40th Telluride Film Festival (2013)

[Ezee E]

Ten days until the festival starts.

I am there on Sunday to start work as the assistant manager at one of the bigger theaters. It typically is the showcase theater for the "Patron Screening" before the festival starts, and it only plays movies once at this theater as the ACME Passholders can only go to this theater, so it's pretty awesome.

Rumors aplenty, like any year. Kris Tapley and John Wells seem to be banking on The Coen Brothers and Sandra Bullock being there, but they've been wrong before. Last year Tapley banked on a 70MM screening of The Master. Wells banked on Johnny Depp being there a few years ago. It's all part of the appeal.

With that, my top ten experiences of Telluride...

[Ezee E]

(2004) - House of Flying Daggers.

My first and only year as an actual passholder. I went down to the Town Park and went to a movie anyone can see, but this was unreal. It was pouring rain outside. POURING rain. Like, Forrest Gump in Vietnam's "big ol' fat rain." But this didn't detract anyone from going home. This movie was magical to watch, especially in my first year in Telluride. It may still reign as my favorite martial arts film, still holding power after 2nd, 3rd, and 4th viewings. Who knows how many times I have since watched it.

I even went to the passholder screening to see Zhang Ziyi introduce it. Her mom sat in front of me, and her seat fell out from underneath her.

I helped her out. She spoke something to me in Mandarin. I smiled back. She was very gracious. Zhang said thanks with her eyes. The movie started, and I was really hoping she would say something to me, but her and the family dashed out, and disappeared from my life.

[MadMan]

Where do they hold TFF at? Reminds me that one of my film oriented bucket list items is to go to a major film festival.

Also you got to see Zhang Ziyi? Wicked.

[Ezee E]

Where do they hold TFF at? Reminds me that one of my film oriented bucket list items is to go to a major film festival.

Also you got to see Zhang Ziyi? Wicked.

Telluride. :|

[MadMan]

And that is in what state/country whatever?

[Ezee E]

And that is in what state/country whatever?

C'mon MadMan (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+is+telluride)

I say this in jest.

[MadMan]

C'mon MadMan (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=where+is+telluride)

I say this in jest.Was that so hard? :P

Now continue with the stories.

[EyesWideOpen]

Was that so hard? :P

Now continue with the stories.

Considering you could have just googled Telluride in the time it took you to post where it was located it's just pretty lazy on your part.

[Ezee E]

2012 - Hyde Park on Hudson

I don't particularly get starstruck easily. This is great at Telluride, as all writers, actors, directors are all pretty accessible to talk with during the fest. You'll most likely see them walking through the city because the press is small, and there aren't glamorous red carpet events.

This particular time I was starstruck.

This was the candy

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Bill Murray. A childhood idol since my brother and I watched and renacted Ghostbusters a bajillion times in our youth. He looked old, but very much BILL MURRAY. The sarcastic, humorous wit was there. I wanted to say something, but stuck to my job, and was simply too nervous.

Hyde Park on Hudson had gone in. I stayed outside to help turn people down. Bill Murray and Company were standing around waiting for Laura Linney to finish a cell phone. He came up to my girlfriend at the time, and myself with a box of candy. "You guys have been working hard, here, have some." They were Good N' Plenty. He said it only in the way that Bill Murray could say it.

Oh yeah, I haven't seen that movie.

[Winston*]

That is so cool.

[Ezee E]

There Will Be Blood tease (2007)

A "Comic-Con" moment of sort I would imagine. Daniel-Day Lewis had a retrospect, showing off clips of his movies, and then a hour long interview afterwards which was amazing to see. I really don't think there's any debating if there's a better actor working then him. At the end, he looked around and called out Paul Thomas Anderson, and mentioned a surprise. It was the first several minutes of There Will Be Blood. Not a word was spoken. It got all of our appetites ready for more.

