PETER FONDA 1940-2019
I'm pausing a moment here in the middle of the last big rush before TFF #46 happens to acknowledge the passing of Peter Fonda. To the best of my ability to track it down, I can't find any instance where Fonda was a participant at any TFF but I'd be remiss not to mention the man who, along with Dennis Hopper, created Easy Rider in 1969.
You can't underestimate the lightning flash and thunder crash that that film made. The film was Oscar nominated for its script which was Fonda's first nomination. His other would came for his acting 1997's Ulee's Gold.
Fonda's most recent film is The Last Full Measure which is scheduled for release on Oct. 25th.
Fonda was 79. I have linked Indiewire's reporting on his death here.
DOCS THIS WEEKEND
Possible TFF #46 documentaries are what became my focus over the weekend mostly by complete accident.
First, I was already very comfortable saying that Laura Greenfield's The Kingmaker, a doc which focuses on former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos, would be playing at Telluride at the end of next week based on its premiere status from Toronto and its scheduled world premiere date early in the run of films at Venice.
If I might have any doubt, that disappeared as I was contacted by an acquaintance that confirmed the film will be at TFF #46. How did my acquaintance know? He's been invited to the fest as a guest of the film's director.
That brush up against a doc playing TFF reminded me that my wife and I had been invited to Netflix's Brunch for its docs that were screening (Reversing Roe, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead) . That got me to thinking about what docs Netflix might be bringing in 2019. After some checking, the most likely seems to be James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham's Crip Camp. A documentary that focuses on a New York summer camp for disabled teens in the 1960s-70s.
Of note is that Crip Camp has not yet been announced for any fall fest; and is listed as having been in post-production since Aug. 18th of last year and was produced by Higher Ground Productions.
No guarantees by any means...but maybe... and I will add it this week to the "Other Possibilities" list Friday.
PARASITE AS A PLAYER?
Since its debut at Cannes last spring and its Palme d'Or win, I felt it had a good chance to make the Telluride lineup. As a matter of fact, it was the top listed film on the very first Ten Bets list back at the end of June and was also on my "If I Had To" guess list on June 14th.
Now there are rumbles that the film's distributors/producers are aiming for more than a run at the Best International Film Oscar.
Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn spend some serious time talking about that on their Screen Talk podcast this week which you can hear right here.
They might well be onto something. Clayton Davis' has Parasite listed as the #8 film among his Best Picture predictions.
Erik Anderson's Awards Watch it as #10 (and the big banner photo at the top of his current Best Pic predictions is from Parasite!)
GARCIA BERNAL AND THE CHICUAROTES
I stumbled into a bit of news about Gael Garcia Bernal's The Chicuarotes this weekend. Garcia Bernal, who has made a number of appearances at Telluride over the years as an actor in various projects (The Motorcycle Diaries, No, Neruda) is on the midst of continuing to roll out the film, his second feature effort as a director, with a presentation at the Sarjevo Film Festival. The film has already screened at San Sebastian, Shanghai and Cannes.
After turning this information up over the weekend, I think there's at least some chance that the film makes its North American debut at Telluride.
Along with Crip Camp mentioned above, Chicuarotes also probably gets added to the list of "Other Possibilities on Friday.
Erik Anderson's Awards Watch it as #10 (and the big banner photo at the top of his current Best Pic predictions is from Parasite!)
GARCIA BERNAL AND THE CHICUAROTES
I stumbled into a bit of news about Gael Garcia Bernal's The Chicuarotes this weekend. Garcia Bernal, who has made a number of appearances at Telluride over the years as an actor in various projects (The Motorcycle Diaries, No, Neruda) is on the midst of continuing to roll out the film, his second feature effort as a director, with a presentation at the Sarjevo Film Festival. The film has already screened at San Sebastian, Shanghai and Cannes.
After turning this information up over the weekend, I think there's at least some chance that the film makes its North American debut at Telluride.
Along with Crip Camp mentioned above, Chicuarotes also probably gets added to the list of "Other Possibilities on Friday.
CURRENT TEN BETS AND BONUS BETS
10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Judy
6) Pain and Glory
5) Uncut Gems
4) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
3) Motherless Brooklyn
2) Marriage Story
1) Parasite
Bonus Bets:
Bonus 1) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 2) First Cow
Bonus 3) A Hidden Life
Bonus 4) The Report
Bonus 5) The Kingmaker
Bonus 6) The Climb
Bonus 7) Waves
Bonus 8) Lyrebird
Bonus 9) Verdict
THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE
For the eighth consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride. All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".
Report your ratings with any of the following contact methods:
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com
TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)
FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page
COMMENT TO THE BLOG
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