The Distributors 2018: Focus Features / Werner's New Project / Another Angel Could Be in Play

Good Friday everyone...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: FOCUS FEATURES

Normally, I would have examined the Focus Feature lineup a bit later in the process because their TFF participation has been spotty over the last dozen years.  These are the Focus films that have played Telluride since 2006:

2006- Catch a Fire
2012- Hyde Park on Hudson
2015- Suffragette
2017-Darkest Hour

So, why evaluate them this early?  I have a couple of reasons.  First, I think Focus really benefited last year with Darkest Hour playing TFF #45.  It ended up with two Oscar wins (for Gary Oldman's performance and for Best Makeup/Hair) and another four Oscar nominations.

The second reason is that Focus has, on paper, a very good slate of films going into the fall:

Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows (no release date yet)
Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased (Sept. 28)
Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex (Nov. 9)
Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots (Dec. 7)

All of which have at least a shot at making the fest.  I'm guessing Focus lands at least one of these at Telluride and, for the first time since I started covering TFF, maybe two films.

Here's my analysis for each:

Cruz and Bardem on the set of Everybody Knows

Everybody Knows- Farhadi directs Penelope Cruz (a past TFF Tribute recipient in 2006) and Javier Bardem in a Spanish language mystery.  This would seem the most likely fit for TFF as it checks off a number of TFF boxes: It was a Cannes film, Farhadi's past with the fest and Cruz's past tribute status.  However, the critical reception to the film at Cannes was less than enthusiastic.  As a matter of fact, the Reini Urban composite critical rankings had it at 19th of the 21 competition films.  Ouch.
Chances 50%.

Boy Erased- Edgerton directs Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Lucas Hedges and himself in a film that tackles the issue of gay conversion therapy.  That's a lot of acting and Oscar firepower in one film and the film has a timely hot button issue.  Chances 40%.

On the Basis of Sex- Looks at the rising career of a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg. In light of the success and buzz around the Ruth Bader Ginsburg documentary, RBG, and Ginsburg's legendary status...this film is expected to be high profile.  With a buzzy cast including Felicity Jones, Armie Hammer and Justin Theroux. Chances 40%.

Margot Robbie as Elizabeth I in Mary Queen of Scots

Mary Queen of Scots- The story of the struggle for power and the British throne between Mary and Elizabeth I.  The film features red hot actresses Margot Robbie as Elizabeth and Saoirse Ronan as Mary and both women are coming off of Oscar nominations last year.  Robbie for I. Tonya and Ronan for Lady Bird.  Additionally, Ronan is rumored to have been the probable third tribute last year that did not happen (due to filming schedule conflicts-at a guess).  Chances 40%.

As a gauge...here were my guesses for Focus Films last year.  That Darkest Hour % looks a little silly in retrospect.

Victoria and Abdul 35%
Darkest Hour 10%
Phantom Thread 0%

Bottom line is that I think Focus will be back at Telluride this year.


WERNER'S NEW PROJECT

The Playlist reported yesterday that Telluride regular Werner Herzog has signed on to Executive Produce and direct (at least some episodes) of Fordlandia based on Greg Grandin's Pulitzer Prize winning book of the same name.

Fordlandia outlines the true story of Henry Ford's attempt to create a small town America in the Amazonian jungle.

No details about when we could see episodes on the USA Network, which owns the rights to the book.

You'd have to think that, depending on what timeline occurs, that some episodes would be screened as a part of TFF #46 in 2019. 

I'll keep an eye open for further information.


ANOTHER ANGEL COULD BE IN  PLAY

Sorry Angel still via Indiewire

Variety reports that Strand Releasing has obtained the distribution rights for Cannes Palme competition film Sorry Angel fro director Christophe Honore. 

The film played to fair-ish reviews at Cannes but was not an award winner at the end of that fest.

The Variety story says that Strand plans a fall release for the film.  Strand has had an occasional presence at Telluride which suggests that we ought to keep it in mind as a potential TFF #45 selection.

The Variety story is here.

That's your Friday MTFB.  Have a great weekend and come back for more on Monday.


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Widows Pics and Trailer / Indiewire Scans Foreign Language Oscar Players

Welcome to the first Monday in June and the start of the MTFB grind to TFF #45.

I start the summer posting protocol with the expansion of posts.  Normally, I post on Monday and Thursday mornings but starting this week, I'll be adding posts on Tuesday and Friday as we move our way closer and closer to TFF #45 scheduled for this year from Aug. 31-Sept. 3.

Hope you enjoy and find the next three months of goo...useful.


WIDOWS PICS AND TRAILER

Any number of sources reported over the weekend that Steve McQueen's Widows had dropped stills and would be dropping a trailer today.  I have included a couple of stills from The Film Stage here and will include the trailer in tomorrow's post.

I'm about 50/50 on Widows' chances of making the TFF #45 lineup.  Working in its favor is the strong presence that McQueen has had at the fest over the years with screenings of Hunger ('08), Shame ('11) and 12 Years a Slave ('13) and personally, Shame and 12 Years are two of the best films that I have seen at Telluride.  So that kind of track record suggests TFF #45 could happen.

