Feels like the Holidays

On Tuesday of this week, the Sundance Institute had its holiday party at the Salt Lake Arts Center. It was a little challenging to get there, as many people living in Park City choose to do so because they don’t have a car in Utah, but it all worked out, and it was a really fun time. It was also nice to see the center, as many of the New Frontier artists from the festival, will be moving their exhibits to the center for a few weeks following the fest, so Salt Lake locals will have more of a chance to see them. New Frontier is an art-focused section of the festival, celebrating artists who use the moving picture in their work.

After the party, a number of us spent a few extra hours in Salt Lake, as since half of our co-workers live in the city, we don’t often have the opportunity where we can all hang out at night (this changes for the festival, when everyone moves to Park City for two weeks). On our way to places, we visited the Mormon Temple, which was right near the Arts Center, to see how it had been decorated for the holidays. It was all lit up, and the surrounding gardens covered in lights, which was very beautiful.

Also this week, we took our office photo for the catalog (there’s always one for the LA office and one for the Park City office). Our photographer turned out to be Sandy, a fellow, former Racquet Club Theatre volunteer. Following the photo, we spent some time catching up, talking about mutual friends who would be returning to the fest this year. Sandy has been involved with the festival as a photographer since 1982, a period I’ve done a lot of research on, so we also talked a bit about those early days, and the need for a more comprehensive book to be written about the festival history.

On Friday, our building had a Secret Santa exchange. The person I had pulled for works in the main box office, so I bought her a gift card for my favorite deli, which happens to be in the same building. The person that had pulled me happened to be a talented knitter, so she made me a silk headband, which I really loved. It was also an ugly sweater day, which brought out some really humorous homemade creations.

I saw a number of movies this week, the first being Becloud, a Mexican film that was from the Global Lens Series, which is part of the Global Film Initiative. The GFI is a non-profit film organization that supports cinematic works from developing nations and promotes cross-cultural understanding. It was an interesting film, with a really intriguing play with time and way of weaving different stories together. There were a few sound issues, and it dragged at parts, but overall I enjoyed it- plus it was a free screening, which is always nice.

Next, I saw The Fighter, which I enjoyed, and was humored by how much the Boston accents reminded me of my grad school days, in dealing with UMass undergrads. I should note that half of our group really enjoyed this movie, and the other half didn’t. Ultimately, I guess it comes down to what expectations you went in with, and whether you wanted a serious fight movie. The final film I saw was yesterday at the library, which was Bran Nue Dae. It’s an Australian movie, and an adaptation of a 1990 musical, and it was good fun.

In continuing what I started last week in naming a place in Park City that I like to spend a lot of time, this week I’ll talk about the library. The Park City Library is home to the Park City Film Series, which I attend at least once a week. It is run by a real great group of people, who offer discounted admission to Sundance employees, and it has a very impressive popcorn bar with unlimited refills. This is also one of the theaters used by Sundance during the festival, and since the Racquet Club is under construction this year, it is now the second largest venue in Park City, and will host a number of premieres. 

The downstairs library portion is a place where I go often to check email and get some writing done. It’s quiet, but not too quiet (there’s always a little bit of rustle), and the upper level has Starbucks coffee available, with the suggested donation of a quarter. Now, in mentioning writing, you might be wondering “what writing?” as I haven’t posted an article online in a while. In truth, I am writing an article, and should finish and post it soon, but a lot of my energy has been directed to a bigger project.

This past summer, on my birthday, I had the privilege of having dinner with Dennis Lehane (author of Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone, Shutter Island, etc.), along with some other friends. During this evening, he mentioned that he had written a number of film scripts, which had been purchased, but nothing had been done with them. This made me think of all the friends I have who spend years working on scripts, hoping it will lead to their big breaks, and how futile that notion seems. He also described how one goes about writing, and how one must work on it every single day. It was very much in line with the 10,000-hour rule, in that one must spend 10,000 hours on a craft to become a master at it.

