Sundance: The Blog That Wasn't

I know, I know, after all that hype, not a single blog from Park City. Oh la la la la. Well here it is in all its glory. A blog about the (mostly) highlights experienced at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.

Weds, Jan. 16

Arrived. I think somebody actually said "it's not as cold as last year." That person would eat their words when it dipped down to -7 later that night. Condos were in the same complex as last year, and just as nice. By the end of the week it would look very much like a Real World house.

Thurs, Jan. 17

The festival kickoff presser with Robert Redford. Hubba hubba. He made me laugh. I let Gerrad interview him. I think this is the night that I asked the kid working the Burger King drive-thru if he knew there were other, warmer places he could live. I was wearing two layers of long underwear under a flurry of other layers. It took me 5 mins to redress after going to the bathroom. (I would eventually get accustomed to the layers and get faster at post-potty redressing.)

Fri, Jan. 18

First interview of Sundance 08: a SlamDance movie called "Fix." Olivia Wilde of The OC is the most recognizable face. But her husband directs it, and you might also recognize their friend Shawn Andrews as the kid in "Dazed and Confused" who has the kegger. The interviews went well and Olivia was super nice. Very friendly. I saw them a couple more times during the week and we always exchanged hellos.

Other highlights include the Yellow Handkerchief premiere where I interviewed Oscar Receiver William Hurt as well as Maria Bello and Kristen Stewart. Enjoyed from a safe distance an awkward kiss-a-thon between Maria and an elderly producer.

I then got hit on by the married star of my next movie. My crew describe him as a poor man's Tom Arnold. Exactly. He gave me his card if any of you are interested.

Then it was off to Salt Lake City for The Great Buck Howard premiere. Forrest and I learned that life is a lot like the Amazing Race when we got lost in downtown SLC. I was like "Ask a local! Ask a local!" And then we wanted the guy we asked (who, btw, was using an 80s-era cell phone) to get in our car and take us there. We finally found the place and I got to meet and interview the nicest celebrity I believe I've met to date: Tom Hanks. Seriously. He's JUST what you would expect. They (the publicists) kept trying to bunch us together for interviews and he insisted on doing everyone separately. I then got front row seats to the Tom Hanks - Sam Rubin show which was pretty awesome.

Sam is an iconic (am I trying to say old?) entertainment reporter here in LA who also works for Reelz. I've never stood next to him on a carpet or done interviews in front of him, so I was kinda nervous. He helped by whispering krass things in my ear right before I interviewed John Malkovich and telling Colin Hanks that I had a crush on him (Colin) right in front of me. Awesome and hilarious.

We got to see the movie. I wish I could say I loved it. All I'll say is that John Malkovich is great in it.

Headed back to Park City. Went to an underground bar on Main Street for a beer. Drinking first beer as the entire city suffered a power outage. Everyone just kinda stayed where they were and kept drinking by the glow of the emergency lights. This was the only night I would go out, but I wouldn't know it yet. If I had known it, I would have had more than 2 Heinekens.

Sat, Jan. 19

Today's highlight was an interview with Emily Mortimer and Woody Harrelson. She was hungover and, well, he was Woody Harrelson. Together hilarity ensued. We had such a good time that the publicist took a while to wrap me up. The next outlet got something like 3 minutes. Awesome. Also had a good interview with Dir. George Romero, Jay Baruchel (despite his costar Randy Quaid's being a total beeyotch about our location), Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci. I would run into Stanley a few more times in the next couple days. I also caught a glimpse of Robert DeNiro as they rushed him to the premiere of his movie. That I was supposed to cover, but couldn't get in. Ahh the bureaucracies...

We dropped by Pizza Hut for a quick bite between premieres and realized that despite none of us having been inside a Pizza Hut for like 20 years, they still look the same. We shared the joke with another outlet as we all longed for our Book It! pins. Then while we were waiting for our order a guy at a nearby table slumped over in an "omg I think that guy just died while we were waiting for our pizza" sort of way. Ilana and I decided we don't want to ever go back to Pizza Hut again. The guy apparently didn't die for reelz, but I'm not one for crisis and it was definitely unsettling.

This is the night G covered the U2 premiere and Brad Pitt showed up to the afterparty. I was at neither. Wunh wunh.

I instead walked Main Street in search of Sara Bareilles who was supposed to be playing. I didn't find her. I did see another guy from work and paid a brief visit to Brooke's family cabin before spending an hour trying to find a cab who would take me back to the condo in kimball junction.