[MadMan]

Considering you could have just googled Telluride in the time it took you to post where it was located it's just pretty lazy on your part.http://24.media.tumblr.com/9704ed5bcab92455637005141aef87 a9/tumblr_mhe2m9x2im1qjcoy6o1_500 .jpg

If I saw Bill Murray the only thing I would be able to say would be "I loved The Life Aquatic."

[Ezee E]

Five movies I really hope to see at Telluride, that certainly have a chance of being there:
-Gravity
-Blue is the Warmest Color
-The Wind Rises
-Inside Llewelyn Davis (with a Coen Bros tribute)
-The Immigrant

[Ezee E]

Cheating here...

(2004-2012)

The culture of the Telluride Film Festival is something that no other film festival (that I've attended) can come close to. An entire city literally turns into a friendly, film-lover's paradise. Get on the gondola to a movie... Some strangers are with you. No problem, talk about what movies they've seen, you've seen, want to see...

Stand in line for a movie, everyone's looking at the schedules and discussing Act of Killing, Argo, Frances Ha, and Rust and Bone.

Add to the wonderful scenery that is Telluride. It keeps me coming year after year.

[Ezee E]

127 Hours - 2010

A friend of mine was determined to meet James Franco. We saw the first screening of 127 Hours that had a Q&A with Franco, Boyle, and Ralston. The Q&A is over, and she freezes. I literally push her towards him, and Danny Boyle is right behind him. I have a small chat with Boyle as we're walking out the theater. He asks me about my cast, and I ask him to sign it. Franco takes notice, and also decides to sign it (as well as drawing some type of duck).

Later that evening, Carey Mulligan notices the cast, and I tell her that Franco/Boyle had signed it. She writes a note on there. "It's my birthday." I say happy birthday, and she says that she wasn't sure what to write, and that's what came out. I atone it to that dry, British humor and it gets a kick out of her. Boo-yah.

https://sphotos-b-sjc.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/p480x480/1173763_10151525029386946_1137 059999_n.jpg

[MadMan]

Lucky.

[Ezee E]

Oh man...

First movie in. All is Lost is quite the survival story. I wonder how it is upon multiple rewatches. As it stands, I'm impressed. This is a very Match Cut movie. Many will be impressed that Robert Redford is the only character in the movie, and that there's three lines in the whole thing. One is a narrated line, another is a dispatch, and another is simply one word. THAT IS ALL the dialog. Everything else is Redford adjusting to the needs of the boat or his survival. THere's bits and pieces that you can make out of it, but in the end, it's more existential then anything. I didn't see Chandor's Margin Call. I should definitely seek it out now.

The festival starts Thursday, but the city is already building with excitement.

[eternity]

Oh man...

First movie in. All is Lost is quite the survival story. I wonder how it is upon multiple rewatches. As it stands, I'm impressed. This is a very Match Cut movie. Many will be impressed that Robert Redford is the only character in the movie, and that there's three lines in the whole thing. One is a narrated line, another is a dispatch, and another is simply one word. THAT IS ALL the dialog. Everything else is Redford adjusting to the needs of the boat or his survival. THere's bits and pieces that you can make out of it, but in the end, it's more existential then anything. I didn't see Chandor's Margin Call. I should definitely seek it out now.

The festival starts Thursday, but the city is already building with excitement.

It sounds like a complete 180 from Margin Call, which has a gigantic ensemble and consists almost entirely of dialogue.

[Boner M]

It's funny, Margin Call was the antithesis of what I look for in cinema, whereas this one sounds right up my alley.

[Ezee E]

Oh man... I work nights.

Gravity is only playing at night... at other venues.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Ezee E]

Meanwhile, today was Tracks, an Australian film by John Curran about a 1700 mile trek across the Australian desert by a woman in the 1970's with some camels and her dog.

Is battling the forces of nature (including space) the theme of Telluride? All is Lost, this, Aguirre, and Gravity? I like it. Way better the pedophilia, the strength of women, and politics like festivals of the past.

