Spitballing Tributes / ScreenTalk Talks Fests / TIFF Second Wave Tomorrow

Welcome to Tuesday...running late today for a variety of reasons...

SPITBALLING TRIBUTES

2017 TFF Tributee Christian Bale

Although it's a little early, I thought we might take a quick stab today at considering who (or in some years it's been what) might be in line for a tribute at this year's TFF.  As a starting point, let's consider the films from latest Ten Bets-since I'm pretty confident about those titles making The SHOW lineup:

1) Roma
2) First Man
3) The Old Man and the Gun
4) Cold War
5) The Front Runner
6) Dogman
7) Shoplifters
8) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
9) Non Fiction
10) The Favourite

I also feel strongly about these making the lineup as well:

The Other Side of the Wind, White Boy Rick, Peterloo.

This group of 13 films gives us a rich list of potential tribute candidates.

Actors from the above films that could get the tribute treatment:

Ryan Gosling/First Man
Sissy Spacek/The Old Man and the Gun
Hugh Jackman/The Front Runner
Rachel Weisz/The Favourite
Emma Stone/The Favourite
Juliette Binoche/Non Fiction
Guillaume Canet/Non Fiction
Matthew McConaughey/White Boy Rick


Directors that could be feted:

Matteo Garrone/Dogman
Olivier Assasyas/Non Fiction
Alfonso Cuaron/Roma
David Lowery/The Old Man and the Gun
Hirokazu Kore-eda/Shoplifters


What do you think?


SCREENTALK TALKS FESTS

Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn of Indiewire sat down after last week's Toronto and Venice announcements to record their ScreenTalk podcast. 

The discussion was far-ranging and included specific mention of films they are willing to tag as Telluride films: The Favourite, Roma, First Man, White Boy Rick.  They also mention Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Peterloo though not in the context of Telluride.  They also spend some time talking about a theory that some distributors are now wary of Telluride suggesting that the four day weekend puts too much pressure on a film.

Could this explain the (at least so far) absence of any mention of films from Focus Features?  Boy Erased, Mary Queen of Scots and On the Basis if Sex?

Last weekend's ScreenTalk is here.


TORONTO'S SECOND WAVE TOMORROW

The Toronto International Film Festival will announce their second wave of films tomorrow morning.  It will be Canadian-centric, though they do sometimes make some other announcements in this wave, they are few. 

Last year I wasn't able to glean any truly useful Telluride info from their second announcement.  In 2016, I was able to eliminate Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World because of TIFF's second wave so there is a occasionally some knowledge that can be gotten.  Perhaps we'll discover the status of Dolan's new film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.


That's today's MTFB.  More will be forthcoming on Thursday!

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Digging for News Nuggets / Focus Where Art Thou? / Shorts at TFF #45

Good Monday everyone...hope you had a great weekend.

DIGGING FOR NEWS NUGGETS

As last week ended a number of film-centric sites assessed the week's news from both Toronto and Venice's announcements.  Some of the included detective work regarding Telluride.  I took a look at a couple of of those stories to confirm or dispute my conclusions as well as theirs.

Here's what I discovered.

Deadline's Pete Hammond agrees with my reading of the leaves in as far as Telluride as a destination for: 

First Man

Dogman

White Boy Rick

The Front Runner

The Old Man and the Gun

Roma 

Shoplifters

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Hammond is unsure about The Favourite.  I feel fairly strongly that it makes TFF's lineup.

The Hammond story is linked here.

Meanwhile, Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter also took aim at last week's festival reveals.  His analysis says that these films are headed to Telluride that I agree are probable:

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The Old Man and the Gun

The Front Runner

White Boy Rick

Non Fiction

First Man

Roma

Cold War

Dogman

Shoplifters

Feinberg also includes Galveston, which I suspect will not play Telluride as it screened earlier this year at South by Southwest.  Peterloo (form Mike Leigh) which I can't deduce from the TIFF or Venice announcements but still believe will play TFF #45 and the documentary Reversing Roe...which I now nothing about so I will defer to Scott.

The Feinberg piece is linked here.

This Anne Thompson piece for Indiewire suggests The Favourite is likely for Telluride.  Anne also says T-ride is probable to include:

Roma

The Other Side of the Wind

Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The Old Man and the Gun

First Man

The Front Runner

White Boy Rick

In a separate story Thompson suggests Peterloo will be added to Telluride's list.

FOCUS WHERE ART THOU?

Both Indiewire's Anne Thompson (in the second story cited above and The Playlist's Gregory Ellwood (via Twitter) mentioned that Focus Features is M.I.A. thus far from Fall Fest announcements.  Ellwood going so far as to say that he had been told that Focus wasn't going to Toronto, Venice or Telluride.