Sun, Jan. 20

Kicked off the morning with a few of the members of the Young @ Heart chorus. It's a group of octogenarians who sing classic rock. And yes, it's as awesome as it sounds. The movie hits theaters in April, and you should totally check it out. I also had a good interview with Nick Cannon and Melonie Diaz, and got to meet Kristin Wiig. Sure I also got to meet Billy Crudup and Paul Giamatti, but Kristin "I was born a red carpet" Wiig was a super highlight.

Mon, Jan. 21

Sometimes Jason Ritter wants to be my friend. Today was one of those days. He was super nice and I did well, never mentioning that I still enjoy watching his dad in Three's Company. I made everything about him and his career.

I also interviewed the Godmother of Punk Patti Smith. Thanks to Ilana's bf Wayne I sounded like I knew what I was talking about. Throw in a nervous stutter off the top of the interview and end with Patti taking a couple of pins off her blazer and giving them to me assuming I'm a super fan.

Next stop Nick Stahl, who enjoyed my conversational method of interviewing. "Wait, have we started yet?" I basically just start talking to people and then the photog (Forrest or Jeff as it were this trip) just starts rolling without making a deal of it and nobody changes their mannerisms for camera. When it works it works well.

Had a fun Sarah Jessica Parker moment at the same location. She came walking toward me and in total Carrie Bradshaw form said "Dear Diary" while air writing it. Super cute.

I'm also thinking this is the day we went to the gifting suite. We played that I was the onair and Brooks was my field producer. We walked out with coats, gloves, tees made by Bono's wife, True Religion jeans, some driving shoes, ski goggles, and a wishbone necklace. Great success.

Tues, Jan. 22

Began my day with Alan Alda and Virginia Madsen. Virginia and I ended up having a lot in common. Mostly in the movies we enjoy. Our top two are Once and Juno. And we both loved Lars. She's from Chicago. We should probably hang out.

Next stop was the Raisin in the Sun interviews where I got to interview Phylicia Rashad and John Stamos together. I have met John before and he remembered me so that was fun, but to be able to sit across from Mrs. Huxtable and Uncle Jesse was really crazy. I told them it was an honor, and it was.

Then, as were preparing to and miking up Sean (don't call him Diddy anymore) Combs, the Heath Ledger news came in. Being in a room full of publicists and celebrities when something that happens is an experience in itself. Everyone on their blackberries gasping in disbelief then whispering to everyone else whilst trying to get the day's activities complete. Sean was visibly upset and was like, "whoa, I did a movie with that guy (Monster's Ball)." So after talking about Raisin, I was like, "I know we all just found out, I know we're in shock, but you worked with him, is there anything you would like to say?" Now Reelz is not about gossip, but I didn't think this was a gossipy topic, Heath was dead and now I was talking to his former costar. Sean gave a nice anecdote and that was that.

Well that anecdote he gave me would be virtually the only thing anyone got, so Reelz decided to give it away and my interview with Sean breathed air on KTLA here in LA, as well as Extra, Access, ET and The Insider. Everyone had to courtesy Reelz and I was pretty excited about it.

Excited about the publicity I got the network I work for. Not excited about capitalizing on the death of Heath Ledger or the death itself. I was sad about that.

It's one of those events that I'll remember. Similar to how I remember where I was when Aaliyah died.

The day also included an interview with Michael Stahl David of Cloverfield fame, as well as the cuteness that is William H Macy and Felicity Huffman, and a glimpse of Meg Ryan. Plus another fun interaction with Jason Ritter in which he proudly displayed the "are they birth control pills or mints" swag Reelz was handing out.

Weds, Jan. 23

Good convos with the peeps behind Half Nelson (their new movie is called Sugar) and Alan Ball. But the hump day highlight would be a pair of Lucas/Lukas - es.

First Josh Lucas. He was a little under the weather but looked none the worse for the wear. We had a fun talk about sex and how he's 36 and single and we're both one of four children. I wanted to tell him he's the best part of Sweet Home Alabama but I didn't. I silently lamented that he lived in NYC instead of LA (silently in front of him, out loud to my coworkers). I mean you guys, he brought his parents to Sundance. How cute is that???

