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

SHE WON'T BE SAYING ANYTHING AT TELLURIDE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

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

Bardo/Inarritu

Bones and All/Guadagnino

Broker/Kore-eda

Empire of Light/Mendes

Good Night Oppy/White

Holy Spider/Abbasi

One Fine Morning/Hansen-Love

TAR/Fields

The Wonder/Lelio

Women Talking/Polley

Major titles that seem certain not to be at Telluride:

The Banshees of Insherin

The Fabelmans

The Good Nurse

She Said

The Son

Triangle of Sadness

Major titles still up in the air for Telluride:

Armageddon Time

Blonde 

Master Gardener

The Pale Blue Eye

Showing Up

White Noise

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

BLONDE'S NEW TRAILER AND POSTER

New poster for Andrew Dominik's Blonde

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

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

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

(Photo via The Chicago Tribune)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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MTFB SPECIAL: VENICE ANNOUNCES

 Here are the announced films for the 2022 Venice Film Festival.  Films that I think could  be in contention for a Telluride play are indicated with ***

COMPETITION

"All The Beauty and The Bloodshed," Laura Poitras (U.S.)

"Argentina, 1985," Santiago Mitre (Argentina, U.S.)***

"Athena," Romain Gavras (France)***

"The Banshees of Inisherin," Martin McDonagh (U.K., U.S.)

​"Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths," Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Mexico)***

"Beyond The Wall," Vahid Jalilvand (Iran)

"Blonde," Andrew Dominik (U.S.)***

"Bones and All," Luca Guadagnino (U.S.)

"Chiara," Susanna Nicchiarelli (Italy)

"A Couple," Frederik Wiseman (U.S.)***

"The Eternal Daughter," Joanna Hogg (U.K.)

​"Il Signore Delle Formiche," Gianni Amelio (Italy)

"Love Life," Kôji Fukada (Japan, France)

"L’Immensità," Emanuele Crialese (Italy)

"Monica," Andrea Pallaoro (Italy)

"No Bears," Jafar Panahi (Iran)***

”On The Fringe,”

"Other People’s Children," Rebecca Zlotowski (France)

"Our Ties," Roschdy Zem (France)

"Saint Omer,' Alice Diop (France)

​"The Son," Florian Zeller (U.K.)***

"TÁR," Todd Field (U.S.)***

"The Whale," Darren Aronofsky (U.S.)***

"White Noise" - Noah Baumbach (U.S.) - OPENING FILM***

OUT OF COMPETITION - FICTION

"The Hanging Sun," Francesco Carrozzini (Italy) - CLOSING FILM

"Call Of God," Kim Ki-duk (Estonia, Kirighistan, Lettonia)

"Dead For a Dollar," Walter Hill (U.S.)

"Don’t Worry Darling," Olivia Wilde (U.S.)

"Dreamin’ Wild," Bill Pohlad (U.S.)***

"Living," Oliver Hermanus (U.K.)

"Master Gardener," Paul Schrader (U.S.)***

"Pearl," Ti West (U.S.)

"Siccitá," Paolo Virzì (Italy)

"When The Waves Are Gone," Lav Diaz (Philippines, France, Portugal, Denmark)

OUT OF COMPETITION - NON-FICTION

"A Compassionate Spy," Steve James (U.S.)

"Bobi Wine Ghetto President," Christopher Sharp, Moses Bwayo (Uganda, U.K., U.S.)

"Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom," Evgeny Afineevsky (Ukraine, U.K., U.S.)***

"Gli Ultimi Giorni Dell’Umanità," Enrico Ghezzi, Alessandro Gagliardo (Italy)

"In Viaggio," Gianfranco Rosi (Italy)***

"The Kiev Trial," Sergei Loznitsa (The Netherlands, Ukraine)

"The Matchmaker," Benedetta Argentieri (Italy)

"Music For Black Pigeons," Jørgen Leth, Andreas Koefoed (Denmark)

"Nuclear," Oliver Stone (U.S.)

OUT OF COMPETITION - SERIES

"Copenhagen Cowboy" (Episodes 1-6), Nicholas Winding Refn (Denmark)

"The Kingdom Exodus" (Episodes 1-5), Lars Von Trier (Denmark)

HORIZONS

​"Princess," Roberto De Paolis (Italy) - OPENING FILM

"A Man," Key Ishikawa (Japan)

"Autobiography," Makbul Mubarak (France, Germany, Qatar)

"Blanquita," Fernando Guzzoni (Chile, Mexico)

"Bread and Salt," Damian Kocur (Poland)

"The Bride," Sergio Trefaut (Portugal)

"For My Country," Rachid Hami (France, Taipei)

"The Happiest Man in the World," Teona Strugar Mitevska (Bosnia, Belgium, Denmark)

