Bits and Pieces About TFF #41 Films: Crossing the Streams-Birdman and Imitation Game/ Foxcatcher/Wild/The Imitation Game/The Homesman/and Marion Cotillard

Good Monday Everyone and Welcome to Monday...


BITS AND PIECES FROM TFF #41 FILMS:

CROSSING THE STREAMS-BIRDMAN AND IMITATION GAME:



Variety inventively got Benedict Cumberbatch of "The Imitation Game" and Edward Norton from "Birdman" together in its "Actor on Actors" video forum.  See it here:

http://variety.com/video/benedict-cumberbatch-and-ed-norton-actors-on-actors-conversation/

FOXCATCHER

The Playlist's profile of "Foxcatcher" director  Bennett Miller:


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/bennett-miller-the-invisible-auteur-behind-foxcatcher-moneyball-capote-20141119


WILD

The Playlist talks with the director of "Wild" Jean Marc Vallee about the film.  Check that here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/interview-jean-marc-vallee-talks-shooting-wild-making-playlists-and-the-one-song-he-really-wants-for-a-film-20141121

THE IMITATION GAME

The Weinstein Company has posted this interview on YouTube with Benedict Cumberbatch and Kiera Knightley talking to Walter Issacson:

THE HOMESMAN

Gold Derby posted this interview with "The Homesman" director, co-writer and star Tommy Lee Jones:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/7673/tommy-lee-jones-the-homesman-oscars-hilary-swank-entertainment-13579086-story.html


AND MARION COTILLARD

Marion Cotillard talks to HitFix's Greg Ellwood about "Two Days, One Night" and "Macbeth":

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/marion-cotillard-on-macbeth-i-lost-control-of-everything

Coming Attractions: Bring the Payne; New Jobs/Birdman Flies/Foxcatcher Interview/The Homesman: TLJ and the Times

Welcome one and all to the three dimensional production we'll call Monday...

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Periodically, as you know, I like to highlight some news that comes from the film world about films that may have some possibility of ending up as a part of a Telluride Film Festival of the future (or that I just happen to be captivated by).  There was some news toward the end of last week and over the weekend that fit into that category, so, as you might expect, here it is:



BRING THE PAYNE

Alexander Payne

Director/writer Alexander Payne has become an incredibly consistent part of the Telluride Film Fest landscape over the past five years.  He's guest directed, presented "The Descendants" and "Nebraska" and curated films as well so when news broke this week that he's set to put together his next project my ears perked up.

Announced at the end of last week was "Downsizing" expected to star Matt Damon (more about him in a sentence or two).   The film is described as a social satire that features Damon as a man who is shrunk...("Honey, I Shrunk Matt Damon").

I fully expect that Payne (who co-wrote with frequent collaborator Jim Taylor) and Damon's project will shoot in 2015.  My guess would be a shot at Cannes in May 2016 followed by a Telluride #43 presentation.  I'd also expect Damon to show up in the San Juans as Damon pal George Clooney did for "The Descendants" in 2011 and other pal and fellow member of "The Unified Clooney Theory", Ben Affleck with "Argo" in 2012.

Below are links to the announcement story from Variety, The Playlist, The Wrap, Rope of Silicon and Deadline:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/matt-damon-downsizing-casting-alexander-payne-1201348813/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/matt-damon-to-star-in-alexander-paynes-long-gestating-sci-fi-ish-geopolitical-comedy-downsizing-20141105

http://www.thewrap.com/matt-damon-to-star-in-alexander-paynes-downsizing/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/alexander-paynes-downsizing-finally-moving-forward-matt-damon/

http://deadline.com/2014/11/matt-damon-alexander-payne-downsizing-1201274509/


NEW JOBS

Danny Boyle

Meanwhile, another Telluride favorite, Danny Boyle, is still trying to land the lead for his Steve Jobs biopic as Christan Bale, who appeared to be set to play the title role has left the project.  The hot story over the weekend was that Michael Fassbender might be Boyle's answer.

Other casting rumors focus on Jessica Chastain and Seth Rogen (as Steve Wozniak).

