Acquisition News/Trailers and Clips from Cannes/Another Critical Take on Cannes/TFF #42?

Good Thursday to all...


ACQUISITION NEWS

Still from "Clouds of Sils Maria"

Post Cannes there has been considerable movement toward distributors buying the rights for U.S. distribution of a number of Cannes titles.  Some of those acquisitions may boost a film's chances at a Telluride play while others probably diminish that potential.

Case in point of the latter...Magnolia picked up two very well received titles in the past few days:  "Force Majeure" (Turist) and "White God", the top prize winner from the Un Certain Regard section.  While their representation by Magnolia doesn't eliminate those films from Telluride consideration, I can find only two films from them that have played Telluride in the last five years: "The Hunt" and "A Royal Affair" both played in 2012 (also both featured Mads Mikkelsen who was tributed that year).  So, you know, it's possible that we'd see one or both of these films...but if history is any guide; it's not incredibly likely.

I've linked the story about the "White God" acquisition from Variety:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/cannes-prize-winner-white-god-fetches-north-american-distribution-1201193008/


and from IndieWire for "Force Majeure":

http://www.indiewire.com/article/magnolia-pictures-wins-distribution-for-un-certain-regard-winner-force-majeure

Meanwhile, The Hollywood Reporter has posted that Kristian Levring's "The Salvation" starring the aforementioned Mads Mikkelsen has been acquired by IFC films.  IFC also has distribution for other Cannes #67 titles including "Clouds of Sils Maria" and  "Bird People".  IFC also has Richard Linklater's Sundance hit "Boyhood".  The IFC profile at Telluride independently is noticeable (and their connection/partnership with Sundance Selects opens the door a bit more).  IFC had "Frances Ha" at TFF in 2012, "Into the Abyss" and "Pina" in 2011 and "Carlos" and "The Princess of Montpensier" in 2010.  Those films featured directors who have had a history with Telluride.  All of which may mean that "Clouds" is a more likely prospect today than it has been up to now.

Here's the news about IFC for "The Salvation":

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-ifc-films-nabs-kristian-706178

Meanwhile, THR also reports that "Timbuktu" which was critically well received but shut out of the prizes at Cannes has been picked up by The Cohen Media Group.

This probably reduces chances of Telluride attendees seeing the film as I can find no mention of any film distributed by CMG that has played Telluride previously.  Too bad, as I had become a bit intrigued by the film after reading about it in the reports from Cannes.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-cohen-media-group-takes-706990


Finally...reiterating some reporting from earlier, Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the documentary "Salt of the Earth" as well as Cannes screenplay winner "Leviathan".  Most years I would tell you that that news would move both films right to the top of the Telluride "possibles" list (and it does make their presence at TFF #41 more likely) but SPC has such a large stable of films on their plate that parsing what makes the trip to the San Juans becomes a difficult task.  At present IMDb lists these titles as SPC properties (that have no set release date or a release date that would accommodate a T-ride screening);

"Salt of the Earth"
"Leviathan"
"Red Army"
"Jimmy's Hall"
"Foxcatcher"
"Wild Tales"
"Coming Home"
"Mr. Turner"
"Saint Laurent"
"Aloft"

SPC had five films at TFF #40: "Tim's Vermeer", "The Invisible Woman", "The Lunchbox", "Jodorowsky's Dune" and "The Past". Five films per year is roughly the SPC average at T-ride. Their TFF footprint is always substantial (check out their ten year track record from my June 24th post from last summer).  The challenge is which five of these ten films make the trip?

Here are the stories on the acquisitions of "Salt of the Earth" and "Leviathan":

http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/sony-pictures-classics-buys-cannes-favorite-leviathan-exclusive-1201191129/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-sony-pictures-classics-acquires-707058


TRAILERS AND CLIPS FROM CANNES

I've put together a quick section of links to stories/posts and trailers that have been late releases at the end of the Cannes fest:

"Two Days, One Night" from Thompson on Hollywood:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/two-days-one-night-trailer-dardennes-marion-cotillard

"Winter Sleep" from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-longest-cannes-contender-nuri-bilge-ceylans-winter-sleep-plus-5-minute-making-of-video-20140505

"Clouds of Sils Maria" from The Dissolve:

http://thedissolve.com/news/2321-olivier-assayas-cannes-competition-title-clouds-of/

Clips from "The Blue Room" also from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-review-mathieu-amalric-directs-and-stars-in-elegant-but-airless-the-blue-room-20140526


ANOTHER CRITICAL TAKE ON CANNES

IndieWire published its critical takeaway from Cannes #67 this week.  You can find it here:

http://www.indiewire.com/survey/best-films-and-performances-from-cannes-2014/

A quick summary:  Their critic's panel chose "Two Days, One Night" as Best Film,   Anne Dorval as Best Lead Performance for "Mommy", Kristen Stewart for Best Supporting Performance for "Clouds of Sils Maria", Xavier Dolan for Best Director for "Mommy" and "Leviathan" for Best Screenplay.

