Carnage Slipping Away/Cannes Titles Reconsidered/The SPC Film List/What About?/Hammond Dittoed?

Good Morning from Colorado Springs!  Heading home today after a great show from Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers last night.

CARNAGE SLIPPING AWAY

Word from multiple sources yesterday afternoon that Roman Polanski"s "Carnage" will open the New York Film Festival.  That puts a dagger into its heart for all practical purposes in as far as Telluride is concerned.  NYFF will have required exclusivity for booking it as the opener.  So, Goodbye Jodie!  Goodbye Kate!  Goodbye Christoph and John. 

Can't say that I'm really surprised though.


CANNES RECONSIDERED

With the announcement earlier this week that the Toronto International Film Festival Special Presentation list included "Habemus Papum" (We Have a Pope), it seems we might have to reconsider some of the other titles of films that played at Cannes and that could conceivably be in Telluride in September. 

In addition to "Habemus Papum," ( IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1456472/) I think we might give a slight chance to three other Cannes films:

Polisse (a Police procedural written and directed by one time actress Maiwenn Le Bosco..she was The Diva in "The Fifth Element")  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1661420/

Footnote (dueling father/son Jewish scholars dir. Joseph Cedar) IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1445520/

and, of course, Gus Van Sant's "Restless" featuring Mia Wasikowska.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1498569/

 THE SPC SLATE

Sony Pictures Classics most commonly has a significant presence at Telluride.  Last year for example:

Inside Job
The Illusionist
Of Gods and Men
Tamara Drewe
Incendies
Another Year

But this year...maybe not as much.  To wit:

Carnage...at Venice and it would be a surprise to show up anywhere else, much less Telluride.
A Dangerous Method...at Toronto and Venice and I'll bet that's it.
The Skin I Live In...after Cannes, I was dubious.  Now I think it has a 60/40 shot at T-ride
Footnote...lukewarm reception at Cannes, but a thin SPC slate makes it more likely.
Restless...the same note here as for Footnote above.
In Darkness...we know almost nothing...WWII rescue film.
Damsels in Distress...closing film for Venice...so it's off the table.

And I think that's it as far as what SPC has available in its stable right now.  Kind of hard to believe.

AND WHAT ABOUT???

Three really interesting sounding films that aren't on the Toronto list;

Angelina Jolie's directing (and writing) debut "In the Land of Blood and Honey"
John (Shakespeare in Love) Madden's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
and John Hillcoat's (The Road/The Proposition) "The Wettest County"

Where are these?  Done?  Undone?  Headed to Telluride?  Somewhere else?  New York's Film Fest perhaps.

I don't know, but I am interested.

HAMMOND DITTOED

I reported earlier this week that Pete Hammond is adamant that Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron will NOT play ANY of the festival circuit, including what I thought was a virtually certain stop in Telluride.

Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere picked up on that report late in the week and repeated it.  But I have to say, Wells seems kind of dubious...a sliver of doubt?

Check the Wells story and see what you think:
 http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/07/adult_surprise.php

Venice Sneak Peek/Machine Gun Preacher/Young Adult Date

Good Morning from Middle America!

VENICE SNEAK PEEK

The interwebs were lousy yesterday with leaked lists of the majority of the expected Venetian film lineup.  Ioncinema was first with "predictions" of the lineup.  Moments later Variety had the story with the actual films.  Several other outlets then relayed the information.  I have included links to IndieWire's and Rope of Silicon's versions of the story below. 

The bottom line is that the following films are expected to play at Venice (their official announcement will come Thursday and will likely include a few other films not on the list reported today):

The Ides of March directed by George Clooney (opener)

In Competition:


“Alps,” directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
“A Burning Hot Summer,” directed by Philippe Garrel
“Carnage,” directed by Roman Polanski
“A Dangerous Method,” directed by David Cronenberg
“Dark Horse,” directed by Todd Solondz
“The Exchange,” directed by Eran Kolirin
“Faust,” directed by Alexander Sokurov
“Himizu,” directed by Sion Sono
“Killer Joe,” directed by William Friedkin
“Last Day on Earth,” directed by Abel Ferrara
“The Moth Diaries,” directed by Mary Harron
“Poulet aux prunes,” directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Quando la notte,” directed by Cristina Comencini
“Seediq Bale,” directed by Wei Te-sheng
“Shame,” directed by Steve McQueen
“Terraferma,” directed by Emanuele Crialese
“Texas Killing Fields” directed by Ami Canaan Mann
“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” directed by Tomas Alfredson
“L’ultimo terrestre,” directed by Gipi
“W.E.,” directed by Madonna
“Wuthering Heights,” directed by Andrea Arnold

Apparently there are strong indications that Stephen Soderbergh's "Contagion" will also play in some portion of the Venice Festival.