Boyle presented "Slumdog Millionaire" at Telluride in 2008 and "127 Hours" in 2010.  Fassbender was in Telluride for Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" in 2013 and was the star of McQueen's other two T-ride presentations: "Hunger" also in 2008 and "Shame" in 2011.

The script is by Oscar winner Aaron Sorkin.

All of that sounds promising for a Telluride slot.  The fly in the ointment is that the film is currently set for domestic distribution from Columbia which has no history to speak of with TFF...

Still, a guy can hope and maybe this is finally the film that gets Jessica Chastain to T-ride.  Please!

Here's some of the hubbub about the Fassbender possibility from Variety and The Playlist:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/michael-fassbender-in-talks-to-play-steve-jobs-in-biopic-1201346741/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michael-fassbender-now-eyed-to-play-steve-jobs-in-danny-boyles-jobs-20141104


BIRDMAN FLIES

Michael Keaton and Edward Norton in "Birdman"

Alejandro G. Inarittu's "Birdman" continues to soar and expand to more theaters.  As it does so, Fox Searchlight continues to feed the P.R. machine and sometimes in very, very clever ways.

The first article below from Entertainment Weekly focuses on the play within the film that serves as the vehicle for Riggan Thompson's (Michael Keaton) possible redemption.

The second article takes a look at the trickier involved in the mind-blowing editing and cinematography involved to create the illusion that film looks like a series of incredibly long takes.

The third, and one of my favorite things of the week, from The Playlist, is the story about Fox Searchlight releasing a faux teaser for "Birdman Returns".  Presumably the second film of the "Birdman" trilogy that starred Riggan Thompson.  I've loaded the teaser from YouTube.  Watch it and then read the story.


http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/11/06/birdman-michael-keaton-exclusive/?hootPostID=80028e897d946a70d795d93af35511f1

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-birdman-achieved-seamless-one-shot-look/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-awesome-teaser-trailer-for-birdman-returns-starring-riggan-thomson-20141106


FOXCATCHER INTERVIEW

Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" is just a couple of weeks away from release and this week Radio Times Marty Ross Coane talked to him and Dave Schultz's widow Nancy.  That interview is here:

http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2014/11/03/bennett-millers-new-film-foxcatcher/

THE HOMESMAN: TLJ AND THE TIMES

"The Homesman" trailer via YouTube

Tommy Lee Jones talks to The New York Times about "The Homesman" starring Hilary Swank and Jones who also directed and co-wrote:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/09/movies/tommy-lee-jones-on-the-homesman.html



More on Thursday...

What I Saw in Telluride/Video from "Rosewater" and "Birdman"/LA Weekly's Oscar Take from TFF #41/Rate Those Flicks!

Hello friends and neighbors...hope everyone has made it back home safe and sound from TFF #41.

WHAT I SAW IN TELLURIDE

Ten films over essentially two and a half days.  I would have liked to have gotten in about 4 more than I saw. Nevertheless, I saw some really fine film work at the top of the list.  Here's what I saw and how I rated them...

1) Birdman 5/5
2) The Imitation Game 4.5/5
3) Foxcatcher 4.5/5
4) Wild Tales 3.5/5
5) Red Army 3.5/5
6) The Homesman 3.5/5
7) Wild 3/5
8) Magician 3/5 (adjusted)
9) Rosewater 3/5
10) Two Days, One Night 2.5/5

A comment or two...

Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" is a masterpiece and his best film...and I'm a fan of his other films. I think it's a tremendous piece of work.  First and foremost is Michael Keaton's turn as Riggan Thomson...the down and out former movie superstar who made his name as the titular "Birdman".  It is a fearless performance on a ridiculously high, ridiculously thin high wire and he is riveting.  It's one of the great performances on film I think I have ever seen.  Keaton must win Oscar...it is a oral imperative.  To deny this performance would be a crime.  And Keaton isn't alone.  Ed Norton and Emma Stone shine as well.  Both should earn nominations and Norton may very well win the Supporting Actor trophy.

The technical work is also dizzying.  The technique to create a two hour plus film that seems to be nearly one long, non-stop take is an amazing feat that is a marvel to behold.