Ellwood did, however suggest that Focus Film would be playing a prime slot in Toronto during its first four days:

We also know from TIFF's announcement that Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows (from Focus) will play there.

I just find it hard to believe that Mary Queen of Scots, Boy Erased and On the Basis of Sex won't be playing ANY of the triumvirate of early fall fests.  Stay tuned...

SHORTS AT TFF #45

Since the discovery last week that Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk would World Premiere at Toronto, I have wondered if Jenkins would still curate this year's shorts program for TFF #45 and additionally, if he would attend Telluride with TIFF following so closely on the heels of TFF (TIFF opens Sept. 6th).

Over the weekend we got at least part of the answer to those questions from Jenkins himself via his Twitter account:

So we now now that the master has, in fact, programmed the aforementioned shorts program.  Now the only question that remains is if Barry will be in town on Labor Day weekend.

That's your MTFB for this last Monday in July.  More tomorrow!

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Ten Bets #5-After Announcements / Cuaron on Roma / New View for First Man / The Surprising Film that Anne Thompson Says Is Your Oscar Front Runner

Well, we made it to Friday...


TEN BETS #5-AFTER ANNOUNCEMENTS

The first wave of Toronto announcements and the bulk (if not all) of the Venice announcements dropped this week and that additional information helps form today's new Ten Bets.


Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Roma
5) Widows
6) Cold War
7) Beautiful Boy
8) The Old Man and the Gun
9) Boy Erased
10) First Man


Shocking info from the TIFF announcement means that from last week's list Beale Street, Capernaum, Widows and Beautiful Boy are gone from TFF #45 consideration.  With that in mind as well as the indications from TIFF about films that seem to be probable for Telluride; here's this week's Ten Bets:



1) Roma
2) First Man
3) The Old Man and the Gun
4) Cold War
5) The Front Runner
6) Dogman
7) Shoplifters
8) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
9) Non Fiction
10) The Favourite

Others just under these Ten Bets:

The Other Side of the Wind, White Boy Rick, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro,  He Dreams of Giants, Cheney (Backseat), At Eternity's Gate, Nothing Like a Dame, Peterloo, Mid 90s, Mary Queen of Scots, Boy Erased, American Dharma, 22 July



CUARON ON ROMA

Indiewire posted an interview with Roma director/writer/cinematographer Alfonso Cuaron recently.  Zack Sharf wrote the piece which appeared on Wednesday.

Roma moved up to the top spot on this week's Ten Bets after its premiere status for Toronto was revealed on Tuesday.

Here's the link to that interview.


NEW VIEW FOR FIRST MAN

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track reported that a long form trailer for Damien Chazelle's First Man, starring Ryan Gosling as astronaut Neil Armstrong, will be screening starting today in IMAX theaters before showings of Mission Impossible: Fallout.

The Trailer Track reportage is here.



THE SURPRISING FILM THAT ANNE THOMPSON SAYS IS YOUR OSCAR FRONT RUNNER

I'm linking the story without giving it away so that you can see/read Anne's reporting/prognosticating first hand.  Suffice it to say that the film is on this week's Ten Bets list.

Here's Anne's story.


That's your Friday MTFB.  Was a crazy week.  Gotta catch my breath but I'll be back with more after the weekend.


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Venice: What We Know and What We Don't /Teasers and Trailers for Roma, Peterloo and Mid 90's

Good Thursday...


VENICE: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE DON'T

The Venice Film Fest announced its lineup yesterday and, at this point, the best it can do is tell us what might still be possible for Telluride.  Absent premiere status and a schedule, that's the most information that can be gleaned at this time.

Here are the Venice films that we believe are already headed to Telluride:

First Man
Roma


The Venice films we believe are NOT Telluride bound:

The Sisters Brothers
Sunset
A Star Is Born
Shadow

Venice films that could still play Telluride (and you have to believe it will be more than First Man and Roma):

The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (the Coen brothers television joint from Netflix which is now, apparently a stand alone film)
Vox Lux
The Favourite
Peterloo
At Eternity's Gate
The Other Side of the Wind
American Dharma


It all comes down to the scheduling at this point and we won't know the Venice schedule for another couple of weeks.
 
Here are links to a number of stories concerning the Venice lineup announcement:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

The Playlist

The Film Stage


TEASERS AND TRAILERS FOR ROMA, PETERLOO AND MID 90'S

While we were taking the regular Wednesday hiatus, a teaser was released for Alfonso Cuaron's Roma (which we now believe is set for Telluride) and also trailers were released for a couple of films that remain on the Telluride table for now-Mike Leigh's Peterloo and Jonah Hill's Mid 90's.

Here's the teaser for Roma from YouTube:

Here's the Peterloo trailer:

And also the trailer for Mid 90's:

That's MTFB for Thursday.  More tomorrow including a brand new Ten Bets informed by all of this week's developments...

