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Conan O’Brien has a big head. Literally AND figuratively, as apparent in the new documentary Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop, that premiered this spring at SXSW 2011. We all heard the stories about Conan being booted off TV and Leno coming back. This film lets us into that large head as we watch Conan getting too big for his britches as his world gets turned upside-down. What would YOU do if, when climbing the late-night TV show ladder, you lose your time-slot in a convoluted shuffle, yet receive $45 million to disappear from national TV for nine months? Well, I’d probably take a nice vacation. But, not Conan. Nope. His solution was to funnel his manic, clever energy into a 40 city road show (which turned out to be far more successful than Charlie Sheen’s recent attempt…but I digress).

Rodman Flender, the documentary director, began filming just three days into Conan’s sabbatical. He convinced Conan to consent to a raw, in-the-flesh, warts-and-all-look at his struggle to come to terms with his interim status of anonymity. And what a ride it was.

Morgan Spurlock, the director and star of The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, also screened at SXSW (premiered at Sundance this year), could be a stand-up comedian or talk show host himself. His quick wit and wry perspective mirrors Conan’s jive talking. Both ‘comics’ come across as tall everymen who translate the world into askew jokes. In Conan’s movie, his humor emanates from narcissism and his need to grab attention at all costs. Morgan’s humor, however, is more subtle, more outward. The premise of The Greatest Movie Ever Sold is an attempt capture the process of financing an independent film through product placement: attracting sponsors to fund a film about attracting sponsors to fund a film. Very circular. He pitched to whomever he could, finally securing meetings with a few brave corporations (companies not too leery of the director of Super Size Me stop customers from eating McDonald’s fame). Morgan presented these companies with cleverly prepared like skits and commercial pitches as if from a late-night talk show. He created crafty and comical marketing promises that he actually executes during the filming of the documentary, and surprisingly well.

Early on in his search for funding, Morgan secures what becomes the film’s largest sponsor, Pom pomegranate juice. In order to get the company’s enlightened and humored board to agree to pay for the highest tier of financing for the film (ultimately a million dollars plus incentives), he promises that every person in the movie will be drinking Pom and only Pom drinks. So, picture this: in every subsequent scene where Morgan pitches a new sponsor or films a product placement scene for a different product, he and the people at his meetings are drinking Pom, prominently displayed at the forefront of the shot. Very funny. To reveal other skits would ruin the impact of the jokes in the film, but suffice it to say that his favorite partner is the one and only crossover horse-to-human shampoo product line: Mane ‘n Tail. You can only imagine where Morgan goes with this, and THEY didn’t even pay him!

All of Morgan’s jokes are presented in an irreverent, reveal-the-inner-workings-of-the-film-industry manner, without any sense of his own emotional involvement. In contract, Conan’s movie is not scripted or planned, yet simply unveils the development and execution of his impromptu off-season tour. As a consequence, it captures a tortured sole. Conan seems to crave large-scale attention, as he has all hands on deck working to bring an audience to him. His team eventually books and sells out 42 cross-country shows, and then sets about helping Conan create his first-ever stage act.

What works in Conan’s movie is his quick humor, his frenetic energy, and his prodigious talent as a singer, musician, comedian, dancer (dancer? well, kind of). He comes across as an accessible Steve Martin, a funny man for the masses. The movie was extracted from 149 hours of tape, crafted down to an entertaining 89 minutes by Flender, who edited it himself. The audience goes on the wild ride with Conan, an adventuresome experience.

Conan surrounds himself with likable, average support professionals whose normality accentuate his larger-than-life talents. But, his trip through this period is not only funny, but also a disturbing one. It is disconcerting to watch a grown, married, father of two without financial woes so desperately crave applause. During these nine months, Conan lost 30 pounds and hardly ever stopped moving. He constantly punches his staff, who absorb the hits apparently to allow Conan’s juices to flow. His desperation is palpable and somewhat pathetic. Meanwhile, he keeps his team, the live audience, and the film audience continually laughing out loud.