Tracks isn't that good though. Ultimately, the trek doesn't feel very sensational. Whenever she's in trouble, she has access to her photographer that can drive to and fro. There really isn't too much of a struggle. But damnit, why... does the dog have to go? It reminded me of my own dog Slight tear. Mia Wasikowska is still pretty good, but this is no All is Lost.

[Ezee E]

So little sleep... So many good movies this year...

[Ezee E]

Ran into my former film teachers at the festival. We got caught underneath the rain alongside Bruce Dern.

They spoke to Bruce Dern like guys talk to girls at clubs. It was kind of disheartening.

[MadMan]

Is Bruce Dern pretty cool in person? My favorite role of his is the crazy neighbor in The 'Burbs.

[Ezee E]

Is Bruce Dern pretty cool in person? My favorite role of his is the crazy neighbor in The 'Burbs.

He's quite the talker. But his voice is so cool that it's alright.

[Ezee E]

Well, hot damn, the 40th Telluride Film Festival is over with.

It took a few days for me to recover. As assistant manager of a theater, the days were very long. I'd be awake at 6-7 AM to see movies, and would be getting home from the last film at 1:30-2 AM, only to hang out with my roommates until 3 or 4 AM.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Fairly sure that there isn't a culture like Telluride at any other film festival. People that go to Telluride are bound to go again, so it's pretty easy to make friends that you reunite with once a year for 4-5 days. And everyone has the love of movies in common. Being situated in such a scenic place, where walking and a gondola ride are the only modes of transportation helps it even more. There's no separation of cars or highways. As an assistant manager, I got to bring in three volunteers that were experiencing this for the first time. They went home with the same happiness that I get in every year.

PRE-DAY 1:
ALL IS LOST - I'll backtrack, and mention that volunteers get to have a "meeting" every night from the Sunday to the festival. I had missed out on Under the Skin and The Lunchbox, but there was no way I'd miss out on All is Lost.

All is Lost is ninety minutes of a man braving the sea alone. There are only three lines of dialog, and there's only one character, which is the old man at sea. We don't know why he's there, and we really don't know much about him at all (in fact, it may all be fill in the blank). But the story of man vs. nature doesn't need any assistance. The element presents itself immediately, and it never lets up. The movie is engaging, and while it does succumb to some of the cliches of boat movies, it still remains pretty terrifying.

*** 1/2

TRACKS
The next day, I got to see another movie about a woman fighting the element, and that was the Australian drama, Tracks. Tracks will more then likely be released in 2014, and stars Mia Wasikowski (?) starring as Robyn Davidson as she hikes across the Australian desert in the 1970s with four camels and her awesome dog, Diggity. Comedic animal reactions aplenty, but not unwelcomed by me, it doesn't quite live up to the suspense that All is Lost has, nor does it intend to. This is more about a "personal journey" as well. The personal journey simply doesn't match up to the actual journey, and the drifting photographer is kind of annoying anytime he shows up. When it's simply Robyn, her dog, and the camels, the movie's good.

***

DAY 1 -
Mostly prep and actual work. There was an Opening Night Feed that almost got rained out if it weren't for the timely stop of the rain right after it started. Free booze. Free food. What's not to like? Well, the pistachio ice cream sandwich was kind of gross, but if it means talking with Werner Herzog, or seeing Penn and Teller scare people with some hidden fireworks, I'll take it. I also mistook a pretty French girl as Blue's Adele. She seemed fine with it.

