Sundance FAQ: “Did you see any celebrities?”

Only celebrities I saw were cast members present at Q&A of films I saw.  At one point paparazzi were taking pictures of someone ahead of us in line but even so, I don’t know for sure who it was – maybe Holly Hunter.

But my 16-year-old granddaughter had her picture taken with 40-some celebrities.  To learn how she did that, read on.

Claire knew from her experience last year that you have to go out and find them.  She organized appointments with girlfriends, one at a time, to meet on Main Street. They wore warm coats and took cameras and iPhones and strolled up and down Main Street all afternoon on Saturday and Sunday, and again on Monday, since school was closed for Martin Luther King Day.  They targeted theater locations, hotels and restaurants that they thought might be celebrity meccas.

Claire is in love with James Franco so she looked for him.  Last year he surprised her by coming into a theater and sitting in the seat directly in front of her.  She talked to Franco and his brother and had her picture taken with him, so she felt confident she would see him again.  And she did, twice.  Once on Main Street where she had her picture taken with him and again in a parking garage getting into his red SUV.  How did they know he would be in that garage?  They spotted a girl they recognized as being one of Franco’s entourage and asked her where they could find him.  Celebrity sighting takes ingenuity and hard work, which is probably why I didn’t see any.

She shook hands with Nicole Kidman, but didn’t get a picture because Nicole was in a rush. She got pictures with the likes of Jonathan Groff (Jessie from Glee), Jeremy from the Vampire Diaries, Casey Affleck from Oceans Eleven, Ellen Page who we saw in the film The East, Rooney Mara who was in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Georgia King from The New Normal, Jeff from the Bachelorette, Ben Lyons from E! News, and many more.

It is important not to celebrity hunt in a pack.  Two cute 16-year old girls won’t overwhelm or scare the star, and will have the best shot at getting a picture.  As you can see from the pictures here, the celebs don’t look the least bit scared or annoyed.  They look happy.

Now it is very important to post the pictures on Facebook so your friends can appreciate your successes.  The comments ranged from “OMG Claire!  I love him…You are so lucky” or “I hate you.” to “Please take me with you tomorrow.”  I imagine Claire herself was a celebrity on Tuesday when she went back to school.

How grand to be 16 years old and live in Sundance City.

James Franco

Ellen Page

Shia Labeouf

Maya Rudolph

Jonathan Groff

Rooney Mara