Sundance with Dor

Sundance is in 100 days!

Contributing to my mounting excitement is the fact that I made my reservations today. I'll be staying at the Carriage House Condominiums, in Prospector Square.

I got a great deal on the lodging, because All Seasons Resorts is the lodging sponsor for the 2005 Sundance Queer Lounge.

If you're going to the festival and are looking for a good place to stay that isn't going to break your bank, check out this link:

http://www.allseasonsresorts.us/qlounge.php

They have locations all over Park City and they're all really convenient.

The one I'm staying at is just a block from the Prospector Theater and just a couple blocks from Eccles which is where I see the bulk of my movies.

It's October 1st (or will be in 10 minutes).

Sundance is less than four months away! As usual, I couldn't be more excited.

Unfortunately, this year, where I am going to stay is still up in the air. My friend Matt doesn't have a timeshare squared away yet, and his name IS still on the waiting list, I'm not going to take any chances.

With the help of my friend Chris and the friendly folks at the Queer Lounge, I've been made aware of some sweet discounts from a housing sponsor they've secured. Tomorrow I shall begin researching these options.

Of course I'm already pondering what movies will be slated for screening at the festival. The one I'm crossing my fingers will be included is The Ballad of Bettie Page. It's directed by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol) and stars the most talented actress of our time -- Lili Taylor.

Anyone who knows me knows that my Lili appreciation goes back five years. I'll unabashedly call myself her #1 fan. Yet she hasn't made an appearance at Sundance even once in my five years there! It's time for the Indie Queen to reclaim her title and show up at the country's premier indie film festival, don't you think?

Before I finish up my first entry in anticipation of the 2005 festival, I have to admit with great regret that I did let this blog go last year. Too many sleepless nights lead to me just not being able to get to it. I'll be making a much more concerted effort this time around. I promise!

I haven't posted about any of my films yesterday.

We started with Touch of Pink, which was good. Cute. About an Indian guy who is gay but not out to his family. His mom comes to visit and he's conflicted as to whether or not he should tell her, and also dealing with his boyfriend who is not happy about keeping the secret. The best part was Kyle Machlachlan, who plays the ghost of Cary Grant. It sounds weird, but it was really cute and funny.

Next was Trauma, which was well... traumatic. In a good way, though! It was really tripping. Parts of it reminded me of Waking the Dead, but not as romantic and a bit more mind-fucky. Colin Firth was good in it. Mena was all right. She was at the screening. She's funny-looking.

After that, I saw Word Wars, the documentary about the Scrabble national championships. I was really looking forward to this one, and I adored it. It was so funny and fascinating. It made me wanna play Scrabble like, now. The movie followed four people who would be playing in the National Championships. They tracked them for eight months leading up to the tournament. The movie felt kind of like a feature film. It had a brisk pace and really fascinating characters. When three of the four got up and spoke during the Q&A it was cool, because it wasn't like "oh those are the actors that played those wonderfun characters." The characters themselves were right up there. I predict the movie will do really well, and a Scrabble craze like no other will hit the country as soon as it is released.

The last movie of the night was We Don't Live Here Anymore, which we saw at 11:30 pm at the library. Nicole and I sat in the front row, hoping the actors would join the director for Q&A afterwards and we could take pictures. That didn't end up happening. The film was pretty good, though. It was about two couples and the adultery that wreaked havoc on their marriages. The performances stood out more than anything. Naomi Watts was incredible as usual. But, Mark Ruffalo (whose character the director called the "soul of the film") also was great. Laura Dern, as much as I don't care for her, was good as was Peter Krause. I rated the film a four on my ballot.

I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night. I was up and at 'em for an 8:30 screening of The Woodsman this morning.

I'm here to tell you that The Woodsman has been the best film of the festival. I believe it will win the Grand Jury prize. It was so amazing. It's exactly what I expect in independent film and exactly what I haven't been seeing much of lately here at the festival. It's a thought-provoking film about a man just released from prison where he did time for child molestation. I don't want to say much more other than just to rave about what a complex and challenging film it was. I thought it was incredibly courageous. I have never seen Kevin Bacon act like he did in this film. I shed a few tears after the movie, not because it was a tear-jerker by any stretch, but just because I was truly moved by its brilliance.

Right now, I'm psyched because I have tickets tomorrow to see Supersize me, which I've been looking forward to for a while.

At this point, my plan is to shower, then head to Main Street where at 2 PM I will watch a panel that includes John Cameron Mitchell.

I'm sleepy! More Red Bull!

