600/Argo News/Gurus of Gold/Oscar Poker/Few with Feinberg/Oscar Guy/Central Park Five News/Beasts and SAG

Good Thursday World!

600

Today marks the 600th post of Michael's Telluride Film Blog/The Film Awards Clearinghouse.  Thanks for playing!  Hope that some of you have enjoyed it these last four years and found it informative and occasionally entertaining.

ARGO NEWS

Bryan Cranston's character poster for "Argo" (Supporting Actor nom please!)

Ben Affleck's "Argo" was the toast of Telluride this year and continues to ride a wave of buzz and popularity following the Toronto Festival.  Its roll out is complete next week when it opens nationally on Oct. 12th.  I'm looking forward to it as I will likely see it again.

WB has released 6 clips that together provide the set up for the Iranian hostage crisis set thriller that finds itself in the thick of the early awards conversation.  You can access those clips below via either Cinema Blend or The Playlist:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/6-Clips-From-Ben-Affleck-Argo-Reveal-Wild-Idea-Just-Might-Work-33294.html

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-6-clips-from-ben-afflecks-argo-set-up-the-story-plus-a-character-poster-for-bryan-cranston-20121001


Also available is this interview with Affleck from Hollywood News in the midst of the ongoing New York Film Festival (where Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" has been very well received):

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2012/10/01/ben-affleck-on-argo-and-why-his-ensembles-work-so-well oscars/


David Poland of Movie City News also shared this sit down with Affleck earlier this week:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/10/dp30-argo-directoractor-ben-affleck/


"Argo" has also been named this week to receive the Ensemble Acting Award from The Hollywood Film Awards:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-argo-cast-hollywood-film-awards-20121003,0,2477025.story

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/argo-ben-affleck-bryan-cranston-hollywood-film-awards-375905

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2012/10/03/ben-affleck-alan-arkin-john-goodman-and-bryan-cranston-to-receive-the-hollywood-ensemble-acting-award/


GURUS OF GOLD

Movie City News has updated the Gurus of Gold Best Picture race and you can find it here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/10/gurus-o-gold-after-toronto-part-1/

Sasha Stone of Awards Daily compares this week's new Guru rankings with the past three years at this point in her post here:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2012/10/02/movie-city-news-releases-gurus-of-gold-part-1-post-toronto-still-anyones-game/

And the conclusion you should draw is that Telluride, for better or worse, has the MOST TANGIBLE EFFECT ON THE OSCAR RACE!  More than Venice, Cannes, Sundance and even Toronto.  Just look at the front runners at this point in 2009, 2010 and 2011.  Then there's the whole "Slumdog Millionaire" phenomena that happened in 2008.  Some won, some ultimately did not.  But if you're a producer/distributor/director and you want/think your film is Oscar worthy, Telluride is almost indispensable as THE PLACE you want your film to drop...

Now, you can argue with whether that's what Telluride should be, is intended to be...whatever...but the proof is in the pudding.  And I know there is some resistance in some quarters about Telluride's place in the scheme of awards season.  Further, I know that there are some film outlets/individuals that resist going to Telluride for whatever reasons (time, distance, etc.).  Bu, seriously, how can you argue with the recent past?

2012 Gurus of Gold Best Picture  chart leader the first week of October: "Argo"
In 2011: "The Descendants" (Eventual winner "The Artist" was at #3...still proving my point)
In 2010: "The King's Speech"
In 2009: "Up in the Air"

In part Two, the Gurus weigh in on Best Actress, Actor, Supporting Actress and Actor:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/10/gurus-o-gold-after-toronto-part-2/


OSCAR POKER

Jeff Wells has a version of Oscar Poker up this week without past partner Sahsa Stone.  Scott Feinberg has stepped in for a one time/stand alone appearance.  I don't have a clue what went down between Stone and Wells...but it appears that that relationship is very, very done.  Stone has said she's moving onto another podcast and Wells is saying Oscar Poker will continue in some capacity...

