Just when I thought I had a grasp of what kind of movies are sure to get a sequel or two, and which ones won’t, all my assumptions are being turned upside down. Spider Man? Sure. Pirates? Of course. But a sequel to An Inconvenient Truth? And one for Hal Hartly’s Henry Fool (which, incidentally is one of my favorite films)? Go figure.
Yes, it appears to be true. We’re going to be treated to a sequel of an informative (if slightly slow) documentary about global warming, and another for a high quality film with very little action and rather unpleasant characters. For An Inconvenient Truth Part 2 (I know, it gets your heart beating faster, doesn’t it?), director Davis Guggenheim is scheduled to meet with Paramount next week, so it’s too soon for details. (Will the original film’s star, Al Gore, agree to a sequel? The suspense…)
For the Henry Fool sequel, Hartly made Fay Grim, which picks up seven years later and focuses on the Parker Posey character by the same name. Somehow, Hartly manages to take a movie based entirely in a Queens neighborhood, and move its sequel to Paris, where the CIA also plays a role. Not your typical sequel (but I can’t wait to see it–check out the trailer at Spout).
So do these new developments tell us anything about the future of the sequel? Probably not. Some of the best documentary sequels (although most people don’t call them that) have been around for a while–director Michael Apted’s Up Series (28 Up, 35 Up, etc.), which he began filming in 1963. (Apted began chronicling the lives of 14 seven year olds that year, following up with “sequels” every seven years after.) It’s a brilliant series, but it hasn’t shifted the way most studios think about doing sequels. Neither did Smoke or its sequel (of sorts) Blue in the Face, another example of an atypical movie sequel set. No, it seems the decision to make your average sequel is generally all about what made a lot of money the first time around and might have enough buzz surrounding it to sustain another go. Wouldn’t it be great if the decision to create a sequel was based on the story, and whether it was worthy of another go?
What did Dave do at Telluride? So glad you asked… Here’s what he told me.
5 favorite films:
- The Last King of Scotland (we had a good podcast conversation about the film)
- The War (the first part of the new Ken Burns documentary on WWII)
- The Italian
- Volver
- Infamous (for the acting)
4 interesting people:
- Kevin MacDonald (director of The Last King of Scotland–here’s our podcast featuring him)
- Sharon (an “older” woman who has been coming to the festival for about 10 years with a group of friends–the group has grown and this year numbered about 20)
- Forest Whitaker (lead actor in The Last King of Scotland–we also made a podcast with him)
- a couple from Boston we shared the gondola with after watching The War
3 favorite spots:
- the New Sheridan Saloon (lots of mingling, playing pool, drinking beer)
- the Elks Park (where the outdoor screenings were held)
- the gondola at night (a really stunning way to come down off a film)
2 memorable moments:
- walking and talking with Kevin MacDonald and Forest Whitaker (see podcast links above)
- listening to the conversation between Peter Bogdanovich and Bertrand Tavernier
1 way the festival changed you:
- I realized in a more complete way that there’s such a great diversity of film lovers out there–not a certain type like we sometimes imagine. The thing that ties them all together is their passion for “pictures.”
I talked to Bill for the first time since he returned from Telluride. He shared with me some of his favorites. Here they are for you. (And if you’re out there reading SpoutBlog and you went to Telluride 2006, give us a holler and let us know a few things you enjoyed most.)
5 favorite films:
- Volver
- The Lives of Others
- Ghosts of Cite Soleil
- The Last King of Scotland (we recorded a conversation four of us had after the film)
- Severance (we did a podcast interview with the director)
4 interesting people:
- Chris Anderson (author of The Long Tail, which I’ve blogged about)
- Lisa Kennedy (film critic for the Denver Post)
- Kevin MacDonnald (director of The Last King of Scotland)
- Asger Leth (director of Ghosts of Cite Soleil)
3 favorite spots:
- Baked in Telluride (amazing cinnamon rolls)
- Siam (an amazing Thai restaurant)
- the gondola
2 memorable moments:
- the dinner at the Steinberg residence (being a sponsor gave us great access to directors and others)
- being told by a woman named Rosie that my Spout shirt was very cool and she had to have it, so in the interest of marketing I gave her the shirt off my back
1 way the festival changed you:
- I realized that good directors aren’t good necessarily because they’re the best storytellers. They’re good because they have many of the same qualities as good managers: they’re good leaders who are able to attract the best talent and then create an environment where they can do what they do best.
