We’ve made it back from the land of powder and power, Sundance 2014, and we are absolutely exhausted (actually we just woke up from nap so this post may get kinda weird). But, I wanted to share the update ASAP of how I did on my Shenanigans for Sundance 2014 list:
#9. Sadly NO ONE confused me for Shailene Woodley (or any other celeb for that matter). Thank you to all who said kind words about how I vaguely resemble her, but I really blame Shailene for screwing this one up as she chopped off her hair and hence my plan was foiled.
Shailene on the left, my pal Samrah and I on the right. For what it’s worth, Shailene and I do the same face in photos.
#8. NAILED IT. The documentary we saw at SLAMDANCE called Elliot, about Canada’s first martial arts film star, is one of the funniest and most surprising documentaries I’ve ever seen:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1McBMHe4h0&w=560&h=315]
#7. NAILED IT AGAIN. The film Young Ones was written and directed by Jake Paltrow (yes Gwyneth’s bro), and was a cinematically breathtaking, regressive futuristic film that blew me away. Some reviews said it was a little thin on plot, but I fell in love with the western dystopian future.
#6. NAILED IT BIG TIME. We saw a Japanese film called R100 which was a comedy about bondage. By far THE weirdest film I have ever seen, but surprisingly amazing. Also the movie featured the North American wrestler Lindsay Kay Hayward, who was there for a Q&A after the film and whose sheer presence made me speechless. Her role in R100 has officially made her the Guinness World Record holder for Tallest Actress in a Leading Role at 6′ 8 1/4″:
#5. HUGE FAIL. We never even made it into High West Whiskey as it was packed all the time. Luckily for us, we’ll be back in August for a wedding and we’ll totally own that joint.
#4. I also surprisingly failed at one of the easier tasks – pitching a random movie to a random person – BUT, a movie idea came to me on our travels home that I am now determined to make and one day submit to Sundance! I can’t reveal the idea quite yet, but if you buy me a few drinks I’m sure you can get it out of me.
#3. OVER-ACCOMPLISHED visiting the AirBNB Haus. We basically lived there as it was the coolest, plus they gave out free Four Barrel coffee and Field Notes notebooks.
#2. I think we were pretty successful at not being douche bags (as Mark Duplass instructs here). We made memories, not contacts.
#1. Sadly I didn’t buy him a shot to celebrate Sundance’s 30th birthday, but I DID manage to spot the one and only Robert Redford at the Sundance Institute. Quintessential Sundance mission complete.
But honestly my #1 moment at Sundance was thanks to my pal Tyler who co-produced an amazing film called RUDDERLESS (when it comes out in theatres across the globe, you must go see it). He invited us to their afterparty, which was pretty star-studded since their cast included the likes of William H. Macy, Billy Crudup, and Selena Gomez. Also in this film was a musician named Ben Kweller, who happens to be one of Chris and my all-time favourite singer/songwriters. And lucky for us, not only was Ben Kweller in Rudderless and absolutely hilarious in it, but he also was performing at the afterparty. We got to enjoy the private show he put on, plus we also got to tell Ben Kweller that our first dance at our wedding was his song THIRTEEN. He got emotional, we got emotional, hugs happened, and it was a magical moment that really meant the world to me. Oh and then Ben Kweller and Selena Gomez did a duet of Come and Get It. CLASSIC SUNDANCE!
And last but not least, for those that have a secret paparazzi inside them, here is a list of celebs our collective crew of 14 pals spotted. Some we were right next to, some we hugged (OK only one), and some we just had a quick glance of. But all in all, we saw a whole lotta famous people:
Terry O’Quinn
John Lithgow
Marisa Tomei
Wayne Newton
Christopher Nolan
Ethan Hawke
Billy Connolly*
Nick Cave*
Alfred Molina*
Michael Pitt
Phillip Seymour Hoffman*
Danny Glover*
Gwyneth Paltrow*
Joseph Gordon-Levitt*
Glenn Close
Robert Redford
Billy Crudup
Ben Kweller
William H. Macy
Selena Gomez
Aubrey Plaza
Christopher Abbott
Martin Starr
[* people I did not personally see, but friends did]
Overall, the Sundance experience was like living in an alternate bizzaro universe: a tiny town based at the foot of a mountain where celebrities are in abnormally high ratios, sidewalks are jam-packed, it’s normal to see 4 movies in one day, and there are serious amounts of FREE SWAG everywhere. It’s a weird world to say the least, but we loved it. Thank you to the people of Park City for being so kind to us, and to our pal Brent Hodge for organizing and inspiring us to go. We can’t wait to go back next year for even more shenanigans!
Big love to our Canadian crew at 1660 Payday for the great times, and the most epic 90s dance party Park City has ever seen. We came, we saw, we SUNDANCED.
