Tomorrow, Wednesday January 27th, marks my inaugural trip to Sundance, which means that if you follow this blog for the next few days, you're going to get a somewhat new perspective. Some might say "newbie" perspective. I'm going to go with "fresh" perspective.
While I'm sure many readers of Post have been keeping up on the Sundance happenings for years or are otherwise seasoned, snow-hardened veterans of the festival, this is my first foray into Park City for Sundance (or for any other reason), and I'm super excited! I've also heard a thing or two about Utah.
Molecule partner/EP Andrew Bly has been at the festival since Saturday and has been reporting back from the ground.
This has been ideal; not only have his updates given me high hopes for the events I can attend, they've also given me an opportunity to think of really excellent story intros. For example: "While New Yorkers were becoming acquainted with Winter Storm Jonas this past weekend, The Molecule's Andrew Bly was brushing elbows with a very different Jonas at the premiere of "Goat."
Winter Storm Jonas (left), and Nick Jonas (right) with the cast and crew of "Goat."
"Brilliant," I thought.
Andrew enjoyed the screening, saying, "It was a great film on the complexity of male relationships and masculinity. I was surprised at the depth of Nick Jonas's acting skills. It's hard to leave that film as a male and not ask: 'Why do we do some of the things we do?'"
Shortly after, his next text read, "Just ran into Kyle Chandler and talked Bloodline Season 2," and I start to imagine Sundance as just a colder NYC, where there are more celebrities per square foot, and they let you talk to them. (As an aside, The Molecule is currently in the middle of producing VFX for Bloodline, Season 2. Keep an eye on your 2016 Netflix lineup for the return of this award-winning series!)
And, yes, the parties. I have heard about the parties. I am not one to deprive Post readers a first-hand account of a good party, nor am I one to deprive myself of a possible Joseph Gordon-Levitt sighting. But while I'm still NYC-based, check out the scene from Riverhorse on Main Street, where Company 3 and Efilm threw one of the first shindigs of the festival on January 23rd (above).
Text from Andrew: "Lots of free, delicious food, beverages, and desserts."
Sunday at Sundance, Andrew made his way over to the screening for "Indignation" (above). It posted in New York, and The Molecule had the pleasure of crafting its VFX.
It's pretty common for festivalgoers to share a house, and one of Andrew's bunkmates, Jay Wadley, was credited in this film for his original score. Andrew says, "Before the movie started, director James Schamus even encouraged the audience to not partake in the Sundance tradition of cheering for friends during the opening credits so that Jay's score could be fully appreciated."
Monday, January 25th: Andrew texts from Ira Sachs's screening of "Little Men" (below). The film was shot and posted in NYC, and it centers on a story of teen friendship amidst a gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood. The house was packed. He writes, "The entire cast put on a performance that hooks you, including the two young actors. 'Little Men' proves to be his most polished film so far."
At this point I'm sufficiently jealous that Andrew has been having all this fun without me. The snow from Winter Storm Jonas is turning brown/gray/yellow in NYC, and I'm fixin' to go west. My flight leaves at 11am tomorrow morning, and I've packed a hearty supply of Uniqlo Heat Tech shirts and wool socks. See you in Park City!
Audra Coulombe is Marketing Manager at The Molecule (www.themolecule.net), a VFX, MGFX, and VR studio based in New York City, with an office in Los Angeles too.