Big Critics Groups and Oscar in 2018 / Cold War Dominates the EFA / Oscar Short Lists Land Today

It is a Monday!  Time for some MTFB...


BIG CRITICS GROUPS AND OSCAR IN 2018

I did this last year at the same time.  That is to say that I collated results about where films stand in critical eyes as we approach the end of the year.

I look at what we've been told by nominations or awards from The Golden Globes (GG), Critics Choice Awards (BFCA), National Board of Review (NBR), American Film Institute (AFI), New York Film Critics Circle (NY) and Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LA), Screen Actors Guild (SAG).

Last year the list looked like this:

10) The Disaster Artist (NBR, GG)
7) The Florida Project (NBR, BFCA, AFI)
7) The Big Sick (BFCA, AFI, SAG)
7) The Shape of Water (BFCA, GG, AFI)
4) The Post (NBR, BFCA, GG, AFI)
4) Dunkirk (NBR, BFCA, GG, AFI)
4) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (BFCA, GG, SAG, AFI)
2) Call Me By Your Name (NBR, LA, BFCA, GG, AFI)
2) Get Out (NBR, BFCA, GG, SAG, AFI)
1) Lady Bird (NBR, NY, BFCA, GG, SAG, AFI)

So it included TFF #44 films Lady Bird, and The Shape of Water.  It also included eventual Oscar Best Picture winner, The Shape of Water. and nominees Lady Bird, Three Billboards, Dunkirk, The Post, Get Out, Call Me By Your Name and Dunkirk.  So, the top seven got in with the additions, of TFF #44 film Darkest Hour and also Phantom Thread.

With that in mind, here's what the data from the same seven groups tells us in 2018:

9) Six films tied here with two mentions each: Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Rich Asians, Eighth Grade, First Reformed, A Quiet Place and Vice.

7) Mary Poppins Returns (3): NBR, AFI, BFCA
7) The Favourite (3): GG, AFI, BFCA
4) If Beale Street Could Talk (4): NBR, GG, AFI, BFCA
4) Green Book (4): NBR (best picture), GG, AFI, BFCA
4) BlacKkKlansman (4): GG, AFI, SAG, BFCA
1) A Star Is Born (5): NBR, GG, AFI, SAG, BFCA
1) Roma (5): NBR, NY, LA, AFI (special citation), BFCA
1) Black Panther (5): NBR, GG, AFI, SAG, BFCA

With single mentions: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and First Man.

Based on last year, if you're film is sitting at #7 or above, it's got a great chance to be Oscar nominated for Best Picture on the morning of Jan. 22nd.


COLD WAR DOMINATES THE EFA

The European Film Awards were passed out Saturday and TFF #45 film Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War dominated the field picking up five wins including Best European Film.  The film's female lead, Joanna Kulig, was named Best Actress and Pawlikowski won for Best Direction and Screenwriting.  The film also won for Best Editing. 

In other TFF #45 EFA news, Matteo Garrone's Dogman did well too with wins for Best Actor (Marcello Fonte), Costume Design and Hair/Makeup.

Lukas Dhont's Girl was named winner for European Discovery and Ali Abassi's Border won the award for visual effects.

Linked here is the press release from the EFA.


SHORT LISTS LAND TODAY

Steve Pond of The Wrap reports that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces all of their short lists for a variety of categories today.

That's a departure from the past when the categories that include the "short list" process have traditionally parcelled those announcements over a period of weeks but that won't be the process this year.

Pond tells us that will mean nine different categories will be trimmed to definitive lists by this afternoon. 

Here are those categories and the number that they will be trimmed to:

Foreign Language Film (9)
Documentary Feature (15)
Original Song (15)
Original Score (15)
Makeup/Hair (7...probably)
Visual Effects (10)
Documentary Short (10)
Animated Short (10)
Live Action Short (10)

Pond also takes a look at what he thinks are the most likely inclusions and exclusions in his article which you can find linked here.

