OPENING THE CANNES
When I get to this point each year, the point at which Oscar season is over and it's time to begin to seriously think about Telluride's future list of films, I focus on three sets of information initially. The first is the "most anticipated" lists of films that any number of websites and blogs toss out at the start of the calendar year. The second is the immediate post-Oscar lists of possible Oscar films for the next year.
Both of those sets of info have happened and I've already done a couple of pieces based on that.
The third set of info is the speculation about Cannes titles. The films chosen for the Cannes film festival have long provided a large number of the titles that make up the program at Telluride each year. I don't expect this year to be any exception.
Historically, the link between the two fests is very strong.
That being said, Jake Howell has written an excellent analysis of what he thinks, and what historical data show, might be some of the films that could well play Cannes and by extension some films that will have an improved chance of playing at Telluride.
http://moviecitynews.com/2014/02/divining-cannes-2014/
Among what Howell terms "The Likely Suspects" for Cannes emerge these films/directors who, historically, would seem to be the most likely to make the Cannes/Telluride connection for this year:
"Clouds of Sils Maria" from Olivier Assasyas
"Two Days, One Night" from The Dardennes Brothers
"The Search" from Michel Hazanavicius
"Birdman" from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
"Mr. Turner" from Mike Leigh
"Far from the Madding Crowd" from Thomas Vinterberg
"Every Thing Will Be Fine" from Wim Wenders
There are other possibilities, but these seem the most likely. Check out Howell's post.
OSCAR LESSONS
HitFix's Gregory Ellwood ventured into post-Oscar analysis mode this week with this post from Monday:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/exhale-lessons-from-the-2013-2014-oscars-season
Most notable from my perspective is this paragraph from that post:
Stop whining, Toronto: Telluride is the kingmaker
The powers that be at the Venice and Toronto film festivals hate it, but there is no argument anymore. If you're not able to screen your film at the Telluride Film Festival (and preferably before it goes to Toronto) you're not a serious player to win best picture. Five of the last six Best Picture winners all had either their world premiere, er, "sneak preview," at the Colorado festival, or, in the case of "The Artist," its North American debut. In that same time frame, "Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Gravity," and "The Descendants" also made Telluride their first (or almost first) stop. Now, those films are all from The Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight and Warner Bros. The three companies who have won the last four Best Picture Oscars. Guess they realize it too, huh?
Here's hoping that Ellwood has a good bead on why films and film makers with an interest in awards season should look closely at attempting to get on the Telluride program in light of Toronto's newly established criteria for screening films that might want to play both places.
LYNNE AND JANE
Over the past year I have posted a considerable number of times concerning the travails of "Jane Got a Gun". The project was originally under the direction of Lynne Ramsay but that changed as did a number of the cast members. Now comes word from Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood that Ramsay and the film's producers have reached a settlement in the dispute surrounding her participation. That story is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/natalie-portman-lynne-ramsay-team-for-western-jane-got-a-gun
More on Monday...
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