"Innocence," Guy Davidi (Denmark, Israel, Finland, Iceland) - Documentary

"Luxembourg, Luxembourg," Antonio Lukich (Ukraine)

"On The Fringe" ("En Los Márgenes"), Juan Diego Botto (Spain)

"The Sitting Duck," Jean-Paul Salomé (France)

"Ti Mangio il Cuore," Pippo Mezzapesa (Italy)

"To The North," Mihai Mincan (Romania, France, Greece, Bulgaria, Czech Republic)

"Trenque Lauquen," Laura Citarella (Argentina, Germany)

"Vera," Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel (Austria)

"Victim" ("Obet'"), Michal Blasko (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany)

"World War III," Houman Seyiedi (Iran)

​HORIZONS EXTRA

"Amanda," Carolina Cavalli

"Goliath," Adilkhan Yerzhanov

"Hanging Gardens," Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji

"Nezouh," Soudade Kaadan

"Notte Fantasma," Fulvio Risuleo

"Origin of Evil," Sébastien Marnier

"Red Shoes," Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser

"Valeria Is Getting Married," Michael Vinik

"Without Her," Arian Vazirdaftari

The next clues from Venice will come when they post the screening schedule.  Earlier scheduled films have the greatest likelihood of making the Venice/Telluride double play.  Although in an Indiewire story from Anne Thompson from a couple of days ago she suggested that some films might screen "simultaneously".  I'm not sure what that means.

More in my regular post on Thursday.

Venice and Telluride / Toronto Films-An Evolving List / And Babylon?

VENICE AND TELLURIDE

Venice announces its lineup tomorrow.  There is a lot of speculation out there that Bardo, Blonde and White Noise will all be in that announcement.  I fully expect that Bardo will make the trek to TFF #49 and Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel is reporting that White Noise will screen for TFF in August.  All of which leads me to ask Netflix...why not Blonde at Telluride?

Again, Netflix and TFF programmers, hear my plea...Blonde in the San Juans!  Ioncinema's Eric Lavallee suggests the possibility:

"We can finally put to rest all the chatter surrounding this one but we wonder if this could be a premiere title that passes on TIFF for a Telluride and then NYFF showing instead."

See the full Ioncinema Venice spec post (part one) here.

And Part Two here.

Other probable Venice inclusions that could double dip at Telluride: TAR, The Master Gardener, Bones and All, Athena, The Whale and No Bears.

TORONTO FILMS - AN EVOLVING LIST

TIFF is using a drip-drip-drip method of announcing World Premieres that they haven't used before.  As that list grows, I will be posting so we know which films are at TIFF and won't be at TFF#49. Those announced to date are:

Green Onions: A Knives Out Mystery

Brother

Bros

On the Come Up

The Woman King

My Policeman

The Fablemans

and Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel says The Greatest Beer Run Ever will also be a TIFF World Premiere.  Further, big props to Cameron Bailey and TIFF for landing the WP for Steven Spielberg's The Fablemans.

AND BABYLON?

Word is that Damien Chazelle's Babylon is "Picture locked".  MTFB friend Jason Osiason passed that along via Twitter this weekend.:

https://twitter.com/jasonosia/status/1551229707210866688

Now, the buzz has been that Babylon was likely off the board re: fall film fests.  

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel has had his ear to the ground about Babylon and had reported that director Damien Chazelle and Paramount have been at odds regarding the film fest fate of the much-anticipated film.  Ruimy has also reported that TFF folk have been aggressive in seeking to screen the film.  Assuming that any of this is true, if Babylon is that far down the trail, one assumes that it could be ready for a TFF #49 bow.

Yes please.

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My First Ten Bets for 2022 / A Look at Blonde / World of Reel's List of Films for Fests / To Babylon or not to Babylon / GDT's Pinocchio?

MY FIRST TEN BETS FOR 2022

Normally my first list of predicting 10 possible Telluride films comes a little later in June but the news that Toronto will announce some titles this week has made it imperative that I launch the first TFF #49 Ten Bets a bit earlier.  So, to that end, here are Ten Bets for TFF #49 (in order of my feeling that they make the list):

1) Bardo/Inarritu

2) One Fine Morning/Hansen-Love

3) The Son/Zeller

4) Close/Dhont

5) Women Talking/Polley

6) Aftersun/Wells

7) Showing Up/Reichardt

8) White Noise/Baumbach

9) Broker/Kore-eda

10) She Said/M. Schrader

Others: Tori and Lokita/Dardennes, Holy Spider/Abdasi, Blonde/Dominik, The Master Gardener/P. Schrader, Next Goal Wins/Waititi, The Forger/Peren, Babylon/Chazelle, TAR/Fields

A LOOK AT BLONDE

I have been reticent to include Andrew Dominik’s Blonde as a serious contender for screening at this year’s Telluride Film Festival.  The NC-17 rating, the rumors about some of the content and the additionally rumored clash between Dominik and Netflix over that content have all been reasons that I have been hesitant to conclude that it could be at TFF #49.

