I actually got back from Sundance late on Monday night, but even now, the better part of two days later, I have yet to recover! You know you've had a good time when you've run around so much it nearly makes you sick. I say "nearly" because I'm not so badly off that I'm curled up miserable in bed. But I do have a sore throat (too much talking?!) and a slight case of the sniffles.
The five days spent either at or en route to/from Sundance felt like a good two weeks. Partially, it was the driving. It was 10 hours each way to and from LA and an additional hour of commute time each of the three days at the festival because we were staying at a friend of a friend's place in Spanish Fork, Utah. And partially, it was the weather change. 86 degrees when we left Los Angeles. A low of 8 degrees our last night in Utah. Amazing the different a mere 10 hours of driving time can make, huh? But most of all, it was the flurry of parties we all fanagled our ways into and the people we knew who we ran into all over the city. They aren't kidding if they say half of LA migrated to Park City! In fact, my roomies I left behind in Burbank had a house party Sunday night, entitled "Everyone Except Us Went to Sundance!"
Ironically, I only made it to one screening the whole three days: Shorts Program 5. Please contain your excitement!!! Hah. Basically, tickets were sold out for everything and that was all we could get without being famous. One of the shorts, however, was an NYU grad film and another of them had a cameo by Zachary Quinto, so I would say they were worthwhile. Now, a couple people in our group camped out in front of the box office overnight to try to get a few extra tickets for one of the premieres. In the process, they actually also managed to get a ticket to a Japanese movie that I wanted to see... but then my alarm didn't go off and I missed it anyway. Sigh!
One thing you should know about the group I was with: while we were up there, they were trying to crazy-promote their finalist in the Doritos Crash the Super Bowl competition. We left voteforthecat.com stickers all over Park City! If you took one of the Sundance shuttle buses at any point, odds are you saw one of their stickers...
The party highlights included:
-The Kenneth Cole party. We got into this one on the coattails of a friend in our group who had very small parts in "Frost/Nixon" and "500 Days of Summer" (which was premiering at the festival)... not to mention that we had a very talented publicist with us. Although it still took us almost an hour to get in... and it was freakin' cold outside! Free perfume swag. Yahoo. I actually found a news article on this one online. Click
here.
-A few British guys with very outgoing personalities (one of them almost a caricature, really!) invited us back to their hotel room party. It was a VERY posh ski resort penthouse, which I am positive was about twice as large as my townhouse back in Burbank. I found it hilarious that their idea of partying was to "rock out" to the bands "Snow Patrol" and "Kings of Leon" (coincidentally, two of my favorites). I really should have been born in the UK!
-The NYU Tisch School of the Arts party. This party was obviously my favorite. Go NYU! They had crab cakes! And fruit tarts! Fellow alumnus and director Brett Ratner told my friend Aaron that he was the best-dressed guy at Sundance. We chatted for a bit with the fellow whose grad film was in the shorts program we saw. We also ran into some alumni council folks who had been to one of my house parties back in Burbank before. Got a Tisch scarf and some other little freebies on the way out, as well as an invite to the NBC/Universal party.
-The NBC/Universal party. Met some cool folks, including the director of the short with Zachary Quinto. Apparently he used to rent from one of the crew members before he hit the big time, so he agree to make a cameo in the film as a geeky gay salesman with braces. Nice.
-"The Cove" after-party. This was a new documentary produced by NBC, about a cove in Japan. I haven't seen it, but I heard it features dolphins... lots of them. Lovely imagery, based on the photos I saw displayed on the wall.
Some interesting side notes:
-We actually got our pictures snapped by the paparazzi a few times. O_o One guy in our group had met the driver of a black Hummer the night before and took his card. We then utilized his "taxi" several times over the course of the next couple days. See, when you're well-dressed and step out of a black Hummer with tinted windows, even if they don't know exactly who you are, at Sundance, they will take your photo anyway, just in case!!!
-Aside from the unscheduled photogs, my group had also actually hired a couple photographers as part of their publicity blitz for their commercial. Sundance conveniently provides photo backdrops out on Main Street, so all we had to do was get in front of them and take some pictures. I have yet to see them, but hopefully soon.
-I apparently missed seeing Daniel Radcliffe walking out on Main Street by about ten minutes or so. D'oh.
-A "dream interpreter" on one of the shuttle buses told me I have an air of "royalty" and a "divine creative energy." Um. Okay. Thanks! O_o The next night, someone else at the Cove party told me I "shine." Well, here's hoping a few casting directors down the road will agree...!
-The same "dream interpreter" at first had asked if I was my friend Aaron's administrative assistant. HAH, no way. A mere hour later, someone else at the NYU party said they were intimidated to come and talk to me because Aaron looked like my bodyguard (he is quite tall and, as Brett Ratner observed, was dressed quite sharply). Geez people, which is it gonna be, lol?!
I'm sure I could say more, but I think I've had enough. Here's looking forward to next year's Sundance!!!
Cheers,
~A
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