Sundance Film Festival

Sundance founder Robert Redford never meant for his beloved film festival to turn into one giant swag suite for the likes of Paris Hilton. Redford has always meant the festival to be an anti-Hollywood celebration of American independent film. Last year, Paris Hilton was followed around town by a wild pack of paparazzi as she scooped up thousands of dollars worth of swag, including everything from skimpy lingerie to the latest tech gadgetry. This year there is NO Paris; instead we have party monster Tara Reid, the actress best known for boozing heavily and surviving botched plastic surgery.

Winona Ryder attended a screening of The Ten – the film is a spoof of The Ten Commandments and critics were in stitches over the politically incorrect subject matter. With its star-filled cast, the David Wain-directed flick is one of the films with the biggest buzz this year. Alongside Ryder, the film co-stars Paul Rudd, Jessica Alba and Adam Brody.

The world premiere of Year of the Dog got a warm reception from a packed house on Saturday. The film stars Molly Shannon in a dramatic role, and is the directorial debut of Mike White, who wrote The School of Rock and The Good Girl. The large ensemble cast was there to cheer him on, including John C. Reilly, Regina King and Peter Sarsgaard. White said the film's premiere was triumphant because he felt he'd spent months slaving in the kitchen and could now shout out: "Dinner's ready!"

With all the talk about independent film and the celebrities at Sundance, everyone seems to forget about the surrounding landscape - the lovely ski resort town of Park City. The Park City ski resort is headquartered right in the middle of town, one of its chairlifts literally floats over the town's main drag.

Teri Hatcher, the Desperate Housewives star, has also been seen about town, as has Gina Gershon, Catherine Keener, Tom Arnold and Bradley Whitford.