More Gravity Gravitas/Redford Choosing Lost/12 Years with McQueen and Ejiofor/Payne's Nebraska/Labor Look/Oscar Matters

Good Thursday Ya'll...



MORE GRAVITY GRAVITAS

One of the more interesting side stories that emerged as "Gravity" was rolling out at Telluride this year was the companion piece short film that was included elsewhere in the program.  Written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron's son and collaborator, Jonas Cuaron, the film, entitled "Aningaaq" could find its way into the Oscar discussion as a Live Action Short according to this post from HitFixInContention:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/alfonso-and-jonas-cuaron-talk-gravity-short-film-companion-piece-aningaaq

REDFORD CHOOSING LOST

TFF #40 Tributee Robert Redford spent some time during this year's festival talking about how he came to make "All is Lost" for writer/director J.C. Chandor.  www.tampabay.com explored that as well in this post.


http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/movies/redford-says-bold-invite-script-enticed-him-to-do-all-is-lost/2149588

12 YEARS A SLAVE: EJIOFOR AND MC QUEEN

Chiwtel Ejiofor who plays Solomon Northup, the "Slave" for 12 years spoke with The Fader about the role and the film:

http://www.thefader.com/2013/10/25/12-years-a-slave-chiwetel-ejiofor-intervie/

Also, from YouTube, this featurette about "12 Years" director Steve McQueen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgSzYe94FBQ&feature=share&list=PLWthn6pZiBNXb-o6Ak_vQ0DoGj-rP6PSw

PAYNE'S NEBRASKA

Director Alexander Payne spoke recently about the feel and look of "Nebraska" at the Savannah Film Fest. The Playlist reports:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/savannah-film-fest-alexander-payne-talks-nebraska-visual-effects-asks-where-adult-dramas-have-gone-20131027


LABOR LOOK

FirstShowing.net reports that there is a second poster out for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" and that a trailer for the film is expected to arrive later today.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/second-poster-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-before-trailer-tomorrow/

OSCAR MATTERS

Here's the link to the latest installment of Awards Daily's Oscar Podcast with Sasha Stone:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2159

More on Monday...Happy Halloween Everybody!

The FAC #2 Part Two/TFF#40 Echos Continue: 12 Years, Invisible, Blue, Past, Lost, Nebraska/Oscar Matters

Hello Everyone...hope you had a good weekend!

THE FAC #2, PART TWO

As promised last Thursday, here's the other half of the updated Film Awards Clearinghouse with the latest numbers for Best Supporting Actor and Actress as well as Adapted and Original Screenplay.

I use the publicly posted predictions of these Oscar experts:

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily

Kris Tapley/HitFix-InContention

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

Peter Knegt/IndieWire

Alex Carlson/Film Misery

Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit

Brad Brevet/Rope of Silicon

The films position on the first FAC is in parenthesis.  Telluride #40 films are Bold.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) Jared Leto/Dallas Buyers Club (2)
2) Michael Fassbender/12 Years (1)
3) Tom Hanks/Saving Mr. Banks (3)
4) Daniel Bruhl/Rush (4)
5) Barkhard Abdi/Capt. Phillips (-)
6) James Gandolfini/Enough Said (-)
7) Bradley Cooper/American Hustle (7)
8) Jeremy Renner/American Hustle (-)
9) Matthew McConnaughey/Mud (-)
10) John Goodman/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)

Dropping out: Mark Ruffalo, Daniel Oyelowo

Hot Stuff: Abdi, Gandolfini, Cooper, Renner

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Oprah Winfrey/LD's The Butler (1)
2) Lupita Nyong'o/12 Years (2)
3) June Squibb/Nebraska (3)
4) Julia Roberts/August: Osage County (7)
5) Jennifer Lawrence/American Hustle (6)
6) Octavia Spencer/Fruitvale (5)
7) Sally Hawkins/Blue Jasmine (9)
8) Margo Martindale/August: Osage County (4)
9) Carey Mulligan/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)
10) Amy Adams/Her (-)

Dropping Out: Cameron Diaz

Hot Stuff: Roberts (at the apparent expense of Margo Martindale), Hawkins, Mulligan and Adams.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Captain Phillips (3)
3) Before Midnight (2)
4) August: Osage County (-)
5) Philomena (6)
6) The Wolf of Wall Street (4)
7) Labor Day (-)
8) Blue is the Warmest Color (-)
9) Short Term 12 (-)
10) The Book Thief (-)

Dropping: Monuments Men and Foxcatcher as they have been moved to 2014 release dates.

Hot: August, Labor Day, Blue, Short Term and Book Thief.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Inside Llewyn Davis (2)
2) Nebraska (6)
3) Blue Jasmine (3)
4) American Hustle (1)
5) Her (5)
6) Gravity (-)
7) Saving Mr. Banks (4)
8) Lee Daniel's The Butler (8)
9) Fruitvale Station (7)
10) Dallas Buyers Club (-)

No drop outs

Hot Stuff: Gravity, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers

ANALYSIS

Here's the breakdown of the "Great Eight" categories vis-a-vis Telluride #40.  If these predictions were true on nomination morning...

