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It can very get awfully tiring...depressing, really, to watch groups of credentialed, shaggy-haired, snow-booted Sundance journalists and filmmakers who are sitting near you in the lounge smiling and gleefully laughing with each other, one joke after another, chit-chat, chuckle-chuck, hah-hah, grins and mirth...no end to it, constantly, hour after hour. It's cool for the first hour or so, but after the two-hour mark I could just scream.
A little part of me -- okay, one that I don't admire and probably shouldn't acknowledge -- wants to go up to one of these groups, bend over and say in a very quiet voice, "I'm sorry, guys, it's obviously none of my business...but did you know that the stuff you say in conversation doesn't always have to be funny? I mean, you don't have to laugh uproariously all the time? You can just sit there and chill down and be heavy-cat Zen types. You could even be silent for a bit and read about the jet that splashed into the Hudson yesterday. Oh, I'm sorry -- not funny enough, right?
"I'm mentioning this, no offense, because your constant smiling and chuckling and laughing are driving me up the wall."
Posted by Jeffrey Wells on January 16, 2009 at 3:33 PM
comment #1
Breedlove
says ...
A good example of this are the NFL pre- and post-game shows, where the analysts laugh uproariously pretty much non-stop, even though no one really says or does anything remotely funny.
Posted by Breedlove
at January 16, 2009 4:01 PM
comment #2
RustysaGoodDog
says ...
I think I speak for a lot of us...Thanks Wells. Thanks for acknowledging that little (big) part of us that wants to stuff snowballs down their cutesy little mouths.
Posted by RustysaGoodDog
at January 16, 2009 4:20 PM
comment #3
the400blows
says ...
As I was reading the capsule, it reminded me of the Marshall McLuhan scene in Annie Hall. You should ask Woody if you can write a script with him on L.A. types at Sundance. I remember when I was at Sundance back in '99 or '00--that's when those new eyeglass frames were coming out. You know, the small oval-shaped ones. Coming from Berkeley, CA I had never seen them before in my life. But here were these trendy L.A. types wearing their latest, up-to-date eyeglasses in a Mormon Utah town called Park City. They really stood out like a sore thumb. I bet those gigglers do too.
Posted by the400blows
at January 16, 2009 4:24 PM
comment #4
storymark
says ...
I've never seen someone who is so consistantly upset by the happiness of others as you, Jeff.
Do people ever come up to you and suggest a smile from time to time? Just curious.
Posted by storymark
at January 16, 2009 4:28 PM
comment #5
Marty Melville
says ...
Well, he's in good company...
"Happiness in others.... rrrrrrrrrrrrubs me the wrong way."
Brother Theodore
Posted by Marty Melville
at January 16, 2009 4:42 PM
comment #6
George Prager
says ...
You're in SUNDANCE!!! Jeez. People go there because it makes them feel like they're having a life.
Posted by George Prager
at January 16, 2009 4:44 PM
comment #7
Big Black
says ...
The sound of forced, ingratiating laughter from a group of strangers - particularly when it's in a shared space where you might be trying to concentrate - is awful. I don't think the happiness of others is what bothers Jeff, it's just the fucking noise. And there's the title, too, in case you missed it.
It's not that I prefer it when he's cranky or unhappy or otherwise ornery, but if Jeff was the type to plaster a fake smile on his face and walk around glad-handing as if the world was this perfect jewel filled with nothing but wonderful people, I'd probably have been reading someone else's blog all these years.
Posted by Big Black
at January 16, 2009 4:48 PM
comment #8
Movie fan09
says ...
storymark Author Profile Page says ...
I've never seen someone who is so consistantly upset by the happiness of others as you, Jeff.
Do people ever come up to you and suggest a smile from time to time? Just curious.
Story,
you must have never been around entertainment types before.
I used to pal around with some actors at a community college I went to, and they would do the exact same damn thing.
and at first, I was like you story.
"What is wrong with me?'
then I realized it wasn't their happiness I'm mad at, it's the egotistical show-iness of it all.
and btw-I'm an actor too.
Posted by Movie fan09
at January 16, 2009 5:07 PM
comment #9
Devin Faraci
says ...
hahaha, I was sitting near Jeff when he wrote this. The people in question were psyched to have been blogged about.
Posted by Devin Faraci
at January 16, 2009 5:16 PM
comment #10
Pinko Punko
says ...
this seems a little more meta that usual. where are the blog posts of the laughers talking about how dour Jeff Wells is sitting near them blogging about them?
Somebody should just do it to make this a little more interesting.
Posted by Pinko Punko
at January 16, 2009 5:51 PM
comment #11
RustysaGoodDog
says ...
I was one of the laughers when dour Jeff blogged about us.
Posted by RustysaGoodDog
at January 16, 2009 6:22 PM
comment #12
bmcintire
says ...
Jeff, between the walk-outs, the shitty housing options, the wi-fi scarcity, the glee-filled participants, . . . why are you even there? You could probably have had the same experice by watching a screener of HAPPY GO LUCKY on your laptop in a sports bar somewhere in the frozen Midwest.
Posted by bmcintire
at January 16, 2009 6:23 PM
comment #13
Emmanuel_Goldstein
says ...
"uproariously" is a funny word...
Posted by Emmanuel_Goldstein
at January 16, 2009 6:31 PM
comment #14
bmcintire
says ...
er, experience.
