Sundance Notebook: 'Two Broke Girls' Was On, and I Didn't Watch

Every year, when I begin planning for Sundance, I think that the 6:50 a.m. Delta flight to Salt Lake City out of JFK is a good idea. And every year, when it's time to go to the airport, I wind up cursing my past self, who is an idiot. There are things that are worth getting to the airport at 5:15 a.m. for—thing like funerals and going on the lam. But a film festival is not one of those things. Future Sundancers, heed my words: You can arrive mid-afternoon. They're not going to give your credential away. I promise.

This year's trip was especially horrific, thanks to the modern marvel of in-flight Internet service. Instead of sleeping or watching the on-screen entertainment—which included "Moneyball" and episodes of "Two Broke Girls" and "The Big Bang Theory," a trifecta that would normally have my bourgeoisie-bohemian ass planted on the couch for half a day—I worked. That's the thing about in-flight Internet service. You can't use it to do anything fun. With all those people crammed in beside you, you're just not likely to, say, play online poker, or stalk people on Facebook, or look at pornography. You're going to use the Internet to work—not because work needs to get done, but because you (and when I say "you," I mean "I") need to feel like other people think you're important. "Look," you imagine the passengers around you thinking. "That guy has a spreadsheet open. I bet he's powerful. And I bet his wife loves him more than mine loves me."

So I spent most of the 5 1/2 hours working—responding to emails, wrestling PowerPoint, fighting the urge to get an early start on my fantasy-baseball draft strategy. I did manage to get some stuff accomplished. First, there was planning for Back Stage's big party on Friday night on Main Street in Park City, which we're co-hosting with Screen Actors Guild and Tweet House. We'll be Tweeting live from the event at @BackStageCast, so if something awesome happens, you'll be the first to know. Second, I made some headway on my profile of Gina Rodriguez, an up and coming young actor who is getting buzz already for her lead role in "Filly Brown." She also just signed a talent deal with ABC, so get used to her name. Third, I figured out which screenings I'm going to hit on my first day. So far it's looking like Danish director Mads Brugger's "The Ambassador," Andrea Arnold's new adaptation of "Wuthering Heights," and the too-goofily-named-to-ignore "I Am Not a Hipster." All three seem like good ideas right about now. Of course, lots of things that seem like good ideas at the time turn out to be the opposite.