Sundance 2016: Stars gather, Norman Lear honored
PARK CITY, Utah -- The Associated Press is all over the Sundance Film Festival, which runs through Jan. 31, from its premieres to the Hollywood glitz. Here's what they've seen and heard:
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DINNER WITH THE STARS
Sundance filmmakers and their supporters broke bread together at the film festival's annual dinner celebration, An Artist at the Table.
Ava DuVernay, Jon Hamm, Casey Affleck, Zosia Mamet and Nick Jonas were among the artists dining with Sundance donors at the private event, held on a ranch outside Park City.
Guests were invited to experience a short virtual-reality film, and people wearing special goggles and earphones dotted the room.
Norman Lear was the guest of honor, attending the dinner after the documentary about his life, "Norman Lear: Another Version of You," premiered as the festival's opening-night film.
Lear said the film "startled and stunned and thrilled me."
Later, a troupe of musicians performed the theme songs to some of the most popular shows Lear created, including "All in the Family," ''The Jeffersons" and "Good Times."
Flanked by his wife and one of his daughters, Lear was merrily singing along.
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JUDD APATOW: PROUD PAPA AT DAUGHTER MAUDE'S PREMIERE
Dads will be dads no matter where they are and producer, director and writer Judd Apatow was no exception at Thursday's Sundance premiere of the movie "Other People."
His 17-year-old daughter Maude Apatow, who has appeared in "Knocked Up," ''Funny People" and "This is 40," is in the film -- and it's her first movie not made by her dad or starring her mom, Leslie Mann.
"It's really nice," said Maude on the red carpet. "This is the first film I've done without my parents too, and I think it feels like the same sort of people like funny people and I felt really comfortable the whole time. It was awesome."
As the teen did interviews on the red carpet, Judd Apatow stood close by, filming her with his phone. When a reporter asked him what Maude is supposed to do in interviews he said, "I'm cuttin' bait."
Maude said her goal has always been to be in showbiz like her parents.
"I think I've always loved acting. ... I'm a senior in high school now but like now I feel like, 'Oh, yeah. I really have to start thinking about what I'm going to do with my future and acting is what I want to do."
"Other People" stars Jesse Plemons as a gay, struggling comic in New York who returns to his childhood home in Sacramento to care for his dying mother, played by Molly Shannon.
The movie is written and directed by Chris Kelly, a writer on "Saturday Night Live."