Now...Down to Business / Latest Cannes Speculation from World of Reel

NOW ...DOWN TO BUSINESS

Oscar has come a gone...finally.  Lot's of discourse now about the Oscar season being too long this year.  I kind of have to agree.

MTFB is ready to move on to the primary effort for this space...noodling possible titles for TFF #53.  That process has been lightly touched on since the turn of the calendar from 2025 to 2026 with a couple of looks at various "Most Anticipated" list of film for this year.  We have also taken a snapshot of possible Cannes titles as the venerable French fest frequently is represented at Telluride often with six to eight titles.

As we move into this phase I have found looking at the "Too Early" Oscar predictions for the year to be useful as a predicting tool.  I checked last year and that Oscar spec yielded up to seven films that eventually ended up on the TFF #52 lineup.  We'll also continue to monitor the potential Cannes field until that announcement comes on April 9th.  The fest itself will run May 12-23.

LATEST CANNES SPECULATION FROM WORLD OF REEL

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel keeps a really good eye on the buzz concerning which films will premiere as part of the Cannes Film Festival.  That's good for us as, on average, six to eight Cannes titles traditionally make their way to Telluride.

Consequently, we put our ear to the ground to his latest Cannes speculation piece posted on March 11th.

From his various sections, here are what seem to me the most probable candidates to play both Cannes and then T-ride:

Predicted Cannes Competition titles that might play TFF #53:

Bitter Christmas/Almodovar

Fjord/Mungiu

Jack of Spades/Coen

Minotaur/Zvyaginstev

All of a Sudden/Hamaguchi

Parallel Tales/Farhadi

Coward/Dhont

1949/Pawlikowski

Sheep in the Box/Kore-eda

Butterfly Jam/Bagalov

"Possibilities"

The Long Winter/Haigh

Let Love In/Van Groeningen

Bucking Fastards/Herzog

"French Contenders"

Moulin/Nemes

Among titles that Ruimy says are now "unlikely: for Cannes but that could still make a Telluride play:

Paper Tiger/Gray

The Way of the Wind/Malick

Untitled Mike Leigh Film

Digger/Inarritu

The complete World of Reel list is here.

I'll take a look at early Oscar predictions in Monday's post.

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Oscar 2026 and TFF

OSCAR 2026 AND TFF

Just a brief TFF check this morning post-Oscar.

TELLURIDE FILMS EARN SEVEN OSCARS

Guillermo Del Toro's was the most honored film that played Telluride last Labor Day with three wins last night: Best Production Design, Best Makeup/Hair Design and Best Costume design.

Four other TFF films won single Oscars:

Hamnet: Best Actress-Jesse Buckley

Sentimental Value (Norway): Best International Feature

All the Empty Rooms: Best Documentary Short

Two People Exchanging Saliva: Best Live Action Short (in a tie, unbelievably, with The Singers)

OVERALL

One Battle After Another was the big winner of the evening with six Oscars: Best Picture, Direction, Supporting Actor (Sean Penn) Adapted Screenplay, Editing and Casting.

Sinners was next with four wins: Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Original Screenplay, Score and Cinematography.

Frankenstein with three...listed above

K-pop Demon Hunters with two: Best Animated Feature, Original Song

Single wins for:

Hamnet, Sentimental Value, All the Empty Rooms and Two People Exchanging Saliva listed above.  And...

Weapons: Best Supporting Actress; Amy Madigan

Mr. Nobody Against Putin: Best Documentary Feature

Avatar: Fire and Ash: Best Visual Effects

F1: Sound

The Singers: Best Live Action Short (tie)

AND THE BLOG...

2026 might have been my best year for predicting ever. 20.5 (that's how I'm counting the Live Action tie) out of 24 categories for a 85.4% accuracy rate.  I missed Best Casting, Documentary Feature and Cinematography.  And in each of those three categories, I had the winner listed as the "Could Be".

In as far as where I would have ended up with regard to comparison with Gold Derby's Experts... Well, they counted an answer of  either Two People or The Singers as fully correct.  Using that same metric I would have tied their experts for the top spot.  They counted those as 87.5% accurate.  Had I been listed I would have tied with Mark Johnson (Awards Watch and The Contending), Tomris Laffly (Freelance), Gregory Ellwood (The Playist), Scott Feinberg (The Hollywood Reporter) and Pete Hammond (Deadline).

Here's the link to The Gold Derby results.

Again, for the third year...Gold Derby...I'm awaiting my invitation to join your crew of experts for next year.

