THE DISTRIBUTORS 2019: FOX SEARCHLIGHT
Yesterday we began our look at film distributors as a way of setting the table for the expectations of films that could end up selected for a spot in the TFF #46 lineup this year by looking at Sony Pictures Classics. As I mentioned yesterday, over the last decade and a half, SPC has had the most consistent relationship with TFF but the distribution group that may have had the most successful run at TFF over that time span has been Fox Searchlight.
The specialty film arm of 20th Century Fox has had an incredible run over the past several years:
2018: The Favourite, Can You Ever Forgive Ne?, The Old Man and the Gun (3)
2017: The Shape of Water (Best Picture Oscar), Battle of the Sexes (2)
2016: No Show
2015: He Named Me Malala (1)
2014: Birdman (Best Picture), Wild (2)
2013: 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture) (1)
2012: No Show
2011: Shame, The Descendants (2)
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan (3)
2009: No Show
2008: Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture) (1)
2007: Juno, The Savages (2)
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake (2)
2005: Bee Season (1)
2004: Kinsey (1)
That's right. Four Best Picture winners from Fox Searchlight since 2008's win for Slumdog Millionaire; the others being 12 Years a Slave (2013), Birdman (2015) and The Shape of Water (2017).
Over the year's included above Fox Searchlight films that played T-ride have earned a total of 80 Oscar nominations. I addition to the above listed Best Picture winners, Fox Searchlight has also screened five other films that were nominated for Best Picture at Telluride: The Favourite, The Descendants, 127 Hours, Black Swan and Juno.
Last year, here's how I assessed the Searchlight slates chances of playing TFF:
The Old Man and the Gun 50%
The Favourite 45%
Wendy 30%
Can You Ever Forgive Me? 25%
Ultimately, Benh Zeitlin's Wendy was not released.
Finally, as you can see from above, FS doesn't always play TFF. 2009, 2012 and 2016 were all years in which FS did not have a film screen at The SHOW. Over the 15 years covered here, FS has screened 21 films for an average of 1.4 films per year.
All of that acts as your background to contemplate the possibilities for Fox Searchlight films that might make an appearance over Labor Day weekend. These are the seven films that I'm aware of from them that could be in the conversation for a TFF berth:
Malick's A Hidden Life
Cooper's Antlers
Zhao's Nomadland
Hawley's Lucy in the Sky
Zeitlin's Wendy (again)
Faxon and Rash's Downhill
Waititi's Jojo Rabbot
Any and all of them are possible for TFF, although none seem to be a dead certainty at this point. Malick's probably the most "prestige" film among the group but its Cannes reception was modest...decent critical response but no love from the Cannes Palme jury. Additionally, the fact that a Malick-directed film has never played T-ride.
On the other hand, Bill Pohlad is listed as one of several Executive Producers for the film and Pohlad has a history with TFF. He was a producer or executive producer on 12 Years a Slave, Wild, Into the Wild, Fur and Brokeback Mountain all of which played Telluride so that adds some weight to the notion that A Hidden Life might be included in the 2019 edition of The SHOW.
Pohlad has a strong history with Malick as well. In addition to his credit on A Hidden Life, Pohlad is also listed among the producers or acknowledged with thanks for The Tree of Life, Voyage of Time, Knight of Cups and To the Wonder.
Scott Cooper has certainly had a good Telluride resume over his brief career with both Black Mass and Hostiles making appearances. That kind of frequency of invitation would normally make me think that his latest film is very likely to make the grade. But since neither of those films made many waves financially, critically or in the awards season I wonder if Antlers gets the invite.
Honestly, the best shot might be Chloe Zhao's Nomadland starring two time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. Zhao's last film, The Rider, played TFF in 2017 and received terrific critical response. The film follows the life of a woman who is struggling to make it through America's Great Recession. To me, it sets up as the kind of film that Telluride programmers would be very, very fond of.
Downhill is the remake of Reuben Ostlund's Force Majuere.
Personally, I'd love to see either Lucy in the Sky and/or Jojo Rabbit make it to Telluride.
Lucy in the Sky features Natalie Portman as a female astronaut who has emotional issues upon her return to earth. Jojo Rabbit seems wild with writer, director, actor Taika Waititi creating an "anti-hate satire" with Waititi playing Adolf Hitler. Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson also star.
And as to the Zeitlin...still may not be ready and, honestly, I wasn't all that enamored of his Beasts of the Southern Wild.
My estimate of chances:
Nomadland 50%
Lucy in the Sky 40%
A Hidden life 40%
Antlers 35%
Jojo Rabbit 35%
Wendy 25%
Downhill 20%
I'm guessing Fox Searchlight lands two films at Telluride this year.
2017: The Shape of Water (Best Picture Oscar), Battle of the Sexes (2)
2016: No Show
2015: He Named Me Malala (1)
2014: Birdman (Best Picture), Wild (2)
2013: 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture) (1)
2012: No Show
2011: Shame, The Descendants (2)
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan (3)
2009: No Show
2008: Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture) (1)
2007: Juno, The Savages (2)
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake (2)
2005: Bee Season (1)
2004: Kinsey (1)
That's right. Four Best Picture winners from Fox Searchlight since 2008's win for Slumdog Millionaire; the others being 12 Years a Slave (2013), Birdman (2015) and The Shape of Water (2017).
