MTFB Oscar Update: Visual and Sound and Shorts / U.S. Trailer for Tori and Lokita / Visitations: Nighy, Polley and More

 MTFB OSCAR UPDATE

Here's a third pass at predicting Visual Effects, Sound and the Shorts categories   Previous rankings are to the right of each film in parentheses.  TFF films are in Bold.  Final predictions from MTFB are coming on Sunday morning in a special Oscar's morning post.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

1) Avatar: The Way of Water (1)

2) Top Gun: Maverick (2)

3) All Quiet on the Western Front (3)

4) The Batman (4)

5) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (5)

BEST SOUND

1) Top Gun: Maverick (1)

2) All Quiet on the Western Front (3)

3) Elvis (2)

4) Avatar: The Way of Water (4)

5)The Batman (5)

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

1) The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse (1)

2) An Ostrich Told Me the World Is Fake... (2)

3) My Year of Dicks (4)

4) Ice Merchants (5)

5) The Flying Sailor (3)

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

1) The Elephant Whisperers (4)

2) Stranger at the Gate (3)

3) The Martha Mitchell Effect (1)

4) How Do You Measure a Year? (2)

5) Haulout (5)

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

1) An Irish Goodbye (2)

2) Le Pupille (1)

3) The Red Suitcase (3)

4) Ivalu (5)

5) The Night Ride (4)

Thoughts: Best Sound seemed almost a lock for Top Gun: Maverick two weeks ago but there is a surge of sentiment for All Quiet and Elvis isn't out of the question  

As always, the Shorts categories are virtually impenetrable.  The closest thing to a lock there appears to be for Animated Short with The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse.  Live Action and Doc Shorts are a mess.  Live Action is probably down to the top two: An Irish Goodbye and Le Pupille while Doc Shorts are all over the place.  Literally any of the five nominees are still possible winners.

U.S  TRAILER FOR TORI AND LOKITA

The Dardenne Brothers returned to Telluride in 2022 with Tori and Lokita.  It was the brothers' first time back to TFF since 2014's Two Days One Night.  Now, ahead of its March 24th limited release we have a new trailer for the U.S.  Here that is from YouTube:

VISITATIONS

Women Talking: Dede Gardner with The Hollywood Reporter and Sarah Polley with Indiewire.

Living: Bill Nighy with Vanity Fair.

TAR: Todd Field with Deadline.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: Dean Fleischer Camp with Variety.

Close: Lukas Dhont with Deadline.

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Another Bump / Babylon's Fate? / White Noise Rumors / Dardennes' Tori and Lokita Acquired

ANOTHER BUMP

Pardon the interruption.  MTFB didn't publish last Thursday as I was in the middle of a trip to NYC.  But I'm back (albeit later than normal) today.  Apologies to any and all that were waiting on on a Thursday post.  To be honest, this summer is crazy busy so don't be all that surprised if the Blog isn't as consistent as it usually is regarding the Monday/Thursday posting schedule.

BABYLON'S FATE?

Margot Robbie on the set of Babylon (per Fox)

Jordan Ruimy (World of Reel) is reporting that the highly anticipated Damien Chazelle film Babylon ,ay or may not be a festival player.  Ruimy says that Paramount hasn't yet decided on what path they want to take with the film which is set for a December release.  

Babylon has been high on the MTFB radar since it was announced as Chazelle was selected for Telluride twice over the last few years for La La Land in 2016 and First Man in 2018.

Babylon is described as a history of Hollywood as the film community makes the transition from silent films to talkies.  The film stars Margo Robbie and Brad Pitt.

The World of Reel post is here.

WHITE NOISE RUMORS

Another story from Jordan from the last week concerns rumors of a difficult shoot of another film that has been high on the MTFB anticipation and TFF expectation list: Noah Baumbach's White Noise.  Baumbach's Telluride pedigree has been solid with appearances for Margot at the Wedding (2007), Frances Ha (2012) and Marriage Story (2019).

Nevertheless, the Ruimy post suggests the film might be on shaky ground.  

IMDb has the film listed as being in post-production and expected as a 2022 release from Netflix with A24 also acting in a production capacity.

DARDENNES' TORI AND LOKITA ACQUIRED

Deadline reports that The Dardenne's Brothers' Tori and Lokita, which picked up a special 75th Anniversary prize at Cannes last month has been picked up for U.S. distribution by the combination of Janis and Sideshow.  That coupling was the same crew that brought Oscar winner Drive My Car to the U.S. (and Telluride) last year.

That acquisition surely keeps the Dardennes fellows on the TFF #49 watch list.

Anthony D'Alessandro reported the acquistion for Deadline.

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A Salute to Mark Medoff / First Teaser for Young Ahmed / One More Time for Apocalypse Now

Good Monday to everyone.

A SALUTE TO MARK MEDOFF

(Photo via Getty Images and The Wrap)

Mark Medoff-Oscar nominee and Tony Award winning writer died on Tuesday.  He was 79.

The disclaimer: to the best of my knowledge, Mr. Medoff had no connection to the Telluride Film Festival.

So why mention him here?