TFF 42?

Michael Haneke via IMDb

And word the last couple of days that Michael Haneke has new film project planned to begin shooting this summer.  Should it come to pass, put it on your Telluride watch list for 2015 as Haneke films have made a number of appearances at the festival over the years including "White Ribbon " and "Amour".  The new film is entitled "Flashmob" and at least for the time being and sounds like an unlikely project for the auteur.

From The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michael-hanekes-next-film-flashmob-reportedly-shoots-this-summer-20140527

More on Monday as I'll begin the six-posts-a -week schedule for MTFB as we move into the final three month  countdown to TFF #41.

Cannes in the Can/The Cannes Critique/Cannesalysis

Welcome to Monday!

CANNES IN THE CAN

They're done in France.  The 67th Cannes Film Festival came to a close Sunday with re-screenings of films from throughout the week.  Saturday evening the Jane Campion-led Palme jury announced its choices for prizes:

Palme d'Or: "Winter Sleep" dir: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Grand Prix: "The Wonders" dir: Alice Rohrwacher
Jury Prize: (Tie) Goodbye to Language" dir; Jean-Luc Godard and "Mommy" dir: Xavier Dolan
Director: Bennett Miller, "Foxcatcher"
Screenplay: "Leviathan"
Best Actress: Julianne Moore, "Maps to the Stars"
Best Actor: Timothy Spall, "Mr. Turner"

Un Certain Regard prizes included:

UCR Prize: "White God" dir: Kornel Mundruczo
Jury Prize: Turist (Force Majeure) dir: Ruben Ostland
Special Prize: "Salt of the Earth" dir: Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribiero Salgado
Ensemble: "Party Girl"
Actor: David Gulpilil, "Charlie's Country"


Check the complete list of all prizes for all sections here from Variety:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/winter-sleep-wins-palme-dor-cannes-1201191262/


THE CANNES CRITIQUE

Here are the final critical compilations for the 67th Cannes Film Fest  with the top three films listed for each source:

Ioncinema:

1) Two Days, One Night
2) (tie) Mr. Turner
2) (tie) Winter Sleep

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2014-cannes-critics-panel-day-9-assayas-doubles-down-with-sils-maria-zvyagintsev-drinks-to-sweet-tragic-notes-with-leviathan

From http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2014

1) Goodbye to Language
2) Winter Sleep
3) Two Days, One Night

From http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes

1) Goodbye to Language
2) Winter Sleep
3) Clouds of Sils Maria

And from http://criticsroundup.com/cannes-2014/

1) (tie) Two Days, One Night
1) (tie) Wild Things
3) Goodbye to Language


Critically, the big winners seem to have been: Godard's "Goodbye to Language" (Jury Prize), "Winter Sleep" (Palme d'Or) and "Two Days, One Night" (bupkes). The Dardennes snub seems curious.  I would have thought Cotillard was a lock for Best Actress if the jury wasn't awarding the film an overall prize.

"Out of Competition" films that did well in critical analysis:

From the Un Certain Regard section both "The Blue Room" and "Juaja" did very well with critics...neither were prize winners.

"How to Train Your Dragon 2", "Silver Watered-Syria Self Portrait", "The Owners", "Maidan", "Cold in July", "Gett" , "National Gallery", "A Hard Day", "Mange Tes Mort", "Le Counte De La Princesse Kaguya", "P'tit Quinquin", "It Follows", "Red Army" and "The Kindergarten Teacher" all received steady critical acclaim.

CANNESALYSIS

And after the two weeks at Cannes are done...what do we know vis-a-vis the 41st Telluride Film Festival.  Mostly that the films that I thought were likely are probably still likely.  The acquisitions of Sony Pictures Classics of "Leviathan", "Jimmy's Hall", "Saint Laurent" and "Wild Tales" during the festival raises their T-ride profile. As of yesterday, SPC had also acquired "Salt of the Earth".