This dinner, along with other dinners with other authors that summer, led me to decide to attempt writing a novel. It seemed like a safe venture, as it wouldn’t cost me anything except time to do it, and in the end if it was horrible, no one would have to read it, and I would have all the benefits of the experience of having done it. Those who have read my non-fiction film article know that I have a love of history, going back and looking at archives to pick something apart, trying to understand what motivated movements and filmmakers in a time. For this reason, I decided my story would be one of historical fiction, were I would immerse my fictional character in real-life historical events.

I spent the fall in the Newtown library, collecting a variety of sources, and literally can to Utah with a suitcase full of organized binders. Since then, I’ve completed a twenty-five page story outline, and begun writing the initial chapters. It’s amazing how long writing takes, as initially I thought I could have half of the word count done by the end of November, working off of selected writing prompts from the outline. Then, when that didn’t happen, I thought I could get 25% of it written by Christmas, which would essentially be the completed first act. That’s not going to happen- in reality, when I get on the plane to go home at the end of the week, I’ll have completed only just over 10%, and will be somewhere in the fourth chapter. It’s a very slow process, and that takes both self-forgiveness, but also perseverance to keep going. Those who know me well know that I have a habit of starting creative projects, and then talking forever to complete them. I am determined for that not to be the case, and will finish the first draft within 2011.

I’m not sharing the plot of the book until it is completed (so don’t ask or pry), but I’ll shared this much: it involves a young boy from Chicago, who ends up in Los Angeles from 1916 to 1937, and involves a number of historical figures and events. That’s all you’ll get.

That’s all for now. For this next week, I’m looking forward to going home at the end of the week, and celebrating Christmas with my family. It was hard not being there for Thanksgiving and my mom’s birthday, so I can tell you that even though it will be a very short visit, it is completely worth the time and cost to get there- worth it 100%.

Things Are Starting to Get Busy

It’s been about two weeks since my last blog post. In my defense, things have been very busy, with a lot of looming deadlines to keep on top of. One way I’ve learned to focus on my work more effectively is to wear headphones and listen to music, mostly listening to oldies on Last FM. Of my favorite picks lately are Bobby Darin, Dion and the Belmonts, Donovan, The Yardbirds, and The Lovin Spoonful.

Last week, a group of us went to Salt Lake City to watch the Utah Jazz play the Dallas Mavericks. It was a really great game for the first three quarters, with really tight scoring, both teams alternating who was in the lead. However, in the fourth quarter the Jazz became sloppy, and were at one point trailing by twenty points. They managed to redeem themselves a little at the end, but not enough to win the game. Regardless, we had a really fun time.

A number of my friends and I are attempting to have a weekly Sunday gathering, ideally at someone’s housing, evolving around eating and talking. Last Sunday, we hung out at my friend Heather’s house, where we made Latkes. For those who have never had Latkes, they’re potato pancakes, traditionally eaten during Hanukkah. The oil that they are cooked in is supposed to represent the bible story in which there was only enough oil to keep the menorah in the temple lit for one day, but it miraculously burned for eight. Funny enough, many of our Jewish friends from Sundance live in Salt Lake City, so none of them came to this social gathering, which was capped off with a viewing of Christmas Vacation, the Chevy Chase classic.

On Thursday of this week, I attended a local filmmaker showcase at our local library. It was a really fun evening, with filmmakers ranging in age and background. Some of the entries were shorts, and others were trailers for feature length works that are still in the process of being made. An example of the latter is was a trailer by Meredith Lavitt (http://www.northface1967.com/trailer.cfm), who works at the Sundance Institute, and will hopefully be completing her film in the next year.

Another project I really enjoyed the teaser for was called Behind the Wheel of the Bookmobile. In the next year, project leader Tom Corwin will be driving an old fashioned bookmobile across the country on the Lincoln Highway. Along the way, he’ll pick up award-winning, bestselling authors, and then the authors get behind the wheel, driving to libraries and places of personal importance to them while being interviewed. The sneak peek that I saw featured Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket. Handler drove the bookmobile through his hometown of San Francisco to the library he used to visit as a child. In the children’s section, he found a book that he had read as a young boy, and looking to the shelf above, he saw that a number of his books were in this section now too. He mentioned that having his books in this place had more meaning to him than knowing the millions of copies that have sold. I love any project and organization that engages storytellers, so I’m really intrigued to see how this project pans out.

