Sundance and Seeing Austenland

Monday night I took my husband to attend a screening as part of the Sundance Film Festival here in Utah. It was so much fun. We headed up through Salt Lake City and grabbed a bite to eat and then another hour up to Ogden.

Ogden seems a bit out of place for the Sundance Film Festival but they have an amazing theater, the Peery's Egyptian Theater. It holds over 800 people and there were more than enough to fill all those seats.

Inside the Egyptian Theater

Stock photo from Austenland

We had to stand in line for a long time to get in but I got our tickets early and so we were one of the first people in line and in the theater. My husband is such a fun person. When he's really excited and feeling good, he's such a people person. So he talked to everyone in line and found out where they were from, how long they had been attending/volunteering. He even found a fellow Portlander where they talked about the old days of organs and bubbles of his youth...

Archie and I chilling before the movie

The theater also hosts one of the few pipe organs left in the country and so we were serenaded by organ music before the movie started. So amazing. The atmosphere is electric with people excited to see everything. I know I was.

Pipe organist!

This showing was not the premiere of Austenland. That happened two nights before down in Park City so I didn't think we'd get any of the actors up in Ogden, but the director and writer (they're locals) were there and after the movie, they answered questions.

Drinking chai tea by the fire before movie

The movie is FUNNY! Jerusha Hess managed to take subpar material and really turn it into something visually as well as do a script upgrade with the actual author. The whole audience just guffawed almost through the whole movie. I was crying! Busting a gut, what have you. Romance didn't work very well, but it didn't in the book either so I wasn't expecting much in that area but if you want a really funny movie, this is it. You can tell the actors and the crew just had a blast. It really does make the movie come alive.

I was soooo excited for this to start!

After the movie there was a Q&A session. It was just fun and exciting to see the director and writer up there just being funny and personable and talking about their experiences. How can I put it? It was just really cool.

Jerusha Hess (director) and Shannon Hale (book author)

They even had a live band next door and a few appetizers to eat and we sat and listened to music and ate a few cucumber sandwiches.

It was an amazing experience and one we look forward to experiencing every year!