JOHN POLLY
S
Greetings from Park City, Utah and the Sundance Film Festival. Over the next week, GENRE’s Managing Editor, John Polly (that’s me) will be filing daily reports on the films, the buzz about films, the people in the films,the people who make the films and allthe general fuss around the fuss around the films which takes over Park City during the Sundance Film Festival. Plus, we’ll deliver you news on what queer films and homo filmmakers are making an impact (on and off-screen), and what indie film freshness you can expect to hear about next.
- GETTING THERE! Taste the Magic!
- GOOD MORNING UTAH! Let the madness begin!
- SUNDANCE KICKS OFF! Robert Redford: Craggy & fierce! Plus, a Steel Magnolia!
- OPENING NIGHT PARTY! Hanging with Friends & Todd Oldham!
- Screening: The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
- Who’s Here? John Waters
- Movie Buzz: 5 Films Getting Attention
- Party Report: The Queer Lounge comes out!
On Friday night the Queer Lounge officially opened its doors for the festival with “Glamdance” a party honoring the film, Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner. For the third year, Queer Lounge provides a central location for Sundance’s queer film professionals to meet and schmooze, also hosting panels, parties, readings and a work space for media types working the fest.
For the opening night bash, the gay glitterati crammed in, as did the East Village Opera Company, a band of NYC-based rockers who crank out twisted, slamming takes on your opera faves. Very Baz Luhrmann.
Check out the party pics below!
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Caption: Welcome to the gayness!
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caption: The Advocate’s Arts & Entertainment guru, Alonso Duralde gets chummy with CBS News on Logo reporter dude Itay Hod.
CharlesWurm&Jason
caption: Kissing Jessica Stein directgor Charles Herman Wurmfeld and boyfriend Jason Buchman. Cute, right?
Charlie&Cameron
caption: New Yorkers and Sundance staffers Charlie and Cameron. They’re, like, boyfriends and stuff.
DanielaJennySara
caption: A lesbian power troika! The L Word’s Daniela Sea, model/dyke icon Jenny Shimizu and PlanetOut’s Sara Seinberg.
Here’sMark&Josh
caption: here! Networks’ Mark Rinehart and Josh Rosenzweig.
ISeeQueerPeople
caption: Trust! The back of a Queer Lounge staffer’s T-shirt.
MatthewBank&Juan
caption: HX Magazine magnate Matthew Bank and producer guy Juan Davila.
RobertMichaelRalph
caption: Psycho Beach Party director Robert King, Michael Williams and Ralph Brescia.
RobertRhondaDennis
caption: L.A.’s scenesters Robert Laurita, Rhonda Christou and writer Music with a TWIST host Dennis Hensley.
RonMark
caption: Park City jewelry designer Ron Butkovich and boyfriend Mark.
SeanBobbyJim
caption: Sean, Bobby & Jim came all the way from San Diego to see films, ski and wear fierce cowboy hats.
Sten&NathanSierra
caption: Sten & Nathan from the band Sierra Swan, who performed in the Queer Lounge over the weekend.
As Sundance begins trolling along, so does the film buzz. Here are already a few films that we’ve been hearing great things about:
A dysfunctional family comedy by first-time directors Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris. Starring Greg Kinnear, Steve Carrell, Toni Collette anda 7-year-old hopeful beauty queen. Buzzword: Madcap! And it’s been snatched up by Fox Searchlight for $10 mil already.
This creepy/sexy gay short film (32 minutes) by fashion photographer Carter Smith is the most buzzworthy queer film so far. Gorgeously filmed with hot young male cast. Very Dennis Cooper spooky! Beware of the hot new kid in school, duh!
A dysfunctional family drama about working-class men in a Midwestern steel town. Raw performances by great character actors like John Heard, Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne’s sister Jackie) and young star-on-the-rise, America Ferrara.
A gripping documentary about kids enduring treatments for cancer. Brave, stirring real-life drama.
Cam Archer’s whacked-out tale of a 13-year-old longing for an older dude he’s infatuated with. Exec produced by Gus Van Sant.
(based on the Armistead Maupin novel), (A 15-year-old girl, her great-uncle and her gay cousin in East L.A.), and (A doc about just what its called; produced by Kevin Smith).
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Trash film legend--and Sundance veteran--John Waters (right, flanked by his here! Networks pal) works the fest. |
Nothign like sitting in the silly Entertainment Weekly cafe typing away when John Waters himself wanders in. We said hello and he grinned proudly when he reminded us that we called his GENRE interview with Johnny Knoxville back in July “the gayest interview the magazine has ever run!” Waters went on: “Well, it certainly was the filthiest!”
