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USU students to go behind the scenes at Sundance Film Festival 2000
By the USU Communication Department
A 1997 graduate of the communication department at Utah State University is opening the backstages at the 2000 Sundance Film Festival to current USU students following in her footsteps. Throughout her career as an undergraduate communication major at USU, Heather Mason had the habit of disappearing in mid-January, and then resurfacing with tales of glamour, Hollywood directors and hard work at Sundance. The premier U.S. independent film festival is held each January in Park City, Utah. Now Mason is vice president for marketing of a new Los Angeles-based online enterprise called ShowBIZData , and she is turning to her alma mater for professionally trained student interns to help launch her company during 10 days of galas planned for Sundance, Jan. 20-30. "When we decided to launch ShowBIZData at Sundance this year, it was obvious to me that we needed Utah State University students to make it work," Mason said. "I know where to go for the best university communication students in Utah." ShowBIZData plans its formal launch during the Sundance Festival with an "interactive lounge" that will feature film data, computer kiosks and a roomful of video screens. The lounge will permit visitors to access information about Hollywood and the entertainment business, Mason said, and a competition among Sundance film entrants also is planned. "We're very excited about this chance for our students not only to see the workings of the Sundance Festival, but to participate in the work of a new company," said USU communication department head Ted Pease. "It is doubly gratifying that one of our graduates is coming back to give this kind of opportunity to students coming behind her." At the Sundance Film Festival next week, 14 USU communication students will join Mason as ShowBIZData opens its interactive lounge at Park City's Harry O's, equipped with movie screens, TV monitors, and computer stations where visitors can sample the new service or send their own email. The USU students will act as hosts in the Lounge and work with Mason on publicity and interactions with Sundance festival-goers and sponsors of the lounge, including Warner Bros.' Entertaindom, eBay, Jamba Juice and others. The highlight of the ShowBIZ events will be a Festival-long a worldwide competition among filmmakers, who will pitch their movie ideas in three-minute video clips shown at the ShowBIZ facility and broadcast over the Internet. At the end of the Festival, a jury of film industry professionals will choose the best of the entries to be developed into a $1 million feature film project. The new company offers subscribers an interactive online database of comprehensive entertainment information for film enthusiasts and Hollywood insiders alike, Mason said. The service offers an archive of film information, box office data, news on film markets and festivals, entertainment industry headlines and a wide range of interactive features that permit users to construct websites to fit their needs.
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