The Hot Button by David Poland

A new day, a new attitude. Maybe it's going to be an on-again, off-again experience this year. We'll see. Hard to believe it's only been four days so far.

I woke up early again to see Mike Figgis' new film, The Loss of Sexual Innocence. Interesting. It seemed like people came out of it either in love or in hate with it. One woman in the bus we took afterwards was ranting about telling Figgis that you don't have to be a skinny 5' 10" model to have sex. (The film stars Saffron Burrows, Julian Sands and Trainspotting's Kelly MacDonald.) For whatever reason, I found myself more compelled by this film than I have been by any other Figgis movie. It's not a traditional narrative, and it's not weird art. It's somewhere in the middle. The original title, Short Stories, would have probably made the audience who disliked the movie more forgiving, because that's really what it was. Trying to view it from a narrative structure was probably a mistake. And Figgis wasn't even attempting to do Altman. This was just episodic. And I liked the episodes, which include two public displays of urination that somehow manage to be innocent. It is the eyes we see it through, perhaps, that are jaded.

I had to run from Figgis' movie to get to a small film called Valerie Flake. The movie was directed and produced by the husband/wife team of John Putch (the director) and Julie Philips (the producer) and it was truly a project of love. This is the story of Valerie Flake, a strong-willed, wild woman who is trying to get past the death of her husband. The star is Susan Traylor and she just rocks this little flick. She manages to turn the trick of being the toughest broad on the block and someone who you love at the same time. If you don't know Traylor by name, you would probably recognize her from turns in A River Runs Through It, The New Age or Bastard Out of Carolina. She just finished making Ang Lee's latest, Ride with the Devil. The man who comes into her life in the film is Jay Underwood, who you might know from Disney's "Not Quite Human" series, Afterglow or a load of TV appearances. The film doesn't have a distributor, but it has become one of the festival's buzz films, especially for women, who seem to attend the screenings in greater numbers because it is a film about a woman. Really good. Really small. This one is only eligible for the overall Audience Award, which I doubt it will get. But Traylor has put herself more prominently on the map with this one. (Watch for an interview I did with the director and the two stars in the weeks to come on roughcut.com.)

On my way to a screening of Fox's Ravenous, I had time to stick my head into a press conference for Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Of course, everyone was late. Everyone, that is, except for producer Steve Tisch. Tisch took on good-hearted questions from obnoxious types like me as we waited. And, after I brought it up, he joined Robert Altman's dismissal of Peter Biskind's book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls. He said that he read the first few chapters and saw so many factual errors that he personally knew to be false that he just put the book down. Unfortunately, despite Harry Knowles' love affair with this film, there were only a couple of screenings at Sundance. (The last two are in Salt Lake City and Ogden. Lots of help there.) The same is true of the Blair Witch Project, which has been little seen but much talked about.

So, I arrive for Ravenous expecting, well, not really knowing what to expect. The buzz has been tough. But, off we went. And a little surprise happened. It was quite good. I mean, this is a top-drawer thriller that happens to have cannibalism and comedy. The three-act structure is clear and, at the end of both of the first two acts, I had no idea how the film could continue. But continue it did, with twists and turns that you just couldn't see coming. The humor is black because it is, ultimately, about cannibalism, kind of like a vampire movie is about killing. There's more going on than that. Robert Carlyle is great, turning all the manic energy that you are used to seeing him release into a tight powerful presence. I asked him whether this film had been a part of him getting the next Bond film and he said, "no," but you can see the power that he might bring to a Bond villain here. Guy Pearce (pictured above) was also a strong presence as a good guy without being too good as a man trying to get past his problematic past. And Antonia Bird did work here that I never knew she was capable of. It really looks like a Hollywood movie, not using that as a insult. It's a real character piece, but it handles its action and landscapes beautifully. It's a real pleasant surprise. I don't want to tell you any more, because I don't want to ruin a single surprise.

