Jenny Slate and Isabella Rossellini Talk Marcel the Shell / MTFB Oscar Take: Lead Actress and Actor / Music Video from The French Dispatch / Crested Butte Film Fest Opens Tomorrow

JENNY SLATE AND ISABELLA ROSSELINI TALK MARCEL

Actress and Marcel the Shell co-creator Jenny Slate and her co-star Isabella Rossellini sat down recently together as a part of Vulture's Two Fiends video project and discussed the plucky Mollusk's feature film debut as well as other topics.  Vulture posted the video on Sept. 7th.  

You can find it linked here.

MTFB OSCAR TAKE: LEAD ACTRESS AND ACTOR

Here' my opening salvo as I continue to make initial guesses re: the newly commenced Oscar race.  Today first stabs at both Lead Acting categories with TFF #48 performances in Bold.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Kristen Stewart/Spencer

2) Jessica Chastain/The Eyes of Tammy Faye

3) Lady Gaga/House of Gucci

4) Nicole Kidman/Being the Ricardos

5) Penelope Cruz/Parallel Mothers

Alternates: Jennifer Hudson/Respect and Jodie Comer/The Last Duel

BEST ACTOR

1) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Power of the Dog

2) Will Smith/King Richard

3) Denzel Washington/The Tragedy of Macbeth

4) Andrew Garfield/tick, tick...Boom

5) Joaquin Phoenix/C'mon C'mon

Alternates: Peter Dinklage/Cyrano and Leonardo DiCaprio/Don't Look Up

MUSIC VIDEO FROM THE FRENCH DISPATCH

Searchlight has released a Wes Anderson directed music video for the song Aline which is featured in the film.  From YouTube: 

CRESYED BUTTE FILM FEST OPENS TOMORROW

I met Michael and Jennifer Brody several years ago when the wife and I were doing an art show in Crested Butte and we've kept in touch since then even occasionally running into each other at TFF.  The Brody's run the Crested Butte Film Festival each year st the end of September.  It's a class affair.

This year the fest has scheduled a number of notable films including Celine Sciamma's Petit Maman which played as a part of TFF #48 as well as Cannes.  Other noteworthy narrative films include Joe Bell, Nine Days, Jagged, the Alanis Morissette documentary, and Jacque Audiard's Paris 13th District. 

The fest starts tomorrow with its in-person screenings in Crested Butte and runs through the weekend.  Virtual screenings will run through Oct. 3rd. 

You can find all the information here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

The Distributors: The Weinstein Company / Annecy Audiences Loved Loving Vincent / Awards Circuit Takes a Stab

Welcome back from the weekend.  Hope all fathers had a nice day yesterday.


THE DISTRIBUTORS: THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

After having at least one film play at Telluride each year that I have been attending (since 2006) last year was the first in which there was no film on the playlist from The Weinstein Company.  One might have thought (and I did for awhile) that The Founder or Lion might have played but that did not happen.

Here's the recent history of TWC (and before that, Miramax) from 2006 to the present:

2015: Carol
2014: The Imitation Game, Escobar: Paradise Lost, Keep On Keepin'On
2013: The Unknown, Salinger, Tracks
2012: The Sapphires
2011: The Artist, Butter
2010: The King's Speech
2009: The Road
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Enemy's Enemy, I'm Not There
2006: Venus, Indigenes

So the question becomes, "Will TWC return to TFF and if so, with what films?"

As I write this on Monday morning, TWC really seems to have on;y two films that are dated appropriately and with enough buzz to be serious Telluride (and for that matter, Venice, Toronto, New York, London) consideration.

The Current War and Mary Magdalene.  Let's breakdown each in terms of its TFF possibility.

The Current War stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse respectively and focuses on the battle between them to determine which form of electricity, Alternating Current or Direct Current, would dominate American electrical delivery.

The film is directed by Alonso Gomez-Rejon who has worked in the past for Alejandro Inarritu, Martin Scorsese and Ben Affleck.  Gomez-Rejon was a second unit director for Argo and for Babel.

I have heard via a back channel some scuttlebutt from a screening of the film that was less than stellar but, this far out, I don't think that necessarily removes The Current War from the TFF discussion.

Mary Magdalene stars Rooney Mara as Mary and Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus in a film that tells the story of the female follower of Christ.  Garth Davis (Lion) directs.  Additionally, one of the film's producers is Iain Canning who also produced The King's Speech, Shame and Hunger; all of which played Telluride.

My feeling is that it's more likely than not that TWC returns to Telluride in 2017 with one film (as you might note, the average for TWC is 1.6 films per year).  

My guesstimate at the moment is that The Current War has a slightly better chance than Mary Magdalene but that advantage is minuscule.

