BEST OF THE WEEK
I started this week with an analysis of what major studio(s) might have been dangling their Oscar wares at the Telluride programmers last week in Los Angeles per a story from Deadline.com's Pete Hammond:
MAJOR WANTS TO PLAY
Deadline.com's Pete Hammond posted a story yesterday that focused primarily on the opening of the L.A. film fest but it also included a number of references to this year's Telluride fest as the TFF crew was in L.A. host a TFF-centirc soiree. The article includes references to likely TFF choices "Rust and Bone" and "Amour". Perhaps the most intriguing Telluride note came in the last paragraph of Hammond's post:
"Meanwhile the LAFF isn’t the only film festival action taking place this week in Los Angeles. The Telluride Film Festival threw a party at the London Hotel on Sunset the night before the LAFF launch to tout their upcoming Labor Day weekend 39th edition of a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season. Fest directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are still putting the program together and, as is the custom, won’t announce it in advance. But it’s clear this fest which draws Oscar-hopefuls from the likes of SPC, Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Focus and others has also attracted the attention of the major studios with eyes on Oscar this year. At least one of them was busy showing their wares to the Telluride honchos this week in hopes of making the cut."
Which leads to a couple of points:
1) Which studio and what films?
2) It's not that the majors don't play Telluride, but their participation is usually a small part of the festival. One wonders if this bit of news signals a larger presences for 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal etc.
3) And finally, you have to believe that Hammond's line "a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season." (which is something I have been saying the last five years) is reflected by a greater desire from the majors to be included on the Telluride bill of fare.
So here's that day by day breakdown of four "major" studios:
If you looked in on this space Saturday you saw this tidbit repeated from a Pete Hammond post from Deadline.com:
“The Telluride Film Festival threw a party at the London Hotel on Sunset the night before the LAFF launch to tout their upcoming Labor Day weekend 39th edition of a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season. Fest directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are still putting the program together and, as is the custom, won’t announce it in advance. But it’s clear this fest which draws Oscar-hopefuls from the likes of SPC, Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Focus and others has also attracted the attention of the major studios with eyes on Oscar this year. At least one of them was busy showing their wares to the Telluride honchos this week in hopes of making the cut. “
Which has kept my mind whirling for the last 48 hours...which studios? what films? Certainly it seems that Hammond is implying more than one.
Consequently, during the course of this week, I'll take a look at the "major" studio offerings that are expected as we move to the end of the year that most think want to be Oscar contenders and at least see if we can discern what the field of possibilities looks like.
Today we start with Universal Pictures which looks to be distributing two "Oscar-y" films: Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" (the Osama Bin Laden/Seal Team 6 film).
The Bigelow film seems more "Telluride-ish" (as I thought "The Hurt Locker" might be back in 2008) but Tom Hooper had a great deal of success out of Telluride for "The King's Speech" in 2010..so both films seem plausible Telluride contenders if Universal has decided to make that play and T-ride's heads deem them acceptable.
Other connections..."Les Miz's" production company Working Title had a production connection to Telluride 2006 "sneak" "Catch a Fire".
"Zero Dark Thirty's" IMDb page is here:
"Les Miserables" IMDb page is here:
20TH CENTURY FOX
Continuing to look at "Major" studios who might have been the studio reference by reports from the L.A. Film Festival that a so-called "major" was dangling bait in front of Telluride programmers we review the late year offerings from 20th Century Fox.
It looks like four possibilities emerge:
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi"...which I'm watching anyway because Lee's been represented at Telluride before with "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" perhaps most notable.
Curtis Hanson's "Of Men and Mavericks"...mostly because I met Hanson at Telluride a few years ago.
And Daniel Barnz's "Won't Back Down" starring Viola Davis in what purports to be this year's vehicle for Ms. Davis to challenge for the Best Actress Oscar that Meryl Streep won over her last year.
Won't Back Down" is featured in a post this week from The Playlist with links to 4 clips from the film.
Here's one of them:
Continuing to look at "Major" studios who might have been the studio reference by reports from the L.A. Film Festival that a so-called "major" was dangling bait in front of Telluride programmers we review the late year offerings from 20th Century Fox.
It looks like four possibilities emerge:
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi"...which I'm watching anyway because Lee's been represented at Telluride before with "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" perhaps most notable.
Curtis Hanson's "Of Men and Mavericks"...mostly because I met Hanson at Telluride a few years ago.
And Daniel Barnz's "Won't Back Down" starring Viola Davis in what purports to be this year's vehicle for Ms. Davis to challenge for the Best Actress Oscar that Meryl Streep won over her last year.
Won't Back Down" is featured in a post this week from The Playlist with links to 4 clips from the film.
Here's one of them:
Check others here at The Playlist:
And of course, the big dog Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" which Fox is co-producing with Dreamworks and Amblin and a bunch of others. I'll have more to say about it on Friday. ("Lincoln's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/)
20th Century Fox has been represented at Telluride in the past with: "The Descendants" (2011), "127 Hours", "Never Let Me Go" and "Black Swan (2010) and "The Savages" (2007) and others.