But… the release this week of what I think is a killer teaser, the reveal that Netflix is releasing the film on Sept. 23rd plus persistent buzz that the film is likely premiering at Venice and the good relationship over that last few years between TFF and Netflix have me re-thinking my position.  

At this point I think there is some chance that Blonde makes an appearance in the San Juans.  

As many readers are aware, I have been following the film for some time now with the notion that it could land at Telluride at some point.  It has been and remains one of my most anticipated films of the year.

Here's the teaser from Netflix (which I bet a lot of you have already seen) via YouTube:

Here are the details directly from Netflix.

WORLD OF REEL'S LIST FOR FESTS

Jordan Ruimy posted a list of 70 films that he believes are likely to play at least part of the festival gauntlet this fall.  That generally means the quartet of fests: Telluride, Venice, Toronto and New York.  Venice is actually the kickoff each season with Telluride taking off before Venice ends.  Toronto follows quickly thereafter and New York then happens in October.

Jordan breaks it down into various categories starting with what he calls "The Hot 20".  Taking a look at those, for fun, I have repeated Jordan's list but placed the films in the order of what I think right now is the likeliest to make the TFF #49 lineup.  So...from most to least likely:

1) Bardo (Inarritu)

2) White Noise (Baumbach)

3) Women Talking (Polley)

4) The Son (Zeller)

5) The Master Gardener (P. Schrader)

6) TAR (Field)

7) The Wonder (Lelio)

8) The Pale Blue Eye (Cooper)

9) She Said (M. Schrader)

10) Bones and All (Guadagnino)

11) Blonde (Dominik)

12) The Whale (Aronofsky)

13) Next Goal Wins (Waititi)

14) The Good Nurse (Linholm)

15) Passages (Sachs)

16) Red, White and Water (Neigebauer)

17) The Banshees of Inisherin (McDonagh)

18) Don't Worry Darling (Wilde)

19) Eileen (Oldroyd)

20) The Eternal Daughter (Hogg)

Ruimy then adds "The Next 20" and from that list the films that seems most possible are:

The Lost King (Frears)

Marlowe (Jordan)

Ticket to Paradise (Parker)

Then among the 30 other films that Ruimy includes:

Chevalier (Williams)

No Bears (Panahi)

Persuasion (Cracknell)

We'll see what happens and may have some early news this week as Toronto is reportedly going to name some of their lineup this week.

TO BABYLON OR NOT TO BABYLON?

We've seen reports that Paramount is unsure whether to take Damien Chazelle's Babylon to fall fests.  The above mentioned post from World of Reel suggests both possibilities.  Jordan writes both that "Chazelle...is skipping the fall fests" and then in the next paragraph Jordan writes:

 "A few surprises could (probably will) sneak in. I’m thinking maybe Chazelle’s “Babylon” ultimately decides to go the way of fall festivals."

We know that the film is more or less ready as reports of test screenings were coming in late March.  I've reminded readers that Chazelle has played both La La Land and First Man at Telluride but that history might cut both ways.  La La Land's ultimate Best Picture loss and First Man's inability to ignite much Oscar love (save for its win for Visual Effects and three other tech nominations) might make a difference in the choice of whether to offer the film to T-ride.

I'd like to believe that it makes the TFF #49 list.  Just like Blonde...Babylon is high on my list of most anticipated.

GDT'S PINOCCHIO?

Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio screened a new trailer and other footage at the Annecy Animation Festival this week.  Del Toro told audience members that the film was:

“10 minutes from being finished', and that crews are currently working on 60 different sets at once to get the film done in time."  according to Screen Daily.

GDT has been beloved at Telluride.  The fest screened his Oscar Best Picture winner The Shape of Water in 2017 and last year TFF collaborated for a special screening of Nightmare Alley on Dec. 1st 2021.  So you have to think that if Pinocchio is ready, it could be a Telluride selection.

Here's the teaser that appeared back in January from YouTube:

Here's the article from Screen Daily.

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Variety's Look at Venice Hopefuls...Clues for Telluride? / Searching SPC

 VARIETY'S LOOK AT VENICE HOPEFULS...CLUES FOR TFF ?

Yesterday Variety's Nick Vivarelli posted an examination of possible/probable Venice Fest choices.  It's interesting in light of the Venice/Telluride trail that has grown up in the last few years.  There are lots of possibilities to chew on in the article and I'll get to those...but...

One of the more intriguing sections of the post is a list of  seven films which have won the Best Director Oscar (and were Best Picture nominated with three winning that honor as well) that premiered in Venice:

2013: Gravity

2014: Birdman*

2016: La La Land

2017: The Shape of Water*

2018: Roma

2020: Nomadland*

2022: The Power of the Dog

(* indicates Best Picture winner)

Of note to TFF fans is that they all made the run from Venice to the San Juans. 