On Friday of this week, everyone at Sundance met at Elk’s Lodge on Main Street for the annual Program Review (for those who have been to Sundance, this is where the Filmmaker Lodge is during the festival). Within the past weeks, the film selections were announced for this year’s fest, and on Friday our online film guide went live. This means that it’s time to start planning which films one wants to see, and map our what fits into one’s schedule. However, since the festival is about five weeks away, many of us working for the festival are so busy, we don’t have a lot of spare time on our hands. This is why the Program Review exists; the programmers from the LA office fly in, and over breakfast they talk to us about the films, and what they are most excited about for the festival. This was a really wonderful experience, and really widened the scope of what I hope to see.

Also on Friday was our final Beer & Cheetos event (wine and cheese on a budget, if you haven’t been reading earlier entries), which was put on by my department. As tradition, the final Beer & Cheetos of the season is a fashion show, in which new members from various departments strut their stuff, wearing the festival jacket and vest from over the years. As my last name is very close to the word “coats”, I was put in charge of distributing jackets and coordinating the show, which was a lot of fun as I got to meet a lot of new people. At the end of the “runway,” each person had to say their name, hometown, department, and their favorite Sundance movie from the year they were representing. As my fleece was from the 2001 festival, I got to say my favorite film of that year was Memento (it was also the year of Donnie Darko  and Wet Hot American Summer, all of which were at Sundance).

The clothing article I was most excited that we had was a t-shirt from the 1981 festival. This was actually before the Sundance Institute had taken over the fest, and at the time it was called the United States Film & Video Festival. Prior to this year, the festival had taken place in Salt Lake City, in the fall, and this year marked its move to Park City. This change came about due to a recommendation made by Hollywood director Sydney Pollack, a fellow Utah resident, had been a close friend of Redford’s for many years, having first worked together on the film War Hunt. Pollack casually suggested to the festival staff, “You ought to move the festival to Park City and set it in the wintertime. You’d be the only film festival in the world held in a ski resort during ski season, and Hollywood would beat down the door to attend.” The festival staff followed through with this recommendation, which would help shape the festival towards its present-day state. A number of the venues used then are still used today.

Seeing how many of those reading this blog have never been to Park City, much less Utah, I feel the need to begin describing some of my favorite places here. Currently, I’m writing in one of my favorite Main Street spots, Java Cow. The name comes from the fact it is half café, half ice cream parlor, with a visual split between the two. It’s a five minute walk from my apartment, and since I don’t have internet access at my house, it’s my typical spot to check my email. Another cool this about this place, is that there is a Banksy original spray painting on the side of the building. For those who don’t know who he is, Banksy is a famous British graffiti artist, mysterious because no one knows what he looks like. He was in town last year as his documentary film Exit Through the Gift Shop, which premiered at Sundance. It’s pretty cool stuff.

Banksy art on side of Java Cow

 That’s all for now- my computer is about to die, and my power cable is at home. Hope everyone is doing well, miss you all.

Thanksgiving

Due to my arrival here just a few weeks ago, it was decided back in October that I would not be returning home for Thanksgiving. This is actually not my first Thanksgiving away from home; a few years ago I had spent the holiday in Bells, Texas with some great friends. That said, distance from family is always hardest around the holidays.

With that I mind, I had a small Thanksgiving-esque dinner with my parents the weekend before I left. This was quite fantastic, as it meant leftovers and pumpkin pie for days afterwards. Then, on Tuesday of this past week, we had a pot-luck at work, where each department was responsible for a different portion of the menu. For instance, my department was responsible for potatoes, so we had glazed sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, garlic potatoes, sweet potato casserole, sweet potato hummus, etc (my contribution was roasted potatoes with sage, bacon, and red onion). There was a huge assortment of traditional and creative dishes, and everything was delicious. Plus, we had the next (half) day to investigate the kitchens of each building for leftovers. We also left work early on Tuesday due to the blizzard alert.