CELEBS! Jennifer Aniston, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener, Scott Caan and the rest of the cast of Sundance’s Opening Night film, Friends with Money met the press on the morning following their big bow. No juicy bits from the press conference. No one asks about Brad. But they did hit the scene... Also spotted around Park City: Sting and Trudie Styler; Deigo Luna; hunky Aaron Eckhart; Cybill Shepherd; cute Justin Long; and lots of homo celebs and industry folk. More on them later in our Queer Lounge opening party wrap-up.
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Little Maximo gets flirty with the cop he’s crushing on. Naughty! |
If I wasn’t sure if they got America’s Next Top Model in the Philippines before, I’d swear by it now. That’s ’cuz the 12-year-old title character in this entertaining, if at times cornball melodrama seems to have learned his (her? can one cattily call a gay little tween a “she”?) moves from watching Tyra Banks’ constant coterie of supermodel wannabes hone their catwalk strut. Little Miss “Maxi” Oliveros can turn it!
Quick synopsis: Maximo Oliveros is a totally nelly (no judgment there; he just really is) 12-year-old who lives with his father and two older brothers in the slums of Manila. Mom is dead, but Maxi--in his floral print short-shorts, pink Hello Kitty t-shirts and hair barettes (wurk!)--cooks and cleans for his macho family of butch yet benign con-artists. Pa and Maxi’s brothers seem to embrace his obvious burgeoning gayness, never demeaning Maxi’s fey self. The film evolves into a melodramatic crime story, with Maxi crushing on a handsome young cop who shows interest in him. At times the cop seems too interested, and you’ll wonder how far this is gonna go... But the film handles their relationship pretty even-handedly.
The best parts? The film’s humor. Filmmaker Aureaus Solito has fun showing us the spirit and joy Maxi and his queeny friends take in preening around gayly, even mounting their own mock Miss Universe pageants. And, the ending, though cliche, still feels good as Maxi grows up a bit and learns a lesson about men.
The worst parts? The plot turns--unconvincingly--into a corny family vs. meddling cop outsider schmaltz.
Ultimately, The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros is a great glimpse into how homosexuality and femininity isn’t quite the taboo in the family culture that we’re used to. Plus, it’s a gritty yet colorful depiction of urban Manila life. And it does feature the most fiercely nelly Phillipino 12-year-olds your ever gonna see on screen.
The first real day of the film fest dawns. It’s sunny. And by 9:30am it’s time to head to the first screening of the festival. Sundance veterans always preach that the earlier screenings are much easier to get into, and this seems the case. I’ve also been told it’s good to arrive 30 minutes before showtime to make sure you get in. I do. I’m the first one there! Dork! But that just means there’s time to scan the daily L.A. Times and NY Times (stacked free at screening venues), as well as the other showbiz pubs. Everywhere you go in Sundance, there are media giveaways, free samples and all kinds of promotional madness. More on that later...
Friends with money , indeed! Not only seving as the title of Sudance’s opening night film, it could be the mantra for what striving filmmakers are looking for when their film hits Sundance. But as schmoozy as many of the showbiz types seem swanning about Park City, as the opening night arrives most folks I tend to encounter seem to be eager, earnest young filmmakers. It’s kind of nice, but at some point I’m going to need some serious gawdy glamour to remind me that this is indeed a big Hollywood event.
All afternoon around Park City, I’ve bumped into some queer film notables. Strand Releasing’s Marcus Hu, filmmaker and queer film expert Jenni Olson, TLA Releasing’s Lewis Tice—just for starters. It’s not hard to stumble into folks like these who’ve made queer cinema what it is today. Props to them!
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Gay film people everywhere! Logo’s Marc Leonard with queer film expert Jenni Olson. |
After festivalgoers have all crammed into the two theaters for the Friends with Money screenings (which gets a very warm reception--but it’s hard not to get excited with Jennifer Aniston and Joan Cusack, fresh from the pre-screening party and surely flash-bulb dazzled premiere in attendance) the partygoers file on Q to shuttle buses and head to the Park Meadows Country Club for the Opening Night Gala Party. The line to get in snakes about 75 yards from the Club’s front doors, but it moves soon, and once up to door, we see Sundance Press Office superstar Levi Elder (who we worship), who whooshes us right in. Once there amid the throngs insdie the front door, we ask the first festival volunteer (who are all genuinely super-nice), “Where the bar that’s not going to be packed yet where we can get a drink the fastest?” She kindly directs us downstairs and outside to the tent where a band is playing. True enough we find our way into a big, heated tent where, although a cheesy wedding-reception-esque band is playing, the bars are happily accessible.