Countering that are two factors.  Widows, from all descriptions, sounds like a genre film which none of McQueen's previous Telluride films could be called and it's housed at 20th Century Fox, which has certainly had plenty of play at Telluride via its indie arm-Fox Searchlight, but 20th Century Fox itself...not so much.

So that's why Widows is a 50/50 prediction for TFF #45 at this point.

Trailer tomorrow here on the blog.


INDIEWIRE SCANS FOREIGN LANGUAGE OSCAR PLAYERS

Anne Thompson posted a speculative piece on Indiewire Friday looking at films that she feels have the best inside track for a Foreign Language Oscar nomination as the summer begins.  All five of what Anne lists as front-runners are films that played at Cannes and are all possible Telluride players.

They are:

Capernaum
Cold War
Everybody Knows
Happy as Lazarro
Shoplifters

Among other films listed as contenders that I feel, at least at this point, like T-ride players are: Ayka and Girl.

In an interesting twist, Anne does not include Lee Chang-dong's Burning.  The film was the undeniable critical champ at Cannes but also received no prizes in the official competition.

I have it on my T-ride watch list because it scored so well with critics and because Chang-dong has played Telluride previously with Secret Sunshine and Poetry.

The complete article is linked here.


More tomorrow including, I hope, the Widows trailer.

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The Don Quixote Saga Continued / Everybody Knows Goes Is in Focus / Cannes Will Honor Rissient

Good Thursday to everyone...

THE DON QUIXOTE SAGA CONTINUED

On our previous episode of "What Else Could Happen to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" we were wondering how a French court would rule and if that would allow or prevent the film's screening as the closing night entertainment in Cannes...well...

Since Monday...Terry Gilliam had a "health episode" that was described as a possible stroke but was apparently not that...

Distributor Amazon Studios dropped plans to distribute the film and

The Court ruled and said, essentially, roll that film on May 19th.

It's been an eventful few days for the Don Quixote crew.

All of the sound and fury led one Twitter account to suggest that attending the screening on the 19th might be risky as it is likely to end in a disaster of biblical proportion.  Such has been the beleaguered history of the film.

Here's what I want to know:  Why did Amazon pull out?  And...what the hell else could happen to this production in the next 10 days?

Here's a sampling of the coverage for this past three days worth of developments:

The Court decision:

Indiewire

The Hollywood Reporter

Amazon's Decision:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Gilliam's Health Scare:

Deadline

Indiewire

EVERYBODY KNOWS IS IN FOCUS

Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows opened the 71st Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday to mixed reviews (I'll start passing along links to various critics' compilation sites beginning with next Monday's blog post).

Despite the so-so nature of the critical reception, a reportedly significant battle ensued for U.S. distribution rights for the film among a number of players.  Netflix had been reported earlier in the week as a likely bidder and reportedly they were but in the end were bested by Focus Features.

Focus was said to gain an advantage die its traditional theatrical release structure meaning that the film could be aimed at awards season.

Additionally, the win by Focus probably still keeps the film in the convo for Telluride although, as astute friend of MTFB Patrick Pringle noted via Twitter, the recent decision by the Trump administration to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear deal could create problems for screenings of the film.

Here's coverage of the Focus deal from:

Deadline

Variety

Indiewire

CANNES WILL HONOR RISSIENT

As you might expect, the Cannes Film Fest will honoring the late Pierre Rissient, who died last weekend.  The film "warrior" was an incredible part of the fabric of both Cannes and Telluride.  I ran across this comment from former TFF co-director Gary Meyer in the comment section of the Eric Kohn/Indiewire story reporting Rissient's passing: 

Thank you for this wonderful and personal look at Pierre Rissient who was truly unique. His passion for the films and talent he loved was infectious. He was demanding in a way that a first timer might not embrace until they realized that he was usually right and listening to him would reveal things we didn’t know about cinema of the past and turn us on to filmmaking on the horizon. The two films about him are a great start to understanding Pierre. I am honored to have been among the lucky ones to have spent time learning and being inspired by one of the art’s true believers.

Additionally, I have linked reportage of Cannes decision to honor Rissient here from:

The Hollywood Reporter

And that;s a wrap for this Thursday.  Please come back for more on Monday including the first collective looks of the films that will premiere at Cannes over the weekend.

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New Trailer for Don Q / Cannes Supports The Don and Gilliam / Awards Watch Previews Foreign Language Oscar Hopefuls / The Wind Is Closer to Completion

Good first Thursday in May my friends...

NEW TRAILER FOR DON Q

Amidst all the legal brouhaha over Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and whether it will actually screen to close Cannes on May 19th, we have a second trailer for the film, which, for my money is better and more enticing than the first.

Here it is from YouTube:

CANNES SUPPORTS THE DON AND GILLIAM

The top brass at the Cannes International Film Festival released a statement of support this week for Terry Gilliam and his beleaguered film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.  The film has taken two decades to complete and continues to be mired in legal woes.

