Directors and Producers and Actors! Oh My! Part 1

And So It Begins

And Action!

Fade In: A swingin’ soiree (not literally, it’s just a swanky scene) in a DC brownstone is just getting started.  I’m sipping a flute of champagne looking glamorous chatting with a girlfriend who has neatly arranged her right eyebrow in a perfect arch.  Hot industry guys (unfortunately, they are more into each other than me, but they’re still hot) surround us drinking and taking bites of small sandwiches while grooving to Thievery Corporation.

My arched eyebrow friend shakes her head.  “I cannot believe you’ve never been to Sundance!  You are lying to me,” she says incredulously.  “Um, no, I’m not lying. I seriously haven’t. I’m a Sundance virgin.” I shrug.  Apparently, me saying that I’ve never attended Sundance Film Festival is the equivalent of me saying I’ve never shaved my armpits.  (Little did I know that days later I would bear that same look and tone to a male jet setting friend when he shares with me that he’s never been to Vegas.  “Vegas? Why in the world would I ever go to a hotel named Paris when I can go to the city of Paris and stay in the Hotel Sorbonne?” he says with disdain in his Locust Valley Lockjaw.  Shame on me.) Back to the scene.

“Seriously, I haven’t been because I haven’t been able to do it up like I’d want to. I don’t know how to work the “mechanisms” (I air quote with my fingers) of what goes on out there. I don’t know where to stay, how to get around, what to do, blah blah blah. You know what I mean.  You have to understand.  You’re more hooked into that world because of the line of work you do.  You’re connected,” I continue.  My girlfriend lets her eyebrow take a much needed rest.  “Well, I guess that makes sense.  I mean, I am connected…and you wouldn’t want to experience Sundance not in style…” she pauses.  “But now you have no excuse.  You have a friend who has a movie out there and you have a free place to stay.”  She nods towards my friend who had generously offered  complimentary room and board at a private home a few miles outside of the downtown area.  “Seriously, you have no excuse, Pamela.  I’d go, but I’ve been so many times and I have a conflict.  I think I’m going to be in London, or New York, or LA or somewhere… anyway, it’s so much fun, you have to go.”

I wrinkle my nose. “Yeahhhh. I guess so.  And I do really want to support my friend’s film. And I can blog about it too, so I can write off my trip!” (Dear IRS people: This is proof that this was really a work trip.)

“All you have to do is buy a plane ticket,” my friend David says as he joins the conversation.  “Come’on, it’ll be fun.” They gang up on me in a jovial manner.  I take a swig sip of champagne and nod with fervor.  “Ok! I’m in!” Then again, after a few glasses of bubbles, I’d probably agree to go TP a neighboring yard if the whole gang was going.  Ok, that’s not true.  I mean in college yes, but not since, I swear.

Next day: I’m sitting at my desk with bleary eyes (darn that 4th glass) and type a message on my MacBook to David.  “So…I’m in I guess, are we still doing it?”  David replies back that we are and that there are now a few more people who will be joining the group, including a mutual friend Andy.  “I’ll look into tickets and let’s get this going!” his message reads.  I take a deep sigh, close my eyes.  Staring back at the screen, I type on my Facebook status “GOING TO SUNDANCE!”

Fade Out.

That’s a Wrap!

The deed was done within a few days and it was time to prepare. By prepare I mean, my wardrobe.  What the heck do people wear out there I asked about 101 people over the following days.  My head spun with the multiple conflicting answers:

Fur, definitely fur. Cute boots with wedges! Hot boots with fur. Forget the wedges.  Be casual. Wear jeans and sweaters. The girls look hot at night, like NY and LA! You have to dress up.  Apres ski attire all day and night. Be sexy but don’t look like you are trying too hard.  Don’t wear fur, only LA people do that. Fur inside is great. Wear fur outside. Casual, but chic. Chic, but natural. Dress down. Dress up.

This was going to be interesting. As I lugged out my biggest suitcase and my LV duffel, I realized that I was going to have to go and purchase a whole new “Sundance” wardrobe, especially after I got thoroughly confused when Googling “Sundance Images”.  Where was I going to get that Hello Kitty ski hat with matching mittens that Paris Hilton wore?  I emailed my friend Carmen Lopez who owns now two Current boutiques.  “Don’t worry, I’ll have the girls pull some stuff for you,” she responded back.  And pull they did. I was able to cover the entire gambit of suggestions and stuff everything into my bags (hey, you have to have choices!) without managing to have them explode (all though my suitcase was labeled “Heavy” by the Delta counterwoman.)

Thursday rolled around and David, Andy and I were off to see the Wizard.

Directors and Producers and Actors! Oh My! Part 2: The First Night coming soon to a blog near you.