Going into Cannes, I had been pointing at certain films that, assuming they played well, had a reasonably good Telluride profile.  It seems to me that "Mr. Turner" and "Two days, One Night" fit that bill.  Through the course of the I think "Leviathan" and "Red Army" both became very real possibilities.

I suspect that both Dolan's "Mommy" and Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars" will exclusive to the Toronto fest.  I don't have any insider info, it just feels that way to me.

"Foxcatcher" remains something of an enigma.  It all depends on how SPC perceives its Oscar chances as a result of a Telluride play and the expectation that should they play the film at Telluride that it will play Toronto in a less-than -prime slot.

Of course, they could chose to bypass Toronto altogether as "Nebraska", "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "All is Lost" did last year (all three played in Cannes as well).  Though you could make a strong case that that strategy didn't work particularly well.

As to Oscar repercussions...from Cannes...."Foxcatcher" and "Mr. Turner" seemed to be the most likely films with that potential before and after the fest.  I expect a number of films to be a part of the Foreign Language film Oscar convo depending on what countries make which choices.  For example, "Leviathan" seems like a no-brainer as the choice for Russia in terms of quality but its critique of the Mother country is not likely to sit well in Putin's "throwback" Russia.

It'll be fun to watch this summer.

SPEAKING OF SUMMER

I'll be back to a six-post-a week schedule beginning next Monday, June 2.  Let the full tilt Telluride obsession begin!

More on Thursday!

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Winter Sleep" wins Cannes Palme d'Or. Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher) is Best Director.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Winter Sleep" wins Cannes Palme d'Or.  Bennett Miller (Foxcatcher) is Best Director.

#Cannes2014 Palme d'Or talk focuses on Leviathan, Winter Sleep, Two Days and Mommy. Check the odds: http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/reviews/cannes2014bet/ …

#Cannes2014 Palme d'Or talk focuses on Leviathan, Winter Sleep, Two Days and Mommy. Check the odds: http://www.jigsawlounge.co.uk/film/reviews/cannes2014bet/ …

Cannes Down the Homestretch/Acquisition News from France/Early Oscar Talk: Foxcatcher

Good Thursday to Everyone...

CANNES DOWN THE HOMESTRETCH

As I type this morning the Cannes Film Festival is leaning toward its finish line.  About the time I publish this morning, the first non-press screening of Xavier Dolan's "Mommy" should just about be finished screening which just leaves two more films to screen in competition.  Award winners are set to be announced Saturday evening in France which is mid-day Saturday here in the States.

Of key concern to those of us with an eye toward Telluride are three things from the two week "granddaddy of all film fests"...1) The critical reactions, 2) the award winners and 3) the deals made by distributors that might be inclined to push a film for T-ride.

So...the critical reaction thus far...

I have been tracking four different Cannes critic trackers these last ten days or so.  Here's where they are in terms of the "top five" films in the Palme d'Or competition category.


Cannes Critics Ratings top five thus far:

1) "Goodbye to Language"/Godard (8.67)
2) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardenne Brothers (7.75)
3) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (7.61)
4) "Mommy"/Dolan (7.10)
5) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (6.93)

That complete chart is here:

http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2014

Ioncinema's Critics Panel has (which hasn't registered enough response yet for either "Mommy" or "Goodbye to Language):
1) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardenne Brothers (4.0)
2) (tie) "Mr. Turner"/Leigh (3.5)
2) (tie) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (3.5)
4) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (3.3)
5) "Foxcatcher"/Miller (3.2)

The complete chart from Ioncinema is here:

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2014-cannes-critics-panel-day-6-dardennes-receive-a-bonus-with-two-days-one-night-still-the-water-floats

Total Critics from South America has it looking like this:

1) "Goodbye to Language"/Godard (9.25)
2) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (7.71)
3) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardennes Brothers (7.35)
4) "The Wonders"/Rohrbacher (6.79)
5) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (6.68)

Check the full roundup here:

http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes


Finally, Critics Round Up has it this way:

1) Two Days, One Night"/Dardennes Brothers (94)
2) "Wild Tales"/Szifron (93)
3) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (84)
4) "The Wonders"/Rohrbacher (83)
5) "Mr. Turner"/Leigh (81)

Their complete look at Cannes is here;

http://criticsroundup.com/cannes-2014/


I have also collected all of these ratings for the 13 films (of the 18 in competition) to arrive at a consensus chart.