Now...onto puzzling out the 2026 version of Telluride.  For those who are curious, for whatever reasons, I am planning to be in The Ride for the festival again this year.

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Oscar Sunday: MTFB Final Predictions

OSCAR SUNDAY: MTFB FINAL PREDICTIONS

Here we are hours away from the opening of the envelopes as Oscar season 2025-26 comes to an end tonight.  Here are the final predictions from MTFB.  Good luck in your Oscar pool!  TFF films are in Bold.

ANIMATED SHORT

Winner: The Girl who Cried Pearls

Could be: Butterfly

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

Winner: All the Empty Rooms

Could be: Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of of Brent Renaud

LIVE ACTION SHORT

Winner:  Two People Exchanging Saliva

Could Be: The Singers

VISUAL EFFECTS

Winner: Avatar: Fire and Ash

Could be: Sinners

SOUND

Winner: F1

Could be: Sinners

MAKEUP/HAIR

Winner: Frankenstein

Could be: Sinners

PRODUCTION DESIGN

Winner: Frankenstein

Could be: Sinners

COSTUME DESIGN

Winner: Frankenstein

Could be: Sinners

EDITING

Winner: One Battle After Another

Could be: F1

CINEMATOGRAPHY

Winner: One Battle After Another

Could be: Sinners

ORIGINAL SCORE:

Winner: Sinners

Could be: One Battle After Another

ORIGNAL SONG

Winner: Golden/K-Pop Demond Hunters

Could be: I Lied to You/Sinners

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Winner: Sentimental Value

Could be: The Secret Agent

UPSET SPECIAL: The Secret Agent

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

Winners; The Perfect Neighbor

Could be: Mr. Nobody Against Putin

ANIMATED FEATURE

Winner: K-Pop Demon Hunters

Could be: Zootopia 2

BEST CASTING

Winner: Sinners

Could be: One Battle After Another

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

Winner: One Battle After Another

Could be: Hamnet

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Winner: Sinners

Could be: Sentimental Value or It Was Just and Accident

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Winner: Sean Penn/One Battle After Another

Could be: Delroy Lindo/Sinners

UPSET SPECIAL: Literally anyone nominated could win!

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Winner: Amy Madigan/Weapons

Could be: Teyana Taylor/One Battle After Another or Wunmi Mosaku/Sinners

UPSET SPECIAL: Any one of these three could be the winner.

BEST  ACTOR

Winner: Michael B. Jordan/Sinners

Could be: Timothee Chalamet/Marty Supreme

UPSET SPECIAL: Wagner Moura/The Secret Agent

BEST ACTRESS

Winner: Jesse Buckley/Hamnet

Could be: Rose Byrne/If I had Legs I'd Kick You

BEST DIRECTION:

Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson/One Battle After Another

Could Be: Ryan Coogler/Sinners

BEST PICTURE

Winner: One Battle After Another

Could be: Sinners

UPSET SPECIAL: Hamnet

Predicted TFF Oscar Winners: Total: 7.

Frankenstein (3): Production Design, Costume Design and  Makeup/Hair

Hamnet (1): Best Actress (Buckley)

International Feature (1): Sentimental Value

Documentary Short (1): All the Empty Rooms

Live Action Short (1): Two People Exchanging Saliva

MTFB will have a look at the results of tonight's Oscar ceremony tomorrow in the regular post.

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It's Almost Oscar Time: Eight Feature Categories That Might Be Your Oscar Pool Busters

IT'S ALMOST OSCAR TIME: EIGHT FEATURE CATEGORIES THE MIGHT BE YOUR OSCAR POOL BUSTERS

Hi there on a Pre-Oscar Thursday...

We're taking a look today at what seem to me to be the tightest eight feature categories heading into Oscar night.

EDITING

One Battle After Another seems is pretty solid shape here but a win for F1 is still possible and Sinners isn't completely out of the picture.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

This category was jumping as Oscar voting came to an end.  OBAA is my pick (currently-it could change by Sunday morning).  Sinners and Train Dreams are serious contenders.

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

For months this has seemed like a slam dunk for Sentimental Value and it still seems to be the favorite but The Secret Agent is also strong.  Could Brazil upend Norway?  Yup, it could happen.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

This has burgeoned into a three headed contest with Amy Madigan (Weapons), Teyana Taylor (OBAA) and, of late Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners) all viable candidates.  Right now MTFB has Madigan winning...but...