Imdb.com says Garden State will most likely be the best film of the festival. Another Sundance website says Napolean Dynamite is.

I WANT TO SEE THOSE!!!!!!

Sigh. I'm such a whiner.

Leaving in a few minutes for my first film of the day, Touch of Pink. Elissa and Thomas saw Primer this morning and I remember hearing them rave about it amidst my slumber. I want to see something incredible today.

I have four tickets today, and my first movie is not until 3 PM! That means NAPS for Dor.

My movies today are:

Touch of Pink
Trauma
Word Wars
We Don't Live Here Anymore

I'm most looking forward to Word Wars and We Don't Live Here Anymore.

I forgot to mention I ran into two friends yesterday. First I saw Eric after the Tarnation screening. Then I ran into Greg on the bus yesterday. Broken finger and all! I hope to see more of both of them as the festival continues.

Now naps.

I've seen four today. It was going to be five, but I'm a dumb ass and lost the ticket! Don't know where I put it! Grr.

Anyways, where were we....

After Maria Full Of Grace, Matt and I joined Elissa and Thomas in the wait list line for I'll Sleep When I'm Dead. Well, we relieved them so they could go elsewhere for a bit. While we waited, we chatted with the friendliest folk! One of the best things about this festival is making friends with the people you're waiting near. When we could sneak away from the line for a sec, Matt and I indulged in the perfect 20-degree-weather treat -- Coldstone Creamery!

Back in line, Matt reunited with his new friend Glen and he put me in touch with some of his friends who could get me a ticket for the next movie, Tarnation.

So, we got into I'll Sleep When I'm Dead which was well done. Jonathan Rhys Myers and Clive Owen were eye candy, that's for sure. There were parts of the movie that were confusing to me. I didn't downright love the film, but it wasn't anywhere near bad. I'm glad I went. The story was interesting. The Q&A with Mike Hodges was also really cool.

Afterwards, I went outside and immediately joined the waitlist line where I further acquainted myself with thee most adorable boy(s) I've encountered yet in Park City. Film students from Southern Illinois that were sadly seeing their last film of the fest before they began the long journey back, for classes Tuesday morning. I tried (tour-style) to convince them to stay for just another movie or two, but they were not having it. Nuts!

Now, I'm at the Queer Lounge

http://www.queerlounge.org

enjoying the free Internet and kicking myself that I freakin' lost my CSA ticket. I'm such a dingaling!

Next on the agenda -- sleeping on concrete, hopefully getting good tickets, etc. More later!

Today has been a good morning. I woke at 7:40, showered, and went to November.

Wow -- what a trippy movie. This was the one starring Courteney Cox (in a non-comedic role!) and James LeGros. It sort of reminded me of One Hour Photo in terms of how stylishly it was filmed, and maybe a bit of Run Lola Run, too. I did really enjoy it, but one problem I see with it is that I really didn't grasp the point film at all until the director explained it afterwards during the Q&A. So in that way, it reminded me of Mulholland Drive. One of those "uhhhh... what the fuck.." type of reactions until I did a bit of reading and then I appreciated it more. I think I gave November a 4 out of 5 for the audience award.

After November, I made my way to the only screening today for which I have a ticket -- Maria Full Of Grace. This film was outstanding. It took place in Colombia and NYC and was about a 17 year old girl who gets mixed up with carrying drugs over the border by swallowing them. First of all, the movie alone was powerful and well-done. While I was watching it, I was completely engrossed. I didn't once stop to think about the time, or how tired I was, or what I would be doing next, or how uncomfortable the seats were. I felt completely there with the characters the whole time. Secondly, the Q&A was so touching, afterwards. The entire cast was there, plus the director and a few people involved in the production. The director is, as far as I could see, a caucasian guy from the US but he had so obviously formed an amazing bond not only with his cast and crew but with the subject matter. He was so nervous and proud. It made me love the movie even more. Several of the people involved in the film talked about the issue of drug trafficking and they spoke first in Spanish, but they would get so involved in what they were saying that they forgot to pause and have the director translate. I was grateful to speak Spanish at that point, because I could understand about 90% of what they were saying.

Now, I'm back at the condo but only for a moment. We're meeting Thomas and Elissa at the waitlist line for I'll Sleep When I'm Dead as soon as MP gets out of the shower.

It's warmer today. That makes me happy. The shuttles are running slow as fuck and they're so crowded I've been concerned more than once that I wouldn't be able to get off when it was my stop. That makes me annoyed.