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LATE BREAKING: Toronto International Film Fest Announces and What That Means for Telluride

LATE BREAKING; TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST ANNOUNCES AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR TELLURIDE...

The Toronto International Film Fest has announced a number of the films that will be screened as either Galas or Special Presentations as of this morning.  By paying attention to the premiere designations for those films we can usually get a good idea of some of the films that are likely to play at Telluride.  Keys are the terms" Canadian Premiere" or "International Premiere" for films that could play Telluride although those designations do not automatically mean that a film will make the Telluride lineup.

A "World Premiere" or "North American Premiere" for a film designation means no Telluride play.

Here's what I have gleaned from this morning's press release (no live announcement this morning out of respect for the recent shooting in Toronto):



Canadian Premieres that are probable for Telluride:

Cold War
Dogman
First Man
Non Fiction
Roma
Shoplifters


International Premieres that could be Telluride bound:

Can  You Ever Forgive Me?
The Front Runner
The Old Man and the Gun
White Boy Rick

Off the T-ride plate

If Beale Street Could Talk
Widows
Beautiful Boy
A Star Is Born
Burning
Capernaum
Everybody Knows
Life Itself
Sunset
The Sisters Brothers


Films that are still in play for Telluride:

Peterloo
Mid 90s
The Other Side of the Wind
Boy Erased
The Man Who Killed Don Quixote
The Eyes of Orson Welles
On the Basis of Sex
Happy as Lazarro
He Dreams of Giants
Backseat
Nothing Like a Dame
At Eternity's Gate
The Favourite
Mary Queen of Scots

Biggest shock: Beale Street World Premiering at Toronto.  Next biggest is Widows doing the same thing.

More on Thursday.

Toronto Announces Today / The Favourite Will Play New York and Maybe... / Couple of Hints and Notes

Good Tuesday film friends...

TORONTO ANNOUNCES TODAY

The Toronto International Film Festival will announce the first wave of the films they have selected for their fest today at 10am EDT.  This wave will include galas and special presentations and probably TIFF"s opening night film.

I will have an updated post later today with the selections that matter in as far as what appears headed to Telluride, what is not and what films still seem to be up in the air.


As usual, you can expect surprises both pleasant and not do pleasant.  Nevertheless, we'll get a good sense of a number of films that are probably going to head to TFF #45.

Stay tuned for updates...


THE FAVOURITE WILL OPEN NEW YORK AND MAYBE...

Trailer for The Favourite from YouTube

The New York Film Fest announced yesterday that Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite will open that fest.  Of more import to T-ride fans...the film is listed as a New York premiere (just as Alfonso Cuaron's Roma was announced as NYFF's Centerpiece last week).  The NY premiere status means that Telluride is also a likely destination for the film starring Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone.

Note, though, as I said last week about the Roma announcement, with the Los Angeles Fest moving to Sept. 20-28 this year, the NY preem designation could mean that a film plays L.A. first or both Telluride and L.A.

Most pundits that play the guessing game think it probably means a Telluride play as do I but I am not as sure of The Favourite as I am about Roma.

Here's coverage of NYFF's announcement from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Deadline

Indiewire

The Playlist


COUPLE OF HINTS AND NOTES

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track noted yesterday that a trailer will pop today for Jonah Hill's directorial debut Mid-90s.

Also over the weekend Jason Reitman tweeted that his latest, The Front Runner, is complete:

Both bits of news signal to me that we will see both titles show up today or tomorrow for TIFF or Venice or both.  They could also make an appearance at Telluride.  We might know that later today.

Speaking of which...again...I'll have some Toronto analysis later today...

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Announcements the Next Two Days / Venice- Additional Rumors / Predicting Toronto

Welcome to Monday...big week ahead!


ANNOUNCEMENTS THE NEXT TWO DAYS...

The Toronto International Film Festival begins to announce its 2018 lineup tomorrow.  It'll be the biggest set of clues and hints about what could be chosen for The SHOW of the entire summer.  The key is to look at the premiere status for a film.

A film listed as a World or North American Premiere means, unless there is some sort of unanticipated change, those films will not make an appearance at Telluride.  A Canadian Premiere designation almost guarantees a T-ride play unless it is a film that has played at Sundance.

An International Premiere designation is murkier and usually requires some digging and even then it can be difficult to pin its meaning down definitively.

Then on Wednesday, Venice will announce the bulk of its lineup.  As I have written before, the key about Venice is often when a film is scheduled and we probably won't know that for a few weeks.  Premiere status for Venice can tell us some things if a film is not listed as a World Premiere.

Meanwhile, we expect announcements from both New York and Fantastic Fest in the next couple of weeks or so.

