Sundance Film Fest 2005

Thursday, Jan. 20:
After 12 hours of traveling to Park City, I’m exhausted but ready to try my first premiere of the trip: the dark comedy "Happy Endings," starring Lisa Kudrow of "Friends," Maggie Gyllenhaal of "Secretary," and Tom Arnold of Roseanne.

Kudrow’s character was impregnated by her stepbrother as a teen-ager, and she goes on as an adult to try to find the son she gave up for adoption. It’s going to hit theaters in July, and I’d recommend it based on the strength of the cast, even though it’s a little cutesy and makes annoying use of title cards. Kudrow, Gyllenhaal, Arnold, Jesse Bradford ("Swimfan"), Jason Ritter ("Joan of Arcadia," son of John Ritter) and director Don Roos show up for a Q&A afterward. Ritter draws a big laugh when he intends to say that Roos was very nurturing but he accidentally uses the word "suckling" instead.

Friday, Jan. 21:
After 2.5 hours of experiencing just how inefficient the Sundance box office is, I head over to my first screening, "Loggerheads," filmed in North Carolina by a director who grew up in Wingate, just outside Charlotte. Like "Happy Endings," it consists of three intertwined narratives and the central story is a mother (Bonnie Hunt) seeking the son she gave up for adoption long ago. But I end up liking it more than "Happy Endings," because it’s more subtle and understated. It brings me to tears at the end. It doesn’t have a release date yet but I hope it gets one. It’s got lots of great N.C. scenery, from Kure Beach to Asheville and even a little of downtown Charlotte.

Next is a press-only screening of "The Jacket," a thriller starring Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley and Jennifer Jason Leigh, all of whom I’ll be interviewing. It’ll be in theaters March 4. It’s a grim story involving torture in a mental hospital and time travel. It’s a ludicrous plot – it reminded me of last year’s "The Butterfly Effect" – but it’s stylish and the cast is great, so it’s worth checking out.

Then it’s time to hurry to the documentary "The Education of Shelby Knox," which follows a girl in Lubbock, Texas through three years of high school as she battles the school board to change its abstinence-only sex education policy to a comprehensive sex-ed curriculum. She’s 18 now, and I’m interviewing her for a freelance piece. Because my mother’s from Lubbock and I’ve visited many times, I found it a hoot. Mom joined me in Park City and caught this screening with me, and she enjoyed it too. It’s got a shot at theatrical release but will most likely be airing on PBS – worth setting the TiVo for.

Saturday, Jan. 22:
First up is an early-morning screening of "The Matador," starring Pierce Brosnan as a tacky hit man who meets up with ordinary salesman Greg Kinnear. Hilarity ensues. It’s truly a hysterical movie – I didn’t know Brosnan had it in him. Both he and Kinnear show up for the post-show Q&A. It doesn’t have a release date yet, but surely it will get picked up. Definitely worth checking this one out.

Then it’s time for roundtable interviews with the cast of "The Jacket." Jennifer Jason Leigh, Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley rotate around tables of six reporters apiece for about 15 minutes of rapid-fire (and often lame) questions. They take it all in good humor. The best moment: Knightley is talking about how much she liked the movie "Closer," so I pop in with "Clive or Jude?" She answers: "Both – at the same time."

Afterward I make my way to my next interviews for "Loggerheads." Unfortunately Bonnie Hunt is a no-show, but I have a nice conversation with the director. The movie’s producer is from Davidson and his parents know my grandmother – such a small world.

Then it’s time to rush to the documentary "Enron." There’s a horrible traffic jam and the buses are all running behind, and I have to pile onto one so crowded that people are literally smashed up all the way against the windows and leaning against each other. Me and the two guys on either side introduce ourselves to each other since, believe me, after that experience we ought to be on a first-name basis. Unfortunately the buses seem to be running behind the whole week. But I make it there, and the documentary is well-done but not a feel-good film – it makes you really angry at what crooks and liars Ken Lay, Jeff Skilling et al were.

There’s time for a quick takeout dinner, and then I head out to a party that People magazine has asked me to attend as a stringer. It turns out to be one of the highlights of the trip – it’s full of A-list stars. I get a quick conversation with Kevin Costner, who’s gracious enough but ducks away before I can ask all of my questions. I also have nice conversations with Jesse Bradford and Erika Christensen (Michael Douglas’ daughter in "Traffic"). I see Jason Ritter and embarrass him by asking him how the suckling is working out for him.

Joan Allen and Keri Russell ("Felicity") are there, but a friend of theirs shoos me away from them. I chat briefly with Jamie Bell ("Billy Elliott"), John Leguizamo and Paul Walker ("The Fast and the Furious") in the crowd. In Walker’s case, I don’t mind at all that the place is so jammed that we’re pressed right up against each other. We have a bizarre but amusing conversation involving his childhood Superman Underoos and the death of my first pet. In my years at Sundance, this is the first time I’ve been able to wander so freely and strike up conversations with celebs and not be tightly controlled by publicists the whole time. It's a lot of fun.

Sunday, Jan. 23:
I start with an early-morning showing of "The Upside of Anger," starring Costner, Allen, Russell and Christensen. It’s hitting theaters March 11, and it’s definitely worth circling this date. I really loved this one. It’s hilarious in that quirky Sundance way. It contains a rather large plot hole, but Joan Allen is so great at carrying the movie that you won’t mind. And Costner stretches by playing a bumbling alcoholic.