I'll have a look at how the short lists all shake out vis-a-vis Telluride in Thursday's regularly scheduled post.


That's the Monday MTFB.  I'll be back with more on Thursday.

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Updated Oscar Predictions: Best Picture and Director / First Man Launches / News for Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Good Monday Ladies and Germs...


UPDATED OSCAR PREDICTIONS: BEST PICTURE AND DIRECTOR

MTFB had its first set of Oscar predictions up two weeks ago and it felt like it was time to begin updating them so I've started that process today with updates for Best Picture and Best Direction.  I'll continue to update two categories each post for the next little bit and will eventually beginning to expand the predictions beyond the Big 8 categories as we move deeper into awards season.

So, here are your updates for Picture and Direction (with their last position in parentheses):

BEST PICTURE

1) A Star Is Born (2)
2) Roma (3)
3) First Man (1)
4) Green Book (4)
5) The Favourite (5)
6) BlacKkKlansman (6)
7) If Beale Street Could Talk (7)
8) Black Panther (8)
9) Can You Ever Forgive Me? (9)
10) Vice (-)

Others: Eighth Grade, Widows, Boy Erased


BEST DIRECTION

1) Alfonso Cuaron/Roma (1)
2) Bradley Cooper/A Star Is Born (2)
3) Damien Chazelle/First Man (3)
4) Spike Lee/BlacKkKlansman (4)
5) Yorgos Lanthimos/The Favourite (5)

Others: Barry Jenkins/If Beale Street Could Talk, Ryan Coogler/Black Panther, Peter Farrelly/Green Book, Adam McKay/Vice

On Thursday, I'll update Best Actress and Actor.


FIRST MAN LAUNCHES

Damian Chazelle's First Man opened last Friday.  The film is still my choice for Best Film of the Year...though I still have other films to see...specifically Beale Street, Green Book and Vice which sound as if they all might have the goods to relegate First Man to second place.

As you might expect, with its release came a good amount of interviews and profile pieces.  I have linked a few here for your perusal.

The Hollywood Reporter

Time

Indiewire


NEWS FOR CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?

Producers of Marielle Heller's Can You Ever Forgive Me?  dropped a new poster for the film last week.  Sadly it boasts the Toronto International Film Fest logo rather than Telluride's.  Despite that I decided to go ahead and post it here:

As I looked at past posts before writing today's tidbits I discovered that I haven't included a picture of the first poster that was out for the film.  So here that is as well:

Meanwhile, ShowBiz411 posted an interview yesterday with actor Richard E. Grant who co-stars with Melissa McCarthy in the film.  Here's the link to that interview.

Can You Ever Forgive Me? opens in the U.S. on Friday.

That's your Monday MTFB.  More to come on Thursday.

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Announcements the Next Two Days / Venice- Additional Rumors / Predicting Toronto

Welcome to Monday...big week ahead!


ANNOUNCEMENTS THE NEXT TWO DAYS...

The Toronto International Film Festival begins to announce its 2018 lineup tomorrow.  It'll be the biggest set of clues and hints about what could be chosen for The SHOW of the entire summer.  The key is to look at the premiere status for a film.

A film listed as a World or North American Premiere means, unless there is some sort of unanticipated change, those films will not make an appearance at Telluride.  A Canadian Premiere designation almost guarantees a T-ride play unless it is a film that has played at Sundance.

An International Premiere designation is murkier and usually requires some digging and even then it can be difficult to pin its meaning down definitively.

Then on Wednesday, Venice will announce the bulk of its lineup.  As I have written before, the key about Venice is often when a film is scheduled and we probably won't know that for a few weeks.  Premiere status for Venice can tell us some things if a film is not listed as a World Premiere.

Meanwhile, we expect announcements from both New York and Fantastic Fest in the next couple of weeks or so.

Come on back here to MTFB for the latest news and analysis as we try to piece together a lineup for Telluride.