Next. Lukas Haas. I had met him the night before at the premiere so we were old friends by now. And before the interview was over he was inviting me to his upcoming show at the Roxy. Yep. Lukas Haas sings now. Singer songwriter ish. He plays the Hotel Cafe. I love the Hotel Cafe. I think he said he uses Jet's drummer. Somebody else too. I'll check him out and let you know what I think.

Jacqueline Bisset was a diva and we couldn't make her happy with our light set up. I had interviewed her the night before on the carpet and was over her anyway.

Oh another fun-worthy mention: we were waiting for interviews at the Village at the Lift when someone told Emily and I that Luke Wilson and Woody Harrelson were walking around downstairs. It was at that moment that we decided we were in desperate need of water from the craft services table Luke was standing at. We headed downstairs and I wrestled with the plastic packaging as Luke stood nearby (Woody had headed for the stairs). All the sudden Woody walks back over and is like "we gotta get out of here." To which Luke replies "did you just get us kicked out??" then on the way out Woody turns around and is like "where my goggles, bra?" They were on his head. Gotta love it.

This was the last night in town for half our group so we went out to a big fancy dinner. That ended up costing more than my rent...actually I could combine the rent of the apt I currently live in and the total rent of the apt I shared with Melanie in StL, and this meal would be about that number. If you know me you know I'm not a foodie, and the thought of spending this much on one evening of food is RIDICULOUS. I said of our benefactor: "he just paid that much money for us all to take a shit." I am a lady.

Having said that, I did enjoy the meal (but I wouldn't say it was the best I ever had). It was three courses. I chose baked shrimp ravioli, followed by a yummy pumpkin-apple bisque, and cranberry duck dish. We also of course had wine (a total of 5 bottles for the group of 10) and some people had dessert and/or $150 apertifs. I also tried Grappa and almost gagged up all that expensive food.

Like I said, fancy.

Dear Santa Margherita Pinot Grig,
Mama loves you.

Thurs, Jan. 24

Put Dennis Hopper, Michael Madsen and Eric Balfour in a 15 minute period and you're talking about a lot of T & A. I tried to talk to Michael about how neat it was that I just talked to Virginia the day before and here I was with him but he was all broody.

I did another intv with people nobody has seen yet. Except Richard Jenkins, and then ran around all afternoon like a pa because the first half of our team had left.

We got a good snow storm this day. It had snowed on and off a few of the days, but this was definitely the heaviest.

Then we went to Wild Oats for dinner and I fell in love with a baby named River and her mom must have read my mind because I didn't have to say anything before she said "you can't have her."

Fri, Jan. 25

What? You mean we can leave?

We ran around all morning on main street shooting stand-ups for the Sundance special. We tried to get on the ski lift, but that never panned out.

When leaving a situation like this, it's weird because we've all been around each other in such a concentrated form for so many days that it's weird once you don't live with each other. We had this experience together, and nobody knows what it was like except for us.

We deemed that we were the most excited/happiest people at the SLC airport.

Sat, Jan. 26

I literally slept the entire day and almost overslept for my 5h45p junket with Robert Downey Jr and Anton Yelchin ("Charlie Bartlett" is in theaters end of Feb, go see it). On my way up to them, I ran into Ellen Page. We exchanged "hi"s and that basically made my day. I had fun with RDjr and Anton (who remembered me as it seems I interview him for every movie he does).

###

So it's back to work tomorrow. I have the screening of "The Hottie and the Nottie" tomorrow night. It's Paris Hilton's new movie. I interview the heiress next Sat. I'm not expecting big things.

The list of celebs spotted at Sundance 08 to follow. Emily also blogged so you can check that out too. Oh, and I'll eventually post pix.

Put Me in Your Pocket

The subj line refers to a quote from "The Philadelphia Story." It's a marvelous movie starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and Jimmy Stewart (I KNOW! All in the same place!) I just saw it for the first time (thank you AFI's top 100) and loved it. Like leurved it loved it. Like it's right up there with "Roman Holiday." My other favorite line from it:

"The time to make up your mind about people is never."

I also forgot to mention that I saw Charlize Theron's "Sleepwalking" the other day. I didn't mention it because it's not worth talking about. I told G we would rock, paper, scissors to see who has to do those interviews at Sundance.

Last night I saw "In Bruges." I liked it because I've been to Bruges and I like to see places I've been on the big screen. Especially when I have good memories from those places. I'm still not sure what I thought about it otherwise, tho. I'm pretty sure I liked it. I laughed. But not as much as a couple of other people in the screening. At one point one of the guys was literally rolling on the floor laughing. I kid you not. At a press screening. I laughed more at him than the movie.

