Sundancing

I don't mind saying that I know how to Sundance. It's a simple fact. I do it and I do it well:)
Friday morning I checked out the same-day ticket releases at the Sundance Main Box Office. For the first two dozen people in line they are fantastic. I wasn't early enough to be one of those so I didn't bother waiting in line. I sold the tickets I had to a Friday morning show and a Monday evening show. I still have tickets to a premier on Tuesday night that I just realized I can't go to, so leave a comment or email me if you're interested in seeing It's a Wonderful Afterlife at 6:15 on the 26th.
Lacey and I got to Eccles Theater around 5:15pm on Friday. We saw John Carroll Lynch leaving the premier of Hesher.

We wandered about looking for tickets to Please Give and snagged some fairly quickly but not before getting blanketed in thick snow. Watched America Ferrera taking press shots before heading in to screen the film with us (She is incredibly short (!) and beautiful).
Stars Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, and Amanda Peet were in attendance along with the rest of the cast and writer/director Nicole Holofcener . It was a well-written, well-acted film. It had a good plot but more than anything it featured the complexities of the human heart, mind, and soul.
Holofcener and the cast took questions from the audience after the film, which was really fun.

Dumbest audience question: "Oliver, your character seemed to be in a good marriage, why did he cheat?"

Got these shots with cast members after the film:

Thomas Ian Nicholas


Rebecca Hall

(More Sundance reports to come)

LDSFF 24 Hour Marathon Screenings

It was a relief to find out that I hadn't gone mad and in fact several of the films that were screened tonight at the LDS Film Festival's 24 Hour Marathon session were longer than the allotted 3 minutes. Marathon session indeed, as it took the better part of 3 hours to screen all 49 completed entries. Overall, the competition was a smashing success, not due to an abundance of highly polished, Hollywood-ready films, but for the effort and creativity shown by the competitors.

I should mention that I'm a bean counter by training and that all of the hundreds (seemingly) of hours of videotape that I have shot are of my family. Through my association with Provo Creative I have been exposed to some of the elements of filmmaking and it's with that eye that I can appreciate that each of these films were created start to finish in less than 24 hours. Someone had to write the scripts, act out the parts, and produce and edit the film. Those "someones" have a lot more talent than I do at making films and tonight's screening was a fun celebration of said talent.

I had the good fortune of bumping and sitting next into a friend from Southern California, Alma Mills, an LDS filmmaker and producer, who was in town for the festival. He, along with well-known actor-producer Jeff Chamberlain (who just happens to be my brother-in-law), both saw the 24 hour marathon for what it is: a chance to practice one's skills as a filmmaker or actor. They were both kind in their reviews of the screenings, likely due to having been there and done it (or something similar) themselves.

There were some films that stood out and will likely win one of the awards, which will be presented on Saturday night. I haven't yet seen Avatar, but it was easy to see that entry #18, "Ratava" was spoofing it. Entry #10, "Blind Date" was one of my early favorites based on a nice use of split screen editing and funny story line. The audience seemed to really like the Zombie tutorial (#13 Boo?), although to me it was representative of the many entries that virtually ignored the theme of the competition(Charity) and the theme of film festival (LDS).

No, I wasn't expecting to see 50 seminary-worthy films, but for my taste there were too many that essentially ignored the specified or implied themes, cashing in on cheap humor, violence, or stale story lines. Sound issues got the better of many of the entries, and the acting was generally ok, with a few excellent standouts, like #44 "A Favor for Edgar."

I was happy to be associated with the 5 Provo Creative teams (#26, #27, #28, #38, #) whose entries can be seen on our YouTube Channel. Our films ranged from fairytale-ish (I cried) to spoofs (I laughed) to sexy ninjas on a green screen (I'm still confucius-ed). Yes, I am biased due to knowing the participants. No, my votes for favorite didn't just go to the Provo Creative group...but the film I liked the best was #26 The Princess and The Stone. Was it because Pete Hansen, my Provo Creative partner, was the DP? Maybe, maybe not. What I do know is that the film moved me, stayed on theme, and could be shown to family members of all ages. Good stuff Pete, Susan Phelan, Kami Coleman, Marlys Fladeland, and Kjirstin Youngberg.

Below is the official list of completed entries. I'll link them as the info becomes available. Please feel free to comment with a link that I don't have yet so I can update the list.

