Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
The Annecy International Animated Film Festival is off and running in France. It opened on Monday and will run through the end of the week. I note the world's largest Film Fest dedicated to animation because there are almost always some animated films, both shorts and features, that appear there and then make there way to Telluride for Labor Day.
Variety has had significant coverage of the fest so far and you can find a good deal of it here:
Oklahoma's own film festival, deadCenter, comes to life today and continues its run through this weekend. Both "A Trip to Italy" and "Frank" are screened today...which for my money might be the two most intriguing titles on the deadCenter slate this year. Check the full schedule at the official website here:
A couple of announcements that last few days that caught my eye about future projects. Zhang Yimou, whose "Coming Home" is a film that I feel is in the conversation for screening at Telluride this year, has announced that he will be involved in a production that will focus on telling the story of the Great Wall of China. That story was reported by The Hollywood Reporter:
Also getting my notice was this story from The Playlist about Ariel Vromen's next project. Vromen directed the TFF #39 entry "The Iceman". Here's that story from The Playlist:
Good Monday to All...to the extent that it CAN be a good Monday...
COMING ATTRACTIONS
I'm always sniffing around for news of films announced, going into production, deals struck that seem to me to have some potential, for a variety of reasons, to end up playing as a part of some future Telluride program. This year, Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" is a perfect example. I'd been collecting and occasionally posting stories about it for months. The earliest story I can find that I still have stored in my "Future Telluride" file is from Dec. 2011.
Another example occurred this week with the announcement from Fox Searchlight that they're going to produce a new adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic novel "Far From the Madding Crowd". While the fact that it's a classic piece of literature and that it's Fox Searchlight would have been enough for me to consider it as a future Telluride prospect, the additional news that it's to be directed by Thomas Vintenberg also piqued my interest. Vintenberg's "The Hunt" played T-ride #39. The announced casting of Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts didn't hurt its profile either.
All of this also got me to thinking about what I DID have stored away on my hard drive so I went through it and cleaned it out this week and in doing that I discovered that there are still a lot of films that I've stashed info about. Some will never get made. Some have no realistic chance of being on the Telluride program. But some are very likely to end up in the San Juans on some future Labor Day weekend. More about that a little farther down.
After culling the "Future Telluride" list, I was left with 167 entries for nearly 70 films. I dumped about an equal number from the file. Still, that's a ton of reference material left. And what can I tell you from all of that?
Well, there are some things that are just pretty good guesses as far as the future at Telluride is concerned. The ten best shots are these:
Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman as the real life Gertrude Bell. IMDb says it's scheduled for a 2015 release or, perhaps his "Vernon God Little" project.
Errol Morris' "Holland, Michigan" starring Naomi Watts or his "Freezing People is Easy".
The Dardennes Brothers "Two Days, One Night" starring Marion Cotillard. IMDb lists it as a 2014 release. I would not be surprised at its inclusion at Cannes followed by a screening at Telluride.
Bill Pohlad's Brian Wilson/Beach Boys film "Love and Mercy" starring Paul Dano, Elizabeth Banks, John Cusack and Paul Giamatti.
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's first comedy "Birdman". Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone star among others. This is another film I suspect will travel the Cannes/Telluride pipeline. (I told Inarritu I was anxious to see it there next year when I ran into him in the Galaxy lobby just prior to the first screening of "12 Years a Slave").
Lone Scherfig's "Posh".
Noah Baumbach's "Untitled Public School Project" and/or "While We're Young".
Mike Leigh's "Turner" or whatever it might eventually be titled starring Timothy Spall as the painter J.M.W. Turner.
Of course my file includes a lot of wishful thinking as well:
Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice"
Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland" starring George Clooney
Robert Redford's on again/off again "A Walk in the Woods" project
the purported Charlie Kaufman adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's "Slaugterhouse Five"
Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard
Lynne Ramsay's Moby Dick in space project (Mobius?)