Chances: The Current War 51%, Mary Magdalene 49%.

Tomorrow, a look at Fox Searchlight.

ANNECY AUDIENCES LOVED LOVING VINCENT

The Annecy International Animated Film Festival concluded at the end of this past week with awards going primarily to Japanese film makers but the audience award went to Loving Vincent which I highlighted here last week.

The film likely gets a boost from the win both for Oscar consideration as well as for a Telluride play.

Check here for Variety's complete report about the awards at the conclusion of the festival.

AWARDS CIRCUIT TAKES A STAB

Clayton Davis' Circuitbreaker podcast from Awards Circuit was up this past weekend with a number of topics covered in the 1:20 long program.  The last 20 minutes or so beginning at the 55:35 mark starts as a discussion about the selection of Richard Linklater's Last Flag Flying as the opening night film for the New York Film Festival.  That leads to a far ranging discussion about where Davis and his crew think a lot of films will land at fall festivals including Telluride.  Those four titles are electrifying,

The four films that are named as Telluride plays (in order that they're mentioned in the podcast) are:

Woody Allen's Wonder Wheel

Alexander Payne's Downsizing

Denis Villeneuve's Blade Runner 2049

Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

The inclusion of Downsizing isn't a surprise but Wonder Wheel, Three Billboards and Blade Runner 2049 would all be surprises.

The complete Circuitbreaker podcast can be found here.

That's a wrap for this Monday.

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

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

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COMMENT to the BLOG

Pics from Inherent Vice/Annecy Ends/Salinger Trailer

Good Monday everyone.

PICS FROM INHERENT VICE

Paul Thomas Anderson's "Inherent Vice" starring Joaquin Phoenix continues to film in and around Los Angeles.  PTA fan site Cigarettes and Redvines posted a slew of on-set photos in the last couple of days featuring Phoenix and Martin Short.

You can see all of them at this link:

http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/2013/06/first-look-at-martin-short-in-inherent.html


ANNECY ENDS

Probably the world's most important animated film festival has come to a conclusion in France.  The Annecy Animation festival was a contributor to last year's Telluride fest.  "Rio 2096" won the top prize, the Crystal Award.  Other award winners and a complete wrap-up of the festival, check out this from Variety:

http://variety.com/2013/film/news/rio-2096-takes-top-honor-at-annecy-fest-1200497503/


SALINGER TRAILER

I had been thinking that the upcoming documentary on J.D. Salinger had a shot to be a Telluride film...but I have discovered that the release date is now set for Sept. 6...the weekend after TFF concludes.  That doesn't make it impossible and I can actually see a scenario wherein The Weinstein Company might think the immediate opening after a Telluride weekend might make a lot of sense.  So, don't rule it out completely.

All that to get to this...it has a trailer...

Here are a couple of posts that accompanied the release of the trailer this week:

From Movie City News:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/06/trailering-salinger-231/

And from The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-captivating-trailer-for-documentary-on-famed-literary-recluse-jd-salinger-20130613

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...

The Master Full Trailer/More Impossible/Coming Attractions

Good Friday to All1

First, thoughts and condolences to all those involved in the Denver shooting. 

"THE MASTER" FULL TRAILER

Here it is...released last night on Entertainment tonight and Yahoo Movies:

I have linked multiple stories for the trailer release below.

FirstShowing.net:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/must-watch-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master-theatrical-trailer/

Hollywood Elsewhere:

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/07/full_metal_mast.php

The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-astonishing-first-full-trailer-for-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master-20120719#.UAlI32FtrSg

Movie City News:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/07/trailer-the-master/

InContention/HitFix:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/the-master-gets-a-full-trailer-and-poster

Thompson on Hollywood:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/trailer-watch-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master-starring-hoffman-and-phoenix#.UAlIv2FtrSg

The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/master-trailer-hoffman-phoenix-and-adams-keep-faith-48531 

The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/master-trailer-philip-seymour-hoffman-joaquin-phoenix-352157

Slate:

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2012/07/19/the_master_full_trailer_is_finally_here_with_philip_seymour_hoffman_and_joaquin_phoenix_video_.html

Awards Daily:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2012/07/19/full-length-trailer-for-the-master/

Cigarettes and Red Vines:

http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/

Yup...a lot of outlets were all over this...

THE IMPOSSIBLE

I've been passing along tidbits here and there about "The Impossible", a film centered on the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean starring Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor and which just this week got scheduled for an awards friendly release date from Summit Entertainment.

Naturally this caught my eye along with the speculation in some quarters that because of the noticeably flashy date (Dec. 21) that Summit might be looking at some fall fest action for it.  Also what little reaction to screenings that I've been able to find suggests that it might also be a pretty good film.  So, it's on my watch list.

