First star sighting!

Ten feet from my hotel room, I saw my first star! Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Where the Wild Things Are). He was chatting with his lady.

After waking in the five o'clock hour, we made it to BWI on time. Poor Doug is really sick. Like get-out-the-barf-bag sick. The poor guy looks grey. There can't be too many fluids left. I have been anointing myself with hand sanitizer like somebody with OCD. Can't get sick at Sundance. This is the big dance!

I went to pick up tickets at the booth. I could make necklaces out of all the movies we are going to see this week. Hard hitting docs, dramas, Philip Seymour Hoffman's new directorial debut, and even an experimental film about consciousness and the state of the world.

I am like a kid in a candy shop. I can feel the buzz when I walk around the snow-covered streets. Pretty women with clipboards manage parties and who gets in. I crane my neck discreetly looking for which stars are being trotted out just beyond my eyes. What's all the buzz about?

So here are a couple of shots from day one. Doug started out sleepy and it went downhill from there. We have movies to watch tomorrow, so we both agree there is…

…no time to be ill.

Wish us well.

Tom

Seat cushions & long lines

As he readies for the upcoming Sundance, Tom recalls scenes from last year’s.

“There is the almighty tickets chain that is like a link of sausages. Also, for most of the films, there is a wait and being treated like cattle is not unheard of, unless you are a VIP and then you are swept magically past hoi polloi. A typical night scene on the main strip in Park City will feature fine dining, drunk kids, and great films. They all seem to go together. One constant is the scheduling dilemma--go to two mediocre films or catch that one great one that makes the day. That is a no brainer for CFF--always go for quality. Pictured is the famous and funky Egyptian Theater. You can feel the Indie good vibes emanating from every worn seat cushion. Oh yeah, baby, you're at Sundance now.”