Sundance has been on my “Things To Do” list for a very long time. It’s been at least 12 years since my roommate at the time, Michael Kim, told me all about the indie film festival in Park City, Utah, during one of our philosophical late night conversations about hopes and dreams.

Last summer, I worked as an associate producer and location manager on the comedy “Finishing The Game.” It was my second time working on a Justin Lin film since I worked as a translator and producer’s assistant on “The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift.” When I received the official word that “Finishing the Game” would be premiering at Sundance, I was ecstatic. I booked my tickets, turned down any work that would conflict with my Sundance trip, and when I finally picked up a new gig — asked my new boss for extra time off.

 

 

Saturday, January 20

It’s snowing here and everything is covered in white. It’s beautiful, despite the cold, and the condo we are staying in is pleasant. I managed to grab a cozy corner spot in a bedroom with actors Mousa Kraish and Sung Kang. Everyone is in great spirits. After 10 minutes of walking in the snow down Main Street, I realized that my canvas Chucks weren’t going to make it in this weather. The lady at the sporting goods store laughed as she told me, “I can always tell the first timers by the shoes they wear.” I tried not to blush as I forked over the plastic for a warm pair of snow boots. Ahhh! A wise investment indeed.

It’s very crowded here; the streets are swarming with droves of visitors, filmmakers and industry types going from venue to venue. It took us nearly 45 minutes to get seats in a restaurant. Before we could order, Sung, Mousa and Dustin Nguyen (another actor in the film) were all called away for an interview with MTV. I felt a bit lonesome and vulnerable seeing our group split up. However, I understood that this was only the beginning of a precise and rapid pace that we, the supporters of the film, would need to adjust to in order to help promote the film.

At 7:30 p.m. we had a meeting in our condo lead by director Justin Lin and producers Julie Asato and Salvador Gatdula. About 65 of us were assembled to hear the strategy for getting the word out on “Finishing the Game.” This included disseminating funky multi-colored movie pins and postcards to everybody and anybody walking the streets of Park City.

Later, at around midnight, we began plastering our movie posters on the poster boards on Main Street. We were hoping to create buzz around the film and get distributors and acquisitions people out to the premiere. The amazing thing about Sundance is that one never knows to whom they are handing a flyer or pin. (We passed Harvey Weinstein on the way back to the condo.)