Come on back here to MTFB for the latest news and analysis as we try to piece together a lineup for Telluride.

I would point out that over the past five years the MTFB success rate by the time we get to the end of the summer has been 91/95 or 96%.


VENICE - ADDITIONAL RUMORS

Last Friday we had a look at rumored titles that might be named later this week as films that would play Venice.  Why is that important?  The Venice-Telluride connection has become an increasingly relevant statistic.

Last year the two fests shared eight films.  Some played early in the Venice lineup and then moved to Telluride.  Some films played Telluride first and then moved to Venice.

The Twitterverse added fuel to the fire this weekend with increased speculation about films that could be announced that may also play T-ride including Laszlo Nemes Sunset, Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers, Olivier Assassyas' Non Fiction, Mike Leigh's Peterloo, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite, Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate and the Coen Brothers six part mini-series for Netflix, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs:

Now, if the Coen's Buster Scruggs somehow makes the Telluride lineup...




PREDICTING TORONTO

Barry Hertz writing for The Globe and Mail took a weekend stab at predicting some of the buzziest titles that could be announced tomorrow for the 2018 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

In the lengthy article he names several films that are also on the MTFB watch list for TFF #45   For example:

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
The Sisters Brothers
Widows
Mary Queen of Scots
Boy Erased
A Star Is Born
On the Basis of Sex
The Front Runner
If Beale Street Could Talk
Roma
The Other Side of the Wind
Everybody Knows
Ash Is the Purest White
Burning
Shoplifters


It's worth noting that TFF and TIFF often share as many as 20 or more titles.

The complete article from Hertz is linked here.

Meanwhile, Peter Howell, critic for The Toronto Star in a series of tweets has predicted these six films for TIFF:

If Beale Street COuld Talk
First Man
Burning
Capernaum
Mary Queen of Scots
Cold War


That's MTFB for this Monday.  More tomorrow.  I may even have a special late post that includes some of the news from Toronto.



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Ten Bets #4 for TFF #45 / Venice Speculation and Telluride / A Star Is Born Could Be Off the Table / And Where Is the Poster???

It's the last Friday before announcements from Toronto and Venice...tick...tick...tick...

TEN BETS FOR TFF #45

Here's the fourth installment of MTFB's Ten Best for TFF #45.  It's the last one that happens this year before announcements from major film fests that will give us some solid evidence about what we can expect to see over Labor Day weekend.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Beautiful Boy
5) Cold War
6) The Old Man and the Gun
7) Widows
8) Boy Erased
9) Roma
10) The Front Runner


The latest Ten Bets:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Roma
5) Widows
6) Cold War
7) Beautiful Boy
8) The Old Man and the Gun
9) Boy Erased
10) First Man

Other films in the hunt:

Sunset, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, The Front Runner, A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows, Nothing Like a Dame, The Favourite, Peterloo, Burning

This week's Ten Bets has been influenced by news of the positioning of Steve McQueen's Widows for the London Fest, First Man for Venice and Roma for New York. 


VENICE SPECULATION AND TELLURIDE

The Venice Film Fest will announce the bulk of its lineup on Wednesday next week.  With the Venice announcement requires us to pay attention next week and also later.  What I mean is that the premiere status about a film in the Venice announcement has limited value.  Of greater interest is the placement of a film in the Venice schedule which we won't find out for a few weeks yet.  Films scheduled the first or last three days can often make a Telluride appearance either before or after a Telluride play.  Still, we may be able to eliminate some films and keep others in consideration for TFF based on what we see from Italy.

Variety posted a big Venice prediction piece yesterday.  The article claims that Venice will program the following films of Telluride interest:

The aforementioned First Man (opener), The Sisters Brothers, Beautiful Boy, Roma, The Favourite and Peterloo.  A couple of other notes: Paul Greengrass' Norway is set for Venice per the Variety post which means we should probably take it seriously as a TFF possibility.  Variety also reports that A Star Is Born is likely but not a lock for Venice.  More on A Star Is Born below.

The last piece of news from all of this is reporting that both Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk and Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased will NOT play Venice.  In the case of Beale Street, that news almost assuredly means that the film will have its first screening in T-ride.  In as far as Boy Erased is concerned, the lack of a Venice play could indicate that it premieres at Telluride, Toronto, New York, L.A., London or AFI.  I think Telluride is the most likely but it's not clinched by any means.


The complete Variety piece is linked here.




A STAR IS BORN COULD BE OFF THE TABLE

Amidst the Venice speculation is the note that Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born will probably screen in Venice out of competition.  Both Indiewire and Deadline reported yesterday that the film is expected to premiere in Venice on Friday, Aug. 31st.  That date doesn't preclude a Telluride play but it's at the outer limit of Venice's opening period of time to still allow a play at Telluride.