A big part of the post is focused on Netflix films that he reports are "in the Venice mix".  They include Alejandro Inarritu's Bardo, Noah Baumbach's White Noise, Andrew Dominik's Blonde and Romain Gavras' Athena.

From that list Bardo seems most likely to do the Venice/Telluride Shuffle with White Nose close behind.  Blonde has stirred controversy but I could still see it as a TFF #49 possibility.  The Gavras film is new to the conversation.

Other films that Vivarelli mentions that I feel like could be on flights from Italy to Colorado include:

Florian Zeller's The Son, Luca Guadagnino's Bones and All and Todd Fields: TAR.

The complete piece from Variety is linked here.

SEARCHING SPC

The second distributor to look at as we get closer to TFF #49 is Sony Pictures Classics.  SPC has a long tradition at Telluride and has averaged four titles per fest since I started attending in 2006.  Last year SPC had The Duke and Julia at TFF #48.

SPC's most likely title for TFF is Florian Zeller's The Son.  There are several reasons.  Zeller's The Father was a selection for the "Fest That Wasn't" in 2020.  Anthony Hopkins won his second Best Actor Oscar for it and Zeller won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.  An additional reason could be that Telluride regular Laura Dern is a cast member (along with Hugh Jackman who was a T-ride guest in 2018 with The Front Runner).

Also very likely for Telluride from SPC is Mia Hansen Love's One Fine Morning which SPC picked up at Cannes.  Hansen-Love also has a good track record with TFF.  One Fine Morning stars the currently red hot Lea Seydoux who could return to T-ride for the first time since 2013's Blue Is the Warmest Color.

One other possibility from SPC is the modern day re-telling of the opera Carmen.

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SPC Acquires One Fine Morning / A24 Nabs Aftersun / Critics from Cannes / What's Netflix Got?

SPSC ACQUIRES ONE FINE MORNING

Mia Hansen Love has been a significant presence at Telluride for some time.  That's also been true for her films as far as being invited to Cannes.  This year she has another film playing in France as a part of the Director's Fortnight section.  One Fine Morning has been getting more than decent critical notices.  As such, it has already been mentioned here as a potential TFF #49 selection.

Now comes news that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the film for North America and beyond.  That acquisition increases that chances that the film will make a trek to the San Juans over Labor Day weekend.  As most readers of this Blog know, SPC has had a very good relationship with TFF for many years.

Hansen-Love films that have screened at Telluride: Goodbye First Love, Things to Come and Bergman Island

Recent SPC films at TFF: Julia, The Duke, The Father, Pain and Glory, A Fantastic Woman, The Rider and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.

Details of the SPC move are here from Variety.

A24 NABS AFTERSUN

Meanwhile, A24 has acquired Charlotte Wells' Aftersun.  The film has made a splash in France.  The solid critical response and the A24 move means that we have to give it some serious thought about a spot at The SHOW.  Adding fuel to the T-ride speculation is that the film is produced, in part, by Barry Jenkin's PASTEL.  You have to think that helps it be on the Telluride radar.

Deadline has the story.

CRITICS FROM CANNES

As we head into the home stretch of the Cannes Film Fest and the choice for the winner of the Palme d'Or looms, here is your latest check of potential TFF films screening in France and their current critical standing based on Reini Urban's collected sample of critics.

Decision to Leave (Park Chan-wook) 7.54

Close (Lukas Dhont) 8.71

Holy Spider (Ali Abbasi) 6.66

Final Cut (Michel Hazanavicius) 7.42

One Fine Morning (Mia Hansen-Love) 7.45

Armageddon Time (James Gray) 6.88

All the People I'll Never Be (David Chou) 7.05

Showing Up (Kelly Reichardt) 6.75

R.M.N. (Cristian Mungiu) 6.81

Aftersun (Charlotte Wells) 8.25

Broker (Hirozaku Kore-eda) 6.25

Tori and Lokita (The Dardennes Brothers) 6.35

Stars at Noon (Claire Denis) 7.54

WHAT'S NETFLIX GOT?

It's that time of year where I try to peer into the films that we think could be ready for a Labor Day screening from some of the producers/distributors that have been common players at previous Telluride Film Fests.

And we start with what has become the most ubiquitous player at TFF over the past few years.  Since 2015Netflix has shown:

2015: Beasts of No Nation, Winter on Fire

2016: I Called Him Morgan, The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno

2017: First They Killed My Father, Wormwood

2018: Dovlatov, Girl, Reversing Roe, Roma, The Other Side of the Wind, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

2019: Inside Bill's Brain, Marriage Story, Tell Me Who I Am, The Two Popes

2020: No announced films

2021: The Hand of God, The Lost Daughter, The Power of the Dog, Procession

That's an impressive run.  But...