Wednesday ended up being a short workday, as the snowstorm had caused a number of people to work from home. We came in around 10am and then ended up leaving early as well, with a lot of people telecommuting. A few of my Park City friends and I (all the Salt Lake people had telecommuted) went for tea, and had a relaxing start to the holiday break.

For the actual Thanksgiving day, I went out for brunch with friends. It was a really lazy morning for me, as I place we ate at was a 5 minute walk from my house, on Main Street. We then went to someone’s house, where we played cards and watched movies for the next five hours.

Our department was also given Friday off, and I debated braving Black Friday at the outlet mall, but when I saw the swarms of people and the backed up buses, I decided I was not so brave. Instead, I opted to get some work done in a coffee shop (I can’t remember if I mentioned this, but I don’t have internet yet in my apartment, so I do all emails and article research in cafes- needless to say I haven’t been able to write many articles lately). Then I joined friends to see Morning Glory, which was exactly the kind of light-hearted humor I was in the mood for on this holiday weekend.

Overall, it was a very nice holiday. As hard as it was not being with family, it’s nice to know that even when you can’t go home, there is good company to be found. That said, I’m looking forward to my home visit around Christmas. The travel bit will actually be a little crazy, involving a red-eye flight, subway, train and car, all to be home for 1.5 days, flying back on Boxing Day, but if I’m really honest, I’ve done crazier.

As much as I’ve enjoyed this long weekend, I’m also looking forward to going back to work tomorrow. Some time this week, it will be announce which films will be in the festival (the filmmakers know as of last week, and the press office knows, but the rest of us are currently in the dark). Once that announcement is made, the buzz and excitement starts to build. We shall see, I’ll keep you posted.

Getting Settled

The last few days have been extremely busy, but great all the same. Perhaps the biggest update I can give is on my job. Since this is the internet, and I don’t want to put any private company information online, I’m going to describe my position within the terms it was described in the original job posting. I’m responsible for coordinating the information booths, both at the SLC airport, as well as scattered throughout Park City. I also oversee a new position called the Festival Insider, who are roaming customer service experts at the festival, helping people learn how to fest. Between part-time and full-time volunteers, there are about 50-60 volunteers for me to supervise during the festival. It’s a very mobile position, and I’ll be constantly on the move with my cell, radio, and laptop. It also requires me to be a sponge for all things Sundance, and to be info savvy on all aspects of the festival. I’m very excited, and very happy to be now digging into all of the processes.

We have an open office environment, which has been great in terms of interacting with and getting to know other. Every day around 4pm, people in my department gather for a fun quick round of trivia questions, and at the end of every week, we gather for a company-wide hang called Beer & Cheetos (as a weekly wine and cheese gets a little pricey for a non-profit). This week’s theme was 80s, complete with wacky outfits and dated music videos.

Currently, work-wise, I’m updating a lot of information for the new year, correcting dates, names, and themes. Every year, Sundance has a different tagline, with theme to match. Two years ago is was “Storytime: 25 years of Where the Next Begins” and last year was “Cinematic Rebellion”. This year, the theme is “Be There” with a snowflake made up of icons to symbolize it.

 As our festival director, John Cooper, put it:

It is ironic that we have not used the icon of a snowflake in any of our previous Festivals. In my mind, it immediately conjures an image of season and place, not to mention that each snowflake is unique....just like our films. And just like the Festival's ten-day run each snowflake is fleeting. If you're not there, you'll miss it. To me "be there" is an invitation and a challenge… to not only attend, but to actively participate in the moment of the Festival, to show up with all of your energy and spirit. The there of Sundance is created when an audience experiences a film and a filmmaker. We cannot do it without you. Let's all be there in January.