More telling about A Star Is Born's future is Deadline's report that it is expected to have its North American premiere at Toronto which would mean that it will bypass T-ride.  It's not definitive but it seems close.

Other notes from the Deadline story are claims that both Roma and The Other Side of the Wind will play TFF #45 and there is an implication that Alfonso Cuaron may be a tribute recipient.

The Deadline article is here.

The Indiewire reporting is here.


AND WHERE IS THE POSTER???

For the second year running, we are deep into the summer and have no official poster release for TFF #45...What up?


That's your MTFB for this Friday.  More to come Monday...and a lot more to come next week.  Have a great weekend!

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Roma Announced for NY...Venice Names First Man as Opener...Reading the Signs / Malick's Radegund at Fests / New Trailers for Boy Erased and Marwen / Announcements Coming Soon

Good Thursday friends...Yesterday was a busy day for film news...and that's an understatement!



ROMA ANNOUNCED FOR NY...VENICE NAMES FIRST MAN AS OPENER...READING THE SIGNS

The New York Film Fest announced yesterday that its centerpiece film will be Alfonso Cuaron's much anticipated Roma.

The film was listed in announcements, however , as its "New York premiere" which tells you a few things...

It won't be the film's world premiere...that could be at Venice.  It also means, because it isn't the film's North American premiere, that the film will have played prior to its NY October date somewhere in North America and likely, because its named a New York preem, that it will have played somewhere in the U.S.  That probably means Telluride or Los Angeles.  Telluride is the more likely due to Cuaron's presentation of Gravity there in 2013 and also, probably because his buddies Alejandro Inarritu and Guillermo Del Toro have had great success there.

Does it guarantee a T-ride play...No.  But it does make it much more likely.

I had Roma listed last week on the Ten Bets listed in the #9 spot.  Don't be surprised if it's higher on the new Ten Bets coming tomorrow.

Linked coverage of the NYFF announcement is here from:

NYFF

Variety

Indiewire

The Playlist

Entertainment Weekly

Both The Playlist and Entertainment Weekly specifically mention Telluride as a destination for the film.

Roma is being handled by Netflix...Who just hired Awards Consultant Lisa Taback yesterday.  Those who follow Oscar season will recognize Taback's name.  The hire means that Netflix is planning to play hard this awards season.


Meanwhile...in Venice news...

Venice has announced that its opening night film will be Damien Chazelle's First Man starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.

The designation that First Man will open Venice absolutely does not preclude a shot at TFF #45.  As matter of fact, Chazelle's La La Land opened Venice in 2016 and followed that with a Telluride presentation.  Alexander Payne's Downsizing did the same thing last year and Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water also played both places.  Past Telluride films that also opened Venice include Birdman, Gravity and Black Swan.

The Playlist suggests that a Telluride play is likely.

Meanwhile, tweets from Toronto Star critic Peter Howell and Awards Daily's Sasha Stone also suggest Telluride is a good possibility for First Man:

Howell:

Stone:

Here's additional linked coverage of the Venice announcement from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Deadline

Venice will announce the bulk of its lineup on July 25th.


MALICK'S RADEGUND AT FESTS

An interview with actor Matthias Schoenaerts appears to confirm that the latest film from auteur Terrence Malick is likely to appear at fall festivals and have a fall release date.  In an interview with The Independent, Schoenaerts says that Radegund, a film based on actual incidents from World War II in which a German conscientious objector is persecuted for his beliefs, is going to premiere at a fall festival or festivals.  Most speculation about which focuses on Venice and Toronto but a Telluride play is not completely outside the realm of possibility.

I have to tell you that this is the first Malick film that I have been excited about since The Tree of Life.

Radegund currently has no distribution or release date set.

Coverage of the interview is here from The Independent.

Also from The Playlist and World of Reel.



NEW TRAILERS FOR BOY ERASED AND MARWEN

The last couple of days were very busy in terms of new trailers appearing.  Of note, in as far as Telluride observers might be concerned were the first for Joel Edgerton's gay conversion therapy drama Boy Erased starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Edgerton.

Here it is from YouTube:

Boy Erased is distributed by Focus Features and is scheduled for release on Nov. 2nd.

Linked coverage is here for the trailer's release from:

Variety

Indiewire

The Wrap

The Playlist

Meanwhile, Universal has released a new trailer for Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen was released yesterday by Universal.  The film's first trailer apparently did not strike the chord that Uni wanted when it was released a month ago.  To that end, another has dropped.  Again for YouTube:

Linked coverage is here for the Marwen trailer release from The Playlist and SlashFilm.


ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON

New York kicked it off yesterday with its announcement about Roma as its Centerpiece.  Venice added to the fun by announcing its opening night film.  Now, prepare for an onslaught of film fest announcements to come next week from Toronto and Venice and all of the clues that will result.

