Archive for the 'Entertainment' Category

I ended up seeing about (see my SD2010 movie notes as to why this is “about”) 16 films this year at the Sundance Film Festival.  Many of the movies were pretty good (no “C” or below grades with one more movie to go).  Visitors this year included Lisa and Larry along with the usual suspects from IndieGoGo and prior year SDs (e.g. Eric, Slava, Danae, Katherine, Rob, Erica, Meera).

Some of the memories that stick out include being sick and tired, but still pushing to see a ton of movies and still hit some parties – e.g. the  “Fairway” party hosted by lawyer Jonathan (thanks!).  Fun times were also had at High West Distillery’s bar (caught up with Marc P. and his friend Matt from Chi-town).  Unfortunately the sleep deprivation and health issues caught up with me and I had to bag some of the other parties and even one of the movies (Splice).  Things winded down nicely on Sunday with a make your own pizza party at Chez Hendrix on Woodside.  For a list of all the movies I saw and my $.02 on each see my Sundance 2010 movie list.

Overview of new shuffle: Apple – iPod shuffle – The first mp3 player that talks to you

Perhaps it is just me, but a mandatory mating of a device to use a specific set of headphones?  It would seem that many people would want to periodically use another set of headphones for a variety of reasons.  Is “Voice Over” innovative?  Not so much – the technology has been around for a long time and I’d question the value of it telling the user the song name.  Do most people not know the songs on their iPod?  C’mon Steve, is this along the lines of the sub-par iPods (e.g. no bluetooth in iPods?!) that are produced?  …or perhaps the inability to upgrade memory in all Apple iPod-like devices.  Then again, Apple has done well in the recent-past, and perhaps behavioral economics will prove me wrong – i.e. being cool, fasionable, and simple rules the consumer market.  

As I was listening to NBC’s Super Bowl broadcast I heard a NBC reporter mention that NBC on average makes ~$100,000/second for each commercial timeslot they sold for the Super Bowl.  Metcalfe’s law in action.

Looks like Monica will be on TV:

Leaks in the Bathroom and Kitchen; Slippery Stairs : House Detective : Home & Garden Television

So… I finally found a moment to breath between movies. The parties, people watching, time to hang out with friends and family, and the films are fun.  There is more though – each year Sundance continues to change my views and understanding of film.  The festival helps me better understand films’ impact on society, their value, and their power as a medium to communicate.  With organizations like the Sundance Institute and Indiegogo.com independent film makers will continue to receive help to tell their story/ies and also help involve others interested in film.

This year started out strong with many movies the first weekend and the beginning week starting with an excellent Indiegogo party (Robert Redford decided to stop by).  In addition  there were many current and past friends from work that made it out to the festival – fun fun (Eric/Slava – get Absolut as a sponsor again next year!).  This year I have been lucky in that all (save one) of the movies I have seen have had their director, producer, and/or major cast members present after the film.  This is one of the best parts of Sundance – a chance for everyone to ask questions about what they just saw, to better understand the motivations and journey of making the film.  It’s fun for those involved with the movie too – a chance to get feedback.  Sure, seeing some hit movies before they are out is unique, but not nearly as exciting as being able to interact with those who made the film.  A good example is World’s Greatest Dad.  After the film I was able to ask Bobcat Goldwaithe about the ending of his film – planned ahead or planned on the fly?  Turns out he planned it from the get go.  Why?  He writes his films backwards.  The other aspect of the Q&A is inspiration – we all have stories to tell and seeing beginners producing great movies shows that it can be done without a big budget and a ton of experience (although it does help ).  Wanna make a movie?

Additional Info:

In total I saw 22 movies which brought forth many emotions and thoughts within me.  Our movie comments and grades for each of the movies can be found on my wiki.   The pictures and videos are posted in my picture gallery – the pics/videos include Robert Redford (who attended a Indiegogo.com party  we were at), Michael Cera (from Arrested Development and Super Bad), and Kevin Spacey.  For a list of movies we saw please click here.