Tioga Pass and Sundance Opening Night

Here I am again in Park City, Utah. Finally, it is sort of snowing…it’s 34 degrees, and it is trying to snow/sleet/rain…bottom line it isn’t sticking yet but higher up it might be.

We traveled here via Tioga Pass Saturday morning. Joel and Marley walked on Tenaya Lake. We took some pictures and then headed for breakfast at Nicely’s in Lee Vining. We arrived on time, minus 100 miles given our route and started our stay at Lou’s house as usual. A Costco run, some dinner with friends, cooking some good winter food…no skiing yet though as it is ice with straw. We might try Deer Valley but it is supposed to snow for the next 5-7 days.

Tonight, the 19^th, was opening night for the Sundance Film Festival. Sorry, no images from there as I had my hands full with my job and taking out a camera/cell phone to take an image is an immediate ticket to the front door while being stripped of your uniform.

Marley, pictured above, is the mascot now of Eccles Theater Team B. He's got a hot date escorting his new girl, Cara, to Main Street to do a "meet and greet".

I worked the Entourage Door and let Mr. Redford come and go. And, in between all of those duties I got to watch two great movies.

The first was a documentary called The Queen of Versailles. It is a reality type movie started in 2008 (before the crash) about the Siegel family who needed to move from their 29,000 square foot house to their new 90,000 square foot house because they ran out of space and because “they could”. David Siegel owns Westgate Resorts, a very popular and successful time share corporation, until, that it is, their leveraged properties busted a gut in the real estate crash.

This really reminds me of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills-Atlanta-Miami except there is only one housewife (not that I watch Real Housewives, it just comes on before Top Chef)

Right, below: Joel and Marley on Tenaya Lake, Yosemite in mid-January

The story starts out with it being a story of building a home that was modeled upon the Versailles mansion in Paris with some modern twists. The producer/writer/director started shooting this as one thing, then it turned into a “riches to rags” type of story as this family with 7 kids and a niece, a dozen dogs and a house staff of 19 as I recall, suddenly start shedding nannies, staff, and employees…not to mention properties. David Siegel obviously becomes more obsessed with saving his empire and depressed and withdrawn; his wife Jackie goes on spending binges at Wal-Mart and getting more cosmetic work done so her husband doesn’t trade her in for wife number 4. The dogs pooped all over and no one seems to be able to bend over and pick it up or train the dogs…they wait for staff that is being laid off to take care of that; oh, wait, there is no staff to pick up poop. The poor freakin’ lizard dies because the kids “forgot” him. The fish die cause no one could be bothered.

And Versailles is wilting before the audiences eyes. And it’s all the fault of the banks who want properties for nothing even if you have equity. Let me get out my red kerchief to stop the flow of my tears. We’re talking time shares going into “default” where the folks who are losing their houses suddenly realize they are losing their time share because “THAT” credit card they bought it with on a whim is now kaput as well. Oh, I’m on my second hanky now.

Jackie has gone from rags to riches to almost rags…at least they are Versace rags, and gone from a 32 A or B cup to about a 54 EEEE…Carol Doda with her “twin 44’s” can’t hold a candle to this chick. (Note: For the younger crowd I suggest you Google Carol Doda) I’m serious, I saw them in person like from me to you standing at my kitchen door! And then on screen on a really regular basis.

And did I say that David Siegel, who sat for interviews and even said it was “rags to riches to rags” is now suing for defamation for the advertising of the movie being about him, his family and his company going from “rags to riches to rags” sort of. With that, I will end my commentary/review and say that overall, it is a great reality show, a great lesson in why there is no free lunch in a resort, and why you should never let a camera come into your home and film your freakin’ life from the inside.

Okay, so that movie ends, we clean and clear the theater and set up for the next movie, also a Premiere in Competition called Hello I Must Be Going.

Wow. Did I say WOW! I really enjoyed this movie. In this Dramatic Competition movie a 35 year old woman moves back to her parents Westport home to nothing but advice and depression. She is swept off her feet by a 19 year old family friend’s son who helps her find what love really means. I won’t give it away, but there is such strong writing, some scenes that take your breath away with their words and delivery—especially for a woman.

The buzz in the theater was good too. The lead actress, Melanie Lynskey, reminded me of Rose from “Two and A Half Men” for 93 minutes of film. She speaks with a strong New Zealand accent when not on screen and then when I walked her from the ladies room to the door we talked briefly, as I told her I loved the film, her work in it and that the buzz in the crowd was very strong for the movie. She really appreciated that. Now, as I write this and look up Rose, VOILA!, Melanie is in fact Rose.

Also starring in the movie was Blythe Danner who was great as Emily’s mother and, John Rubenstein as her father. Gone is the curly hair and young looks of John Rubenstein. Once again I sat there and spent 93 minutes trying to figure out where I “knew” him from, as it had been years since I had seen him in anything. It’s like being in the grocery store and going home to look through year books because you saw someone you should have recognized and didn’t.

Look for both movies…Queen TV, since it isn’t a movie house type film, and Hello I Must Be Going has to wind up in theaters and for sure DVD. I will watch both of them again.

I work again tonight and on tap for my shift will be:

Celeste and Jesse Forever: A story of the perfect couple who really don’t live well together and get divorced but want to hang out.

Red Lights: This is billed as a thriller classically conceived and executed. It stars Sigorney Weaver, Cillian Murphy, Robert DeNiro, Elizabeth Olsen and Toby Jones.

I’m looking forward to both movies and will be ushering up front so no question I’ll get a good seat.

Left: Half Dome at sunrise, mid-January on Tioga Pass Road