Thursday, November 28, 2013

Telluride #40 and Oscar #86/Independent Spirt and Telluride/No Longer Coming Attraction/Tim's Producer/Oscar Talks Llewyn

Good Thanksgiving Thursday to Everyone...I'm thankful for all of you that occasionally read this space.  Reporting today from the Rio Grande Art and Craft Show in Albuquerque, NM.  The CEO and I are here until Sunday slinging art for The People!

TELLURIDE #40 AND OSCAR #86



With today's post I'm going to start to try to take a look at a more comprehensive view of how this year's Telluride Festival will affect the Oscar nominations.  To do this, I'll be focusing on the comprehensive predictions from some of the Oscarologists that I frequently study beginning today with the InContention potion of the HitFix website.  InContention is edited by Kristopher Tapley.

What I've done is collected the predictions from InContention for every film that played at Telluride this year (and actually 4 from TFF #39).  Here's what Kris and the InContention crew are currently predicting:

11 nominations (and the most for) Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave": Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Score, Production Design and Costume.

10 nominations for Alfonso Cuaron's "Gravity": Best Picture, Director, Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Original Score, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing and Visual Effects.

6 nominations for The Coen Brothers "Inside Llewyn Davis": Best Picture, Director(s), Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design and Sound Mixing.

5 nominations for Alexander Payne's "Nebraska": Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay.

3 nominations for "All is :Lost": Best Actor, Sound Mixing and Sound Editing.

And single nominations for "The Invisible Woman": Costume, "Tim's Vermeer": Documentary, "The Wind Rises": Animated Feature and "Gloria": Foreign Language Film.

That's a total of 39 nominations!  Additionally, four TFF #39 films are included in InContention predictions.  This doesn't include the possibility of some other nominations in the "Shorts" categories.

"The Hunt" and "Wadjda" for Foreign Language Film and "Stories We Tell" and "The Act of Killing" for Documentary.

I'll take a look at Awards Daily's predictions in the next post.

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AND TELLURIDE



The Independent Spirit Award nominations were announced on Tuesday and Telluride's 40th edition was overwhelmingly represented (TFF #39 was repped too).  In all, TFF #40 films were nominated 22 times.  Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" led the onslaught with seven nominations: Best Feature, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Supporting Actor, Screenplay and Cinematography.

Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" was a close second with six nominations: Feature, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, First Screenplay.

Other Telluride 40 films that were nominated on Tuesday included "All is Lost": Feature, Actor, Director, Cinematography.  Also "Inside Llewyn Davis": Feature, Actor and Cinematography.

Also TFF #40 nominated films were "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Gloria" for Best International Film.

TFF #39 films landing Spirit nominations included Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha" for Best Feature and Editing.  "The Hunt" was nominated for Best International Feature.  "The Act of Killing" was nominated for Best Documentary.  "Wadjda" was nominated for Best First Feature.

I'm personally pleased at the triumph of both "12 Years" and "Nebraska".  I'm also pleased that Oscar Isaac got some love as Best Male Lead for "Inside Llewyn Davis".  I'm also glad that "All is Lost" was nominated for more than Redford's incredible performance and that "Frances Ha" got some mention...though I would have liked to see it in the Best Actress and Screenplay categories as well.


NO LONGER COMING ATTRACTION



For months now I have been passing along the troubled story of "Jane Got a Gun".  Initially I had it on my radar as a potential Telluride film for TFF #41 because The Weinstein Company was involved and it was originally being directed by Lynne Ramsay who has directed films that have played TFF before.  Then, as the film began to have increasing difficulties with the director and then casting, I just got a little obsessive.

Now, it looks like you can wipe it off the possible Telluride list as the announcement came this week that "Jane" was going to open prior to the Telluride Festival.  The Dissolve, among others, reported that it has been set for an Aug. 29, 2014 release date (which, if I have it right, is the opening day for TFF #41) so it seems you can strike "Jane Got a Gun" from your TFF #41 watch list.