12 Years a Slave: Nominated in six (of these 8 categories...I really think it ends up with 11 overall): Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.

Nebraska: 5 nominations: Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay.

Gravity: 3 Nominations: Picture, Director, Actress and 1 possible for Original Screenplay.

Inside Llewyn Davis: 2 nominations: Picture, Original Screenplay.  3 possibles: Directors, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress.

All is Lost: 2 nominations: Picture, Actor, 1 possibility: Director.

Blue is the Warmest Color: 2 possibilities: Actress, Adapted Screenplay.

Labor Day: 2 possibilities: Actress, Adapted Screenplay.

The Past: 2 possibilities: Actress, Original Screenplay.

In the Big Eight categories Telluride #40 predicted currently to have 18 nominations and another 10 possibilities.
 
In terms of total nominations, I'm still expecting a record number for Telluride films this year.  In the 30's is likely.  40+ is a stretch, but possible.

Other non-Telluride films expected to be big players;

Captain Phillips: 5 nominations.
American Hustle: 4 nominations and another 4 possibilities.
Saving Mr. Banks: 3 nominations and 2 possibles.
August: Osage County: 3 nominations and 2 possibles.
Lee Daniel's The Butler: 2 nominations and 3 possibles.
Dallas Buyers Club: 2 nominations and 2 possibles.
Blue Jasmine: 2 nominations and 2 possibles.
Philomena: 2 nominations.
The Wolf of Wall Street: 1 nomination and 3 possibles.
Her: 1 nomination and 3 possibles.
Before Midnight: 1 nomination and 1 possible.
Fruitvale Station: 4 possibles.

I suspect that "Wolf" lost some predictive steam because of its "limbo" status concerning its release date. Now that that has been resolved, I expect that it will begin to pick up some heat from Oscar pickers.  I also think "Her" picked up some heat from its New York Film Fest debut and that it may still be gaining some momentum.  Same is true for the London premiere of "Mr. Banks".  Reports were very positive, so despite my "vibe" that it wouldn't make much of a dent, people in the know and that have seen it would beg to differ with me.

Right now, I also have a "vibe" that "Dallas Buyers Club" may be a more serious player than merely Actor and Supporting Actor nominations.  I get the sense that it could rise in the Best Pic, Director and Screenplay races as well.

Bottom line for me is that "American Hustle" may still be the biggest threat to "12 Years" Oscar supremacy. Maybe "Wolf" as well, but I think the real race might come from the David O. Russell film.  Even with that being said, my gut tells me that it'll be a "12 Years" night on Mar. 2.  Multiple wins...Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, plus under the line wins for Costume, Production Design and maybe Score.  Ejiofor won't win the Actor's trophy, though.  I think it's going Redford's way.

TFF#40 ECHOS CONTINUE

     12 YEARS A SLAVE NEWS

I continue to make it clear that this is the best film of the year.  It continued its roll out this weekend by adding a few more cities.  Coming this weekend it adds a slew more and if you didn't catch it in Telluride (or Toronto) I'd encourage you to go see it.  Frankly, I'm going to find a way to see it again in a theater though I think the chances of it being programmed at my local 8 screener in the middle of the Oklahoma Panhandle is unlikely until it gets the 10-11 Oscar nominations that I think are coming its way.  Probably going to have to catch it in Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque or Santa Fe sometime in the next six weeks or so.

Nevertheless, for those who haven't seen the film or wish to re-visit it, The Playlist posted links to two clips and a Steve McQueen featurette here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-2-clips-directors-vision-featurette-for-steve-mcqueens-12-years-a-slave-20131024

Also, Canada.com's Bob Thompson talks to "12 Years" star Chiwetel Ejiofor:
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/scene-and-heard-12-years-a-slaves-chiwetel-ejiofor-would-rather-talk-about-the-film-than-the-oscars/

     THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, VISIBLE IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY

News reported by The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg that Felicity Jones who is the titular "Invisible Woman" in the Ralph Fiennes film will be campaigned by Sony Pictures Classics as a Best Actress candidate rather than Supporting which most observers thought would be the direction that SPC would take.  Here's the post from Feinberg:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-invisible-womans-felicity-jones-651103


     BLUE CONTINUES TO MAKE WAVES

Julian Scanton of Esquire talked recently to "Blue is the Warmest Color" co-star Lea Seydoux as the film continues to spark controversy and conflicting commentary and reportage from the stars and the director. Here's the Esquire interview with Seydoux:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/lea-seydoux-interview

     FARHADI ON THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

Indie Wire's Laya Maheshwair talks to the Iranian genius about his current film and some thoughts about future projects:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/asghar-farhadi-on-oscar-odds-for-the-past-iranian-filmmaking-directing-an-opera-and-making-an-english-language-movie