Admittedly, there will be some who don't care for the film.  It's experimental, existential and eccentric but that's also makes it so special.

I was in a conversation Saturday night, right after seeing the film, with one of the industry's smartest people about the Oscar season and we both agreed that it's a tough sell for Best Picture but the more I've thought about it, the more I wonder about that assessment.  It's hard to deny the virtuosity here and the actors, which make up the largest block in The Academy, I think are going to eat it up.  It's an actor's film.  Further, I think it's going to end up with the most nominations when they are announced next January.  So maybe...maybe...

Ultimately I have a hard time believing that I'm going to see a better film between now and Dec. 31st.

Morten Tyldum...better get used to hearing that name.  He's the director of "The Imitation Game", the Alan Turing biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch which came as close to being the consensus hit of last week's festival as I could find and deservedly.  I loved it too...not as much as "Birdman" but still...

Cumberbatch will be a nominee for this film as will, I expect, Mr. Tyldum and the screenwriter Graham Moore.  That's enough to virtually guarantee a Best Picture nomination.  There's some sentiment that Kiera Nightley might be in the running for a Supporting Actress nomination.  Noms for Costumes and Art Direction are real possibilities and I could also see an editing nomination.

Some have compared this to "The King's Speech", "Argo" and "The Artist".  Not thematically at all, but as a very well made film that Telluride audiences responded enthusiastically to.  For some that is damning praise...not to me.  Say what you will, about those three films (two of which were from The Weinstein Company, as is "Imitation Game") but they were all outstanding films in their own right.

All that said...it's a damn good film and Cumberbatch in almost any other year might be the Oscar favorite...

Finally, in terms of the films I really dug at TFF #41, there's Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher".  It's fantastic but won't be everyone's cup of tea.  "Too cold" is how I've heard it described and that makes some sense.  But that "cool" aesthetic is absolutely essential to the central performance/character.  Steve Carell is... well, some would say a revelation as deeply crazy buhzillionaire Jon duPont in this true story.  I wouldn't say "revelatory" because I've thought he was going to be great in the role since I first heard about it.  And if you read this blog with regularity, you know that I've been tracking this film for...well..ever.  You might recall that I (and others) went through last season thinking we might see it in 2013.  Nope.  But it was worth the wait.

So, Carell is excellent as are Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum as two brothers trying to conquer the Olympics circa 1988.  Bennett Miller's direction is sure handed, confident.  He's a great talent.  It's too bad that he takes as much time as he does because that means we'll see fewer films from him over the next couple of decades.  But if his body of work continues to mirror "Capote", "Moneyball" and now "Foxcatcher"...it'll be worth the wait.


My expectation is that we'll see two acting nominations, Carell and either Ruffalo or Tatum...I can't see all three being nominated, though they probably should be...both Ruffalo and Tatum deserve the nod.  The Ruffalo love is probably not a surprise.  Tatum in that convo might raise an eyebrow until you see the performance.  Again, I'm not surprised.  I thought he'd be great too.

A Best Picture nomination is possible since we're likely to have nine films make the grade again this year.  A Best Direction nom for Miller is a tougher proposition though.  I'd vote for him but, you know, I'm not an Academy member.

A script nod for Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye is more likely.  Maybe editing as well.

That's the stuff I really liked of the ten films that I got to.


VIDEO FROM "ROSEWATER" AND "BIRDMAN"

Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood posted exclusive video of interviews with the "Rosewater" and "Birdman" folks and I'm passing  along those links to you:

"Rosewater":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-rosewaters-jon-stewart-and-gael-garcia-bernal-talk-purposeful-inauthenticity-exclusive-20140903


"Birdman":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu-talks-birdman-at-telluride-exclusive-video-20140901


L.A. WEEKLY'S OSCAR TAKE FROM TFF #41

L.A. Weekly posted their assessment of Oscar potentials from this year's Telluride crop yesterday.  Weirdly, no mention of "Birdman".  Check it here:

http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2014/09/03/wild-foxcatcher-rosewater-and-more-hunting-for-hits-at-telluride-2014


RATE THOSE FLICKS!

