Friday, January 22nd

Friday morning was brisk, snowy, and beautiful. We headed to the Library Theater in the morning to see the documentary Catfish. As we were walking in, we saw Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me, who is also one of the Sundance judges this year.

I would encourage everyone to see Catfish as soon as possible. I don't want to go into too many details about the film because the twists and turns are what made it so great. I'll just say it delves into the complexities of internet relationships and is a touching testament to the bonds of friendship and brotherhood. The filmmakers were present, as was the subject of the film, Nev Schulman. It was absolutely riveting. The audience gave it a very long standing ovation--the only one of all the movies we attended. It has also been getting some of the best buzz among the folks here at Sundance.

After Catfish, we stayed at the Library and saw Life 2.0, a documentary about the video game/alternate reality site Second Life. The filmmaker made his own documentary filmmaker avatar and went throughout Second Life following certain characters both in and out of the game. Three main characters were featured: a man and woman who started a relationship in Second Life and left their respective spouses, only to find that real life is not as idyllic as a video game; a woman who lives in her parents' basement and makes a six figure salary as a Second Life merchant selling luxury houses, clothing, and skin care products to avatars; and a man who became addicted to Second Life after creating an avatar of an 11 year old girl, which ultimately cost him his relationship with his fiance and completely consumed his life. It was a fascinating concept for a documentary, but was not edited as well as we felt it could have been. It dragged in parts, but I was still glad I saw it because I didn't realize how detailed Second Life has become. It is fascinating that SL has its own economy that can be transferred to real money. The film also addressed the emerging legal issues related to new media. I would recommend that you see Life 2.0 before you decide to log on to Second Life, because SL can apparently change your life in ways you never expected.

After Life 2.0, we went to the ASCAP Music Cafe at Main Street to see The Fray. While we were waiting in line to get in, we made some new friends, Harry and Keegan. Harry and Keegan have a production company. Harry has been producing films for quite a few years, and Keegan recently got his MBA and now works with Harry at the production company. Harry produced The Eyes of Tammy Faye, one of my all-time favorite documentaries. He also produced Werner Herzog's recent film Rescue Dawn with Christian Bale. Harry and Keegan were very down to earth and funny. We enjoyed talking with them about the LA scene and the ups and downs of living and working with celebrities. Kristine also had a good time bantering with them about sports as she is wont to do.

The Fray gave a great show. As we were leaving the show, we were invited (read: hustled) into this room above the Music Cafe. We were plied with the promise of food and drinks, but it turned out that the only drinks were a variety of flavors of Vita Coco, one of the most disgusting drinks of all times. There are quite a few Vita Coco reps running around Sundance giving out samples of this nasty stuff. But the Vita Coco was far from the most surreal thing in the room. I asked Kristine how I should describe the reception, and she aptly pointed out that it was like a timeshare for Pieta molds. The folks hosting the reception have a license from the Vatican to recreate sculputures of the Pieta, the famous Michelangelo sculpture of Mary holding Jesus. So they have started producing 800 pound bright white resin sculptures of the Pieta. I guess they figured "what better place to sell resin Pietas than the Sundance Film Festival?" One of these sculptures was prominently displayed in the room, and we were informed that for a mere $250,000 we could have our very own. I am dying to know if they have actually unloaded any Pietas.

After the Pieta reception, Harry and Keegan offered to use their fabulous connections to get us in to Harry O's to see Nas. We all went out to 350 Main for dinner and then on to Harry O's. A little while after we arrived at Harry O's, Paris Hilton arrived with her entourage. Paris sashayed up to the very front next to the stage, spilling her drink on Kristine as she passed. Paris sat on someone's shoulders next to her boyfriend Doug Reinhardt, who was also sitting on someone's shoulders. Thinking back on this, it strikes me as odd that some guy let Doug Reinhardt, who is not a small man, sit on his shoulders all night. I wonder if there are people who get paid to let celebrities sit on their shoulders, sort of like those personal umbrella carriers. Nas gave a great show and there was much dancing and merriment at Harry O's.

After the Nas show, we split up with Harry and Keegan and went down Main Street to say hi to our friend and fellow Sundance enthusiast from Nashville, Clayton Cummings, and Clayton's friends from St. Louis, Charles and Abbie. We were tired by that point, so we pretty quickly got into a cab driven by the grumpiest cabbie in the world and headed back to the Hampton Inn. We are planning to get together with Charles and Abbie next time they come to visit Clayton in Nashville. We are going to take them to the Belcourt to prove that we have independent film in Tennessee, too.

Through all the excitement at Sundance, I am on pins and needles awaiting the impending arrival of my new niece/nephew, currently known as Purvis.