     ALL IS LOST'S CHANDOR ALSO PAST AND FUTURE

"All is Lost" director J.C. Chandor talked to Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net about the survival film starring Oscar favorite Robert Redford and also about some of his future plans:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/video-interview-talking-with-all-is-lost-writerdirector-j-c-chandor/

     NEBRASKA IN NEW YORK

If there was no "12 Years a Slave" Alexnader Payne's "Nebraska" would probably be in the tank for.  It or "Inside Llewyn Davis".  Nevertheless, Edward Davis writing for The Playilist explores the tone of "Nebraska" and includes the link to the half hour conversation about the film from the New York Film Festival with Alexander Payne, Bruce Dern and Will Forte:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nyff-alexander-payne-bruce-dern-will-forte-talk-the-particular-tone-of-nebraska-20131009


 OSCAR MATTERS

In addition to the above addition to The Film Awards Clerainghouse, here are some other Oscar-y tidbits. For example, tale a look at the latest from Gold Derby (which varies a bit from The FAC):

http://www.goldderby.com/news/4952/gravity-12-years-a-slave-oprah-entertainment-news-721480395.html

And here is the link to the latest Oscar Podcast from Kris Tapley of HitFix/InContention and Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-nyff-gotham-nominations-awards-contenders-head-for-2014

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-talk-where-are-we-now


More to come on Thursday...

The Film Awards Clearinghouse #2/Monuments Moves/Backlash Happens/Coming Attractions: MacBeth

Good Thursday All...
 
THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE #2

We start with a snapshot of where four of the Big Eight Oscar categories appear to be at the end of October and one month after our first look.

There have been some serious developments over the past few weeks that have had a serious impact on where the various races are.  The New York Film Festival came and went.  We got word that "Foxcatcher" and "The Monuments Men" among others will be pushed to 2014 and that Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" which was looking kind of iffy for 2013 will, in fact, open in late December, so it stays in the 2013 hunt.  Of course, we still haven't seen "American Hustle", Out of the Furnace", "Lone Survivor" or "Wolf".

I use the publicly posted predictions of these Oscar experts:

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily

Kris Tapley/HitFix-InContention

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

Peter Knegt/IndieWire

Alex Carlson/Film Misery

Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit

Brad Brevet/Rope of Silicon

The films position on the first FAC is in parenthesis.  Telluride #40 films are Bold.

BEST PICTURE

1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Gravity (2)
3) Captain Phillips (4)
4) American Hustle (3)
5) Nebraska (10)
6) Inside Llewyn  Davis (7)
7) Saving Mr. Banks (5)
8) Lee Daniels's The Butler (8)
9) All is Lost (12)
10) The Wolf of Wall Street (6)
11) Blue Jasmine (14)
12) August: Osage County (13)
13) Her (-)
14) Dallas Buyers Club (-)
15) Fruitvale Station (-)

Dropping Out: Foxcatcher, The Monuments Men, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Big Movers: Nebraska, All is Lost, Blue Jasmine


BEST DIRECTOR

1) Alfonso Cuaron/Gravity (2- TIE)
1) Steve McQueen/12 Years (1)
3) Paul Greengrass/Capt. Phillips (4)
4) David O. Russell/American Hustle (3)
5) Alexander Payne/Nebraska (6)
6) Joel and Ethan Coen/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)
7) Martin Scorsese/Wolf of Wall Street (5)
8) J.C. Chandor/All is Lost (-)
9) John Lee Hancock/Saving Mr. Banks (-)
10) Lee Daniels/The Butler (8)

No drop outs.

Big Movers: The Coens, Chandor and Hancock.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine (1)
2) Sandra Bullock/Gravity (3)
3) Meryl Streep/August: Osage County (2)
4) Judi Dench/Philomena (4)
5) Emma Thompson/Saving Mr. Banks (5)
6) Amy Adams/American Hustle (6)
7) Adele Excharopoulos/Blue (-)
8) Kate Winslet/Labor Day (-)
9) Berenice Bejo/The Past (7)
10) Julie Delpy/Before Midnight (-)

No drop outs here either.

Big Movers: Excharopoulos, Winslet


BEST ACTOR

1) Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years (1)
2) Robert Redford/All is Lost (2)
3) Matthew McConnaughey/Dallas Buyers Club (3)
4) Tom Hanks/Capt. Phillips (7)
5) Bruce Dern/Nebraska (4)
6) Forest Whitaker/LD's The Butler (5)
7) Leonardo DiCaprio/Wolf of Wall Street (6)
8) Christian Bale/American Hustle (-)
9) Joaquin Phoenix/Her (-)
10) Michael B. Jordan/Fruitvale Station (-)

No drops.

Big Movers; Hanks, Bale, Phoenix


Monday's post will include the Supporting categories as well as Screenplays and a breakdown of the Telluride films.


