zarin, and Salt Kiss. They were all pretty good and a few of them can be seen on the Sundance site. I strongly suggest Der Ostwind here & Oates' Valor here. Conversion and Salt Kiss are also out there for viewing. We got some dinner (best Pad Thai I've ever had) and then coffee. I don't know how many of you know her, but, I bumped into my friend Nitai who used to live in Gainesville before moving to L.A.
Crazy what a small world it is!!
The final film of the festival was an 11:30pm showing of Adrift in Manhattan, which we actually had tickets for. Very exciting to not have to wait in line for tickets. It starred Heather Graham and was, well just okay. Looked pretty, but the acting was a bit spotty, although I thought Victor Rasuk did a fine job in one of the leading male roles. No more crazy parties, just back home for the evening.
Day six: 1.23.07
Early morning, again, as the shuttle picked us up at ten for the airport. The traveling was not bad on the way back, Esther slept most the way from Denver to Orlando and I read and wrote. We got left the airport at like 11:30 when Brian picked us up. Off to Denny's for a bite of dinner and then home. I think I got in at like 3:15 or so. Dead tired! I am oh so glad I took off Wednesday!
So, there you have it. A long, tedious post about Sundance. What am I looking forward to ... The Ten was one of the babies of Sundance this year. I really wanted to see it, but heard stories of waiting in line 5 hours and still not getting in. With that much popularity it's sure to get a major deal. Also, Lara and Randy said Teeth was hilarious and all around great. My Kid Could Paint That just got a distribution deal and lot's of buzz was going around about it.
Oh, and other spottings of interest ... Ving Rhames (I believe), John Cusak, Ben Affleck, Vera Farmiga, and I think a few others.
Next year I hope to get tickets online before going out there, at least for a couple of shows. The waiting in line was fun, but it would be nice to have a little more time to see stuff. Overall this experience was amazing and believe me, I plan on going many more times before I'm gone! Anyone interested in going next year? Thanks for reading. Peace!