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by Corey Moss, with additional reporting by Josh Morrisroe
PARK CITY, Utah — In between performing with Sum 41 on "Saturday Night Live" and shooting the "Number One Spot" video in Los Angeles, Ludacris had exactly 24 hours to take in his first Sundance Film Festival. MTV News tagged along ...
Sunday, January 23
6 p.m.: A lethargic Ludacris arrives at the Salt Lake City airport on a private plane. "It was the only way," he says. "There's a blizzard in New York. We were snowed in."
6:01 p.m.: Luda gets the news that "Hustle & Flow," the movie he's here to promote, just sold for a Sundance record of $9 million. "That's a great thing," he says, slowly showing signs of enthusiasm. "It was made for less than $2 [million]."
7 p.m.: The crew pulls up to the hotel. The streets outside are lined with festival-goers gearing up for another night of parties. For this partier, though, it's nap time.
11 p.m. : Slightly rested, Ludacris, in a gold sweat suit with the hood pulled over his braids, takes a picture with an older white woman claiming to be a fan while he waits outside for his shuttle van. He complains of the cold. Within seconds of climbing into his ride, he fires up his iPod through the stereo. Cam'ron. "I love technology," he says. "We can be our own DJs wherever we go."
11:15 p.m.: Luda arrives at a "gifting" house where companies "gift" (apparently this word is a verb at Sundance) celebrities clothing and gadgets. "Even though we making money these days, you can never not be happy about getting free stuff," he admits.
11:20 p.m.: First stop, Lucky Brand Jeans. "What size jeans are you?" a friendly Lucky woman asks. "In these, 38." They offer 34, which is probably a little closer to his waistline. "I'm a part of the no-tight-jeans coalition," he tells her. Another Lucky woman offers a T-shirt. He holds it up. "It's an extra large," she says with a smile. "It's an extra medium," Ludacris jokes, cracking up his entourage. "These are too small. It was the thought that counted, though, thanks anyway."
11:30 p.m.: Next stop, Sony. Luda's eyes go right to a 70" widescreen HDTV. There are pink flamingos on the screen, but damn do they look crystal clear. "How much is this TV?" "$18,000," a Sony man answers. "How much are you offering it to me for?" Luda inquires. "$13,000." He thinks about it.
11:45 p.m.: With a free Sprint phone and Kenneth Cole boots in hand, Ludacris heads for Harry O's, where he's performing soon. "We're trying to make use of our time spent here and put a little money in our pocket too," he explains. A beautiful blue haze has settled on the mountains surrounding Park City, but no one seems to notice.
11:48 p.m.: Conversation turns to Luda's next project, "Crash," with Sandra Bullock and Don Cheadle. "It's cool to be in a movie with so many big stars, but music is still my number-one love," he says. "I'm not trying to move out to L.A. just yet. I'm just testing the waters, that's all. I still have more music to get out of my system."
12 a.m.: Ludacris walks the red carpet at Harry O's, finally giving the bored photographers something to shoot. It's inside, but he complains of the cold. "Honestly, I like the event, but I don't know about the place where it's at," he tells a reporter. "I like it where it's warm." "Where'd you get your necklace?" another reporter asks of his massive chain and pendant. "I can't tell you." She continues to prod him. "I can't tell you my secrets," Luda insists.
12:02 a.m.: Ludacris runs into Archbishop Don "Magic" Juan as he enters the club. "Where's Snoop?" "He'll be here tomorrow," the king of the pimps answers. But alas, Luda will be gone already. The green room is stacked with Crunk Juice, but Luda drinks water while he flips through magazines on the couch. His DJ is warming up the crowd downstairs with "Lean Back."
12:30 a.m.: "Back again!" Luda yells as he takes the stage, opening with "Number One Spot." The venue is packed. It's at least 100 degrees. Girls in miniskirts are dancing on the bar. Carmen Electra's in the VIP lounge, sipping cocktails with Anthony Anderson and other "Hustle & Flow" stars. (Click here to watch Luda drop "Stand Up.")
12:50 a.m.: Linkin Park's Brad Delson and Rob Bourdon arrive just in time for "What's Your Fantasy." The crowd loves the hits and the girls dancing on the bar start getting friendly with each other.
1:30 a.m.: Show's over. Ludacris is exhausted, but a midnight screening of "Hustle & Flow" is about to finish, and he needs to be at the Q&A session afterward. He excuses MTV News for bed.
Monday, January 24
8 a.m.: A sleepy-eyed Ludacris, wearing a "Hustle & Flow" shirt, arrives at the Premiere Lounge to start interviews for the movie. There was a party in the tent the night before and it reeks of beer and dried sweat. Vacuums moan as camera crews set their lights. He complains of the cold. You can see his breath.
10:15 a.m.: Ludacris and co-stars Taryn Manning and Taraji Henson sit down with MTV News. Ludacris thanks MTV Films for buying the movie. "It's all because of him," Manning says, pointing to the rapper. Luda gives his critique of Terrence Howard, who plays a pimp-turned-rapper in the movie. "Man I ain't gonna lie, I was skeptical at first," he admits. "But once I saw the movie I think he did a damn good job. ... And a lot of people can relate to it because everybody raps these days. Your mama raps, your mama's cousin, your aunties, your grandmas. So it's just real-to-life in a sense that somebody is trying to make something out of nothing."
11 a.m.: After grabbing a bagel, Ludacris walks up to the Sundance Channel's studio for a roundtable live segment with Jay Mohr and Kevin Bacon. The studio door closes in front of us, but we watch them laugh through the window. Must be warm in there.
1:30 p.m.: The crew drives to the Motorola-sponsored "gifting" house. Luda plays some Nintendo and leaves with a DS system and another phone.
4 p.m.: Ludacris returns to Main Street for a photo shoot. "I don't even know what it's for," he confesses. "It's InStyle," his publicist says. Taryn Manning joins him, but MTV does not as it's a closed shoot. "She's gonna be huge," Luda says of his co-star.
6 p.m.: An exhausted Luda piles into his van and heads for the airport. He apologizes for not being more fun. "It's just too cold here," he says.
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Photo: MTV News
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