As many of you know, in real life I'm a high school speech/drama/debate/English teacher.  I've had students performing Mr.Medoff's work for a long, long time.  Sometimes as competition pieces individually or as duos.  Sometimes for play competitions (at least three times).  So, obviously, his work has made an impact in my life and the lives of my kids.

And he was a New Mexico guy.  He taught for many, many years in Las Cruces at New Mexico State University and though I'm not a New Mexico native, I've spent a lot of time there.  It's just down the road...you might say.

So, Mr. Medoff, a salute to you, sir.  Thanks for the sharing your gift with the world, my kids and me.

Here's The Wrap's story about Mr. Medoff's passing.


FIRST TEASER FOR YOUNG AHMED

High on my list of films from Cannes that I think are most likely to travel to Colorado for Labor Day weekend is the latest social drama from The Dardennes Brothers.  The Dardennes have had a rich history with both the Cannes Film Festival and TFF so, though it doesn't happen that their films do the Cannes/Telluride connection, it's occurred enough over the years that you'd be a little silly not to expect it to happen again.

The Dardennes film is Young Ahmed and its plot is described at IMDb as:  "A young Belgian hatches a plot to kill his teacher after embracing an extremist interpretation of the Quran."

Young Ahmed currently doesn't have U.S. distribution but prior to its screening at Cannes next month, the film's producers have released a teaser/trailer.

Here that is from YouTube:

Linked here is an accompanying story on the teaser's release from The Film Stage.

Young Ahmed's IMDb page is here.


ONE MORE TIME FOR APOCALYPSE NOW

Francis Ford Coppola screened what he is saying is the definitive version of his 1979 classic, Apocalypse Now, at the Tribeca Film Festival.  This latest version has been renamed Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut.  Coppola screened Apocalypse Now Redux as a part of TFF in 2014.

I am wondering if  Coppola might return again to TFF to screen the latest version.

The Wrap had this story about the Tribeca screening which includes the note that Coppola expects a theatrical release at some point later this year.  Depending on the timing for that and the interest level from the fest and Coppola...maybe.

I have linked the story from The Wrap here.



That's it for your MTFB on this Monday.  More for you on Thursday...


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Euro Producers: The French-France 2 Cinema / The Unknown Girl Gets a New Trailer / Hidden Figures Revealed / And...Snowden Looks Like It's Out

Hello friends, it's Tuesday.

A quick reminder: Toronto announces their first wave of films one week from today and Venice will be right behind them two days later.  We'll get our first real hard data about what could be playing over Labor Day weekend...



THE EURO PRODUCERS: THE FRENCH-FRANCE 2 CINEMA

Here are the films from France 2 Cinema that have played Telluride in recent years:

2006: Indigenes
2009: A Prophet, Coco Before Chanel
2010: The Princess of Montpensier
2011: The Kid with a Bike
2012: Rust and Bone

2013: Blue is the Warmest Color
2014: Two Days One Night,
2015: No film  

After no TFF #42 appearance, France 2's only real shot at a Telluride play in 2016 seems to be Paul Verhoeven's Elle which I have slowly warmed to as a real Telluride possibility.

THE UNKNOWN GIRL GETS A NEW TRAILER

Many sources reported the appearance of a new trailer yesterday for Telluride stalwarts The Dardenne Brothers' latest film The Unknown Girl.  Here it is from YouTube:

I have been including this film in my TFF #43 thinking for a long time simply because The Dardennes are such regulars of the Cannes to Telluride connection.   But...the critical response at Cannes made me step back a bit.  Ad today, the new trailer's drop was also tweeted out by the Toronto Fest.  I have to wonder if that is significant.

Odds are still in the favor of The Unknown Girl playing Telluride but it is not the slam dunk easy prediction that Two Days One Night was.

Here's further coverage of the trailer release:

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/the-unknown-girl-trailer-the-dardenne-brothers-cannes-1201706961/

http://theplaylist.net/first-international-trailer-jean-pierre-luc-dardennes-unknown-girl-unravels-mystery-20160718/

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2016/07/shorter-nothingburger

HIDDEN FIGURES REVEALED

And finally, after being teased by Variety/InContention's Kristopher Tapley early last week, we found out that Fox 2000 has dated the release of their new film, Hidden Figures, for late December.  Does that mean it's an awards player?  Does it's move into pre-2017 mean we should consider it for Telluride?  Probably not...but you never know.  Here's the news about Hidden Figures, a true story of African American women who made a huge contribution to the early U.S. space program.

Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Costner star. Here's the IMDb entry for the film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4846340/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1



AND...SNOWDEN LOOKS LIKE IT'S OUT

I had been thinking the last week or so that Open Road might be planning to drop Oliver Stone's Snowden at TFF #43 especially after the announcement of its European Premiere at the San Sebastien Film Fest opening Sept.16.  The film also opens in the U.S. on that date.  BUT...we found out yesterday from The Hollywood Reporter that the film will be "secretly" screened at Comic Con which would seem to move it out of T-ride consideration due to Telluride's North American premiere policy.

Here's the story from THR:


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/comic-con-oliver-stones-snowden-912030


That's it for this Tuesday.  Come back tomorrow for more on French producers and other tidbits...