#1 Absolam
#2 The Guitarist
#3 The Rock of Charity
#4 Eternity Star
#5 For the Children
#6 The Day
#7 The Imposing Rose
#8 The Cave of the Chupacabra
#9 Father Dearest
#10 Blind Date
#11 Secret Santa
#12 Wednesday in Replay
#13 Boo
#14 I Want a Rock
#15 To Be Seen of Men
#16 Crank It Back Up
#17 Might Mind Strength
#18 Ratava
#19 Stone's Throwaway
#20 Rug Rocks
#21 The Jumper
#22 Sensible + Polite
#23 Special Delivery
#24 Decent Proposal
#25 A Bad Case of Virtues
#26 The Princess and the Stone
#27 Button
#28 Reginald
#29 The Friendless Monkey
#30 (Did not finish the competition)
#31 Big Trouble in Little Comic Shop
#32 Rock Wow!
#33 Brothers
#34 Reflections of Teenage Philosophy
#35 Citizen of the Week
#36 Love Thy Self as Thy Self
#37 Let Not Your Left Hand Know
#38 The Ninjas, the Green Screen, and the Pebble of Wisdom
#39 All Rocked Out
#40 On the Rocks
#41 Art Gallery Ettiquette
#42 Stone's Throw
#43 Plan B
#44 A Favor for Edgar
#45 Helping Happy
#46 La Leyenda De La Tortilla
#47 The Cupcake Helper
#48 What Makes a Great Man
#49 Prairie Dawn
#50 I'm the One Who...

Thoughts on the Golden Globes

Well, of course I was thrilled that Avatar won best drama and James Cameron took home the globe for best director, but here are a few other thoughts on the big event on Sunday night.
I couldn't have been happier that Glee won for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical. Why has nobody ever done a musical tv show before?! It is fantastic!
I thought Meryl Streep's win for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical in Julie & Julia was well deserved. Her portrayal of Julia Child was spot on.
Martin Scorsese's being honored with the Cecil B. DeMille award was great.
I was delighted that Up won for Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Score.

Though I've never watched The United States of Tara, I love Toni Colette and think she is incredibly talented (though she looked too thin). I was glad to see her win Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Comedy or Musical.
And if you knew how much I love 30 Rock, you wouldn't have been surprised to see me smile when Alec Baldwin won for his performance there. That guy knows how to do comedy.
Adding to my Netflix list at least partly because of the show:
The Young Victoria
An Education
Invictus
Duplicity (looks like it's already in my queue actually)
Grey Gardens
United States of Tara Season 1
Into the Storm

I'll try to see Nine and Sherlock Holmes while they are still in the theater.

And I know this blog is supposed to be about film, but I'm a woman, so I can't very well talk about the Golden Globes without mentioning fashion.
My best dressed picks are:

Jeff Bridges

I thought he looked dapper in all black.

Halle Berry

I know, I know, she always wears something low-cut and backless, but if you had a skin and a body like that, wouldn't you?

Felicity Huffman

I love this dress! And damn, Felicity, you're buff!

Honorable mentions go to:
Jane Krakowski
Kate Hudson (whose everyday braless look is such a turnoff)
Fergie
Christina Aguilera (who managed to look classy for once)
Jennifer Aniston (sexiest of the night)
January Jones
Chloe Sevigny would have gotten an honorable mention if she weren't so unlikeable.

Best golden globes:
Mariah Carey

Nicole Kidman wins for Most Prominent Nipples and Christina Hendricks wins for Looks Most Like a Porn-star.

Though Tom Hanks was incredibly funny and I had mixed feelings on Ricky Gervais, Ricky had the best line of the night, "I like a drink as much as the next man, -- unless the next man is Mel Gibson", when introducing Gibson!

LDS Film Festival 24 Hour Filmmaking Marathon

The 2010 installment of the LDS Film Festival begins Wednesday January 20th (at the SCERA Center in Orem) and runs through Saturday January 23rd. One of the most popular activities of the annual festival is the 24-Hour Filmmaking Marathon. From the festival's website:

51 groups signed up on Friday morning, January 15, to participate in the 8th 24-Hour Filmmaking Marathon. All finished films must be turned in 24 hours later on Saturday, January 16 to be eligible for an award.

Prizes totalling more than $1,000 will be awarded to the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of this exciting competition.

All films will be screened during the Festival on Thursday, January 21, beginning at 6:30 p.m.

This year's theme is Charity, the object to use in the film is a rock, and the dialogue line is "I'm the one who..."

Provo Creative (of which the author is a principal) sponsored 5 teams in this year's competition, drawing from members of our Meetup Group of media arts professionals. Each 5 person team had the task of writing, producing and editing a short film of up to 3 minutes in length and delivering the finished product within 24 hours from the 10am-ish start time Friday morning. It's become quite the tradition to see teams running full speed with disks in hand trying to beat the Saturday morning deadline!

I wasn't on a team, opting to hold down the fort at Provo Creative should any of the teams desire to use our studio or equipment during the competition. All 5 Provo Creative teams finished their films and turned them in, and I, along with hundreds of others, am looking forward to the screenings and awards this coming Thursday night.

The LDS Film Festival has a full complement of movies, including several premieres, and has grown in popularity and attendance over the past 9 years with some 7000+ enjoying last year's event.

Emily's Year in Movies 2009

I went on Wikipedia and found a list of every movie released in 2009. Here are some brief thoughts on my movie-viewing experience with each of them that I saw.

Coraline - didn't see this one until it was released on dvd. Watched it with my husband, Brandon. I fully expected this to be my new favorite movie since I love Nightmare Before Christmas so much and the previews looked fantastic. I was disappointed. It wasn't bad, but overall too creepy, definitely not for young kids, and certainly not on my list of favorites.

