Scene and heard at the Sundance Film Festival

Associated Press reporters at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, open their notebooks:

MORE PARKS: For Aubrey Plaza and Dane DeHaan, there's plenty more life — and acting work — after "Life After Beth."

The two busy young actors pair up for the zombie romantic comedy that premiered this weekend at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

It was on Park City's Main Street that Plaza found out that her NBC series "Parks & Recreation" had been renewed for a seventh season.

"Jim O'Heir screamed at me and was like, 'Seventh season!' So that's how I found out," she said.

How many more are in the works?

DeHaan, 27, suggests 21 seasons total, "So you're a third of the way through."

"I mean, I just don't see a world where NBC would ever let Amy Poehler go. I mean who would want to let that one go?" Plaza said.

Neither actor is a Sundance newbie — DeHaan was there last year with "Kill Your Darlings" and Plaza was there two years ago with "Safety Not Guaranteed."

"The first time I was here with that movie it was overwhelming because I didn't know and I just felt used," the 29-year-old Plaza said, smiling. "But now I feel like I'm using everyone else. So I win this time."

DeHaan — who appears in this summer's "Amazing Spider-Man" sequel — has been preparing for months now for the difficult task of playing James Dean in the indie film "Life," which starts shooting next month.

"It's really intimidating, yeah. But that's kind of why I did it," he said.

— Ryan Pearson, AP Entertainment Writer (Twitter: @ryanwrd).

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SHELTER DOGS AT SUNDANCE: Josh Duhamel had lots of admirers at one Sundance party — but this time they were of the four-legged kind.

The actor mingled with dogs of different varieties at an event to promote adoption of shelter dogs sponsored by Pedigree.

"I'm here mostly to help spread the word about animal rescue. If you're looking for a dog or a cat just consider, you know, rescuing. If you're serious about it," Duhamel said. "We don't want anybody getting a dog just because they love the idea of it."??

The actor says he first became aware of how rewarding it is to rescue a pet rather than buy one from a breeder or pet store when he and wife Fergie adopted a second dog named Meatloaf as a companion for their first dog, Zoe.

"It wasn't until we got Meatloaf, who was a chubby, little dachshund mix. We had a dog before that who we bought from a breeder, who is a great little dog," Duhamel said. "Then we found Meatloaf as a friend for her and that was kind of the turning point for me. I was like, 'Why didn't we do this from the beginning and why doesn't everybody do this?"?????

Meatloaf died two years ago and Duhamel says his family at home is "just Zoe, me, wifey and the baby now."

Fergie gave birth to the couple's first child in August — a son named Axl.

"It's funny to watch (Axl and Zoe) start developing a bond because at first Zoe wanted nothing to do with Axl and Axl could've cared less because he's a baby," Duhamel said. "But now he's 4 1/2 months old and he's starting to reach out and pet her and touch her and he's interested in what she's doing and she sees him purely as a potential ball thrower."

Boston Red Sox star David Ortiz was also at the event. He says he's a lifelong dog lover and one of his favorite things about pets is that they don't know what his day job is.

"They don't care. That's the reason why I love them," said Ortiz. "They don't care how your day was, they always expect you the same way, they always wait for you the same way."

— Alicia Rancilio, AP Writer (Twitter: @aliciar).

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MOTHER-DAUGHTER TIME: Glenn Close and her daughter, Annie Maude Starke, made an after-hours appearance at a gift lounge on Main Street.

Two hours after the Variety Studio shut its doors, Close and Starke sneaked in for some private shopping and bonding.

The two actresses laughed and chatted as they tried on winter coats Monday night, each leaving with a leather jacket and a fur-trimmed, long puffer coat.

Close is in Park City to promote the film "Low Down." Starke just came for fun.

— Sandy Cohen, AP Entertainment Writer (Twitter: @APSandy).

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FAMOUS GAMERS: Stars looking for a break from the film-focused action at Sundance were able to indulge in some video-game action.

Elijah Wood laid down and flexed his abs to play the "Core Luge" game at the Nintendo Chalet. Kate Hudson kicked off her shoes to play a game called "Hose Down" that involves countless lunges.

Other stars that took time to get gamey were Aaron Paul, Joe Manganiello and Christina Hendricks, who played a ski game with her husband.

— Sandy Cohen, AP Entertainment Writer (Twitter: @APSandy).