Today was a good as the previous 3 and a super end to the festival. We began today with The Footnote about a scholar in Israel whose life research was reduced to a footnote in someone else's book. It was humorous, passionate and especially interesting for academics. I recommend it. We heard that it was popular with others too.
Next we went to the Labor Day picnic. Over 1200 people attended---more than they expected. Lunch was followed by a panel with 3 directors of my favorite films: Albert Nobbs, We Need to talk about Kevin and the Separation. It always adds a lot to the experience to hear directly from the film makers about the creation of the movie.
Next I went to an unconventional movie choice: a documentary called Hollywood Don't Surf. Besides looking at the obvious 60s surfing movies, it considered an array of other movies that had some surfing reference, e.g. Fast Times at Ridgemont High and a very young dude named Sean Penn, and the surfing scene in Apocalypse Now with the famous line "Charlie don't surf." It's a documentary you usually don't get to see and I really found it entertaining!
Finally we saw a 3-D movie, Pina, about the German choreographer Pina Bausch. She was a contemporary/modern dancer which is not my favorite genre, but it was well done and had some memorable scenes.
So now that le fin has arrived, I want to summarize my 4 days in this way:
My "really recommend you see" list includes : The Descendants, Albert Nobbs, The Artist, The Separation, We Need to talk about Kevin, and Butter . I expect we'll see some Academy Awards from this list. (You'll recall that last year we saw King's Speech & Black Swan).
My list of others I thought were worth seeing: Footnote and Living in the Material World.
In reviewing this summary I am amazed to see that there were only a few other films I saw that I would not recommend. Terrific score! We had perfect weather the entire time and as always met lots of people and swapped movie reviews & stories along the way.
This is my last Telluride 2011 posting. Thanks for sharing the experience with me! :-)
Monday, September 5, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Telluride Day 3
Today was another full day. Began with a terrific tribute to George Clooney. They played clips from about 10 of his movies, then he was interviewed by a movie critic. The interview was delightful. He told stories of his pre- Hollywood life, his early tv days, the time he was a chauffeur for his aunt Rosemary and his evolution in films. He was personable, humorous and a huge hit with the audience.
Next we saw a Tilda Swinton movie-----We Need to Talk about Kevin. It was really intense. About a very disturbed family and serious issues. Not for general audiences. But her acting was superb.
The next one was also quite disturbing but well done: Shame. The main character was addicted to sex and his sister was played by Carrie Mulligan, whom we saw twice before at Telluride. She's excellent but this is a difficult (and explicit) film.
The last two today were foreign. Bonsai, from Chile which I found to be pretty boring but Michelle liked OK. Put me to sleep. The last one was excellent: A Separation. It was set in Iran and while the culture was very different from ours, the underlying plot was about a marriage in trouble, with universal appeal. For those who don't mind subtitles, I'd really recommend this drama.
So it was a great mixture today. Sad to think tomorrow is the last day. :-( Hope to see 4 more tomorrow. The weather has been outstanding---warm and not a drop of rain. This is a good year!
Next we saw a Tilda Swinton movie-----We Need to Talk about Kevin. It was really intense. About a very disturbed family and serious issues. Not for general audiences. But her acting was superb.
The next one was also quite disturbing but well done: Shame. The main character was addicted to sex and his sister was played by Carrie Mulligan, whom we saw twice before at Telluride. She's excellent but this is a difficult (and explicit) film.
The last two today were foreign. Bonsai, from Chile which I found to be pretty boring but Michelle liked OK. Put me to sleep. The last one was excellent: A Separation. It was set in Iran and while the culture was very different from ours, the underlying plot was about a marriage in trouble, with universal appeal. For those who don't mind subtitles, I'd really recommend this drama.
So it was a great mixture today. Sad to think tomorrow is the last day. :-( Hope to see 4 more tomorrow. The weather has been outstanding---warm and not a drop of rain. This is a good year!