Here's the link to the post from The Dissolve:

http://thedissolve.com/news/989-the-troubled-jane-got-a-gun-set-for-release-next-a/


TIM'S PRODUCER



Telluride favorite and likely Best Documentary Oscar nominee "Tim's Vermeer" producer Farley Ziegler recently talked to IndieWire about the process of tuning months worth of filming into an 80 minute film:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-how-tims-vermeer-filmmakers-determined-a-runtime-with-2400-hours-of-footage


OSCAR TALKS LLEWYN



Oscar Isaac who plays Llewyn in the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" sat down with Deadline's Pete Hammond to talk about the film and the music from it:

deadline.com/2013/11/oscar-isaac-inside-llewyn-davis-joel-ethan-coen-oscars/

Also, The Playlist posted the "Please Mr. Kennedy" performance from the film this morning.  I think it's the funniest moment in a film that has, as you'd expect from the Coens, a lot of subversive humor.  Also, it will likely remind some of you of a certain age of Larry Verne's #1 novelty hit "Please Mr. Custer".  I have no doubt that that is no accident. Here's the clip from YouTube:

http://youtu.be/h9dBOi4nTm8




That's all until Monday.  Have a fantastic Thanksgiving weekend and  start to Hanukkah!

Monday, November 25, 2013

The FAC and The Gold Derby/Payne and Dern/Llewyn Davis News/Rudderless Stills/Oscar Talk/Oscar Podcast/Invisible Woman Visible

THE FAC AND THE GOLD DERBY ( AND A LITTLE BIT FROM THE GURUS OF GOLD)

 Here’s a comparative look at where the major Oscar categories are between The Film Awards Clearinghouse and The Gold Derby and in the case of Best Picture and Director, where they are ranked by Movie City News’ Gurus of Gold.

BEST PICTURE

FILM/FAC RANK/GOLD DERBY/GURUS OF GOLD

12 Years a Slave          (1)        (1)        (1)       
Gravity                         (2)        (2)        (2)       
Capt. Phillips                (3)        (4)        (3)       
Saving Mr. Banks         (4)        (5)        (4)       
American Hustle           (5)        (3)        (6)       
Nebraska                     (6)        (9)        (5)       
Inside Llewyn Davis      (7)        (8)        (7)       
The Wolf of Wall St.     (8)        (6)        (9)       
LD’s The Butler            (9)        (7)        (8)       
All is Lost                    (10)      (15)      (11)     
Her                             (11)      (13)      (10)     
August: Osage             (12)      (11)      (13)
Blue Jasmine               (13)      (12)      (12)
Dallas Buyers Club      (14)      (13)      (16)
Fruitvale Station          (15)      (10)      (15)

BEST DIRECTION

Cuaron/Gravity            (1)        (2)        (1)
McQueen/12 Years     (2)        (1)        (2)
Greengrass/Phillips       (3)        (4)        (3)
Russell/Hustle              (4)        (3)        (4)
Coens/Llewyn Davis    (5)        (7)        (6)
Payne/Nebraska          (6)        (6)        (5)
Hancock/Mr. Banks    (7)        (9)        (10)
Scorsese/Wolf             (8)        (5)        (8)
Chandor/Lost              (9)        (8)        (9)
Jonze/Her                    (10)      (11)      (7)


BEST ACTOR

Ejiofor/12 Years          (1)        (1)
Redford/Lost               (2)        (2)
McConnaughey/DBC   (3)        (3)
Hanks/Phillips              (4)        (4)
Dern/Nebraska            (5)        (5)
Whitaker/Butler            (6)        (6)
Bale/Hustle                   (7)        (11)
DiCaprio/Wolf             (8)        (10)
Isaac/Llewyn Davis      (9)        (12)
Jordan/Fruitvale           (10)      (7)