A hearing is set to take place in Paris on May 7th concerning the claims of one of the past producers of the film.  The decision in that proceeding could determine whether Quixote actually screens as Cannes closing night feature on May 19th.  It's also entirely possible that the ruling could bar the film's screening.

Original reporting on this particular legal claim suggested that the ultimate court finding might not occur until June.

All of that means that the film's Cannes future is uncertain and certainly that would continue to be true in the context of a potential play at Telluride.

Here is coverage from Indiewire on Cannes' statement of support for Gilliam and the film.



AWARDS WATCH PREVIEWS FOREIGN LANGUAGE OSCAR HOPEFULS

Erik Anderson at Awards Watch posted a piece this week examining 16 films that will be playing the Cannes Fest that he thinks could be players in the Foreign Language Oscar race.

Among those 16 are several that I have my eye on as possible TFF #45 candidates:

Cold War
Everybody Knows
Dogman
Ash Is the Purest White
Burning
Three Faces
Ayka


The complete rundown of the 16 films is here from Awards Watch.


 THE WIND IS CLOSER TO COMPLETION

Producer Frank Marshall tweeted a photo on Monday with the caption explaining that the sound mix for Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind was "a wrap".  That moves the film one step closer to completion and potential screening.

Increasingly I am convinced that we're going to have the opportunity to catch a screening of the film over Labor Day weekend.

Additionally, I also think a screening of Mark Cousins' new Welles documentary, The Eyes of Orson Welles could show as a companion piece.

Here's the photo:

and the text of Marshall's tweet:

That's a wrap! An historic moment as we finish the sound mix for THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, almost 50 years after Orson Welles began shooting his final picture. @OrsonWelles @netflix

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Pics from Cannes Films / Posters for Welles and Garrone / First Stills from Old Man and the Gun

Good Monday morning to everyone...a visually dominated post today...


PICS FROM CANNES FILMS

Indiewire put up 36 stills from a bunch of the films that are playing Cannes next month last Tuesday and I thought I'd re-post the photos of the films among that group that seem, at least to me and at this time, to be the most likely Telluride crossovers:

Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows:

Matteo Garrone's Dogman:

Debra Granik's Leave No Trace:

Bi Gan's Long Day's Journey Into Night:

The complete album of 36 stills is here from Indiewire.

POSTERS FOR WELLES AND GARRONE

We have our first this week at posters for potential Telluride films The Other Side of the Wind and Dogman.

The look at the poster for Orson Welles' final film comes to us from WorldofReel:

 And the Dogman poster comes from the Twitter account of Richard Lorman:

AND THE FIRST STILLS FROM OLD MAN AND THE GUN

From Indiewire comes a look at couple of photos from David Lowery's Old Man and the Gun starring Robert Redford (TFF Tribute 2013) which is reportedly his last acting role.

Here are the peeks at Redford (and co-star Sissy Spacek):

Fox Searchlight has announced that the film will be released October 5th.

That's a wrap for this Monday.  I'll be back on Thursday with more...

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Everybody Knows Opens Cannes / On the Other Cannes / No Roma in Cannes Competition?

Well, I'm back.  Didn't plan to take last week off from the blog but that's what happened.  As i posted on Thursday...my apologies.

EVERYBODY KNOWS OPENS CANNES

While I was away this week it was announced that Asghar Farhadi's Everybody Knows will open the Cannes Film Festival next month.

Farhadi's Spanish language film stars Penelope Cruz (TFF Tributee in 2006) and Javier Bardem.

I've had Everybody Knows on the Cannes/Telluride watch list for months now due to Farhadi's past screenings of A Separation and The Past at TFF.

Two things I would note, however, are that Farhadi's last film (The Salesman) did not play TFF and  it's relatively rare that a Cannes opener makes the crossover to lay Telluride as well.  The last time I can find that happening was in 2004 with Pedro Almodovar's Bad Education so...it's been a long time.


Further details of the selection of the film for Cannes is here from:

Variety

Indiewire

The Pre-Cannes trailer for Everybody Knows from YouTube

ON THE OTHER CANNES

The release this week of a trailer and poster for Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote all but assures that the film's title will be announced for some spot in Cannes on Thursday.  The multi-decade-in-the-making film has also been on my Cannes/TFF crossover possibility list for a long while.

Here's the trailer from YouTube:

And coverage of the trailer from:

Interview

The Guardian

Cinema Blend

AND...NO ROMA IN COMPETITION AT CANNES?

The news this week that Alfonso Cuaron is now under the Netflix banner means that, as of now, Cuaron's film will not be playing in competition in France next month.

Cannes director Thierry Fremaux has made it clear that under the current Netflix release strategies, Netflix films will not be in the main competition.

For its part, Netflix, according to Vanity Fair and Indiewire is now threatening to exclude Roma and four other films from the festival including the highly anticipated Orson Welles "last film" The Other Side of the Wind.

And, of course, I have no good idea what this set of circumstances might do regarding TFF #44.


That's the bounceback MTFB for this Monday.


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