IN OTHER NEWS...


MONUMENTS MOVES

As I alluded above, George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" will be moving to 2014.  The production team says it won't be ready for a December release.  That opens some room for T-ride films such as "Nebraska", "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "All is Lost".  Rope of Silicon reports:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/george-clooneys-monuments-men-delayed-2014/

BACKLASH FOR T-RIDE FAVES

It's inevitable.  After the huge splash that "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" made at Telluride, you'd expect there to be push back and that's happened.  Steve Pond from The Wrap posted this week about the bounce and the burn:

http://www.thewrap.com/gravity-12-years-slave-battle-backlash-film-fest-raves/


COMING ATTRACTIONS

I'm already massively intrigued by the notion of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard leading a film version of Macbeth and the word came yesterday that the project now has the backing of The Weinstein Company.  TWC is often a player at Telluride, although their level of play has been hit and miss over the years.  Here's my plea...Harvey, "Macbeth"...T-ride 2014...  Here's the story of the TWC acquisition from Awards Circuit:
http://www.awardscircuit.com/2013/10/23/weinstein-company-acquires-macbeth-w-michael-fassbender-and-marion-cotillard/

More on Monday...have a great weekend.

12 Years Rolls Out/All is Lost Sets Sail/Latest Oscar Picks from Feinberg

Good Monday All,

12 YEARS ROLL OUT BEGINS

This weekend brought the release, in limited fashion, of Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave".  The P.R. onslaught continued through the end of the week and is represented below with posts/articles covering a wide number of topics related to the film.

Box Office prospects from IndieWire:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/can-12-years-a-slave-follow-the-financial-footsteps-of-django-unchained-and-the-butler

Ann Hornadays' essay from The Washington Post about the spate of films this year about race:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/movies/12-years-a-slave-mother-of-george-and-the-aesthetic-politics-of-filming-black-skin/2013/10/17/282af868-35cd-11e3-80c6-7e6dd8d22d8f_story.html

McQueen talks to Elvis Mitchell for Interview Magazine online:
http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/steve-mcqueen-1#_

McQueen also talked to NPR:
http://www.npr.org/2013/10/17/235486707/12-years-a-slave-160-years-later-a-memoir-becomes-a-movie

McQueen's discussion of "12 Years" covered here by Kristopher Tapley of HitFix/InContention:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/steve-mcqueen-on-the-right-to-pursue-happiness-and-12-years-a-slave

McQueen talking to Tavis Smiley via a link from Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/steve-mcqueen-talks-12-years-a-slave

Anne Thompson also linked this exclusive clip from the film:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/12-years-a-slave-exclusive-clip-michael-fassbender-lupita-nyongo-chiwetel-ejiofor

TOH also has the "12 Years" crew on Charlie Rose:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/michael-fassbender-fast-loose-and-out-of-control


ALL IS LOST SETS SAIL

Also hosting its jib this weekend was J.C. Chandor's "All is Lost" which is certainly creating a lot of buzz about Robert Redford's performance.  Chandor and Redford both were highlighted over the last few days as the film opened Friday.

Chandor from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/all-is-lost-director-jc-649440

Also from IndieWire:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/jc-chandor-on-why-all-is-lost-didnt-compete-at-cannes-and-making-a-film-that-needs-to-be-seen-in-the-theater

Redford from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/robert-redford-jc-chandor-joy-649411



LATEST OSCAR PICKS FROM SCOTT FEINBERG

Here's the link to the latest Feinberg Forecast from THR's Scott Feinberg:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-19-648297

That's all til Thursday...

A Day to 12 Years/Nebraska in New York/Invisible Woman, Fiennes and Oscar/NYFF Critics and Telluride/Fever Has a Date/Who's Who for Oscar

Good Thursday to Everybody...

A DAY TO 12 YEARS

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" opens in limited release tomorrow in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Washington D.C., Toronto and Atlanta.  Next week (Oct. 25) it expands to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Boston and Baltimore.  Fox Searchlight then says it will open "everywhere" on Nov. 1.

My advice...go see it.  If you didn't catch it at Telluride, go see it.  If you DID catch it at Telluride, go see it again.

As you might expect, as its release date draws closer, the media deluge has increased and I have dutifully included some of that material here if you care to take a look.

