This is the third in a series of stories from the 2008 Telluride Film Festival that is held over the Labor Day weekend. Offerings will include "Sneak Reviews," a quick look at a film screened the previous night; "High on Telluride," highlights of some of the group discussions and celebrity appearances; and "Festival Buzzwords," focusing on what's getting the most attention — good or bad — throughout the weekend.

What do Greg Kinnear, Jeff Goldblum, and David Fincher have in common?

No, they’re not following up Fincher's Se7en with Eig8t, although that could be an interesting premise for a buddy-cop movie. Figuring out who would play good cop/bad cop in the sequel might be more difficult, though.

All three were all on hand at the Telluride Film Festival on August 30, participating in an outside noon seminar in Elks Park, along with legendary actress Jean Simmons (Hamlet, Guys and Dolls, Spartacus) director Mike Leigh (Happy-Go-Lucky), and French actress Elsa Zylberstein (I’ve Loved You So Long).

While the subject matter seemed like every acting student’s nightmare — “The Director and The Actor: Cultivating Creativity” — the guests made an effort to make it entertaining, particularly Kinnear and Goldblum.

Kinnear (Little Miss Sunshine, As Good As It Gets) is in town (far left, with Goldblum) to promote Flash of Genius, one of the weekend's “sneak previews” added to the initial schedule. He displayed an easy-going, friendly demeanor, but had trouble getting a word in edgewise on the panel that was dominated by the long-winded Leigh and the equally verbose (but nonetheless hilarious) Goldblum, who talked up Adam Resurrected, his dark project directed by Paul Schrader that is showing here.

It was like a walk in the park for the casually dressed Kinnear, who put on a festival cap during the discussion, and Goldblum, whose tall, lean frame was accentuated by a pair of high-waisted blue jeans.

They now have something else in common — both have been directed by Schrader and co-starred with Willem Dafoe (Auto Focus). The pair seemed like buddies reuniting for the first time in 20 years, then went to sit on opposite sides of the stage.

Goldblum (Jurassic Park, The Big Chill), in rapid-fire fashion, told a story about Schrader motivating the actor to not only eat a flower, which was in the script,
but to “grab some dirt and eat it.” After questioning the sanitary value in doing so, Goldblum said Schrader got down and dirty. “Jeff, look at me, I’m eating the dirt; I’m eating the dirt. You eat it,” Schrader was quoted as saying. “So I ate the dirt,” Goldblum said.

Asked if he had any similar stories of motivation, Kinnear dropped his head down in mock disgust, saying, “You’re not gonna make me follow that.”

Kinnear did turn serious when asked to describe the difference between independent films and Hollywood films, saying it’s time — or the lack of it — that causes the biggest disparity between both worlds and that he “likes the process of moving forward and not getting stuck” when a director doesn’t rely on too many takes. On the other hand, he used James Brooks (As Good As It Gets) as an example of one who is "not afraid to get a few takes in," calling that "a luxury."