GRIM TORINO
A little part of me -- okay, one that I don't admire and probably shouldn't acknowledge -- wants to go up to one of these groups, bend over and say in a very quiet voice, "Get off my lawn."
Posted by bmcintire
at January 16, 2009 6:32 PM
comment #15
dinther
says ...
I'm with Jeff here. and it's not at all confined to movie people. it seems to have been inculcated that when one is in a social setting, one must carry on as if he or she is having a GREAT time. sort of like the self-puffery that occurs on facebook and myspace.
these preening cries for relevancy wouldnt be so annoying if they weren't so f-ing inauthentic.
Posted by dinther
at January 16, 2009 7:41 PM
comment #16
LexG
says ...
Little late to the party, but I also want to thank Jeff for including the "snow boots" line, and would extend that to L.A. ACTOR ASSHOLES showing up in every Sundance pic I've ever seen WEARING STUPID FUCKING SKI CAPS and TOBOGGAN HATS and SCARVES and PARKAS and shit. Half as an excuse to model stylish winter wear they'd never get to sport in L.A. (except when -- BRRRRRR -- it's 50 degrees and RAINING, the horror), and mostly because they're giant pussies.
I'm sure in two weeks there'll be an E.W. plastered with Sundance pics of Sam Rockwell in a MCREADY FROM THE THING beard and Rachel Bilson or Emma Roberts BUNDLED UP LIKE THEY'RE IN ANTARTICA and PHILLIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN WEARING THE BECK HAT with the EARFLAPS from 1994, or some shit, but 3/4 of the country manages to make it through winter every fucking year without MUGGING LIKE A DOUCHEBAG about it and bundling up like the second Ice Age just kicked in.
Posted by LexG
at January 16, 2009 7:54 PM
comment #17
bmcintire
says ...
Let's see:
Park City, UT current temp 27F, expected overnight low 18F.
Century City, CA current temp 68F, expected overnight low 48F.
Relax already, Lex. Make shit of the douchebags (usually skinny chicks with ginormous fake tits) that dress that way here in town. Or does the fact that you want to nail them excuse them from the douchebag mugging aspect of things?
Posted by bmcintire
at January 16, 2009 8:31 PM
comment #18
plastiqueelephant
says ...
I find it bloody depressing when the geeks and losers sit in the spewing the bile of resentment because the cool kids are better looking, better dressed and having a better time.
Posted by plastiqueelephant
at January 16, 2009 8:48 PM
comment #19
nemo
says ...
Journalists at Sundance -- aren't those bozos supposed to be working? What are they doing sitting around drinking and making lame jokes for two hours?
27F high, 18F low -- I'm sorry, but that is not cold weather. People stroll around Chicago with no hats, no gloves, and their coats flapping open in that kind of weather. Weather like that is a sign that spring is approaching. Chicago had a high of +1F yesterday. That's cold weather.
Posted by nemo
at January 16, 2009 8:54 PM
comment #20
plastiqueelephant
says ...
It's midwinter in Bombay and 78F at this moment. I'm wearing a cardigan to ward off the briskness. 18F sounds plenty cold to me. 1F sounds just stupid.
Sitting around for two hours and shooting the shit with filmmakers counts as work in my book (and it goes both ways). You build the relationship and become a source for their work, they become PR for yours.
Posted by plastiqueelephant
at January 16, 2009 10:01 PM
comment #21
BurmaShave
says ...
Lex that was so right on so many levels.
Posted by BurmaShave
at January 16, 2009 10:01 PM
comment #22
bmcintire
says ...
Yes, and that's why some of us left Chicago.
Posted by bmcintire
at January 16, 2009 11:23 PM
comment #23
bryce_david
says ...
I agree with Jeff on this. There's nothing worse than a bunch of brash loudmouths who laugh at anything to ruin your day. I recently had the same experience at a restaurant where a bunch of businessmen where laughing constantly at anything. Whenever the woman with the desert tray walked about, they would always ask "do you have any cheese?" and then laugh out loud for minutes. The meal was excellent but they totally ruined my evening.
Posted by bryce_david
at January 17, 2009 10:32 AM
comment #24
the400blows
says ...
"I agree with Jeff on this. There's nothing worse than a bunch of brash loudmouths who laugh at anything to ruin your day. I recently had the same experience at a restaurant where a bunch of businessmen where laughing constantly at anything. Whenever the woman with the desert tray walked about, they would always ask "do you have any cheese?" and then laugh out loud for minutes. The meal was excellent but they totally ruined my evening."
To bryce_david: I believe the word you're looking for is OBSEQUIOUS.
Posted by the400blows
at January 17, 2009 11:59 AM
comment #25
ophthalmologist
says ...
LexG: you should come to the city of angels. These fashion-eee-stas wear their ski caps when it's warm here. Warm like 60 degrees. Sitting in Starbucks-TM with their multi-syllabic soy latte pretentious drinks. Their message: 'I realize the temperature is slightly cooler than the hottest dregs of July, thus I wear my Gap-TM or Abercrombie-TM ski hat to show, errr, I don't know, that I'm cool or something.' Beware the folly of following fashion, it's a joke run by fools who are are desperate to be declared person of the moment.
Posted by ophthalmologist
at January 23, 2009 11:59 PM
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