Karina on SpoutBlog

So far all of my fears about this trip to Denver– that my flight would never make it out of JFK, that I’d get stuck in a traffic jam trying to get into downtown Denver, that the Secret service would decide I had insufficient credentials and throw me in a secret DNC prison–have been proven to be totally unfounded. 90 minutes after my plane landed (early!), I was sitting in the Starz Green Room, eating brie, awaiting my first Impact Film Festival screening. Maybe the Democrats can run the world after all.

The photo above? That’s in front of the security checkpoint outside the Denver Film Center. At some point I’ll try to get a pic of the billboard for Oliver Stone’s W, which sits right on the highway opposite the football stadium where Obama will speak on Thursday. The Starz! employee who drove me to the Film Center sighed as we passed by, “I never thought I’d see Brand from Goonies playing the President of the United States.” Did you?

Under discussion:

Vicky Cristina Barcelona  (2008)

• Tropic Thunder held up much better than expected in its second week, declining just 38% to take in $16.1 million. Its $16.1 was just enough to overcome The House Bunny’s $15.1. Meanwhile, The Rocker, The Longshots and Death Race basically bombed, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona proved that implied threesomes sell in the Midwest.
• Ted Johnson has a long roundup of various celebrity-oriented events at the Democratic National Convention, to which I am en route as you read this. From the sound of things, the stars are outnumbered by journalists cranky about long lines, credential complications, and Port-a-Potties.
• Despite the steady growth of outlets offering rentals or downloads of feature films, Scott Kirsner notes that many classic films (like Citizen Kane) and recent major blockbusters (like the Shrek films) are only available online illegally.