George Clooney's possible Smothers Brothers film
and Warren Beatty's proposed Howard Hughes film
So, here's to the films that might happen to be a part of our future Telluride experiences. Over the next few weeks, I'll link to the stories about some of them that I still have sitting in my cache.
OSCAR CONVERSATIONS
Three podcasts focused on the Awards season and/or the post-Telluride lay of the land are offered/linked here for your amusement and edification:
In something of a surprise, India announced their choice for the Foreign Language Oscar competition and is was not Ritesh Batra's "The Lunchbox" which many, including me, had thought would be the choice. The Indian authorities instead they choice is "The Good Road". directed by Gyan Correa.
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood provides this video interview with actor Matthew McConnaughey whose "Dallas Buyers Club" has a shot at being a part of the Telluride lineup.
Keith Jagernauth of The Playlist has a conversation with Frances Ha herself, Greta Gerwig about the Noah Baumbach film and other projects that are in the works:
Thimas Vinterberg, who was at TFF #39 with "The Hunt" is developing an adaptation of Thomas Hardy's classic "Far From the Madding Crowd" according to Hit Fix. The project is said to star Carey Mulligan (An Education, Never Let Me Go) and Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone) and is reportedly in the Fox Searchlight stable. All of these factors suggest hat it should be a serious contender for TFF #41. Here's the HitFix story:
I'm in Liberal, Kansas awaiting the birth of grandchild #5...as of press time...no idea on gender and the name is still in question...
With Oscar now just 10 days away from an appearance, here is a smattering of posts and articles around 3 of Telluride's films from this year's festival that are in Oscar contention and some news from another film that was a real crowd pleaser at the SHOW:
Good Thursday Everyone. I hope that everyone that celebrates Christmas has had a wonderful, safe and healthy holiday.
You can tell it's the holiday season as most everyone that plays in the internet world of film has dialed their coverage back a bit over the last week or so. Consequently, this morning's post is a bit under-sized.
OSCAR MATTERS
Awards Daily's/Sasha Stone's last 2012 Oscar Podcast
I got a little crazy yesterday and had some fun vis-a-vis the success of Quentin Tarantino's latest "Django Unchained". If you have an interest check Twitter and the hashtag #tarantinosequels.
NO
Pablo Larrain's film about the power of media in a political campaign continues toward what is a likely Best Foreign Film nomination in 2 weeks.
Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood Talks "No" with director Pablo Larrain and star Gael Garcia Bernal:
News was bandied about three weeks ago that writer/director and frequent Telluride Film Festival player (Babel, Biutiful) Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu has been attached to co-write and direct a comedy, of all things. Filming reportedly will begin in March which means that should Inarritu make his third straight film that is a part of The SHOW we shouldn't expect to see it until TFF #41 in 2014.
Here are posts from Variety, The Playlist and The Hollywood Reporter:
One of my favorite moments at this year's Telluride SHOW was getting the opportunity to hear and then meet the amazing Roger Corman. Just a wonderful man who has made so much of what we think of as great cinema possible because he produced/directed classic B movies that gave some our most talented film makers their chance to get in and learn the business of film making.
Now comes word (as of yesterday) that Mr. C has new plans. Re-visiting his glorious past, The Hollywood Reporter says that the 86 year old legend is going to produce 8 low budget re-make/adaptions of Edgar Allan Poe stories...yes please. Here's the post:
Michael Haneke's "Amour" is at the front of the Best Foreign Language Film pack. Barring some weirdness, it's your likely Oscar winner in that category. Its distributor, Sony Pictures Classics, has bigger plans including possible nominations for Best Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Actress and Actor. These are all possible to varying degrees...the Emanuelle Riva nomination for Best Actress being the most likely, but none of them are impossibilities. It will be interesting to see how often it shows up when nominations are announced on Jan. 10. I currently have it at #8 on The FAC Best Picture chart, which if The Wrap is to be believed (see story below) is exactly where the cut off point would be. Riva is at #4 for Best Actress, Jean Louis Trintignant is it #7 for Best Actor, Haneke is #3 for Original Screenplay and #7 for Direction. In my post Telluride polls of film critics/bloggers "Amour landed at #10 and The People's Telluride poll listed it at #6.