You have to wonder with all the turmoil at Netflix of late...decreasing membership, lower stock prices and layoffs as well as the inability of the big streaming giant to land a Best Picture win (3 big shots at that prize over the past four years-Roma, Marriage Story and The Power of the Dog) if they will consider changing strategies this year.

Then there's the question of what they have that could be players in awards season.

Noah Baumbach's White Noise

Andrew Dominik's NC-17 rated Blonde

George C. Wolfe's Rustin

David Fincher's The Killer  (Will it be ready by September?)

Tobias Lindholm's The Good Nurse

Kenya Barris' You People

Guillermo Del Toro's Piniocchio (Will it be ready?)

John Ridley's Shirley

Sebastian DeLilio's The Wonder

From this group and at the moment it feels like the best bets are White Noise, Shirley and The Wonder with honorable mentions for Blonde and Pinocchio.

***Added on June 9th- Look out for The Good Nurse

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Trailer for Hirokazu Kore-eda's Broker / Nathaniel Rogers April Foolish Oscar Predix and TFF #49

TRAILER FOR HIROKAZU KORE-EDA'S TRAILER

Playing Cannes in a few weeks is the latest film from Hirokazu Kore-eda.  Broker is described my IMDb as:

"Boxes that are left out for people to anonymously drop off their unwanted babies."

Seriously...that's what IMDb actually says.  I have seen the film titled "Baby Broker" which gives, perhaps, a little more insight into the film.

Kore-eda played TFF in 2018 with Shoplifters.  Now, with his latest film playing Cannes and competing for the Palme d'Or, we could see his return to Telluride.

Here's the recently released trailer ahead of its screening at Cannes:

Additionally, news about the film and trailer are linked here from The Film Stage.

NATHANIEL ROGERS APRIL FOOLISH PREDIX AND TFF #49

Nathaniel Rogers who runs The Film Experience Blog has up his initial 2022-23 Best Picture Oscar contenders and here's what films are on it (and "in contention") that could make noise at TFF #49:

Killers of the Flower Moon

The Son

White Noise

Babylon

Poor Things

Armageddon Time

Empire of Light

Rustin

The Killer

Women Talking

And among the films listed also are:

Red, White and Water

Showing Up

The Stars at Noon

The Whale

Cassandro

Golda

Crimes of the Future

Tar

Blonde

Shirley

The Wonder

Pinocchio

Chevalier

Next Goal Wins

Carmen

Asteroid City

Bardo

Rogers' complete Best Picture take is liked here.

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Incoming from Toronto / Cannes Awards Winners / The Last Duel for TFF #48? / Late Breaking: Pedro Opens Venice

 INCOMING FROM TORONTO

It's all been speculation, slips of the tongue and cryptic references about Telluride up to this point.  That changes tomorrow with the Toronto International Film Festival's announcement of Galas and Special Presentations.  It TIFF follows what has become the custom, each film announced will include a mention of that film's premiere status and if you know what each of those designations mean you can get a very good idea of some of the films that will or will not play at Telluride.

For TIFF's announcement tomorrow the designations you need to know are:

World Premiere which means the first public screening anywhere on the planet (test screenings don't count).

International Premiere which means the first screening of a film outside the film's nation of origin.  This designation signals that the World Premiere has occurred in that nation of origin.  This designation is bit "squishy" for a number of reasons.  For example, films with multiple producers/financers from different nations make this designation difficult to nail down sometimes.

North American Premiere which means the first public screening on the continent.  You' likely see it tomorrow on films that have already screened at Cannes.  That means no U.S. play will have occurred.

Canadian Premiere which means the first public screening in Canada. 

An International Premiere or Canadian Premiere status points to a possible Telluride play but isn't a lock.  For example, if TIFF programs a Sundance Film that would be classified as an International Premiere.  If that Sundance film also played Cannes, then TIFF would label it a Canadian Premiere.  So these two designations don't automatically mean a Telluride play.

If a film is designated a World or North American Premiere...that means no Telluride.

We've already had an example of how this works this season with the New York Film Fest's announcement that Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch will have its U.S. Premiere there.  Since TFF precedes NYFF we can conclude two things: the film won't play Telluride because if it had, New York couldn't designate it as a U.S. Premiere.  We also know that it will have played Toronto because if it hadn't, New York would bill it as a North American Premiere.

Couple of other notes: there will be errors.  Sometimes that's on the part of TIFF inaccurately designating a film's status.  Sometimes it's because of the "squishy" nature of the International Premiere status and sometimes I just miss something I should have caught.

The other note is that there will be joy and disappointment.  Joy at the inclusion of films that I'll be thrilled to be chosen for Telluride and disappointment that films I am hoping for will likely not be making it to the San Juans.

There will also be that first moment that affirms or denies the efficacy of this summer's Ten Bets.

