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Was Jim Gaffigan one of the busiest guy at Sundance 2019? He had to be because he had a total of three feature films premiere in Park City. He stars in Troop Zero alongside Mckenna Grace, Allison Janney and Viola Davis. There's also Them That Follow with Olivia Colman and Thomas Mann, and Light From Light with Marin Ireland. All three films are entirely different which essentially embraces one of the major themes of Sundance this year - celebrating storytelling risks.

Rather than dish out descriptions for all three films for you myself, I'll let Gaffigan do the honors because he was kind enough to carve out a little time in his busy schedule to swing by the Collider Studio. We cover everything from working with a rising star like Mckenna Grace to diving into a story about a community that believes a line in the Bible encourages them to work with snakes to his upcoming stand-up special with Amazon. You can hear about all of that and so much more in the full 20-minute conversation at the top of this article. There's also a breakdown of the chat below.

I’d also like to take a moment to give special thanks to our Collider Studio partner, the all new 2020 Kia Telluride, which was transporting filmmakers to our studio in celebration of the debut of the all new model, Kia’s first eight-passenger SUV that is several inches longer and wider than the brand’s award-winning Sorento.

Libations were also flowing at the Collider Studio with parties hosted by LIFEWTR, Tequila Comisario, Sensi Tuscany Wines, Blue Moon Belgian White and Dragonfly Coffee Roasters. Food during the parties was provided by Greene St. Kitchen of Palms Casino Resort lead by Chef Du Cuisine Lanny Chin. Brand partners active during the day included mou, a luxury footwear and accessories line, and The Wild Immersion endorsed by Jane Goodall who was on-site with the world’s first “virtual reserve.”

Jim Gaffigan:

• Gaffigan is especially busy at Sundance 2019; the thrill of premiering three movies.
• What is Troop Zero about?
• Gaffigan on working with rising star Mckenna Grace.
• Working with directors Bert & Bertie, and why they're a pair of directors to watch.
• What is Them That Follow about and why did he choose to get involved in the project?

  

• What Gaffigan took away from working on Them That Follow.
• What is Light From Light about? Is Gaffigan a believer?
• Sundance as a festival that encourages storytelling risks in a commerce-focused world.
• The family-like nature of the Sundance audience.
• Going to the premiere of Them That Follow with one of the directors, and watching his family cheer and send him off.
• Teaming up with Amazon for a streaming stand-up special.
• Gaffigan's thoughts on the rise of streaming services and the wealth of material out there.
• A full rundown of all of Gaffigan's upcoming projects.

Here are the official Sundance descriptions of Light from Light, Troupe Zero and Them That Follow:

Light from Light: Single mom Shelia, gifted with sometimes-prophetic dreams, moonlights as a paranormal investigator while working at a car-rental service counter and raising her teenage son, Owen. After her appearance on a local radio program, she’s contacted about Richard, a recent widower who thinks his wife may be haunting his East Tennessee farmhouse. Agreeing to help, Shelia brings along Owen and his sweet classmate Lucy in hopes of understanding the mystery.

Troop Zero: Nine-year-old oddball Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace) is obsessed with space and making contact with the aliens of the universe. When she finds out the prize at the 1977 Birdie Jamboree is getting her voice on NASA's Golden Record, Christmas forms her own misfit Birdie troop. Nothing can prepare them for the painfully perfect world of the legit Birdies. But, led by their reluctant yet fearless troop mama (Viola Davis) and Christmas’s dad (Jim Gaffigan), they find glory in the most unexpected circumstances—much to the despair of the ever-judgmental school principal, Miss Massey (Allison Janney).

 

Them That Follow: In the rugged wilderness of Appalachia, the members of an isolated community of Pentecostal snake handlers led by Pastor Lemuel (Walton Goggins) risk their lives to attest themselves before God. Lemuel’s daughter Mara (Alice Englert) prepares for her upcoming wedding to the young believer her father has singled out for her under the watchful eye of Hope (Olivia Colman), while scrambling to hide a secret that has the potential to drive her father’s church to ruin.