The Daily Beast has a new look at the film up this week and talked to Haneke as a part of that. You can find it here:
Pablo Larrain's "No" starring Gael Garcia Bernal was one of this year's Telluride entries that is getting a good deal of mention as a possible Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. "No" currently sits at #4 on the latest review of that category in the Film Awards Clearinghouse, meaning it would be one of the five nominated pictures. In our critics' poll after the festival "No" was ranked #12. The People's Telluride poll ranked it at # 21.
It dropped an English language trailer this week and announced a U.S. premiere date as well.
Here's the trailer:
And accompanying posts about the premiere date and the trailer from Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere, The Wrap, SlashFilm Entertainment Weekly and The Playlist:
Another TFF #39 foreign film that is making some noise in terms of a potential nomination for Best FLF is the German entry "Barbara". It's at #8 on the FAC and was rated at #7 by the People's poll after the festival.
The Playlist posted an article about director Christian Petzold this week. You can find that here:
I've included two very informative posts from earlier this week that explain the Best Picture nominating process in detail. It will make your head hurt. Also, Steve Pond from The Warp says it will be 8 films this year. The other post is from Gold Derby:
There's very little secret that I'd love to see the big screen adaptation of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize winning play "August: Osage County" show up at the SHOW next Labor Day.
I read it fairly early on...and caught the play in New York before it closed. It also doesn't hurt that it's set in my native Oklahoma and shot, in part, here in the state.
Could it play Telluride? That's only a maybe at best.
IMDb lists it in post production...and you know that its distributor, The Weinstein Company, is going to want it to be in the thick of Oscar discussions for 2013. Those two factors probably help...but they don't make it a lock by any means.
Yes. The Weinsteins did bring both "The Artist" and "The King's Speech" to T-ride on the way to Oscar glory. But, this past year, TWC was in T-ride with only "The Sapphires". Their big Oscar guns ("The Master", "Django" and "Silver Linings Playbook") went other directions.
I also wonder if there might not be some blowback from the whole "Master" not being in Telluride situation, regardless of what hat story actually was.
Finally, TWC has Lee Daniel's "The Butler" and James Gray's "Nightingale" also as potential awards contenders that may or may not be in the Telluride mix. I rather think "Nightingale" more than "The Butler" considering Gray's attendance at part of last year's fest with a bit of the film to show during the Marion Cotillard tribute.
So...50-50 maybe.
One other factor that may be in play...George Clooney is one of the films producers. A good deal of that side of the equation (i.e. the film makers and their decision about wanting to be in Telluride) may rest on whether Mr. Clooney enjoyed his tribute weekend at TFF #38. I tend to believe that he did and that probably gives T-ride a chance at landing the film.
Picture (from left) Julianne Nicholson, Julia Roberts and Ewan MacGregor from the location shoot here in Oklahoma in October via JustJared and FanPop.com
Also, let's see if it ends up being any part of the Cannes fest in May...
Here are the large number of posts/stories I have gathered about it over the past few months...enjoy...
Regular readers won't be surprised to learn that I have begun reaching out to the handful of people in The Academy and other members of the film industry to begin to pick their brains about the awards season.
I've already had some responses.
Those insights should be headed to you very soon.
More on Monday. Have a great weekend!
Follow me on Twitter @Gort2.
"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog/The Film Awards Clearinghouse on Facebook.
My break for the holidays is just over a week away...can't happen soon enough.
GOLDEN GLOBE NOMINATIONS TODAY WILL BE IN A SEPARATE POST SOON.
