Last week, Haute Living Los Angeles published our premiere Hollywood Power Player Awards. The piece presented our picks for the hautest director, producer, agent, actor, actress, agency, film studio, lawyers, and film festival. If you haven’t gotten your hands on a copy of the print edition (which, through our direct distribution model, only ends up in the hands of the region’s elite), you can check out our choices here.

While putting together the piece, I had the opportunity to speak with John Cooper, the director of the Sundance Film Festival. While he has been with the Sundance Institute since 1989, this year was his first in the big-boss role. Just weeks after the close of Sundance Film Festival, Cooper sat down with Haute Living to discuss the festival and all that goes into it. He joked that he was out of media practice and might be a little unguarded with his answers, which I of course prefer. His uncanny insight led us to name Sundance as the hautest festival in our Power Player article.

Keeping his thoughts all to myself would be selfish, I know, so I am happy to share some excerpts from my interview with our online readers. Check back later in the week for more from the director of the Sundance Film Festival. More after the jump.