Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Focus on Focus/All Django/Master Trailers Reviewed

Good Tuesday All!

38th Telluride Film Fest favorite and Best Picture Oscar winner "The Artist" is available today on VD and Blu Ray.  Check it out.

FOCUS ON FOCUS



Today I begin the breakdown of some of the "usual suspects" in as far as film companies that produce and/or distribute and are, at least sometimes, players at the Telluride Film Festival.  This week I'll be focusing on domestic companies and specifically today on Focus Features.

Focus has had what I would term a "modest" Telluride relationship in the recent past.  It has been represented there previously and in some years has been fairly prevalent.  There have also been some years where Focus has been absent altogether.

Here's the recent Focus films that have been in Telluride's lineup:

As distributor:

2007: Into the Wild
2006: Catch a Fire
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2004: The Motorcycle Diaries, House of Flying Daggers
2003: Lost in Translation

As production company:
2010: Bitiful, Another Year

As you can see.  Focus doesn't play every year at T-ride and doesn't play "big" (I define "big" as 3 or more films).

So what does Focus have in store for this year that might tempt the Telluride programmers?

They're distributing Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" and Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson".  They're producing and distributing the Gus Van Sant directed Matt Damon and John Krasinski authored and starrer "Promised Land" which IMDb lists in post-production but which at least film news outlet thinks might be ready for fall festivals and Oscar consideration.

Of the three "Hyde Park on Hudson" is almost a lock I think.  It's directed by Roger Michell (TFF's in 1995 for "Persuasion", 2004 for "Enduring Love" and 2006 with "Venus") and stars Laura Linney (tributed at TFF in 2004 (Kinsey and P.S.) and returning to Telluride with films or as a part of their guest list in 2006 (Jindabayne), 2007 (The Savages), 2008, 2009 and 2010).



In all likelihood "Hyde Park" is the lone representative from Focus Features at Telluride this year.

If there is a second, it's probably more likely to be "Promised Land" if it's ready.  Director Gus Van Sant has had some Telluride experience in the past...but it's been a good while (1995 To Die For, 2003 Elephant).

"Anna Karenina" is the least likely, though not completely impossible.  Joe Wright's career is young enough not to have a long track record of films to have even been considered for Telluride.  In AK's favor, I suppose, is the fact that TFF programmers have enjoyed programming films that star Keira Knightley as of late: 2011: "A Dangerous Method" and in 2010: "Never Let Me Go".



Tomorrow a look at Fox Searchlight.


ALL DJANGO ALL THE TIME



If you're breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" then you need to go to this website now:
http://ht.ly/bOd27

Links to pictures, logo, trailer and a ton of other stuff on this "Webmasters Toolkit".

There is a lot of stuff here...


THE MASTER'S TRAILERS REVIEWED?

Yes indeed and by a real film critic.  David Thomson spends a significant amount of time breaking down the two teasers that we have seen come forth for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master".  The article is for The New Republic.  Check it here:
http://www.tnr.com/article/books-and-arts/104329/paul-thomas-anderson-the-master-trailers-scientology-film

Trailers:





More later...

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