Sundance Day One: Saturday

My first day started late, but ended great! I arrived to my resort at around 9pm, dropped my stuff in my room-which is right in front of the elevator on the third floor-then headed to waitlist for the Shorts Program IV. I got to the tent mere minutes before the numbers were passed out. After I got my number, 27 if you're curious, I hung around the tent to warm up until I decided to eat. My choices were sushi, China Panda Buffet, or something from Albertsons. I chose China Panda Buffet. I ordered pot stickers and egg rolls. They were both delicious, but that place was begging to be dine&ditched. You are taught patience there. It was quirky though. I sat in a booth with a wobbly back rest and the table seemed two feet from me if I sat all the way back. The salt shaker had a gold top on it, and I could hear Pink's new song blaring in the kitchen. My fortune cookie should have been called a proverb cookie, as my "fortune" wasn't a fortune, but some wise advice.

I got back to the tent and hoped to get in. I did. I'll start by saying that every short was fantastic, but a few stood out.

"Sparks" adapted and directed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt was based on a short story by Elmore Leonard. It was visually very creative, I hope Joe, as he introduced himself to me, goes on to a feature length film.

"James" was about a boy who questions his sexuality, and without anyone to turn to gets himself into a dangerous situation. This was really well done, I was so happy to see a movie about a kid trying to figure himself out, accepting his homosexuality. It was rather heartbreaking though.

"Short Term 12" is about a short term detention center for kids. This reminded me a little of "Manic"(coincidentally starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel-who are in a new film this year called "500 Days of Summer) But this isn't a bad thing. It was really well done. The acting was spot on and the story was great.

"Our Neck of the Woods" is a sweet film about a guy who daydreams while working his monotonous job at a factory where they paint plastic deer that occasionally catch fire. He is swept away by a new girl from Georgia(the country). It was whimsical and funny.

And, possibly my favorite of the bunch, "Next Floor". I don't even want to give this one away, the surprise of why it's called Next Floor is amazing. I found myself saying "wow" and felt a grin on my face the whole time. Visually, it resembled the dark, dreamy quality of "Delicatessen", a fantastic french film.

And to top it off, when the Q&A was done after watching so many great shorts, I got to meet Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I will be honest with you, I have had a cruch on him since I saw "Angels in the Outfield" when I was a kid. Then I watched everything he did after. Hell, even today before Darcy and Jason came to drive me up here, I was watching "3rd Rock from the Sun" for a few hours on TVLand. And don't even get me started on "Brick" and "Mysterious Skin".

I would put the picture on here, but I just realized that I failed to pack the camera's usb cord. Damnit. I'll just have to do one when I get home with all the pictures.

I want your opinion. I was trying to come up with some kind of witty name for my Sundance blogs, I thought about The Waitlist Chronicles, but since I came up here with 6 tickets this year, I can't feel honest using that one. I would like to avoid using "Sundance" in the title. If you want to leave your ideas as comments, I would love to see what all of your brains come up with.