Here's this week's link to the Wells/Feinberg edition:

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/10/oscar_poker_95.php


FEW WITH FEINBERG

And speaking of Scott Feinberg, here's this week's link to his video "A Few Minutes with Feinberg":

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/a-few-minutes-feinberg-fest-376292

SETH MAC FARLANE

Well, you have to hand it to the Academy.  They clearly wanted to shake things up for this year's Oscars and  almost certainly have done it by tapping comedian/actor/producer/writer/director...etc. Seth MacFarlane as this year's host.

I'm of a split mind here.  I've never been a big fan of MacFarlane's "work'.  I think the mix of topical satire and gross out humor doesn't play particularly well.  Though I do have to say, I mostly enjoyed his hosting gig on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago.  Additionally, I understand that the Academy wants a draw for the telecast and is obviously wanting the demographics to go a bit younger...but still...I don't think that this is the way I would have gone.

Here are a couple of links concerning the MacFarlane choice from The Playlist and The Hollywood Reporter:



http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/surprise-seth-macfarlane-selected-to-host-the-oscars-20121001

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/seth-macfarlane-hosting-oscars-375327

CENTRAL PARK FIVE NEWS

Scott Feinberg re-tweeted news yesterday that the producers of the Ken Burns led documentary "The Central Park Five" have had he film subpoenaed in the lawsuit that has been brought against New York as a consequence of  that case.  Here's the link to the New York Times from Scott's tweet with those details:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/03/nyregion/ny-city-subpoenas-ken-burns-film-on-89-jogger-rape.html?hp&_r=0

And also from Movieline:

http://movieline.com/2012/10/03/new-york-city-subpoenas-ken-burns-film-central-park-jogger-rape-89-central-park-five/


BEASTS AND SAG

Earlier this week the Screen Actor's Guild ruled that "Beasts of the Southern Wild", which has been considered a strong contender for recognition this awards season, was ineligible for the SAG ensemble award.  Will that affect its Oscar chances?  Hard to tell, but Scott Feinberg at The Hollywood Reporter thinks it could.  Two stories and links from The New York Times and from THR:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/beasts-of-the-southern-wild-ineligible-for-sag-awards/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/beasts-southern-wild-sag-awards-375204


More on Monday...have a good weekend.

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2.

"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog/The Film Awards Clearinghouse on Facebook.

#500/Best of the Week/Beasts De-Nudge/Thunder

Good Saturday...

#500...Welcome to my 500th post for Michael's Telluride Film Blog and The Film Awards Clearinghouse....500...hard to believe...

Thanks for reading!


Here's the best of what I posted this week...



MORE OSCAROLOGY POST-CANNES

Tom O'Neill's Gold Derby has its first odds posted for the Big 6 categories for 2012 in a post from this weekend. It's here:

http://www.goldderby.com/odds/index/56/

On its lengthy list are the following "good" Telluride possibilities:

Best Picture: The Master (#2) (a guy can hope...), Hyde Park on Hudson (#9), The Sapphires (#18), Amour (#19), On the Road (#22), 12 Years a Slave (#42) (is it going to be ready?...kind of doubt it), The Hunt (#58), Song for Marion (#69).

Director: PT Anderson (#1), M. Haneke (#15), R. Michel (#20), S. McQueen (#29), J. Audiard (#35), W. Salles (#57)

Actor: B. Murray (#2), PS Hoffman (#3), T. Stamp (#10), G. Hedlund (#14), M. Mikkelsen (#15),GG Bernal (#22), M. Schoenaerts (#27), C. Ejiofor (#30), S. Riley (#39), C. O'Dowd (#42)

Actress: L. Linney (#1), M. Cotillard (#3), K. Stewart (#15)

Supporting Actor: J. Pheonix (#1), M. Fassbender (#9), S. West (#10), B. Pitt (#24), V. Mortensen (#36)

Supporting Actress: A. Adams (#2), O. Williams (#3), V. Redgrave (#5), O. Colman (#8), L. Dern (#20), A. Adams (#26)


Sasha Stone at Awards Daily also analyzes The Gold Derby post and contrasts it with where we were at this point last year here:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/2012/06/is-it-too-early-for-oscar-predictions/