Every year, festival sponsor Kenneth Cole provides uniforms for all staff and volunteers at the festival. All I know about this year’s is that it is a vest of some sort, and I’m crossing my fingers that it’s blue. I’m also curious to see to see what the different trailers will be for this year. For those who have seen a movie at a film festival before, you’ll know that there is always a festival trailer shown before each film. There are usually a number of different trailers (unless you’re Tribeca, who only use one), so there’s a number of different ones to discover throughout the festival. For those, who have never seen one of these before, here are a few from last year’s festival (remember, theme was Cinematic Rebellion and being daring):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmzK6LU3RDY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xg5zPhy1C58&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8w6lNhXj3I

On the home front, I think I’ve finally adjusted to the altitude here, as I’m no longer getting tired as easily as I was before. That said, as someone who is used to living with a 45lb. Cocker Spaniel (yes, they're normally 30lb., but he's big boned... and fat) in a house with an invisible fence, being dragged up and down steep mountain roads by a 70lb. Labrador is a slightly different experience. There’s a fine line between holding your ground and skidding on ice, and I’m trying to find the balance between the two.

It’s a snowy day today, and I’ve spent it sipping coffee in a café, getting some writing done while watching the flurries. However, now it’s time for me to go meet some friends, and check out the new Harry Potter film. Until next time.

Are we there yet?

“There’s no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?”
-Elaine Dickenson, Airplane!

After my last blog entry, my flight itinerary got a little adjusted. Our plane was to land in Minneapolis, but due to a snowstorm in the midwest, our plane was diverted to Fargo, ND. Since we didn’t know when our plane would be able to take off, we were released to roam throughout the tiny Fargo airport. I spent a few minutes exploring the local goods section of the gift shop (intrigued by the bison jerky and Native American themed teas), before retiring to the one café to sit and wait with various angry passengers from my flight (the ones who were supposed to be headed to Hawaii were especially sad). Luckily, within an hour, the ground freeze at MSP was lifted, and we were back on our way to MSP.

After the brief stop in Minneapolis, we were on our way to my fourth and final state of the day, Utah. Most of this flight was spent sleeping, hence why you’re not receiving this update until two days later. It was already dark in Salt Lake City when were land, and I was exhausted by the time I got to Park City. After running a few quick errands to pick up some essentials, I finally made it to my apartment around 8pm (or 10pm Eastern time). My roommate was out for the night, so Rex, her incredibly sweet black lab, greeted me. After quickly assembling a bed, I was out for the night.

Most of yesterday was spent unpacking and organizing my room. I begin work on Wednesday, so I’ll spend today and tomorrow working on an article (most of you know I write for a film site, so that should make sense), and figuring out how long the bus ride is to the institute, so I can figure out how early I have to get up for my commute (it’s really not far, and if I was adventurous, I could walk it in under an hour- I just don’t want to be late). It’s snowing now, and cabin fever is creeping up, so I think I’ll walk down to one of the coffee shops on Main Street (I live in the very cool Historic District), and do my work there.

I’ll probably write my next post near the weekend, after I get my feet wet at my new job. Bye for now!

And so it begins…

My plane at the Hartford Airport

For those who I have yet to tell, I’m about to spend the next six months living in Park City, Utah. For the first four months, I’ll be working for the Sundance Film Festival, and for the last two (as I finish out my lease), I’ll be doing some part-time work, and exploring the southern part of the state. I’ve really enjoyed my experiences at Sundance for the past few festivals, and am looking forward to experiencing it in a new, expanded way.

While the title of this blog pays tribute to Sergio Leone spaghetti western films, reminding one of European filming locations in Italy and Spain, few know that a portion of Once Upon the Time in the West was actually filmed in Monument Valley, Utah. In fact, many films have been filmed in Utah (either in part or whole), including: The Searchers, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (bet you didn’t see that one coming), 127 Hours, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Troll 2, Back to the Future Part III, Con Air, Planet of the Apes (1968 and 2001 versions), Independence Day, Thelma & Louise, and Footloose. The list actually could go on much longer, but you get the idea- it’s a beautiful place that has been inspiring filmmakers for a long time.

Currently we’re cruising about 30,000 feet above Michigan, enroute to Minneapolis for a short layover, and then continuing on to Salt Lake City. Since the kid crying three rows in front of me is making it difficult to sleep, I think I’ll just make the most of the airline wifi until we land (according to flightaware.com, that will be in 50min). Next time you hear from me, I’ll be 2200 miles further west than where I started (640 miles has been covered thus far), and will be getting settled into my Rocky Mountain lifestyle.

"O brave new world that has such people in it. Let's start at once."