You can always count on George Clooney to take the bull by the horns. At the Venice Film Festival, an event at which some celebrities have been burned by their responses to politically loaded questions, the erstwhile Dr. Ross didn’t blink when asked about the state of America, the Paramount-Warner Bros merger, and other hot-button issues of the day. He wasn’t the only one who took questions like these seriously, VF’s Chris Murphy reports, as director Paul Schrader, festival jury chair Maggie Gyllenhaal, and Wild Horse 9 auteur Martin McDonagh approached challenging queries with refreshing candor. Clooney remains one of the biggest stars in the world, which makes his appearance at Venice this year a bit of an anomaly. As Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Ford notes, there are far fewer big names on the Lido this year, the result of larger industry shifts and, perhaps, a lack of confidence. As one publicist told Rebecca, “When you are a big movie with big money behind it and you go to Venice, people have higher expectations.”
The approach at the Telluride Film Festival (which kicked off Friday) is a little different. At that fall fest, which keeps its lineup quiet until the night before it starts, programmers always build in a set of “sneaks”—surprise premieres intended to blow ticket-holders away. This year, “Your jaw will be on the floor” when the mystery movie is unveiled, says Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger.
With teams on the ground at both fests, we’re continuing to track all the celebrity arrivals and glamorous red carpet looks, with even more candid photos and video clips available to those who follow our work on Instagram. For everything from the Telluride and Venice fests, head to our fall film festival blog, won’t you? | 