I would point out that over the past five years the MTFB success rate by the time we get to the end of the summer has been 91/95 or 96%.


VENICE - ADDITIONAL RUMORS

Last Friday we had a look at rumored titles that might be named later this week as films that would play Venice.  Why is that important?  The Venice-Telluride connection has become an increasingly relevant statistic.

Last year the two fests shared eight films.  Some played early in the Venice lineup and then moved to Telluride.  Some films played Telluride first and then moved to Venice.

The Twitterverse added fuel to the fire this weekend with increased speculation about films that could be announced that may also play T-ride including Laszlo Nemes Sunset, Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers, Olivier Assassyas' Non Fiction, Mike Leigh's Peterloo, Yorgos Lanthimos' The Favourite, Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate and the Coen Brothers six part mini-series for Netflix, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs:

Now, if the Coen's Buster Scruggs somehow makes the Telluride lineup...




PREDICTING TORONTO

Barry Hertz writing for The Globe and Mail took a weekend stab at predicting some of the buzziest titles that could be announced tomorrow for the 2018 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.

In the lengthy article he names several films that are also on the MTFB watch list for TFF #45   For example:

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
The Sisters Brothers
Widows
Mary Queen of Scots
Boy Erased
A Star Is Born
On the Basis of Sex
The Front Runner
If Beale Street Could Talk
Roma
The Other Side of the Wind
Everybody Knows
Ash Is the Purest White
Burning
Shoplifters


It's worth noting that TFF and TIFF often share as many as 20 or more titles.

The complete article from Hertz is linked here.

Meanwhile, Peter Howell, critic for The Toronto Star in a series of tweets has predicted these six films for TIFF:

If Beale Street COuld Talk
First Man
Burning
Capernaum
Mary Queen of Scots
Cold War


That's MTFB for this Monday.  More tomorrow.  I may even have a special late post that includes some of the news from Toronto.



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The Distributors 2018: Not so Much / And Some Overlooked Distribution Notes / Trailers Looming: On the Basis of Sex and Mary Queen of Scots / First Venice Speculation

Welcome back from your weekend to MTFB.


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: NOT SO MUCH

Today's final look at distributors that seem to have films in play for the 45th Telluride Film Festival is actually a look at films that seem like they could be players that do not have distribution deals in place for the U.S.

That could still change in the next eight weeks and we'll be keeping a close eye on that as an acquisition of any of these titles could signal an increase or decrease in the chances that a film would potentially be TFF bound.

Here's the list of films:

The Other Side of the Wind-Netflix is listed as having the TV distribution for this but pointedly is not listed as being the theatrical distributor.  Producer Frank Marshall is on record as saying that the film will be screened in theaters...sooo???

At Eternity's Gate-Julian Schnabel's Vincent Van Gogh pic.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan- Xavier Dolan...been floating around for a long time.

Sunset-Laszlo Nemes' follow-up to his brilliant Son of Saul (IMDb currently lists Playtime as having world wide rights for all media)

And a slew of Cannes films that garnered good critical buzz in May: Long Days Journey Into Night, The Wild Pear Tree, Ash Is the Purest White and Dogman.

Additionally add Karlovy Vary top prize winner I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians.

From this list I feel that The Other Side of the Wind and Sunset are the most likely for Telluride (The Other Side of the Wind has been at the #2 spot on my first two Ten Bets of this summer).  All of the others would be credible entrants for TFF #45 (and I do have a vibe for Matteo Garrone's Dogman).


AND SOME OVERLOOKED DISTRIBUTION NOTES

As I was going over my notes for films that lack distribution, I ran across three films that have a serious shot at Telluride that DO have U.S. distribution but which I left off of previous posts.  Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War is with Amazon and Cannes entrants Happy as Lazzaro and Girl are both under the wing of Netflix.

Also add in Karyn Kusawa's Destroyer starring Nicole Kidman.  It's being distributed by Annapurna Pictures.




