TEN BETS #6
The dual Toronto and Venice announcements have fundamentally altered the newest edition of "Ten Bets"...my best guess at ten films that I think will make the program for the 42nd edition of the Telluride Film Festival.
Take a look at last week's "Bets"
10) "Black Mass"
9) "Suffragette"
8) "He Named Me Malala"
7) "The Club"
6) "45 Years"
5) "Carol"
4) "Truth"
3) "I Saw the Light"
2) "Son of Saul"
1) "Dheepan"
My #1 "Bet" (Dheepan) is off the table as is "The Club" at #7. Meanwhile, it seems prudent that I dropped "Youth" just a shade out of the "Ten Bets". It also seems advisable that we add the films that we think are headed to T-ride based on the information gleaned at the TIFF and Venice announcements on Tuesday and Wednesday:
"Beasts of No Nation"
"Room"
"Anomalisa"
I already had "Son of Saul" and "Black Mass" on the list last week prior to the announcements. So here's the new version of "Ten Bets":
10 ) "Truth"
9) "I Saw the Light"
8) "Suffragette"
7) "He Named Me Malala"
6) "Carol"
5) "Anomalisa"
4) "Room"
3) "Beasts of No Nation"
2) "Black Mass"
1) "Son of Saul"
at #11 "Steve Jobs".
As to "Spotlight"...the rest of the world seems to think it's coming to Telluride...I remain dubious.
TRAILERS:
The last week has seen an avalanche of trailers of films that were named by Toronto, Venice or seem to have aspirations to be announced for fests in the near future. I pass along three here. All of which seem set for Telluride.
BLACK MASS
Thursday a new trailer for the Scott Cooper film starring Johnny Depp was made available online. Here it is via YouTube:
And coverage of the release here:
ROOM
After Tuesday's TIFF announcement a slew of stories, pics and this trailer appeared for Lenny Abrahamson's "Room" starring Brie Larson. The film appears to be headed to the San Juans for Labor Day. Here's the "Room" trailer via YouTube:
There's a poster as well:
And, as above, here are a number of stories that came withe the release of the trailer and poster:
BEASTS OF NO NATION
Trailer here:
"Beasts of No Nation" trailer via YouTube
And here are the requisite posts:
And here's an additional new trailer from a film that isn't on anyone's fest list yet: "The 33" based on the true life incident of 33 Chilean miners trapped deep under the earth and the efforts to free them. Antonio Banderas stars:
"The 33" Trailer via YouTube
Stories for "The 33" are included here from The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, The Playlist and Rope of Silicon:
POLAND RESETS THE FIELD
David Poland at Movie City News has absorbed all of the news from this week and has re-set his view of the Oscar positioning of films thus far with an interesting list of films and where they're set to premiere. Oddly, he has "Steve Jobs" listed as a premiere for New York. I haven't seen/heard that anywhere. Hope he's incorrect.
Poland also, like many others this week, thinks "Spotlight" will be at Telluride.
Here's the story:
And that's all for Friday and for a very exciting week. Have a great weekend and look for more on Monday...
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2 comments:
Michael: With all the buzz heating up, it always seems that TFF is the last to be chosen and the least favored among all the international festivals. As repeat attendees, we view Telluride as a unique venue for films to be critiqued and for audiences to provide feedback. What is the current buzz about TFF among film producers and especially what do they want out of their showings? What's your opinion?
Betsy,
Thanks for the comment/question. Let me start with saying, I am certainly no expert here and, of course, in no way can I actually speak for the festival.
That said... I'm not really sure that TFF is actually "least favored" but I'm also not exactly sure what you mean so I may not be answering the question you're asking.
The Toronto announcement this week actually tells us, I think, that there are a number of film makers, producers and distributors that regard TFF so highly that they are willing to forgo prime Toronto time and space to play in Telluride.
Sony Pictures Classics seem to have an incredibly positive relationship with the fest and The Weinstein Company had zero films announced for either Toronto or Venice this week which probably is not an accident. I'd wager actual money that the TWC folks will play a film or two at TFF. Warners seems to have decided that taking "Black Mass" to Telluride and giving up prime time/space at Torotno is a good idea.
The other reason that TFF seems to be short-shrifted at times, I think, is actually because of their policy of not announcing their lineup. Film writers/bloggers can't cover what they don't know and most don't know the lineup or are sworn to secrecy if they do.
I absolutely think you're right when you mention that the feedback is important which goes, in part, to your question about what producers want. For many it is about getting that all important pre-Toronto buzz for awards purposes. Sometimes, it seems to me, that a film is programmed at TFF to be evaluated by its very discerning attendees much like test screenings. For some films, the backers are just looking for a spark that will give it some life past the festival experience.
Of course, I'm guessing about most of this so take it with a massive grain of salt and I hope this, in some way, answers what you're asking.
MP
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