The Ministry presents: A celebrity guide to Sundance 2010

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

It’s fast approaching: the time of year when stars flee Hollywood and its megawatt award shows for the sleepy town of Park City, Utah, where Robert Redford‘s Sundance Film Festival celebrates independent filmmaking.

And raging parties.

And swag for miles.

And throngs of Angelenos blowing dust off their snow gear.

So -- I am also headed to Park City, where I’ll be tweeting live on @LATcelebs and posting daily here at the Ministry about all things celeb. But first let me give you a taste of where the bold-faced names will be screening, drinking, primping and getting showered with swag:

The hubs: Though during the festival screenings, industry mixers and private dinners pepper Park City -- mostly on or near main artery Main Street -- celebrity hospitality always has a few juggernauts.

Village at the Yard will be a massive effort, housing film panels and junkets, TMobile’s myTouch cafe, InStyle magazine’s official portrait studio, Nintendo Wii Fit Plus Fitness Club, the Philadelphia Industry Lounge and a Sephora pop-up, all completely wired by Sundance’s tech partner HP. In the evenings, Stella Artois will host the Cutting Room with night-life programs. Fred Segal Fun will offer fashionable gifts to visiting celebs.

Down at the Lia Sophia Lounge at the Lift, the jeweler will be drenching stars with baubles, with Popchips and Muscle Milk Light to nourish the elite. Tao takes up residence below the Lift for nightly partying, while upstairs at the MySpace cafe, stars can nosh and rub elbows.

Another major effort is the House of Hype, this year featuring the AT&T Cafe and Charging Station with gifting from G-Shock, Sean John and Onitsuka Tiger. At night, the Supper Club is presented by chef Philippe Chow at the Microsoft Bing Bar. HOH will also feature performances from John Legend and the Roots, as well as Robin Thicke.

The Sky Suite will also be hosting bold names for gifting from the likes of AMC Theaters, Axe CYB and Heineken, and will feature sounds from DJs Danny Masterson and Steve Aoki. Over at the Greenhouse Actors Lodge, the Skintimate Screening Series is going down, with luxe gift bags for chapped filmmakers.

The films: ‘Howl’ with James Franco. ‘Sympathy for Delicious’ with Orlando Bloom. ‘The Runaways’ with Kristen Stewart. ‘Blue Valentine’ with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams. Um, score!

The Ride: As in Oakley, maker of sunglasses and performance outerwear, presents ‘Learn to Ride Snowboard.’ A spinoff of their successful Audi R8 event, Oakley will outfit celebs head to toe in ski suits and goggles then send them down a Park City slope with experts like Shaun White. Celebs expected to ride include Paris Hilton, Adrian Grenier, Shane West and Olivia Munn.

@NewKidOnTheBlock: This year, Twitter is coming to Sundance.Tweet House will be presented by Smashbox Studios and the Parnassus Group. Daytime panels will discuss how Hollywood can effectively use the micro-blogging tool, and there will be special events at night. Want to follow? It’s @140tc.

The Prep: As if goodies wont be handed out all over Main Street, stars like Malin Akerman scored everything one could need to face the festival at Think PR’s Pre-Sundance Lounge at the W Hotel Westwood. She scored jackets from Moods of Norway, long yummy t-shirts by Junk Food, and fashionable delights from What Goes Around Comes Around. ‘The Twilight Saga’ star Christian Serratos also picked up Fashionation’s eco boombox made from recycled Skittles wrappers.

The parties: They’re rolling in by the second. But one to watch for is Variety’s 10 Directors to Watch 2010, where Philip Seymour Hoffman will accept the Indie Impact award, with Acura and Woolrich John Rich & Bros. parkas as sponsors. Also, legendary Park City bar Harry O’s will feature a live concert series where Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will play Saturday.

Check back for updates!

-- Matt Donnelly

Still have a hankering for awards glitz? We have links just for you:

Golden Globes live tweet 2010 -- the enhanced and illustrated recap

Weinstein Co., NBC parties: Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Taylor Lautner, Tina Fey HBO toasts its Golden Globe winners: Chloe Sevigny, Kevin Bacon, Drew Barrymore
Golden Globes live from the red carpet
Golden Globe Awards 2010: The live blog!

Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we’re @LATcelebs) and Facebook.