People have been responding but we need more data!  Send your 0-5 ratings of the films you saw in Telluride last weekend to me via Twitter @Gort2, or email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or leave your ratings as a comment to this blog.  I'll be collating and publishing these in about a week.  Meanwhile, The Professionals Telluride ratings are coming in and I expect to have those ready for your consumption on Monday.

Rate 'em!


More tomorrow...

LATE BREAKING: RIP LOUIS ZAMPERINI/IFC Films and TFF #41/Teasers and Trailers/Could "The Tribe" Make Noise in Telluride/

LATE BREAKING: RIP LOUIS ZAMPERINI

Overnight we got reports that American hero, Olympian and the focus of the upcoming film "Unbroken" Louis Zamperini has died.  Zamperini was 97 and will has been something of a presence in the media these last few months as the P.R. machine began to crank up for the Angelina Jolie film.  I have linked the Awards Daily coverage of Zamperini's passing:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/r-i-p-louis-zamperini-olympian-and-wwii-hero/


IFC FILMS AND TFF #41

IFC films has been a fairly substantial presence at Telluride over the past several years.  The firms highlight year probably was 2008 (the writer's strike year) when it was represented by 5 films.  IFC Films sometimes partners with Sundance Selects.

Here's the film record for IFC Films at Telluride for the past ten years:

2003: Touching the Void, Intermission
2004: Nobody Knows
2005: Three Times
2006: Deep Water, Indigenes
2007: Secret Sunshine, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Jar City
2008: Hunger, Gomorrah, Flame and Citron, Everlasting Moments, The Good, the Bad and the Weird
2009: Fish Tank, Red Riding Trilogy, Life During Wartime, Vincere
2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Carlos
2011: Into the Abyss, Pina
2012: Frances Ha
2013: No Show

IFC Films averages 2.3 films per year at the Telluride Film Festival over the last decade. So...what's in the IFC pipeline that has Telluride implications?

The one that seems most likely is Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria" which also played Cannes.  After that there is also "Bird People", "The Salvation" and "Welcome to New York".  It seems to me that "The Salvation" might be the next most likely film but any of these four or none of them could make the T-ride lineup.


TEASERS AND TRAILERS

Two new view of films that might be in the mix for Telluride.  First, a new trailer for Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher".  I just get more excited every time I see something new about the film.  Here's the trailer via YouTube:

And an accompanying story from The Dissolve:

http://thedissolve.com/news/2636-heres-a-terrifying-new-teaser-trailer-for-foxcatch/

Meanwhile, I'm warming to the idea that the latest Bill Murray flick could be in the T-ride mix.  "St. Vincent" stars Murray in full irresponsibility mode as an adult that develops a relationship with an adolescent.  It's in The Weinstein Company wheelhouse and could conceivably be a better shot at Oscar consideration than "Hyde Park on Hudson".  Additionally, I got the feeling that Murray really enjoyed his Telluride visit with "Hyde Park" two years ago.  Here's that trailer also from YouTube:

And, again, an accompanying story from The Dissolve:

http://thedissolve.com/news/2628-bill-murray-makes-the-world-better-in-his-own-way-/

COULD "THE TRIBE" MAKE NOISE IN TELLURIDE?

Alex Billington of FirstShowing.net reports that Drafthouse Films has acquired U.S. distribution for "The Tribe".  The film is told completely with sign language and without subtitles and was quite the buzz producer at Cannes in May.  

Drafthouse was represented at Telluride in 2012 with Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing"...By the way, I fully expect Oppenhiemer's sequel to screen at TFF #41, "The Look of Silence".

Here's the link to the Billington post that includes a slightly NSFW trailer:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/see-the-trailer-for-drafthouses-new-cannes-acquisition-the-tribe/

More tomorrow, including this week's "Ten Bets".

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Chandor and Miller Talk Past and Future/Sound and Fury About "Fury"/Sarah Polley's New Story to Tell

Good Thursday World...

From Kansas City, MO.  On to Chicago today.