By Friday of next week, we should know a lot more about what films  are playing which fests and by inference, many films that will play at TFF #45.

It will be one of the more exciting weeks of the year for Telluride watchers and you can get all of the best guess analysis about what it all means right here at Michael's Telluride Film Blog.

That's all for today...come back tomorrow for more including the 4th edition of MTFB's Ten Best for TFF 2018.



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Testing...Testing... / Venice Certainties? / Trailer for On the Basis of Sex

Good Tuesday everyone...

TESTING...TESTING...

Variety's Kris Tapley tweeted late Sunday evening that both Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots and James Gray's Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt, Ruth Negga and Tommy Lee Jones will be test screening this week:

I have avoided talking/thinking about Ad Astra all summer as it has been dated as a 2019 release.  However, I have seen some mention that if 20th Century Fox thought the film had a strong play that they might move the release to compete in this season's awards melee.

This sounds as if that process is on-going.  The other 20th Century Fox player is Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born.

Could it play at The SHOW?  Still very unlikely but the fact that it's testing this week suggests that it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

Similarly, Tapley later added that Backseat (the Dick Cheney film with Christian Bale) is also testing.  The film is being distributed by Annapurna which I am morally certain will be at TFF with If Beale Street Could Talk.  I could see them bringing a second film and they have a deep bench of other possible films: Backseat, Destroyer, The Sisters Brothers.

VENICE CERTAINTIES?

Jordan Ruimy's World of Reel posted "Venice Certainties" on Sunday night.  Ruimy says he's (as I mentioned yesterday) that he's hearing the same Venice rumor about The Other Side of the Wind opening that fest. 

He also says he's heard four films are locks for Venice:

Luca Guadagnino's Suspiria

Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers

Alfonso Cuaron's Roma

and Francois Ozon's Alexandre.

The inclusion of the films from Audiard and Cuaron would not surprise nor would they preclude a double play at Telluride.  Frankly, I doubt that we'll see Suspiria.  However, the Ozon is another matter.  That popped up from nowhere.  Alexandre is dated for 2019 according to IMDb.  

It's worth noting that Ozon's Frantz played at TFF in 2015.

The Ruimy post at World of Reel is here.

TRAILER FOR ON THE BASIS OF SEX

We got word last week that the trailer for Mimi Leder's Ruth Bader Grinsburg flick starring Felicity Jones as the young but eventual Supreme Court justice would be dropping soon.  "Soon" was yesterday.

Here's the trailer via YouTube:

On the Basis of Sex is set to open on Dec. 25th.

I have linked coverage of the trailer release from:

The Film Stage

Indiewire

Variety

BTW: rumors are swirling that trailers for Biy Earsed and Bohemian Rhapsody will appear tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

That's your Tuesday wrap for MTFB.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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The Second Telluride Film Festival-1975 / Cold War Trailer / Wells Thinks We'll See The Other Side

Welcome back from the weekend...

THE SECOND TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL-1975

Here's the penultimate addition to the ongoing look back at the history of the Telluride Film Festival.  

The second Telluride Film Festival took place on Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 1975 with the following:

Tributes: Jack Nicholson. Werner Herzog and Henry King

SHOWS:

Ace Up My Sleeve

Aguirre, Wrath of God

Alexander's Ragtime Bad

Carnal Knowledge

The Cockfighter

Drive, He Said

Dupont Lajoie

Easy Rider

Even Dwarfs Started Small

Every Man for Himself and God Against All

Fata Morgana

Five Easy Pieces

Funny Face

Garden of Allah

General Idi Amin Dada

The Gunfighter

Happiness

Hester Street

Jesse James

Karl May

King of Marvin Gardens

The Last Detail

Leap Year

Legacy

Les Ordres

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

Man, Woman and Sin

Ride in the Whirlwind

Song of Bernadette

State Fair

Sweethearts

Taking Off

Tol'able David

Trail of the Lonesome Pine

12 O'Clock High

The White Moth

White Sister

Guests:

Shelley Duvall

Louise Fletcher

Milos Forman

Monte Hellman

Buck Henry

Anjelica Huston

Carol Kane

Mary Kay Place

Joan Silver

It's crazy how many of Jack Nicholson's films they programmed to coincide with his tribute: Carnal Knowledge, Drive He Said, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens, The Last Detail and Ride in the Whirlwind.

Here's what's even crazier...Jack, Louise Fletcher and Milos Forman were all in town and there's no record of any screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which would open on Nov. 19th of that year.

COLD WAR TRAILER

Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War made a splash at Cannes.  The film won Pawlikowski the Best Director prize there.

