Sundance 2011 is Underway!

Any downtime I had during the holidays was spent reviewing this year's Film Guide and mapping out a game plan for Sundance 2011. If you have followed this Blog before, you know that this is a lot more time consuming than it sounds. All I can say is thank goodness for Excel spreadsheets and highlighters. Here's my plan (if only the rest of my life were this organized):

Step One: identify the movies playing while we are there (we attend four days of the ten-day Festival.) Step Two: identify the movies playing in Park City (Sundance screens films in Ogden and Salt Lake too, but they are far away and the real action is in PC.) Step Three: eliminate any movies that seem just a little too "out there" (such as this year's film titled Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same.) Step Four: Avoid 8:30am and midnight movies as much as possible, especially back-to-back. Step Five: decide between any preferred films that are playing at the same time (there are nine venues showing movies all day throughout Park City.) And Finally: make sure there's time to get from one theater to the next between showings (the best part of Sundance is the Q & A after the movie, so it's a bummer to have to leave early.)

Once I do all that, I gather up my spreadsheets and anxiously await our first ticket buying opportunity. This year, that opportunity came today when my sister was able to select twelve tickets to fulfill her Locals Pass. One strategy I suggested to her was to try to stay in one theater all day. We have done this before and it makes for a much more relaxing day less. One of the best opportunities for this was Sunday at Eccles Theater, where all five of the movies that day look great. Plus Eccles has free parking on Sundays (we know all the angles.)

Typically my strategies go by the wayside once we log-on and see the limited ticket availability. Today, however, we were able to stick with the plan and Jenn came up with four tickets each to three Sunday movies: Higher Ground, Another Happy Day (both in the U.S. Dramatic Competition) and Cedar Rapids (in the Premiere category.) The great thing about all of these movies is we are seeing the first-ever public screening of each of them. This pretty much guarantees that the directors and most of the cast will be there for the Q & A after the film.

Higher Ground is directed by and stars Vera Farmiga. Another Happy Day is directed by Sam Levinson and stars Ellen Barkin, Demi Moore, Ellen Burnstyn, Thomas Hayden Church, George Kennedy and others. Cedar Rapids stars, among others, Ed Helms, John C. Reilly, Anne Heche and Sigourney Weaver. According to the Film Guide, "Cedar Rapids achieves the impossible: it makes insurance fun." There are actually two movies about the insurance industry screening this year -- go figure!

Our Sunday schedule is complete! Next week, with spreadsheets revised, we will attempt to purchase the perfect line-up for Friday, Saturday, Monday, and possibly an early movie Tuesday morning. Game on!