At the Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop premiere, a robustly glowing and even-keeled Conan walked the red carpet and took the stage for the post-showing Q&A. He seemed to have a visceral reaction to watching his frenzied, rude, self-obsessed journey. During the making of the movie, he was pitched the idea of going on TBS (“What’s next, Animal Plant??” he cries at the time). Now, having a current presence of television, even if it is basic cable, has seemed to bring order to his life. It is apparent that this documentary brought immense self reflection into his own life.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold extravaganza (city to city festival screenings), however, has been created as ever-evolving as a road show. Much of the co-branding was negotiated during the filming but doesn’t actually kick in until the release of the film, such as collector cups at Sheetz gas stations. Morgan embraced the SXSW Q&A wearing a customized flight jacket covered with the emblems from all of the sponsors. The message from the movie? If you package yourself cleverly, you can attract product placement funding. Morgan seems more amused by the success of the film, and reaction of audiences, than by critiquing the profit-making process. But who am I to judge? It was a very interesting and entertaining film that I hope reaches audiences around the world.

Both films have been picked up for multi-platform distribution deals after their respective premieres, so let the road shows begin! And now I think I’ll have a Pom.

Every year, the Sundance Film Festival takes over the quaint ski town of Park City, Utah, and runs a full and invigorating 10 days, from the third Thursday of January through the following Sunday. Everybody who’s Anybody of Hollywood shows up the first weekend to ride the mayhem for 3 straight crazy days. Most of the crowd leaves by Tuesday, and it’s after that when it becomes much less hassle to attend screenings.

The Sundance Film Festival is an ongoing party –  day and night — and this year was no exception. This year’s festival made my record book as I attended 10 parties in one 13-hour stretch on the first Sunday, a definite lesson in endurance! Getting into the parties themselves can be exhausting. At some, we were on the list, others we had to talk our way into, still more we were working press, and the last handful we simply walked into while creating various distractions. But, of all the parties we attended this year, the most phenomenal was held against a beautiful snow covered backdrop – an outdoor reception at the 5 star St. Regis Resort Terrace Patio in Deer Valley, thrown by Seattle Socialite JJ McKay and sponsored by Eddie Bauer. Here’s a link to just a little piece of the gorgeous afternoon, even more so than the video captures:



Another highlight of the current festival is the many many music acts that perform all over many small venues in Park City. Two shows I attended and enjoyed this year were Ozomatli and Lauryn Hill.

Aside from the parties, being at Sundance can spoil a girl – all the freebies, aka ‘swag’: Eddie Bauer backpacks, facials,  rides around town, complimentary housing, massages, snowboard demo boards, abundant food and open bars, fancy meals on company credit cards, and more. Rebekah and I even received our money back on airline tickets and earned $300 credits on Southwest for bumping to later flights – no big deal for us as we arrived a day before the fest started. If you play your cards right, this trip doesn’t have to cost anything!

With all the swag lounges, dinners, and networking receptions, it was almost easy to forget about the films. But, alas, after the first weekend celebs made their way back to Tinseltown, and the massive exodus of amateur Sundancers left the snow, our schedule (and the theaters and sidewalks) were cleared for films. Unfortunately, we saw only 3 movies this year, but they were each worthwhile. And, it’s refreshing to note that they were all written and directed by first-time filmmakers and in the US Dramatic competition section. Perhaps the most moving moments of the festival were the tear-jerking Q&A’s after.

Thumbs up for “Gun Hill Road” about a transsexual teen coming out to his ex-con father Esai Morales, and for “Little Birds” about 2 teen girls who run away from home directed by a young ex-gang member. The third film,”Here,” demonstrated some extraordinary authentic acting by Ben Foster and his Armenian co-star, Lubna Azabal.

And, while we’re on the subject of Sundance films, a bit of trivia: 4 of the 5 documentaries recently nominated for the Academy Awards 2011 premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. You may remember hearing about “Wasteland” and “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” my prediction to take the Oscar, and both great films. Additional 2010 Sundance films to be nominated that I also enjoyed are “Animal Kingdom” (best actress nomination) and “The Kids Are Alright,” amongst others.

