Sundance Film Festival-Park City 2012 Vol II

Can you imagine, it is 1 am (Friday) and it is 38° F here and it is trying to snow/sleet or whatever it does in the mountains. Lou’s yard is toying with a lawn mowing or a snow blowing. Every cop in Utah is in Park City on Friday night of Sundance. I got at least 5 radar hits leaving the parking lot tonight and they had a stretch limo pulled over right out of the gate of the Eccles theater. I just crept out nice and slow knowing I was going home safe, almost sane and sober.

Left: mow or not to mow?

It was a pretty good night of movie watching. I saw 2.97 movies tonight working the stage/curtain/emergency door where the steps lead to the stage. All standing, ushering, monitoring and watching movies.

Before I get to 2.97 movies, let me explain. We have two shifts at Eccles. One starts at 7:30 am (a little too early for my movie curiosity) and the movies start rolling at 9 am. So the morning crew sees 2.03 movies as we come on at 3:30 pm which is usually when they are starting a feature film. They get the audience settled, and then at 4 pm, the night crew comes in and relieves the day crew.

What makes this very, very interesting is that you come into a pitch dark theater about 5-10 minutes into the movie and boot the person you are relieving out of their chair and sit down.

Right: Eddie's done hunting, now she wants heat

You carefully walk to your assignment and find your tired volunteer like a blind person reaching about trying to find something to touch that isn't breathing. Often, like tonight for instance, you walk right into a full sized movie screen of an X-rated sex scene (there are no ratings at Sundance) and basically cause audience-volunteer movie sex interruptess and suddenly feel like you walked in on someone having sex in your darkened basement screening room and you really can’t leave because you have to stay to see how it ends. (Sorry, no visual images available for this thought)

That was tonight’s shift change and we were all talking about it in the break room. I’d say out of 20 shift changes where I was assigned in the theater I have walked into at least 10 sex scenes with full thrusters going. Which brings us to tonight’s first movie, Simon Killer.

This is sort of a Joran Van Der Sloot goes to Paris to meet chicks kind of movie, while he comes of age waffling between a scared wienie and a budding serial killer. Which "man" will he become? I saw way more of the two lead characters than I wanted too, and given my previous occupation, wanted to reach out and strangle more than one of the characters. At least two characters had the good sense to tell him to find somewhere else to stay and not let him move in and build his web.

You will see this on DVD at Red Box sooner than later and unlikely to hit the theaters any time soon, especially in Des Moines. It was okay but I would give it 2 Paw Prints and not much more.

Left: The snow finally starts

The feature film tonight was the premiere of Celeste and Jesse Forever. This movie will be in theaters as Sony purchased it after its premiere. It is hip, fun and shot for next to nothing. I really enjoyed it and I liked the ending. Really good, not the best I’ve seen, but good and I’d give it 3 Paw Prints. It was a packed house, and I mean don’t let the fire marshall know how many people were in that theater tonight. It’s like the audience resents you for having a chair in a corner and being able to see a movie and they are looking for a seat and think you should give them yours. Not so bucko, I’ve been standing, walking and picking up your garbage for 3 screenings.

By the way, the word is that one film today got three standing ovations and was really well received, and it was called Searching For Sugar Man” I doubt I get to see it.

Left: Celeste and Jesse Forever

The last movie of the night, and one that was highly anticipated and another full house was Red Lights. This had DeNiro, Sigourney Weaver, …..heavy hitters and it was about paranormal behavior. Sigourney Weaver was excellent and she is one tall drink of water by the way. Very classy too. The producer/director/writer brought us Buried two years ago, which he thinks of as a story like Indiana Jones in a box.

This will be in theaters as well. I liked it, didn’t love it, some things went on too long but I won’t say what. I’d give it 3 Paw Prints.

That’s my work until Monday night and then I work 4 more night shifts. Hopefully we’ll be skiing this weekend at least a little bit…I’m ready. We may have a couple of friends from the theater staff join us for dinner this weekend if we can work out the shifts/schedules. There will be pictures if we do.

