I ran into Salt Lake Tribune critic Sean Means tonight at Sundance in a packed RV decked out with a mini tiki bar, neon lights, and a booming sound system — also known as the RVIP Lounge and Karaoke Cabaret, a tricked-out mobile karaoke mecca and the jammingest place you’ll find in Park City all week. Since the word’s out (read his account of the karaoke madness), here are my two cents: You can have your Drizzy Drake concerts and Bing Bar bashes, but for my money there’s no better way to thaw out from the snow and mingle with Sundance strangers than while belting a karaoke jam or two.
The thing about socializing at Sundance is that it can be incredibly frustrating and annoying if you do it the old-fashioned way. Park City imports non-film folks every year who show up to ski by day and get past velvet ropes at night, turning Main Street into douche-infested waters at sundown. Bars are overcrowded and parties all look the same after a while, so thank goodness for alternatives… like recreational vehicles outfitted with karaoke rigs and loud microphones.
The RVIP Lounge hails from Los Angeles, courtesy of master KJ/party hosts Kestrin Pantera, Jonathan Grubb, and Eva Kim where it zooms from place to place picking up eager singers. When the RVIP folks announced they were Park City bound this year, my heart leapt; no film festival, at least stateside in my experience, is complete without some sort of karaoke. (And while I haven’t quite figured out why movie people love karaoke so much, it’s an inarguable constant in this world, the social lubricant that unites many folks in the film community at large.)
Friday…
Full Story »Real talk: the new trailer for Adam Shankman’s Rock of Ages musical embodies all that people who hate karaoke hate karaoke for. Namely, middle-aged folks blaring through cheesy renditions of their favorite ’80s make-out/rock songs while the rest of us patiently wait for the plaintive strains of Journey to end, already. I say this as a person who likes — nay, loves — karaoke. Sigh. The Twisted Sister/Starship mash-up you really never asked for coming in 3, 2, 1.
Okay, okay. I’ll admit to crooning “Sister Christian” from time to time, but even I can’t take one more unironic warbling of “Any Way You Want It;” I absolutely draw the line at “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll.” (Didn’t we talk about this the other week?)
Issue #2: The ’80s are so, so over. The ’90s are the new ’80s, people. Get with it already.
Another way of looking at Rock of Ages, as evidenced by the trailer: It’s Glee, only with grownups and set in 1987. Take that as you will. Watch it now:
Chris D’Arienzo’s original jukebox Broadway musical used these songs and many more iconic ’80s rock tunes; expect Shankman to stay true to the songbook as he retells the fictional story of a Sunset Strip club under threat of redevelopment, where a wannabe musician (Diego Boneta), a waitress-turned-stripper (Julianne Hough), and a sleazy, jaded rock star (Tom Cruise) cross paths.
Admittedly, I perked up a bit when Catherine Zeta-Jones and her ladies who lunch began dancing and singing in their power suits… and, um, can we talk about Malin Akerman?
Verdict: I will grudgingly see this (for the monkey…
Full Story »
Because there’s a chance fellow Hobbit Elijah Wood is going to cream him in the boxing ring tonight, let’s take a moment to give props to Fantastic Fest guest Dominic Monaghan, who threw down some Vanilla Ice in yesterday’s karaoke rap contest. With his A’s cap pulled down low (Moneyball shout out!), Monaghan showed the room that this was clearly not his first time spitting lyrics like, “If there was a problem/Yo I’ll solve it/Check out the hook while my DJ revolves it.” At least it wasn’t “You All Everybody!”
Monaghan, who stars in the Fantastic Fest entry The Day, is also set to debate and then fight Wood in the ring tonight during the Fantastic Debates, where founder Tim League will box the bare knuckle boxing champ-star of the documentary Knuckle.
Also worth watching from last night’s battle is Eugenio Mira, director of 2010’s Agnosia — who also stars in Rodrigo Cortes’s Red Lights as a young Robert De Niro — who performed a Star Wars-themed rap:
Since it’s Fantastic Fest, there’s more celeb-filled karaoke to be had in the coming week. Stay tuned to Movieline’s coverage here and on Twitter. Word to your mother.
Full Story »Jason Segel, Alison Brie, and Emily Blunt — three of the stars of the upcoming Five-Year Engagement — and some silly television star named John Krasinski convened off set, crashed an Ann Arbor bachelorette party, and howled karaoke standards to the delight of all YouTubia. Who wins this duel: Segel and Krasinski with their rendition of “With a Little Help from My Friends,” or Brie and Blunt with “Total Eclipse of the Heart”? Video follows.
Based on sheer commitment level, the victory goes to Blunt and Brie. But where’s video of Krasinski and Blunt crooning together to “Islands in the Stream” or “Cruisin’”? Enlighten me, karaoke gods!
[via Vulture]
Full Story »