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Day 2--end of the day
It's 10 pm; I'm calling it quits after 4 movies today. The morning one I already wrote about. After lunch we saw these:
Goodbye First Love, which has a totally different title in French (L'amour de jeunese). I thought the French title was much more apt; it's about the angst of young love. We thought it was good but not great. Visually it was beautiful (set in France). Joni can probably see it in France. The director was present to introduce it & do a Q & A after. That was interesting. I saw the director on the way out and said "merci bien." :-)
Then we saw a really special film: The Artist. It was by a French director, with international cast but ----it was a silent movie in black & white! It was the story of an actor who has great fame in silent films but when talkies come, he is no longer wanted. It starred Jean Dujardin who won best actor at Cannes and Penelope Ann Miller with others such as John Goodman & James Cromwell. I think people will like this one. It was more than you'd expect!
Finally we saw Butter starring Jennifer Garner. (We didn't see her husband here). It's about a butter carving contest at the Iowa State Fair. A total comedy sort of along the line of Juno but not as good writing. Garner was here to introduce it. That was fun. Also in the cast are Hugh Jackman & Ty Burrell (who was here too). He's in American Family & was in Fur which I saw at Telluride a few years ago. This one has a lot of general appeal and should be shown widely. To me it didn't seem much like Telluride style but I appreciated a comedy at the end of the day. Leonard Maltin sat in front of us.
All in all it was a fantastic day. Tomorrow we'll begin by going to a tribute to George Clooney which will have clips from many of his roles. Then I expect to see 4 more movies.
Goodbye First Love, which has a totally different title in French (L'amour de jeunese). I thought the French title was much more apt; it's about the angst of young love. We thought it was good but not great. Visually it was beautiful (set in France). Joni can probably see it in France. The director was present to introduce it & do a Q & A after. That was interesting. I saw the director on the way out and said "merci bien." :-)
Then we saw a really special film: The Artist. It was by a French director, with international cast but ----it was a silent movie in black & white! It was the story of an actor who has great fame in silent films but when talkies come, he is no longer wanted. It starred Jean Dujardin who won best actor at Cannes and Penelope Ann Miller with others such as John Goodman & James Cromwell. I think people will like this one. It was more than you'd expect!
Finally we saw Butter starring Jennifer Garner. (We didn't see her husband here). It's about a butter carving contest at the Iowa State Fair. A total comedy sort of along the line of Juno but not as good writing. Garner was here to introduce it. That was fun. Also in the cast are Hugh Jackman & Ty Burrell (who was here too). He's in American Family & was in Fur which I saw at Telluride a few years ago. This one has a lot of general appeal and should be shown widely. To me it didn't seem much like Telluride style but I appreciated a comedy at the end of the day. Leonard Maltin sat in front of us.
All in all it was a fantastic day. Tomorrow we'll begin by going to a tribute to George Clooney which will have clips from many of his roles. Then I expect to see 4 more movies.
Day 2 Morning
Our 8:30 film this morning was Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs in which she plays a man. She & director were present to introduce it then stayed for a Q & A with Leonard Maltin (who really liked the movie). It was really well done; something that most everyone will enjoy. Quite a study of character and identity. In the Q & A she & director shared with us the journey (more than 20 yrs) to make this film. Close had played the character off Broadway many years ago & always wanted to make it into a film. (Turns out she was at our brunch yesterday but we didn't know it).
Michelle read the below blog about the festival, if you want to know more:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/hammond-telluride-heats-up-with-clooney-glenn-close-premieres-and-rumors-of-depp-sightings/
The author says that Clooney's Ides of March was supposed to be shown but a snafu prevented in. Too bad.
Jennifer Garner is here in a new movie we'll see tonight. We didn't see her yet. Would be cool if she brings her husband. . . Hope to get in 2-3 more movies today.
Ran into the gal who had been my student when I taught junior high English a hundred years ago. She lives in San Jose & 2 years ago she came up to me at Telluride & said "I know you." Fun to see her again. Gotta go o next movie now.
Michelle read the below blog about the festival, if you want to know more:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/09/hammond-telluride-heats-up-with-clooney-glenn-close-premieres-and-rumors-of-depp-sightings/
The author says that Clooney's Ides of March was supposed to be shown but a snafu prevented in. Too bad.
Jennifer Garner is here in a new movie we'll see tonight. We didn't see her yet. Would be cool if she brings her husband. . . Hope to get in 2-3 more movies today.
