Two local comedy legends and the stars behind two very different Mill Valley Film Festival Opening Night films were the main attractions at the pre-party and VIP reception at the Outdoor Art Club Thursday evening.

As Robin Williams and Mort Sahl kept everyone within earshot in stitches outside, five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close told the press how she was finally able to make Albert Nobbs, the story of a woman who disguises herself as a man in order to escape poverty in 9th-century Ireland, after 15 years of trying.

Close played the part in an off-Broadway production in 1982 but struggled for years to get a Hollywood studio to back a movie in which she pretended to be a man.

“Hollywood loves a formula and understandably they love a formula that will make them a lot of money,” Close said. “It’s very risky and scary to go outside of the formula – and I had a movie way outside of the formula. I would go into people’s offices and say, ‘I’m going to look like a man’ – it’s a hard sell.”

Close called the role “the most challenging character” she’s ever played, but said she was thrilled to see it through, saying, “It was the film that fulfilled our vision in every way.”

Jay and Mark Duplass, who have had a string of films that have garnered critical praise in recent years, including Baghead and Cyrus, described the main character of Jeff, Who Lives at Home as someone who "might be easy to write off as a 30-year-old stoner living in his mom’s basement, but when you dig a bit deeper you realize that he is extremely thoughtful and has hopes and dreams."

Check out this Opening Night slideshow from our partners at the Huffington Post and stay tuned for plenty of MVFF34 coverage throughout the 11-day festival.