First, take a gander at this interview from HitFix/InContention's Kristopher Tapley with McQueen:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/steve-mcqueen-on-12-years-a-slave-squeamishness-its-the-truth-and-should-be-respected-as-such

You also might want to watch this DP/30 episode from David Poland at Movie City News:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/10/dp30-sneak-peek-12-years-a-slave/

McQueen and some of the cast answered questions/talked about the film this week following an L.A. screening at the Director's Guild.  Terese Torgersen reported for The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/12-years-a-slave-steve-648500

Meanwhile, one of the bigger stories that emerged this week regarding "12 Years" was the reportage that Michael Fassbender won't be working the awards circuit much on his own behalf.  Start with Guy Lodge's story via HitFix/InContention:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/roundup-michael-fassbender-too-busy-for-an-oscar-campaign

Also Brent Lang at The Wrap:
http://www.thewrap.com/michael-fassbender-will-campaign-oscar-nomination/

And Pete Hammond at Deadline.com adds his two cents here:
http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/oscars-why-michael-fassbenders-refusal-to-campaign-could-actually-help-him-win/

Meanwhile, if you read the complete story from The Wrap, you'll have noted that the Fassbender/Marion Cotillard collaboration on "MacBeth" is close to starting up.  if.com from Australia reports that the film is ion pre-production (and it's a definite "Coming Attraction" possibility for Telluride):
http://if.com.au/2013/10/14/article/Strong-Australian-accent-for-Macbeth/DDUZQNXDOT.html



NEBRASKA IN NEW YORK

The New York Critics Series has announced that it will bring Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" to the screen in a setting that will include a simulcast from NYC on Nov. 5th.  That's two and a half weeks before it scheduled release date.  The program is designed to provide a nationwide presentation that allows a broad audience to see the film and then hear from the film makers.

Peter Travers of The Rolling Stone will moderate and organizers say that stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte will participate.

The NYCS says they have 50+ theaters nationwide that will screen the film and Q+A.

More information can be found from the NYCS website:
http://www.nyfilmcriticsseries.com/

Also, here is the link to the list of theaters nationwide that are set to air the series:
http://www.nyfilmcriticsseries.com/Locations.html

And, for good measure, the story about "Nebraska's" screening reported by Ray Pride at Movie City News:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/10/peter-travers-qa-national-simulcast-series-starts-with-nebraska/


INVISIBLE WOMAN, FIENNES AND OSCAR

Gold Derby assesses the Oscar chances of Ralph Fiennes "The Invisible Woman".  For what it's worth, they come out about where I do...if anything, their assessment is a little more optimistic than mine:
http://www.goldderby.com/news/4910/oscar-invisible-woman-ralph-fiennes-entertainment-news-625341978.html

NYFF CRITICS AND TELLURIDE

IndieWire has put up its critic poll following the New York Film Festival's conclusion.  As you might expect, the poll includes a number of Telluride films that doubled at the NYFF.

Telluride films and their results (with rank in parenthesis) included:

Best Picture: "12 Years a Slave" (1), "Nebraska" (3) and "Inside Llewyn Davis (4)

Best Director: Steve McQueen/12 Years (2), Alexander Payne/Nebraska (3), The Coen Brothers/Llewyn Davis (4).  Spike Jonze was the top director for "Her" which finished the Best Picture poll at #2.

Best Lead Performance: Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years (1), Adele Exarchopoulos/Blue is the Warmest (2).

Best Supporting Performance: June Squibb/Nebraska (1), Lupita Nyong'o/12 Years (2), Michael Fassbender/12 Years (3), Lea Seydoux/Blue is the Warmest (5)

Best Ensemble: Nebraska (1), Inside Llewyn Davis (2), 12 Years a Slave (3)

Best Scene: 12 Years a Slave (1), Nebraska (2), Inside Llewyn Davis (5)

Biggest Surprise: Tim's Vermeer (4), 12 Years a Slave (5).  The biggest surprise: Spike Jonze's "Her"


The complete story is here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/her-and-nebraska-join-festival-favorites-12-years-a-slave-and-blue-is-the-warmest-color-atop-indiewires-nyff-critics-poll

The poll results are here:
http://www.indiewire.com/survey/best-films-and-performances-from-nyff-2013/

THE FEVER HAS A DATE

Documentary "Particle Fever" has a release date next spring according to a report from mxdwn.com.
http://movies.mxdwn.com/news/particle-fever-opens-march-2014/

WHO'S WHO AS WE ENTER OSCAR SEASON

IndieWire has put together an impressive post that breakdowns the Oscar films and chances for those films by distributor.  It's kind of interesting:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/for-your-consideration-a-studio-scorecard-for-2013


More on Monday.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lots of 12 Years Material/Kechiche on Blue: Show It/Dern for Lead/Foreign Film Oscar Analysis and Predictions/Llewyn and Wind

Good Monday to All...


LOTS OF 12 YEARS MATERIAL...

With its screening as apart of The New York Film Festival this week, Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" saw a burst of media attention.  Dutifully, I have compiled some of that here for your perusal.  It also allows me to remind all of you that read this space, that I still think that it was the best thing I saw at TFF #40 and I'm feeling confident that it will be the best film I will see this year (Scorsese's "Wolf", Clooney's "Monuments Men", Jonze's "Her", Stiller's "Walter Mitty", Greengrasses' "Capt. Phillips" notwithstanding).  Frankly, looking at what's still out there to be seen, the film that looks to me to be the biggest challenge to "12 Years" supremacy might be David O. Russell's "American Hustle".  I still have serious reservations about "Saving Mr. Banks".