With the buzz of a good viewing experience in my head, I ran (almost literally) to the Riverhorse Café, the hottest restaurant amongst festival-goers. As we set up for the live chat (transcript to turn up at roughcut.com sometime this week), we realized that the phone line the Riverhorse had for us was not a single-line, which we needed for the 'Net connection, so the owner graciously allowed us to use their credit card approval line for the hour. Good thing no one needed their check. My thanks. You never know what to expect and awaiting the arrivals was no different this time. But, the guys and Antonia couldn't be any nicer. Guy saw the wax lips that I give away as a thank you favor for publicists and immediately put them on. He was a terrific chat guest, one of the few who has ever noticed when I stopped typing to continue his thought. He was also very humble. Charming. A little smaller than I expected, but you would never know on the screen. Carlyle was also very self-effacing, and it wasn't a put on. He was there with friends, with whom he was soon to have dinner with and was very relaxed. He couldn't have been nicer. We talked about Bond (he is thrilled to be joining the arc of Bond and Connery and Scots and actors), about director Bird (he actually was the one who talked Fox into hiring Antonia after two directors fell out of the project, one after a couple weeks of shooting) and about his favorite place to be (not Scotland, but Barbados). We also talked to Damon Albarn, of the British band Blur, who composed the score with Michael Nyman. Funny guy. As funny a guy as Guy. And Robert. And Antonia. A nice group of people. And a good movie.

When the chat ended, I suddenly realized I hadn't eaten all day, so I ate. Yum. I also caught a little slice of the Tarnished Globes. It's a hard road to hate something for being corrupt, but still liking some of the results. You want to crow for the good choices, but you also want to say that the whole affair is a load of crap. Like Johnny Cash, I walk the line. For instance, I love Cate Blanchett winning, but I don't get Jim Carrey whose work in The Truman Show was one of the least challenging roles in the film and not nearly as worthwhile as his turn in Liar, Liar. Of course, the lack of a single nomination for The Thin Red Line still smells like week old-fish. And fortunately, this ceremony meant about zero.

My evening ended with a trip to the party for a Slamdance film called Soundman. Slash and a couple other former Guns 'N' Roses were in concert. But when I got there, I couldn't get in. (See the photo of the blustery owner in the Sundance Gallery.) The publicist was just feet away, but she was powerless over fire code rules. The truth is, I could not care any less anyway. Besides, I had to come write this report for you.

Tomorrow is another full day. I still have to watch a movie after I finish this so that I can interview the lovely and talented Jacqueline Bisset tomorrow afternoon. But I start in the morning with Luke Wilson and Paula Devicq, catch a movie or two, talk to Bisset, then Mike Figgis, Saffron Burrows and Julian Sands, then the boys from Beefcake, and then it's live chat time. Tomorrow night, it's a two-hour Slamdance chat with Dill Scallion stars Jason Priestly and Kathy Griffin. Then the Dill Scallion party with Sheryl Crow slotted to play. And finally, a midnight EST chat with the Hughes Brothers and their favorite pimp, Rosebudd, who is featured in their film, American Pimp. And then, I sleep. No wonder I'm so tired.

See you tomorrow.

READER OF THE DAY: From E.T.: "Since I also live in Orem, Utah (maybe Krillian and I are neighbors), I zipped out to Park City on Saturday and saw Selznick, Hitchcock and the End of Hollywood. The documentary itself wasn't so original (much of the info is common film trivia knowledge), but the film was fun for one reason: I was in a room with a bunch of people who all loved film like me!

"Everywhere around me people were talking about this film and that we all laughed at the same film jokes (especially seeing how Raymond Burr's villain in Rear Window is a dead ringer for an aging Selznick). Sure, Sundance has become a big PR machine in some ways, and in others it rings of 'selling out,' but in that moment I saw why the festival works: people who love film for the medium itself enjoying a slice of history.

"(I also tried out USSB's 'Be a Film Critic' contest, the one in the tent across from the Zoom restaurant on Main Street. Deserved a chuckle, seeing those USSB PR people hard at work.)

"Anyway, hope you enjoy your extended stay. I envy your job!"