Gold Derby also has Phoenix and Elba in its Top Ten


BEST ACTRESS

Blanchett/Jasmine         (1)        (1)
Bullock/Gravity            (2)        (2)
Streep/August Osage   (3)        (5)
Thompson/Banks         (4)        (4)
Dench/Philomena         (5)        (3)
Adams/Hustle              (6)        (7)
Excharopolous/Blue     (7)        (6)
Delpy/Midnight            (8)        (12)
Winslet/Labor Day       (9)        (11)
Bejo/Past                     (10)      (10)

Gold Derby also has Larson and Louis-Dreyfuss in its Top Ten.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Fassbender/12 Years     (1)        (2)
Leto/DBC                     (2)        (1)
Hanks/Banks                 (3)        (3)
Addi/Phillips                  (4)        (4)
Bruhl/Rush                     (5)        (5)
Gandolfini/Enough          (6)        (6)
B. Cooper/Hustle          (7)        (10)
Hill/Wolf                       (8)        (14)
Goodman/Llewyn          (9)        (7)
Renner/Hustle               (10)      (13)

Gold Derby has Oyelowo and McConnaughey in its Top Ten.


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nyong’o/12 Years       (1)        (1)
WinfreyButler               (2)        (2)
Squibb/Nebraska         (3)        (4)
Roberts/August            (4)        (5)
Lawrence/Hustle          (5)        (7)
Martindale/August        (6)        (6)
Spencer/Fruitvale         (7)        (3)
Hawkins/Jasmine          (8)        (8)
Mulligan/Llewyn           (9)        (18)
Paulson/12 Years        (10)      (9)

Gold Derby also has Johansson in its Top Ten.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

12 Years                      (1)        (1)
Capt. Phillips                 (2)        (5)
Before Midnight            (3)        (2)
August: Osage              (4)        (4)
Philomena                     (5)        (7)
Wolf of Wall St.            (6)        (3)
Blue is Warmest            (7)        (10)
Labor Day                    (8)        (11)
Short Term 12               (9)        (NR)
Book Thief                   (10)      (8)

Gold Derby has Walter Mitty and Lone Survivor in its Top Ten.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Blue Jasmine                (1)        (2)
Inside Llewyn Davis     (2)        (3)
Nebraska                     (3)        (4)
American Hustle           (4)        (1)
Her                              (5)        (7)
Saving Mr. Banks         (6)        (8)
Gravity                         (7)        (5)
Fruitvale Station           (8)        (6)
The Butler                    (9)        (13)
Enough Said                (10)      (9)

Gold Derby has Dallas Buyers Club in its Top Ten.



PAYNE AND DERN



Alexander Payne told us in Telluride that there was a color version of "Nebraska".  Now he's telling The Dissolve the same thing and explaining why it exists:

http://thedissolve.com/news/972-theres-a-color-version-of-nebraska-alexander-payne/


And the Bruce Dern charm offensive continues.  Dern was interviewed this week by Awards Daily's (and friend of the blog) Sasha Stone:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/brucedern/


LLEWYN DAVIS NEWS



The Playlist posted a story that includes a new clip from the Coen Brothers' film as well as a trailer for the Showtime presentation of the concert "Another Day Another Time".  The concert will air on Showtime on Dec. 13.  Here's the post:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-inside-llewyn-davis-visits-the-record-label-in-new-clip-plus-trailer-for-showtime-concert-movie-with-cast-20131121


Additionally, The Wrap reports on its presentation of "Llewyn" as a part of its screening series and how Oscar Isaac came to be Llewyn Davis:

http://www.thewrap.com/inside-llewyn-davis-oscar-isaac-t-bone-burnett-coen-brothers


INVISIBLE WOMAN BECOMING VISIBLE



The Playlist has the U.K. trailer and a new poster for Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman" this week:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-uk-trailer-poster-for-ralph-fiennes-charles-dickens-drama-the-invisible-woman-20131120

