Just A Fancy Way Of Saying "Hanger On's"

Another day at Sundance, another day of tripping over people from Hollywood.
At home, it's easy enough to avoid the madding crowd. For me, I head for the comfort and relative safety of southern Santa Monica and Venice. And while the west side does attract a fair amount of the celebrity types, they generally live and hang out in an area that's outside of my tax bracket.

Here in Park City, Utah - they're everywhere... all manner of actor, producer and of course - their entourage.

As a member of the media, I get it. Given the number of reporters and outlets covering Sundance, it's fairly common for a publicist to accompany actors to various interviews. What strikes me as wholly unnecessary is the addition of make-up artists, hair-stylists and at least two to three random idiots whose sole function appears to be to hold an actor's jacket, or in the case of our production suite, raid our fridge.

If you're an actor, you're basically moving in between various indoor locations spending less than 5 minutes outside - where the air is clear, the wind is minimal and the temperature below freezing. Taking that into consideration, how much primping to your hair do you really need? And make-up? Honestly. If you're having someone freshen your face every 10 minutes you need to invest in a better quality of product.

As for the hanger-on's - other than holding your jacket and taking your Starbucks cup out of your hand and putting it down on a table (never to be retrieved), is it really necessary for this person to be on hand?

And while the Hollywood elite has certainly made the argument for the persistence entourage - it's their presence with the Hollywood Wannabe or Will-Never-Be that truly confounds. Other than to take up space and breathlessly kiss ass, I'm not sure why they're here.

Back home in Hollywood, one could simply chalk it up to being a loser with a moderately interesting friend. Here in Park City, where again, the temperature is below freezing, it smacks of... being a loser with a moderately interesting friend smoking cigarettes in the cold. Maybe it's a type of co-dependence among friends that's so deeply rooted, it causes separation anxiety when one party is without the other.

The entourage... a fancy way of saying "hanger on's," like boiteux is just another way of saying "lame. "

Freezing In The Sun

For the past five days, I've been working at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Usually, when people find out that's what you've been doing, the first questions are, "so what movies have you seen," and "have you been going to any killer parties?" Much to their surprise, the answer is a resounding "none, " and "no."

You see, unlike many of the people who attend the festival, I'm not here to actually take part in any of the festivities. I'm just here to work. So, instead of hitting all of the hospitality suites and lounges to pick up thousands of dollars in free shwag, I'm shooting video of people picking up those bags of goodies. Instead of taking advantage of my press credentials and getting V-I-P access to concerts and industry parties, I'm standing out in single-digit degree cold and shooting video of people clamoring to get inside. I'm not bitter, I'm simply too busy...

One of the strangest aspects of Sundance would have to be the star-gazing. I know why I have to stand outside in the freezing cold waiting for celebrities, film-makers and actors to show up to parties and premieres; because it's my job and I'm getting paid for it. What I don't understand is what would possess someone to willingly endure those same sub-freezing temperatures, for the sole purpose of capturing a grainy cellphone camera shot of Tara Reid or some other celebretard. I think the cold might actually be affecting their brains. As I was exiting a building that was being used by Entertainment Weekly magazine as a location to shoot various actors for an upcoming issue, the crowd outside was so thick and frenzied, they actually started screaming and applauding as I made my way out the door. Definitely brain damage.

Stay tuned...