When I found out I was officially going to Sundance, I totally flipped my wig because I knew that meant that I would be seeing celebrities galore. I had no idea that this trip was going to give me opportunities to meet the sheer number of amazing actors and directors that I have encountered. From meeting some of my all time favorite actors to some of my biggest comedic influences, my mind has been blown out of my awesome sockets. 

Vote For Pedro

In the beginning I was very antsy to see anyone of semi-fame, I even got excited when I caught a glimpse of former hobbit and LOST cast member Dominic Monaghan, when Ali pointed him out to me. This was awesome but I didn’t even get to meet him, so I was still antsy to find another star. Finally I got my wish when I saw Efren Ramirez, Pedro of Napolean Dynamite fame, in front of the Rockband Lounge. Luckily I was able to get a few words in before he was mobbed by rabid fans and yes I did say “Vote For Pedro”.Another notable meeting was at the Sundance Archive showing of Steven Soderbergh’s break through film, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. I was pretty annoyed that I had to miss the Q and A with Soderbergh in order to make my next showing. When I exited the theater, before my very eyes was Steven Soderbergh walking down the stairs. My heart skipped a beat as I walked up to him and shook his hand and congratulated him on his great films. He was in fact very nice and apologized for having to run back to the Q and A. That was a totally awesome experience.

Sex, Lies, and Soderbergh

Broken Lizard

One of the most memorable moments for me was during the screening of Broken Lizard’s (the guys responsible for Super Troopers, Beerfest, and Club Dread) Slammin Salmon, a truly hilarious movie about the perils of working at a famous boxer’s restaurant. Heading to the movie,Jerad, Jack, and I had our doubts whether the Broken Lizard guys would be there. Sure enough before the screening 3 of the members, Steve Heffernan, Jay Chandrasekhar, and Steve Lemme, were there. They were just as hilarious in real life as they were in their films. We even managed to snag a picture with the three men that have made me laugh consistently throughout their film career.

I also met the man who swam the Amazon River in 70 days and held conversations with him on 3 separate occasions, making him one the people I saw the most on this trip. I also sat next to the leaders of the Newark Crips and Bloods during a screening of the Slamdance film, A Heart Of Stone. I saw Kevin Spacey at his new film Shrink, Emmy Rossum and Zack Gilford at the screening of their film Dare, Peter Gallagher at Sex, Lies, and Videotape, I even encountered Tom Arnold at one point on main street, the amstel light girls on main street walking a pair of St. Bernards, a brief moment of recognition flashed when I was passing by the director of the Evil Dead Sam Raimi, and I attended a pannel with Gregg Araki, Steven Soderbergh, and Tom Dicillo. This has been a most excellent adventure and hopefully I’ll see a few more notable people on my last day at the Sundance Film Festival.

Ray Vaughn and Sherif Patterson from Heart of Stone

Tags: sam mitchell

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