RUDDERLESS STILLS



There were a couple of key stories this week about William H. Macy's Rudderless this week.  The film, written by Oklahomans (friend of the blog) Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison and  filmed in Oklahoma, was highlighted by a story about the first look at stills from the film and was also tipped as a hot prospect for The Sundance Film Festival by IndieWire.  Here are the links to those stories:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-pics-from-william-h-macys-rudderless-starring-anton-yelchin-selena-gomez-20131119

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-wishlist-30-films-we-hope-will-head-to-park-city-in-2014


OSCAR TALK



HitFix/InContention's Kristopher Tapley and Thompson on Hollywood's Anne Thompson have posted their latest version of Oscar Talk.  Links to it on either of their sites are here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-afi-fest-out-of-the-furnace-lone-survivor-and-preparing-for-the-critics-awards

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-talk-whos-ahead-in-the-oscar-race-post-afi-fest-and-the-governors-awards-documentaries-and-beyond

OSCAR PODCAST

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily also has her latest Oscar Podcast up:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2204


More on Thursday/Thanksgiving Day...which will be posted from Albuquerque, NM and the Rio Grande Arts and Craft Festival: Holiday Show.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

The FAC #3 Part Two/Interviews: The Coens, Penn and Teller/The Past Trailer/Gravity's Companion

Good Thursday Everyone...

Here's the second part of the latest Film Awards Clearinghouse focusing on Supporting Acting and Screenplays.

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


BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR



1) Michael Fassbender/12 Years (2)
2) Jared Leto/Dallas Buyers Club (1)
3) Tom Hanks/Saving Mr. Banks (3)
4) Barkhad Abdi/Capt. Phillips (5)
5) Daniel Bruhl/Rush (4)
6) James Gandolfini/Enough Said (6)
7) Bradley Cooper/American Hustle (7)
8) Jonah Hill/Wolf of Wall Street (NR)
9) John Goodman/Inside Llewyn Davis (10)
10) Jeremy Renner/American Hustle (8)

Drop Out: Matthew McConnaughey
Hot: Jonah Hill
Not: Renner

Comment:

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS



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

Drop Out: Amy Adams
Hot: Martindale

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY



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

No drop outs.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY



1) Blue Jasmine (3)
2) Inside Llewyn Davis (1)
3) Nebraska (2)
4) American Hustle (4)
5) Her (5)
6) Saving Mr. Banks (7)
7) Gravity (6)
8) Fruitvale Station (9)
9) The Butler (8)
10) Enough Said (NR)

Drop Out: Dallas Buyers Club
Hot: Blue Jasmine


Eight Telluride #40 films have a presence in this edition of the FAC led by "12 Years a Slave".

"12 Years": Six "Noms": Picture, Direction, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.  Also a new "possible": Sarah Paulson for Best Supporting Actress.

"Nebraska": Four "Noms": Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress and Original Screenplay. "Possible" for Direction.

"Inside Llewyn Davis": Three "Noms": Picture, Direction and Adapted Screenplay.  "Possibles" for Actor, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress.

"Gravity": Three "Noms": Picture, Direction and Actress and one "Possible" for Original Screenplay.

"All is Lost": Two "Noms": Picture and Actor.  One "Possible" for Direction.

"Blue is the Warmest Color" has two "Possibles": Actress and Original Screenplay.

"Labor Day" has two "Possibles": Actress and Adapted Screenplay.

"The Past" has one "Possible" for Actress.

Total for Telluride films in the Big Eight Categories: 18 "Nominations" and 12 "Possibles".  Three weeks ago those numbers were: 18 "Noms" and 10 "Possibles".

Among non-Telluride films, Paul Grengrass' "Captain Phillips" has five "Noms" and  David O. Russell's "American Hustle" has four "Noms" and four more "Possibles".  "august: Osage County" and "Saving Mr. Banks" also appear strong as they each would have three "Noms" and two other "Possibles".

The film with the most "Possibles" and no expected nominations is Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station" with four "Possibles".