CHANDOR AND MILLER TALK THE PAST AND FUTURE

J.C. Chandor via The Hollywood Reporter

The Hollywood Reporter talked recently to director/writers J.C. Chandor and Bennett Miller.  THR spoke with Chandor about last year's critical favorite (and one of my favorite films from TFF #41) "All is Lost".  THR also spoke to him about his upcoming "A Most Violent Year" starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.  I'm in hopes that "Year" follows "Lost" to Telluride.  The post also features a few notes from Bennett Miller vis-a-vis "Foxcatcher".  Take a look at the post here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/all-is-lost-director-jc-714964


SOUND AND FURY ABOUT "FURY"

Official trailer for "Fury" via joblo.com and YouTube

Brad Pitt's World War II tank drama has both a new poster and a new trailer.  The film is set for a November release and it's not completely outside the realm of possibility for it to play T-ride.  I can actually see the possibility of it playing along with Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" at TFF #41.  You can look at a couple of stories about the latest "Fury" P.R. barrage here:

HitFix:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/brad-pitt-and-shia-labeouf-are-dogs-of-war-in-tense-first-trailer-for-fury

The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-poster-for-brad-pitt-wwii-drama-fury-co-starring-shia-labeouf-logan-lerman-more-20140625


SARAH POLLEY HAS A NEW STORY TO TELL

Sarah Polley via The Hollywood Reporter

Sarah Polley made a big splash at Telluride a couple of years back with her documentary "Stories to Tell".  Now the actress turned director has her next project lined up.  The Hollywood Reporter reveals that Polley has secured the rights to John Green's ("The Fault in Our Stars" guy) "Looking for Alaska".  Might we see that in Telluride at a future fest?  I wouldn't rule it out.  Check the THR post here:

  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sarah-polley-adapt-john-greens-714911


FINALLY...

This last note...2014's first "Ten Bets" for Telluride is coming tomorrow...

Follow/Like Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook and Twitter (@Gort2)

We Have Guest Directors-Plural/Great TFF Films I Saw, Just NOT at TFF: Part 4

Good Thursday Everyone...The Telluride Film Festival announced yesterday that...


WE HAVE GUEST DIRECTORS...PLURAL

                                 

Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan via Variety

From the TFF Press Release...

BERKELEY, CA – Telluride Film Festival, presented by National Film Preserve LTD., is thrilled to announce its 2014 Guest Directors, Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan. The husband and wife team is set to select a series of films to present at the 41st Telluride Film Festival running over Labor Day Weekend, August 29 – September 1, 2014. The Guest Director program is sponsored by Audible.com.

 Festival organizers annually select one of the world’s great film enthusiasts to join them in the creation of the Festival’s program lineup. The Guest Director serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride. In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, Maddin and Morgan’s film selections, along with the rest of the Telluride lineup will be kept secret and unveiled on Opening Day, August 29, 2014.

 “Guy and Kim have long been a part of Telluride,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “There was no question that they were the perfect choice for this year’s Festival. Their energy, knowledge and enthusiasm is a winning combination – our audience will benefit from that when their selections are unveiled at the Festival!”

 Guy Maddin is an installation artist, writer and filmmaker, the director of ten feature-length movies, including My Winnipeg (2007), The Saddest Music in the World (2003), and innumerable shorts. He has also mounted around the world over seventy performances of his films featuring live elements – orchestra, sound effects, singing and narration.

 Twice he has won America's National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Experimental Film, with Archangel (1991) and The Heart of the World (2001). He has been bestowed many other awards, including the Telluride Silver Medallion in 1995, San Francisco International Film Festival’s Persistence of Vision Award in 2006, and an Emmy for his ballet film Dracula – Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002). Maddin is a print journalist and author of three books

Kim Morgan is a film, music and culture writer who has written for Salon, GQ, LA Weekly, Criterion, MSN Movies, Huffington Post, IFC, Entertainment Weekly, The Dissolve, Playboy, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Garage Magazine.

 Morgan has presented movies and moderated interviews for the Los Angeles Film Noir Festival and the Palm Springs Noir Festival. She has guest programmed for TCM and recently presented two films for Telluride Film Festival.

