Monday, November 14, 2016

AFI Fest in Full Swing-Features TFF #43 Films / Werner Herzog and His Volcanoes / Oscar Pundits Update

Welcome to Monday...

AFI IS IN FULL SWING AND FEATURES FILMS FROM TFF#43



The American Film Institutes's Film Festival began late last week and will continue through the 17th. The fest is the last festival to feature premieres of films that could find their way into the Oscar conversation before we start to hear from critic's groups.  Films such as Miss Sloane and Rules Don't Apply that have gotten a good deal of awards speculation will screen or have screened at AFI.

The National Board of Review announces their list of films in just over two weeks (Nov. 29) with the New York Critics announcing on Dec. 1 and LA critics on Dec. 4.  AFI will announce their top films on Dec. 8. Golden Globe nominations are announced on Dec. 12 and Screen Actors Guild nominations are announced Dec. 14.  The British Academy announces nominees on Jan. 10.

Other key guilds announce as follows:

Writer's Guild: Jan. 4
Directors Guild Jan. 12
Producers Guild: Jan. 10

Oscar voters begin voting for nominees on Jan. 5 and that closes Jan. 13.  Oscar nominees are announced Jan. 24.

Thanks to Sasha Stone's Awards Daily for the comprehensive calendar of awards dates.  You can find that complete list here.



At any rate, Telluride 2016 films are a significant presence at this year's AFI fest:  Included in the AFI schedule from TFF #43 are: La La Land, Bright Lights: Starring Debbie Reynolds, Fire at Sea, Toni Erdmann, Graduation, Neruda, Things to Come and Mifune: The Last Samurai.

Here's the link to the AFI Fest's lineup search function.  Also, coverage of the AFI Fest with 14 films highlighted (including Toni Erdmann) by Indiewire.



WERNER HERZOG AND HIS VOLCANOES



Werner Herzog, not surprisingly premiered his Volcano Around the World documentary, Into the Inferno, at Telluride.  Herzog's doc travels the globe and seeks to place volcanic natural phenomena into the contexts in which various cultures have interacted with them.

Indiewire's Anne Thompson reports here.

Additionally, here's the official trailer for the film:



Into the Inferno opened on Oct. 28 and is available to stream on Netflix.


OSCAR PUNDITS UPDATE

I've got a new FAC update coming for Thursday's post that will update the acting races but until then, here are the latest updated Oscar pics from two of the Oscar experts that are used for The FAC metric. 



Sasha Stone's weekly update on Friday has TFF #43 films La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight and Arrival as the top four films contending for Best Picture.  She also has Sully at #9. Best Actor candidates include: Casey Affleck/Manchester and Tom Hanks/Sully.  Actress: Emma Stone/La La Land, Amy Adams/Arrival.  Supporting Actor: Mahershala Ali/Moonlight and Lucas Hedges/Manchester.  Supporting Actress: Naomie Harris/Moonlight and Michelle Williams/Manchester,  Best Director: Damien Chazelle/La La Land, Kenneth Lonergan/Manchester and Denis Villeneuve/Arrival.  Check the link above for the rest of Stone's updated predictions.




Meanwhile, The Playlist's Awards Campaign's Greg Ellwood also updated his picks:

Best Picture: La La Land, Sully, Manchester and Moonlight are his top four films.
Actor: Affleck/Manchester and Ryan Gosling/La La Land
Actress: Stone/La La Land
Supporting Actor:Ali/Moonlight
Supporting Actress: Harris/Moonlight and Williams/Manchester
Director: Chazelle/La La Land, Lonergan/Manchester and Barry Jenkins/Moonlight.

That's all I can muster for this Monday.  Return for more on Thursday.

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