Here's the latest Ten Bets that I posted last Thursday...we'll start to see if any of this lands tomorrow:

1) Something from Mark Cousins***

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) The Card Counter/Schrader

4) The Power of the Dog/Campion

5) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Julia/Cohen and West

10) Spencer/Larrain

Other Possibles: Dune, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Mothering Sunday and Bergman Island.

***Mark Cousins projects that could play:

The Story of Looking

The Storms of Jeremy Thomas

The Story of Film: The Next Generation

My biggest hopes for Telluride at this point are: Nightmare Alley, Dune and Blonde.

I'll likely have a SPECIAL EDITION tomorrow with a rundown of what the TIFF announcement tells us.

CANNES AWARDS WINNERS

Julia Ducournau's Titane won the Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or from a Spike Lee led jury on Saturday.  The film's IMDB description:

"Following a series of unexplained crimes, a father is reunited with the son who has been missing for 10 years. Titane : A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys."

The film's Palme win likely increases its chance to play at Telluride but it's not a lock.  In the years since I've been doing this the Palme to Telluride connection only happens about half the time.  Titane's distributor is NEON which probably tips the scales a bit toward TFF #48 inclusion.

Other notable awards included a the Grand Prix to Asghar Farhadi's A Hero (tied with Compartment #6).  Leos Carax was named Best Director for Annette.

The complete list of Cannes' winners is here from Variety.

THE LAST DUEL FOR TFF #48?

Chris Evangelista posted an article about what is known about Ridley Scott's The Last Duel for SlashFilm last Wednesday.  It included casting info (Adam Driver, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jodie Comer), release dates (Oct. 15th) descriptions of the film and the book upon which it's based.  Damon, Affleck and Nicole Holofcener co-wrote the screenplay.

Of note was these two sentences early on in the post:

"For now, though, you can bank on this one being a strict theatrical release. You can also probably expect it to play some fall festivals, like TIFF or Telluride (that’s just a guess on my part, but I think it’s a good guess)."

An extra note here to remind readers that Affleck's Argo debuted at Telluride in 2012 and that worked out well for him.  Holofcener was in Telluride in 2018 with Can You Ever Forgive Me? (3 Oscar nominations).

Could The Last Duel make an appearance at TFF #48?  Evangelista thinks it's a possibility.

Here's the entire SlashFilm article.

LATE BREAKING: PEDRO OPENS VENICE

Just in as I go to post this morning is news that Pedro Alomodovar's Madres Paralelas will open the Venice Film Festival.  That keeps it in good position as a possible inclusion for Telluride.  Details here from The Playlist.

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TFF #48 Spec from Someone Besides Myself / Looks at TFF Possibles: Saints, Rockets and BOOM / Your Cousin Has Another / And Finally from TFF #47

TFF #48 SPEC FROM SOMEONE BESIDES MYSELF

Jordan Ruimy's World of Reel has taken a look at the same Pete Hammond report of the recent Telluride Film Fest Annual "To-Do" in L.A. and drawn some conclusions and done some speculating.  He has some ideas that are intriguing that I thought I'd pass along.

Ruimy's analysis of Hammond's claims that there could be as many as four Netflix films at TFF #48 has him suggesting The Power of the Dog, Blonde, The Hand of God and Don't Look Back.

Other films on Ruimy's guess list include: The French Dispatch, King Richard. C'mon C'mon, Last Night in Soho, The Eyes of Tammy Faye, The Whale, The Card Counter, The Tragedy of Macbeth and possibly Nightmare Alley.

As of last Thursday's first "Ten Bets" you know that I'm agreeing with Ruimy on: The Power of the Dog, The Card Counter and Nightmare Alley.

This note though: we're still very early in the serious TFF #48 prediction game.

Here's the link to the Ruimy story.

LOOKS AT TFF POSSIBLES: SAINTS, ROCKETS AND BOOM

Michael Gandolfini as a young Tony Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark

A slew of articles about films that are a part of the conversation for possible Telluride inclusion popped up this past week:

Indiewire looks at The Many Saints of Newark, the prequel film to HBO's classic series The Sopranos.  Here's the link to that.

Indiewire also looks at Red Rocket, Sean Baker's follow up to The Florida Project.  That is linked here.

Meanwhile, SlashFilm runs down a preview of  Lin Manuel Miranda's tick, tick...Boom.  That look is here.

YOUR COUSIN HAS ANOTHER

A scene from Mark Cousins' The Storms of Jeremy Thomas

Mark Cousins, who has already been invited to screen The Story of Looking at Cannes, revealed this past weekend that he has another film selected for Cannes Classics.  Cousins' will be screening The Storms of Jeremy Thomas as a separate selection on the Croisette.

The "twofer" raises the prospect that Cousins, whose ties with the Telluride fest are long and deep, might have both films show up on the TFF #48 list when it's announced on Wednesday, August 31st.