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

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Distribution: The Weinstein Company (and Variations) / Dardennes Re-Tool Unknown Girl / Trailering It's Only the End of the World

Good Wednesday World...


DISTRIBTUION: THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY (AND VARIATIONS)

Tracking the Weinsteins as distributors at Telluride for the past decade shows us that they've been a part of The SHOW for a good long while.  Here's their Telluride slate as Miramax or The Weinstein Company or Radius-TWC since 2006:


2006: Venus, Indigenes
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Enemy's Enemy, I'm Not There
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2009: The Road
2010: The King's Speech
2011: The Artist, Butter
2012: The Sapphires  (also was represented during the Marion Cotillard tribute by James Gray and 5 min. of The Immigrant)
2013: The Unknown Known, Salinger, Tracks
2014: The Imitation Game", "Escobar: Paradise Lost"

2015: Carol

18 films over the past decade including Best Picture winners in 2010 and 2011.  With an average of 1.8 films and a presence every year at the fest, TWC and its ancillary companies are the third most prolific distributor and one of the most consistently represented at Telluride over the past decade.

Let's look at The Weinstein Company's playlist as it is listed today in IMDb:

Lion

Wild Oats

Ballerina

At this point, these look like the only films in the line at TWC that might have a shot at playing. Clearly the most probable is Garth Davis' Lion which is dated for a Nov. 25 release.  The other two films seem as if they don't have a big chance.  I wouldn't completely rule them out though.  Wild Oats stars Jessica Lange and Shirley McLaine and they're enough to make you wonder at least a little about the film.  

One other note...the dating for the release of John Lee Hancock's (The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks) The Founder starring Michael Keaton has me scratching my head.  It's set to come out a full month before T-ride/Toronto on Aug. 5th.  This is a film whose pedigree would (and did at one point) make me think that it would be both a T-ride possible and maybe a part of the Oscar convo.  That Aug. 5 date, though, takes it off the fall fest circuit and, for me anyway, sends up a red flare of concern.

Probabilities:

Lion 60%

Wild Oats 30%

Ballerina 15%

 Tomorrow we look at Fox Searchlight.


DARDENNES RE-TOOL UNKNOWN GIRL

Reports surfaced yesterday that the Dardennes Brothers have re-edited their Cannes entry The Unknown Girl.  The film is reported to have been shortened by seven minutes and had 32 separate cuts since its screening in May in France.

The film was received in a lukewarm fashion from critics when it debuted.  The Dardennes actions are said to have been in response to those concerns and further, they claim that some critics have seen the re-vamped version and say that it has improved.

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that I still regard Unknown Girl as a real Telluride possibility.  Additionally, I had it on last week's initial Telluride Ten Bets list at #4.  This news, I think, strengthens the case that The Unknown Girl makes an appearance in the SHOW.

Coverage of the announced editing is here:

http://www.screendaily.com/dardenne-brothers-re-edit-cannes-drama-the-unknown-girl/5106274.article

http://variety.com/2016/film/global/the-dardennes-brothers-have-re-edited-the-unknown-girl-1201805048/

https://thefilmstage.com/news/the-dardennes-have-re-edited-the-unknown-girl-for-theatrical-release/

http://theplaylist.net/daredennes-re-edited-unknown-girl-muted-response-cannes-20160628/



TRAILERING IT'S ONLY THE END OF THE WORLD

Trailer for Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World via YouTube

Prior to the Cannes Film Fest in May, I would have regarded Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World as a near dead certainty to make the TFF #43 lineup.  Dolan has been on fire here at the start of his career including success at Cannes and Venice and a Telluride slot in 2014.   Additionally, a cast that include Marion Cotillard, Lea Seydoux and Vincent Cassels seems T-ride friendly.

The critics chewed the film up after its premiere in France in May, however.  It had a dismal 4.46 average critic rating on the Urban composite (http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2016).

After that the film took a huge nose dive in as far as I was concerned in terms of its SHOW profile. Then, at the end of  Cannes, it was named winner of the Grand Prix award.  That knocked me back a little and kept the film on my watch list.

The film still lacks a U.S. distributor and release date, though the release of its trailer yesterday reminded us that it is scheduled for release in Quebec on Sept. 21.

Here are stories covering the release of the trailer:


https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/a-family-reunites-in-first-trailer-for-xavier-dolans-its-only-the-end-of-the-world/

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/its-only-the-end-of-the-world-trailer-xavier-dolan-cannes-winner-marion-cotillard-vincent-cassel-1201700306/

http://theplaylist.net/first-trailer-xavier-dolans-end-world-marion-cotillard-lea-seydoux-vincent-cassel-20160628/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2016/watch-first-trailer-for-xavier-dolans-its-only-the-end-of-the-world/


That concludes MTFB for Wednesday...come back for more tomorrow

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

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OR leave a comment...

The Usual Suspects Part Two/"The Revenant" News/The Guardian on the Fall Season

Welcome to Wednesday film fans...