 Morgan has worked with Maddin on several occasions appearing in his short films, or “Hauntings” with Udo Kier. They collaborated together on the short, “Bing & Bela” and their upcoming series “Seances” will move to MOMA in 2014.

 “We are honored and thrilled to be guest directors at Telluride, by far the most concentrated, smartly curated, and enchanting of all the film festivals,” Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan commented jointly. “More than any other festival, Telluride is driven by the sheer love of cinema -- discovering new talents, honoring titans and unearthing neglected masterworks and geniuses. The opportunity to share our favorite films with Telluride and its always-discerning audience is not only exciting but an absorbing, wonderful challenge. There are so many movies we love, and to program a selection of six...  where to begin? We really wanted to show those masterpieces we felt hadn't been revived enough, if ever, and to see them as they were meant to be seen -- on the big screen. We can’t wait to watch!”

 Past Guest Directors include Caetano Veloso, Michael Ondaatje, Alexander Payne, Salman Rushdie, Peter Bogdanovich, B. Ruby Rich, Phillip Lopate, Errol Morris, Bertrand Tavernier, John Boorman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, G. Cabrera Infante,Peter Sellars, Don DeLillo, J.P. Gorin, Edith Kramer and Slavoj Zizek.

 41st Festival passes are now available at www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

Here's a selection of coverage about the announcement:

Variety:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/telluride-film-festival-taps-guy-maddin-kim-morgan-as-guest-directors-1201223031/

The Los Angeles Times:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-telluride-film-festival-guest-directors-guy-maddin-and-kim-morgan-20140618-story.html

The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/telluride-film-festival-guy-maddin-712856

IndieWire:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/guy-maddin-and-kim-morgan-to-present-film-series-at-telluride-film-festival-20140618

Awards Daily:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/kim-morgan-and-guy-maddin-to-bring-cool-to-telluride-as-2014-guest-directors/

Movie City News:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/06/41st-telluride-film-festival-guest-directors-will-be-guy-maddin-and-kim-morgan/

GREAT TFF FILMS I SAW, JUST NOT AT TFF: PART 4

Continuing this week's listing of great films that played Telluride that I actually caught elsewhere...So far that has included: "Amelie", "Brokeback Mountain", "Sling Blade", "Ed Wood" "Blue Velvet" and "The Straight Story".  Today's addition's are:

Another film from 2005: Bennett Miller's "Capote".  2005 was the year before my first foray into the Telluride Film Festival.  Wish I had been there.  "Capote" rightfully won Philip Seymour Hoffman the Oscar for Best Actor.  The film was also nominated for four other Academy Awards.  "Capote announced Miller's arrival in bold terms.  I came to it to see Hoffman's performance.  I stayed with it because it's just a really good film.  

From 2006: "The Lives of Others".  This won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and remains one of the best foreign films I have ever seen.  Terrific work from the lead Ulrich Muhe, who plays an East German officer of the secret police, who finds that he may have a conscience.  It's haunting film making from director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck.

Tomorrow, my two final Great TFF films that I didn't see at Telluride.  

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Cannes Down the Homestretch/Acquisition News from France/Early Oscar Talk: Foxcatcher

Good Thursday to Everyone...

CANNES DOWN THE HOMESTRETCH

As I type this morning the Cannes Film Festival is leaning toward its finish line.  About the time I publish this morning, the first non-press screening of Xavier Dolan's "Mommy" should just about be finished screening which just leaves two more films to screen in competition.  Award winners are set to be announced Saturday evening in France which is mid-day Saturday here in the States.

Of key concern to those of us with an eye toward Telluride are three things from the two week "granddaddy of all film fests"...1) The critical reactions, 2) the award winners and 3) the deals made by distributors that might be inclined to push a film for T-ride.

So...the critical reaction thus far...

I have been tracking four different Cannes critic trackers these last ten days or so.  Here's where they are in terms of the "top five" films in the Palme d'Or competition category.


