Updating the First Call

Thanks to the fine folks at Rope of Silicon we can add some other possibilities to our list for TFF #37...


Some more possibles (and why):




"127 Hours"...Danny Boyle's post-Slumdog feature from Fox Searchlight...James Franco stars. You have to think that they'd want to try to repeat the track that led to 8 Oscars for Slumdog (much like Jason Reitman sneaking "Up in the Air" at TFF #36 clearly following the path that "Juno" had established). Also it's scripted by "Slumdog" wirter Simon Beaufoy and is based on the true story of a hiker trapped in the Utah wilderness and forced to make desperate choices about his own life and death.





"Another Year"...Mike Leigh directs...and has a history with Telluride including "Happy Go Lucky" two years ago. Jim Broadbent (also featured two years ago at TFF#35 in "When Did You Last See Your Father") and Imelda Staunton star.






"Casino Jack"...George Hickenlooper directs Kevin Spacey in a telling of the Jack Abramoff scandal with Spacey as Abramoff. Rumored for a Cannes slot.






"The Descendants"...TFF #36 Guest Director Alexander Payne directs George Clooney in this domestic dramedy set in Hawaii. From Fox Searchlight. With Payne directing, and Fox Search producing, this is the film that might get Clooney to show up in the San Juans over Labor Day.


"Love Ranch"...Taylor Hackford (who was at TFF last year with his wife, Helen Mirren) directs Helen Mirren (who was at TFF last year with "The Last Station"...and it led to her Best Actress nomination). Based on the story of the husband and wife who established the first legal brothel in Nevada. Joe Pesci also stars.


"Miral" directed by Julian Schnabel. His first film since TFF #35"s "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"...straight up one of the ten best films of the first decade of the 21st century. Schnabel directs Willem Dafoe, who was at TFF #36 with "Adam Resurrected" and Freida Pinto of "Slumdog Millionaire"...which had a TFF #36 pedigree as well. The story focuses on the attempt to establish an orphanage in 1948 in Jerusalem.


And as mentioned previously...remove "Chloe" from the possible list as it opens soon...I need to pay more attention.

Other notes: Carey Mulligan has reportedly dropped out of "Brighton Rock". "The Tree of Life" is purportedly set to be released in November...but it's Terrence Malick...so...

Scratch Chloe as a possible for TFF #37...opening soon...

In Santa Fe for spring break. Word is that the cast and crew for the Coen Bros. re-imagining of True Grit are here to brgin filming. May try to track 'em down

TFF #37...Coming Soon to a Mountain Near You! (well Sept. 3-6)

Well, before we go away for awhile (and we may not stay away as much or as long as we have in the past)...we thought we'd collate some information and speculation to take our first stab at guessing some films that may show at the SHOW... and why we think they might. (Our thanks to In Contention and Ioncinema...their 2010 Oscar guesses and Cannes guesses are what are forming the basis for this first attempt...5 1/2 months before it happens!)

Here goes nothin'...

1) "Betty Anne Waters"...why...Fox Searchlight...Tony Goldwyn directs Hilary Swank looking to come back after the dud that was "Amelia" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244754/

2) "Biutiful"...why...Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu directing his first film since "Babel" and "Babel" had a great start at Telluride in 2006...He might be back. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1164999/

3) "Black Swan"...why...Fox Searchlight...Darren Aronofsky directing after "The Wrestler" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

4) "The Eagle of the Ninth"...why...Kevin Mcdonald is the director and he has been a Telluride favorite with his last two projects: "My Enemies Enemy" and "The Last King of Scotland".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034389/

5) "Chloe"...why...Sony Pictures Classics...which has a great relationship with TFF...Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson star in this feature from Atom Egoyan...whose "Adoration" played at Cannes...and Cannes is another indicator of a possible Telluride presentation. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/

6) "Howl" ...why...Because it seems to be the kind of unusual film that does get chosen...like "Fur" in 2006 or "I'm Not There" in 2007. This is the Allen Ginsburg picture starring James Franco. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/

7) "Never Let Me Go"...why...Fox Searchlight...and it stars Sally Hawkins ("Happy Go Lucky" her last in Telluride in 2008) and Carey Mulligan (who was the belle of the Telluride ball last year with "An Education"). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/

