Searching Searchlight / Cannes and Venice This and That

 SEARCHING SEARCHLIGHT

My ongoing look at distributors who have been frequently represented at Telluride over the last five years continues today with Searchlight (Fox Searchlight prior to its acquisition by Disney).  Searchlight is one of four distributors that have had seven films at Telluride in the last half decade and their has been particularly noticeable:

2020: Nomadland (Oscar wins for Best Picture, Director and Actress)

2019: A Hidden Life 

2018: Can You Ever Forgive Me? (3 Oscar nominations), The Favourite (10 Oscar nominations  and 1 win for Best Actress) and The Old Man and the Gun.

2017: The Shape of Water ( 13 Oscar nominations with 4 wins including Best Picture and Director), Battle of the Sexes

Other notable appearances by (Fox) Searchlight at Telluride:  

2008: Slumdog Millionaire (won eight Oscars including Best Picture and Director)

2010: 127 Hours (six Oscar nominations), Black Swan (six Oscar nominations including a win for Best Actress)

2011: The Descendants (five Oscar nominations and a win for Best Adapted Screenplay)

2013: 12 Years a Slave (nine Oscar nominations with wins for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actress)

2014: Birdman (nine Oscar nominations with  four wins including Best Picture, Director and Original Screenplay) and Wild (nominated for two Oscars).

That's five Best Picture winners from Searchlight through Telluride in the past 13 years.

So with all that in mind, here's what Searchlight currently has in its larder:

Guillermo Del Toro's Nightmare Alley

Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch

Michael Showalter's The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Scott Cooper's Antlers

There are another one or two outside shots but these five represent the most likely choices for TFF #48.  Del Toro and Cooper have the actual connections to Telluride with Del Toro's The Shape of Water and The Devil's Backbone having played TFF.  For Cooper it's been Black Mass and Hostiles.

The other three would all be good gets for Telluride based on buzz surrounding them.  Past history suggests one or two Searchlight films will make the lineup.  Three tops.

CANNES AND VENICE THIS AND THAT

I've seen some scuttlebutt over the past few days about films that are be eagerly sought for Cannes and/or Venice.

Buzz has been substantial about both Paul Thomas Anderson's Soggy Bottom (or whatever it is ultimately called) as well as Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog in terms of both Cannes and Venice.

Meanwhile, rumors persist that Denis Villenueve's Dune will be at Venice and have been fairly consistent for some time.  However a bit of rhetoric from Cannes director Thierry Fremaux about the possibility of a "planetary blockbuster" at the French fest has created speculation that Dune might bow in France in July rather than in Italy in September.

None of these scenarios would preclude any or all three of the films from making an appearance at Telluride and wouldn't that blow your mind?

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