THE "USUAL SUSPECTS" PART TWO

I'm continuing my metaphorical stroll through some of the directors, producers and others who seem to have a personal and frequent connection to Telluride to parse their participation to see if there are clues for the TFF #42 lineup.

Today we start with actress Laura Linney.

Linney hasn't appeared at the fest since 2012's "Hyde Park on Hudson".  For a good long while I thought she'd be back this year with Bill Conden's "Mr. Holmes" starring Sir Ian McKellen.  Then, some months ago, Fox Searchlight dated the film for a July release (it opened last weekend).

But fear not Linney fans, she's still in the TFF #42 possibility game as she appears also in Michael Grandage's "Genius" which is in the Lionsgate stable.  The film was listed by IMDb as being in post-production in February.  The film also stars Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Colin Firth (TFF tribute 2010). Grandage is a first time director.

Our next "Usual Suspect" for today's post is Stephen Frears.  Frears is an interesting case.  He hasn't had a film at the fest since 2010's "Tamara Drewe" but was reportedly supposed to have had "Philomena" sneak in 2013 only to have it pulled at the last minute (The Weinstein Company replaced it with "Salinger").  Another story that I heard was that Frears was approached to be Guest Director for the 2013 fest but couldn't due to other obligations.

If all that's true, then Frears still is in the Telluride orbit.  His current project that could make the grade for TFF #42 is his long gestating Lance Armstrong examination "The Program" starring Ben Foster as Armstrong and Chris O'Dowd as the journalist who kept after the allegations of doping that eventually caught up to the multiple Tour de France winner.  The film is currently without U.S. distribution.

Number three on today's look at "Usual Suspects" is Wim Wenders. Wenders has been coming to Telluride since 1978 and has played there with "Paris, Texas", "Faraway, So Close", "Pina" and last year with "Salt of the Earth"  This year he has a feature film called "Every Thing Will Be Fine" that stars James Franco and has played the Berlin Fest.  The film wasn't received all that warmly in a critical sense, but Wenders past connection with Telluride might be enough to get the film into the lineup.  The film's U.S. distribution is still up for grabs.

Our final "Usual" for this Wednesday are the Dardenne Brothers.  Now, I can hear some of you saying, "Wait, Michael.  The Dardenne don't have a film in the can."  And you're right.  But they do act as producers on a film that may have some Telluride legs:  Benoit Jacqout's "Diary of a Chambermaid" which stars Lea Seydoux (who made the trip to Telluride in 2013 with "Blue is the Warmest Color").  "Chambermaid" played Berlin in February and a couple of other fests and has U.S. distribution from the Cohen Media Group.  That distributor was last represented in Telluride in 2012 with "The Attack".

These factors might edge the film into the T-ride lineup.

So, in review, your chances for each of these four (five, if you count both Dardennes) "Usual Suspects" and their projects:

Linney/"Genius" 30%
Frears/"The Program" 35%
Wenders/"Every Thing Will Be Fine" 30%
Dardennes/"Diary of a Chambermaid" 20%

Tomorrow's "Usual Suspects" will be a little different as I'll look at two directors who are close to being "Usuals' as well as three fellows that are "Usuals" that would be doing something unusual if they were to come to this year's SHOW: Ariel Vromen, Matteo Garrone, Steve McQueen, Alejandro Inarritu and Francis Ford Coppola.



 "THE REVENANT" NEWS...

Alejandro Inarritu's "The Revenant" moved up on my wish list this past weekend with the release of a fantastic teaser/trailer.  Admittedly, the film isn't going to be ready in time for Telluride as word is that the crew is re-shooting a sequence in South America (where it is winter).  I have mentioned that I have some serious concern whether it will be ready TO go by its stated Dec. 25th release date.

Adding some fuel to that concern was a weekend tweet from The Playlist that asked if Fox was really likely to release both "The Revenant" and David O. Russell's "Joy" on the same date, as is now what is announced.

As if in answer to these concerns, Jeff Well/Hollywood Elsewhere posted late Monday night a piece concerning the re-shoot plans and timing based on a translated version of an interview with Inarritu. The good news, the post suggests that the film will be done earlier than thought.  The bad news, still not early enough to make it to Telluride.  Wells extrapolation suggests that it could be finished by late September/early October.  AFI Fest perhaps?

Here's the link to the Wells post:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/07/revenant-will-actually-ready-sooner/

In other "Revenant" news, Chris Connelley was up yesterday at Grantland with a big piece on the film and interviews with DiCaprio and Inarritu.  If you're excited about the film, as I am, it's worth a read:

http://grantland.com/features/exclusive-leonardo-dicaprio-and-alejandro-g-inarritu-on-the-revenant/


Additionally, I have linked this Rope of Silicon story about cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki's interview about the difficulties in making the film here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/emmanuel-lubezki-talks-shooting-the-revenant-and-frozen-monitors/

THE GUARDIAN ON THE FALL SEASON

The Guardian's Nigel M. Smith posted his take on 40 films that he feels have the most serious Oscar potential late yesterday.  Included in the assessment of each of the 40 films, if they haven't already appeared at Cannes, are his guesses about where the films might show up in the fall festival lineup, including a number of Telluride guesses.  They include:

"Adam Jones" Dir: John Wells.  Stars Bradley Cooper.  Distrib: The Weinstein Company.  Release Date: Oct. 2.

