Day 3- September 1: Altman Leaves Fans Hungry For More

Clamoring was in full-force last night when about 100 members of the press were turned down to the screening of Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women. As a result, for many today began extra-early as journalists made sure to catch the Early-Bird (8:30 a.m.) screening of the film. So far, the Richard Gere film is well-received, some are even calling it "vintage Altman" though no one is calling it exceptional at the press conference. True to its hype, (and without giving anything away), the film's ending is "different" and, in the words of one Australian journalist, "I can't help it, the ending was so different, but I liked it." Check out our videos: Richard Gere at the press conference and on the passarella.

The Altman attraction continued this morning as hundreds of fans and press alike crammed into the Casino to hear him speak. Again, many fans were given a goodbye "Ciao" as the room reached standing-room-only capacity long before it was due to start.

However, across the street, in the Sala Grande, the team from You Can Count on Me from director Kenneth Lonergan (this year's winner at Sundance along with Girlfight) delighted the audience by arriving together seconds before the start of the screening. The film follows siblings Sammy (Laura Linney) and Terry (Mark Ruffolo), orphans who have grown up to be very different adults. Sammy is a single mother with a steady job at the local bank; Terry is pot-smoking, penniless drifter who has just been released from jail. Sammy's life is changed forever when Terry moves into her home and befriends her eight-year-old son. All is well until a series of Terry's immature decisions send his sister's world into chaos. After the screening, star Laura Linney tried to sneak away but was dragged back and waved to her applauding fans.

Another film popular here is Together (Tillsammans) from Sweden, which screened today in the Cinema del Presente section. The film is 31-year old Lukas Moodysson's folow-up to Fucking Amal and again explores people on the verge of drastically changing their lives. Set in 1975 Sweden, it follows Elisabeth, a housewife who leaves her abusive husband and brings her two children to her brother's vegetarian-Socialist commune. Moodyssoon joked that the film was inspired by his "wanting to make a film with those kind of clothes." All the actors agreed that after working on such a film they would never choose to live in such an environment. With bright scenery and the music of ABBA, Together is a surprisingly cheery look at human relationships, across all ages and between the sexes.

Surprisingly, one topic not discussed is dot-coms -- one that was so prevalent at Cannes. Unlike the South of France, where the question was "do dot-coms matter?" Venice barely ponders the issue. Of course, there is no equivalent to the Cannes Market here at the Lido where such a debate would be aired. However, yesterday's panel discussion "Web Cinema, Web Marketing, Streaming" took the only stab thus far at the hefty topic. It was convened by Festival Director Alberto Barbera, and panelists included Italian Culture Minister Rosanna Rummo and Gian Paolo Letta from Medusa Film, one of our few internet peers here at Venice.

The conference focused more on the new advances in filmmaking, rather than changes in distribution. The one pressing point was that the digital revolution is to 1990s filmmaking as the talkies were to silents. In other words, the Internet is here to stay for a long, long time.... even if no one else at Venice seems to care. As one panelist explained, we've been using the acoustic guitar and the world of cinema is just starting to use the electric guitar. "It's time to Rock and Roll," he said.

Tonight at last, is the screening of Takeshi Kitano's Brother (out of competition) and What Lies Beneath from Robert Zemeckis (in the Sogni e Visioni section). Tomorrow we look forward to Sally Potter's The Man Who Cried, which screens in competition and stars Christina Ricci. Another film sure to delight is Claude Chabrol's latest, Merci Pour le chocolat.

Kerry Shaw