THE Sundance Film Festival kicked off in snowy Park City, Utah, yesterday with goofy, off-screen antics of the stars and directors just as entertaining as the movies being screened.

While audiences finally got to see that creepy kiss between Mary-Kate Olsen and Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley at the premiere of "The Wackness," the hot buzz was the obsession one crew member had with the toothpick-thin twin.

Insiders say a production assistant fell madly in love with Mary-Kate during last summer’s shoot in New York. "He would do anything for her, get her tons of coffee, pay special attention to her, tell her stories, stare at her," recalled our snitch at a party for the film this week at The Zone, which also hosted Maroon 5’s Adam Levine, Rex Lee and Le Cirque owner Sirio Maccioni.

"Eventually someone turned to him and said, ’No one cares what you think.’ He was much better after that," our insider laughed, adding that Olsen "does have a thing going with one of our producers. They have a date to make out."

Meanwhile, aging tough-guy Armand Assante appeared to be on the prowl for young actresses at the Chefdance Dinner as he eyeballed every blonde in the room. "He kept staring at me, trying to catch my eye," one beauty told us. Assante, 58, who appears in "American Gangster," may have needed a lady nurse to take care of him - he told a fellow patron in the men’s room that he hurt his shoulder taking a tumble on the slopes and was in pain. He left alone, though.

Rapper Akon avoided trouble at his concert at Harry O’s when a busty blonde kept grabbing him. "You are a bad bitch," fumed Akon, warning her to back off. "You and I be making YouTube, forget it."

Hottie Eliza Dushku, whose "Bottle Shock" is premiering, paid a visit to the MySpace Cafe to create a profile and then found dozens of fake ones that already existed. "Oh, look, I’m bisexual," she laughed at one. Dushku deleted all the fakes and created the real deal.

Colin Farrell, star of "In Bruges," sauntered around town, but with his just-rolled-out-of-bed looks, it was hard to tell him apart from the scruffy, snowboarding locals. The now-sober star stopped at a deli for snacks, going unnoticed by most customers, then visited Doolin’s bar and huddled with pals - minus beer.