1) "Two Days, One Night"
2) "Winter Sleep"
3) "Timbuktu"
4) ""Mr. Turner"
5) "The Wonders"
6) "Foxcatcher"
7) "Wild Tales"
8) "Maps to the Stars"
9) "Saint Laurent"
10) "The Homesman"
11) "Still the Waters"
12) "Captives"
13) "The Search"

Note:  Late news this morning is that Dolan's "Mommy" is getting good reviews across the board and Jean Luc Godard's "Goodbye to Language" is getting great reviews.


Meanwhile, the three highest praised films from the festival's Un Certain Regard section have been Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room", Lisandro Alonso's "Jauja" and Jessica Hausner's "Amour Fou".


ACQUISITION NEWS FROM FRANCE

In a move that signals that we might want to to put Ken Loach's "Jimmy's Hall" on our Telluride radar, Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the U.S. distribution for that film.  "Jimmy's Hall" screened at Cannes in the Palme competition section this morning.  Here are reports about the SPC acquisition from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-ken-loachs-jimmys-hall-705840

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/cannes-sony-classics-acquires-ken-loachs-jimmys-hall-1201187214/

"Jimmy's Hall" trailer via YouTube/Coming Soon

SPC has also acquired the Yves St. Laurent biopic "Saint Laurent" during the festival and "Wild Tales".

EARLY OSCAR TALK...FOXCATCHER

Steve Carell in "Foxcatcher" via The Hollywood Reporter

IndieWire/CriticWire have echoed the claim that we've already seen in a lot of laces which is that Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" is likely the most Oscar-y film from the Cannes films.  Take a look at their compendium of critical response from Cannes:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/foxcatcher-steve-carell-channing-tatum-bennett-miller-cannes-review

I'll have Cannes updates through the next few days via this space and Twitter (@Gort2), otherwise...More on Monday...

Cannes at Half Time/Cannes and the Critics/Foxcatcher Clip/Cannes Acquisitions/Outside Llewyn Davis

Welcome to Monday...

CANNES AT HALF TIME

As I post this morning, the 67th Cannes Film Festival has reached the halfway point as measured by the number of films in the Palme d'Or competition section have screened.  Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" rolled out in France this morning...which for us here in the States means about six-ish hours ago.  As I type, David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars" should just about be finished with its first screening.  The two films will have been the ninth and tenth of the 18 competition films to play.  I'm very interested to see the critical reaction for both of them as the day progresses.  Both films have some possibility of playing in Telluride this Labor Day.

The films that I will be closely tracking in the second half of the Palme eligible films are:

Michel Hazanvicius' "The Search", The Dardennes Brothers' "Two Days, One Night", Jean Luc Godard's "Goodbye to Language" and Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria"

Looking back on the first half of the fest, here's what has jumped out at me.

Lots of people early on have speculated that Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Winter Sleep" might be the picture to beat for the Palme and it seems to have a substantial critical reception as well (this for a three+ hour, dialogue driven film...).  Also faring well in the early going critic-wise: Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" and "Timbuktu".  Pilloried by the critics: Opening Night (non-competition film) "Grace of Monaco" and Atom Egoyan's "Captives"

In the Un Certain Regard section, films that seem to have done well: Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room" and Lisandro Alonso's "Jauja" starring Viggo Mortensen.


CANNES AND THE CRITICS

And speaking of critical reaction, here are the cumulative critical responses so far as collected by Ioncinema, Critic's Roundup,  todaslascriticas.com.ar. and http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2014:

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2014-cannes-critics-panel-day-4-homesman-is-strong-marriage-material-rohrwacher-farms-a-solid-sophomore-pic-with-the-wonders

http://criticsroundup.com/cannes-2014/

http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes

http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2014



FOXCATCHER CLIP

Concurrent with its premiere in Cannes as a part of the Palme d'Or competition slate, Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" has a new clip.  I have to tell you that every time I see a little something more on this film I get increasingly excited.  Sony Pictures Classics is distributing, so I'm cautiously optimistic about its chances of making the Telluride program.  Here's the new clip...(Carell for the win!)