Before that was the Patron Screening. Anyone who's anyone to the festival is at this screening. All the directors, top spenders, talent and critics/bloggers show up. Festival passholders try very hard to get in, and always raise a fuss, but ultimately are denied entry. There is no "priority" line, but this didn't stop Asghar Farhadi from sending his agent up to me to try. When denied early entry, her words, "You're going to deny an Oscar-winning director from coming in to the theater?" I later had to talk to Asghar, pointing out that Michael Moore has no problem standing in line, and that Francis Ford Coppola went to a restaurant to wait. Asghar was polite, and joined Francis Ford Coppola at the restaurant. Dear lord, there were a shitload of bloggers. I've been meaning to speak with a few of them, but from my experience, the bloggers are very talkative on twitter, but pretty socially awkward in person. I was too busy managing the line and my employees to get a discussion in sadly, but I did get to take tickets from Sasha Stone and Jeffrey Wells who showed up late.

They showed up for what the studio was hoping would lead to Argo 2. Argo had this spot last year, and it immediately got raves. This year, it was Jason Reitman's Labor Day who loves my theater, as it led to great success for premieres of Juno and Up in the Air...

LABOR DAY
Reitman gets a little more serious again, but as opposed to the terrific Young Adult, this feels like it's simply playing connect the dots for a Oscar bait movie. Kate Winslet plays a damaged single mom to Josh Brolin's escaped convict with great intentions. They play "family," making peach pie, and helping Kate's son get a little more acquainted with the world as Kate's character simply couldn't do it on her own.

I'm not going to complain about the acting here. Everyone does a great job, but the story is so predictable, almost boring, that it kind of befuddled me that everyone walked out with raves, declaring it Reitman's best, and Oscar nominees galore.

This was Film Festival Fever if I ever saw it.

By the end of the festival, almost everyone had forgotten it.

**

PART II to come.

[Ezee E]

DAY 2:
The first full day. I woke up at 7 AM to get myself into the Sheridan Opera House, the first venue of the Telluride Film Festival, and currently in its 100th year of existence.

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I was there for Starred Up, a British father/son prison film that got picked up a few hours after it's first showing the day before. I wish this had subtitles as some of the accents were impossible to understand, but the violence and conflicts speak every language. This follows a few of the requirements of the prison genre, but is interesting solely for the main character's interest in his father, and the progression that occurs.

It's incredibly violent. It's unpredictable too, as we never quite understand the thinking of the main character (Possibly due to lines I couldn't understand as well), but it's a good watch. Parts Bronson and A Prophet mixed together.


I then attended a panel that J.C. Chandor, Werner Herzog, and a few other directors were on. It was a pretty basic panel, with questions that you hear at every festival, so I meandered around for a bit.

The mystery "TBAs" had been announced, so it was only due time to hear the fallout of 12 Years a Slave and Prisoners. In the meantime, it was a very "sexual" night at the Chuck Jones Theater.

UNDER THE SKIN
Jonathan Glazer's long awaited return. He takes a more experimental route, moreso then Birth as he casts Scarlett Johannson as the alien that lures and feeds from humans in northern England. This time, the language is meant to not be heard in some scenes, where it's merely crowd noise, or babies crying. Sometimes garble. But the body language from the characters conveys it all perfectly in what I think is simply a story about "Animal Instincts."
Glazer's approach is love or hate. This is obvious as there were 30-40 walkouts in my showing of 400. This was distracting as I was in the back, but I tried my best. Glazer uses his big effects from previous music videos to tell his story, and the instant appeal of Scarlett Johannson to get the desired outcome. There's a few scenes that I want to revisit, but his return appealed to me greatly.
It was kind of sad to see the walkouts walk right by Glazer as he crouched in the back of the theater to observe. He constantly wanted the sound louder and louder. I got to escort him to the backstage afterward, but didn't get to speak with him as he was conversing with the man that was going to do his Q&A. Glazer didn't seem happy about the man, as the man had literally just seen the movie as well. Glazer was hoping that he had at least a day to have thought about it, but whatever.
The Q&A was pretty lame. Stupid questions like, "So did you look for an excuse to get Scarlett naked in a movie and go with it," down to, "What does your mom think of the movie?" These sound like audience questions, but they came from the shitty host that Glazer knew he was getting instantly.

