Live Updates From the 2024 Fall Film Festivals (2024)

20 hours ago

Every year, the Telluride Film Festival kicks off with the Patrons brunch, which is hosted on a beautiful grassy hill overlooking the mountains. This year's brunch featured an eclectic mix of celebrities, including Martha Stewart and Will Ferrell (both here with documentaries), Bill Murray (here with The Friend), Aunjanue Ellis (here with Nickel Boys), and Selena Gomez (for Emilia Perez).

Many were first-timers at the festival, like Gomez, who told Vanity Fair, “I'm so excited” as she made her way through the brunch crowd. She stopped for pictures with excited festgoers, who were all buzzing about seeing her musical at the festival.

Pharrell, in town with his animated film about his life Piece by Piece, joked that there should be a sweatshirt with the phrase “Is this your first time at the festival?” because he'd be asked it so many times. The artist said he's usually behind the scenes so it feels very surreal to be here with a film, which will premiere later tonight, that's about his own life.

Even though there were so many big names at the brunch, the biggest celebrity was actually a dog: a great dane who appears in The Friend, alongside Naomi Watts. Several fest goers asked to take pictures with the dog, who spent most of its time playing with Watts' own dog while their owners enjoyed their breakfast. “If you've got him here, why not?” Watts told VF.

a day ago

It's been more than 20 years since Adrien Brody became the youngest best-actor Oscar winner in history, taking home the gold for his tour-de-force in The Pianist at 29 years old. In the time since, the New York native has emerged as more of a scene-stealing utility player in Hollywood, whether as part of the Wes Anderson company or on HBO shows like Succession and Winning Time. Finally, though, he's got a big-screen vehicle to give his signature breakout role a run for its money. In The Brutalist (premiering in Venice on Sunday), Brody charts a Hungarian immigrant's experiences post-WWII over decades, developing what feels like the performance of a lifetime. That goes both for the amount of work that went into this three-and-a-half-hour epic, and the deeply personal roots of the character for Brody. Allow him to explain, in our exclusive conversation.

a day ago

Documentaries at Telluride often investigate some of the more pressing issues facing our nation and the world today. Zurawski v Texas does exactly that by chronicling one of the first court cases to fight Texas' anti-abortion laws, but makes it personal, told through the brave women who share their stories of loss and heartache.

Directed by Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault and with executive producers that include Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, and Jennifer Lawrence, the film follows attorney Molly Duane as she helps these brave women to fight the laws that endangered their lives and forced them to make impossible decisions after their pregnancies were deemed nonviable. “Policies and war, they can just seem such faraway issues that will never happen to us. And that’s why films like this can be so impactful—to show the actual lives that are affected,” says Lawrence. “Not just how easily it could happen to you or someone you love, but to be a true witness to what happens when you’re not just failed by your government, but condemned by it.”

Read more, and watch an exclusive clip from the film here:

2 days ago

Over the next few days, you're going to hear a lot about the length and volume of standing ovations that meet Venice's most anticipated premieres. An immediate note of caution: Do not read too much into them! These are ideal environments for big stars and directors to debut their films to great fanfare, yet as often as the vibes in the room stick around through to the Oscars or the box office, they very much do not. (Just ask Furiosa after its blazing Cannes premiere.)

Tonight, though, there may have been something to the sheer intensity in the room for Angelina Jolie's performance in Maria. The rapturous reception reportedly resembled how Brendan Fraser was greeted when The Whale first screened on the Lido two years ago (before he went on to win the Oscar). Like The Whale, Maria also divided critics out of the gate, with most reviews remaining aligned in great admiration for its star's transformative turn. On the heels of Netflix's splashy acquisition announcement yesterday, this one is definitely off to the races, slated to make its North American launch this weekend in Telluride—with Jolie in attendance. Based on this thunderous applause, it's off to a good start.