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Sundance’s press maestro Levi Elder gives us candid realness. |
Now the weird part: Did you know that Utah has very strict liquor/alcohol consumption laws. Beer is weaker here (with a lesser percentage of alcohol,no more than 3.2%) and when you order mixed drinks (say, a vodka & soda), the pour is strictly monitored by this weird little gizmo on the top of the bottle. So, you’re NOT going to get a strong drink. While this shell-shocks a boozy New Yorker, when in Rome you’ve got to drink as the Romans (in this case Mormon Romans) do. Note to self: Next year, bring a flask!
Still, weak drinks in hand my TV exec sidekick and I take in the rosy surroudings, full of buzzy film types. The whole opening night affair as been designed by homo design guru Todd Oldham, whose trademark kicky style is evidenced by the fun, colorfully upholestered ottomans lined atop plush magenta-car \peted lounge areas. TV screens are broadcasting a fun montage of images from past Sundance hits (Thirteen, Buffalo 66, Spanking the Monkey, Run Lola Run, Mysterious Skin), and just as our drinks are taking effect we bump into Mr. Oldham himself! “Don’t I know you?” he says to me. “Hell yeah! If you say so...” We chat with the still-adorable Oldham... He’s stoked to see the movies, and we complement the column he writes for the fun DIY mag Ready Made. He and my pal talk about gay TV, we snap pics and move on! Sweet!
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We heart his kicky ottomans, too. |
We heart Todd. |
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As the party rolls on, we bump into more fun queer film folks: NYC’s NewFest (www.newfest.org) head honcho and Sundance Programming Consultant Basil Tsiokos, Sundance Short Film Program ámer Roberta Marie Munroe, and director Carter Smith (the fierce fashion photographer whose credits include the 2005 Dieux de Stade French Rugby calendar and has his spooky queer deburt short Bugcrush in this year’s fest) and his cute boyfriend, NYC’s DJ Will. After a couple hours of shmoozing (with no other celebs in sight) it’s time to call it a night.
[Basil/Roberta pic, cute bartender pic, Carter/Will pic, me&rabbitcoat pic:
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NewFest & Sundance film guy Basil Tsiokos & Sundance programmer Roberta Marie Munroe |
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Cute dudes from the band The Changes; they rocked the opening party. |
This tall strapper served us beer. And a cocky pose.
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Super-photographer/BUGCRUSH director Carter Smith & his bf, NYC’ “s kickass DJ Will. |
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GENRE’s Sundance freak-at-large John Polly with some guy in a crrrrrrraaazzzy rabbit coat. Please don’t throw blood. |
The shuttle bus ride home is extra-festive, with boozy partiers capping their first Sunday night. As we wait for our bus change back to our Deer Valley condo, the newspaper machine of The Park Record beckons from the bus shelter, with “Queer Lounge Returns” blasting from the front page! Yes, tomorrow night, following the first real day of screenings and events, the wildly popular Queer Lounge party/event space will open with a big, massive party. Expect a full report!
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EXTRA! EXTRA! The gays are coming! |
Come 2pm it’s time for the official opening press conference of the festival, announcing the, well, the opening of the festival. And it’s my first glimpse of Sundance’s own grand poobah, founder and spiritual leader Robert Redford. In a surprisingly non-frantic room filled with reporters (lots of blond Euro types in nubby sweaters and with hot designer eyeglasses) and photographers (big, long lenses—woo-hoo!) Mr. Redford (aka Sundance, “the Natural”, the cute newlywed from Barefoot in the Park, Gatsby Œ, Out of Africa guy, the Horse Whisperer, the Electric Horseman—and my favorite, Hubbell — takes to the dais with Geoffrey Gilmore (the festival’s Director) and film director Nicole Holofcener, who’s film Friends with Money (starring Frances McDormand, Joan Cusack, Catherine Keener and some Aniston chick--and all about women living in L.A.) opens the fest. Holofcener’s is a Sundance success story, having had her earliest works cultivated through the Sundance Film Lab, and her first feature Walking and Talking was a fest favorite back in 1996, as was Lovely and Amazing in 2002.