It is Tuesday morning, the 24^th of January.

Right: Marley and Joel snow blow for about 3rd time

We’ve had over two feet of snow and there are predictions for more over the week. Skiing is now officially great, until this snow gets skied off and we’re back to the straw and such.

Monday night I ushered in the Entourage section again. We had three big films with big entourages and some big talent. When this happens even the calmest patron seems to go nuts wanting a picture, wanting to get close and so forth. They lose their common sense. I get a kick out of seeing stars in their natural habitat, and checking out their height, how they act, and so forth. But really, to me, they’re just people no better than me because they might get paid a lot and have people following them or stalking them. But I am not going to get all idiotic and start selling my grandchildren to take a picture with my iPhone of Chris Rock or anyone else for that matter.

The first film is called L.U.V. and stars Danny Glover, Common, Dennis Haysbert (Good Hands Man-Allstate), Charles S. Dutton and a 9 year old kid we will see again, named Michael Rainey, Jr. who plays Woody. Woody is an 11 year old kid in Baltimore who wants his mother in North Carolina but lives with his

Left and right: Michael Rainy, Jr. and Common

grandmother and Uncle Vincent (played by Common) who is fresh out of prison. Vincent wants to be a good man, wears a suit, drives a Mercedes because he’s working for Mr. Fish. Woody rides around with him and learns how to drive the car, shoot a Walther PPK gun, do a drug deal, watch a guy get shot and so forth. Eventually Woody has to grow up even faster and I won’t give the story away. It is a really, really good movie by Sheldon Candis and I highly recommend seeing it. This is a 4+ Paw Prints movie.

After this giant entourage finally left the theater, we cleaned up and loaded for the 6:30 pm premiere of Two Days in New York by Julie Delpy (Two Days in Paris). Delpy also stars in the movie as the lead character living with Mingus, played by Chris Rock. The premise is that she’s a little nutsy as an artist and Chris Rock is a successful writer, DJ and they each have a kid. Delpy is from Paris and her father and sister (with an old boyfriend) arrive in NY to stay in the apartment.

For me, the premise was tired; the French/English mix was irritating; the rudeness of the French, even for me was overplayed; the hapless in NYC female artist was tired as well. There was some decent comedy, but this isn’t my kind of comedy. I’d give it 2 Paw Prints frankly.

So, we get this rather large entourage out the door and clean yet again, and take a well earned break. At 9:45 pm we are showing Bachlorette.

Left: Part of the cast of Two Days In New York

This is a Will Ferrell produced story written and directed by Leslye Headland. It is a bridal comedy of girls in their 30’s, all from high school where they were BF’s together (that would be bitch faces). One is rather overweight (Rebel Wilson) and is the first of this pack of misfits to get engaged and thus it is her story. Imagine that 3 really turned out chicks (Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan and Isla Fisher) hung around with a “friend” they called “Pig Face” in high school and all managed to stay together as friends? Lost me already.

And NO I did not take these images on the Orange AKA Red Carpet, I picked these off the internet.

They have nothing but contempt and jealousy that their “pigface” friend is getting married before they do since they are so good looking. I think this movie was just made recently and called Bridesmaids and I didn’t watch that one either. This, I had no choice. I’ll just say that it was disturbing to me to think that friendship and loyalty among the thirty-something crowd is so poorly portrayed…but then a fellow volunteer in that age bracket said “life is like that for us”.

So, get me a ticket to Botswana please.

1 Paw Print from me on this one, and that’s because they went to the trouble to make the movie.

So today is a beautiful day, Joel’s going skiing for a while and this afternoon, after I wake up and maybe take a nap (only 4 hours of sleep after trying to unwind from last night) he’ll dump me off and I’ll go ski for an hour or so. No work tonight. Hang out and read a book, maybe watch a movie.

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