Toronto Announces Canadian Based Titles / New York Will Close with The Lost City of Z / First Look at Allied

Good Thursday Everyone...

In the last 24 hours we've learned more about what won't be at Telluride...


TORONTO ANNOUNCES CANADIAN BASED TITLES

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of films for a variety of parts of their program yesterday.  As they have done traditionally, this second wave focused on Canadian films that would be playing across the spectrum of TIFF's sections.  From those announcements we can conclude that Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World will NOT play Telluride as TIFF lists it as a North American premiere.

I had thought its chances diminished in the wake of withering critical response at Cannes BUT the film did win the Grand Prize from the Jury as well as the Ecumenical Jury prize which stunned me and others but was enough for me to keep it mind for TFF #43.  Another factor that kept me from completely dismissing its Telluride chances were the fact that Dolan, despite his Canadian pedigree played Telluride two years ago to wide acclaim with his Mommy.

Seems like we have our answer now.

One other film was announced as a Canadian Premiere which is often an indication that a T-ride berth is in the works.  The film is Jean of the Joneses.  Some digging reveals that the film has previously played at South by Southwest, as well as the L.A. and Nantucket Film Fests...so the Canadian designation almost certainly is reflective of that rather than an indication that it might play in the San Juans.

Here's coverage from yesterday's Toronto additions:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/toronto-film-festival-unveils-canadian-916812

http://www.thewrap.com/toronto-film-festival-adds-canadian-dramas-about-rape-politics-journalism/

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/tiff-2016-its-only-the-end-of-the-world-mean-dreams-rising-stars-1201712678/


NEW YORK WILL CLOSE WITH THE LOST CITY OF Z

Along the same lines as the first story in today's blog, the announcement yesterday from the New York Film Festival that its closing night film will be the world premiere of James Gray's The Lost City of Z takes it off the Telluride table.


I have been convinced for the last four years that Gray would be headed to Telluride with a film as he was part of the presentation in 2012 of the tribute to Marion Cotillard.  Despite his appearance as an interviewer at T-ride recently (in 2014 for Apocalypse Now), he just hasn't made the trip.

Admittedly, I thought Z was a long shot to make the playbill this year but I also haven't thought that it was impossible.  Now, if the NYFF premiere status is to be believed, Z is lost to Telluride.

Coverage here:

http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2016/daily/james-gray-the-lost-city-of-z-nyff-closing-night/

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/the-lost-city-of-z-new-york-film-festival-2016-1201829118/

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/08/03/new-york-film-festival-2016-closing-film-lost-city-z

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/new-york-film-festival-james-gray-the-lost-city-of-z-nyff-1201712674/


FIRST LOOK AT ROBERT ZEMECKIS' ALLIED

We got our first still from Robert Zemeckis' Allied starring Brad Pitt and the above-mentioned Marion Cotillard yesterday via the breaking exclusive from People:

You have to admit, they look pretty.  Allied's T-ride profile is all but non-existent save for the fact that both Pitt and Cotillard have been at the fest (Cotillard, as mentioned above in 2012, Pitt with 12 Years a Slave in 2013) and that Paramount, which is a rare player at Telluride most years, seems to be already planning to be there with Denis Villenueve's Arrival.  Allied has an announced release date of Nov. 23.

So...not likely...but not impossible.  We'll see if the film pops up in any further announcements for Toronto, New York and/or London.

http://www.people.com/article/first-look-brad-pitt-marion-cotillard-in-allied

https://thefilmstage.com/news/first-look-at-robert-zemeckis-allied-starring-marion-cotillard-and-brad-pitt/

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/allied-first-look-brad-pitt-marion-cotillard-robert-zemeckis-wwii-thriller-1201712758/

http://theplaylist.net/first-look-brad-pitt-marion-cotillard-allied-20160803/


That's it for Thursday...more tomorrow...

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