WELP...NOT AGAIN.
TFF has denied my application to be an accredited journalist again this year. Here's the wording of the denial email:
"We unfortunately unable to offer you media accreditation for the 2021 Telluride Film Festival".
It's been exactly the same language for three years running. They last accredited me in 2018.
Here's a question- anyone else reading this been denied or know of someone who has been denied?
Never a reason. Just "unfortunately unable". And believe me, I've asked for a rationale.
I've been fairly sure that it really comes down to a couple of posts that specifically upset TFF leadership. So, I've tried to be more sensitive to how what I write might be viewed by TFF leadership. Tried very hard after a couple of things that the fest let me know that they were not fond of. Over the last year or so, I have sat on a couple of stories that I felt that the fest would rather not be out of the bag until they were ready. Just a two-three weeks back, I became aware of a situation wherein a film's IMDb listings had it playing at Telluride. Rather than report that, I sent a heads up email to the festival. Those efforts seem to have cut zero ice.
And then there's the general acrimony about what the central organizing principle of this space has been for 13 years.
But, you know, lots of other outlets speculate about possible Telluride selections. Of recent vintage I would point to Pete Hammond's June 18th Deadline post concerning TFF's annual L.A,. party. In that piece Hammond mentions no less than half a dozen films by name and hints at another four from Netflix. Yet, I have little doubt that Mr. Hammond and Deadline will receive accreditation and I wonder if Telluride emailed him a note of approbation like they've emailed me in the past.
Same with Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere yesterday (citing the Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel piece you'll see below, in which he rattles off more than a dozen titles of potential T-ride titles.
"But, Mike, maybe it's just because MTFB has such a small readership?" I hear you asking. And sure, I'll be the first to admit that the blog's numbers aren't big but I would argue that among that number, it lands with some impact. I won't get into followers and industry folks who have reached out over the years to remark to me how valuable a resource this thing has been and is, but it's substantial. And, again, I can imagine someone saying..."well, sure, anyone can claim that what they do has influence-show me the proof." And I'll say...won't name names...but you know who you are.
Also, if it's about smallish numbers...why where my numbers big enough for the eight years I was accredited?
And then there's the point that maybe there are limited spots for journalists. Could be, but they accredited a brand new Oscar outlet in 2019 which had had absolutely no previous experience at the fest.
TEN BETS #5 FOR TFF #48
Well, this is weird. Normally. the first Ten bets after Toronto's first announcement of titles causes a massive re-organization of the Ten Bets in the following post. This year...not so much. Last week's ten Bets and other possibilities were:
1) Something from Mark Cousins***
2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon
3) The Card Counter/Schrader
4) The Power of the Dog/Campion
5) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar
6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes
7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro
8) A Hero/Farhadi
9) Julia/Cohen and West
10) Spencer/Larrain
Other Possibles: Dune, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Mothering Sunday and Bergman Island.
***Mark Cousins projects that could play:
The Story of Looking
The Storms of Jeremy Thomas
The Story of Film: The Next Generation
With the addition of information from Toronto our fifth edition of "Ten Bets" looks like this:
1) The Electrical Life of Louis Wain/Sharpe
2) Petite Maman/Sciamma
3) The Card Counter/Schrader
4) Something from Mark Cousins***
5) The Power of the Dog/Campion
6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes
7) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar
8) Julia/Cohen and West
9) A Hero/Farhadi
10) Spencer/Larrain
Other Possibles: Dune, The French Dispatch, Nightmare Alley, Where Is Anne Frank?, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Mothering Sunday, Encounter, The Velvet Underground, Muhammad Ali, The Hand of God, Don't Look Up, tick, tick..BOOM, Antlers, Being the Ricardos, Titaine, Pig, C'mon C'mon, The Humans, The Tragedy of Macbeth, Red Rocket, Last Exit: Space, Flee, King Richard.
***Mark Cousins projects that could play:
The Story of Looking
The Storms of Jeremy Thomas
The Story of Film: The Next Generation
Paris 13th District, Bergman Island and The Eyes of Tammy Faye all drop from the "Other Possibles" list as their premiere designation for Toronto indicates that they will not have played Telluride but nary a one of the Ten Bets from last week completely disappears this week and that's remarkably unusual.
Also of interest (to me anyway) is that the only film from this year's initial Ten Bets that looks to be out so far is Mia Hansen-Love's Bergman Island.
LOOKS AT POTENTIALS INCLUDING NEW DUNE TRAILER
Continuing to pass along sporadic looks at films that could make the TFF #48 lineup.
***LATE BREAKING: NEW DUNE TRAILER
***TRAILER AND POSTER FOR RIDLEY SCOTT'S THE LAST DUEL
THE CARD COUNTGER POSTER
TRAILER FOR FLEE
VENICE IS COMING
The Venice film Festival is set to announce the bulk of their lineup next week and the reality is that announcement really doesn't rule anything in or out for Telluride. The real info from Venice will be when they announce their schedule because that will tell you more about what's possible in an overlap between T-ride and Venice. We won't see the schedule until August, though.
We know that Almodover's Madres Paralelas is opening Venice on Sept. 1 and that Denis Villenueve's Dune is set for Sept. 3. Both of those are early enough in the Venetian sked to make a cross Atlantic jaunt and be at Telluride. Films have made that kind of schedule work in the past.
GOOD NEWS/BAD NEWS
Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel, just yesterday posted a "likely for Telluride" list and also some titles that he thinks will NOT play. Among other notes, he's very confident that Del Toro's Nightmare Alley and Dominik's Blonde will not be on the Telluride list. That bums me out as they were two of most hoped for Telluride titles.
The good news is that, in his estimation, Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch is back in Telluride play as well as a number of other films...many of which (seven to be exact) are on the Ten Bets list above.
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