Yesterday Paul shared some highlights from his experience at Telluride. Now it’s Aaron’s turn. Here’s what I asked for and here’s what he gave me.
5 favorite films:
- Jindabyne (check out my blog post about it)
- The Last King of Scotland
- Catch a Fire
- Volver
- John Ford Directs
4 interesting people:
- Peter Bogdanovich (check out the podcast of the conversation I had with him)
- Kevin MacDonald (again, another conversation, another podcast)
- Bill Pence (Telluride co-director for 33 years)
- Rolf (a really interesting Telluride volunteer and film-lover)
3 favorite spots:
- on the gondola descending the mountain into Telluride–a breathtaking view
- the trail leading from our hotel to the Brigandoon
- the Nugget Theatre (Spout was the Nugget sponsor)
2 memorable moments:
- Interviewing Peter Bogdanovich for SpoutBlog. I never expected to meet him, a consummate film lover, flimmaker, actor and film historian. The highlight of our conversation was when he said Orson Welles’s “genius was a kind of rebuke to mediocrity.”
- Paul and I were riding the gondola down to Telluride one night, in the dark, and the gondola stopped moving. There we were, hanging in the quiet darkness on the side of the mountain. Paul recorded a “final” entry with his recorder (”To whoever finds this compact flash card…”) Then it started moving again and we made if back safely. Paul recorded the scary sounds the gondola makes as it glides along.
1 way the festival changed you:
- Mostly, I just have hope that people are still making good films–that not everything being made is designed to just make money. I saw a lot of amazing and beautiful stories. When I think back on what I saw, I am amazed at the variety and the scope and breadth of the films: The hilarity and terror of Forest Whitaker in The Last King of Scotland; the aching beauty of the mountains and hidden rivers in Jindabyne; Penelope Cruz singing through her tears in Volver; Derek Luke standing naked in the midst of a South African field, his arms raised, guns pointed at him in Catch a Fire, and the hilarity of Jimmy Stewart recounting a humbling moment with the late great director John Ford in John Ford Directs. There are still people who actually love films. Out of that deep deep love they make wonderful and beautiful films. They know their craft and are true to the stories they want to tell.
The Spout guys returned from Telluride exhausted but full of stories and commentary. To help them sum up their experience I asked them to give me these things:
5 favorite films
4 interesting people
3 favorite spots
2 memorable moments
1 way the festival changed you
Today, Paul fills in the blanks. Make sure to read his posts for more meat. More to come soon from the other guys.
5 favorite films:
- Day Night Day Night (check out my post and podcast)
- Maldonne (I wrote a post)
- Little Children (I talked to the director, Todd Field, and made a podcast, and I wrote a post)
- The Great Expectations program: The Tube with a Hat and Marilena De La P7 (both Romanian)
- Lonesome (with a live freaking orchestra!)
4 interesting people:
- Julia Loktev (director of Day Night Day Night–loved her Q&A after the film, her ability to articulate)
- Quan (a writer I enjoyed discussing Dodsworth with)
- JP Gorin (the guest director of the festival–everyone loved his saucy “Frenchness”)
- An old Texan who didn’t know the phrase “film buff” but knew everything about films from the first part of the 20th Century
3 favorite spots:
- the West End Tavern (and their fried foods and spaten)
- the Galaxy Theater (a gym converted into a huge theater with weird Galileo-like constructions everywhere)
- the covered waiting area outside the Galaxy
2 highlights:
- Arriving in town and realizing that Telluride is everything it’s built up to be
- Seeing/discovering Maldonne, an amazing old film that’s been overlooked for nearly 80 years
1 way you see things differently:
- Experiencing a film is so much better when you’re looking for what’s memorable rather than what’s “good.”
