SUNDANCE 2008 FLATCH TAKES PLACE

SUNDANCE 2008 (FLATCH TAKES PLACE) - Click on any picture to see the full size.

A DAY BY DAY REVIEW OF UBSTUDIOS CORRESPONDENT STUBOY.

DAY ONE:

Sunday January 20, 2008. (as of 6 PM)

Yes its that time of year again, when everyone and their brother descends on Park City and causes havoc for 10 days in January. First of all, Park City was not designed for the amount of stus that come from all over the globe. That and neither were the theaters. The spirit of Sundance is for many people to see films but usually involves waiting hours on end in long lines, dealing with stu people, and finally, if you're lucky, getting in to see the movie minutes after it already started. Welcome, this is Sundance 2008. I'm Stuboy, your Utah reporter.

Today was the first time I've been able to come up to Sundance since it started last Thursday. Yesterday I bought tickets to four movies and saw that already, a majority of films are sold out. That goes for major premieres, like the one I saw. It's been sold out since Friday, yet I still managed to get in and see it... here's how.

11:15 AM - Arrival.
I arrived in Park City at 11:!5 AM this morning and parked my car not too far away from the theater known as the George Eccles Center, since everything in Utah is named Eccles. I arrive at the theater minutes later and ask a bitchy lady where I go to get a waitlist number. She instructs me to head to the back of (what I perceived) a long line. I made my way over to the end of the line and am greeted by a fellow film-goer's flatulence. A girl in front of me must of ripped one, and no one was taking the blame. An hour later I had moved a whole ten feet. Another hour later, 40 feet or so.

1:15 PM - Ticket line
The rules for wait-listing are simple, wait in line, get a number, if there are that many seats open, you get in, you see the movie. Sounds simple eh? With retarded new management, this simple policy became another 50 minutes of waiting. After that, we were greeted by some assholes who thought their shit didn't stink. They were flashing their tickets in front of our faces, and one of them jumped the line and got in faster than we did. At least 30 people witnessed this bullshit. We were all warded off to a tent where we'd wait another half an hour or so. Eventually they began handing out numbers and I turned out being number 126. From there, we were told we had to be back at 2:30, so we could be lined up again, and eventually (key word) let into the theater.

2:30 PM - Waiting again
After stopping by my car and DXing from Park City for half an hour, and peeing in the parking lot, I returned to the theater and went inside. I was then instructed by a worker to go back into the tent and wait... and then we were flushed outside, to wait again.

3:00 PM - 15 minutes till show time, stuck in line.
After letting about 100 people go in, I was dead next to get in line and then the bad news came. "Oh, we're sorry, we don't have any seats left over." Oh wait, 3 just opened up. Sorry, our bad. I get into the theater only to be held up again, all the while I could hear Jack Black talking on stage within the theater. I had to wait though, I missed him because of the stupid ticket people. 5 minutes pass, the movie starts, I'm sent up the balcony and forced to sit next to some French douche with bad breath.. The film begins...finally.

BE KIND REWIND review

Be Kind Rewind stars Jack Black, Mos Def, and Danny Glover, among others. Apparently, since I could hear him, Jack Black was also at Sundance, but since the ticket giver was a dick, I missed him.

This movie is the story of a failing video rental store that has some significant historical value dating back to the 1920s. It was here that a famous Jazz legend was born and whom performed his music. Today the store is owned by Danny Glover. Danny Glover's got a problem though. Not only is his lisp back from Shooter, he is about to lose his ailing property to a mega development in the neighborhood. Jack Black is a wash-up who lives next to a power plant. He believes the power company is trying to control the populous with it's beam of energy, so he decides to declare war, which has bad implications. He becomes magnetized and screws up anything he gets near, not to mention sticks to. Danny Glover decides to take a vacation from his store and puts Mos in charge. Black comes in and erases all the tapes with his magnetized body. This creates a problem when people come to rent the videos since they are now blank. Mos and Jack come up with the plan to make their own versions of the films and it becomes an instant hit with the people. So much that it draws the attention of the FBI and they come and fine the store for it's illegal use of the films, something which I find a problem with. You can spoof music but you can't film your own version of a Hollywood movie? Something's not right.

Anyway, Danny, Mos, Jack Black, and a girl whom I can't remember at this point come up with a plan to save their block from demolition, all the while forgetting about the FBI (Plot hole).

They succeed and the developers decide to keep the place because of the film made at the end.

Overall this was an entertaining film, and was worth the 3+ hour wait in line. The acting and Danny Glover's lisp are all in top notch, however the story is nothing special. Sure it generates a few laughs here and there, but the plot hole really bothered me. Its as if the characters say fuck the FBI, we're not in trouble any more.
The Q and A session after the film was very short, but what really surprised me was that Danny Glover and Mos Def were actually there. Jack Black was MIA. I know he was there somewhere though.

I give the film 3.1 stars out of 4. Its nothing special but I wish it luck.

Below are some pictures of the Q-and-A including Danny Glover himself!

(TOP LEFT) The Director and Mos Def during the Q and A. (TOP RIGHT) The director and the theater during the Q and A, from my seat. (BOT LEFT) Danny Glover after the Q and A. Note, he's the one with the hat on, and Mos Def is next to him, behind the fat guy.
(BOT RIGHT) Mos Def answering a question. Click to see high res.

AND NOW, you're moment of ZEN! Click the picture to see the full size.

Thoughts of various people waiting in line for the NEXT movie, not ours.

My final viewing this evening was of the Shorts program, #IV.

The shorts program consisted of about 5 short films shown back to back and Q&A afterwards (staple to Sundance).

The films in this series were as follows:
Pariah - A story about a lesbian girl struggling with her sexuality (probably the best of the series).
Waves - A Romanian film about a guy at a beach who becomes a guardian of a retarded boy after his mother drowns (worst of the night, terrible, terrible, and overall dumb.)
How to Lose A Wrestling Match - A local film made in Provo, pretty good. Made on a 3k budget.
Duogong - An Aussie film made by the girl with the hat in the picture below (Erin White). Kinda stunk, but made in 5 days so hea.
Soft - A British movie about a father who is too weak to stand up to childish bullies, his son takes care of business. Pretty violent but good.
FCU: Fact Checkers Unit - A hilarious short with Bill Murray, all about finding out if he drinks warm milk to help him sleep at night. Probably second best.

Seeing these films gives our work a fighting chance. Some of the films looked eerily close to stuff Ubstudios does. This also proves that no matter what, R.F. (my student film) also has a chance. It all comes down to good camera work and even better editing.

Below are the people who showed up for the Q&A. The girl farthest right is the Aussie, next to her is the guy who directed the wrestling movie. Next to him is the star of the wrestling movie. Next to him is the director of Pariah followed by several crew of Pariah as well. The last two girls were the stars of Pariah. To see an image of the Broadway Theaters in SLC where this was held, click here.

GO TO DAY TWO>>>>>>>>>>>