Definitely no wackness

It was a year ago this month that a Sunday morning throng at the Sundance Film Festival rose to its collective feet in appreciation for a little flick called “The Wackness.”

Josh Peck, who plays a troubled teen pot dealer with an unlikely customer in a professor portrayed by Ben Kingsley, recalled the reaction for Sundance’s Audience Award winner, out this week on DVD.

“Yeah, and with everyone nursing their altitude sickness, which is just a polite way of saying that they were all disgustingly hung over,” joked Peck, 22, who lives in Studio City. “But that was a great gift. So rarely do you get to do something that you can truly be proud of.”

Concession cravings

I love going to the movies, even if it’s mostly for the popcorn. The ArcLight is ridiculously great in its commitment to the entire viewing experience. But what I like even more is the Landmark theater on Pico, because the chairs are so lush. And then there’s the living room seating too, which I really dig. It’s just a bunch of couches. But the only problem with the Landmark is that the snacks are a bit too refined and avant-garde. They’re really not fattening enough.

High-tops and wings

About once a week I go to this sort of specialty sneaker boutique called Undefeated [on La Brea]. It’s really dope. This year for my basketball league, it was very important that I get a dope pair of Knicks-inspired Nike high-tops. I used to wear a Kobe Bryant model, which of course allowed me to slam dunk. I’ve also bought all-leather Chuck Taylors, a pair of purple-and-slate Nikes, and my manager got me a pair of fading-gray-to-black high-tops.

After shopping, I might stop off for a bite to eat at a place called Hot Wings [on Melrose], which is weird, because it’s Indian food. No, I’m kidding. I love the wings, and I’ve been going there for about nine years, so I’ve seen the evolution of hot wings. When I started, I would get the mild ones, but now I’m up to medium-hot. They go all the way up to enough heat to make your hair fall out, I guess.

On the trails

I like going up to Runyon Canyon on weekends. There’s something inspiring and serene about it. I went up there shortly after booking “The Wackness,” and I don’t know if it was the altitude or the exercise, but I just had this tremendous feeling of all things being possible. There are three huge paths. The main one is where everyone takes their dogs, and it smells like it. It’s a real place to be seen; I’ve never seen such good-looking workout clothes in my life. There’s another side that’s all stairs if you want to get to the top, and there’s another path that has really little room for error, because if you trip over yourself, you might be spending a few hours at Cedars-Sinai.

Later, I’ll go to Noshi Sushi on Beverly; I’m pretty sure there’s crack cocaine in the spicy tuna rolls, because it’s so good that it’s addicting. That’s the only thing I get there, and it’s only $3 a roll, so it’s more than affordable. It’s really just a hole in the wall. They don’t have crunchy anything on the menu, and there’s no paparazzi outside like at Katsuya. But my friend who wanted to take me said he saw Vince Vaughn there a few weeks earlier, and that was enough to convince me to try it.

Basketball stars

Every Sunday, there’s a high school in Santa Monica where I play in this great basketball league. It’s not open to the public; only family and friends get in. It’s not just for movie stars, because I’m part of it, but there are a lot of actors, including some very famous cats. Jamie Foxx plays, Justin Timberlake is on a team. But we also have people who have been in, like, two commercials. We have a party at the beginning of the year where the uniforms are all handed out. Needless to say, I’m not the star player on the team; I’m just happy to be there.

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mark.sachs@latimes.com