TRAILERS LOOMING: ON THE BASIS OF SEX AND MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track site notified subscribers over the weekend that we could expect to see trailers from Focus Features for both Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex which features Felicity Jones as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg and also for Josie Rourke's Mary, Queen of Scots featuring Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie.

Here are links to Volkov's posts flagging the expected arrival for both trailers soon:

Mary, Queen of Scots

On the Basis of Sex



FIRST VENICE SPECULATION

I ran across a serious speculative piece about films that might make the Venice lineup from an Italian website over the weekend: Ilsussidiario.net.  There are several films listed there that could certainly make the Venice/Telluride double play.

That Venice to Telluride (or in some instances the other way...Telluride to Venice) has become a stronger connection over the past few years.

Last year saw Oscar Best Picture winner The Shape of Water make that connection as well as Downsizing, First Reformed, Foxtrot, Human Flow, The Insult, Lean on Pete and Wormwood screen in both places.

Among the films listed in the post that I have been talking about for Telluride are:

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
First Man
The Favourite
Roma
The Sisters Brothers
If Beale Street Could Talk
Radegund
Sunset
Beautiful Boy
A Star Is Born
Non-Fiction
Boy Erased

The Google translated version of the piece is linked here.


That's your Monday version of MTFB.  More to come tomorrow including a start on this year's look at "The Usual Suspects".

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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Quick Note / The Distributors 2018: Warner Brothers / Boy Erased and On the Basis of Sex Move / It's Nice to Have Friends

It's Tuesday and after an unexpected hiccup. MTFB has returned!

QUICK NOTE

As you may have noticed, there was no Monday post yesterday.  My apologies for that.  I was in Southern Colorado and caught up by the outage of Verizon, Comcast and Spectrum and had no real Internet connectivity from Friday until last night.

That kept me from getting MTFB's normal Monday post up.  I'm back today...

THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: WARNER BROTHERS

Here's today's take on film distributors and their Telluride history which could give insight into films that might play at TFF #45.

I'm looking today at a major studio which used to have an independent arm that was a  serious presence at Telluride (Warner Independent) and who has, on occasion since the demise of that arm, still made the field of TFFs.

Warner Bros recent history:

2012: Argo
2013: Gravity, Prisoners
2014:
2015: Black Mass
2016: Sully

Warner Independent played Telluride in 2006 with Infamous and 2007 with Rails and Ties.

If Warners is to return to Telluride this year it would almost certainly be with Bradley Cooper's remake of A Star Is Born starring Cooper and Lady Gaga in the story that has been filmed four times now by Hollywood.  A Star Is Born has a ton of buzz and is set for releases on Oct. 5th.

WB had great success in '12 and '13 with Argo winning Best Picture and Gravity just being edged by 12 Years a Slave (but winning Best Direction and six other Oscars) but both Black Mass and Sully failed to generate that same success.

Ultimately, I regard A Star Is Born as a 1 in 3 shot at making the TFF lineup.  Maybe I should have it with slightly better odds.  If Warners really thinks it is a serious Oscar player (and considering Telluride's recent track record regarding Oscar winners) you'd have to think that they'll push to get it in the lineup.

Here's the trailer for A Star Is Born from YouTube:

BOY ERASED AND ON THE BASIS OF SEX MOVE

Focus Features announced yesterday that they were shifting release dates for two of their fall releases.  Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased has moved from its original Sept. 28th release to a prime Nov. 2nd and On the Basis of Sex has moved from Nov. 9th to Dec. 26th.

A number of outlets reported on the change suggesting that the moves were made to better position both for awards consideration.

Especially intriguing is the new spot for Boy Erased which moves into a release spot that would allow it to play any or all of the fall fests including New York.

Alan French at Awards Circuit says the changes increase the "traction" potential for Boy Erased and does not mean that On the Basis of Sex won't be a part of the Festival scene.

Anne Thompson at Indiewire says that Boy Erased is "Expected to debut at the fall festivals".

