Sundance might be celebrating its silver anniversary, but it's not the only festival in town this week and it's not the only one with something to celebrate, either.
The Chinese New Year falls a bit early in 2009, beginning the Year of the Ox on Jan. 26. To celebrate, skip the MSG-laden grease-bombs we call Chinese food and try something more authentic8212;the Hong Kong Tea House.
A rare occurrence in the world of opera is happening this month8212;an opera set in America and sung in English. Furthermore, it's an opera with deep ties to Utah's music scene.
Each new year is brimming with musical possibilities. The most anticipated major releases won't start dropping for a few months and while it feels like a time of waiting, the gears and levers of the evolving music scene are continuing to move and change.
While the performance is good, almost great8212;and rumored to be Eastwood's last in front of the camera8212;without a screenplay to match, it's terribly difficult to believe that Eastwood could trump Sean Penn as Harvey Milk or Mickey Rourke as Randy "The Ram" in "The Wrestler."
John Fitzgerald and I will be splitting our time between Salt Lake City and Park City for the next 10 days to give you as much inside information as we can get our hands on. Check out the Red Pulse Web site at www.dailyutahchronicle.com/red_pulse to read our blogs and rants from the frontline of the film festival.