"Black Mass" Dir: Scott Cooper. Stars: Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch. Distrib: Warners.  Release date: Sept. 18. (Parenthetical note...please let this be true...and the smoke is gathering that it might be).

"The Danish Girl" Dir: Tom Hooper.  Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Alicia Vikander. Distrib: Focus Features.  Release date: Nov. 27.

"Everybody Wants Some" Dir: Richard Linklater. Stars: Tyler Hoechlin. Distrib: Paramount Pictures.  Release date: TBD.

"Freeheld" Dir: Peter Sollett.  Stars: Julianne Moore, Ellen Page. Distrib: Lionsgate. Release date: Oct. 2.

"I Saw the Light" Dir: Marc Abraham.  Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Elizabeth Olsen. Distrib. Sony Pictures Classics. Release date: Nov. 27.

"The Light Between Oceans" Dir: Derek Cianfrance.  Stars: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander.  Distrib: TDB.  Release date: TBD.

"Manchester-by-the -Sea" Dir. Kenneth Lonergan.  Stars: Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams.  Distrib: TBD.  Release date: TBD (but perhaps 2016).

"The Program" Dir: Stephen Frears.  Stars: Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd.  Distrib: TBD.  Release dates: TBD.

"Suffragette" Dir: Sarah Gavron.  Stars: Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter.  Distrib: Focus Features.  Release date: Oct. 23.

"Truth" Dir: James Vanderbilt.  Stars: Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett.  Distrib: Sony Pictures Classics. Release date: TBD.

Among the Cannes debuts that Smith mentions that I feel have some shot at playing at Telluride are:

"Carol", "Son of Saul", "Macbeth" and "Youth"

And the films that Smith pegs as possible plays for Venice that I feel are also possible for T-ride:

"A Bigger Splash", "A Hologram for the King", "Our Brand is Crisis".

Other films that Smith includes in the list of 40 that might have Telluride legs would be "Steve Jobs".

Read the whole piece here:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/21/and-the-oscar-may-go-to-40-key-movies-in-contention-for-2016-awards


That's enough for today...more tomorrow...

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Toronto's Tuesday Announcement Tells Very Little/"Goodbye to "Fury"?/Shrinking Tribute Pool

Good Day on Wednesday...

TORONTO'S TUESDAY ANNOUNCEMENT TELLS VERY LITTLE

Marion Cotillard in "Two Days One Night"

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its next wave of films (over 75 titles added) and here are the primary takeaways as far as Telluride is concerned:

"Tow Days, One Night" from the Dardnnes Brothers seems a lock for T-ride now as Toronto lists it as a Canadian premiere.  Meanwhile, Olivier Assasyas "Clouds of Sils Maria" is a North American premiere so won't be playing Telluride.

Other films that I have had an occasional Telluride vibe for that will not play after all are:

"Girlhood"
"Charlie's Country"
"Bird People"
"Pride"
"The Search"
"Juaja"
"Maidan"

Still no inclusion at Toronto for:

Unbroken

"Unbroken"
"Big Eyes"
"Fury"
"Interstellar"
"Trash"
"Slow West"
"Suffragette"
"Kill the Messenger"


And nothing about Bill Murray's "St. Vincent"...hmmm...

I had reported last week that the buzz was that "St. Vincent" was on the verge of being announced as a Big Gala that would fete Murray in the process.  That could still happen next week but it's a little weird that we didn't hear about it this morning.

Meanwhile...


GOODBYE TO "FURY"?

Brad Pitt in "Fury"

Sony announced that David Ayers "Fury" has moved up its release date yesterday from November to Oct. 17th, which, I knew, meant that the AFI Fest became a non-issue for that film.  In my research about that announcement, I ran across Kris Tapley's article about it and he says no "Fury" at Telluride.

However, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety imply that a festival play could still be in the cards:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitts-world-war-ii-724942

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/brad-pitt-wwii-drama-fury-moves-to-october-1201281186/


After having watched the trailer and not seeing it announced for TIFF I was thinking that we might well see it in T-ride.

Still, Tapley says that "Telluride and Toronto were never in the cards".  Tapley is really good at this stuff...so for all practical purposes...probably check "Fury" off your Telluride wish list.

Here's the link to the HitFix/InContention post:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/brad-pitt-wwii-drama-fury-moves-to-october


SHRINKING TRIBUTE POOL

Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in "The Homesman"

News in the last couple of days about the unreadiness of Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and the announcement that Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria" will World Premiere at Toronto means that at least two names that I have speculated might be potential tribute candidates are off that list.  Nicole Kidman and Juliette Binoche both seemed like very good candidates to me but absent "Queen" and "Clouds" those options seem to be off the table.

Personally, at this point, I'm thinking the best shots are Tommy Lee Jones, Reese Witherspoon and Peter Bogdanovich with a reminder about the story I ran on Monday that suggested Italian film preservationist Gian Luca Farinelli might be in that mix as well.