After the screening, I headed over to the hotel cafe to catch Schuyler Fisk's set. She and Joshua Radin were two of those people last year at Sundance that we saw literally every day. I also interviewed them for a story. She's changed her tune a little bit with her new stuff and I like it. It's a little bit country, a little bit rock 'n' roll, and in the case of one song, a little bit racy (but in a totally girl-next-door kinda way). Another highlight of the night was seeing Gary Jules at the bar. A mad, mad world indeed.

I have enlisted the help of a travel agent for the "Life is Beachy When You're 30" excursion I'm planning. He found this. I love the idea of Grand Cayman, and a nonchain property set away from the touristy part of the island is perfect, but WHERE IS MY HAMMOCK?! The search continues...but I'm in contact with the innkeepers. Apparently I've selected a good time of year to go to the area, as it's apparently not peak season, but now I'm wondering if that means it's hurricane season. I don't wanna find out yet.

I'm still not done packing, but I stocked up on some essentials last night. EmergenC, Airborne, Throat Coat tea, Vitamin B (the super version for energy and immunity)...fun stuff. I told the team I got the same flavor of EmergenC and Airborne so that we can tag team them. Otherwise we're just going to be drinking crap all day. And we don't have time for bathroom breaks.

Misses, Hits and Holy Sh*ts

Misses:

- the atrocity that was the Golden Globe announcement ceremony. I don't even wanna talk about it. like kait said, it proves the need for writers, and shows the effect the strike is having. this cannot happen again. dear ampuhtuhpuh...fix it before the Oscars. stl shoutout for the guy from mad men. it was a toss up in the female lead in a comedy or musical, so i can be happy for marion, she did a great job. yay for fey. boo for sweeney todd tho. i liked it, but nowhere near as much as juno. ps dear billy bush and nancy o'dell, you suck at banter. and self tanning.

Hits:

- The Savages. If you haven't seen it, do. It makes me glad I have siblings and makes me wish my parents would never get old. PSH is doing his best to make me forget the horror of the movie Happiness and I appreciate that.

- The Amazing Race. aka what you should have been watching instead of that primetime crap where Natalie Morales gave Amy Adams a hard time for working at Hooters way back when. I used to like you Natalie. anywho back to the race. there's a reason it's called amazing. go tk and rachel!!! i can't imagine being nate and jen and having to watch the way they behaved. i hope for their sakes they're no longer a couple.

- Hearing Hunter tell Melody to "do the right thing, mom" and make him mac and cheese for a snack.

- Hearing Hunter teach Rudy the chihuahua how to play duck duck goose. extra points for Rudy catching on and running when Hunter would say duuck, duck, goose!

Holy Sh*ts:

- U23D. I can't say enough about the experience that was seeing this movie. Hands down the best time I've had in a movie theater. I can't wait to see it again. But in IMAX. And you should see in IMAX too. It opens Jan. 25. I hope for your sake that's nationwide. It's literally like the greatest concert and movie experience rolled into one. They used every 3d camera in the world on this movie. When I say it's amazing, believe me. You've never seen anything like it. Ok, enough build up.

Firsts:

- the super hard hike at Runyon. I only thought I had done it before. apparently I had come down part of it, but there's nothing like going UP ALL of it. I did feel a sense of accomplishment once I got to the top. Thanks Kait. That being said, it wasn't like at any point I would have turned around to go back down (that looked even more treacherous).

- going to a bar to watch pro sports. on purpose. I like The Little Bar as a normal hangout, and when I used to live closer to do it, it was like my neighborhood place (2005's The Dime, if you will). They're big Boston fans there, so I went with Kait and her cousins to watch the Patriots play. I can appreciate an undefeated team. I don't pretend to understand football. I do get the basic concept and have been taught what a fair catch is. The experience was fun and funny. I'm more excited about seeing Red Sox nation in action tho. But don't worry, I've already pledged my allegiance to the Cardinals in any head-to-head battle.

This blog has a lot of Kait references.

- ooh. ooh. I also Wii'd for the first time this Wiikend. with Kait! (and others) I have a Mii and everything. I rocked at the bowling training exercise. the lane looks just like the one in There Will Be Blood. I had super fun mostly because I won. and they named a technique after me. My Mii has a medal. I do think I need to start practicing with my left hand lest my right arm get too much of a workout.