I've said it before and will say it again... "12 Years a Slave" is the film we'll still be talking about 10-20-50 years from now.  That said, here's some of the coverage from this week:

The Playlist provides a look at the NYFF Q+A with McQueen:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nyff-steve-mcqueen-talks-12-years-a-slave-20131010

IndieWire independently with the same notion here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/nyff-13-steve-mcqueen-on-12-years-a-slave-the-effects-of-slavery-today-and-working-with-michael-fassbender

And The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/nyff-12-years-a-slave-646444

Fox Searchlight has provided the link to The Charlie Rose Show interview with McQueen and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender:
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/post/3837/watch-ejiofor-mcqueen-and-fassbender-on-charlie-rose/

And new stills from the film popped up via IMDb:
http://www.imdb.com/media/index/rg1360960000?ref_=hm_snp_t1

Pete Hammond at Deadline.com links this featurette and post about star Ejiofor:
http://www.deadline.com/2013/10/12-years-a-slave-featurette-chewitel-ejiofor-video/

KECHICHE ON BLUE: SHOW IT

Well, you can't say that Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color" hasn't had its share of controversy in the five weeks since it payed at Telluride.  First, just the general furor about the explicitness of the lesbian love scenes, then the stories that stars Lea Seydoux and Adele Excharopolous felt violated (by the way, I meT Ms. Excharopolous briefly at this year's Patron Brunch...she is as lovely in real life as she appears to be on screen...she was also very kind to this small-time blogger).  Then came the story that director Abdellatif Kechiche didn't even want the film released.  On top of all that, came the decision from the French not to allow a limited release there to act as a qualifying run for the Foreign Language Oscar.  It's been intriguing to say the least.

Now Kechiche is reported by IndieWire as wanting the film released...read it here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/abdellatif-kechiche-corrects-the-record-on-lesbian-drama-blue-is-the-warmest-color-the-film-should-be-released#

Meanwhile, The Playlist has posted the entire 27 1/2 min. NYFF press conference for the film here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nyff-abdel-kechiche-open-to-blue-is-the-warmest-color-sequel-says-his-directors-cut-will-be-40-minutes-longer-20131011

DERN FOR LEAD

Bruce Dern thinks he should be campaigned for Best Actor for "Nebraska".  Some Oscar experts have gone on record saying that he should go Supporting as he'd be a virtual lock for a nomination and the probable favorite to win.  Further, the experts say, the Best Actor race is crazy competitive...Redford, McConnaughey, Hanks, DiCaprio, Bale, Issac, Ejiofor, Phoenix and more.

You can argue that Will Forte is the lead...you'd be wrong, but you can make the argument.  I'm all for Bruce's position.  He's a lead...that's where he should be considered.  Frankly, I think  he'll get the nomination.  I doubt he wins, though.

Nevertheless, Daniel Montgomery at Gold Derby takes a look at Dern's position here:
http://www.goldderby.com/news/4902/nebraska-bruce-dern-entertainment-news-273645198.html

FOREIGN FILM OSCAR ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg took a look this week at the Foreign Language Oscar field.  Feinberg sets the favorite as Asghar Farhadi's "The Past" but argues that it's by no means a prohibitive favorite.  TFF #40 as well as #39 films are mentioned favorably by Feinberg as possible challengers including "Bethlehem", "The Hunt", "Wajdja" and "Gloria".  As mentioned above, "Blue is the Warmest Color" is off the table for this year's Oscar Foreign Language consideration as is "The Lunchbox".  Peruse Scott's complete post here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/foreign-language-oscar-can-past-646371

And here is the latest Feinberg Forecast from Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-20-648133


LLEWYN AND THE WIND

Writing for IndieWire, Shelley Farmer makes a case that The Coens' "Inside Llewyn Davis" and Hiyao Miyazaki's "The Wind Rises" have more in common than you might think.  Take a look:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/inside-llewyn-davis-the-wind-rises-review


That's enough for now...More on Thursday...

Another Llewyn Davis Trailer/Blue Views/Payne Now and Later/Gravity and Oscar/All is Lost About to Set Sail

Good Thursday to Everyone...

ANOTHER LLEWYN DAVIS TRAILER

Well, you can't say that CBS Films hasn't been about making sure to provide plenty of opportunities to sneak a peak at The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis".  The newest trailer (and a longish one at that) dropped this week and one blogger noted that it was the fifth trailer for the film.  Seems like a lot.

Nevertheless, here's the trailer from YouTube and a few posts that accompanied it this week:

And here are the posts:

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/new-second-trailer-inside-llewyn-davis

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-inside-llewyn-davis-doesnt-just-want-to-exist-in-new-trailer-for-the-coen-brothers-film-20131007

Hollywood Elsewhere:
http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2013/10/snow-scarves-chilly-winds/


BLUE VIEWS

We also saw this week some new stills and a new clip from Abdellatif Kechiche's controversial "Blue is the Warmest Color" set for a limited release here in the U.S. on Oct. 25.

