I moderated a Q&A last night with Laura Linney and Tamara Jenkins for "The Savages," one of Fox Searchlight's hopefuls this awards season and Jenkins' first feature film since "Slums of Beverly Hills" nine years ago.

The crowd was mostly WGA, with some SAG members here and there.  Questions centered on Jenkins' obvious impusle to write about familial matters (a trend that stretches back to her student film days), the casting process that yielded Philip Bosco's surprising turn and Linney's on-set rapport with Phillip Seymour Hoffman.

The crowd wanted to know a number of insights, picking out nuances from the screenplay (Hoffman's character crying over a plate of cooked eggs, the use of seemingly Peter Pan-inspired character names Wendy and Jon).  One viewer was curious as to whether there was much improvisation involved in making the environment seem so true and genuine.  Apparently, there wasn't.  Jenkins charmed the crowd with her shoot-from-the-hip humor and everyone seemed to hold a considerable amount of respect for Linney and her portrayal.

Following the screening, the usual fawning from the crowd greeted the filmmaker and her star with this intimate note of gratitude or that, but I was really struck by one woman who brought Jenkins aside to tell her how much the screening hit home, and how the film felt so authentic, as her own father had passed away a few months back.

"The Savages" has been in the ether for nearly 12 months now, ever since a bow in Sundance back in January.  It's beginning the crucial guild/Academy screening circuit now, and reactions like this may be key if the film is going to make a play on the major categories.  The older-skewing Academy is, after all, at that age where dealing with life without one's parents, watching mothers and fathers get older and taking responsibility for loved ones is part of the daily consciousness.