I laid out all my outfits to pack for Sundance. Not sure what I'm going to do because they don't exactly all fit in my ginormous suitcase. Sweaters are thick. 10 of them are thicker. add an extra coat, couple pairs of boots...what's a girl to do?

Oh and people are totally theorizing that more stars will be at Sundance this year since nobody's working because of the strike. That news makes me happy. I love walking down the street and seeing people (and when I say "people" I mean "famous people") so often that by like the 3rd day, you're just like, we might as well be friends.

Seeing In Bruges tonight. Excited about it. I was "in Bruges" in 06.

First, a photo essay...then other things

last night we went to the murikami exhibit at moca in downtown LA. i was excited.

before we went there we drove by some weird store that had a wall of machine guns on display. i drove around the block so we could see it again. some of us thought it was for reelz. others said no way. the picture didn't turn out.

we couldn't take pix at the murikami exhibit. but it was INSANE. insanely awesome and totally trippy. huge murals and character sculptures that screamed for climbing. walls covered in his flower and eyeball designs. i also super enjoyed the japanese commercials featuring a little alien boy. a section of the exhibit is devoted to murikami's collaboration with louis vuitton and crazy rich people were actually buying purses. best of all it was FREE because it was a thursday. sweet.

also free was the adjacent japanese american museum. we could take pictures there and much fun ensued. i should put all the pictures into a slide show, but let's face it, i'm feeling pretty lazy this friday afternoon.

i liked this elephant painting.

but this is the one that caught my full attention. it was a mural that covered the entire wall (this is just a small portion of it). my favorite portion. because as i was staring at it, i saw that what i first thought was just a boom box, was actually a skull. (now i see more skull less boombox) there were also chinese stars thrown in haphazardly all over the mural. seriously cool.

the evening concluded with eating in little tokyo and entertaining ourselves with a statue of a man on a park bench. seriously. that slide show would so come in handy right now. anyway, super fun night.

I also wanted to mention that the movie I saw the other night, "Just Another Love Story," was very enjoyable. It's Swedish I think. The first word I thought of at the end was "brilliant." When I see a movie like this I'm like, how did someone think of all that? (writer-wise) I am thinking/hoping it will be the "Lives of Others" for 2008. We'll see.

I'm getting ready to go see the Charlize Theron project "Sleepwalking." Not sure what to expect with that. Tomorrow I get to see "U2-3d" and I'm stoked about it. apparently it just makes you feel like you're in the front row or something. we'll see. They have assigned Gerrad to that red carpet at Sundance. I'm still planning on going. Oddly enough, they've assigned me to cover a Tom Hanks red carpet. It will be the first time I meet him, so that will be fun.

Editor's note: All pictures in this post courtesy NDG. Who's really Nicole. And awesome.

Untitled

I couldn't think of a clever title for this blog. I'm not sure that bodes well for the rest of the content. We'll see how it goes.

I saw "Definitely, Maybe" last night. Really cute. My official quote was something like "what a romantic comedy ought to be." Except I don't think I used the word ought. I hope not anyway. This movie has good star power: Ryan Reynolds (hubba hubba), Derek Luke (humina humina), Rachel Weisz (love) and Isla Fisher (yay). They were all so enjoyable to watch. Abigail Breslin did really great up until this one part where I think she looked at the camera. I hated her from then on. (Luckily it was at the end.) The story was good, and did kinda keep you guessing. A straight guy/fellow reviewer also liked it. He said it made him kinda reflect on past relationships. It made me wish I was in a current relationship with either Ryan or Derek.

I won't lie, I had to get a strawberry shake about it.

Then I decided I need to have a strawberry shake taste test. Much like the Vodka Challenge 07. Except this time it would be Jack in the Box vs In 'n' Out.

Then I decided that if I'm serious about getting in shape and a healthier diet that I can't do things like have a shake taste test. I guess I'll have to stick with the vodka.

I got home and watched another movie with Rachel Weisz and Paul Rudd. It sucked. I don't even wanna remember the name.

I watched a movie today that's up for a Film Independent Spirit Award. It's called Starting Out in the Evening. It was heartbreaking. Which I think means good in this case. More heartbreaking is that its up for best screenplay against Diablo. I can't vote against Diablo. Just like I can't vote against Once. Picking favorites is hard.

I got a Blackberry today. For work from work. I've never had one before, and since I always just pick the free and basic (no bells or whistles) cell phone, I felt like a grandma learning how to work it. It's cute tho.