Deadline.com has that story as well as first look footage from the film.  That's linked here.

AND FINALLY, FROM TFF #47

Last year, when Telluride announced the list of films that would have been screened had TFF #47 taken place, TFF regular Roger Michell's The Duke was included.  The comedy starring Jim Broadbent and Helen Mirren is now on the cusp of release in the United Kingdom and an official trailer has dropped.

Here's that is via YouTube:

The Duke opens in the U.K. on Sept. 3rd.

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Ten Bets #1 for TFF #48 / Toronto's Early Line / Winners at Annecy

 TEN BETS #1 FOR TFF #48

Well, here we are.  June 24th, 2021.  Roughly two months away from the start of TFF #48.  It's still not a guarantee but each day we get closer, the more confident I feel that we'll all be seeing each other in the San Juans in September...which sounds like a song title from a Crosby/Hope road picture doesn't it?

Here's this year's first actual attempt at a list of films that I feel like could be on the list for TFF #48 when that drops presumably on Sept. 1st.  As always, there are no "locks" on the Ten Bets- at least at this point- and fair warning, my normal track record for the initial Ten Bets each season is roughly 50%.

So, without further ado and drumroll please...

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns, Burns and McMahon

3) The Card Counter/Schrader

4) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

5) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

6) Bergman Island/Hansen-Love

7) Cow/Arnold

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Blonde/Dominik

10) The Story of Looking/Cousins

Don't discount the possibility of: Dune, Julia, Mothering Sunday, Petite Maman, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye.

Again, grain of salt.

I'll update the Ten Bets list each week as the summer progresses right up to the final Ten Bets which is usually 20-25 bets) on Tuesday, August 31st.

TORONTO'S EARLY LINE

The Toronto International Film Festival dropped the titles of a dozen or so films that will be a part of this year's TIFF.  Unlike most normal announcements from TIFF, no premiere status was included.  The closest the statement came was to characterize Denis Villenueve's Dune as a World IMAX premiere.  Absent the specific premiere status I'm going to assume that any and all of the films are still possible for Telluride including Dune.  Other films of note in as far as Telluride potential that were included in the announcement today were:

Dune, Last Night in Soho, Petite Maman, Belfast, Les Bal des Folles, Lakewood and The Starling.

The complete story of the early announced Toronto films is here from Indiewire,

WINNERS AT ANNECY

The world's largest animated film fest, the Annecy Animation Festival has concluded in France with winning films announced last week.  Annecy is of some note to Telluride observers as films that have played there occasionally are programmed in T-ride over Labor Day weekend.

Big winners were: Flee and My Sunny Maad.  Flee won the top award at the fest, the Cristal.  Flee debuted at Sundance last January which normally precludes a slot in Telluride but there are rare exceptions and I feel like this could be one of those.  

The film is being distributed in the United States by NEON.

The complete rundown about the fest is linked here from Variety.

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Still a Little Wonky / Pete Hammond at the TFF Party / ICYMI: Barry Jenkins Will Guest Direct TFF #48

STILL A LITTLE WONKY

Fair Warning...the next three weeks will be weird and MTFB may not post quite as it normally does.  The Chief Executive is art showing over the next couple of weeks with The Festival of the Arts in Oklahoma City this week (and it does run almost the entire week) followed by a crazy three day drive to the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts to do the Independence Day weekend Berkshires Art Festival.

I'll attempt to keep to my normal Monday/Thursday posting sked and I am planning for the first "Ten Bets" for TFF #48 to hit on Thursday, June 24th.  But no promises...if the art tent collapses... 

PETE HAMMOND AT THE TFF PARTY

Every year, except, of course, last year, the Telluride Film Festival hosts a big wing-ding in L.A.  That wing-wing happened last Thursday.  Deadline's Pate Hammond was on hand and filed a report on Friday filled with hints and guesses at films that could be Telluride bound.  Amoing the juicier of the items was this line about Netflix films:

"I have reliably heard that Netflix — of course, still not going to Cannes next month — will have at least four films at T-Ride if things work out."

If you look back at my review of Netflix possibilities that I posted on May 17th you'll see that I pegged the following as Netflix's most Likely T-ride players:

The Power of the Dog

Blonde

The Hand of God

tick, tick...BOOM

Don't Look Back

If any of this make up that group of four, that's a powerhouse of a lineup!  I'm personally pulling for Dominik's Blonde, Miranda's tick, tick, BOOM, McKay's Don't Look Back and Campion's The Power of the Dog being the four.  

But note Hammond's qualifier "if things work out".

Here's the link back to my May 17th post.

Hammond also mentions Warner Bros. and Denis Villenueve's Dune:

"I am told Warner Bros, which just confirmed Denis Villeneuve’s Dune for Venice, is possibly going to have a film hit Telluride as well, likely one of its awaited fall titles like David Chase’s Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark, Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho or even November title King Richard with Will Smith."