 Late note:  This morning as I prepare to publish, the first reviews for "Foxcatcher"  are coming out of Cannes and they're generally very good.  I have linked Variety, HitFix and Indiewire reviews here:

http://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-foxcatcher-1201185646/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/review-tatum-ruffalo-and-carell-excel-in-evocative-unsettling-foxcatcher

http://www.indiewire.com/article/cannes-review-channing-tatum-anchors-bennett-millers-icy-foxcatcher-but-the-revelation-is-steve-carrell

CANNES ACQUISITIONS OF NOTE

Sundance Selects has picked up Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room" for U.S. distribution and Sony Pictures Classics has grabbed "Wild Tales" from director Damain Szifron.  Those actions increase the chances for both films as potential players at Telluride this year.

SPC was represented last year at Telluride with: "Tim's Vermeer", "The Invisible Woman", "The Lunchbox", "Jodorowsky's Dune" and "The Past".

Sundance Selects/IFC had "Blue is the Warmest Color" in the TFF #40 lineup.


http://www.indiewire.com/article/cannes-sony-pictures-classics-acquires-palme-dor-contender-wild-tales

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/the-blue-room-mathieu-amalric-cannes-sundance-selects


OUTSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS

"You can't stop what's coming"...that's a line from the Coen Brothers 2007 Oscar winner "No Country for Old Men" but it pertains to the latest Coen Brothers news out this week that I and others have mentioned in the past.  Also pertaining, the title of this segment...they're really going to go away from "Inside Llewyn Davis".

Word this week was that the Coens' next project will be "Hail Caesar".  The film will probably star George Clooney and is described as the third film in their collaboration called "The Numbskull Trilogy".  "O Brother, Where Art Thou? " and "Intolerable Cruelty" representing the first 2/3rds of said trilogy.  Various reports this week indicated that the film will feature Clooney as a 1950's era Hollywood "fixer".  No word from any source that I could find about when shooting might commence...but I'm hoping for a late 2015 release date.

Here are links to some of the stories that came out this week about the project:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/coen-brothers-set-hail-caesar-next-george-clooney-likely-star/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-coen-brothers-inside-llewyn-davis-follow-up-will-be-hail-caesar

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-coen-brothers-next-film-will-be-hail-caesar-new-plot-details-revealed-20140516

More on Thursday!

Howell Brings It Home/Trailers, Clips and Photos for the Cannes Films/major Outlets and Their Pre-Cannes Final Thoughts/Odds and Ends

You're in Thursday...look around...yup, it's Thursday...


HOWELL BRINGS IT HOME

Jake Howell writing for Movie City News has concluded his project of counting down the Palme competition films for the 67th Cannes Film Fest which opened yesterday with Nicole Kidman in "Grace of Monaco".

Here are the links to the last set of those capsules at MCN:

"Clouds of Sils Maria" dir; Olivier Assayas

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-olivier-assayas/

"The Wonders" dir: Alice Rohrwacher

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-alice-rohrwacher/

"Wild Tales" dir: Damian Szifron

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-damian-szifron/

"Mr. Turner" dir: Mike Leigh

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-mike-leigh/


Things get serious today with screenings of the first of the films in competition.  Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner" (which is definitely on the MTFB T-ride "watch list") and Abderrahmane Sissako's "Timbuktu" are the first two out of the gate in the Main category.  The Un Certain Regard section also launches today with "Party Girl" and "The Lovely Girl".

TRAILERS, CLIPS AND PHOTOS FROM CANNES FILMS

I've linked a bunch of new material or re-worked material for several Cannes films from The Playlist.  Beginning with a link to their story featuring a new clip from Tommy Lee Jones Palme d'Or challenging sophomore directorial effort "The Homesman"  Looks good.  Check the story and the clip here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-tommy-lee-jones-hilary-swank-square-off-in-first-clip-from-cannes-drama-the-homesman-20140512

The Playlist also provided a link to a trailer from Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home" with English subtitles.  It looks intriguing.  Check it here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-zhang-yimous-cannes-film-festival-drama-coming-home-starring-gong-li-20140506

Next a link to a clip from "Two Days, One Night" from the Dardennes.  It's in french...but it does feature Marion Cotillard.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-clip-from-dardennes-cannes-drama-two-days-one-night-starring-marion-cotillard-20140512

And finally, a series of new photos from Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-pics-from-olivier-assayas-cannes-competition-pic-clouds-of-sils-maria-starring-kristen-stewart-juliette-binoche-20140512