*** 1/2

BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
Three hours for a girl finding herself sounds like a horrible idea. Considering it won Cannes meant there had to be something good about it though, and I was excited.
This was damn good, but it really didn't have to be three hours. Everyone will be talking about a 10-minute (seriously) sex scene between Adele and her first lover. This is going to get the talk. Not the amazing performance of Adèle Exarchopoulos or one of the best stories about a girl becoming an adult. Instead it will be about the "porn scene" of fingering, 69ing, and doing everything but scissoring each other.
The scenes about starting a relationship, introducing them to families and friends, and the type of fallout that it leads to are so truthful that I think anyone can identify. It flows so well, that it's never boring either. Lea Seydoux as the first girlfriend is right there with Adèle as the other girlfriend. This is one of those movies where you're almost perfectly fine with it not ending.
Adèle and Lea are both very pretty and charming in person. Adèle, especially, is enjoying every minute out of this. She asked one of my crewmembers to buy her cigarettes. My crewmember almost shat his pants out of excitement, only to find out from me that the market had been closed at 10 PM. I killed his Telluride moment, :lol:
I later ran into Adèle at a coffee shop and tried to ask her about other movies she had seen, but there was a clear language barrier, as she said she simply enjoyed them all with a slight confused look on her face, not fully understanding the question, but trying to be polite.

****

[Stay Puft]

The Q&A was pretty lame. Stupid questions like, "So did you look for an excuse to get Scarlett naked in a movie and go with it," down to, "What does your mom think of the movie?" These sound like audience questions, but they came from the shitty host that Glazer knew he was getting instantly.

Haha oh wow.

[Ezee E]

Haha oh wow.

Hmm... The first one is paraphrased, but essentially what was asked. I couldn't believe it either. I'm not sure who the blogger was.

Annette Insdorf should do all q&a's relating to film, I think.

[Ezee E]

DAY 3:
Today was Gravity Day. It was only playing at night, and I worked night, so I would not be seeing it anyways. They had two showings of this, alongside Prisoners, Inside Llwelyn Davis, and 12 Years A Slave so that passholders would be happy. Many bloggers were upset because they had to make a sacrifice. If they weren't early enough for Gravity, they'd be shut out completely, and would have to see something truly independent. Kind of funny to me, because there's 30+ movies to choose from.

Anyway, I started out the day with the Tribute to the Coen Brothers and T-Bone Burnett. Tributes are the coolest thing about Telluride, and this may have been the best tribute yet. It was practically a show. As you entered, bluegrass group, The Americans, were playing to everyone. You sat down, and when the show started, The Americans came down the aisle and played one additional song. Scott Foundas said hello, and the reel began. It was about the collaboration of Coen/T-Bone, so mostly musical bits from Lebowski, O Brother, etc. Then a 45-minute interview which was pretty standard, but enjoyable because I was in the presence of one of my favorite directors.

Then the movie immediately after.

Inside Llewyn Davis
What would be a pretty standard "struggling artist" story is elevated by that Coen touch. Whether it be their addition of the cat, John Goodman as the critical guest in a road trip, the oddities in the bluegrass bar, or an especially great song by Timberlake's trio, it is certainly a fun/good movie, but kind of feels like lesser Coen to me. Oscar Isaac is a welcome addition to the Coen Character roster, but it's just a little bit droll for the Coen Brothers.

***

I went to a Bruce Dern conversation in a courthouse which was always very fun. It's either the festival's best secret, or people are too busy seeing movies to try and go to this, because I've never had a problem going in, and it's better then the panels. He talked about his stories with Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne, Jack Nicholson, and Alexander Payne. He's quite the character. I missed out on Nebraska at the fest.