Over the year's included above Fox Searchlight films that played T-ride have earned a total of 80 Oscar nominations. I addition to the above listed Best Picture winners, Fox Searchlight has also screened five other films that were nominated for Best Picture at Telluride: The Favourite, The Descendants, 127 Hours, Black Swan and Juno.
Last year, here's how I assessed the Searchlight slates chances of playing TFF:
The Old Man and the Gun 50%
The Favourite 45%
Wendy 30%
Can You Ever Forgive Me? 25%
Ultimately, Benh Zeitlin's Wendy was not released.
Finally, as you can see from above, FS doesn't always play TFF. 2009, 2012 and 2016 were all years in which FS did not have a film screen at The SHOW. Over the 15 years covered here, FS has screened 21 films for an average of 1.4 films per year.
All of that acts as your background to contemplate the possibilities for Fox Searchlight films that might make an appearance over Labor Day weekend. These are the seven films that I'm aware of from them that could be in the conversation for a TFF berth:
Malick's A Hidden Life
Cooper's Antlers
Zhao's Nomadland
Hawley's Lucy in the Sky
Zeitlin's Wendy (again)
Faxon and Rash's Downhill
Waititi's Jojo Rabbot
Any and all of them are possible for TFF, although none seem to be a dead certainty at this point. Malick's probably the most "prestige" film among the group but its Cannes reception was modest...decent critical response but no love from the Cannes Palme jury. Additionally, the fact that a Malick-directed film has never played T-ride.
On the other hand, Bill Pohlad is listed as one of several Executive Producers for the film and Pohlad has a history with TFF. He was a producer or executive producer on 12 Years a Slave, Wild, Into the Wild, Fur and Brokeback Mountain all of which played Telluride so that adds some weight to the notion that A Hidden Life might be included in the 2019 edition of The SHOW.
Pohlad has a strong history with Malick as well. In addition to his credit on A Hidden Life, Pohlad is also listed among the producers or acknowledged with thanks for The Tree of Life, Voyage of Time, Knight of Cups and To the Wonder.
Scott Cooper has certainly had a good Telluride resume over his brief career with both Black Mass and Hostiles making appearances. That kind of frequency of invitation would normally make me think that his latest film is very likely to make the grade. But since neither of those films made many waves financially, critically or in the awards season I wonder if Antlers gets the invite.
Honestly, the best shot might be Chloe Zhao's Nomadland starring two time Oscar winner Frances McDormand. Zhao's last film, The Rider, played TFF in 2017 and received terrific critical response. The film follows the life of a woman who is struggling to make it through America's Great Recession. To me, it sets up as the kind of film that Telluride programmers would be very, very fond of.
Downhill is the remake of Reuben Ostlund's Force Majuere.
Personally, I'd love to see either Lucy in the Sky and/or Jojo Rabbit make it to Telluride.
Lucy in the Sky features Natalie Portman as a female astronaut who has emotional issues upon her return to earth. Jojo Rabbit seems wild with writer, director, actor Taika Waititi creating an "anti-hate satire" with Waititi playing Adolf Hitler. Sam Rockwell and Scarlett Johansson also star.
And as to the Zeitlin...still may not be ready and, honestly, I wasn't all that enamored of his Beasts of the Southern Wild.
My estimate of chances:
Nomadland 50%
Lucy in the Sky 40%
A Hidden life 40%
Antlers 35%
Jojo Rabbit 35%
Wendy 25%
Downhill 20%
I'm guessing Fox Searchlight lands two films at Telluride this year.
RETURN OF THE JESUS?
John Turturro as Jesus Quintana in The Big Lebowski (via Indiewire)
John Turturro has made a lot of films playing a lot of characters. He's done that several times for the Coen Brothers and perhaps none more memorably than Jesus Quintana, the "pederast" in The Big Lebowski.
Turturro has long wanted to return to that character and, in fact, has in a film he developed, wrote, directed (with the blessing of but no participation from the Coens) and will star in. The film is titled Going Places.
Turturro was recently interviewed by The Independent in England mostly owing to his role in Sebastian Lelio English language remake of his own film-Gloria. However, in the course of that interview, Turturro spends some time talking about Jesus and Going Places.
Indiewire's Zack Sharf picked up there and expanded on the Going Places story in a piece posted on Monday which includes the assertion that Going Places still has no announced release plans "but at this point a fall film festival debut seems likely."
So, despite the lack of a release date and no announced distributor, I'm putting the film on my TFF #46 watch list...and my wish list as well.
The original Independent interview is linked here.
The Indiewire story is linked here.
AD ASTRA T.V. SPOT
Last week we had the debut of the first trailer for James Gray's Ad Astra starring Brad Pitt and Tommy Lee Jones.
This week we have an edited down version of it that has appeared as a television commercial. Here that is from YouTube:
Ad Astra is one of the most highly anticipated titles this fall and is set to open on Sept. 20th.
Thursday is in the books. More from MTFB tomorrow including my "If I Had To" segment.
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