Consequently I have added a couple more posts that shine a bit more light on the film including a Spanish language trailer linked by Jeff Wells.

Hollywood Elsewhere:

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/07/slug_and_sluggi.php

InContention/HitFix:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/summit-primes-the-impossible-for-awards-season

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Jessica Chastain on the set of "Eleanor Rigby"

News and posts today about one of the most intriguingly titled films in years: "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"...any film title that references one of the five best Beatles songs is going to catch my eye.  The casting news in these stories suggests that some seriousness of purpose.

The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/tony-winner-new-janis-joplin-nina-arianda-joins-the-disappearance-of-eleanor-rigby-hers-with-jessica-chastain-20120711#.UAleT2FtrSg

Screen Daily:

http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/viola-davis-joins-the-disappearance-of-eleanor-rigby/5044373.article

More Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/viola-davis-bill-hader-william-hurt-isabelle-huppert-more-join-the-disappearance-of-eleanor-rigby-20120716#.UAlenWFtrSg

Eleanor's IMdb entries: (His and Hers)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1531924/

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2215603/

More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2.

"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook.

Master #2/Paramount/Clooney in August

Good Tuesday everyone!  Taking forever to get the blog loaded today.

MASTER #2

The film sites are abuzz since late last night with a second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" which is far and away the film I am most energized about for the coming fall/winter.

I am crossing my fingers that this plays at the Telluride festival this year but to be honest, I'd guess it's chances at about 45%.  A lot depends on the strategy The Weinstein Company chooses to pursue vis a vis Oscar campaigning.

I still think that "The Master" could play T-ride, but Harvey has a lot of arrows in his quiver this year and he/they may well think that they'd benefit from this PTA film being a Venice/New York thing.

I'm not alone, however, in at least thinking that it's still a possible Telluride choice as, in the midst of all the posting about the new teaser Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere wrote today:

"If Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is going to play the Venice Film Festival, as rumored, surely there's a decent chance it'll also play Telluride...no? Along with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder and Brian De Palma's Passion withRachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (which will probably be minor at best -- DePalma's best days are long past)"




Which makes me feel a little more confident about keeping it on our list of Telluride possibles.\\Here's the link to the rest of Wells' story and the teaser as well as comments (including mine):


http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/06/late_august.php


Here's the teaser via You Tube:

Here are multiple links to the teaser with subsequent commentary from the various blogs being linked to:


Cigarettes and Redvines:
http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/2012/06/2nd-trailer-for-master-surfaces.html

Mubi.com:
http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/teaser-2-for-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master

Awards Daily:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2012/06/the-master-teaser-trailer-2/

Hollywood.com:
http://www.hollywood.com/news/Philip_Seymour_Hoffman_Master_Trailer_Creepiest_Performance_of_2012/31271990

The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-second-trailer-for-paul-thomas-andersons-the-master-provides-first-looks-at-philip-seymour-hoffman-amy-adams-20120619

Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/master-movie-trailer-2012-hoffman-adams-anderson/

Totalfilm.com:
http://www.totalfilm.com/news/philip-seymour-hoffman-stars-in-new-trailer-for-the-master-watch-now


PARAMOUNT

In light of commentary this weekend in a Pete Hammond post for Deadline.com that suggested that one of the major studios had been plying their wares for the head honchos of the Telluride fest, I have taken it upon myself this week to look at what those possibilities might be.  Today, I'm looking at Paramount and we can probably rule them out pretty quickly.  Despite past recent participation at Telluride with "Up in the Air", "Benjamen Button", "Zodiac", "Babel" and "Paranormal Activity" and probable future Telluride films "Labor Day" and "Nebraska" as of right now they have only one film that might be conceivably considered Oscar material and that's the Denzel Washington starrer and Robert Zemeckis directed "Flight".  And frankly, I don't think it sounds like either a Telluride picture or much of an Oscar one for that matter.  So I'm writing Paramount off.

Here's the IMDb page for Paramount Pictures:http://www.imdb.com/company/co0023400/

"Flight's" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1907668/

Tomorrow a more likely suspect in 20th Century Fox.


CLOONEY IN AUGUST

Word late yesterday that there are new producers coming on board The Weinstein Company's big 2013 prestige project.  The film adaptation of the massive Broadway success "August: Osage County" now has George Clooney and Grant Heslov as a part of the team. Clooney was one of last year's tributees at Telluride.  Details here:

The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-grant-heslov-august-osage-county-338804

The Wrap:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/george-clooney-grant-heslov-produce-august-osage-county-44631


It all seemed a little weird until you put together the fact that the film will be directed by John Wells with whom Clooney worked back in their "E.R." days...

More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2