Personally, I still think Dune is the most likely TFF #48 player from Warners and the one about which I would be most excited.

Then it's to Searchlight.  Here's what Hammond writes:

"There was a strong Searchlight contingent spotted, and they usually are good for one or two movies. Whether Cannes entry Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is one of them is unknown (it has also been announced for NYFF), but September release The Eyes of Tammy Faye with Jessica Chastain and Andrew Garfield makes sense."

And while I don't discount the possibility that "Tammy Faye" could play (I actually am leaning toward it being at Toronto and skipping T-ride right now), my guess is that Guillermo Del Toro's Nightmare Alley (also from Searchlight) is probably more likely and don't totally discount Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins.  Check my Searchlight analysis from my May 24th post.

Hammond also says that Amazon Studios was out in force at the Thursday evening soiree. 

The complete Hammond account of he party is linked here.

ICYMI: BARRY JENKINS TO GUEST DIRECT TFF #48

From the TFF press release:

Los Angeles, CA – Telluride Film Festival, presented by National Film Preserve LTD., is proud to announce Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins as its 2021 Guest Director. The celebrated filmmaker is set to select a series of films to present at the 48h Telluride Film Festival running September 2 - 6, 2021. 

 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, Jenkins’s film selections, along with the rest of the Telluride lineup, will be kept secret until Opening Day.

“Each year as we think about who a good Guest Director would be, Tom and I weigh different factors,” said executive director Julie Huntsinger. “Many are based in the intellectual realm: film knowledge, appreciation and, of course, serious talent. But our recipe always includes something more ephemeral – something that has to do with the quality of the human heart. Rare is the person who exceeds on each of these criteria. Barry Jenkins checks every box and more. We feel lucky and a little incredulous that our long-time friend and very talented colleague has agreed to join us as Guest Director this year. The whole world knows of Barry’s gifts, and we’re thrilled that he is taking the time to share the films he loves in a place with the people who love him dearly.”

Academy Award winner Barry Jenkins’ feature film debut, MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY, was hailed as one of the best films of 2009 by The New York Times and received several Independent Spirit and Gotham Award nominations. In 2019, along with playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney, Jenkins received an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for his second feature the Academy Award and Golden Globe winning Best Picture MOONLIGHT. As well as earning eight Academy Award nominations, ten Broadcast Critics Choice Awards nominations, six Golden Globe nominations and four BAFTA nominations, MOONLIGHT won Best Picture and Director at the Gotham Awards and Best International Film by the British Independent Film Awards. In addition to NYFCC and NBR awarding Jenkins Best Director and LAFCA naming him Best Director and the film Best Picture, Jenkins received a DGA Best Director nomination and won the WGA Award for Best Original Screenplay. His third feature, the adaptation of James Baldwin’s IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK went on to receive three Academy Award nominations and won Best Picture at the Independent Spirit Awards. Jenkins also received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Director. Jenkins’ next feature film projects include a follow up to THE LION KING for Walt Disney Studios as well as a biopic of famed choreographer, Alvin Ailey, for Searchlight Pictures.

For television, Jenkins directed an episode in the first season of the Netflix Original Series DEAR WHITE PEOPLE. His most recent project for television is the critically acclaimed adaptation of Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award winner Colson Whitehead’s THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD for Amazon. Jenkins has directed all episodes and written a number of the screenplays. Upcoming work includes a script based on the life of the first American Female Olympic boxing champ Clarissa “T-Rex” Shields as well as an adaptation of Netflix’s original documentary, VIRUNGA, about the battle to save the Congo’s mountain gorilla population.

My first Telluride was the 29th festival, in 2002. In the time since, I've done many things at the festival both high -- opening the Werner Herzog Cinema as Ringmaster and, of course, the world premiere of Moonlight -- and low (rolling up the floor of the Max at festival's end was a rite of passage). When I was approached about curating the Filmmakers of Tomorrow program many years ago, I was honored to be invited deeper into the inner workings of the festival I loved so dearly; being invited to curate a program as Guest Director is an honor my 2002 self would never imagine. We've all been tucked away in our silos longing for the day when we can safely venture out into communal spaces to once again partake in the rituals of cinema we love so dearly. I never doubted that the show would once again go on. But having a role in what is shown? Yes, that is quite the honor indeed. My thanks to Tom and Julie for bestowing this wonderful gift upon me. I'll see everyone at the SHOW. 

Past Guest Directors include Pico Iyer, Jonathan Lethem, Joshua Oppenheimer, Volker Schlöndorff, Rachel Kushner, Guy Maddin, 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 Žižek.

 The Guest Director program is sponsored by Turner Classic Movies (TCM). Considered throughout the industry as one of the leading authorities on classic film, the network presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, highlighting the entire spectrum of film history. 

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