SUPPORTING ACTOR

Maybe the most fluid of all 24 categories.  Stellan Skarsgard has felt like the leader almost all season but recent events (BAFTA, SAG) have pushed Sean Penn back to the top of the leaderboard.  Delroy Lindo has also experienced a burst of support.  Honestly, any of the five nominees could win the thing Sunday.  I have Penn...currently.

LEAD ACTOR

Timothee Chalamet has been riding at the top of the Oscar predictions charts for Lead Actor for months...now, maybe not so much.  Chalamet is facing some headwinds for comments he's made and. perhaps his general demeanor as he has moved through Oscar season.  Benefitting?  It would seem Sinners' Michael B. Jordan.  The race here could really come down to early Oscar voters vs. later Oscar voters. And, as a side note, if I was going to pack a category to bet a little and win a lot it would be to wager on Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent).

DIRECTION

A two man race here between PTA for OBAA and Ryan Coogler for Sinners.  Currently MTFB has Anderson winning.  Will the director's trophy point to Best Picture or will there be a split?

PICTURE

One Battle After Another has been perceived as the leader here for most of the season but Sinners win for Ensemble at SAG/Aftra suggest that the biggest branch of the Academy loves the film. From what I can see, it's tight.

These eight categories plus the always unpredictable Shorts categories probably decide who has bragging rights on Monday morning.

MTFB is currently predicting TFF films winning:

Hamnet: Buckley/Actress

Sentimental Value: International Feature

Frankenstein: Makeup/Hair, Costume Design, Production Design

Shorts: All the Empty Rooms (Doc Short), Two People Exchanging Saliva (Live Action Short)

Final thoughts/predictions coming for all 24 categories on Sunday morning.

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MTFB Oscar Update: Seven Craft Categories / Predictions for Shorts Categories

Well, better a day late than never.  Here's what would have been yesterday's post if I weren't on the road.

MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: SEVEN CRAFT CATEGORIES

TFF films indicated in Bold.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) One Battle After Another (2)

2) Sinners (1)

3) Train Dreams (3)

4) Marty Supreme (4)

5) Frankenstein (5)

EDITING

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) F1 (2)

3) Sinners (3)

4) Marty Supreme (4)

5) Sentimental Value (5)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1) Frankenstein (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Marty Supreme (4)

5) One Battle After Another (5)

COSTUMES

1) Frankenstein (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Marty Supreme (4)

5) Avatar: Fire and Ash (5)

MAKEUP/HAIR

1) Frankenstein (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) The Smashing Machine (3)

4) Kokuho (5)

5) The Ugly Stepsisters (4) 

SOUND

1) F1 (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) One Battle After Another (3)

4) Sirat (4)

5) Frankenstein (5)

VISUAL EFFECTS

1) Avatar: Fire and Ash (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) F1 (3)

4) The Lost Bus (4)

5) Jurassic World Rebirth (5)

PREDICITONS FOR SHORTS CATEGORIES

ANIMATED SHORT

1) The Girl Who Cried Pearls

2) Butterfly

2) Retirement Plan

4) The Three Sisters 

5) Forevergreen

DOCUMENTARY SHORT

1) All the Empty Rooms

2) Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud

3) The Devil Is Busy

4) Children No More: Were and Gone

5) Perfectly a Strangeness

LIVE ACTION SHORT

1) Two People Exchanging Saliva

2) The Singers

3) A Friend of Dorothy

4) Butcher's Stain

5) Jane Austen's Period Drama

This and That: Cinematography and editing are up in the air.  If MTFB's predictions are correct TFF films win two of the three shorts categories.

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MTFB Oscar Update: Next to Last Predix for Oscar's Middle Six / Visitations: Jesse Buckley, Ethan Hawke and More

MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: NEXT TO LAST PREDIX FOR OSCARS MIDDLE SIX

The latest predictions from MTFB for Casting, International Feature, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature, Original Score and Original Song.