That, in all likelihood dramatically reduces the chances we'll see these films in Telluride.  Expect to see one or two of them.  If I were guessing (and I am) I would rate these films as the most likely to play both places (in order of likelihood): 1) Dark Horse, 2) Shame, 3) Wuthering Heights, 4) Chicken with Plums, 5) The Exchange, 6) Faust , 7) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, 8) W.E., 9) A Dangerous Method, 10) Carnage.

Films that may have seen an increase in the chances that we'll see them at Telluride include:
Le Havre, The Wettest County, We Bought a Zoo, This Must Be the Place, Melancholia, The Artist, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Coriolanus, Moneyball, The Rum Diary, Albert Nobbs, Young Adult, The Iron Lady, The Descendants, My Week with Marilyn, The Kid with a Bike, The Skin I Inhabit (or Live In) and The Deep Blue Sea.

Big Films that are likely off the Telluride scope: Hugo, War Horse, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and J. Edgar...(though I could make some kind of case for any of them).

Walter Salles "On the Road" apparently won't be "ready" for Venice.  if that's true, it's also unlikely to be ready 3 days later for Telluride.

We'll have more insight when Toronto begins to announce its lineup (which appears to be just moments away) and Thursday when the official Venice lineup is announced.

Here are links to the Venice story from Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/venice-film-festival-2011-competition-titles-revealed-left-toronto?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=venice-film-festival-2011-competition-titles-revealed-left-toronto

and IndieWire:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/reports_david_cronenberg_roman_polanski_and_madonna_heading_venice_film_fes/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed

MACHINE GUN PREACHER, A TELLURIDE FEATURE?

Word  from The Playlist at IndieWire yesterday that "Machine Gun Preacher"  will open in limited release in NYC and LA on Sept. 23.  Director Marc Forster reportedly wants some awards season push for the film which stars Gerard Butler.  What makes me think it might show up at The SHOW?  It's a true life redemption tale and Forster was at Telluride in 2004 with "Finding Neverland" before he started to do a couple of big budget films (Quantum of Solace, World War Z).  Maybe he comes back this year.

Read the story form The Playlist here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/first_look_at_gerard_butler_in_marc_forsters_machine_gun_preacher

Machine Gun Preacher's IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1586752/

A DATE FOR YOUNG ADULT

Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" starring Oscar winner Charlize Theron will open in limited release on Dec. 9 according to The Hollywood Reporter.  That keeps it on track as a likely candidate for being a part of this year's Telluride Film Festival.  THR reports that Paramount opened "The Fighter" the same weekend last year leading one to conclude (not surprisingly) that "Young Adult" is expected to be included in this year's awards conversation.  "Young Adult" was written by Oscar winner Diablo Cody.  She and Reitman collaborated in 2007 on "Juno".

The Hollywood Reporter story is here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/charlize-theron-starrer-young-adult-215106

The Playlist also has the story here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/jason_reitmans_young_adult_starring_charlize_theron_patrick_wilson_hits_on/

Young Adult's IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/

Diablo Directs/Tinker Tailor Has A Trailer/Pathe at Telluride

Diablo Cody purportedly the morning after her Oscar win for Juno (via Thompson on Hollywood)

DIABLO WILL DIRECT

We have been speculating for a long time that we're pretty likely to see "Young Adult," the Diablo Cody penned, Jason Reitman directed dramedy featuring Charlize Theron at this year's Telluride Film Festival.  The Pair teamed up in 2007 at T-ride to put "Juno" on the path to success.  And Reitman returned to Telluride in 2009 with "Up in the Air."  So, although I don't think that it's a lock, I do think it's very likely. 

In the midst of all of this speculation came the news last week that Reitman was already set for his next project..."Labor Day."  I immediately slated it as a possible selection for TFF #39. 

Now word all over the Internet yesterday that Cody will slide into the director's chair herself for her next script.  Cody has penned a comedy entitled "Lamb of God" that she will calling the shots for (word is that Reitman will also be a producer for this film).  Consequently, I'll be adding it to the "possibles" list for next year's Telluride Film Festival.