8) "Rabbit Hole"...why...also Fox Searchlight...and it seems to be the kind of film that might be connected to a tribute (like "The Road" and Viggo Mortensen last year and "Benjamen Button" and David Fincher in 2008). Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt star in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize Winning play. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0935075/

9) "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"...why...It's from Sony Pictures Classics. It's rumored to be in the Cannes lineup. It already has some speculation that it might be Telluride-bound (Hit Fix). Why not??? I have a hard time believing that Woody Allen shows up in the San Juans on Labor Day...but, if he did... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182350/

10) "Love and Other Drugs"...why...Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere has speculated that it might be a part of the Telluride lineup. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhall...already some Oscar buzz for Hathaway... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758752/

Others from the "well, maybe..." list: Jodie Foster's "The Beaver", Carey Mulligan and Helen Mirren (both at TFF #36) in "Brighton Rock", Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere", "The Rum Diary" with Johnny Depp in Hunter S. Thompson's story, "My Own Love Song" starring Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker (who won his Oscar for "Last King" after it got its start at Telluride), "The Social Network", David Fincher's post-Button project.

AND THE HOLY GRAIL(S) FOR THIS FALL:

The Coen Brothers re-invention of "True Grit" with Oscar winner Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

True Grit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

Tree: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/

O...we can only hope...

The Verdict/The Oscar Clearinghouse

Ms. Bigelow...a big night for her...

Well...I have hesitated to post since Sunday night because I have been extraordinarily busy in the real world this week and because the prediction success was less than stellar. I managed to miss about every category that seemed to be the least bit competitive...so,

If there were surprises to be found they occurred when Precious won adapted screenplay and Hurt Locker won Sound Editing and Sound Mixing...Maybe a little surprise that The Secret of Her Eyes won Foreign Film, but there had been some buzz that that might be the case the last couple of weeks before the ceremony.

I also managed to goob the categories that receive less attention, missing Short Doc, Live Short and Animated Short... and if you're supposed to be any good at this, that's where you should shine. Overall, I got 14 right and missed on 10...and cannot point to a single pick this year that makes me look prescient.

Time for a break...I will probably post one more speculative pre-summer analysis for this falls TFF line-up and then the blog will be gone for the next 3 months or so...We'll crank the blog back up again in late May/early June to start the real speculation for TFF #37...and actually that's already begun. We've already reported Jeff Wells' speculation that the Hathaway/Gyllenhall starrer Love and Other Drugs might show up on Labor Day...and late last week Hit Fix suggested that Woody Allen's new film "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger" might also be in line....

More in a couple of days...

The Oscar Clearinghouse #12...Last Call???

Probably the last post til it's all over on Sunday night. Here's the best guesses...

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Meryl Streep-Julie and Julia (bold, huh?)

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique-Precious

Best Supporting Actor-Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds

Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds (bit of a surprise over Hurt Locker)

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Animated Film: Up

Foreign: The White Ribbon

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker (bit of a surprise over Avatar...tho White Ribbon w/n surprise me either)

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Art Direction: Avatar

Sound Editing: Avatar

Sound Mixing: Avatar

Visual Effects: Avatar

Makeup: Star Trek

Score: Up

Song: The Weary Kind-Crazy Heart

Costumes: Young Victoria

Documentary: The Cove

Short Doc: The Last Truck

Live Short: The Door

Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Comments:

1) Only 5 categories are the least bit competitive, if the conventional wisdom is correct...Actress (and that's probably just me that thinks it's competitive. I seem to be very lonely picking Streep...everything else says it's Bullock's to win), Foreign Film, Editing, Cinematography and Original Screenplay.

2) My totals if correct: Hurt Locker-4, Avatar-4, Up-2, Crazy Heart-2 and Inglourious Basterds-2...as your only multiple winners.

3) Telluride films win 4 Oscars if I'm right...Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air, Foreign Film for The White Ribbon, Short Doc-The Last Truck and Live Short-The Door.

And this last word...Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere speculates that "Love and Other Drugs" featuring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhall may be in line to play at TFF #37...so the game begins anew!

See you on the other side...