BEST CASTING

1) Sinners (1)

2) One Battle After Another (2)

3) Hamnet (4)

4) Marty Supreme (3)

5) The Secret Agent (5)

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

1) Sentimental Value (1)

2) The Secret Agent (2)

3) It Was Just an Accident (3)

4) Sirat (4)

5) The Voice of Hund Rajab (5)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1) K-Pop Demon Hunters (1)

2) Zootopia 2 (2)

3) Arco (4)

4) Little Amelie or the Character of Rain (3)

5) Elio (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1) The Perfect Neighbor (1)

2) Mr. Nobody Against Putin (5)

3) The Alabama Solution (2)

4) Come See Me in the Good Light (3)

5) Cutting Through Rocks (4)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1) Sinners (1)

2) One Battle After Another (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Frankenstein (4)

5) Bugonia (5)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1) Golden/K-Pop Demon Hunters (1)

2) I Lied to You/Sinners (2)

3) Train Dreams/Train Dreams (4)

4) Dear Me/Dianne Warren: Relentless (3)

5) Sweet Dreams of Joy/Viva Vivaldi (5)

This and That: Huge movement for Mr. Nobody Against Putin.  Small adjustments in casting, Animated Feature and Original Song.

VISITATIONS

Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value from Next Best Picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fwxuEWxSpI

Jesse Buckley for Hamnet from Variety.

https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/jessie-buckley-why-hamnet-isnt-grief-porn-1236564879/

Ethan Hawke for Blue Moon from Variety.

https://variety.com/2025/film/awards/ethan-hawke-blue-moon-linklater-before-movie-1236551849/

Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value from Next Best Picture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQpi055nXVQ

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MTFB Oscar Update: Penultimate Predix for the Big Eight Categories/ PGA and The Sag/Aftra Awards / Ghost Elephants Trailer / Visitations: Trier and Herzog

MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: PENULTIMATE PREDIX FOR THE BIG EIGHT CATEGORIES

BEST PICTURE

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Sentimental Value (4)

5) Marty Supreme (5)

6) Frankenstein (6)

7) The Secret Agent (7)

8) Train Dreams (9)

9) Bugonia (8)

10) F1 (10)

BEST DIRECTION

1) Paul Thomas Anderson/One Battle After Another (1)

2) Ryan Coogler/Sinners (2)

3) Joachim Trier/Sentimental Value (4)

4) Chloe Zhao/Hamnet (3)

5) Josh Safdie/Marty Supreme (5)

BEST ACTRESS

1) Jesse Buckley/Hamnet (1)

2) Rose Byrne/If I Had Legs I's Kick You (2)

3) Renate Reinsve/Sentimental Value (3)

4) Kate Hudson/Song Sung Blue (4)

5) Emma Stone/Bugonia (5)

BEST ACTOR

1) Timothee Chalamet/Marty Supreme (1)

2) Michael B. Jordan/Sinners (4)

3) Wagner Moura/The Secret Agent (3)

4) Leonardo DiCaprio/One Battle After Another (2)

5) Ethan Hawke/Blue Moon (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Teyana Taylor/One Battle After Another (1)

2) Wunmi Moskau/Sinners (3)

3) Amy Madigan/Weapons (2)

4) Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas/Sentimental Value (4)

5) Elle Fanning/Sentimental Value (5)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) Stellan Skarsgard/Sentimental Value (1)

2) Sean Penn/One Battle After Another (5)

3) Delroy Lindo/Sinners (4)

4) Jacob Elordi/Frankenstein (2)

5) Benicio Del Toro/One Battle After Another (3)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Sinners (1)

2) Sentimental Value (2)

3) Marty Supreme (3)

4) It Was Just an Accident (4)

5) Blue Moon (5)

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) Hamnet (2)

3) Train Dreams (3)

4) Bugonia (4)

5) Frankenstein (5)

This and That:

*Supporting Actor is all over the place now.  

*Supporting Actress is also very unsettled. 

*Best Picture and Actor are also a bit unsettled as we move into the last couple of weeks prior to Oscar night on Mar. 15.  *

Look out for Wagner Moura in the Best Actor race.

PGA AND THE "ACTOR" AWARDS

One Battle After Another won the Producers' Guild top prize on Saturday night seemingly sealing it for the Best Picture Oscar.  Meanwhile at the SAG/Aftra's Actor Awards on Sunday night:

Ensemble: Sinners

Female Lead: Jesse Buckley/Hamnet

Male Lead: Michael B. Jordan/Sinners

Female Supporting: Amy Madigan/Weapons

Male Supporting: Sean Penn/One Battle After Another

Stunt Ensemble: Mission Impossible: The Fina Reckoning

GHOST ELEPHANTS TRAILER

VISITATIONS

Director Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value from THR's Awards Chatter Podcast.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/awards-chatter-pod-joachim-trier-sentimental-value-1236517803/

Werner Herzog for Ghost Elephants from The Film Stage.

https://thefilmstage.com/werner-herzog-on-dreams-defeats-ghost-elephants-and-why-hes-not-a-workaholic/

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