Marshall and the Movies

1:39 P.M.: Hello everyone! I’m typing this on my phone in a limo (read: dinky beat up van that calls itself a limo) somewhere in southwest Colorado on my way to the Telluride Film Festival! For those who don’t know, this small and intimate festival has been a launching pad for multiple Best Picture winners over the past several years. It’s a tightly curated selection that doesn’t release its program until the day before the festival (AKA today).

So I took a blind leap of faith coming here, not having a clue of what I would be seeing or doing. I’m at Telluride thanks to their Student Symposium, which selects roughly 50 students to come participate in a 4-day intensive of all-out cinephilia in the Rocky Mountains. (I’m also here thanks to the generosity of my parents and the flexibility of my teachers, who I’m sure couldn’t have been too thrilled with me peacing out from class after only one session.)

If you’re curious about what I have the opportunity to see, you can look at the program HERE. I’ve heard that apparently our staff screening tonight is Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s “Birdman,” which just premiered in Venice to rave reviews across the board. I won’t have too much choice in what I see, but hopefully I’ll be able to catch “Foxcatcher” and “Two Days, One Night.” Seeing “Wild” or “99 Homes” wouldn’t bother me either.

Anyways, that’s all for this first update. l’m going to try to give as close to live updates as possible via my festival diary. Unlike at my two years of Cannes, I have a much more definitive schedule as well as access to cellular data.

8:40 P.M.: THE STAFF SCREENING IS BIRDMAN. All strapped in to be one of the first audiences for a sure-fire Best Picture contender.

11:40 P.M.: Solid B, maybe a B+ for “Birdman.” Stylistically fascinating but characters needed some work.