We Have Tickets!

My sister and her husband returned to Park City on Tuesday. We had a great visit and were able to talk Sundance logistics, look over the movie guide together and purchase twelve tickets Tuesday morning.

These twelve tickets were to fulfill a pass that we bought way back in October. It's called the "Film Lovers" pass and it's available to local residents only. It came with an inflated price per ticket (around $18 each, instead of $15), but allowed us to get first crack at some movies. It also comes with one credential pass, so one of us could take in an insiders party, panel discussion or other event if we want -- highly unlikely!

So, back to the twelve tickets we bought... Our strategy was threefold. First to buy four tickets to each of three movies in the prime time slots (i.e. not the earliest or the latest in the day.) We also identified movies that we thought would be in high demand. Those in the Premier and Dramatic Competition categories often have recognizable stars in them and tend to sell out fastest. And finally, we were trying to get three movies in a row in the same theatre. It's great when you don't have to jump a shuttle and race to the next venue.

We were successful in our first two goals, but not in the last. A couple of the movies we wanted were already sold out. This doesn't mean they are sold out forever. It just means the allotment for local pass holders is gone. We also had more luck getting tickets for Monday movies than those showing on the weekend -- I'm guessing most locals need to go to work on this day, thus freeing up tickets for us.

So, here's what we have so far:

Amreeka playing at 12:15pm on Saturday. This is the first film by this director, Cherien Dabis, and has no "name" actors (at least I don't recognize any of them.) It is described as a "warm and lighthearted film about one Palestinian family's tumultuous journey..." from Palestine to Illinois.

Brief Interviews with Hideous Men at 3:15pm on Monday. I wanted to see this because John Krasinski (who plays Jim Halpert on The Office) directed and acts in it. I love his dry wit on The Office and am anxious to see what he does behind the camera. It is based on the David Foster Wallace (DFW) book of the same name. DFW was a young, critically acclaimed author who committed suicide last Fall. While Wallace has a strong cult following, his books are not a walk in the park. Given that, this film may not not find a place in the mass market, so I'm glad we will see it at Sundance. I'm also looking forward to seeing and hearing from Krasinski in the Q & A after the film.

Adventureland at 6:15pm on Monday. This is the only Premier we were able to get with our pass. It stars Jesse Eisenberg (The Squid and the Whale) and Kristen Stewart (Twilight) as two college graduates who find each other while working at an amusement park. This quote from the film guide clinched it for me: "Adventureland is a hilarious coming-of-age tale that will speak to anyone who ever had the job from hell but wouldn't trade the experience for anything."

Jenn has an opportunity to buy 20 more tickets this Saturday when individual tickets go on sale to locals only. She has an 8:30am time slot at the box office in downtown Park City. I always feel bad that she has to physically go to the box office, often standing outside in sub-zero temperatures, while I sit at home in my jammies, drinking my coffee, ordering tickets on-line. We are praying for dry skies -- blizzards have been known to mess-up our local ticket buying. I'll post her results over the weekend.