Next Monday, I'll take a look at how The FAC stacks up to The Gold Derby website and also "The Gurus of Gold" from Movie City News.


INTERVIEWS:



Kris Tapley of HitFix/InContention talks to Joel and Ethan Coen about "Inside Llewyn Davis"...The soundtrack is playing in stereo in my office as I type this.

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/joel-and-ethan-coen-discuss-inside-llewyn-davis-long-time-collaborations-and-the-allure-of-new-york

Meanwhile, Beth Hanna of Thompson on Hollywood talks "Tim's Vermeer" with Teller...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/teller-speaks-talking-wondrously-mind-boggling-art-doc-tims-vermeer


THE PAST TRAILER



Asghar Farhadi's "The Past" now has a U.S. trailer.  Rope of Silicon posted that here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/past-official-u-s-movie-trailer-berenice-bejo/

GRAVITY'S COMPANION



Alfonso Cuaron's son, Jonas, co-wrote the film with his father and also directed a short film that played at Telluride as well.  It is a companion piece to "Gravity".  If you haven't seen the film, you may want to wait until you catch it before taking a look at the short which you'll find in any of the following posts:

CriticWire:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/gravitys-companion-short-aningaaq-finally-hits-the-web

The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-jonas-cuarons-7-minute-gravity-spin-off-short-aningaaq-in-full-20131120

The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gravity-spinoff-watch-side-sandra-657919

Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-jonas-cuarons-gravity-companion-piece-short-film-aningaaq/


More on Monday...

Monday, November 18, 2013

The Film Awards Clearinghouse #3/Nebraska Continues/Llewyn Davis Sings...and a New Coen Film?/THR's Director's Roundtable

Good Monday America...

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE 2014 #3 PART ONE



Here's the latest update for mid-November

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

Hot: Mr. Banks and Wolf of Wall Street
Not: August: Osage and Blue Jasmine

Comment:  No change in which are the most likely 15 films.

BEST DIRECTION



1) Alfonso Cuaron/Gravity (1)
2) Steve McQueen/12 Years a Slave (1)
3) Paul Greengrass/Capt. Phillips (3)
4) David O. Russell/American Hustle (4)
5) The Coen Brothers/Inside Llewyn Davis (6)
6) Alexander Payne/Nebraska (5)
7) John Lee Hancock/Saving Mr. Banks (9)
8) Marin Scorsese/Wolf of Wall Street (7)
9) J.C. Chandor /All is Lost (8)
10) Spike Jonze /Her (NR)

Hot: Hancock and Jonze

Comment: Lee Daniels drops off the top ten.

BEST ACTOR



1) Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Robert Redford/All is Lost (2)
3) Matthew McConnaughey/Dallas Buyers Club (3)
4) Tom Hanks/Capt. Phillips (4)
5) Bruce Dern/Nebraska (5)
6) Forest Whitaker/The Butler (6)
7) Christan Bale/American Hustle (8)
8) Leonardo DiCaprio/Wolf of Wall Street (7)
9) Oscar Isaac/Llewyn Davis (NR)
10) Michael B. Jordan/Fruitvale Station (10)

Hot: Isaac

Comment: Joaquin Phoenix just barely drops out of the top ten.

BEST ACTRESS



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

Hot: Delpy

Comment: The top ten remain the same here as well.

The rest of The Big Eight categories are coming on Thursday.

NEBRASKA CONTINUES




The New York Times talks with director Alexander Payne about the road trip that is "Nebraska":

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/wanderlust-a-road-trip-through-alexander-paynes-nebraska/?hp&_r=1

And the Bruce Dern assault continues as he talks to The Dissolve:
http://thedissolve.com/features/interview/267-bruce-dern-on-the-challenges-of-nebraska/

LLEWYN DAVIS SINGS AND NEWS OF THE NEXT COEN BROTHERS FILM



"Inside Llewyn Davis" folks presented a concert in Santa Monica last week in support of the film.  HitFix has that story:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/steve-martin-punch-brothers-and-more-celebrate-inside-llewyn-davis-at-santa-monica-jam-session