My feeling here is that the move probably increases the Telluride chances for Telluride audiences to see Boy Erased and lowers them for On the Basis of Sex though it doesn't remove its chances of making The SHOW.

Coverage is linked here from Variety, Indiewire, Deadline and Awards Circuit.


IT'S NICE TO HAVE FRIENDS

I posted the first Ten Bets list of predictions for the Telluride lineup for 2018 last Friday. I always see an uptick in traffic to the blog each summer when I start the Ten Bets lists as people’s interest in the fest increases as we get closer to Labor Day weekend.

Friday’s post got an extra boost, however, thanks to an article written by Sasha Stone and posted to her website Awards Daily. Sasha has been a good friend to me as well as a supporter and booster of MTFB for quite awhile.

Many readers of the blog can’t help but noticing that I’m a big fan of hers as well as I often link to film news, trailers and such at her site. Sasha has also served as one of the industry pros that rate films for me during TFF. I also rely on her Oscar predicting prowess once the fest is over each year and I begin focusing on which films from TFF will be a part of the awards season conversation. You’ve also probably noticed that I added a blurb recently from Sasha to the banner at the top of my posts.

We’re buddies.

Another note from her Friday post...the films she thinks sound like good T-ride bets are: Beautiful Boy, If Beale Street Could Talk and Cold War.

So, my thanks to Sasha and here’s the link to the story at Awards Daily.




That's today's MTFB.  More to come on Thursday as I get back to the regular summer posting schedule.

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The Distributors 2018: Fox Searchlight / Odds and Ends

Good Thursday everyone...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: FOX SEARCHLIGHT

One of the most durable and dependable distribs at Telluride over the time I have been attending has been Fox Searchlight.  Although they missed in 2016, last year saw a resurgence of its presence at Telluride (and at the Oscars...coincidence...you decide?)

Searchlight, over these past several years has averaged a film and a half per year but has been a no show for about a third of the time. As you can also see, FS normally goes two or three years consecutively with a film or films between years when they don't play at TFF.

2017: The Shape of Water (Best Picture Oscar), Battle of the Sexes
2016: No Show
2015: He Named Me Malala
2014: Birdman (Best Picture), Wild
2013: 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture)
2012: No Show
2011: Shame, The Descendants
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan
2009: No Show
2008: Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture)
2007: Juno, The Savages
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake
2005: Bee Season
2004: Kinsey

You'll note that FS has had four films win Best Picture in the ten years between 2008-2017 all of which screened at Telluride...which means we probably should keep our eye out to see if any Searchlight film(s) make the Venice or Toronto lineups.

What do they have to offer this season?

The Old Man and the Gun-David Lowery directs Robert Redford in what he has said will be his last acting gig.  Sissy Spacek co-stars.

Can You Ever Forgive Me?- Melissa McCarthy's change of pace role as a woman who turns to counterfeiting literature.  It's based on the true story of Lee Israel.  It's directed by Marielle Heller (Diary of a Teenage Girl).

The Favourite-the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Lobster).  Lanthimos was Oscar nominated for the script for The Lobster.  The film stars Emma Stone and Rachel Wiesz and Olivia Colman and is set in 18th century England in the court of Queen Anne.  It's the second of two big films centered on the British monarchy this summer, the other being Mary, Queen of Scots (parked at Focus Features) which stars Margot Robbie and Saoirse Ronan.  This could be the film that introduces Lanthimos to Telluride.

And finally, Wendy from Beasts of the Southern Wild director/writer Benh Zeitlin.  The film, says FS, is set on a "mysterious island where aging and time have come unglued".  The story centers on a couple of children dealing with their existence there.  The cast list on IMDb is just the two kids and the film has no announced release date.

Those four films seem to be the Fox Searchlight play for TFF consideration this year and none of them are a slam dunk for TFF #45 inclusion.

The Old Man and the Gun seems like the most probable mostly because I think T-ride is where Redford would feel most comfortable rolling it out.  He's also a producer on the film.  Call it's chances 50%.