My take: "Life of Pi" chances are at 30%, "Of Men and Mavericks" 15% and "Won't Back Down" at 25%.
Tomorrow a look at what Warner Brothers might have tried to play with if they're the studio in question.
PARAMOUNT
In light of commentary this weekend in a Pete Hammond post for Deadline.com that suggested that one of the major studios had been plying their wares for the head honchos of the Telluride fest, I have taken it upon myself this week to look at what those possibilities might be. Today, I'm looking at Paramount and we can probably rule them out pretty quickly. Despite past recent participation at Telluride with "Up in the Air", "Benjamen Button", "Zodiac", "Babel" and "Paranormal Activity" and probable future Telluride films "Labor Day" and "Nebraska" as of right now they have only one film that might be conceivably considered Oscar material and that's the Denzel Washington starrer and Robert Zemeckis directed "Flight". And frankly, I don't think it sounds like either a Telluride picture or much of an Oscar one for that matter. So I'm writing Paramount off.
Here's the IMDb page for Paramount Pictures:http://www.imdb.com/company/co0023400/
"Flight's" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1907668/
WARNER BROTHERS
Deadline. com reported last week that at least one "major" studio was showing film to TFF programmers in an effort to polish Oscar chances who were in L.A. during the L.A. Film Fest and so this week I have been trying to nail down some possibilities. Today: Warner Brothers.
According to their IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/company/co0026840/) WB is distributor for a ton of Oscar bait films: Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" (DiCaprio, Maguire and Telluride favorite Carey Mulligan), Ben Affleck's "Argo"( Affleck, Goodman, Arkin) , The Wachowski Bros."Cloud Atlas"(Hanks, Sarandon, Berry), Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with the Curve" (Eastwood, Adams), and Ruben Fleischer's "Gangster Squad" (Penn, Gosling, Brolin). Oh, and that "Hobbit" thing.
There's a lot there and WB has played in Telluride before...just not recently. They distributed "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008 and "Rails and Ties" in 2007...Allison Eastwood's directing debut...I have a nice New Sheridan story about her. WB also produce "Benjamen Button" and "zodiac" which were a pert of the festival's David Fincher tribute in 2008.
For my money...if it was Warners...I'd guess "Argo" and "Curve" would be the best possibilities and "Gatsby" on the outside.
MAJOR ANALYSIS
All week long I have been trying to parse the meaning of Pete Hammond's post at Deadline.com from last week in which he describes at least one :major" studio plying Telluride film programmers with their "wares" trying to entice T-ride into a programming choice. That original Hammond post is here:
http://www.deadline.com/2012/06/la-film-festival-los-angeles-woody-allen-opens-2012-laff-telluride/
This week I have looked at Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox and what films they are either producing and/or distributing that look like they're also positioned for an Oscar run.
Re-capping...
Universal is distributing has "Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty" (This with Columbia).
Paramount: "Flight"
Fox: "Life of Pi", "Won't Back Down" and "Lincoln" (with Dreamworks and Amblin, obviously)
Warners: "Argo", "Cloud Atlas", "The Great Gatsby", "Trouble with the Curve" and "Gangster Squad".
Going to go BOLD here...
I lean toward Warners or Fox and here's why...
Warners...If I'm the Eastwood people and I really want Clint to be in play for a Best Actor Oscar I can't ignore the recent past concerning that trophy and Telluride.
2011: Jean Dujardin/The Artist (and a near miss for George Clooney for "The Descendants")
2010: Colin Firth/The King's Speech
2009: Another near miss by Geroge Clooney for "Up in the Air"
2007: Daniel Day Lewis for "There Will Be Blood"
2006:Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland"
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote" (also near miss for Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain").
I don't think it's a coincidence...
So if you're looking at what is likely Clint's last shot at Best Actor...don't you play in Telluride?
And there is some Eastwood/Telluride history. He's been there before...and I always default to believing that almost everyone that comes once wouldn't mind coming back.
Fox... same logic applied to Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" and Best Picture. Again, look at the last few year's of BP winners from Telluride:
2011: "The Artist"
2010: "The King's Speech"
2008: "Slumdog Millionaire"
2007: No winner but "Juno" and There Will Be Blood" nominated
2006: "Babel" nominated
2005: "Brokeback" and "Capote" nominated
3 of the last 4 BPs got a huge boost from Telluride.
If you're he Spielberg people aren't you tired of the near miss status of the last few years? "War Horse", "Munich", "Saving Private Ryan". Plus the films that didn't even get a nomination for BP. And then there is the Marshall/Kennedy connection to Telluride.
So there you are...
As always, I could be totally, completely, 100% wrong...and probably am.
MASTER #2
A second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" appeared this week:
The film sites are abuzz since late last night with a second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" which is far and away the film I am most energized about for the coming fall/winter.