Catch those at The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/blue-is-the-warmest-colour-lea-seydoux-felt-like-a-prostitute-director-says-sex-scenes-didnt-go-far-enough-20131007

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/lea-seydoux-adele-exarchopoulos-share-a-kiss-in-new-clip-from-blue-is-the-warmest-color-20131008

PAYNE NOW AND LATER

 

I loved Alexander Payne's "Nebraska".  It doesn't hurt that I seems like I know the people and the place that the story focuses on.  It also doesn't hurt that Bruce Dern was unflaggingly kind to me and my folks during the festival this year.  All that aside, I still think it's a fine film and, personally, I suspect that it's going to get a good bit of Oscar attention before it's all said and done.

Its roll out continued this week with its presentation at the New York Film Festival.  Steve Zeitchik writes about that for The New York Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-nyff-2013-alexander-payne-nebraska-bruce-dern-20131008,0,2863351.story

Meanwhile, director Payne is apparently on the cusp of a new project which will immediately go into the "Coming Attractions" collection.  The Playlist reports that Payne will direct "The Judge's Will" with Fox Searchlight producing.  The post for that is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alexander-payne-signs-the-judges-will-with-fox-searchlight-20131008


GRAVITY AND OSCAR

Awards Daily's Sasha Stone offered this meditation this week on the possibility that "Gravity" might break new ground come Oscar night on Mar. 2:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/the-state-of-the-race-gravity-changes-the-game-but-will-it-change-the-academy/

ALL IS LOST ABOUT TO SET SAIL

The Fantastic J.C. Chandor/Robert Redford collaboration, "All is Lost" opens next week.  Go see it.  I'm likely to see it again (along with second viewings of "12 Years", "Llewyn Davis", "Gravity" and "Nebraska").  Maureen Dowd at The New York Times posted an interview with Redford yesterday.  You can catch that here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/13/movies/robert-redford-goes-to-sea-in-all-is-lost.html?smid=tw-nytmovies&seid=auto&_r=0

Also, here's Kris Tapley's (HitFix/InContantion) chat with writer/director Chandor from Telluride:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/telluride-jc-chandor-on-the-multiple-metaphors-of-all-is-lost#~ojS1L3AvezAHs8


More on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

12 Years Spot/Llewyn and Oscars and John/The Visible Invisible/Brolin Talks Labor Day/Oscar Matters

Good Monday to All...

12 YEARS SPOT

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" has run its first television promo.  It's here:

I'm still of a mind that this film is the best film I'm going to see all year.

LLEWYN AND OSCARS AND JOHN

The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" is not going to be everyone's cup of tea.  It's certainly Coens-y but it sets its own distinct tone and isn't afraid of that.  Its title character isn't warm and fuzzy.  The film is an interesting mix of comedy and drama...mostly comedy, I think, but of a sly, low key sort.  Some have suggested that it's plotless which I think is a little silly.  There's certainly a plot, it's just not big and grand.  It's small and introspective.

All of the above is offered as I get to these posts from this week about the film.  The first is an examination from FirstShowing's Joey Magidson regarding the awards prospects for this difficult-to-pigeonhole film:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/where-do-oscar-isaac-inside-llewyn-davis-fit-into-the-oscar-race/

The other post is a look at John Goodman's career in the films of the Coens including his turn in "Llewyn" that I believe has a chance to earn Goodman his first Oscar nomination.  The post is from Greg Cwik for CriticWire/IndieWire:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/john-goodman-the-coen-brothers-common-man


THE VISIBLE INVISIBLE

Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman" has a trailer out this past week.  Here it is:

I've also linked a number of posts from around the web tied to the release of this trailer:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/watch-felicity-jones-in-ralph-fiennes-the-invisible-woman-trailer/

http://movies.yahoo.com/video/invisible-woman-trailer-211016775.html

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-charles-dickens-has-a-secret-in-trailer-for-ralph-fiennes-the-invisible-woman-20131004

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-first-trailer-ralph-fiennes-invisible-woman/


BROLIN TALKS "LABOR DAY"

Recently HitFix's Greg Ellwood sat down with "Labor Day" star Josh Brolin to talk about the Jason Reitman film.  Here's a link to that interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSRZiUK_M4A&feature=youtu.be&a


OSCAR MATTERS

Scott Feinberg has updated his Feinberg Forecast for The Hollywood Reporter.  His "scorecard" for Telluride films looks like this at the moment:

Best Picture:
Frontrunners: "12 Years", "Gravity", "All is Lost".
Major Threats: "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Nebraska".
Possibilities: "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Prisoners".
Long Shots: "The Past" and "Labor Day"

