It's cold! It's crowded! It's the 2008 Sundance Film Festival [1] in Park City, Utah!

I've been here a couple days now and have luckily managed to the avoid black ice and nosebleeds. On the downside, this year's festival seems to be so popular, it's hard to get into the film screenings! Still, this is my first time here at Sundance and I am in awe of this experience. So much great art, so much enthusiasm, so many film fanatics, each with his or her own celeb sighting. Gotta love it. I have a few days left here, but I've gathered some initial thoughts and observations:

• Buzz around town is that American Teen [2] is the documentary of choice. The movie "intimately follows the lives of four teenagers in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school." Morgan Spurlock's super-secretive Where In the World Is Osama? [3] premieres today, however, so we'll see where it lands in the list of favorite docs.
• The Wackness [4] has been getting audience reviews that range from "eh" to "amazing!" One person I chatted with said it might appeal most to people who have done lots of drugs.

More thoughts if you .

• I've heard only glowing praise for The Black List [5], the rights to which HBO has already snatched up. Fingers crossed I get into a screening of that one.
• Some of these snow drifts are so ginormous I can't see over the tops of them. This is scary and also awe-inspiring.
• Leaving the screening for The Mysteries of Pittsburgh [6], all I heard around me were male voices prattling on about how "smoking hot" Sienna Miller is. Of course, this was often preceded by "I don't know about her acting, but . . ."
• Spotted: Paris Hilton (surprisingly gracious with the flock of starstruck girls), Quentin Tarantino (way taller than I ever thought he was), Scott Wolf (about my height, which I kinda presumed), and Emily Mortimer (she's too adorable for words; also quite fashionable).
• Also spotted, at the super fun Entertainment Weekly [7] party were cast members from Brothers and Sisters [8]: Matthew Rhys (Kevin Walker), David Annable (Justin Walker), and Emily VanCamp (Rebecca Harper). I was working up the nerve to go talk to David (who is ridiculously cute in person) when Emily came in and started making out with him. Now, I know in real life she's not actually his half-sister, but still . . . kinda weird.

More to come . . . stay tuned!

Source [9]