January 19, 2008

The Big News just might be a rumor...and star sightings.



Heard U2 will do a surprise concert. They have a 3D concert film in the fest, so who knows...it just might come true. Personally I HATE U2, but JD loves them and apparently so do most people. So, if it happens you know I'll have photos for you.

Did I have my camera ready for the other star sitings? Of course not!

Michael Keaton (directed a film here)
Dan Rather
Lloyd, Ari's assistant on Entourage

My sexy snowboarder




My big strong man is sleeping like a baby. A little beef bourguignonne and a couple bourbon and coke's and he's out like a kindergardener.

He had a great day on his new board, but the slopes were packed with people. He got a little altitude sickness but he's OK now.

Man, he must be tired. He's snoring too and he never does that.

Our cozy condo...don't blink, you might miss it!

Dinner and A Movie




Anyone who read my blog last year knows how much I love The Bistro 412. This year, I only could get 3 night of reservations, which totally bummed me out.

Why do I love this restaurant so? I can actually eat their food.

I have tons of food allergies and this place rocks. The have garlic and herb pomme fritas that are to DIE for. Everything on the menu is amazing. JD & I have never had a bad meal here.

We didn't actually have reservations for tonight, but JD said, 'Hey, let's see if we can just walk in'. We must have good karma, because we timed it perfectly. Five minutes earlier and they were turning people away, but someone decided they didn't want to eat there and left as we walked in so we took their place. I have a happy tummy.

Not the big news...but I saw another movie...

JD just got off the slopes and apparently went to his favorite bar and found collective soul playing an acoustic set. Not a bad day for him.

I just got out of the film MEGANE. Japanese film directed by a woman. Although I enjoyed it, the subtle comedy, the message, it was sssssssssssssssssllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww, and filled with amazing looking Japanese food.

I'm so hungry after watching that movie that I must go eat something before I pass out...on the way out I saw the guy who hosts Lunch with David. We chatted...on camera, so maybe I'll show up in his Sundance blog.

And on another note, I don't know how many of you tried the white chocolate popcorn last year...I know, sound disgusting, but it's a little bit of heaven in your mouth...they did NOT order it this year. I've been looking forward to eating that for a year now.

Disappointed by food in this town again...arrg.

BREAKING NEWS....HOLY COW!!!!!

I can't tell you yet....but it's big...if I'm lucky, I'll have the photos to back this up later...stay tuned...

1st movie, a quiet moment and lots of tickets

The bus was remarkably quiet this morning...it was the last time in 10 days it will look like this...




Once we got food, but before we went to the grocery store, I went to pick up my Adrenaline pass.

An adrenaline pass allows me to see any film screening before 10am and after 10pm. It's a great pass, except for the hours, because you usually can get to see many of the competition films, and you get into all the other festival related venues.

I was shocked by how many films weren't sold out. Last year I had one hell of a time getting extra tickets, although I had great luck with the individual ticket lottery. This year, both JD & I forgot to register for individual ticket, so we can with my pass only.

Without batting an eye, JD bought 5 films he thought looked interesting, and I bought a few as well, so that was exciting. Nothing like being in Park City without movie tickets.

Anyway....long story longer, we met a guy in the Salt Lake airport who then rode with us in the shuttle. His brother has a film here called Secrecy. Turns out that this morning it was playing at 8:30 am, so I thought I would give it a whirl, since JD had plans to check out his new snow board, which apparently rocks by the way. ;)

What a great film. It's a documentary about government secrets and how the creation and cover-up of all these secrets actually inhibits our ability to fight terrorism. What was fascinating about this film, other than the content which was frightening to say the least, was the narrative structure of the film....how they weaved the differing storylines together, how they transitioned from one thought to another, how they shot the interviews with multiple camera angles and made them work...truly remarkable.

The content was frightening...I don't want to be a spoiler for others, but anyone at the fest should see this film. It's really truly frightening how easy it is for our government to just say something is secret and that's all it takes to make it so. There is no oversight, there is no question, there is no peaking at it to see if it really is secret. Just say the word, and the information you have, regardless whether it impacts national security or not, vanishes. Need to cover something up, just call it secret.

Sushi good, restaurant bad...

Every year, my first meal here is Hamachi Kama...grilled, salted yellowtail cheek...melting in your mouth good.....

But they are no longer, and the sushi restaurant in it's place has a set menu which is so expensive it's silly.

I paid $21 for 3 scallops, and they sucked.

Survival and the grocery store...

Arriving in Park City, one of the first things I like to do after getting a bite to eat (more on that in a minute) is to head to the grocery store...stock up for the week on beer, milk, and survival food. It's always crazy, cause that's what everyone wants to do and they are all in a hurry. It's like a big storm is coming and everyone runs to the store at the same time to buy whatever they can find.

Last year I came up with a brilliant plan, and I must share it with you.

Our condo is on Main Street and we have no car...we take the bus to the grocery store. Carting home water, juice, milk, beer, and a few things to actually eat for a week is almost impossible, and who wants to spend their time going to the damn grocery store every day. Sure I could buy all these things every day on Main Street, but I'm already paying for the convenience of living on Main Street..I don't need to spend $100 a day on food and drink...and that's just for coffee and snacks, not even a buzz and 3 squares.

OK, are you ready for brilliance?

You sure...

I empty my rolling suitcases and take them to the store with me. We got 2 six packs of beer, 1.5 gallons of milk, 2 gallons of juice, chips, potatoes, spinach, cereal, canned soups, fried chicken, fruit, etc. all in two large suitcases. No broken wrists, no awkward carrying of 25 plastic bags, just put the heavy stuff on the bottom and the light stuff on top...then put all the smashables in the front pockets and roll away we go...

At least 25 people watched us...it was pretty funny. They were all saying ' Damn, why didn't I think of that' as they walked out with their wrists already burning from the plastic cutting into their flesh...

And speaking of survival...here's what every refrig at Sundance should have....



January 18, 2008

Can YOU tell which is which?



Which tray table belongs to the producer...and which belongs to the director?


HMMMM.....landed safely in Park City...saw some Caribou on the way in...no wildlife photos yet though.

January 17, 2008

Who needs Park City to play in the snow...

...when you can make mini-snow men in the good old ATL...

complete with pushpin eyes and a carefully crafted mini-carrot nose

can you tell JD can't wait to get to the slopes


January 15, 2008

New Sundance Doo...looks KILLA!!

I know you've all been waiting...here is just a hint of the new doo....





The man who cut and colored my hair is a genius. His name is Erik and he works at the salon above Landmark Theater across from the Independent. If I hadn't left his business card sitting on my desk, I would list his phone number. Regardless, he's worth tracking down!!

January 14, 2008

Welcome to the 2008 Sundance BLOG




Wow...it took me forever to get this darn thing working again after a year of letting it sit around getting rusty.

In that year, I've been told my blog needs to be, well, better. I assume SCOTT BALZER meant my writing when he questioned my blogging skills.

All I have to say is hey, until YOU go to Sundance, get no sleep, freeze your sweet butt off and have to blog after partying all day and night long...you got nothing you can say...but, I'll do my best.

I never proclaimed to be a writer, I just have a lot to say...and it's so much easier to say it than to write it...so expect some more picture blogs this year. I've got a new camera and hopefully, I won't be too lazy to carry it around. We'll see.

Anyway...this is the last bit of skin you will see from me this year as the forecast calls for BELOW FREEZING weather the whole 10 days! Yea.


AHAHAHAHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHHAHAHAHHA

I can upload video....AAAAAHHHHHAHAHAHAHAHHAA


SCENES FROM THE DOC....from the cutting room floor...






and scenes from last year....