Paul Mescal, Jeremy Allen White, Elle Fanning Kick Off Telluride With Splendor and Schmoozing on the Mountain

The cool breeze blowing through Telluride on Friday was not the wind rushing off Colorado’s San Juan mountain range – it was Hollywood’s collective sigh of relief that the most un-fussy film festival of the year was finally underway.

Unlike the sweaty tuxedos of Cannes and Venice or the snow-caked boots of Sundance, Telluride’s annual film festival is beloved and protected for its hardcore, laid-back vibe. Movie stars wander the streets with no fear of paparazzi. Customers at the shoebox-sized Sunshine Pharmacy, smack in the middle of town, weigh the pros and cons of filming in Hungary. A-listers wait in line. Seriously.

Each year, Telluride kicks off with a brunch for its patrons – industry and normal folk who shell out nearly $5,000 for a badge which gives them access to the annual film selection (this year’s is pretty big, with world premieres of the Bruce Springsteen biopic “Deliver Me From Nowhere” and Chloe Zhao’s presumed awards giant “Hamnet”).

High above Telluride, an unpretentious cottage with a manmade pond hosted dozens of stars and behind-the-camera talent. Mimosas and omelets were made to order. Whispers and anxieties were exchanged (many notable creatives comforted each other about AI, based on numerous conversations we overheard).

Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley (“Hamnet) were among the first to arrive, alongside Claire Foy (“H is for Hawk”) – clad in jeans, Carhart pants, worn sneakers and sunglasses. All three embraced and kissed with Anglo and Irish abandon.

Alexander Skarsgard (“Pillion”) snacked on a fruit plate while Richard Linklater introduced the crowd of heavy hitters to Guillaume Marbeck, a first-time film actor who stars as Jean-Luc Godard in Linklater’s “Nouvelle Vague.” Elle Fanning, Renate Reinsve and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (of “Sentimental Value”) parked on a bale of hay, laughing and people watching. Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, top of the call sheet for the Springsteen movie, brooded effectively for programmers from other festivals and fellow actors.

Director Oliver Hermanus (“The History of Sound”) stole Mescal from the “Hamnet” group for a one-on-one chat by the mountain’s edge. Ari Aster circulated enthusiastically among Disney live action chief David Greenbaum, former AMPAS leader Sid Ganis, Riz Ahmed and “Free Solo” documentarian Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (who brought her dog).

The tranquil scene set the stage for a weekend of must-see movies and, perhaps most importantly, positioning for awards gold. Telluride runs concurrent with the Venice Film Festival, and numerous sleepy stars travel back across the globe to make their premieres in Colorado, including the casts of “Bugonia” and “Jay Kelly” (sans a sinus-infection-struck George Clooney).

E. Jean Carrol, whose documentary “Ask E. Jean” premieres in this year’s selection, appeared late at the brunch in a bright orange jumpsuit. The panoramic views, especially as an unseasonable rain set in, were breathtaking. But the best part, she told Variety, was “gossiping all the way up the hill. And then all the way back down.”

It’s still a film festival, after all.