Cannes Critics Ratings top five thus far:

1) "Goodbye to Language"/Godard (8.67)
2) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardenne Brothers (7.75)
3) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (7.61)
4) "Mommy"/Dolan (7.10)
5) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (6.93)

That complete chart is here:

http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2014

Ioncinema's Critics Panel has (which hasn't registered enough response yet for either "Mommy" or "Goodbye to Language):
1) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardenne Brothers (4.0)
2) (tie) "Mr. Turner"/Leigh (3.5)
2) (tie) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (3.5)
4) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (3.3)
5) "Foxcatcher"/Miller (3.2)

The complete chart from Ioncinema is here:

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2014-cannes-critics-panel-day-6-dardennes-receive-a-bonus-with-two-days-one-night-still-the-water-floats

Total Critics from South America has it looking like this:

1) "Goodbye to Language"/Godard (9.25)
2) "Winter Sleep"/Ceylan (7.71)
3) "Two Days, One Night"/Dardennes Brothers (7.35)
4) "The Wonders"/Rohrbacher (6.79)
5) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (6.68)

Check the full roundup here:

http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes


Finally, Critics Round Up has it this way:

1) Two Days, One Night"/Dardennes Brothers (94)
2) "Wild Tales"/Szifron (93)
3) "Timbuktu"/Sissako (84)
4) "The Wonders"/Rohrbacher (83)
5) "Mr. Turner"/Leigh (81)

Their complete look at Cannes is here;

http://criticsroundup.com/cannes-2014/


I have also collected all of these ratings for the 13 films (of the 18 in competition) to arrive at a consensus chart.

1) "Two Days, One Night"
2) "Winter Sleep"
3) "Timbuktu"
4) ""Mr. Turner"
5) "The Wonders"
6) "Foxcatcher"
7) "Wild Tales"
8) "Maps to the Stars"
9) "Saint Laurent"
10) "The Homesman"
11) "Still the Waters"
12) "Captives"
13) "The Search"

Note:  Late news this morning is that Dolan's "Mommy" is getting good reviews across the board and Jean Luc Godard's "Goodbye to Language" is getting great reviews.


Meanwhile, the three highest praised films from the festival's Un Certain Regard section have been Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room", Lisandro Alonso's "Jauja" and Jessica Hausner's "Amour Fou".


ACQUISITION NEWS FROM FRANCE

In a move that signals that we might want to to put Ken Loach's "Jimmy's Hall" on our Telluride radar, Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the U.S. distribution for that film.  "Jimmy's Hall" screened at Cannes in the Palme competition section this morning.  Here are reports about the SPC acquisition from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-ken-loachs-jimmys-hall-705840

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/cannes-sony-classics-acquires-ken-loachs-jimmys-hall-1201187214/

"Jimmy's Hall" trailer via YouTube/Coming Soon

SPC has also acquired the Yves St. Laurent biopic "Saint Laurent" during the festival and "Wild Tales".

EARLY OSCAR TALK...FOXCATCHER

Steve Carell in "Foxcatcher" via The Hollywood Reporter

IndieWire/CriticWire have echoed the claim that we've already seen in a lot of laces which is that Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" is likely the most Oscar-y film from the Cannes films.  Take a look at their compendium of critical response from Cannes:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/foxcatcher-steve-carell-channing-tatum-bennett-miller-cannes-review

I'll have Cannes updates through the next few days via this space and Twitter (@Gort2), otherwise...More on Monday...

HitFix Says Some of What I Say/Countdown to Cannes with Jake/Jane Got a Gun and Left for 2015

Welcome to Monday!

HITFIX SAYS SOME OF WHAT I SAY

Guy Lodge of HitFix posted an article this week about the lineup of films that Sony Pictures Classics has set to play at Cannes next month.  They have several films in play. Titles: "Foxcatcher", "Mr. Turner", "Coming Home", "Whiplash" and "Red Army".  Lodge includes this couple of sentences near the end of the post which sounds like I might have written it for this space:

"So, a strong start for Sony Classics -- and we don't even know what else they might acquire at the festival. Expect most of these titles to surface again in Telluride, where the studio has a strong history of taking their showcase titles, and beyond. "

You can read the entire post here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/sony-classics-set-for-a-bumper-year-at-cannes-following-acquisition-of-red-army



COUNTDOWN TO CANNES WITH JAKE

The opening of the Cannes Festival is less than three weeks away now (May 17), and Jake Howell and Movie City News have begun their annual countdown and synopses for the films in competition.  Howell has already highlighted "The Homesman", "The Captive" and "Foxcatcher".  I have linked to all three of those stories below and will try to snag the rest of them for future posts.  Additionally, watch my Twitter feed as I will retweet the links when Jake and MCN tweet them.


