Past Issues  |  Subscribe  |  Advertise  |  About Us  |  Log In  |  My Account

  26.0F  |  Weather & Snow Report »

Blogs / A Walk In The Park / March 2009 / über Editor Day at Sundance

über Editor Day at Sundance

My friend J is the editor of another Utah publication. He and I had decided that since we were not People magazine and we were not Entertainment Weekly, and since we didn't know any of the press people here from L.A. or New York (and they sure as heck didn't know us), that if we humble local journalists joined together, we might be a force of nature and take Sundance by storm for an über editor outing … a "we two form a multitude" sort of thing.

So off we went on a Wednesday afternoon, fortified by our über editorness. The first thing we did, unfortunately, was take in a STINKER of a film. The film shall remain nameless, because I respect anyone who puts time and effort and blood and sweat into a creative project, so I'm not going to publicly 'dis' this flick, but … it was a bomb. Maybe I'm just not bohemian enough or smart enough or artsy enough to "get it," but, enduring this film made me feel like I was having a lobotomy. I wanted to leave after the first 7 minutes. J was kinder. He suggested we "wait a bit and give it a chance." So we did. At 25 minutes in, I was ready to throw in the towel again, but J wanted to follow one of the film's bizarre "themes" and "see where it was going," so I hung in there a little longer. At the 45-minute mark, finally J turned to me and gave me the "it's a wrap" signal with his finger and we were out of there. We weren't the only ones who made a quick exit, either. At least a dozen other people had already gracefully, uh, left the building.

Stinkers are all part of the adventure of Sundance. It didn't bum us out - it just made us giggle. When you choose films simply by when you can attend them, or by the descriptions you read in the catalogue, or just by what you can get tickets for, well - it's a roulette wheel. I saw four really good films this year, and only one stinker, so I consider my Sundance gamble this year excellent overall.

And there was a silver lining, too. Since we exited the film early, we had time to do other Sundancin'. So we headed to Main Street (walking up there from The Yarrow … it was lovely to walk around my own town, something I don't do much being a carpool Mom type) to a press and industry party at Shabu (one of my favorite Park City restaurants). Suddenly, there was the charming owner Kevin Valaika at the door, giving us the locals' nod; delicious Asian fusion appetizers on little sticks; and an open bar. Chardonnay at 2 o'clock in the afternoon? Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuure, Why not? We just saw a stinker.

Then there were locals: our own Jill Orschel and Alex Fuller, who had their film short, "Sister Wife" accepted into Sundance (one of 92 films selected out of 5,600)! I am sooooo proud of them! Congratulations, ladies. (Check out our article on "Sister Wife" in the upcoming summer issue of Park City Magazine, out in June 2009). J and I ended up hanging with Jill and Alex for the duration of the party, standing outside on the deck overlooking Main Street, people watching, basking in some warm winter sunshine and enjoying the air. I saw one of the actors from a film I'd loved - "The Yes Men," and was about to go over and gush, but lost sight of him in the crowd. Then I met this charming Chilean man, Gregorio, (everyone was in a very friendly mood) and we started talking, and he tells me that he's produced a film called "The Maid" that is the first film from Chile ever to make it into Sundance, and he tells me about the plot, and is all smiles and excitement, and tells me how beautiful Park City is, and how he wants to move here. Then he introduces me to three of the female cast members of the film (all beautiful, all smoking) and they make me feel like Sundance isn't all about the big sell at all - that they, and our local buddies Jill and Alex, were all just so exhilarated to be a part of this huge international bow-down to creativity, and to have been chosen from so many great works of art out there. Then I find out closing weekend that "The Maid" won Sundance's GRAND JURY PRIZE for WORLD DRAMATIC FILMS and I was so pleased! Way to go, Gregorio! Meeting the cast of "The Maid" was my only little brush with fame at Sundance for this year - but such a pleasant one.

J and I ended our Sundance extravaganza by stopping into the ASCAP Music Café. I have to admit, I liked the old bar setup from previous years better than the tent on lower Main Street - I'm sure it functions much better for the Sundance staff, but it just doesn't have the gritty "vibe" of the old nightclub. It was still enjoyable, however. Earlier in the week I'd seen Katie Herzig (fantastic voice) and John Rzeznik (formerly of the Goo Goo dolls - not so great). J and I took in Dave Barnes (r&b from Nashville) and Phil Vassar (country songwriter, won ASCAP's Country Songwriter of the Year award in 1999), who both had really nice voices. We closed the place down, man. And it was only 5 p.m. With a successful über editor excursion under our belts, we walked back down the bike path to our cars in town. We were off to our real lives and desk jobs, but knowing we'd been part of the Sundance scene, we had über smiles on our faces.