MAJOR OUTLETS AND THEIR PRE-CANNES FINAL THOUGHTS

Hilary Swank in Tommy Lee Jones' "The Homesman"

Variety polled their three film critics and asked them what films they were looking forward to the most for the next two weeks in France.  Their responses and that article are here (surprise, no one film landed on everyone's list):

http://variety.com/2014/legit/news/cannes-variety-critics-on-films-they-cant-miss-1201178519/

HitFix, which has at least a couple of people on the ground in Cannes, has 11 Questions to be answered over the next fortnight:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/11-big-questions-we-want-answered-at-this-years-cannes-film-festival

 And IndieWire posted 10 films that they think have the best shot to surprise or shock the film world as they screen on the Croisette:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-10-films-that-might-surprise-or-shock-us-at-the-2014-cannes-film-festival

Meanwhile, this reminder from MTFB...the crossover between Cannes and Telluride is significant.  You can expect (if history is any guide) 7-10 films from Cannes to play T-ride on Labor Day weekend.  While that's a small portion of the entirety of the Cannes lineup; it does result in as much as 20-25% of Telluride's lineup.


ODDS AND ENDS

Variety's Scott Foundas has a big piece up about Oscar winner Marion Cotillard as her "Two Days , One Night" is about to land in the south of France and her collaboration with James Gray, "The Immigrant" is set to open in limited release here in the U.S. tomorrow.  Take a gander here:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/marion-cotillard-two-days-one-night-1201178636/


And this about one of the more intriguing film stories, at least to me, of the past year or so.  Multiple sources have reported that Open Road has nabbed distribution for Jon Stewart's (of The Daily Show) directorial debut, "Rosewater'.  I have passingly mentioned it once or twice in this space as an outside Telluride prospect and now with the securing of distribution and a promised fall release date that possibility seems at least marginally more real.  The Dissolve actually mentions the Telluride possibility in its post regarding the Open Road acquisition:

http://thedissolve.com/news/2216-jon-stewarts-rosewater-picked-up-by-open-road-for-/

Here's the rub...Open Road hasn't any history with Telluride...

More on Monday...including some of the first reactions from early films at Cannes.

The Cannes Countdown Speeds Up/Trailering "The Wonders"/"Madding Crowd" Moves Out of the Crowd

Welcome to Monday...and a belated Happy Mother's Day!

THE CANNES COUNTDOWN SPEEDS UP

"Two Days,One Night" Marion Cotillard directed by The Brothers Dardennes

I'm continuing to link to Jake Howell's capsules of each of the Cannes Palme d'Or competition films in today's post for Movie City News.  Howell and MCN have added several since my last post on Thursday including a couple of films that have some serious Telluride potential (thinking the Dardennes brothers and Hazanavicius).  Here are the links:

"Timbuktu" dir: Abderrahmane Sissako

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-abderrahmane-sissako/

"Levathan" dir: Andrey Zvyagintsev

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-andrey-zvyagintsev/

"Two Days, One Night" dir: Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-jean-pierre-and-luc-dardenne/

"Saint Laurent" dir: Betrand Bonello

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-bertrand-bonello/

"Goodbye to Language" dir: Jean Luc Godard

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-jean-luc-godard/


"The Search" dir: Michel Hazanavicius

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-michel-hazanavicius/

"Jimmy's Hall" dir; Ken Loach

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-ken-loach/


TRAILERING "THE WONDERS' OR "THE MARVELS"

Photo via The Playlist

Depending on which translation you read the title of Alice Rohrwacher's competition film at Cannes is either "Wonders" or "Marvels".  Either way, The Playlist posted a trailer for the film this week and I am passing it on to you here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-cannes-competition-drama-the-wonders-starring-monica-bellucci-20140506


"MADDING CROWD" MOVES OUT OF THE CROWD

Photo via Thompson on Hollywood

Fox Searchlight announced this past week that Thomas Vintenberg's "Far From the Madding Crowd" has been dated for limited release on May 1, 2015.  That pretty much nukes the notion that it will be a Telluride choice.  After the splash Vintenberg's "The Hunt" had made in Telluride in 2012 I thought there was a good chance that we'd see this film.  The fact that it's in the hands of Fox Searchlight prodded me to think of it as a possibility as well.  Finally, there had been a lot of speculation that it would be a Cannes selection led me to think that we could see it at the end of August but the release date tends to make me believe that it's off the tale.