Meanwhile, The Coens revealed some thoughts about their latest film project here:

http://moviepilot.com/stories/1176737-coen-brothers-are-working-on-a-new-movie


THR'S DIRECTOR'S ROUNDTABLE (feels a bit Telluride-y)



The annual THR Director's ROuntable was up this week and includes TFF #40 representation from Alfonso Cuaron/Gravity and Steve McQueen/12 Years a Slave.  The video is here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/roundtable-ben-stiller-alfonso-cuaron-655343?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter


More on Thursday...

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Labor Date/Oscar Matters/Dern at AFI/


Good Thursday to All...

I have loaded up on the "Llewyn Davis" soundtrack this week as the 6 copies of the vinyl arrived as did the CD which I have ripped to the various digital platforms I have.  I sort of like the soundtrack...a lot!

Now, on with this week's Telluride Film Festival news items...

LABOR DATE



Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" will get an Oscar qualifying run the lat week of December but won't open wide until January 2014.  The Wrap (with apologies to the earlier spelling error and thanks to Chris Schiller who caught it...color me embarrassed), The Playlist and The Hollywood Reporter filed these stories:

http://www.thewrap.com/paramount-sets-jason-reitmans-labor-day-wide-release-january/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/roundupjanuary-31-is-the-new-labor-day

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount-moves-labor-day-limited-655125

Meanwhile, THR's Scott Feinberg talks to "Labor Day" star Kate Winslet:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/labor-day-star-kate-winslet-653268


OSCAR MATTERS



In the latest Oscar prediction news, Scott Feinberg's latest thoughts are here:

Feinberg Forecast:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-saving-mr-banks-653410

And Sasha Stone and friends share their Oscar insights on the Awards Daily Oscar Podcast:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2195

DERN AT AFI FEST



The Bruce Dern/Nebraska celebration continued this past week with a screening of the Alexander Payne film at the AFI Fest.  Dern talked to a bunch of outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, The Playlist and The Dissolve:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afi-fest-bruce-dern-charms-655293

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-clip-from-nebraska-plus-afi-fest-bruce-dern-tribute-reel-introduced-by-quentin-tarantino-20131112

http://thedissolve.com/features/interview/267-bruce-dern-on-the-challenges-of-nebraska/

Dern also appeared on Charlie Rose which you can see here:

http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60297478


More on Monday...have a great weekend...

Monday, November 11, 2013

Nebraska Footage/Fassy Talks Evil/Teller Speaks (Some More)/Starred Up Picked Up

Good Monday to Everyone...hope you had a very good weekend...Here's some Telluride Film Festival related news...

NEBRASKA FOOTAGE



Paramount Pictures posted what they purport is exclusive looks at Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" on iTunes since my Thursday post.  You can take a look at that here:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount_vantage/nebraska/

I think that "Nebraska" is continuing to float just below the tide created by "12 Years" and "Gravity" as is Llewyn Davis" and that both films are likely to pick up steam as we move through the rest of November and into December.  Frankly, I agree with Awards Daily's Sasha Stone that "Nebraska" is going to be embraced more warmly by the Academy than most of the Oscar prognosticators think.  It'll definitely be on my top ten list at the end of the year...maybe even top five...

FASSY TALKS EVIL (and other things)





"12 Years a Slave" co-star Michael Fassbender, who stars as the malignant Edward Epps in Steve McQueen's masterpiece (yup...said it...masterpiece...quote me Fox Searchlight!) talked to Gold Derby recently about his role in the film.  Academy members...please give him the Best Supporting Actor Oscar...thank you..that is all...

http://www.goldderby.com/news/5013/12-years-a-slave-michael-fassbender-entertainment-news-29384751.html

TELLER SPEAKS



I've written in this space previously that one of the most electrifying moments of this year's festival was at the Q&A following "Tim's Vermeer" when Teller (who directed) spoke.  Audible gasps could be heard in the capacity crowd at the Chuck Jones theater.  It was very, very cool.

