Slumber parties & After-hours at Sundance 2008

by: Caroline - January 21st, 2008  
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Eileen Colavita on the last day of Sundance at the L.A. Times/T-Mobile art breakfast

Today, I got on a plane for the first time since I visited my boyfriend in Vancouver 4 years ago. OK – there was that trip to Hawaii, but I don’t count it because I did not successfully re-board the plane to come home (panic attack). The 8am Southwest flight to Utah was jam packed with every event marketer, studio exec and filmmaker know to popular LA society. Among them: Kari Feinstein, Mike McGuniess (Feinstein/McGuiness PR), Jean Song (Fox Studios), Eileen Colavita (Spin Shoppe PR) and Stephanie Senter (People’s Revolution, where Whitney and Lauren intern on The Hills).

Kari Feinstein and Mike McGuiness at the Kari Feinstein Sundance Style Lounge on Day 1, January 18, 2008 in Park City, Utah. 2008
I went to assist Eileen in her 5-day quest for press for the Hard Rock hotels series of events at their ‘pop-up’ club in a converted gallery on Main Street. I was delighted (and I never use that word) to run into my new friend Alexi Yulish just outside. He was with his partner Jason Scoppa, Tom Colley, and a few promoters they work with; Mike Bellasario , Tom Colley and Chris Paul. They are all in town throwing the Green Door after hours from 12am on each night of the festival in a giant chalet up on a hill.

Jason Scoppa, Alexi Yulish, Tom Colley, Michael Bellisario, Azzuro Mallin and Chris Paul
Within the 30,000 sq ft Green Door mansion – they had a VIP “Dom Perignon Room” filled with champagne – for celebrities and those too blasee to wait at a crowded bar. You had to be specially invited in and then were given a secret password for the rest of the night. When I saw them on Main Street – I immediately invited them in to the Hard Rock party for hot chocolate and to design their own Pumas – courtesy of one of our sponsors …
During the infamous blackout of the festival – everyone was frozen at their respective party, screening, hotel, etc. That was nothing compare to getting snowed in a few days later up at the Butter House after hours (aka 5WPR Sundance Escape Mansion, with Butter nightclub in New York City) – the East Coast’s answer to the Green Door’s part dinner/part club/all celebrity success. If I must be snowed in somewhere, at least it’s with my childhood friend David Spencer, who works with the Butter crew in New York and all the other East Coast counterparts to my world in L.A. dancing on tables in the living room lodge. Butter’s daily breakfast was a hit among all festival-goers the whole week (read: eggs & champagne at 4am). You could either stay late the night before or arrive early but either don’t forget your pre-given pass – no exceptions – says the puffer-coat-wearing list man at the top of the drive.

One of our interns stumbled into an outdoor fire pit the same night up at the Green Door house and caught herself on fire – luckily she was saved by a lurking paramedic (another Sundance Miracle!) but had to remain in place with the synged butt of her dress missing, as the cabs avoided peril in the snow storms despite our generous offerings for rescue! No worries – instead we had the most gi-norumous sleep over at the Green Door house to ever go down in Hollywood history (unless you count Heffner’s ).

Or so I hear – I was lucky enough to catch a ride with friends R.J. Williams (YoungHollywood.com), Matt Donnelly (New York Post), and Carly Steel (actress, TV host) who took me with them back to the elaborate Grande Lodge in Empire Pass, Deer Valley with 12 ft high ceilings, bunk beds carved into oak walls of wood and cozy fireplaces at the eerie yet pricey accommodations, straight out of “The Shinning“complete with property care-taker hanging from a very thin thread.
R.J., a stylish man and former child start turned CEO of media conglomerate YoungHollywood.com, is elegant enough to travel with chef who made 5am grilled cheese sandwhiches upon our return as we inflated air mattresses, watched the sunrise and reflected on our so-not-LA evening of getting snowed in at a great party … how very Dolomite/Coucheval of us!


R.J. Williams, CEO Young Hollywood


Matt Donnelly, New York Post, Carly Steel, E! News


Moi!
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