Sundance Part II
A few more pics in my 2006 Sundance set on Flickr.
The other joy of snowboarding during Sundance is the emptiness of the resorts. The pumped up lodging rates during the festival drive most skiiers to other slopes for the week. On Tuesday, after Jason and Jamie had left and before my second half companions had arrived, I went boarding at Park City resort. For three straight runs, I didn't see a single other person, and I rode up the lift by myself each time, feeling a bit guilty each time I greeted the guy working the lift, as if I was the only reason he had to come to work that day to stand around in the cold.
Sharp eye, that Jason. During Q&A, director Jason Reitman apologized and said we'd missed a chunk of that scene because of an error during the reel change.
The story didn't die there, however. A rumor quickly spread that Tom Cruise had ordered the love scene to be cut so as to maintain his wife's modesty. Park City is a tiny town, and with the density of festival goers during Sundance, rumors spread like a virus in an airplane cabin. Reitman promised the scene would be back in the theatrical cut, so perhaps it was a ploy on the part of Reitman and his distributors, rather than Cruise, to get fest-goers to see the movie one more time.
***
Immediately upon entering any of the Park City venues, I quickly scan the theater and read the situation like a quarterback trying to read the Cover 2. Which seats are open, and which are filled? What size groups are moving down which aisles, and what section of the theater will they head to? Which rows, based on where the ushers are positioned and which seats are filled, are the Reserved rows (this is like reading the stance and position of the safety)? Which side of the theater is the microphone located, indicating where the directors and stars will take Q&A and which entrance they're likely to walk in?***
The snow on the slopes this year was fabulous. It snowed at least every other day, and so the slopes were covered with fresh powder. Utah snow, for some metereological reason unknown to me, is the most perfect ski powder. Perhaps its the aridity, or the altitude (Park City's elevation falls just shy of 7,000 ft.), or some combination thereof. Regardless, the powder is fluffy and forgiving.The other joy of snowboarding during Sundance is the emptiness of the resorts. The pumped up lodging rates during the festival drive most skiiers to other slopes for the week. On Tuesday, after Jason and Jamie had left and before my second half companions had arrived, I went boarding at Park City resort. For three straight runs, I didn't see a single other person, and I rode up the lift by myself each time, feeling a bit guilty each time I greeted the guy working the lift, as if I was the only reason he had to come to work that day to stand around in the cold.
***
After the screening of Thank You For Smoking, Jason mentioned that the cut during the Katie Holmes-Aaron Eckhart sex scene was awkward. I must have been dozing off, because I couldn't even remember what scene he was referring to.Sharp eye, that Jason. During Q&A, director Jason Reitman apologized and said we'd missed a chunk of that scene because of an error during the reel change.
The story didn't die there, however. A rumor quickly spread that Tom Cruise had ordered the love scene to be cut so as to maintain his wife's modesty. Park City is a tiny town, and with the density of festival goers during Sundance, rumors spread like a virus in an airplane cabin. Reitman promised the scene would be back in the theatrical cut, so perhaps it was a ploy on the part of Reitman and his distributors, rather than Cruise, to get fest-goers to see the movie one more time.