Oct. 20, 2026 3 AM PT

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A brainchild of mine since I took over as editor in chief of The Envelope in March 2025, Envelope Insiders Live celebrated its maiden voyage at the Culver Theater on Saturday — and I do mean celebrated. Bringing together guild and academy members with the talent behind some of the buzziest films and TV shows of the season, the enthusiasm of audience and creatives alike was palpable even before wine expert Mark Oldman’s “The Bear”-themed tasting.

While in attendance, the talent from “Furious,” “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette,” “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York” and “Tenzing” stopped by The Envelope photo/video studio. Scroll on for a gallery of images, our “In the First Place” segment with each group, a brief write-up of each panel and a link to the full conversations. And be sure to stay tuned for the next edition of Envelope Insiders Live, because we’re just getting started.

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

The watercooler TV show of the summer combines a riveting cat-and-mouse thriller with weighty themes and highly specific, often wryly funny characters — so it’s no surprise to me that my discussion of “Furious” with stars Emmy Rossum, Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Steve Way ranged from the emotional to the rousing to the utterly hilarious. Though “pre-stressed” about delivering on Season 2, executive producer Rossum is still moved by the response from viewers affected by the series’ representation of trafficking and abuse survivors, disabled people and more: “Connection is the most powerful thing you can have.” Watch our full conversation here.

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

Sarah Pidgeon delivers one of the breakout performances of the year as Carolyn Bessette in “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” — finding, as the actor says, “this sense of humor, this sensitivity” behind the figure of tabloid fame. Pidgeon, casting director Courtney Bright and costume designer Rudy Mance joined me to talk about re-creating the life and style of one of the most-watched women of the 1990s, casting the famous figures in her orbit like JFK Jr. and Calvin Klein and navigating media scrutiny of their own. Watch our full conversation here.

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

Of the memorable onstage moments in my career as a panel moderator, John Turturro successfully picking my pocket in front of a live audience might take the cake. Nicking my pen from right under my nose, the actor demonstrated the skills he learned from sleight-of-hand artist Apollo Robbins to play career criminal Harry in writer-director Noah Segan’s new film “The Only Living Pickpocket in New York.” He and Segan also discussed dodging the cops to shoot on location without permits in New York City, the story behind the exquisite Zegna coat Harry wears throughout the movie and the rich history of pickpocket culture. Watch our full conversation here.

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

(Ian Spanier / For The Times)

“Y’all are crazy, but I admire it.” So I said to “Tenzing” director Jennifer Peedom and cinematographer Stefan Duscio after our discussion of the film, in which they detailed the extreme lengths required to re-create the first-ever summit of Mt. Everest — like lowering a crane into an icefall crevasse by helicopter. But awe-inspiring visuals aren’t the only notable aspect of the project, which stars Genden Phuntsok and Tom Hiddleston as Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the men who achieved the historic feat: As “Sherpa” filmmaker Peedom noted, Norgay’s family embraced the project because of the “cultural specificity” with which it portrays the Sherpa community. Watch our full conversation here.