Clearly, I was not able to get tickets for the ones I selected today (Marie & Bruce, Supersize Me & Home of Phobia). I'm gonna waitlist Home of Phobia tonight so, wish me luck.

Here are the movies I saw so far:

Riding Giants -- Surfing documentary. I'd give it 2.5 out of five stars. Well done, just didn't interest me.

Garden -- Israeli documentary about gay prostitutes. Interesting, but difficult to watch when I was so sleepy. I'd give it two stars.

Employee of the Month -- Hilarious! Four out of five stars. Sort of raunchy, fun and silly twists. Steve Zahn was of course the highlight.

Harry and Max -- this bumps Love Liza off my "all time worst five movies" list. It was so ridiculously, laughably, insanely horrible. I've never seen so many people walk out of a movie within the first 20 minutes. No stars!!

Saddest Music in the World -- Didn't do it for me. Really artsy. Isabella Rosselini and Matt McKinney (both of whom we met before the screening) were lovely as a depression-era amputee running a speakeasy and a sleaze-ball producer from NYC. The whole movie was shot on really grainy black and white. I wanted it to be over so badly. Two stars.

Goodbye, Lenin! -- Will probably end up being my favorite or one of my favorites from the festival. Outstanding!! It was about a boy and his mother living in East Germany. Just before the fall of the Berlin wall, his mother has a heart attack and goes into a coma and doesn't wake up for eight months. The doctor says any excitement could be life-threatening so the son recreates communist East Berlin so his mom doesn't find out the wall went down. It was so heartwarming and hilarious at the same time. I loved it.

Second Best -- I also liked this one a lot. Four out of five stars. I've never been a huge Joe Pantoliano fan but I have to say that he really won me over, here. I found the story easily relateable (which yes, means I am a big loser) and I laughed a lot. And the short before it, David Mamet's Gilded Stones, was probably one of the best shorts I've ever seen at Sundance or anywhere for that matter.

I am waking up in four and a half hours for a 8:30 screening of November, which I'm looking forward to because it's InDigEnt which produced some of my favorite films of Sundances past -- Tadpole and Pieces of April in particular. Let's hope I can stay awake for them.

Tomorrow, ideally I will be seeing:

Supersize Me
Marie & Bruce
I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
Home of Phobia

I'm sure they'll be sold out, though, and I'll end up with like... The Butterly Effect, or something.

Someone said Matt Damon is in town. I find myself not giving a shit about celebrity spotting. Instead, I've been really focused on sleeping and movies. It's nice.

Speaking of sleeping...

I've seen four movies total, so far.

Yesterday, I saw Employee of the Month, which starred Steve Zahn and Matt Dillon, and was directed by Mitch Rouse, who also writes for Strangers With Candy. I really liked the movie. It made me laugh. It wasn't entirely what I expected it to be. It did have some of SWC's raunch. I could see how it was written by the same guy.

After that, we dashed over to Chrystal at the library. This was the Billy Bob Thornton movie about backwoods people in the Ozarks. I'm glad I saw it. It had a lot of heart to it. But some parts of it were downright awful. The dialogue and some of the situations the characters got themselves into were just laughable when they weren't supposed to be.

That got out at almost 2 AM. By 3 AM I was at the box office camped out for tix for tomorrow' screenings. The box office opens at 8 AM. I actually just got back from that. Half of the films I wanted were sold out. Disappointing. But my first one of the day -- Harry and Max -- is not until 12:00. I'm also seeing The Saddest Music In the World and Second Best. I will be trying very hard to waitlist into Supersize Me as well.

Now, it's time to catch up on work emails and take a nap.

It's 4:15 and I've only seen one movie today.

Screw the box office! Well, it's my fault, mostly. We overslept. We got there at 7 AM and it was a madhouse. Too long of a line to even bother getting in it.

But we did run into Elissa and Thomas! Old buddies of mine from Sundances past. We've been hanging out with them all day. They rule. I wasn't 100% sure they were coming, so I was thrilled to see them.

They were closer to the front of the line so they got us two tickets to one of the ones that wasn't yet sold out, which is Chrystal, which I'm seeing tonight later on.

Then, we went to see a movie called Garden, which was an Israili documentary about gay prostitutes. I enjoyed it. I kept accidentally falling asleep. I watched 24 on my computer again while I waited in the waitlist line.

We tried to do the waitlist for Garden State but that just didn't work out at all. We waited a long time (well, Elissa and Thomas waited for us) but didn't get in. So then we checked into our lovely hotel with the bitchy staff, and now we're heading off to Main Street.