She Won't Be Saying Anything at Telluride / What We Think We Know / Blonde's New Trailer / New Doc: A Compassionate Spy Might Be at TFF #49

SHE WON'T BE SAYING ANYTHING AT TELLURIDE

Some of the films I predict for Telluride come from looking at the history of the fest and its relationship with directors, producers and distributors.

Some come from intell that comes my way or that I scratch up from my own digging here and there.

Some come from sources-folks who will drop me a line .

And some are just intuition.  Maria Schrader's She Said has been one of those intuition picks for me all summer.  I've had it bouncing in and out of the Ten Bets each week or in the list of "Other Possibilities" all summer long.  It appeared in the first Ten Bets for this year at the #10 spot.  

But now, Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel says nope.  No She Said at Telluride and his reporting is pretty definitive.

Ruimy's's post from Friday followed up on a note from an Anne Thompson Indiewire post that had included this:

"Another film expected to drive buzz at the NYFF is “She Said” (November 18, Universal), the true journalistic saga behind two New York Times reporters’ quest to nail sexual predator Harvey Weinstein, which launched the #MeToo movement and propelled the movie mogul into prison." 

Ruimy followed that hint up and reported that he had confirmed that She Said will World Premiere at NYFF thereby indicating that the film will not me making an appearance at TFF #49.

I hate to hear that as I was really looking forward to She Said on Labor Day weekend.

WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

Between TIFF premiere status descriptions and the Alberto Barbera Variety interview last week most of those of us who keep track of such things think that we can confidently say that these films will screen as part of The SHOW in five weeks:

Bardo/Inarritu

Bones and All/Guadagnino

Broker/Kore-eda

Empire of Light/Mendes

Good Night Oppy/White

Holy Spider/Abbasi

One Fine Morning/Hansen-Love

TAR/Fields

The Wonder/Lelio

Women Talking/Polley

Major titles that seem certain not to be at Telluride:

The Banshees of Insherin

The Fabelmans

The Good Nurse

She Said

The Son

Triangle of Sadness

Major titles still up in the air for Telluride:

Armageddon Time

Blonde 

Master Gardener

The Pale Blue Eye

Showing Up

White Noise

I'll likely expand the "Ten Bets" list on Thursday to 15 Bets.

BLONDE'S NEW TRAILER AND POSTER

New poster for Andrew Dominik's Blonde

Yea, I'll admit it.  My insistence on keeping Blonde (and Babylon) in the conversation for a possible Telluride play is almost certainly wishful thinking.  Both films are very unlikely to be in the San Juans five weeks from now.  Blonde and Babylon are and have been my most anticipated films for the year for months.  Nevertheless, a guy can dream.

That said, if you missed the release from Netflix of the new trailer for Andrew Dominik's Blonde from late last week.  Here it is:

NEW DOC: A COMPASSIONATE SPY MIGHT BE AT TFF #49

(Photo via The Chicago Tribune)

The Chicago Tribune reporting on the selection of  Steve James (Hoop Dreams, Prefontaine) A Compassionate Spy to an Out of Competition slot at the Venice Film Festival implies the possibility/probability of a play at Telluride.

The Tribune story was picked up and re-published by the Finger Lakes Times Saturday and within that story are a couple of tantalizing statements:

"Though the filmmaker could not confirm the near-future for his latest project, many world premieres start at Venice and then go straight to a U.S. premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado a few days later."

The story also suggests that the documentary was submitted to Telluride:

"James wrapped up principal photography in April, and his producers at Participant Media suggested submitting the film for Venice (Aug. 31-Sept. 10) and Telluride (Sept. 2-5)."

A Compassionate Spy is "about the Manhattan Project physicist, Soviet spy and University of Chicago alum Theodore Hall...[the film] deals with the lives of Ted and Joan Hall — their marriage, their longtime evasion of the FBI and the information about Hall’s atomic espionage activities that came to light four years before Hall died in Cambridge, England, in 1999."

James was an Oscar nominee for Hoop Dreams in 1995 and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail in 2018.

Is it a certainty?  No, but put it on your radar.

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