After that any on the other three could play.  Maybe Emma Stone edges The Favourite into second place after two straight T-ride appearances with La La Land and Battle of the Sexes.  Call it a 45% chance.

Put Wendy in third at 30% and Can You Ever Forgive Me? at fourth with 25%.

Last year, this is where I had the Fox Searchlight films in my first assessment:

Battle of the Sexes-55%
Goodbye Christopher Robin- 45%
Three Billboards- 40%
The Shape of Water- 35%

As you can see, BOTS...good assessment.  Shape of Water...not so much.


Tomorrow my look at Focus Features.


ODDS AND ENDS

Cine Europe has served as a spot to continue to push the buzz for two high profile Telluride possibilities.  Deadline reported that Warner Bros. had footage from Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born was screened.  The story written by Deadline's Nancy Tartaglione, said that Cooper previewed the first eight minutes of the film.

Meanwhile, in a separate story Tartaglione reported that Sony had Jason Reitman on hand to preview his film The Front Runner which stars Hugh Jackman and tells the true story of Gary Hart's 1988 presidential campaign implosion.

A Star Is Born is dated for an Oct. 5th release.  Sony, as yet, has not named a release date for The Front Runner, though the Deadline article says that an awards season release is planned.

One other "odd or end" is that the Peterloo movie Twitter account announced on Monday that the film has been dated for a Nov. 9th U.S. release (after a Nov. 2 release in the U.K.).  To wit:

That's your Thursday MTFB.  More to come tomorrow...


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New Things to Look At: The Old Man and the Gun (Trailer) / A Star Is Born (Trailer) / First Man (Stills)

Hello on this Thursday...


NEW THINGS TO LOOK AT:  Three films show us something about themselves and all of them could be in play on Labor Day weekend in southwest Colorado.

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN (TRAILER)

We have a first trailer for the Robert Redford starring The Old Man and the Gun.  The film also features Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck in what Redford has said will be his last acting gig.  David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Ain't Them Bodies Saints) directs.

Fox Searchlight is distributing and coming off of last year's Best Picture Oscar win for The Shape of Water combined with an announced release date of Sept. 28th and the fact that Redford is a fairly recent T-ride tribute recipient, you have to think that the film has a shot at a Telluride berth.  Maybe a Sissy Spacek tribute?

Also, the trailer's great.  Here it is from YouTube:

Coverage from:

Indiewire

The Wrap

Trailer Track

A STAR IS BORN (TRAILER)

The Internet lost its collective mind yesterday over the first trailer drop for the fourth (I think) version of A Star Is Born.  This version stars and is directed by Bradley Cooper.  Lady Gaga also stars as the star who gets born.  Sam Elliott and Dave Chapelle also are featured.

In fairness to the Internet...this trailer is also impressive.  There had already been good buzz building for the film and it seems the trailer has added fuel to the fire.

As a matter of fact, a few weeks back I started paying some serious attention to its Telluride chances because of the scuttlebutt I was seeing about test screenings.

There has been Oscar buzz and that also took a jump with the trailer's release yesterday. 

So...the factor to consider:  It could be Warner Brothers ticket back to Telluride.  Since 2012 WB has had: Argo, Prisoners, Gravity, Black Mass and Sully at the fest.

A Star Is Born is set for an Oct. 5th release.

Here's the trailer via YouTube:

Coverage from:

Awards Daily

Indiewire

Variety

Trailer Track

FIRST MAN (STILLS)

And also appearing yesterday, the first stills from Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man starring Ryan Gosling.  The La La Land pair could see this film book a return trip to Telluride for Chazelle (with Gosling, perhaps, attending this time around).

The film is under the Universal banner and is set for domestic release on Oct. 12th.

As you can see from the imprint, People magazine was the first to post the pics:

Coverage:

People

Coming Soon

Indiewire

Slash Film

That's going to have to do it for this Thursday.  I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up this first week in June.