I found out work won't be sending me to South by Southwest again this year. I think I might just go on my own. I wanna go to Austin anyway, and let's face it, I'll be more comfortable if I can walk the streets with celebrities. A couple of my fave music people are playing too, so it's a win-win.

I'm seeing another Sundance movie tonight. It's called "Just Another Love Story." The poster looks like the cover of a Harlequin novel, so hopefully I'm in for some dirty lovin.

Got lots to do before I leave for Sundance a week from today. Mostly cleaning and laundry and last minute shopping. Ugh.

I hope my boots arrive today. They're super cute and I may or may not have purchased them largely because their style name is "Bugaboot."

I leave you with this.

What am I, psychic?

And the nominees for DGA are:

Paul Thomas Anderson
Ethan and Joel Coen
Tony Gilroy (what can I say, he was the dark horse, I don't know that anyone saw that coming)
Sean Penn
Julian Schnabel

Busy day today, spent most of it putting together a DGA package that I hope will work out well. If it does, I'll link to it. If it doesn't, you'll never know.

Tonight it's "Definitely, Maybe." I'm definitely, maybe planning on loving it. I hope Ryan Reynolds, Rachel Weisz and Isla Fisher don't let me down.

Now here's some voting I can get behind...

The Critics Choice Awards were handed out tonight. If you didn't see it, it was probably because it was on Vh1, and maybe you didn't know. Despite Sam Rubin's heavy presence, I totally forgot about it until I happened to be flipping channels.

I tuned in midway through the show, and was shocked at the talent I saw in the audience...George Clooney and Don Cheadle, Daniel Day Lewis, Brangelina, Sean Penn...(I know, right?) I also saw photographic proof that Katie Holmes was there too. So a great turnout for them. (Which made me even more sad about the no Golden Globes ceremony news of the day. What can I say? I love me some roundtable awards shows!)

Yay Glen and Mar! "Falling Slowly" got best song!
Yay Enchanted!
Yay Diablo!
Yay Juno!
Yay DDL!

Daniel Day Lewis. You could have made me the happiest girl in the world if you would have accepted your award in your amazing There Will Be Blood dialect. Frankly, I probably won't like you ever again unless you do another role with that accent...or star in "The Last of the Mohicans AGAIN" (and it not be cheesy)...who am I kidding, as long as you don't grow a crazy beard or revisit "The Ballad of Jack and Rose" I'm yours. But you're still weird.

PS Casey Affleck. You were maybe the hottest thing in the audience tonight. You heard me Brad. George, you're definitely a close second.

Hello Javier Bardem. Without that hairdont, you're kind of attractive. I liked how you paid tribute to your fellow nominees by really making it seem like you had seen all the other movies. I still felt bad for my surrogate Grandpa Hal Holbrook tho. That's a really tough category.

I feel like all the actor/actress categories are tough this year. I can usually narrow it down to two, but picking one favorite? That's tough.

Ellen Page and Marion Cotillard delivered different yet stunning performances. Angelina's didn't suck, but Julie Christie's (Away from Her) was definitely the most heartbreaking.

Not heartbreaking was Nikki Blonsky's reaction to hearing her name called. I've interviewed her and she really is that genuinely surprised by the good fortune of her life these past couple of years.

For something like the last four years the person who won Critics Choice (actor/actress wise) has gone on to win the Oscar. This doesn't surprise me with DDL. But, despite what I just said about Julie Christie, I would still be surprised if she were to win the Oscar.

OMG I almost forgot to comment on the part of the show when they paused to remember the deceased. Instead of stars that have passed on this year, they recognized movies that tanked. It was hilarious. The last frame was the 65th Annual Golden Globes...wunh wunh.

I really can't believe there won't be a Golden Globes. I mean I know that in the scheme of things, it's no big deal, but in my world, it's huge. I hope the Oscars don't meet the same fate. Having said that, if the Oscars do go on, I hope I get to go.

I'm off to the DGA tomorrow morning for those nominations. I'm sure the Coen bros, who won tonight will be nominated. I'm guessing Sean Penn has a good chance. And Paul Thomas Anderson. And Julian Schnabel for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly...hmmm I need one more. I dunno. I'm blanking. I'll find out soon enough.

