Sundance Stargazing

In college, I took several film classes, which ended up being some of my favorite courses of all. From Jean-Luc Godard to the Godfather, my eyes were opened to a whole new world of storytelling and cinematography and art direction and dialogue. Though I had always appreciated good movies, and had gone through a mini-crash course in indie films my freshman year thanks to my roommate and an unlimited movie pass at Hollywood Video (hey, this was pre-Netflix days, people!), I had never taken the time to really study the art of film. And honestly, I think these classes are part of what ushered in the era of photography in my life. So I was so pumped when we moved to Salt Lake City, because we’re only a 30-minute drive from Park City, the home of the Sundance Film Festival, one of the most prestigious in the world. Add to that the fact that they release tickets to locals first…. awesome!

Unfortunately, being the procrastinators we are sometimes, we kind of missed our window of opportunity this year. And with Jamie’s new job, we knew we wouldn’t have a whole lot of time to go up there anyway. So I was THRILLED when my friend Mike Kanzler called me to say he had scored a photography job there for this past weekend, and wanted me to come along and shoot with him. It took a little schedule rearranging (thankyouthankyouthankyou Kevin for taking my Sunday shift!), but how on earth could I pass up an opportunity like this?

I was unable to attend the Friday night event (because I was seeing my ridiculously talented friend Bryan Almond perform in the opera Carmen), but on Saturday we went up to the cabin rented out by Columbia College of Chicago, a film school, to shoot a luncheon and panel discussion about developments with the school. There were lots of faculty members and alumni present, and we actually had the privilege while we were there of watching a screening of a film called Chicago Overcoat, which was written and directed by two Columbia alumni. It was a Chicago gangster film starring Frank Vincent, of Goodfellas, Casino, and The Sopranos fame. I loved the Q&A’s the best though, because it’s so fascinating to hear about the process of realizing a creative vision, with all of its challenges and hurdles and rewards.

Then yesterday, on Sunday, we photographed a reception for the premiere of the film The Dry Land, which unfortunately we didn’t get to see, but from what we heard was really amazing. It’s the story of an Iraq veteran who returns home to Texas from war and struggles to reconcile his life there with what he’s been through. It was written and directed by Ryan Piers Williams, another Columbia grad, and stars America Ferrera (Williams’s real-life girlfriend), Wilmer Valderrama, Jason Ritter, and Ryan O’Nan. And guess what…. they were ALL in attendance at the party! How crazy is that?! And mind you, this party was in two tiny little rooms in this Park City cabin. We’re talking PACKED. So literally, Mike and I were rubbing shoulders with these guys all afternoon. It was definitely a surreal experience. One minute we’re just meandering around taking test shots of the food, and the next America Ferrera is walking up the stairs and then standing two feet away. And I think this is another reason why I love the Sundance culture so much, more than I think I would enjoy celebrity encounters at other awards shows or premieres or whatever. The whole experience was just so… normal. Everyone was wearing jeans and snow boots and huge jackets, there were no bodyguards or paparazzi (except for, I guess, us?), everyone was clambering for the sweet potato fries, and nobody like screamed or freaked out when the “talent” showed up. Never mind me and Mike hyperventilating in the corner over there. The craziest part? Mike got this gig by answering a post on the forum OpenSourcePhoto… and nobody else responded to it. So the lesson is, just GO for it! Thanks to Mike putting himself out there, we ended up in a tiny room full of celebrities snapping away.

So enough of that, on with the photos!

Am I in love with Park City? Yes. Internet, don’t you be hating on Utah.

Amber Tamblyn was the first celebrity to arrive, and the first to leave.

Yep, that’s Wilmer Valderrama. Yep, I was standing THAT CLOSE.

Okay, so the blonde girl in the upper right corner of the next set… When I saw her, I KNEW I knew who she was, but for the life of me, I couldn’t remember what she had been in. I was positive she had played a cheerleader in something, so when we got home I was all googling “blonde cheerleader actress”…. long shot, eh? But I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep til I had figured out. Thank goodness Mike texted me a couple of hours later to tell me his high school kids at church had told him that she played the cheerleader in Dodgeball and in A Cinderella Story (which yes, I have seen). Turns out her name is Julie Gonzalo, and she’s been in several other movies I’ve seen. I think she’s so pretty.

And America… She’s so beautiful, even more so in real life. And short like me! I loved it!

If you’ve ever seen any VH1 special, i.e. I Love the 80′s, you’ll recognize this comedian:

The guy in the grey shirt below is Ryan Piers Williams, the writer/director.

The guy in the center below is Jason Ritter, son of John Ritter. Doesn’t he look JUST like him?

I adore this little moment between America and Ryan.

Cute, cute, cute.

And then Mike convinced me to step out from against the wall and ask for photographs. Here’s one of him with Wilmer Valderrama…

…. and one he took of me with America Ferrera! Crazy!

And there ya go. I don’t by any means envision a career of paparazzi-like celebrity stalking in my future, but for a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, it was pretty sweet.