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CinemaCon Reveals Some TFF Potential / Leigh's Peterloo Will Be on the Trail / No Cannes Screening But New Stills: Quixote / Payne Talks Downsizing Challenges

Good Monday Film Fans...


CINEMACON REVEALS SOME TFF POTENTIAL

The annual Las Vegas Show and Tell known as CinemaCon has opened and closed.  The event ran from Apr. 23-26 at Caesar's Palace in Sin City.  The event which traditionally focused on showcasing films that are expected or hoped to be big summer releases has also edged into offering glimpses of fall prestige releases.

That was certainly the case this year as a number of films that are already being buzzed about as potential awards contenders were featured.  That means we TFF fans probably ought to pay some attention to what was teased and the reactions that those teases evoked.

Variety posted a handy-dandy and comprehensive listing of films that showed up last week ands rated their assessment of the reactions from CinemaCon attendees.

The "hottest" film according to Variety that has been on my Telluride-radar is Damian Chazelle's First Man starring Ryan Gosling as American hero Neil Armstrong.  Variety has it as its third "hottest" title of the films teased in Vegas.  I have a comment about the films that Variety had as the two hottest below.

Other TFF possibles and their relative "hotness" position according to Variety:

Boy Erased at #7
Mary Queen of Scots at #9
Beautiful Boy at #20


The Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody was listed at #2 and I still doubt that it's a likely Telluride fit but Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born re-make with Lady Gaga  was listed at #1 and I think I am going to have to start seriously thinking about it as a possible TFF inclusion.  I've resisted that up until now largely because I was reluctant to believe that there would be much excitement about a film on its fourth time around.  The buzz was already strong, however,  leading up to the CinemaCon presentation and with the strong reaction there...I'm beginning to think that I can't just reject the possibility of a San Juan play out of hand.

Warners has the distribution rights and over the last few years with Argo (12), Prisoners and Gravity (13), Black Mass (15) and Sully (16) their presence has been felt.   SO...maybe A Star Is Born (#4)...

Here is a smattering of coverage from CinemaCon focused on possible TFF films:

Indiewire on Beautiful Boy

Indiewire on Widows

Indiewire on First Man



LEIGH'S PETERLOO WILL BE ON THE TRAIL

Many (including myself) thought Mike Leigh's Peterloo would be on the list of Palme d'Or competition films.  It was a bit of a surprise when that didn't happen.

Deadline reports this week, though, that the film "will be making a play at the fall film festivals".  Past that there are no specific details but considering Leigh's lengthy history with Telluride, you still have to think that a play at The SHOW is likely one of the"fall festivals: where the film could land.

The complete Deadline post is here.


 NO CANNES SCREENING BUT NEW STILLS: QUIXOTE

SlashFilm (/Film) posted a story this week that, again , lays out the latest legal bump in the road of a Cannes screening of Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.  The story itself doesn't truly break any new ground or provide new legal details or nuance but it does include ten new photos from the film.

I've posted a couple of them here and you can take a look at all of them linked at /Film's story.

PAYNE TALKS DOWNSIZING CHALLENGES

Photo from Indiewire

It's no secret that Alexander Payne's Downsizing had a rocky release both commercially (IMDb says it was a $68 million budget and a $39 million global gross) and critically...his lowest Metacritic score of all of the seven feature films he has directed at a 63).

Payne, who has become a staple figure at Telluride since his inclusion as Guest Director in 2009, spoke recently to Dick Cavett at a presentation during the just concluded Tribeca Film Festival.  Michael Nordine of Indiewire covered the conversation.

You can peruse the Indiewire story here.

Payne was recently announced to direct The Burial.  The film is based on a true story about corporate corruption in the funeral industry from a script from Golden Globe and  nominated and Tony Award winning writer Doug Wright (Quills, I Am My Own Wife).

That's a wrap for this last Monday in April.  More to come on Thursday.

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