NEW VIEWS: AMOUR

One of the two films I am personally most excited about that played Cannes last month and almost certainly will play Telluride is Michale Haneke's "Amour" (the other is "Rust and Bone"). Haneke's other Palme D'Or winner "The White Ribbon" may have been the best film of 2009. I have included the link to Rope of Silicon's post of two clips from the film here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/amour-movie-clips-haneke-cannes/


NEW VIEWS: BEYOND THE HILLS (PLUS)

The Playlist put up a massive post of pics and clips from over a dozen Cannes films. It's very impressive. Check it here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-cannes-photos-richard-jenkins-in-killing-them-softly-20120510


12 YEARS A SLAVE...NEXT YEAR

News that director Steve McQueen is still casting "12 Years a Slave" from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/garret-dillahunt-will-work-the-fields-with-chiwetel-ejiofor-in-12-years-a-slave-20120605

The word is that filming is expected to start this month.

Now that may be a little confusing to readers of this blog who may have noticed numerous references to "12 Years" in Monday's post about Gold Derby's 2012 Oscar contenders.

Unless I'm wildly off, it won't be ready until way later than that. My guess is that McQueen is looking to Cannes next summer and that we could (and probably will) see it in Telluride for TFF #40 (2013).

ODDS AND ENDS



Paul McCartney confirmed yesterday that he will be part of the Olympics opening ceremony directed by Telluride favorite (and perpetually nice guy there) Danny Boyle. At one point the rumor was that Sir Paul would re-unite with Ringo and that George and John's sons would also appear in what would be the closest approximation of The Beatles.

I, personally, want even more...let's re-unite Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, and The Stones also as a part of the ceremony!

DJANGO!

If you don't obsessively watch the interweb for this kind of stuff and you didn't see Entertainment Tonight last night, then you missed the release of the first full-fledged trailer for Quentin Tarantino's much anticipated "Django Unchained".

The release came complete with controversy over an early sneak or two online in violation of an embargo from The Weinstein Company. The embargo was in place, almost certainly, to allow ET to have it "exclusively" for their syndicated show.

So, this morning, in order to not allow everyone the opportunity to see it (and it is kind of fun...in a Tarantino-y way), I have provided multiple links to various websites for the video:

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/trailer-watch-tarantinos-django-unchained-hits-web

HitFix:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/django-unchained-trailer-promises-an-assured-romp-with-lush-production-values-from-quentin-tarantino

Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/django-unchained-movie-trailer/

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-quentin-tarantinos-django-unchained-is-here-20120606

"Django Unchained" opens on Christmas Day and has a 2% chance of playing Telluride (and that might be on the optimistic side).

"Django's" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/


COSMO NO

David Cronenberg's Cannes competition piece "Cosmopolis" is off the table as a Telluride possibility. It was announced yesterday that the film will have an August 17 release here in the U.S. thus insuring a no show for T-ride.

"Cosmopolis" received mixed reviews at Cannes.

I had always thought that its Telluride prospects were dicey at best. Then with the critical reaction from Cannes being what it was, I was even less convinced that we'd see it in the mountains.

You have to wonder if there was a lack of interest from the fall festivals (T-ride, Venice and New York particularly...it is scheduled to open in Canada today, which would also preclude a Toronto run) and if that might not have been a part of the decision process.

Additionally, Aug. 17 doesn't exactly scream awards positioning.

Here's the story from both Hollywood Elsewhere:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/06/cosmopolis_will.php

and The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/david-cronenbergs-cosmopolis-starring-robert-pattinson-hits-u-s-theaters-on-august-17th-20120607


BEASTS DE-NUDGE

Earlier this week I nudged the Telluride programmers to think about including Sundance and Cannes hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild"...silly me.  "Beasts opens on June 27th...nevermind.


THUNDER

And because I am from Oklahoma and the Oklahoma City Thunder will be playing for an NBA championship and because I think it's kind of hilarious...the link to the trailer for Kevin Durant's film debut as himself in "Thunderstruck"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0wiLTsDqag


More Monday...have a good weekend.

