I was able to check out "Indie Game The movie" which was made from a couple Winnipeg Filmmakers. 
I had an excellent seat! Front row at the corner!
Actually, it turned out ok. I ended up sitting beside Eric Vespe, one of the writers for Ain't It Cool news. After the film, we had a brief conversation about the 2012 Comic-Con. I then went out and congratulated Jamie and Lisanne on their film! The films premieres in February back home---I recommend you attend! 

I went up and down Main Street after the movie and took a few other pictures. I know there are few famous actors here walking round but I keep missing them. For example, while waiting for a shuttle one of the volunteers had told me that Seth Rogan just came by and they got into a brief conversation. I also know Common is around here. And of course Robert Redford is kicking around somewhere too. There are quite a few others but I know I keep missing them.
After going to the Slamdance Filmmaker's Lounge to grab free water, energy bars, and a lot of Monster Drinks, I headed over to the Sundance Filmmakers Lounge and had a coffee. 
They let you sit in the Sundance Filmmakers Lounge except when there are official Sundance Events, where they only let you in if you have a pass.

It was here I overheard one of the filmmakers saying he had worked with Terrence Malik on the Tree Of Life. Pretty interesting stuff. He explained that Terrence Malik takes his time with his movies and really studies/ plans out his shots. Sounds good to me.
I interrupted their conversation and introduced myself. I explained how I came all the way down from Winnipeg to check out the Festival.
We got into conversation and I asked them questions about the industry down here, as they seemed a lot more "in the know" than I was. 
One of the filmmakers, who is based in Denver, explained to me that you can make it a career anywhere in the world and you don't necessarily have to be in LA to do that. He also explained that in LA is a rat-race and sometimes the rats win. Haha.
He was also talking about meeting the infamous Stan Lee at Slamdance (the night I was too arrive--thanks a lot Snow Storm!). The filmmaker explained that he was very impressed on how giving and friendly Stan Lee was, considering his age. The filmmaker said he was just in awe of Stan Lee's energy.

One thing they both said about being a filmmaker, and I firmly agree with this, is that filmmaking is about building up a positive network and community---support others and hopefully they support you in turn. 

Just before I was about to get up and leave one of them says to me "It says something about a filmmaker when they can drive that distance and not be afraid to sleep in their car in order to attend this big festival--it shows passion."
I was taken aback but those words but I definitely appreciated it and said thank you.
Both filmmakers gave me their cards, one gave me a USB with his short films. Now that's a great networking idea.
I said "See you guys next year" and they said 'Have a good trip back home.'.
The filmmakers names were Alan and William.

That's one thing I learned about attending the festival. You certainly don't need to have a film in the festival to be able to come down and enjoy it. It's actually an excellent place to meet filmmakers/ actors from! 

Well, that's all for now. Time to hit the road and head home.

-Roger™

Got pulled over by the cops my first night in SLC. My headlights were off when I pulled put of MickeyD's. It was all good though. Just explained it and I got let off the hook. 
I checked into a Motel 6 then went to check out the Utah Filmmakers Meet'n'Greet. Met some local filmmakers/producers. I also met one of the actors for Troll 2. Didn't speak too much but it was cool to meet him nonetheless--he's famous for "They're eating her! Then they're going to eat me!".

This morning I packed up an came to Park City. As I was leaving the motel parking lot there was a car with Quebec license plates-cool.

I arrived and found somewhere to park. Had to pay to park all day but whatever: I made it. 
I chatted up with one of the volunteers, Frank from Texas, 'n he told me he chatted up Seth Rogan just a while ago. Sorry, I didn't see him. :p

I made it to Main Street, finally! I looked up and and breathed in the warm Mountain Air. Ahhh. I made it. 
I checked out all the local shops and most of the sponsors tents. I grabbed a lot free swag...well, some free swag. They were giving away water bottles 'n makeup.
I grabbed a couple coffee mugs after filing out some free contest forms. 
I went to the box office and asked if there were any tickets available for any show today. I got a ticket for "We're not Broke."
On the way to the movie there were these 2 gals sitting behind me having an interesting conversation. One was having an affair with a married man and she was feeling guilty about it. It sounded like movie plot!
Anyway, the documentary is about Corporation tax evasion. I enjoyed it. I got video of the directors Q&A. 

I also met a cool musician busking along Main Street: Natalie Gelman, from LA. She performed a song on video for me. Look her up!
I also met a future filmmaker from Argentina. He told me he was just starting to get into filmmaking. I gave him my website to check out.
I know I passed a few stars along Main but everyone was walking so fast. Maybe I'll see a few tomorrow. 
I also checked out Slamdance. I ended up in the filmmakers lounge and grabbed some coffee. I also grabbed chips, water and a lot of those Monster Drinks, which they were giving away for free. 
At the end of the night I took one more walk up Main. The parties were just starting to get started but I got too tired to check any out. 
I went back to my car and drive down to Heber City and got a cheap room. 
I'm going to check out one more film before I head home.
I'm out. 

-Roger. 

When I got up yesterday morning, I had a gut feeling to take different route on the way the way to Sundance. But at the last minute, in Fargo, I opted to stay on my original route, rather than head towards Billings. The result: 2heavy snow storms, poor visibility, VERY icy roads. It seemed ever direction I tried to go there just seemed to be more snow. I ended up skipping all the land marks I had wanted to visit and ended up staying in a different place that my original plan. I'm not even at my destination as a result of my cautious driving and various stopping throughout both storms I got hit by. I swear, the bad weather was following me. 
The other thing that I'm finding exhausting are the long drives. I once drove 9 hours on 2 hours sleep, years ago. But I was with a group of people and there were more drivers.
Right now, I'm laying in my back seat behind a 24 hour gas station, tired. I've been on the road since 6am through a huge storm. It's now 9pm and yeah, it's getting taxing. 
Other than wanting to attend the festival, one reason I came on this trip alone was to challenge myself. Those who are close to me knew way before I mentioned it on here that I was going on this trip alone--They said I was crazy and began to worry, understandably. 
But I had to do this. 
We all face challenges in our life, and a true test of character is how your react to these challenges. I think everyone has it in them to get through the tough times. Personally, not to share too much, I've been through a lot in the past few years. But here I am, in the back seat of my car, exhausted, alone, and hungry(I just got some food), heading to a festival. I'm going up make it there, albeit, later than expected. 
Your cup is always half full, despite what anyone tells you. 
Thanks for reading. 

-Roger™  

Hey friends! 

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had an excellent and safe celebration, wherever you were!
I have some big plans and goals for my 2012!

-Roger™

“We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.”