THE INVENTORY FROM TFF #44
I recently completed my annual canvas of minutiae from this year's Telluride Film Festival and thought I'd share some of the tidbits of the information from that.
Starting with the distributors. Long time Telluride attendees and/or readers of this space know that Sony Pictures Classics is almost always well represented at the festival. I've been going to Telluride since 2006 and in that time SPC has averaged nearly five films per fest. SPC held true to that form this year with five films: A Fantastic Woman, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Foxtrot, Loveless and The Rider.
Five other distributors screened multiple films over Labor Day weekend:
A24: First Reformed, Lady Bird and Lean on Pete
Fox Searchlight: Battle of the Sexes and The Shape of Water
Cohen Media Group: Faces Places and The Insult
Netflix: First They Killed My Father and Wormwood
Amazon Studios: Wonderstruck and Human Flow
Nine other distributors had films on the TFF #44 schedule including Focus Features (Darkest Hour), Paramount (Downsizing), HBO Films (Arthur Miller:Writer) and PBS (The Vietnam War).
Unusually, there were no films from Sundnace Selects/IFC Films, Open Road, Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions or Warner Brothers which have all been common players in recent years at Telluride. And, also, no films from the currently beleaguered Weinstein Company.
As of this post, seven TFF #44 films did not yet have distribution in the U.S.:
Eating Animals
Hostages
Land of the Free
Love, Cecil
A Man of Integrity
Tesnota
The Venerable W
Film Festival crossovers...films that were shared by TFF and some other major fests:
Berlin: A Fantastic Woman, Hostages and The Other Side of Hope
Cannes: Faces Places, Film Worker, Loveless, A Man of Integrity, The Rider, Tesnota, The Venerable W., Wonderstruck
Venice: Downsizing, First Reformed, Foxtrot, Human Flow, The Insult, Lean on Pete, The Shape of Water and Wormwood
Toronto: Battle of the Sexes, Darkest Hour, Downsizing, Faces Places, A Fantastic Woman, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, First Reformed, First They Killed My Father, Foxtrot, Hostiles, Human Flow, The Insult, Lady Bird, Lean on Pete, Loveless, The Other Side of Hope, The Rider and The Shape of Water
New York: Arthur Miller: Writer, Faces Places,Film Worker, First Reformed, Lady Bird, The Other Side of Hope, The Rider. The Venerable W. and Wonderstruck
London: Battle of the Sexes. Downsizing, Faces Places, A Fantastic Woman, Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool, Film Worker, Foxtrot, Lady Bird, Lean on Pete, Loveless, Loving Vincent, The Rider, The Shape of Water, The Venerable W. and Wonderstruck
FAC OSCAR UPDATE: BEST PICTURE AND DIRECTION
Our last Film Awards Clearinghouse look at the Best Picture and Best Direction categories came on Oct. 12th. With the conclusion of the New York Film Festival and the announcement of the Independent Film Projects Gotham Award nominees, I thought I'd update the Best Picture and Best Direction categories.
TFF #44 films are Bold.
BEST PICTURE
This was the list on Oct. 12th:
1) Dunkirk
2) The Shape of Water
3) Darkest Hour
4) Three Billboards
5) The Post
6) Call Me By Your Name
7) Get Out
8) The Florida Project
Others: Blade Runner 2049, Mudbound, Lady Bird
The updated list as of today:
1) Dunkirk
2) The Shape of Water
3) Darkest Hour
4) Three Billboards
5) Call Me By Your Name
6) The Post
7) Get Out
8) The Florida Project
Others: Lady Bird, Mudbound, I Tonya
Notes: Call Me By Your Name and The Post trade spots and Lady Bird and I Tonya show some momentum. Also, I suspect that Paul Thomas Anderson's Phantom Thread may start to make an appearance after seeing its trailer last week.
BEST DIRECTION
From Oct. 12th:
1) Christopher Nolan/Dunkirk
2) Guillermo Del Toro/The Shape of Water
3) Steven Spielberg/The Post
4) Joe Wright/Darkest Hour
5) Martin McDonagh/Three Billboards
Other Possibilities: Sean Baker/Florida Project, Luca Guadagnino/Call Me By Your Name, Dee Rees/Mudbound
Updated list:
1) Christopher Nolan/Dunkirk
2) Guillermo Del Toro/The Shape of Water
3) Joe Wright/Darkest Hour
4) Martin McDonagh/Three Billboards
5) Steven Spielberg/The Post
Other Possibilities: Luca Guadagnino/Call Me By Your Name, Jordan Peele/Get Out, Dee Rees/Mudbound
Notes: Wright and Mc Donagh benefit from some slippage by Spielberg. Sean Baker loses some steam as Jordan Peele pops into the "Other Possibilities" list.
ELIGIBLE DOCUMENTARIES ANNOUNCED
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have released a list of 170 feature documentaries eligible for Oscar consideration for this year. From that list I find at least nine that played either TFF #43 or TFF #44. They are:
From TFF #44:
Arthur Miller: Writer
Faces Places
Human Flow
An Inconvenient Sequel
From TFF #43:
The B Side
California Typewriter
Chasing Trane
Finding Oscar
I Called Him Morgan
The complete list of all 170 films is here from Variety.
RELEASING NEWS
I discovered a couple of notes concerning release dates fro films that played the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival.
Scott Cooper's Hostiles (recently acquired by Entertainment Studios) has been dated for initial domestic release for Dec. 22nd. This, as expected puts it into play for Oscar consideration. Their has been a good deal of speculation that Christian Bale, who leads the western drama, might be a serious contender in the Best Actor category.
Additionally, Indiewire reported at the end of last week that Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water will have a bi-coastal opening. Rather than open in New York and Los Angeles on the same date, the film will open in NYC first on Dec. 1st and then in Los Angeles one week later essentially creating two red carpet opportunities.
Here is that story from Indiewire.
And that's your Monday MTFB. I'll have more on Thursday.
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)
FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page
COMMENT TO THE BLOG
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have released a list of 170 feature documentaries eligible for Oscar consideration for this year. From that list I find at least nine that played either TFF #43 or TFF #44. They are:
From TFF #44:
Arthur Miller: Writer
Faces Places
Human Flow
An Inconvenient Sequel
From TFF #43:
The B Side
California Typewriter
Chasing Trane
Finding Oscar
I Called Him Morgan
The complete list of all 170 films is here from Variety.
RELEASING NEWS
I discovered a couple of notes concerning release dates fro films that played the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival.
Scott Cooper's Hostiles (recently acquired by Entertainment Studios) has been dated for initial domestic release for Dec. 22nd. This, as expected puts it into play for Oscar consideration. Their has been a good deal of speculation that Christian Bale, who leads the western drama, might be a serious contender in the Best Actor category.
Additionally, Indiewire reported at the end of last week that Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water will have a bi-coastal opening. Rather than open in New York and Los Angeles on the same date, the film will open in NYC first on Dec. 1st and then in Los Angeles one week later essentially creating two red carpet opportunities.
Here is that story from Indiewire.
And that's your Monday MTFB. I'll have more on Thursday.
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)
FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page
COMMENT TO THE BLOG