THE FULL FAC BREAKDOWN
Monday I published the more or less complete, top to bottom (OK, every category except for the 3 "Shorts": Live Action, Short Doc and Animated Short) Clearinghouse snapshot of where the Oscar race stands in the eyes of 9 of the most serious and successful Oscar Guessers on the planet...
Here's the breakdown of that long, long list from Monday...
As it relates to this year's Telluride Film Fest:
Telluride films are currently predicted to grab 15 nominations (that includes a couple in the "Shorts" categories) with another 7 possible...As I have been saying since the almost from the day the Festival was over, this year will not have the same Telluride presence on Oscar night as the past 4 or so. Getting to 20 total nominations seems unlikely.
Were it not for "Argo" and "Amour" the total would be smaller still.
By TFF #39 film:
"Argo" has an anticipated 6 nominations (Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Editing and Score)with another 4 possible (Best Actor, Another Supporting Actor, Production Design and Costume).
"Amour" has an expected three nominations (Foreign Film, Actress and Original Screenplay) and an outside shot at Best Picture could make it a fourth nomination...depending on the ardor of the Academy members and the number of films that gather enough support. Remember that there can be up to ten films nominated for Best Picture. Last year there were nine and if that occurs again this year then "Amour" probably gets a nomination for the biggest prize. "Amour also has another 2 possible nominations for Direction and Lead Actor)
The only other TFF #39 film with a possibility of more than one nomination is "A Royal Affair" which the experts say is likely a Foreign Language Film nominee and a possibility for Best Costume.
The rest of the Telluride field that we might hear about on Nomination morning _Jan. 10th is limited to single nominations:
"Rust and Bone" for Marion Cotillard and Best Actress
"The Gatekeepers" for Best Doc
"No" for Best Foreign Language
Possibly "Paperman" and "Tram" in the Animated Short category.
Overall and irrespective of Telluride, our experts think (at least at this point) that the field will be led either by "Lincoln" or "Les Miserables". Both have a predicted 12 nominations...but "Les Miz" also has an additional 3 possibles. "Lincoln's" 12 seems to be its limit. That being said, I think some of the passion for "Les Miz" has ebbing...especially in light of reviews and the eclipsing power of the recent screenings for "Zero Dark Thirty". So, I suspect "Lincoln" will end up with the most nominations.
Other notes:
"Life of Pi" is looking at 10 nominations.
"The Master" is looking at 7 with another 4 possible, but its Best Picture chances are precarious.
7 nominations appear likely for "Zero Dark Thirty"
"Silver Linings Playbook" looks solid for 4 with another 4 possible.
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" looks good for 3 nominations with another 2 possible.
Those films that are threatening to be "players" but are mostly in the "possibles" camp are led by "Django Unchained" with a meager 2 nominations likely but another 8 possible. It's "critical" embargo was lifted on Tuesday night, so we'll see if that makes a difference. "Flight" also has an "under the radar" profile, if you'll pardon the expression...with one expected nomination for Denzel Washington's performance but another 6 possible. And "Anna Karenina" could see 3 nominations...but also has a shot at 5 more.
That's what we think we know at this point about Oscar 2012. We'll see if today's Golden Globe nominations move the needle at all.