Here are a couple of links to posts about the announcement yesterday:

From HitFix:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/awards-campaign/posts/diablo-cody-will-make-her-directorial-debut-with-lamb-of-god

The Wrap:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/diablo-cody-make-feature-directorial-debut-lamb-god-28699

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/06/29/mandate_buys_diablo_cody_script_lamb_of_god_for_her_to_direct

And from Cody herself:
http://honesttoblr.tumblr.com/post/7073255285/change-of-direction

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER TRAILER

Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" has already started to generate a lot of buzz for possible Oscar love, especially Gary Oldman who plays the role of George Smiley.  There has been some thought that it could possibly be on the list of films for the 38th Telluride Film Festival or perhaps a "sneak".  Yesterday, a teaser/trailer started popping up in many places and it looks terrific. 

I have included the link for the embedded trailer at The Playlist.  Playlist also says that TTSS is a virtual lock for the Venice Film Festival, which, as I've said before in this space, isn't a death sentence in as far as playing at T-ride, but probably reduces the chances that will happen.  Expect one or two films to make the crossover between Venice and Telluride.

Here's the link to The Playlist post and the trailer...enjoy.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_get_all_kinds_of_goosebumps_with_outstanding_teaser_trailer_for_tinke/

The TTSS IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/

OUR CONTINUING LOOK AT STUDIOS/PRODUCTION HOUSE/DISTRIBUTORS

I've been looking this week at various film companies and their recent connections to TFF to attempt to expose links and make deductive guesses at what we could see in September.  Today let's examine the French film outfit Pathe...

Pathe films at the Telluride Film Festival over the past 4-5 years:

2006: Volver
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009: Farewell, Bright Star
2010: The Illusionist, 127 Hours

So what do they have their fingers on that could play in 2011?  Two films are possible.  Both played at the Cannes Film Festival, but neither is a cinch.  More likely is probably Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit."  It was generally well received at Cannes and Almodovar films have had a significant presence at Telluride over the years...but remember, his last film "Broken Embraces" did NOT play at TFF.

The other Pathe possibility is "Pater" (Father) directed by Alain Cavalier which was a virtual non-entity as far as response from Cannes was concerned.  "Lukewarm" might be the best way to sum up the reaction it received there.  Ioncinema's collective critical scorecard had it with an anemic 2.1.  So, my feeling s that it is an unlikely presence at TFF #38.

Tomorrow we'll look at another French film company that also plays at Telluride and see what they have to offer as TFF #38 possibilities.

Herzog on Death/Moneyball Trailer/Skin/Diablo's Dream/Noah

Charlize Theron starring in "Young Adult"

After a quiet Sunday, a number of items to pass on to you today:

WERNER'S DOC ABOUT DEATH ROW

Variety reported this morning that  German Production company ZDF has signed onto the Werner Herzog documentary "Gazing into the Abyss."  The doc is being produced by The Discovery Channel folks for American television.  But I would not be surprised to see at least some of it on the playbill for TFF #38.  Herzog is a constant on the Telluride Film playlist and the festival likes to have docs on the bill of fare.  As for it being developed for TV rather than theatrical release, well, TFF has peeked at some of Ken Burns TV documentary projects over the years.  So it wouldn't be out of line for Herzog's doc to show there.
The project focuses on interviews with Texas death row inmates.  The IMDB site for the Herzog project (where it's still listed by the title "Death Row') is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843894/

MONEYBALL TRAILER

Last week we saw the first bits of the trailer for "Moneyball," the baseball film from Bennett Miller starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Here's the full trailer without the Entertainment Tonight stuff:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810166670/video/25625800

The "Moneyball" IMDB page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/

SKIN TRAILER

Speaking of trailers, here's the teaser for Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit (or "Live In"...depending)."  Thanks to Anne Thompson:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/06/20/trailer_watch_the_skin_i_live_in_teaser_is_crazy_sexy_scary/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=Twitter

Skin's IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/


DIABLO'S DREAM

Oscar winner and former Telluride guest (2007/Juno) Dibalo Cody was a guest on a panel yesterday where she revealed that her dream gig/screenplay would be a Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) biopic.  Cody (who I met in 2007 at the festival thanks to an introduction from Jason Reitman) is set to see the releases of her next film "Young Adult" this fall.  It's another collaboration with Reitman and stars Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson.  I think there's a reasonable chance that we'll see it in T-ride.  The Playlist has a nice post about the panel:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/diablo_cody_dreams_of_brian_wilson_biopic_teases_her_own_directorial_ambit/

The "Young Adult" IMDB page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/


ARONOFSKY'S "NOAH"

Darren Aronofsky was the toast of last year's festival with his "Black Swan" for which Natalie Portman won the Best Actress Oscar.  Now he says that his NEXT BIG THING  may be his magnum opus...a re-telling of the story of Noah.  The IFC website has some interesting tidbits along those lines here:
http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/06/darren-aronofsky-noahs-ark-christian-bale.php