Well, Teller, as you might expect, has continued as the documentary about inventor Tim Jenison's obsession with the art of Johannes Vermeer edges closer to its release- Dec. 6th (limited).

The Wrap's Screening series focused on the Penn and Teller doc this week.  Listen to Teller here:

http://www.thewrap.com/tims-vermeer-teller-penn-jillette-tim-jenison-wrap-screening-series

STARRED UP PICKED UP



Every year there are films that you hear a lot of buzz about that you just can't get to.  One of the films that fell into that category this year was David Mackenzie's prison drama "Starred Up".  I heard a lot of good stuff but could just never get it worked into my schedule.  Now, it seems I may still get a chance as Tribeca Films has landed the North American distribution for the film.  BroadwayWorld.com has the story:

http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmovies/article/Tribeca-Film-Acquires-North-American-Rights-to-British-Drama-STARRED-UP-20131107


More on Thursday...Have a good week everyone...

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Nebraska Blast/Labor Day Pie/Latest Feinberg/Jane Saga Continues/Chiwetel on Record/The Music of Llewyn Davis

God Thursday to Everyone...

NEBRASKA BLAST



A week away from limited release, Nebraska continues to draw a good deal of media attention.  Bruce Dern is definitely a part of the Best Actor Oscar conversation as is the film, actress June Squibb and Bob Nelson's screenplay.

Dern talked to Anne Thompson about the film:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/bruce-dern-tells-hollywood-tales-on-the-nebraska-promo-trail

The Playlist posted a ton of new stills from the film:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alexander-paynes-nebraska-unloads-a-state-full-of-new-photos-bruce-dern-will-forte-bob-odenkirk-20131103

And distributor Paramount announced that it would play in some cities on a double bill with the Peter Bogdanovich classic "Paper Moon":
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/paramount-plays-up-nebraskas-old-fashioned-charms-with-paper-moon-double-bill

LABOR DAY PIE



The Wrap reported this week that actor Josh Brolin really embraced the pie making that is a central plot point for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day".  That's here:
http://www.thewrap.com/josh-brolin-labor-day-pie-scene-sexiest-movie-ghost

LATEST FEINBERG FORECAST AND GURUS OF GOLD



Feinberg:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-field-is-set-652813

Gurus:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/11/gurus-o-gold-let-the-games-begin-2/


JANE GOT A GUN...THE SAGA CONTINUES



I couldn't let this pass by.  I've been following the twists and travails of the "Jane Got a Gun" shoot for months and there was new one this week.  The film's producers have filed suit against one time director Lynne Ramsay:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/jane-got-a-gun-producers-sue-director-lynne-ramsay

CHIWETEL ON RECORD


 
Potential Best Actor nominee and star of Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" continues to be the focus of much attention as the film continues its slow roll out this week (finally in Oklahoma City and Santa Fe tomorrow).  Both IMDb and Gold Derby posted video of him talking about the film this week:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2027857945/

http://www.goldderby.com/news/5003/oscars-12-years-a-slave-chiwetel-ejiofor-interview-entertainment-news-64297518.html

THE MUSIC OF LLEWYN DAVIS



A couple of interesting developments this week concerning the music from the Coen Brothers "Inside Llewyn Davis".  First, NPR's First Listen has posted the entire soundtrack at their website so that you can stream it...I've been doing that all week.  Here's that link:

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/03/242103173/first-listen-soundtrack-inside-llewyn-davis

And Nonesuch Records, the label for the soundtrack released a vinyl version to sell in indy record stores at the "era" price of $5.98.  This is the complete soundtrack (and I've ordered 6 of them... some for Christmas gifts).  Those of us who were able to attend the Patron's Brunch at Telluride this year had already received a 6 song vinyl EP from the soundtrack as a part of the Patron swag.  The CEO also has the CD version on order as a part of my birthday gifts.  Needless to say, I like this soundtrack a lot.  Rolling Stone has the story of the vinyl LP release:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/inside-llewyn-davis-soundtrack-is-now-available-on-vinyl-20131105



More on Monday...Have a great weekend...