New on our roster this year was assisting a PR company at two large club venues. Rebekah and I were given the task of inviting celebrities to the 50 Cent party on Friday and the KT Tunsall (Suddenly I See) party on Saturday, then locate them in line, escort them into VIP, and make sure they were photographed in the crowd. Along the way we friended Rick Fox and Eliza Dushka as well as Ryan and Trista from “The Bachelorette” – both beautiful couples. Also, in attendance at our events were Bobby Kennedy 3rd, Cheryl Hines, and the producers of “The Cove”.

Aside from the parties, dinners and films, let’s not forget the the Sundance Film Festival was built one one thing – the slopes! I enjoyed 2 full days of snowboarding with a promotional snowboard (thanks to Burton!). This year it snowed plenty and early which made for amazing powder. Thankfully our private condo sported a very fancy hot tub which we used nightly and invented our own game of musical chairs. But, I’ll save the stories of my roommates for another time as the cast of delightful characters filling up our 4 bedroom 12 person plus a van condo can serve as it’s own reality show!

Overall, the 2011 Sundance film festival brought many new connections along with familiar faces from last year. This year, Rebekah and I only stayed for one week, but next year we plan to return for the entire festival, so that our skier and film buff friends can come at the end to enjoy the empty slopes and see some flicks. So, if one of those categories describes you, mark yor calendars for the 2nd half of Sundance next year! I enjoyed the parties, music, films, boarding, and even the long 20 degree walks home. I am a very lucky woman! See you next year, Park City!

Genuine. That’s not usually a word associated with Los Angelenos. But, that’s how I found the participants and organizers of the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival when I worked as a volunteer this summer. Being a recent transplant (just 4 months in questionably sunny LA), I have been amazed by the openness, friendless and curiousness of the people involved with this festival. The staffers seem to really appreciate the volunteers, taking time to learn our names by heart, praising our assistance, allowing for flexible schedules, and reminding us how the festival could not run without us. That was my first impression.
 

Nothing really changed about their attitudes towards us; the volunteer coordinators truly excelled at their job, and I commend them. It is unfortunate, however, that the various department heads did not excel at utilizing the volunteers in a way that could have truly improved the festival. The need for volunteers was over-anticipated and under-utilized. We spent much time getting to know each other instead of actually contributing. Even the interns seemed lackluster in their approach to their jobs — not much was expected, and not much was returned.
 

One way the festival use of volunteers fell short surprised me. The volunteers who manned the entrance doors at special events were given very few instructions, and seemed to have little awareness of industry names and faces. These doors are the entry gates to networking extraordinaire. We were given little guidance in handling party crashers or unanticipated “plus ones”. While that may be great for indie filmmakers ‘getting in’ these schwag filled, free drink flowing glamor events, it doesn’t service well LAFF’s rep. The festival reeked of Mickey Mouse when the volunteers at the door had no idea how to distinguish VIP invitees from opportunists.
 

The discouraging thing was, with my real estate and marketing background and awareness of the entertainment industry, I could easily have handled many of the festival organizers jobs. But in this jobless environment, it is nearly impossible to obtain one of those (albeit low) paid positions.
 

The films? Whoops, I missed many of them trying to eek out a meaningful contribution to the behind-the-scenes. But, when I did sneak a peak, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight reminisce over the making of Midnight Cowboy 40 years ago, after they sat in the audience and watched the movie side-by-side. At the same time, it was annoying that the evening would have gone just as smoothly if the four of us volunteers had not even shown up. Although we appreciated the event as viewers, we were not utilized as volunteers. Maybe I’m in the minority for actually wanting to work and improve the festival, but isn’t that the true volunteer spirit? With so many talented filmmakers and film fanatics in Los Angeles eagerly awaiting a chance to be involved, we actually WANT to do something to help! Maybe that frustration explains why I skipped my last shift. Shhhh!