"The Homesman":

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/04/countdown-to-cannes-tommy-lee-jones/

"The Captive":

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/04/countdown-to-cannes-atom-egoyan/

"Foxcatcher":

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/04/countdown-to-cannes-bennett-miller/


JANE GOT A GUN AND LEFT FOR 2015

The troubled, and I mean Troubled...film "Jane Got a Gun" has undergone another shift.  The film's release has been pushed back to 2015.  The film has had changes in director and cast members as well.  Check the story at The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/official-jane-got-a-gun-698786

More on Thursday...

Cannes Catches "Foxcatcher"/"Coming Home" Could Still Come Home/Galapagos Web View

Good Monday Everyone!


CANNES CATCHES FOXCATCHER

Steve Carell as John duPont in Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher"

After several weeks of Cannes speculation (and three more to come until the April 17th official announcement) Guy Lodge of HitFix reports that Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" has been "independently verified" for a slot in one of the Cannes programs.  Lodge suggests a competition slot is likely for the based on true events film that was originally set for release last year but was subsequently pulled.

A Cannes premiere would add to the case for "Foxcatcher" becoming a Telluride programming choice. Miller's previous Telluride screening of his Oscar nominated "Capote" (with Best Actor win for the late Philip Seymour Hoffman) adds to the case as well.  Also indicating a possible Telluride play is the film's distributor Sony Pictures Classics.

Should it receive a favorable critical response and SPC set an appropriate release date, as is expected then the biggest hurdle to a Telluride play would likely be the "Toronto Ultimatum" from a couple of months ago that suggests that films are going to have to make a choice between Telluride and a prime spot at Toronto.  Miller's "Capote" and "Moneyball" both played Toronto.

The complete HitFix post is here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/channing-tatum-and-steve-carell-look-set-to-hit-the-cannes-red-carpet-with-foxcatcher

"COMING HOME" COULD STILL COME HOME (TO TELLURIDE)

Zhang Yimou in NYC this past weekend (via Variety)

I reported last week that Thompson on Hollywood had reported that Zhang Yimou's "Coming Home" (hotly anticipated as a Cannes selection) was going to screen this past weekend in NYC as a part of a dialogue with Yimou and Ang Lee.  As a result, I said, that screening could diminish the chances that the film became a choice for Telluride.

Happily, an alert MTFB reader commented that the said screening was not happening.  I published that comment but also thought I'd highlight it here as it certainly allows me to put the Yimou film right back into the thick of T-ride speculation...and happy am I that it is.  Secretly I am hoping to see/meet Gong Li on Colorado Ave. or in line at The Chuck!

Here's the text of Dan's comment:

Dan said...

There is no screening of the ZY film tonight at NYU, Its a Q@A with Ang lee and Yimou. Although I think it was screened for Ang lee.

Further, reports of the evening back up Dan's claims.  Here are links to a couple of stories reporting on the Lee/Yimou .

From Variety:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/directors-zhang-yimou-ang-lee-talk-censorship-hollywood-partnerships-at-nyu-event-1201149619/

The New York Times:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/03/28/ang-lee-and-zhang-yimou-on-movies-and-the-china-market/

So, put "coming Home" back on the "Telluride possible" list and thanks to "Dan"!

GALAPAGOS WEB PRESENCE

"Galapagos" poster via IMDb

"The Galapagos Affair: Satan Came to Eden" didn't get a lot of buzz during last year's fest but people I ran into it had seen it during the fest were complimentary.  The film's distributor, Zeigeist Films, announced this week that a new website was going live in support of the film.  That website is here:

http://www.galapagosaffair.com/

The film officially opens in the U.S. this week.


More on Thursday!