Invitation/The New Rumors/The Newly Nearly Confirmed/New Bets

And here's the last "Hello" from the Oklahoma Panhandle before the 38th Telluride Film Festival gets underway.  The Chief Executive and I will be departing for 9,000 feet in about 4 hours.  I'm watching the clock....

Telluride Daily Planet photo of film cans ready to go up the mountain

1 DAY  and then it begins...and hold onto your hats, it's going to be an insane festival.

We've reached that point that we reach every year when the internet has gone crazy with rumor, counter-rumor, claims, denials...and even when we see the actual lineup later today (and I'll be tweeting [@Gort2] and posting flash updates while I'm on the road!) and even then we won't know the full story because, of course, Luddy, Meyer and Huntsinger will some stuff back and sneak it as the weekend unfolds.  All that  being said, let's try to sort the wheat from the chaff! (hey, I'm an Oklahoma Panhandle boy).

First though, this reminder...

YOUR ENGRAVED INVITATION WOULD LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THIS:

Come and join me for the first ever Michael's Telluride Film Blog get together ( I thought about calling it a "Hootenanny" but I think that legally obligates you to sing folk songs and Union dirges) called: "The Guide to the Ride; The Flow of the SHOW" on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in The River Club in Telluride. Larry and Mitzi Mallard of the Club will be our hosts and I am told that refreshments will be provided. The River Club is located at 550 Depot in Telluride. That's 4 blocks west of the Gondola station. Come by and say hello and we'll talk a little film.


THE NEW RUMORS (AND THEY'RE JUST RUMORS!)

I am always back and forth about passing on blatant hearsay.  I'd much rather be able to cite a source or more than one, or at least if I can't attribute the story, then I want to be on pretty good terms with the source I can't name.  However...sometimes stuff seems like it's just too good to pass up passing on...so, forgive me...

TwitchFilm's posts that they're "hearing" (are you sitting down) both "Carnage" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" at Telluride this weekend.  The story also says the Herzog doc "Into the Abyss", but if you read this blog regularly, you've been onto the Herzog "news" for a good long while.

Now, I'll be honest, I don't know the reliability of TwitchFilm to save my soul.  It hasn't been a blog that I have visited terribly often in this summer's run-up to the fall festivals...and you know that this space has all but written off the chances for both of these films...

But what if I'm wrong and they're right?  The inclusion of the Polanski play adaptation and the Alfredson thriller would make Telluride's slate stratospherically vital.

Look at the story as it was posted Wednesday afternoon on the TwitchFilm website here:
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/08/herzog-polanski-and-alfredson-headed-to-telluride.php

And in another "rumor" fueled bit of intrigue, unnamed sources on the ground in Telluride have mentioned a certain "Pirate-y" actor purportedly has been sighted.  Now, there's absolutely no confirmation from any published source as of this morning of the veracity of the claim...but...one could envision the appearance of said actor in conjunction with, say a film that reminded us all of a certain "Gonzo" journalist.  It might involve the consumption of rum...

There, I've said it without saying anything and if you forced me to wager actual money, at this point I'd still be inclined to bet against any of these three films  being on the SHOW's lineup...but it's fun to dream!

And speaking of rumors...independent of TFF #38...who will be in town for the Lauren/Bush wedding?

THE NEWLY NEARLY CONFIRMED

Two BIG lockdowns yesterday...First...

George Clooney WILL BE IN TOWN and is a tributee.  Expect to see him in both "The Descendants" and his own directorial effort "The Ides of March" which opened the Venice Fest yesterday as well.

A blog reader by the name of Mo was kind enough to point me this New York Post story which ran yesterday and seems to remove all doubt:
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/clooney_rolls_with_his_pals_cNHop2Y03Ie9UvnfqBZy3M?utm_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha

Later in the day The Denver Post got on the bandwagon and confirmed in this story (thanks to @EzeeE1983 for dropping that to me):
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18797394

Clooney's "Ides" seems to be garnering generally good to great reviews after hits bow at Venice.  I've included links to a sample of the critical response:
Dave Karger at Entertainment Weekly:
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/08/31/george-clooney-the-ides-of-march-best-picture-oscar/

Guy Lodge at Incontention.com:
http://incontention.com/2011/08/31/review-the-ides-of-march/

Oliver Lyttleton at The Playlist via IndieWire:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/venice_11_review_the_ides_of_march/#

And a sampling from Hollywood News:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/08/31/the-ides-of-march-reviews-from-venice-awards-alley/

The Ides of March IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/

The Descendants IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033575/

Mr. Clooney's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/

The other BIG LOCKDOWN (that I had already become pretty certain of in the last 72 hours...) "A Dangerous Method."  David Cronenberg's Freud vs. Jung period piece WILL PLAY IN THE SHOW! 

How do we know.  Word was around yesterday that there was a new domestic trailer for the film. Friend of this blog Eugene Novikov at FilmBlather.com took a look...and then dropped me a tweet.  (Thanks, Eugene.  Looking forward to shaking your hand tomorrow!)

Right at the beginning of the trailer the "Official Selection of The Telluride Film Festival" comes up...so pretty compelling evidence I think and a thrilling addition to the slate.  Check it for yourself via this link to the story and trailer from Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/watch-domestic-trailer-cronenbergs-a-dangerous-method

Method's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571222/


NEW BETS

In light of today's developments I have put together a revise "Ten Bets" list and expanded it to "Twenty Bets."  Here it is (in order of greatest likelihood of being in the SHOW):
1) The Descendants
2) Into the Abyss
3) We Have to Talk About Kevin
4) The Ides of March
5) A Dangerous Method
6) Shame
7) Goodbye First Love
8) The Skin I Live In
9) The Artist
10) Footnote
11) A Trip to the Moon
12) The Birds Upstairs
13) Prohibition
14) Le Havre
15) The Lady
16) Dark Horse
17) Butter
18) Miss Bala
19) Drive
20) Martha Marcy May Marlene

I'm still greedy enough to pull for "Coriolanus," "The Kid with a Bike," "Wuthering Heights"  "W.E." and the Georgre Harrison Doc directed by Martin Scorsese.

We'll know more later today!

More from the road!!!



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