JOHN POLLY
Span class="pageSubheader">UNDANCE BLOG HYSTERIA!
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.
pan class="pageSubheader">Wednesday, January 18 - GETTING THERE! Taste the Magic!
pan class="pageSubheader">Thursday, January 19 - GOOD MORNING UTAH! Let the madness begin!
pan class="pageSubheader">Thursday, January 19 - SUNDANCE KICKS OFF! Robert Redford: Craggy & fierce! Plus, a Steel Magnolia!
pan class="pageSubheader">Thursday, January 19 - OPENING NIGHT PARTY! Hanging with Friends & Todd Oldham!
pan class="pageSubheader">Friday, January 20 - Screening: The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
pan class="pageSubheader">Friday, January 20 - Who’s Here? John Waters
pan class="pageSubheader">Friday, January 20 - Movie Buzz: 5 Films Getting Attention
pan class="pageSubheader">Friday, January 20 - Party Report: The Queer Lounge comes out!
pan class="headerRed">PARTY REPORT
pan class="pageSubheader">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!
QueerLounge.jpg
Caption: Welcome to the gayness!
Alonso&Itay.jpg
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:
pan class="pageSubheader">LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
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.
pan class="pageSubheader">BUGCRUSH
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!
pan class="pageSubheader">STEEL CITY
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.
pan class="pageSubheader">A LION IN THE HOUSE
A gripping documentary about kids enduring treatments for cancer. Brave, stirring real-life drama.
pan class="pageSubheader">WILD THINGS I HAVE KNOWN
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.
pan class="headerRed">AND HIGHLY ANTICIPATED:
pan class="pageSubheader">THE NIGHT LISTENER (based on the Armistead Maupin novel), pan class="pageSubheader">QUINCEANERA (A 15-year-old girl, her great-uncle and her gay cousin in East L.A.), and pan class="pageSubheader">SMALLTOWN GAY BAR (A doc about just what its called; produced by Kevin Smith).
pan class="headerRed">WHO’S HERE! BONUS!
pan class="pageSubheader">Hi John Waters!
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Trash film legend--and Sundance veteran--trong>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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