This weekend we saw the release of a trailer for the U.K.  Here it is from YouTube:

Linked here are stories about the film and its trailer release from The Playlist and The Film Stage.  A note that the August release date is for Great Britain not the U.S. which still leaves the door open for a play at Telluride.  Its distribution from Amazon Studios suggests that there's chance that it could play The SHOW.

WELLS THINKS WE'LL SEE THE OTHER SIDE

Jeff Wells posted a piece at his Hollywood Elsewhere site over the weekend assessing/analyzing the fall fest fortunes of Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind.

Over the past few days, the film has emerged as a popular guess as the possible opener for the Venice Fest.

Wells says he has heard a rumor to that effect but he is also relatively confident that regardless of its Venice status that we'll find it on the play list for TFF #45.

The complete Wells piece is here.

That's your MTFB for this Monday.  More tomorrow.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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TFF #45 Ten Bets #3 / Trailer for Mary Queen of Scots / More on Widows in London / Another Note About Acquisitions

Good Friday fellow film fans...


TFF #45 TEN BETS #3

Here's the third installment of the summer's Ten Bets for TFF #45, an ongoing assessment of the films that I feel are the most likely to make the Telluride lineup.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Cold War
4) Capernaum
5) Beautiful Boy
6) Burning
7) Boy Erased
8) Peterloo
9) The Old Man and the Gun
10) The Front Runner

This week's list:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Beautiful Boy
5) Cold War
6) The Old Man and the Gun
7) Widows
8) Boy Erased
9) Roma
10) The Front Runner


Other films in the hunt:

Sunset, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, First Man, A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows, Nothing Like a Dame, The Favourite, Peterloo, Burning

TRAILER FOR MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

As promised, we got a trailer release yesterday for Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots which stars Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie locked in a tussle for the English crown.  The film is being distributed by Focus Features and is slated for U.S. release on Dec. 7th.

Here's the trailer from YouTube:

And I have linked coverage here from:

Variety

Indiewire

SlashFilm

Awards Daily

FirstShowing

MORE ON WIDOWS IN LONDON

The BFI-London Film Fest dropped a huge announcement yesterday (covered in my post from yesterday) that Steve McQueen's Widows, starring Viola Davis and Colin Farrell, will open their festival on Oct. 10th.

Of immediate interest to Telluride fans was the published designation of the film's status for that screening as its International Premiere.  My understanding of that designation is that it means that the BFI-London screening will be the film's first outside of its nation of origin.

There was some back and forth yesterday in some online circles about whether that means a Telluride play, a Toronto play or both.

If the "IP" designation means what I think it means, a Telluride play is happening with no Toronto (also no Venice).  But as a friend emailed me yesterday when the news was breaking..."International premiere-but who knows what that means anymore?"  So, you know, the point there is that the term may be more flexible than it used to be.

All of that plus McQueen's track record with Telluride, was enough for me to place Widows on my Ten Bets list this week (for the first time) at #7.  

Here's linked coverage of the BFI-London announcement from yesterday:

The Guardian (which specifically suggests Telluride is possible)

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline

ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT ACQUISITIONS

I mentioned yesterday that Magnolia Pictures hadn't had a film at TFF since 2015.  Eagle-eyed friend of the blog Kenny Miles messaged me with the info that Magnolia partnered with Amazon on Ai WeiWei's documentary Human Flow last year.  Thanks to Kenny for the info!

That's wrap for this week on MTFB.  More to come on Monday...from...somewhere in Colorado...

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Late Breaking: Widows to Open BFI-London Fest / The Usual Suspects 2018-Part Two / Trailers Are Happenin' / Acquisition News

Good Thursday friends and neighbors...


LATE BREAKING: WIDOWS TO OPEN BFI-LONDON  FEST

News early this morning from Britain that Steve McQueen's Widows will open the BFI-London Film Fest on Oct. 10th.  Of particular interest is that fact that the film is listed as its International Premiere.  That means a couple of things.  It will not have played Venice but, as it is not the World Premiere, it will have played somewhere else prior to BFI-London.  If I understand the designation that would mean that it would be playing in London for the first time outside its nation of origin.

To me that sounds like a Telluride play though I have seen some commentary that it could mean Toronto.  I think the former os more likely.

