Park City Showbiz Babies

31 Jan

January 25th 2025.

Stranger, Brother premieres at Sundance to a full house. Five of the eleven of us get ready in a 2m x 2m room with one mirror. Someone’s playing music off their phone for a vibe, but the track is looping. It takes us 15 minutes to realise. Overstimulation.

It’s snowing. We’d glamourise it as our white carpet. Hiked skirts and linked arms for stability as we trot our way to the Egyptian theatre.

“Yes, Hello, we are the filmmakers.”
“You’re early, please wait.” Cool.

27 minutes later. Poses in front of logos. Cheeks and lips quiver trying to hold a perfect smile. Interviews and questions. We’re not media trained. Improv and winging it. Feels like cosplaying our dreams.

Stranger, Brother opens the program. Big applause. Names on credits. We’re, objectively, showbiz babies.

Celebratory drinks at a Park City club where there’s a huge VIP section guarded by velvet with no one in it. Kurt from Glee is there for some reason.

A woman approaches our lil corner with a parade of followers, sits directly on our coats, and begins to edge us off the only bench seat we’ve claimed for 20 people.

“I’m just gonna scootch in here if that’s okay.”
“…..Yeah, nah, our mates just went to the bar—they were sitting here.”

A producer always protects their crew.

She looks genuinely stunned, like that wasn’t one of the possible dialogue options. She concedes, they sit in the perfectly available area behind us. I turn.