I'll keep an ear to the ground...16 DAYS!

More tomorrow...

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The Usual Suspects 2014 Part Two/Herzog on his Queen/Poland Talks Telluride vs. Toronto

Hello to all on a Wednesday in July...

THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2014 PART TWO

I'm continuing my rundown of common players at Telluride fests that have films thought to be ready for presentation.  Yesterday I wrote about Herzog, Burns, Payne and Morris.  Today...

Mark Cousins...Cousins has been a part of the Telluride program in four of the last five years and I suspect that he'll return this year.  He has a documentary that he co-directed with Iranian film maker Mania Akbari.
The film is described as a conversation/discourse between the two.  "Life May Be" has played the Edinburgh and Karlovy Vary Fests this summer.  I think there's a very high probability that this film plays.

Iranian film maker Mania Akbari (via The Guardian)

"Life May Be's " IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3592704/?ref_=ttco_co_tt


Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu... Inarritu has become a fixture at Telluride.  Both "Babel" and "Biutiful" played the fest and Inarritu attended last year in support of his friend, Alfonso Cuaron, for a little picture called "Gravity".  It may be instructive to know that "Gravity" played Venice and then came to Telluride.

As I'm sure you know, Inarritu's "Birdman" will open the Venice fest on Aug. 27th.  T-ride opens Aug. 29...so I really expect to see "Birdman" at Telluride.  My questions are: Will Keaton come along? (A Keaton tribute?) and will Cuaron return Inarritu's favor and just be a guest this year...because that wouldn't surprise me at all.  Nevertheless, count on "Birdman" (it's at # 1 on the last week's Ten Bets).

"Birdman's" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2562232/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_2


Mike Leigh...the writer/director has been at Telluride a number of times.  He's been a long time player at TFF beginning over a quarter century ago with 1988's "High Hopes".  He's also been at TFF with "Secrets and Lies" in '96 (he was the recipient of a tribute) , "Happy Go Lucky" in '08, and "Another Year" in '10.

Now, Leigh has "Mr. Turner" ready after its competition run at Cannes in May and Timothy Spall's win for Best Actor there. I fully expect "Mr. Turner" to make an appearance at TFF #41 and further, I suspect Mr. Spall will attend as well.

"Mr. Turner's" IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2473794/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1

Jean-Luc and Pierre Dardennes...have also become regulars at Telluride over the past few years.  They tribute recipients in 2005 which included the presentation of  "The Child" and were back in 2011 with "The Kid with a Bike".  This year, they have "Two Days, One Night" starring another TFF Tributee, Marion Cotillard.  Sundance Selects has the distribution, so all of these factors considered make me believe that "Two Days" is also a likely Telluride play.

My question here is": "Will Marion return to Telluride?"  That question has an additional component in that she has another film that could play, Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" with Michael Fassbender in the title role. Could Cotillard double dip at T-ride?  I hope so!

Here's the link to the "Two Days, One Night" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2737050/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1


And finally, today's last "Usual Suspect" is Olivier Assayas.  Assayas fits a familiar profile listed in a number of the "Usual Suspects" mentioned above.  His film "Clouds of Sils Maria" played well at Cannes.  Juliette Binoche was named Best Actress for the film at Cannes by the International Cinephile Society.  But of all the "Usual Suspects" listed today, Assayas has, perhaps, the sketchiest Telluride resume.  His "Irma Vep" played in 1996 and "Carlos" in 2010.  His 2012 film "Something in the Air" played Venice, Toronto and New York but not Telluride.

All of these factors have made me a bit squeamish about "Clouds of Sils Maria" making it onto Telluride's program.  I wouldn't be surprised, but I'm much less bullish about its chances than any of the other "Usuals" listed in today's blog.

I also wouldn't be stunned if a Juliette Binoche tribute was a part of a package that included the presentation of "Clouds".

Its IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2452254/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_7

Tomorrow, the final five of this year's "Usual Suspects"



HERZOG ON HIS QUEEN

The Playlist posted an interview with Werner Herzog yesterday in which the auteur talks about his new film, and likely Telluride presentation, "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman and Robert Pattinson.  I current lay have "Queen" at #4 on the "Ten Bets" list.

Here's the link to that story:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/werner-herzog-talks-queen-of-the-desert-makes-ominous-prediction-about-nicole-kidmans-performance-20140714


POLAND ON TELLURIDE VS. TORONTO

Movie City News' David Poland added his two cents (actually more than two) to the whole Toronto ultimatum concerning premieres, their first weekend and Telluride's programming.   It's a lengthy article and has some interesting, thought-provoking things to say about the situation.  It also includes a proposal for a compromise concerning independent, small and/or foreign films caught in the vortex of Toronto's demand.

Take a look at it here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/07/weeks-to-oscar-toronto-telluride-and-collateral-damage/


More on Thursday...

Follow Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Twitter @Gort2.

Ten Bets #3/Birdman News from Venice/Dardennes Trailer with Marion/Unbroken Trailer Too

Good Friday everyone...Had a great last night in NYC last night as I got to meet the one and only Audra McDonald...who, some of you may know, I've got a thing for.  She was lovely.  Laughed at my lame jokes and signed my T-shirt (from the Shakespeare in the Park production of "Twelfth Night" in which she appeared and which I saw 5 years ago).