SAG NOMINATIONS
Screen Actors Guild nominations from yesterday are here:
Best Ensemble
"Argo"
"Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
"Les Miserables"
"Lincoln"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
Best Male Actor In A Leading Role
Denzel Washington - "Flight"
Daniel Day-Lewis - "Lincoln"
Hugh Jackman - "Les Miserables"
Bradley Cooper - "Silver Linings Playbook"
John Hawkes - "The Sessions"
Best Female Actor In A Leading Role
Helen Mirren - "Hitchcock"
Naomi Watts - "The Impossible"
Marion Cotillard - "Rust and Bone"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Jessica Chastain - "Zero Dark Thirty"
Best Actor In A Supporting Role
Alan Arkin - "Argo"
Tommy Lee Jones - "Lincoln"
Philip Seymour Hoffman - "The Master"
Robert DeNiro - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Javier Bardem - "Skyfall"
Best Actress In A Supporting Role
Maggie Smith - "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
Anne Hathaway - "Les Miserables"
Sally Field - "Lincoln"
Nicole Kidman - "The Paperboy"
Helen Hunt - "The Sessions"
Best Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
"The Amazing Spider-Man"
"The Bourne Legacy"
"The Dark Knight Rises"
"Les Miserables"
"Skyfall"
Notes: Telluride #39 was recognized in three categories. "Lincoln", "Les Miserables" and "Silver Linings Playbook" led the field with 4 nominations each.
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" wasn't eligible as the film used non-SAG actors.
Reportedly the screeners for both "Zero Dark Thirty" and "Django Unchained" were late to the game which might explain the absence of an Ensemble nomination for either...though...you know...Chastain was nominated for ZDT; so the other possibility is that the actors just didn't care that much for either film.
Snubberoos: Joaquin Phoenix and Amy Adams/The Master, Everyone from "Django". Also a little surprised that Emanuelle Riva wasn't nominated for "Amour".
Surprises: Kidman and Bardem and "Exotic Hotel's" ensemble nomination.
Taking a step back this week to remind everyone about which films I've highlighted in this space over the past few months:
"Noah"
"Queen of the Desert"
"Asghar Farhadi Project"
"Nebraska"
"Jane Got a Gun"
"Mobius"
"Twelve Years a Slave"
"Monuments Men"
"Labor Day"
"The Nightingale"
Intriguing, isn't it?
More later today on the Golden Globes and then more on Monday...
A documentary based on Roger Ebert's autobiography and executive produced by Martin Scorsese. This article claims that it's coming to TFF #40. Sounds very plausible. The big question...will Ebert and/or Scorsese attend?
Back on Aug. 29th I reported that the first known film would be a restoration of a silent film focused on Native Americans that has Ken Burns attached as one of the producers. Here's the link to that blog post:
Best Directorial Debut: Benh Zeitlin, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD
Best Foreign Language Film:AMOUR
Best Documentary:SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN
William K.Everson Film History Award: 50 YEARS OF BOND FILMS
Best Ensemble:LES MISÉRABLES
Spotlight Award: John Goodman (ARGO, FLIGHT, PARANORMAN, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE)
NBR Freedom of Expression Award:CENTRAL PARK FIVE
NBR Freedom of Expression Award:PROMISED LAND
OTHER TOP TEN FILMS: ARGO, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, DJANGO UNCHAINED, LES MISERABLES, LINCOLN, LOOPER, PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, PROMISED LAND, SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK.
BEST FOREIGN FILMS: BARBARA, THE INTOUCHABLES, NO, THE KID WITH A BIKE, WAR WITCH.
BEST INDEPENDENT FILMS: ARBITRAGE, BERNIE, COMPLIANCE, END OF WATCH, HELLO, I MUST BE GOING, LITTLE BIRDS, MOONRISE KINGDOM, ON THE ROAD, QUARTET AND SLEEPWALK WITH ME.
BEST DOCUMENTARIES: AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY, DETROPIA, THE GATEKEEPERS, THE INVISIBLE WAR AND ONLY THE YOUNG
Telluride films recognized today: Argo, The Gatekeepers, Amour, Central Park Five, and from TFF #38: The Kid with a Bike.
Biggest surprise(s) to me...Bradley Cooper over Day-Lewis and Phoenix and no mention of "Life of Pi" anywhere...which I'm OK with...Also a little surprised that neither the NYFCC on Monday or NBR today gave a shout out to Anne Hathaway in Les Miz...
NEW YORK'S CRITICS SAY...
The New York Film Critics Circle named their "Best of" for 2012 on Monday...