I am crossing my fingers that this plays at the Telluride festival this year but to be honest, I'd guess it's chances at about 45%. A lot depends on the strategy The Weinstein Company chooses to pursue vis a vis Oscar campaigning.
I still think that "The Master" could play T-ride, but Harvey has a lot of arrows in his quiver this year and he/they may well think that they'd benefit from this PTA film being a Venice/New York thing.
I'm not alone, however, in at least thinking that it's still a possible Telluride choice as, in the midst of all the posting about the new teaser Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere wrote today:
"If Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is going to play the Venice Film Festival, as rumored, surely there's a decent chance it'll also play Telluride...no? Along with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder and Brian De Palma's Passion withRachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (which will probably be minor at best -- DePalma's best days are long past)"
Which makes me feel a little more confident about keeping it on our list of Telluride possibles.\\Here's the link to the rest of Wells' story and the teaser as well as comments (including mine):
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/06/late_august.php
Here's the teaser via You Tube:
I had a big piece this week on Venice speculation:
VENICE SPECULATION
We're probably about 5 weeks away from the official lineup announcement for the Venice Film Festival.
We already know that it's under new direction from a past director.
We know it will be smaller (near Telluride-size in terms of the total number of films screened).
We know that the new director has claimed that he's likely to have "The Master", "To the Wonder" and Brian DePalma's new film, "Passion", though I think these might all be wishful thinking rather than hard and fast commitments.
We know that the overlap between Telluride and Venice films is usually very small...last year: 3 films (to the best of my ability to dig this up): "Shame", "A Dangerous Method" and "Diana Vreeland". And 3 is about normal.
Overlap in 2010: "Black Swan" and "Letter to Elia"
Overlap in 2009: "The Road", "Life During Wartime" and "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"
So Venice is usually a lineup that winnows Telluride possibilities...
All that to get to this: The Playlist has a big Venice speculation piece posted yesterday.
Highlights include two specific Telluride references in their analysis of Derek Cianfrance's "The Place Beyond the Pines" and David O. Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook". "Pines" is Cianfrance's follow up to the very well received "Blue Valentine". "Silver Linings" is the latest project from the director of "The Fighter" and "Three Kings" and will be distributed by The Weinstein Company.
Some other intriguing notes from The Playlist post:
They appear to believe the claims about "The Master", "To the Wonder" and "Passion" as they have them listed as "strong possibilities" for Venice along with "Anna Karenina", "Argo", "Gangster Squad" and "Something in the Air" among others.
Among "possibilities" they list: "Life of Pi", "The Place Beyond the Pines" and "Love is All You Need".
Among the "long shots" are: "Seven Psychopaths", "The Silver Linings Playbook", "Django Unchained","Low Life", "Cloud Atlas", "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Zero Dark Thirty".
The complete post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/terrence-malick-the-master-anna-karenina-more-what-could-be-in-this-years-venice-film-festival-line-up-20120619
That seemingly led to a Twitter follow from the PR Director from the Venice Film Fesival: Giovanni Santoro.
Finally this week, a wish list from the folks at IndieWire provided some interesting fun:
50 FILMS FOR THE FALL
The fine people at IndieWire posted a "wish list"/prediction piece yesterday about what they hope and expect will play as part of the fall festival lineups (i.e. Telluride, Toronto and Venice.) It's fun to look at and drool over.
They specify Telluride in the case of these films:
"A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III" from Roman Coppola and...
"The Place Beyond the Pines" from Derek Cianfrance (and this becomes the second time in a week that someone has tried to connect "Pines" to T-ride...
Among the 48 other films listed that have the most Telluride "potential" (in my view):
[Trailer from "Hyde Park on Hudson"]
"Anna Karenina" (d. Joe Wright)
"Argo" (d. Ben Affleck)
"Gambit" (d. Michael Hoffman)
"Hyde Park on Hudson" (d. Roger Michell)
"Life of Pi" (d. Ang Lee)
"Love is All You Need" (d. Susanne Bier)
"The Master" (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
"Quartet" (d. Dustin Hoffman)
"The Silver Linings Playbook" (d. David O. Russell)
"Something in the Air" (d. Olivier Assayas)
"Song for Marion" (d. Paul Andrew Williams)
I think that 3 of the above are really solid guesses...check back on Monday for my first "Ten Bets" of the season to see which 3.
Check the entire IndieWire post here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/fall-festival-wishlist-50-films-we-hope-to-see-in-venice-toronto-and-or-telluride
NEW ADDITION
Old friends of this blog will note a new page today. You can access what I have termed a "selective" history of the Telluride Film Festival. It's still "under construction", but a good portion of what it will be is up and examines the fest from its inception in 1974 up until 1995.
I'll be finishing it throuhout the coming weeks. Take a look by clicking on the tab "Selected TFF History" above.
Have a good weekend...more on Monday...
Follow me on Twitter @Gort2
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