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Django!/George Directing Again/Beasts Nudge

Good Morning!


DJANGO!

If you don't obsessively watch the interweb for this kind of stuff and you didn't see Entertainment Tonight last night, then you missed the release of the first full-fledged trailer for Quentin Tarantino's much anticipated "Django Unchained".

The release came complete with controversy over an early sneak or two online in violation of an embargo from The Weinstein Company.  The embargo was in place, almost certainly, to allow ET to have it "exclusively" for their syndicated show.

So, this morning, in order to not allow everyone the opportunity to see it (and it is kind of fun...in a Tarantino-y way), I have provided multiple links to various websites for the video:

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/trailer-watch-tarantinos-django-unchained-hits-web

HitFix:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/django-unchained-trailer-promises-an-assured-romp-with-lush-production-values-from-quentin-tarantino

Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/django-unchained-movie-trailer/

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-quentin-tarantinos-django-unchained-is-here-20120606

"Django Unchained" opens on Christmas Day and has a 2% chance of playing Telluride (and that might be on the optimistic side).

"Django's" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/


GEORGE DIRECTING AGAIN

TFF #38 tributee and all around nice guy...and maybe the biggest movie star in the world George Clooney is aiming to direct again according t reports around the web yesterday.

Clooney, who was never less than kind and engaging last September, will put together "The Yankee Commandante" for Focus Features.  It's based on a true story set in revolutionary Cuba.

The Hollywood Reporter suggests that it won't be Clooney's next directing project...but the one after.

Either way, applying my "Most peeps that come to Telluride's fest love it so much that they will come back" rule, (and the fact that I still believe that we were within an eyelash of seeing "Ides of March" at Telluride last year) maybe we see "The American Commandante" at some future TFF.

Here are a couple of stories about the announcement from yesterday:

Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118055145.html?cmpid=RSS|News|FilmNews

The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-direct-cuba-yankee-comandante-334374


BEASTS NUDGE

Earlier this week I "nudged" the programming types for the Telluride Film Festival to select Sundance hit "Six Sessions" (The Surrogate) for inclusion in TFF #39 which would fly in the face of the largely followed "nothing that has played in the U.S. prior to the fest gets picked" rule.

I reminded everyone that "An Education" played at Sundance before showing in T-ride in 2009.

So, here's my second nudge...let's see Sundance and Cannes sensation "Beasts of the Southern Wild" as well.

Thank you for your attention.

Here's some video from "Beasts":

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-clip-from-sundance-cannes-sensation-beasts-of-the-southern-wild-20120606#

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/beasts-of-the-southern-wild-new-featurette-keeps-it-enticing-video

"Beasts" IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125435/

More later.


Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Special to MTFB/FAC: Hazanavicius Wins/Sundance Concluding

Good Morning, World!

The Director's Guild of America named "The Artist" director Michel Hazanavicius the winner of its award for directing feature films last night.  Needless to say, that throws more fuel on the "It's a lock" for Best Picture fire.  I think that notion is probably true.  I have been thinking that one could make a reasonable case for the chances of an upset by "Hugo" or "The Descendants" or possibly even "The Help".  But probably not.

The SAG awards are tonight.  We'll have those results for you in tomorrow's post and also the parsing of them to see if they reveal any surprises or new wrinkles for the conventional wisdom as we edge closer to Oscar Day/Feb. 26.

Here's the complete skinny on last night's DGA awards from Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/2012-directors-guild-awards-michel-hazanavicius/

SUNDANCE CONCLUDING

The Sundance Film Festival is ratcheting down and they announced their awards last night.  Again, it seemed that there were two big, buzzy films: "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "The Surrogate".  The awards list underscores that.  Here, from HitFix is the complete Sundance Awards rundown:
http://www.hitfix.com/articles/2012-sundance-film-festival-jury-awards-winners
IMDb page for "The Surrogate": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1866249/
and for "Beasts..": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2125435/


I am hoping to receive another dispatch or two from Our Man in Utah, Gant Lee of Cinema Bebop to pass along about his Sundance experiences.
http://cinemabebop.tumblr.com/

Later...