Telluride Day 1 Aug 31,2018

Today is the start of the festival!  They did something new: at “our” venue—right by where we’re staying—- in the afternoon they screened a very long new documentary film: “Watergate—-Or How We Learned to Stop an Out of Control President.”  It was 260 minutes long!! But amazingly we were all captivated.  It wove together excerpts from the hearings, interviews at the time, current interviews such as with Woodward & Bernstein and some re-exactions of some key conversations from the Watwergate tapes.  The parallels with Washington’s corruption today were powerful and chilling.  This film will be on the History channel in November, so watching it in several smaller pieces will be easier for most viewers.  After our screening, there was a panel with the filmmaker, a congresswoman from that era, and Lesley Stahl, who you’ll recognize in the photo (if I can add it ok).

The second film we saw today was “Trial by Fire,” based on a real case.  Chilling.  Cameron Todd Willingham was on death row in Texas for the arson murder of his 3 children. From all evidence, he actually was innocent.  Laura Dern played a woman who took on his cause to appeal the conviction.  Chilling, but well done.

So we started the film festival with 2 real American tales.

Telluride 2018–Coming Attractions!

Greetings from beautiful Telluride!  I am with the same 3 friends as the last couple years: Michelle, Julie & Pat.  I think this is my 15th year here!  We arrived yesterday (and were very disappointed with the condo we reserved this time, but c’est la vie).  Now we’re settled and anxious for the films to start tomorrow.  We got our program today and are excited about films and who will be here (although I see very few of the actors with this kind of pass we got---unlike the past, sigh).
A sampling:

*Emma Stone is being honored this year.  We saw her here the last 2 years with “La La Land” and “Battle of the Sexes.”   This year her new film is “the Favourite”—a period piece about Queen Anne & her lady consort (Stone).

*Melissa McCarthy in her dramatic debut: “Can You Forgive me?”

*Damien Chazelle (wrote La La Land) with his new “First Man” starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.

*Hugh Jackman and Jason Reitman —“The Front Runner” about the derailed presidential campaign of Gary Hart in 1988, also with Vera Farmiga & J.K. Simmons

*Nicole Kidman has TWO films here: ‘The Destroyer” as an LA police detective
And “Boy Erased” about parents putting their boy through “Christian conversion therapy”, starring Russell Crowe & Lucas Hedges (from Manchester by the Sea)

*Ralph Fiennes directed & starring in “The White Crow” about Rudolf Nureyev’s defection
*Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek & Casey Affleck in “The Old Man & the Gun” based on a true story about Forrest Tucker—-who broke out of jail at age 70 to be a bank robber!

Tomorrow the festival starts with “Watergate—or How We Learned to Stop an Out-of-Control President.”  Hmmm....  Hope people take notes.  :-)
So—-this looks like an excellent lineup.

Jane