12 Years A Slave
A TBA at my theatre. The third showing, so I figured it wouldn't be packed, but with news that Brad Pitt was in town, it was another sellout. Impressive. The cast showed up with three minutes to go. All pretty drunk or worn out. Steve McQueen wore a sweatsuit to introduce the movie, whereas Fassbender was silently holding a buzz together. Chiwetel Ejiofor looked ready to pass out, and the arsenal of producers were tending to whatever need they had. Pretty unaccessible unfortunately, compared to other groups from earlier.

But the movie. Steve McQueen has shown plenty of talent. Even those that don't care for Hunger or Shame at least comment on his potential. He shows it all here, and avoids any of his past weaknesses. Perhaps it's the content that he was given though. We're no longer sympathizing for a sex addict. Instead, it's Solomon Northup. A violinist from the North, kidnapped, and sold into slavery. And the epic story that follows. McQueen's expert framing is on hand here, and the story isn't afraid to be brutal. McQueen has especially long takes at times, and they are effective each time, some of which I'm sure I missed. Some may complain of melodrama, to which I'm curious what they'd be asking out of it.

Cameos abound. The most disturbing part of the movie may come from Paul Giamatti who sells off slaves like merchandise, including selling sons and daughters away from the mother. His comedic approach to the role makes it all the more disturbing to watch. Violence can happen at anytime, and when it gets to the unpredictable Fassbender, it manages to get even darker. This will inevitably be compared with Django Unchained for simply being about a slave, and being released close together. Where 12 Years a Slave is an true epic, Django Unchained is a mythical epic. Django is a joy to watch, whereas 12 Years is quite like Schindler's List. Both are masterful movies, and I honestly think McQueen will be taking home Best Director for this.

[Ezee E]

DAY 4:
I was beat. I missed a morning movie to get in some extra sleep. I went to a panel with McQueen, Ejiofor, the Blue actresses, Bruce Dern, and Ralph Fiennes. McQueen is a straight shooter, and reminds me a lot of Hitchcock in his interviews. It may sound like an asshole talking, but he's simply a straight shooter. Fiennes and Ejiofor are polite, and the two girls were also kind of confused at how to answer, and whether it should be in in English or not. Dern loves to talk, and talk he did.

I only saw one movie on this day, and it was:

THE WIND RISES
Hayao Miyazaki's possible retirement movie may be one of his duller movies sadly. The obsession of building planes sometimes leads to some neat sequences, but the obsession and dedication to building the planes is dwelled upon, and I'm guessing Miyazaki didn't want to stray fully into the WWII portion, so it gets kind of rote at the end. Blegh.

**

I skipped out on Palo Alto to try and get a good night's sleep. There was no way I would miss Gravity on Monday afternoon. I would even skip out on the Labor Day Picnic to see it.

Day 5:
I was the fifth person in line, about 80 minutes ahead of time. It would sell out, it's fifth showing. I got to see this. A movie that I've been anticipating since I first heard about it 3-4 years ago. Children of Men might be the best movie I've seen in the movie theater. My expectations were high, and Cuaron matches them.

GRAVITY
I don't like explaining this movie as an amusement park ride. It seems to weaken the experience, but there's really no way of describing it. The use of 3D and the overall craziness of it all does just that to you. It puts you right in the helmet of its characters, sometimes literally, as they try to figure out what to do. It's claustrophobic at times, beautiful at times, and always white knuckle worthy. Clooney remains his Clooney-ist. It's Sandra who shines here, and looks simply amazing while doing it too. I'm curious how this would play on 2D or 3D movies without the sophisticated projectors we had. The 3D Glasses I had were the best i've ever worn.

This is a movie to experience in the theater. There's simply no way it has the same effect on TV. I'll certainly try it out, but 90 minutes of pure white-knuckle action in some of the best special effects ever is something you SHOULD see on the big screen.



PHHEW... y'happy now Stay Puft?

[Stay Puft]

PHHEW... y'happy now Stay Puft?

Yes. :)

Your Telluride dispatches are always great, E - and make me a little jealous every year, haha. I'm going to get out there one of these years, I swear. Always sounds like such an amazing, singular festival.