Here's the story from Thompson on Hollywood:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/far-from-the-madding-crowd-to-open-from-fox-searchlight-next-may-video


More on Thursday...

Cannes Countdown Continues/Trailers; "Winter Sleep" and "Coming Home"/Playlist First Look at "The Search"

Welcome to Thursday...


COUNTDOWN TO CANNES CONTINUES

The 67th Cannes Film Festival is now less than a week away and the anticipation is building.  As I have for the past couple of years, I'll be following the critical reaction to the films that play which particular focus on the films in the Palme d'Or competition as well as the Un Certain Regard Program and the Director's Fortnight category from which most Cannes/Telluride crossover films emerge.

As we get closer I am continuing to link to the summaries of Palme competitors by Jake Howell and being featured in Movie City News.  Howell has added three more films since my last post: David Cronenberg's "Maps to the Stars", Nuri Bilge Ceylan's "Winter Sleep" and Naomi Kawase's "Still the Water".  Check the capsules at MCN here:

Cronenberg:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-david-cronenberg/

Ceylan:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-nuri-bilge-ceylan/

Kawase:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-naomi-kawase/


TRAILERS; "WINTER SLEEP" AND "COMING HOME"

Photo via The Playlist

Foreign language trailers have emerged for two of the Cannes Palme competitors.  "Winter Sleep" and a second trailer for Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home".  You can  find the "Winter Sleep" trailer and story here from Thompson on Hollywood:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/winter-sleep-trailer-nuri-bilge-ceylan


and the new trailer for "Coming Home" with a story from The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-zhang-yimous-cannes-film-festival-drama-coming-home-starring-gong-li-20140506


PLAYLIST FIRST LOOK AT "THE SEARCH"

Photo via The Playlist

The Playlist also posted a series of first images from Michel Hazanavicius' Palme player "The Search".  Those images and that story are here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-the-artist-director-michel-hazanavicius-cannes-contender-the-search-starring-berenice-bejo-20140418

More on Monday...

Two Films I Want/Counting Down to Cannes (cont.)/Another Note on "Act of Killing"

Welcome to Monday...and May!  Telluride Film Festival is now less than four months away!

TWO FILMS I WANT

The purpose of this blog has always been (mostly) about trying to provide insight about what films might make the cut and appear at the Telluride Film Festival despite the challenge that the organizers keep the lineup secret until the day before the festival starts.  Purpose #2 has been to track those films that do get picked every year through the film awards season since Telluride has become, whether they want to be or not, a pretty big part of the film awards launchpad.

In service of the first purpose, I work fairly diligently at trying to uncover the best available evidence of any particular film making it to The SHOW.  However, there are also films that I unashamedly WANT to make the list.  Sometimes wishes come true..last year's appearance of "12 Years a Slave" and "Inside Llewyn Davis" were examples of films that I really, really hoped would be in T-ride.  At the outset of this process last spring, I though "12 Years" was a pretty fair bet but the chances of "Llewyn" being there seemed pretty small.  Glad they both made it.

All that to get to this:  I've got a couple of films (well, probably more) that I'm already putting on the "hope" list.  Both have some characteristics that make me think that they could make the trip to the San Juans but neither are a lead-pipe cinch to be there.  I mention these two specifically because I ran across stories about them both this week.  They are:

J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain...Jessica Chastain on Colorado Ave?  Yes please!  The film popped up on my radar again this weekend as new photos emerged from Entertainment Weekly and then were subsequently posted by The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/jessica-chastain-oscar-isaac-face-a-most-violent-year-in-new-pics-from-jc-chandors-oscar-contender-20140501

Here's why I think it could make the T-ride lineup...Chandor (who's "All is Lost" played last year) and A24 is distributing.  A24 was involved recently with "Enemy", "Under the Skin" and "Ginger & Rosa"...which all played Telluride.  Also...Oscar Isaac is a cool dude.

Also on my "wish list": Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game".  The film follows the story of Brit Alan Turing who  was instrumental in breaking the Nazi's Enigma Code in WWII and. without hyperbole, ended the war sooner rather than later. Turing, who was gay, was hectored mercilessly for that by the very government he helped save.  