Ran into the gal who had been my student when I taught junior high English a hundred years ago. She lives in San Jose & 2 years ago she came up to me at Telluride & said "I know you." Fun to see her again. Gotta go o next movie now.
Friday, September 2, 2011
End of Telluride Day 1
What a wonderful start to the festival! Saw 2 excellent movies! First was The Descendants---George Clooney's. This one will have mass appeal. Set in Hawaii; really made you feel you were there. Quite a good story of a father's journey. George, a co-star and director had a short Q & A after the movie. This screening was "pre" festival so we really were the very first audience to see it. Love that!
The second film was a biopic (Living in the Material World ) about George Harrison. Martin Scorsese (surprise) directed. Ken Burns welcomed the audience to the festival before the film and had something cute to say. His daughter had applied to a college which asked her in an application form "what will you bring to this college?" Her answer: "Abby Road." :-) The story was much more complex & interesting than I would have expected---not only about the music but much more about the man and about life's experiences. It was really long, & I expect it will mostly appeal to PBS, but I really enjoyed it & recommend it to those of my generation especially.
Tomorrow starts very early. . . unsure when I'll get to write tomorrow. First movie is Albert Nobbs with Glen Close playing a man.
Time for bed now.
The second film was a biopic (Living in the Material World ) about George Harrison. Martin Scorsese (surprise) directed. Ken Burns welcomed the audience to the festival before the film and had something cute to say. His daughter had applied to a college which asked her in an application form "what will you bring to this college?" Her answer: "Abby Road." :-) The story was much more complex & interesting than I would have expected---not only about the music but much more about the man and about life's experiences. It was really long, & I expect it will mostly appeal to PBS, but I really enjoyed it & recommend it to those of my generation especially.
Tomorrow starts very early. . . unsure when I'll get to write tomorrow. First movie is Albert Nobbs with Glen Close playing a man.
Time for bed now.
Telluride Day 1
We just came from the brunch for Patrons & Sponsors. The best ever! It's atop a hillside with a fantastic view of the mountains. Catered with local , yummy and healthful food & drinks. The usual folks were there---Leonard Maltin, Ken Burns, lots of filmmakers and a few actors. But today we got George Clooney and Tilda Swinton-both of who will be honored at the festival. Got pix of them both. Will try to attach pix but have no idea how to do it. . . Oh----here we are, hanging out w/ George! I have to go now. The first film will screen in an hour. We do not know what it is (secret) and because this is the first time they didn't announce it at the Patron brunch, we think it might be Ides of March. We think that b/c George said to Michelle (really) that he wanted a nap before the screening. It's a preview that only Patrons get to attend. The real festival starts tonight. Gotta go!
We sat with interesting folks: from film distribution, Virgin Atlantic, and PR.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Telluride one day before
Festival starts tomorrow but we arrived last night. Buzz today was that George Clooney will come to the festival. Then at noon we got a preliminary program where it was confirmed. He will be here, will be honored at the festival & will premiere his new film The Descendants. Tilda Swinton will also be here & will be honored & will speak. Also Glen Close in her new role as a man! This preliminary program never says the whole story---we learn a lot more tomorrow---but this year the preview looks fantastic!
We had lunch at a favorite Italian restaurant on the outdoor patio and 2 table away was Ralph Lauren & 8 or so others. He's a major contributor to the festival plus his son is marrying a Bush daughter (whose name is Lauren & who I guess will become Lauren Lauren) & the wedding is here in Telluride this weekend. Word is the town will have all those sort of celebs besides the usual for the festival. This is pretty interesting.
Our condo is lovely. Tomorrow the real fun begins! Will post more events along the way.
(I cannot believe I am doing a blog!!)
We had lunch at a favorite Italian restaurant on the outdoor patio and 2 table away was Ralph Lauren & 8 or so others. He's a major contributor to the festival plus his son is marrying a Bush daughter (whose name is Lauren & who I guess will become Lauren Lauren) & the wedding is here in Telluride this weekend. Word is the town will have all those sort of celebs besides the usual for the festival. This is pretty interesting.
Our condo is lovely. Tomorrow the real fun begins! Will post more events along the way.
(I cannot believe I am doing a blog!!)
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