Next is one-on-one interviews with Jennifer Jason Leigh and Keira Knightley to flesh out some freelance stuff I’m offering People magazine – I’ll also offer some sort of story on "The Jacket" to the Observer. I get about 20 minutes alone with each. JJL is stiff and uncomfortable with being interviewed, but Knightley is delightfully funny.

Following that are my interviews with sex-ed girl Shelby Knox and her filmmakers – that’ll be a fun story to write.

Then, thanks to the bus jam, I almost don’t make it to my screening of an Indonesian documentary called "The Shape of the Moon." I sneak in after it starts. It has some beautiful visuals and some interesting aspects, but it’s very slow-moving and probably my least favorite film of the festival. I suppose it's not a complete festival experience if you don't try to squeeze in an Indonesian documentary.

Then we finally have time for our first sit-down dinner of the trip, at Blind Dog restaurant (definitely worth a visit whenever you’re in Park City).

The People magazine folks send me to another party, but this one’s not nearly
as fun. It’s a smoky, crowded bar. The cast of "Dirty Love," starring Jenny McCarthy and Carmen Electra, is supposed to be there but Electra never shows up. I get a couple of minutes with McCarthy and with Ernie Hudson, a veteran character actor who starred in "Ghostbusters," "Oz" and about a million other things (except when I was chitchatting with him I accidentally named a wrong movie with another character actor, oops). Supposedly Keanu Reeves is there, I’m told, but I’m never able to find him.

Monday, January 24:
First up for the day is "The Dying Gaul," starring Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard and Campbell Scott in a love triangle (Scott cheats on Clarkson with Sarsgaard). It’s a fantastic cast – I’ll watch Clarkson in anything. And it’s very well done. But it’s dark and depressing as hell. Don’t know if it’s got a release date, but you might want to wait for this one on cable.

Then I head to lunch at a café set up at the area where all the celebrities show up to pick up their Fred Segal freebies. I have a credential that gets me in for free lunch – woohoo! I meet up with an Australian radio reporter I’ve run into every year at Sundance, but he soon has to rush off to do a radio broadcast.

After I finish up I run into Elizabeth and Bradford from "The Apprentice 2." In a conversation that will only be appreciated by fans of the show, I said to Bradford, "I can’t believe you gave up your exemption," and then told him I’m sure he hears that a lot. He says "Yes, but everyone recognizes me now because of it." And Elizabeth lets me know she shares my opinion that hiring Kelly was a boring outcome for the last season. Outside the café, I spot Donnie Wahlberg and Mary Steenburgen walking around.

After lunch is "Junebug," the second N.C. movie I’ll be writing about for the Observer. It’s set in Winston-Salem and has a great shot of Pilot Mountain in it. The screenwriter, Angus MacLachlan, is someone I knew when I worked in Winston-Salem. It’s a little slow-moving (like most things at Sundance), but it’s a nice story with poignance and comedy. And it has a pricelessly memorable character in it. It’s about a big-city art gallery owner who travels to N.C. to meet her new husband’s family and experiences culture shock. Hope it gets released.

Then it’s time for a party sponsored by New Line Cinema at Robert Redford’s Zoom restaurant. I thought given the sponsor that it would have celebs, but nobody from New Line is in evidence. The most famous guy I see is one of the commentators from the VH1 show "Best Week Ever," the guy always wearing the trucker hat that says "World Champion." (Judah Friedlander). We have a nice little chat with the in-house film critic from Netflix, James Rocchi. And the free food is great.

There’s time for just a few minutes’ rest in the hotel room, and then I head out to the last screening of the day, "Between," a psychological thriller starring Poppy Montgomery of "Without a Trace" (I’m a big fan of the show). She’s there for the Q&A and graciously chats with me for a few minutes after the screening. She does a good job in the movie navigating a world where people do and say things that don’t make sense, but the big "secret" of what’s going on is way too easy to guess. Don’t know if it’ll hit theaters or not.

Tuesday, Jan. 25:
Last full day. First order of business is interviews for "Junebug." I have a few minutes with Ben McKenzie, who’s the lead on "The O.C." He’s a nice enough interview, and quite hunky. Then I rush off to interview the director of "Enron" – I’m doing a business story on this one. I squeeze in time for a last free lunch in the café – at first David Schwimmer of "Friends" is sitting right next to me, and then when he gets up, Shannen Doherty of "90210" sits in his spot. At the behest of People magazine (I emailed an editor from my laptop to let them know she was there), I walk up to her and ask her a few questions. I don’t get much info., but at least she’s relatively nice about it.

Finally I have time to catch a film. This one is "Loverboy," in which Kevin Bacon is director and his wife Kyra Sedgwick is the star. It’s a disturbing story about a mother who loves her son too much – she can’t even let him go to school because she can’t bear to be away from him. You feel a sense of dread the whole time because you know the direction it’s going isn’t good. Another good one to wait for on cable. Bacon and Sedgwick are there for the postshow Q&A.

Then comes a nice dinner at Zoom – nobody famous is there, bummer. And finally it’s time for our last screening of the festival, an 11:30 p.m. showing of "Me and You and Everyone We Know." It’s written and directed by a performance artist who also plays the lead character – a pathetic performance artist. It’s a bizarre, quirky, occasionally funny and disturbing story – the quintessential Sundance movie. Since we’re returning Wednesday, it’s a good note to end on.