The Circuit

The annual Variety 10 Directors to Watch party not only was a better and lower-key affair than the Stein Eriksen blowouts of yesteryear, it was evacuated by the fire department. 

When to leave a party is usually a sense of instinct -- who's there, how crowded is it, what the door looks like. 

Yet when we saw a rush of people suddenly heading out of it, we were surprised at how quickly a good party had deflated, even by Sundance standards. 

Then we saw the fire trucks.  Then we smelled the smoke. 

Outside, a transformer on a pole had blew and was spewing a stream of blue sparks everywhere.  Pretty, but there was no danger. 

Luckily, "Backdraft" scribe Gregory Widen was there, and eagerly explained why we had to evacuate.  He was fairly detailed about it.

Nothing in his warnings said we couldn't take our drinks with us, though, so after stuffing several longneck Stellas under our jackets, we complied.