Photo courtesy of Kristy Patterson (who doesn't begrudge my adoration for Ms. M)

TEN BETS #3 2014

Here's last week's Ten Bets:

10) Coming Home

9) Winter Sleep

8) Red Army

7) The Roosevelts

6) Queen of the Desert

5) Foxcatcher

4) Leviathan

3) Two Days, One Night

2) Mr. Turner

1) Birdman

And this week's:

10) The Look of Silence
9) Red Army
8) Winter Sleep
7) Foxcatcher
6) The Roosevelts
5) Leviathan
4) Queen of the Desert
3) Mr. Turner
2) Two Days, One Night
1) Birdman

BIRDMAN FLIES TO VENICE

The announcement came from the Venice Film Festival yesterday: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Birdman" will open the Fest.  I had a number of people contact me to ask about what I thought the ramifications were vis-a-vis Telluride.  You can see from the "Ten Bets" above that I still feel very strongly that "Birdman" will make the trip just as "Gravity" did last year and "Black Swan" did in 2010.

Appended are a number of posts about the Venice announcement.  Some of them include a mention or two about Telluride and the rest of the fall festival season.

http://www.latinpost.com/articles/16888/20140710/venice-film-festival-2014-mexican-director-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritus-birdman.htm

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alejandro-g-inarritus-birdman-starring-michael-keaton-emma-stone-to-open-2014-venice-film-festival-20140710

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/venice-film-festival-opens-with-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritus-birdman-20140710

DARDENNES TRAILER WITH MARION

A new trailer appeared yesterday for the Dardennes Brothers new film "Two Days, One Night" starring Oscar winner Marion Cotillard.  I'm still bullish on its chances of playing T-ride (see above). You'll note that The Playlist agrees in their story.  Links to the trailer and stories here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/marion-cotillard-two-days-one-night-dardenne-brothers

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-the-dardenne-bros-two-days-one-night-starring-marion-cotillard-20140710

UNBROKEN TRAILER TOO

And also dropping a new trailer yesterday was Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" which continues to get occasional mentions in a number of places that it could play Telluride.  Here's the link to the Variety story that includes the trailer:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/angelina-jolie-unbroken-first-trailer-1201260261/

More tomorrow including the Best of the Week...

Marion Cotillard and Two Days/Salt of the Earth/New Views of Imitation

Welcome to Friday!

MARION COTILLARD AND TWO DAYS (AND MAC BETH TOO)

Marion Cotillard in "Two Days, One Night"

The first "Ten Bets" for TFF #41 is two weeks away (or so) and almost certain to land somewhere on that list is "Two Days, One Night" from the Dardennes Brothers starring Oscar winner Marion Cotillard.
Cotillard was a tributee in 2012 at Telluride and could conceivably make a return this year to accompany the film (and also with Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" with Michael Fassbender...Marion is one of this year's "twofer" possibilities).

The Playlist posted a big article yesterday with Cotillard's new pics from "Two Days", an interview with Charlie Rose, a Brit interview about MacBeth, the Cannes press conference for "Two Days", footage from "The Immigrant".  There's a lot of stuff.  Take a look here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-20-minute-marion-cotillard-james-gray-interview-on-charlie-rose-plus-new-photos-of-two-days-one-night-20140604

SALT OF THE EARTH

Wenders and Selgado via The Film Stage

Thompson on Hollywood posted links yesterday to clips from Wim Wenders documentary about Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Selgado entitled "Salt of the Earth".  "Salt" is one of a number of docs that seem like they have reasonably good chances to make the Telluride '14 lineup ("Red Army" is another).


 The Thompson piece links to those clips via The Film Stage. I have provided the links to both posts here:

 http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-provocative-new-clips-from-wim-wenders-doc-salt-of-the-earth

http://thefilmstage.com/news/preview-wim-wenders-the-salt-of-the-earth-with-first-batch-of-clips/#BYEErCFKmFWTVZwi.03


NEW VIEWS OF IMITATION

Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" via Entertainment Weekly

Also up yesterday...a couple of new stills from the set of "The Imitation Game" directed by Morten Tyldum.  Anyone who reads this space with much frequency knows that this right at the top of my TFF #41 wish list.

Take a look at the post and the other pic from Entertainment Weekly/The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-photos-of-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-in-the-imitation-game-20140605

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/06/05/benedict-cumberbatch-outwits-nazis-in-the-imitation-game-first-look/


Remember to like and follow Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook and Twitter @Gort2


More tomorrow...

Dallas Buyers Date/Most Wanted Leaked Trailer/Coming Attractions: Dardennes and Cotillard

Good Tuesday to everyone.

DALLAS BUYERS DATE

I have mentioned Jean-Marc Vallee's "Dallas Buyers Club" starring Matthew McConnaughey as a Telluride potential film for a while now.  We got word yesterday from The Playlist that the film has settled into a Dec. 6th release date which puts it in prime time awards wise and also well within the Telluride time frame.  Here's the link to the Playlist post:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/will-this-finally-be-matthew-mcconaugheys-oscar-year-the-dallas-buyers-club-nabs-awards-season-date-20130607

By the by...I think McConnaughey seems like a very strong Best Actor candidate with this.