I'm really high on the concept.  It's a story that has fascinated me since reading Hugh Whitemore's play "Breaking the Code" in the 1980's.  Additionally, like most of the rest of the world, I've decided that Benedict Cumberbatch...who plays Turing in the film, is possibly a great actor. The Weinstein Company is distributing and they have played Telluride with some frequency.  Some years more successfully than others.

There was a good deal of reportage last year that TWC was originally going to sneak "Philomena" at TFF and changed plans at the last minute.  "Salinger" was the replacement.  I'd like to think that TWC will bring this to Telluride as they have realized the boost a successful run at T-ride can give and has given awards-seeking films in the last decade including TWC's own "The Artist" and "The King's Speech".

I was reminded this week of "The Imitation Game" as it has an announced release date...Nov. 21.  Check the story, also from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tim-burtons-big-eyes-set-for-xmas-day-eleanor-rigby-imitation-game-land-fall-release-dates-20140502

So...Telluride honcho's who read this space...I nominate "A Most Violent Year" and "The Imitation Game" for inclusion in the 41st edition of TFF.

That's today's "wish list".  There will be more.

COUNTING DOWN TO CANNES

(Photo from MCN)

Jake Howell and Movie City News continue their series of highlighting Cannes Palme d"Or contending films with a look at Xavier Dolan's "Mommy".  Find that here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/05/countdown-to-cannes-xavier-dolan/

ANOTHER NOTE ON "THE ACT OF KILLING"

I reported in my last post my belief that Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Look of Silence"...a documentary sequel to his "The Act of Killing" is a fairly safe bet to play TFF 2014.  Underscoring the fact that it's back in the film news a bit was IMDb's tweet that "Act of Killing" sits atop a list that has been constructed there of the best docs of the current decade.

Also in the top ten of (based on their critical rating as averaged by IMDb): are past Telluride docs "Tabloid" (4), "Tim's Vermeer" (5) and "Stories We Tell (8).  Herzog's "Into the Abyss" is #11.

The complete list is here;

http://www.imdb.com/list/ls059501793?ref_=ttpl_rls_4

More on Thursday...

More Films for Cannes/The Act of Killing Part 2?/More from the "Scottish" Movie

MORE FILMS FOR CANNES

Cannes Film Fest programmers have added six more films to the various sections including one in the Une Certain Regard section that is generally considered as the second tier below the Palme d"or competition category.

After looking at the new films added I can tell you that none of them immediately jump out as likely Telluride contenders.  That said, there is some buzz that one more film might be added to the main competition slate. The story is covered in these posts from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-adds-six-films-official-700109


http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-festival-adds-six-features-to-the-official-selection-1201167463/

THE ACT OF KILLING PART 2?

"The Act of Killing", Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary about genocide in Indonesia, made quite a splash at Telluride in 2012.  As we have reported in this space before, Oppenheimer has been working on a sequel to "Act" that switches the focus from the perpetrators to the victims.  The film is called "The Look of Silence".  Screen Daily reported  this week that the new documentary is nearing completion and that it is expected to be ready for the fall film fest season.  The Dissolve goes a  step further and mentions Telluride by name and suggests that the desire is fro the sequel to follow the same path that "Act" did.

I expect that will happen.  As the sequel purports to be the other "half of the coin"of this same story and has Werner Herzog and Errol Morris  as executive producers, chances are it's on Telluride's list on Labor Day weekend.

http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/oppenheimers-killing-follow-up-readied-for-autumn-fests/5071115.article?referrer=RSS

http://thedissolve.com/news/2110-joshua-oppenheimers-the-act-of-killing-sequel-is-a/


MORE FROM THE "SCOTTISH" MOVIE

Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender in "MacBeth" (photo from The Playlist/EmpireOnline.com)

Another new photo has emerged from the filming of Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" of stars Marion Cotillard (Lady MacBeth) and Michael Fassbender (MacBeth).  It's no secret that I am fascinated by this project.  It's listed by IMDb as a 2015 release but also listed as being in post-production.  It's distributor is The Weinstein Company and the production firm all has had reasonably good ties to past Telluride films (See Saw; "Tracks", "Shame", "The King's Speech").  If I were betting, right now I'd bet this doesn't make the trip to T-ride but I'd like it to.

Here's the story that goes with the photo:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michael-fassbender-marion-cotillard-bring-shakespeare-to-life-with-new-image-from-macbeth-20140428


That's all for now, folks...more on Monday.  Have a great weekend!