Sundance - Day 5

Jason Isaacs at Sundance 2013

Sundance, Day 5 – Monday I think

Today is even busier than the day before. I’m starting to feel the exhaustion. I head over to Starbucks and plop down next to someone who looks familiar, but yet again, I can’t place the celebrity. Oh well, I ask him to watch my stuff while I get my coffee and he’s cool with it., but says it in a wonderful English accent.  After a bit, someone taps his table and asks his name and he nicely tells them “Jason Isaacs.” Then the person walks off.  I tell him that’s kind of rude and joke that it happens to me all the time.  I decide to Google the name on my phone, and find that he is the actor who played Lucios Malfoy, in the Harry Potter films.  I’m a huge Harry Potter film fan and while I’m happy to meet him, I (thankfully) don’t do the star struck thing. We chat for a bit more. He tells me about other fan encounters and which film of his is premiering and I tell him about Black Metal.  I think I’m mostly pleased that I met someone who was nice and pleasant.  

I head over to the premiere of Pit Stop. This is particularly bitter sweet for me, because I had a really nice part, but was cut out. A lot of people told me that my performance was one of their favorites in the film, but that my character’s story line didn’t further the story. As a director, I totally understand the necessity to cut out anything in a film that doesn’t work. As an actress, I was devastated.   In one of the cut scenes, I sing a love song.  I used to do a lot of singing, (I thought I would be a singer when I grew up) and if you know me, I’m not one to boast but I worked like a dog on that song and totally owned it. I put so much real love into that song, it felt  like an energy around me.  Like I said, I get why, but it still hurts.  Hopefully someone will give me another chance to be in their film.

As for the film itself - Pit Stop is exceptional, Yen did an incredible job and I can see why things were done the way that they were.  I was so moved by the story and the actors.  I highly recommend it.  Afterwards, I get a chance to say hi to Marcus and  Bill, and tell them how terrific they are. It’s super to see them so happy.

I hang around too long after the screening and realize I’m going to be late to the screening of Computer Chess. Ugh. I see Farah and meet her friend Bill, - jump forward a few hours and the three of us and now hanging out on Main Street and heading to dinner.  We end up at the Korean party, where I met a really nice festival programmer, and Taylor and Lauren stop by.

After the Korean party, we try to get in to a few more parties, but because we all can’t get into the same one, we go our separate ways. I end up over at the Kickstarter party and meet several really nice festival programmers. 

It’s now really late and (as usual) super cold outside.  I hope to meet up with someone to walk home, but no one is in sight, so I set out on foot. I don’t like the idea of walking through the dark ally way, so I take a little longer route, but I have to hoof it up hill and then around to the other side of the condo complex. With a certain amount of dread and foreboding, I notice my lungs feel tight and the cold air is making me cough.