Tonight I saw "Smart People." It was okay. It didn't knock my socks off tho. Ellen Page plays a surly high school senior. She's really good at it. I'd like to see her in a slightly more different role. Thomas Haden Church shines in this one. He really brings the funny, if you know what I mean. I think the main problem was that I don't think I like Sarah Jessica Parker in movies anymore. I mean I did in "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun," but somewhere between her character in "The Family Stone" and the entire movie that was "Failure to Launch" I've lost interest in her on the big screen. I do enjoy Carrie Bradshaw, tho, so I think I'll be ok with the Sex movie, unless it totally blows. Dennis Quaid was fine, I have to adapt to him being an older man actor, I realize this, but how will I ever forget talking to him about farts at the junket for "Yours, Mine and Ours?" True story. I talk to movie stars about bodily functions. (You had to figure, right?) In my defense, he brought up the flatulence, and wasn't happy that he didn't completely shock or embarrass me. Me 1 Dennis Quaid 0.

Still waiting to hear if U2 will be making an appearance at Sundance, where their 3d movie is premiering. I say how can they not?? I have a feeling they're going to show up and play a secret show. Mostly because I like making up fantasies in my head that I would enjoy a lot.

I think that's enough for now.

Barack is the new Bobby

Ok, so the first part of this post should have been written last week, but it wasn't so I'll say it now.

Barack's victory speech. OMG. I have no interest in politics. I have no interest in election night or campaign antics or, let's face it, voting. But I'll be damned if I didn't feel something rise up in my chest as Mr. Obama talked about change following his win at the Iowa caucus. What I felt could only be described as hope. It was the same feeling I got when I watched "Bobby" or the subsequent documentaries on Bobby Kennedy. Bobby had it, and I think, Barack might too.

Having said that, I'm not sure to trust the feeling. I agree with those who say, Barack has never even run a company - or a state - how is he qualified to run a country? I could counter that, as my trusty officemate did, by saying Rumsfeld and Cheney had tons of experience, look where that got us. But is Obama just a smooth talker (one of my biggest weaknesses)? At this point, I'd sleep with him, but do I think he's who I want in the white house? I don't know.

Briefly, Huckabee. Holy cow. All I could think of when I saw him jamming his victory was...we could never send this person to a foreign country as a representative of us. Although as I type that, there was the whole Bill Clinton on the sax on Arsenio Hall moment.

(I'll pause to let some of you finish your hoo-hoo-hoo moment.)

Speaking of Clintons...much talk is being made of Hillary's emotional speak today. It was awkward to watch, I felt like my mom was upset about something. What do I think about her showing her feelings like that? I just fear that people are so obsessed with the whole woman thing that they will jump on it and say we can't have a female president because she'll cry when things go slightly sour.

So I don't know...will I vote? I don't know. Who should win? I'm not sure. I'd like to meld a few people together. I continue to see the whole voting thing as lesser of evils, decided not by the people but by electoral votes. It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Lots of firsts this past week...highlights include the Bonnie Brae pizza at Masa and the enhanced Dali exhibit at LACMA.

I have at least a screening a day this week (gearing up for Sundance). I think that might be a record. Tonight it's "Smart People"; tomorrow it's "Definitely, Maybe"; Wednesday it's "Just Another Love Story"; Thursday - "The Visitor"; and Friday "Sleepwalking".

Oh, and "Be Kind Rewind." I liked it. I loved Mos Def. He reminded me of Antwone Fisher's Derek Luke. The movie wasn't totally predictable and was fun. It wasn't Michel Gondry in the way "Eternal Sunshine" or "The Science of Sleep" are, with all the magical sequences, but it was fresh in a way that he's able to accomplish.

Forget One Night in Bangkok, I wanna stay here!

There's the Botel in Amsterdam.

The Ice Hotel in Sweden.

And sure, I'd like to eventually spend a night in both. And I already had my list of places to go this year pretty cemented...but then I read about this.

WHAT?! One funky room situated atop the Palais de Tokyo?? Overlooking the Eiffel Tower? For ONE year only?!?!

How can you put a dollar value on this view??

Pretty easily apparently...let's see, 333E would be like $450. And really, wouldn't you expect to pay more for such a unique experience? If you just clicked that link, you can see that it's booked until March already and it seems they release a night at a time. I'm sure Valentine's Day won't be the only night available on Ebay.

But seriously...LOOK AT THE LOO!!!

It just looks fun and funky and IT'S IN FRANCE!