Here's the release from the BFI-London Fest:

LONDON, Thursday 12th July, 2018 – The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® is thrilled to announce that this year’s Opening Night gala will be Academy Award®- winner Steve M cQueen’s WIDOWS. The International premiere will take place on Wednesday 10th October at the Cineworld, Leicester Square. Co-written by McQueen and best-selling novelist and screenwriter Gillian Flynn and starring Academy Award®- winner Viola Davis, WIDOWS is a complex thriller about a group of women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. A star-studded ensemble cast includes: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya and Jacki Weaver with Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson. BFI Fellow, WIDOWS Director and Co-Writer Steve McQueen comments: “I am absolutely delighted that WIDOWS will be opening this year's BFI London Film Festival. Watching the UK TV version of Lynda La Plante's original thriller as a teenager in the 80s had a major impact on me and so it feels very special to be sharing this film with a UK audience." BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director, Tricia Tuttle says: “We treasure the work of BFI Fellow and Festival alumni Steve McQueen, so it’s an utter pleasure to open our Festival with the International Premiere of WIDOWS. Adapted from a ground-breaking UK television classic into a feature to savour on the biggest cinema screens, this is scintillatingly rich storytelling from a magnificent filmmaker, probing issues around race, class and gender, while always delivering immense style and crackingly sharp thrills.” From Steve M cQueen (12 Years a Slave) and co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) comes a blistering, modernday thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. Taking place in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of political and class turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. WIDOWS also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry. Based on the TV series “Widows” by Lynda La Plante, the film sees Steve M cQueen serve as producer, together with Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Arnon Milchan. From Twentieth Century Fox, Regency Enterprises and See-Saw Films in association with Film4, WIDOWS is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 9 November. The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® takes place from Wednesday 10 October-Sunday 21 October 2018. The full Festival programme will be announced on Thursday 30 August 2018. 


THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2018-PART TWO

I started on Tuesday looking at people with significant Telluride pasts that have films that could make an appearance at TFF #45.  Tuesday's crew was Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Jacques Audiard, Jason Reitman and Alfonso Cuaron (with an assist from Alejandro Inarritu).

Today a look at six more:

Ken Burns...a Telluride staple.  Burns doesn't officially seem to have anything ready, however he's been working on his Muhammed Ali documentary for PBS since March of last year.  It's not outside the realm of possibility that some or all of that might show up on a screen in Telluride over Labor Day.

Roger Michell...Michell has been to Telluride in the past with Hyde Park on Hudson, Venus and Persuasion and Enduring Love.  He's been to T-ride a lot and this year has a special documentary... Nothing Like a Dame features four grand dames of British acting: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins.  IFC Films has the U.S. distribution.  Definitely think this is possible.

Sebastian Lelio...Great T-ride success for Lelio in the recent past with Gloria in 2013 and A Fantastic Woman last year. This year his Disobedience made a splash.  Now, he could possibly return to Telluride with the English language version of Gloria starring Julianne Moore in the title role.  The film is reportedly in post-production.  Would it be odd to see the new version of a film that played in TFF in 2013?  Sure, but not impossible.

Mark Cousins...Cousins was, at one time, one of the surest picks for TFF.  The Story of Film, What is This Film Called Love?, The Story of Children and Film but he hasn't been in the San Juans since 2013.  That could change this year with his latest doc, The Eyes of Orson Welles.  I could certainly see that being a selection to complement the expected screenings of Welles' The Other Side of the Wind...which seems very likely to me to play TFF.

Mike Leigh...Leigh has also deep T-ride roots with High Hopes, Naked, Secrets and Lies (as a part of his 1996 tribute), Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year and more.  And he has a new film ready to go: Peterloo.  I have been thinking its inclusion is a no-brainer...but...I've heard some rumblings over the past week and the latest from Mr. Leigh may be less likely a cinch than I originally thought.  Peterloo may be out of the Ten Bets tomorrow.



TRAILERS ARE HAPPENIN'

Yesterday gave us a couple of new posters for Mary Queen of Scots starring Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie.  Additionally, we found out that a trailer for the film will drop today.  I'll tweet that out on my @Gort account when that happens and include it here tomorrow.

We also know from earlier in the week via Anton Volkov's Trailer Track website that On the Basis of Sex should be showing up with a trailer very soon as well.

Last night Volkov let spill that a trailer for Boy Erased is also soon to be released.  That story is linked here.

Very exciting that we're going to get to see the wares from Focus Features.


ACQUISITION NEWS

A couple of pieces of intriguing acquisition news.  Magnolia has reported nabbed domestic rights to Matteo Garrone's Dogman.  The film played well at Cannes.  It could portend at Telluride play.  Or not.  Magnolia hasn't placed a film at T-ride since Viva! in 2015.

Also in the news was Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate/ LD Entertainment acquiring the Julia Roberts starrer Ben Is Back, also starring Lucas Hedges (who also has Boy Erased in place for this fall).  The film has been dated for a Dec. 7th release making me wonder if it will also see some time on the fall fest circuit.

The Dogman story is here from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Ben Is Back story is here from The Hollywood Reporter  as well as The Wrap.


That's your Thursday.  Tomorrow will have the 3rd Ten Bets for TFF #45 and should have the trailer for Mary Queen of Scots.  Come on back!


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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