Monday, November 4, 2013

Labor Day Trailer/12 Years Grab Bag/Inside Inside Llewyn/Women of Blue/More Lost/Nebraska/Far From Madding


Good Monday to Everyone...welcome to another week...


LABOR DAY TRAILER



Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" got a ton of attention this past week even though it doesn't open (in a limited run) until Christmas Day.  I have linked a number of those stories here for you to look at.  "Labor Day's" reception at Telluride/Toronto could best be described as mixed.


http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-first-two-labor-day-trailers/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/watch-two-trailers-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-with-kate-winslet/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-starring-josh-brolin-kate-winslet-20131031

http://www.slashfilm.com/exclusive-jason-reitmans-online-trailer-for-labor-day/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/kate-winslet-and-josh-brolin-in-the-trailer-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day

http://thedissolve.com/news/807-labor-day-trailer/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/trailer-of-the-week-josh-brolin-takes-kate-winslet-hostage-in-jason-reitmans-labor-day




12 YEARS GRAB BAG



The "12 Years a Slave" onslaught continues as the film opened "wide" this past weekend.  Although "wide" still seems to be a fairly selective term here.  I searched for the film in Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque and Santa Fe for this weekend and it wasn't listed for any theaters in those cities.

Nevertheless, here are some of the more eye catching "12 Years" stories that popped up this week.

Here's an interview with Solomon Northup's descendants provided from FoxSearchlight (and I believe Fox News...which makes me shudder...)
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/post/3857/behind-the-dream-12-years-a-slave/

Yahoo Movies did a story that focused on newcomer and likley Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong'o:
http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/12-things-know-12-years-slave-breakout-lupita-185709419.html

Anne Thomopson interviews actor Paul Dano who is featured in both "12 ,Years" and Denis Villenueve's "Prisoners":
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/paul-dano-talks-12-years-a-slave-prisoners

and Michael Fassbender is interviewed at Toronto by Vanity Fair/Starz
http://video.vanityfair.com/watch/michael-fassbender-on-12-years-a-slave


HELPING TO GET INSIDE LLEWYN



Anne Thompson passed along this very cool story this week about the man that aided actor Oscar Isaac in his preparation to get inside "Llewyn Davis".

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-isaac-talks-the-real-life-inspiration-for-inside-llewyn-davis-honing-his-guitar-skills-and-more

THE WOMEN OF BLUE



The Playlist has the interview with the two actresses from the Cannes Palme d'Or winner and Telluride #40 film "Blue is the Warmest Color".  The film continues to be embroiled in ongoing shifts of controversy for any number of reasons.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/it-was-just-you-your-skin-and-your-emotion-lea-seydoux-adele-exarchopoulos-talk-blue-is-the-warmest-color-20131022

HOW THEY MADE LOST



The Wrap passes along this story featuring both director J.C. Chandor and star Robert Redford about how they filmed the fantastic "All os Lost":
http://www.thewrap.com/jc-chandor-robert-redford-all-is-lost-how-they-did-it

DERN LOVES NEBRASKA



Bruce Dern is now on record as proclaiming his role of Woody in "Nebraska" as the best role he has ever been offered.  The Playlist has that story here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/savannah-film-festival-bruce-dern-talks-nebraska-says-alexander-payne-alongside-hitchcock-kazan-and-more-20131030

FAR FROM MADDING



It's no secret that I have Thomas Vintenberg's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" on my future Telluride radar.  The Playlist (among a number of other outlets) had a look at the first images from that shoot.  "Madding" stars Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-images-of-carey-mulligan-matthias-schoenaerts-in-thomas-vinterbergs-far-from-the-madding-crowd-20131031


More to come on Thursday...