I can picture it now. I'd stock up on pain au chocolat and my favorite jus de pommes (apple juice), a jambon baguette (ham and butter never tasted so good), some grey goose, some champagne...I'd leave for dinner if I had to and wouldn't return to the room without a piping hot Nutella crepe. I can almost hear the accordion music on the turntable. Sublime.

Taking cuteness (or should I say Knutness) to a whole new level

Getty Images

Knut...Suri...Suri...Knut...

Word is a movie producer is pursuing Suri Cruise to star in an animated tale about Knut the baby polar bear. Suri would provide the English speaking voice.

Hurts your ovaries doesn't it? SO cute!!

NDG had the best reaction. "I feel like I just won the lottery." She loves "knutie" and Suri.

Because I'm crazy, I just checked their birthdays thinking they were about the same age. Turns out Suri's a little older. She was born 04/06 (of course we didn't see her until 10/06). Knut was born 12-05-06, and was rejected by his mother.

Here's hoping this movie magic comes full circle.

If nothing else, I got this little tidbit of terrificness into our show for tomorrow.

The Year of the Quinny - Onward and Upward

First things first, I'd like to thank the Grey Goose Gimlets and Sushi Roku's Baked Lobster with Miso Sauce Roll for helping me make the most out of the last few days of 2007.

I'd also like to thank the stranger couple on Fairfax who promised Julie and I that our uneventful night was not the sign of the year to come.

Now onto 2008's To-Do List (in no particular order):

1. Grand Canyon (this was one of the few things on 07's list to get totally ignored. sorry big giant hole in the ground.)
2. I want to continue reading regularly. To always have a bookmark going.
3. I'd like to do something new every week. See or eat or meet something/someone new. Escape the box.
4. Stop blaming LA, start USING LA.
5. More festivals. SXSW (I need to go to Austin anyway). Cannes (I need to go back to France like salmon need to swim upstream to reproduce).
6. Oscars. This is on the life list and will continue to reappear on the annual lists until somebody takes my fancy-dressed ass to the biggest awards show ever. Red carpet counts.
7. Marathon Training. Goal is rock 'n' roll marathon in San Diego. But I'm not sure if that gives me enough time. Getting trainers this weekend.
8. Finish movie script with Presley. It's gonna be awesome.
9. I found lyrics to a song I wrote in 2004. I'm gonna try and get them sold. I can hear Carrie Underwood singing it now. Or maybe Taylor Swift.
10. If I don't own some form of residence by the end of 2008, I wanna be so close I can taste it.
10.a. Save more.
10.b. Invest more.
(I'm on the right track, I would just like to be moving faster and further.)
11. TRAVEL. Yes please.
11. a. Island Getaway. thinking more and more that a week on a beach with a hammock seems like the perfect way to usher in my 30th year. thinking Indian Ocean or Caribbean Sea. thinking it'd be ok to go it alone. Bora Bora, despite being my #1 dream destination would be nice, but I refuse to give up hope of a more romantic bungalow fantasy, so I'm gonna hold off. My #2 destination is Petra, Jordan. But I realize it's probably not smart for girls to go to the Middle East solo...
11.b. Potential new hometowns. Portland. Austin. about 4 days each. mostly to put people like my uncle rob (who think its weird to wanna move to towns you haven't spent quality time in) at ease.
12. spend a week and change helping my sister acclimate to two little people requiring her attention.

In closing, I almost just cried at the trailer for "Away from Her." I've already seen the movie. I know what happens. But seeing the trailer backed by Ray Lamontagne's "Be Here Now" was ALMOST just too much.

I see "Be Kind Rewind" tomorrow. I'll let you know what I think.

Also - they're predicting the worst rain storm since Jan 2005 to hit LA tomorrow. It's gonna last 5 days. I'm not ready. I realize the rest of the country has already dealt with such crappy winter weather that I have no room to complain. But I remember Jan 2005. It was no bueno. I think it rained all day every day of the whole month (literally, it did, except for like 3 days). All I remember from Jan 2005 is rain. I wondered if the sun had forgot its rightful place in the sky. This is LA. It's 75 on Jan. 2. I was running around the Fairfax District without sleeves on New Years Eve night. I leave for Sundance in 2 weeks. I'll deal with this thing called "winter" then. As for the rain, I'm sure I'll see enough of it out of the window of my little bungalow in Portland whenever I move there. Keep LA dry. Dry and Sunny. And temperate. Thank you.