He's Just Not That Into You - saw this one in Park City with my friend Raquel. Great acting. Loved Justin Long's character. Good show but ultimately forgettable.

Confessions of a Shopaholic - rented this one from Red Box with my best friend, Jen. I can't say I wasn't entertained, but this was incredibly dumb.

The Soloist - I rented this one and watched it at home. Great acting performances and good story but not as good as I was expecting.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - The friends I saw this with (Andrew, Jennifer, and Donovan) in California hated it. I was totally engrossed and entertained as was Brandon. The writers aren't going to win any awards, but it was fun. It paled in comparisson to the first X-Men movie which is probably in my Top 10 Favorites of All Time.

Star Trek - Fantastic! Saw it in CA with the same as the above. More on that trip here.


Up - watched this in a home theater with family over the holidays. Excellent movie for young and old alike.

Food Inc. - watched this one last night at home. I've been trying to get everyone in the country to read The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. This is easier, DO IT. It will change the way you shop and eat. After reading those books I have changed some habits, after seeing this documentary it has forever changed which meat I will buy and consume and feed to my family. Powerful and eye-opening.

Moon - saw this last year at Sundance. It only served to confirm that Sam Rockwell is an incredibly talented actor. Great sci-fi flick. A bit too much swearing for my taste.


The Proposal - saw this one in Park City with Raquel on another spontaneous girl's night out. Fun chick flick.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince - I have no recollection of where or with whom I saw this movie but I know I liked it (because I like all things Harry Potter).

500 Days of Summer - Redstone with Jen. Great movie. Unexpected, fun, unusual. Got it on dvd as a Christmas gift from Lauren. The cover claims it is "seriously funny" and a "feel-good movie". I disagree with both assertions, but it was great. It premiered last year at Sundance and I had tickets but had to sell them because of a scheduling conflict.

Adam - saw it at Sundance with Janette. Great performances by Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. About a man with Aspergers. Good show.

Julie & Julia - saw it with my mother-in-law and her three daughters. Highly enjoyable and not just because I love to cook.

No Impact Man - borrowed this one from SLC Film Center. Excellent documentary about a man and his family trying to make no negative impact on the earth for a year (producting no trash, not riding in vehicles, etc.). I highly recommend it.

Avatar - saw it with my hubby, father-in-law, and one of my brothers-in-law at the Thanksgiving Point theater in 3-D. You already know it was the best movie of the year.

Eco-Friendly Event Tonight

While listening to NPR driving around today I heard about this:

Park City Film Series is screening Tapped, a documentary about water that promises to be incredibly revealing.


Official Trailer

The screening at 7pm tonight after a one hour discussion is at the Park City Library's Jim Santy Auditorium and costs $5. The $5 goes directly to Recycle Utah. If there is any way I can get there, I will.

Move Over Sundance

Did you know there are (at least) three film festivals going on in Utah at the end of January?
Let's see what their websites have to say for themselves:

Sundance - Jan. 21-31 - "Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its programs, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work."
Attendance = over 45,000 annually
Over 9,800 films submitted for 2010 festival (almost 200 being screened)
Founded in 1984.

Slamdance - Jan. 21-28 -"As the preeminent festival whose sole mission is to nurture, support and showcase truly independent works, Slamdance has established a unique reputation for premiering new films by first-time writers and directors working within the creative confines of limited budgets. Slamdance’s goal is to strengthen its year-round efforts in support of these artists and to leverage its name and reputation for the further development of other Slamdance media components." (italics and bold fonts added by me).
Attendance = ?
Established in 1995.


LDS Film Festival - Jan. 20-23 - "The LDS Film Festival strives to annually present a diverse spectrum of films that represent the status quo of current LDS filmmaking. At the same time, the LDS Film Festival seeks to discuss what LDS filmmaking should be or could be. The festival's LDS Film Forum presents papers by LDS scholars and academics that deal with different theoretical aspects of Mormon filmmaking. Discourses, discussions and exposure to different ideas and thoughts are all encouraged."
Attendance in 2009 = 7000.
Founded in 2001.

Epic Fail

So, as I'd said, I was going to try to see all my Sundance films this year during the days my friend Lacey is in town, essentially opening weekend. We wanted to see a few premiers and get photos with a couple celebrities. I went during my scheduled half-hour of locals-weekend for individual ticket sales, same time I got awesome tickets last year, and NOTHING. No tickets for anything we wanted to see in those first four days! I still managed to get tickets to three premier films, but nothing for while Lacey is in town. I am now working a final avenue in hopes of getting tickets to the three showings I had my heart set on. If that doesn't work out it's down to playing our luck at same-day ticket releases and the wait-lists.


Me and Lacey during her last visit to Utah (Aug. '07).

Excuses

Sorry, I've fallen off the bandwagon again with posting.
I've been busy wrapping presents, unwrapping presents, hanging out with family, seeing friends who were in from out-of-town, being vocalist on Beatles Rock Band, playing games, snowmobiling, etc.
The only movie I've seen lately is Up, which was a GREAT family film.
What's going on in the film and production scenes in Utah? I have no idea.