(Telluride #39 film(s) in Bold)
Best First Film: How to Survive a Plague
Best Documentary: The Central Park Five
Best Cinematography: Zero Dark Thirty
Best Supporting Actress: Sally Field/Lincoln
Best Supporting Actor: Mathew McConnaughey/Magic Mike and Bernie
Best Animated Film: Frankenweenie
Best Foreign Language Film: Amour
Best Actress: Rachel Weisz/The Deep Blue Sea
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis/Lincoln
Best Screenplay: Tony Kushner/Lincoln
Best Direction: Kathryn Bigelow/Zero Dark Thirty
Best Picture: Zero Dark Thirty
The Los Angeles Film Critics announce their awards this weekend and the Golden Globe nominations come out next Thursday...
AMOUR DOMINATES THE EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS
The Michael Haneke directed and written film won awards for Best European Film, Direction, Actor and Actress last weekend. Also scoring well, TFF #38 feature (and my Best of 2011) Steve McQueen's "Shame". TFF #39's "The Hunt" was also honored. Check the full report from The Playlist here:
Just days after I posted the list of ten "most likely nominees" for, among other categories, Best Doc...the Academy releases its list of 15 semi-finalists and The FAC's #1 (The Central Park Five), #4 (West of Memphis) and #9 (The Queen of Versailles) and #10 (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) all ailed to be named to the final 15. The complete list of semi-finalists is here and does include Telluride #39 entrant "The Gatekeepers"
The first year I was at Telluride my wife and I were sitting at The Chuck waiting for some screening and Kris struck up a conversation with the young man to her left. I really don't know how they got to it, but at one point she was telling him (and he claimed to be a minion at Universal...but who said his dad was some big VP there) about MY idea that I've had for years for GB#3...that Dr. Pete Venkman (Bill Murray his own self) IS...DEAD... and must be raised from the Great Beyond to help solve some existential threat from beyond the grave. Really...that's MY idea. Now with Murray's acquiescence to the project, I'm telling you...even if the film isn't parked at Universal...I'm going to think I need a civil attorney if that plot point shows up.
Remember, you read it here first...
THE NIGHTINGALE (PREVIOUSLY "LOW LIFE")
One of the surprise highlights of this year's Telluride Fest was the super sneak peak at a few minutes of James Gray's "The Nightingale" starring tributee Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner. Its brief appearance makes me think that it's a very real possibility for TFF #40 (and a Cannes appearance in May, I'll wager).
As promised, I have a new blog post up this morning...before I get down to the serious business of thanking and eating...Turkey! Pie! Cranberry! Did I mention pie?
A MYSTERY
A friend from San Francisco sent along an intriguing note this week. He'd received an email from the TFF folks and it read, in part:
In keeping with our tradition, the Telluride Film Festival's special private screening on Saturday, December 8 will be kept a secret until the showing. Of course we have been getting a lot of questions and though we cannot give amy clues that will help you guess what the movie is, we would like to provide some useful information.
This is the first showing in North America and there will be no others this year. It opens in July 2013 at theaters so you will truly experience a sneak preview.
The film's director has previously brought a movie to the Telluride Film Festival and its writer and one of the stars have each been the recipient of Telluride Tributes.
The film has not yet been rated but we expect it will get an "R" for nudity.
The email also included a digital invitation with details and RSVP info. My friend forwarded it to me to see if I might have any ideas what the film might be. I'm still kicking it around...but haven't figured it out as yet. Anyone have any ideas, guesses or wild speculation...comment or email me (mpgort@gmail.com).
Word from Darren Aronofsky (via Twitter) that his new project "Noah" has wrapped. Which led me to include it as this week's coming attraction. Aronofsky had great success with his foray to Telluride with "Black Swan" in 2010. It ended up with a a handful for Oscar nominations and a win for Natalie Portman. So you'd think that his latest project might be a possibility. Here are the several links from the past few months for "Noah":
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