For those who have never been to Sundance or Park City, let me give you a little geography. The town is not set up on an easy to follow grid. Rather, it is a collection of small pools of commercial property, each surrounded by condos and townhouses. Each time I arrive in town, it takes me a few minutes to orient myself and figure out how to get to each theater. There are around ten screens here at the festival and they’re about five minutes apart by bus.
That said, there’s one main drag, and that is Main Street. Anytime you see footage from the festival of signposts covered in posters, the Egyptian Theater marquee, or porn stars dressed in animal costumes, you are looking at Main Street. This is where I spent my entire press day with my cast of Aaron Eckhart, Rob Lowe, and William H Macy.
Most of the storefronts and homes have been converted into interview lounges and photo studios. I even did one interview in a converted jail cell. The schedule is nuts. Fox has a team of publicists that whisk me around from location to location, taking photos and answering the same questions over and over.
The interviewers really only care what the actors have to say, but every once in a while they humor me with a question or a portrait. The interesting addition to all these places is that they often double up as swag houses.
SWAG HOUSE – (noun): Location in which they doll out free crap. Swagging (verb) : The pursuit of free crap, even when you don’t deserve it.
Sometimes they make you feel guilty for taking their stuff, but most often it’s like being on Supermarket sweep. Your only time limit is your publicist trying to get you to the next interview. My catch as of yet includes a Gameboy, a Motorola Razor, Lee Jeans, Seven Jeans, le Tigre Jacket, Timberland Boots, and Pony sweats.
In return, they always take a photo of you with the product to use for later publicity. Something tells me you won’t be seeing any PR photos of me in Lee jeans.
Hey! Looks like a funny movie, I'll check it out on DVD or maybe in the Theatre.
I don't know if you're really -You- or your assistant is reading this, but I'm glad to see someone who may be into stories/movies that somehow sociologicaly rooted.
I got 2 questions for you if you have time.
Did it worry you or bother you that you made fun of the tobbacco industry?
Do you know what peer-peer marketing or covert advertising? You might find it quite funny if not inspirational.
Good luck will all your projects!
Rhys
Posted by: Rhys Hovey | January 25, 2006 at 06:52 PM