MOST WANTED TRAILER LEAKED

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood tweeted yesterday that BleedingCool.com had leaked a trailer for Anton Corbijn's John LeCarre adaptation "A Most Wanted Man".  "Most Wanted" also has some TFF #40 potential as I noted last week.

Here's the link to the story:

http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/05/leaked-trailer-for-a-most-wanted-man-anton-corbijn-adapts-john-le-carre/


COMING ATTRACTIONS

Keep your eyes peeled for this film as a possible/probable selection for TFF #41: "Two Days, One Night" from the Dardennes Brothers and featuring Oscar winner and TFF #39 Tributee Marion Cotillard.

The Hollywood Reporter has the story here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-new-dardenne-brothers-movie-525233#

Follow/Like Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

More tomorrow...

Saturday TBAs

SNEAK PREVIEW


• Butter G/ Sat 8:15 PM • C/ Sat 10:45 PM
In person: Jennifer Garner, Jim Field Smith, Ty Burrell


• 21 The Kid With a Bike L/ Sat 3:45 PM

• 2 Le Havre L/ Sat 10:45 PM

G = Galaxy
C= Chuck Jones
L= Le Pierre

Trance Links/Le Havre News/Dardennes "Bike"/Nobbs

Me and my buddy Oscar winner Colin Firth...will he be at T-ride this year (TTSS) or in 2013 (Trance)?

Good Morning Peeps!

TRANCE LINKS

Yesterday I posted news that Danny Boyle's next film project, "Trance," has apparently lost Michael Fassbender and that Boyle was seeking Colin Firth to replace him.  I thought you'd like more detail and so have provided some links to various versions of that news (and the additional news that Boyle was seeking to sign up Scarlett Johannson as well).  Here are the various links:

Slashfilm:
http://www.slashfilm.com/danny-boyle-eyeing-colin-firth-scarlett-johansson-trance/#more-106947


Cinemablend:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Colin-Firth-Scarlett-Johansson-For-Danny-Boyle-s-Heist-Thriller-Trance-25525.html

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/danny_boyle_wants_colin_firth_and_scarlett_johansson_to_join_james_mcavoy_i/

Trance" IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1924429/
 

LE HAVRE NEWS

One of the well received films from the Cannes film festival that I think has a reasonably good chance of being a Telluride film pick this year is Aki Kaurismaki's "Le Havre."  I reported a few weeks back that there was a hint that The Weinstein Company was about to secure distribution for the U.S. for the film but since that time there has been no news, no confirmation.

Now comes the news from The Hollywood Reporter that "Le Havre" has won the Best International Film award at the Munich Film Festival which should put it back into the conversation for Telluride and for someone to pick up its distribution rights. I maintain that it's still a definite possibility for TFF #38.

Here is the story from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/aki-kaurismakis-le-havre-paddy-207913

Le Harve IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1508675/

DARDENNES "BIKE"

Another Cannes film that I think has an excellent chance of being at Telluride is the Dardennes Brothers "The Kid with a Bike."  Anne Thompson reports that the brothers are continuing to pick up a slew of awards for the film and their career in the next few months leading me to believe that the film would be a tremendous addition to the TFF playlist.  However, Thompson notes that one of the awards that the Brothers Dardennes are set to receive happens at the Venice Film Fest.  But since the film is already playing in Europe (and specifically in Italy) and since one would expect the award presentation to come at the end of the Venetian festivities ( it closes on Sept. 10) I have to believe that there is still a large window of opportunity for the film to play in T-ride.

The link to the Thompson story (which also includes a link to the trailer) is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/07/05/dardennes_the_kid_with_the_bike_wins_awards_needs_us_distribution/#more

The Kid with a Bike IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1827512/

ALBERT NOBBS WHERE ARE YOU?

Way back in March when I foolishly began to pontificate about what pictures could make their way to the San Juans, one of the films that I thought just sounded like a Telluride possibility was "Albert Nobbs" starring Glenn Close.  Since then there has been very little news about the project and its disposition.  Over the last two days, however, there has been some movement that indicates that we could see the film lined up for a serious Oscar run especially for Close.

The Playlist and The Hollywood Reporter both had stories yesterday detailing the involvement of Roadside Attractions and Liddell Entertainment which have secured the U.S. rights to the film.  Close co-wrote the screenplay and produces as well as acts the title role which she reprises from her 1982 performance in the play.

The Telluride connection?  Roadshow and Liddell teamed up last year on Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu's "Biutiful."  It's not beyond the realm of possibility that they will seek to  follow the same path that resulted in an Oscar nom for Javier Bardem.

Here is the Playlist's story:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/albert_nobbs_picked_up_by_liddell_entertainment_and_roadside_attractions/

And the Hollywood Reporter version:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/risky-business/glenn-close-drama-albert-nobbs-208022

Albert Nobbs IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602098/