Director:
Frontrunners: McQueen/12 Years and Cuaron/Gravity.
Major Threats: Chandor/Lost, Coens/Llewyn and Payne/Nebraska
Possibilities: Villenueve/Prisoners, Kechiche/Blue
Long Shots: Farhadi/Past, Reitman/Labor

Actress:
Frontrunners: Bullock/Gravity
Major Threats: Exarchopoulos/Blue, Winslet/Labor, Bejo/Past
Possibilities: Gerwig/Frances Ha (TFF #39)

Actor:
Frontrunners: Redford/Lost, Ejiofor/12 Years
Major Threats: Dern/Nebraska, Issac/Llewyn
Possibilities: Jackman/Prisoners
Long Shots: Fiennes/Invisible

Supporting Actress:
Frontrunners: Nyong'o/12 Years
Major Threats: Leo/Prisoners, Squibb/Nebraska, Seydoux/Blue
Possibilities: Mulligan/Llewyn, Jones/Invisible
Long Shots: Paulson/12 Years

Supporting Actor:
Frontrunners: Fassbender/12 Years
Major Threats: Gyllenhaal/Prisoners
Possibilities: Clooney/Gravity, Brolin/Labor

Adapted Screenplay:
Frontrunners: 12 Years
Possibilites: Labor Day
Long Shots: The Invisible Woman

Original Screenplay:
Frontrunners: Inside Llewyn Davis
Major Threats: Gravity, All is Lost, Nebraska
Possibilities: Prisoners
Long Shots: Bethlehem, The Past, Frances Ha (TFF #39)

Animated Feature:
Frontrunners: The Wind Rises

Documentary:
Frontrunners: Tim's Vermeer, Stories We Tell (TFF #39)
Major Threats: The Unknown Known, Jodorowsky's Dune, The Act of Killing (TFF #39)
Long Shots: Salinger

For those keeping track, Feinberg has Telluride films  listed as Frontrunners in these "Big 8" categories 15 times, "Major Threats" 20 times, "Possibilities" 12 times and "Long Shots" 11 times.

Here's the latest Scott Feinberg Forecast from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-21-639287

In other "Oscar Matters", Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elksewhere references David Thomson's look at Robert Redford and J.C. Chandor's "All is Lost" and suggests that the Best Actor race is all but over.  I'm not so sure that's the case.  Take a look here:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2013/10/redford-vs-chewy/


 More on Thursday...

Inside Llewyn News/12 Years Honored/Nebraska and the AFI

Good Thursday to Everyone...

INSIDE LLEWYN NEWS

The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" mad a big splash this past week with its unveiling as a part of The New York Film Festival.  The highlight may have been the benefit concert that happened on Sunday night.

Many of the musicians (Marcus Mumford, The Punch Brothers) and actors (Oscar Issac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman) that are a part of the soundtrack were a part of the show.  The concert also included appearances from musical stars of the early-60's era that the film portrays including Joan Baez.

The film is scheduled for release on Dec. 20.

Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood reveals the man behind Llewyn Davis: actor Oscar Issac.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-isaac-talks-acting-and-guitar-picking-for-the-coens-inside-llewyn-davis

Issac is making some noise concerning the Best Actor race but the category is loaded with possible contenders this year.  Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net addresses that issue:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/where-do-oscar-isaac-inside-llewyn-davis-fit-into-the-oscar-race/

The "Another Day, Another Time" concert featuring the music that inspired the film as well as music from the film itself was a big hit last weekend.  I have linked stories from Variety and The Playlist:

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/joan-baez-patti-smith-carey-mulligan-oscar-isaac-celebrate-the-music-of-inside-llewyn-davis-1200681682/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-marcus-mumford-oscar-isaac-elvis-costello-more-perform-songs-from-inside-llewyn-davis-in-concert-20131001#


12 YEARS A SLAVE HONORED

The announcement came earlier this week that director Steve McQueen and actress Lupita Nyong'o will be feted as a part of the Hollywood Film Awards for their work on "12 Years a Slave".  The film's profile has increased steadily since its premiere at Telluride and is aimed at a New York Film Festival screening within the week.  The Grio and The Hollywood Reporter both filed stories about the HFA that will include McQueen and Nyong'o:

http://thegrio.com/2013/10/01/12-years-a-slave-director-actress-to-be-honored-at-hollywood-film-awards/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/12-years-a-slave-director-638862

NEBARSKA AND THE AFI

Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" was one of three films named this week as centerpieces for the American Film Institutes's Film Fest.  The other films announced were Ben Stiller's "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" and Scott Cooper's "Out of the Furnace".  At least one of the films were likely added as a replacement for Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" which has now been pushed to a 2014 release. AFI also announced that Bruce Dern will be honored as a part of the festival as well.  HitFix has the story here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/out-of-the-furnace-and-walter-mitty-set-to-screen-as-afi-fest-centerpieces#~oj7ii1zRqGPAxJ

More on Monday...Have a great weekend.