They talk about how this is Sundance’s 25th anniversary (not the fest; but the institute which develops young filmmakers), and how Sundance (the fest) is really about being a “showcase for discovering new filmmakers, and a place where they can show their work”—or so says Redford. Then he went on to downplay the celeb/party angle, noting that that phenomenon that has grown up around the fest. Makes sense, but one scoot down Park City’s Main Street this week with all kinds of corporate sponsorship mania in evidence (The Turning Leaf Vineyards Lounge, the Entertainment Weekly Cafe, the Volkswagen Tent, the Intel Digital Experience Zone, the Stella Artois Patio, the Starbucks Salon etc.) and wall-to-wall limos and Escalades and it’s hard not to feel that showcasing up-and-coming filmmaking talent may be hard to locate amid the hype and agency-sponsored parties.
Meanwhile, the friendly press conference ambled on, with some celeb notables in attendance: Sally Field (a Sundance Board Trustee), and Sundance jurors Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), directors Alan Rudolph, Miguel Arteta and cute Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (who helmed Festen and has great floppy dirty blond hair).
That’s Bob. Craggy, yet still somehow foxy. Kind of. |
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Terrence Howard give s us the “hi” sign. |
Okay, not her best look. But she was really cute one second before this was taken. |
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IndieWire’s Eugene Hernandez & Director Miguel Arteta |
Kinda dreamy Danish director Thomas Vinterberg. He’s very nice. And has great floppy hair.
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This is totally cute Sundance staffer Jeremiah. He told us he loves GENRE. Yay! |
Post-press conference, it was time to charge around the city, check email, and grab a late lunch/early dinner. A skip up Main Street led me and my TV exec pal to Bandits’ Grill & Bar (), where totally yummy BBQ and steaks made us almost as happy as our super-friendly, strapping server Ryan. Damn, these Utah fellas are nice—and cuuuute!
God, we needed these. |
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This is Ryan. He served us meat. He’s hotter in person. Yay for Utah! |
Rise and shine! Up at reasonable hour with this cool view!
First, order of biz. Figure out this shuttle system so we can get into town (we’re staying just outside the center of Park City by the Deer Valley (http://www.deervalley.com/) ski resort), which isn’t hard to do. We walk a block or so, and within minutes a bus comes and whooshes (or sloshes? it’s snowing a bit) us into the center of town. A shuttle bus change later (and a short ride around the über-quaint, twee downtown of Park City and TV-friend and I find our way to the Sudance Film Festival headquarters to get our movie-going credentials. And though the Park City Marriott is crammed with parka-clad festival-goers (media folks, filmmakers, industry peeps and such) it’s pretty easy going. I get my Press Pass, and a new list of press screenings and I’m off!
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WE LOVE SAUSAGE: The fine print says “Taste the Magic!” Really. |
Thanks American Airlines! Don’t worry, I’m not gonna begin this entire affair by shamelessly plugging an airline for giving me a free trip out here. Nope,this ticket was bought and paid for by the magazine. But, it all did go flawlessly--pretty much... Highlights of the jaunt from NYC to Salt Lake with a stop-over in Dallas? The funky little snack box served (for just $3) during the first flight. You gotta love a weir Ÿd little box filled with crackers, spread cheese, dried fruit (hello Craisins!), Oreos, and this mad beef stick sausage thing. Inscribed on the O’Brien’s Beef Summer Sausage label the instruction: “Taste the Magic!” I did. Magic tastes kind of salty and makes you burp. I loved it!
Second leg of the flight I got bumped up to First Class (not sure why, but I wasn’t about to question it) so I landed in Salt Lake several glasses of wine later and very happy to be there. Thanks, American!
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Yes, you’re in Utah. Show us hot ski dudes! |
In the airport I saw what I realized would begin to be the first evidence of Mormon Utah. Cute, 20-ish, clean cut boys working everywhere! In the baggage claim, assisting travelers in wheelchairs, working at shuttle service desks. Of course (as a friend s juggested) they’re probably all already married and working hard to procreate and crank out a Mormon brood of their own. But hey... They’re nice to look at! Very Steve Sandvoss in Latter Days.
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Oh, Tannenbaum! Park City local color. |
Chipper youngsters behing the shuttle desk put us (I’m traveling with my best pal, a TV exec at one of those big new homo channels, who’s coming out to Sundance to check out the films in search of worthy, watchable gayness) in a van and about 40 minutes later we cruised into snowy Park City at about 10pm. Cute white Christmas lights never go out of style in this charming, western, resorty small mountain town.
Found our condo lodgings (a bit out of town but hello hot tub! and fireplace! and snowy view over a frozen pond), ordered a pizza and settled in.
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Okay, we’re not exactly boy scouts. But it’s kinda burning. |
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