Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Labor Day. Show all posts

Thursday, January 9, 2014

The FAC Vol. 5A/The Other Metric/Oscar's Look/Nebraska Notes/Labor Day Rush

Good Thursday Everyone...

I'm continuing to update Oscar categories as we get closer and closer to nomination morning (Jan. 16-one week away!),  Today, I'm updating the Screenplay categories, Cinematography, Film Editing and Production Design.

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 5A



I use the publicly posted predictions of these Oscar experts:

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kris Tapley/HitFix-InContention
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Alex Carlson/Film Misery
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Brad Brevet/Rope of Silicon

The films position on the last FAC is in parenthesis.  Telluride #40 films are Bold.


ADAPTED SCREENPLAY



1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Captain Phillips (2)
3) Philomena (4)
4) Before Midnight (5)
5) The Wolf of Wall Street (3)
6) August: Osage County (6)
7) Short Term 12 (8)
8) Blue is the Warmest Color (7)
9) The Spectacular Now (New)
10) The Book Thief (Semi-New)

Dropping Out: "Lone Survivor" and "Labor Day".

Comment: The top six listed seem to be the serious players with "Wolf" dropping a bit, perhaps due to the conversation about whether the film glorifies/endorses the kind of behavior it depicts.  "August" still seems to be on the outside, but just barely and "Short Term 12" has a legit shot to make the field as a sleeper.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) American Hustle (3)
2) Nebraska (2)
3) Her (4)
4) Inside Llewyn Davis (1)
5) Blue Jasmine (5)
6) Gravity (7)
7) Enough Said (9)
8) Dallas Buyers Club (8)
9) Fruitvale Station (New)
10) Lee Daniel's The Butler (10)

Dropping Out: "Saving Mr. Banks"

Comment:  "Llewyn" takes a pretty big fall owing almost certainly to the lack of a WGA nomination last week.  This category is very tight with only the top three listed above as very likely Oscar nominees.

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY



1) Gravity (1)
2) 12 Years a Slave (2-TIE)
2) Inside Llewyn Davis (2-TIE)
4) Prisoners (4)
5) Nebraska (6)
6) Captain Phillips (5)
7) Rush (7)
8) Her (8)
9) The Grandmaster (New)
10) All is Lost (9)

Comment:  Every few years some category appears to have the possibility of a complete Telluride slate of nominees.  This years it's Cinematography which, if these numbers don't lie, would happen next week.  Realistically, almost any of the top ten could end up with a nomination.


BEST FILM EDITING

1) Gravity (1)
2) 12 Years a Slave (2)
3) Captain Phillips (3)
4) American Hustle (4)
5) Rush (5)
6) The Wolf of Wall Street (6)
7) Inside Llewyn Davis (8)
8) All is Lost (7)
9) Her (9)
10) Lone Survivor (New)

Dropping Out: "Nebraska"

Comment: A very competitive category as well through the first six places with both "Llewyn " and "Lost" also realistic possibilities to sneak into a nomination.


BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN



1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) The Great Gatsby (2)
3) Saving Mr. Banks (3)
4) The Hobbit: Smaug (4)
5) Inside Llewyn Davis (5)
6) Gravity (6)
7) Her (7)
8) American Hustle (8)
9) The Invisible Woman (9)
10) Oz The Great and Powerful (10)

Comment:  That's right, a category with absolutely no movement in the past couple of weeks.  This category seems ultra-competitive through the top seven spots and I have a feeling the #8 "American Hustle" might sneak in.

Overall, in these five categories Telluride #40 would have 12 additional nominations (if the metric is 100% accurate) and another 7 possibilities.

Beginning Monday I will post Oscar category updates each day leading up to Oscar Nomination announcement morning (Thursday).  Monday and Tuesday I'll update the remaining "under the line categories.  On Monday: The Shorts: Animated, Documentary, Live Action as well as Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Costumes and Makeup/Hair.  On Tuesday: Original Song, Original Score, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature, Foreign Language Film and Visual Effects.


THE OTHER METRIC



A week ago, I added another metric as a way of looking at the Best Picture race.  It utilized the results from Golden Globe nominations, The Screen Actors Guild, The American Film Institute, The Los Angeles Critics, The New York Film Critics Circle and The National Board of Review.  In the last week, three other guilds (Producers, Directors and Writers) have announced as well as The National Society of Film Critics and The British Association of Film and Television Arts.  That's a total of 10 organizational announcements that I have compiled.  If we believe that success among these organizations is indicative of Oscar nomination potential then here's what they tell us (if they tell us anything).

7 films get nominated for Best Picture

Leading the way is "American Hustle" named by nine of these groups (Golden Globes, SAG, AFI, NYFCC, DGA, PGA, WGA, NSFC and BAFTA).

Next is "12 Years a Slave" named eight times (Golden Globes, SAG, AFI, NBR, DGA, PGA, NSFC, BAFTA)

Two films were named seven times:
"Gravity" (Golden Globes, AFI, LAFCA, NBR, DGA, PGA, BAFTA)
"Her" (Golden Globes, AFI, LAFCA, NBR, PGA, WGA, NSFC)

Two films have six mentions:
"Captain Phillips" (Golden Globes, AFI, DGA, PGA, WGA, BAFTA)
"The Wolf of Wall Street" (Golden Globes, AFI, NBR, DGA, PGA, WGA)

"Nebraska" has five mentions (Golden Globes, AFI, NBR, PGA, WGA)

"Inside Llewyn Davis" has four mentions (Golden Globes, AFI, NBR, NSFC)

So this metric suggests that these are the eight most likely Best Picture nominees a week from today.

Films with three mentions and potential spoilers/additions:

"Dallas Buyers Club" (SAG, PGA, WGA)
"Saving Mr. Banks" (AFI, NBR, PGA)

It will be interesting to see how this metric plays out next week.

OSCAR'S LOOK FOR 2014

 
Here's the official poster for this year's Oscars featuring host Ellen Degeneres.  I have also links the HitFix story that goes with the poster/announcement:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/academy-unveils-official-poster-for-2014-oscars


NEBRASKA NOTES



The Wrap talks to the producers of Alexander Payne's "Nebraska" about the decade long process it took to get the film to the screen:

http://www.thewrap.com/nebraska-alexander-payne-producers-albert-berger-ron-yerxa


Then The Wrap added this conversation with "Nebraska" cinematographer Phedon Papamichael:

http://www.thewrap.com/nebraska-cinematographer-explains-bruce-derns-face-better-black-white/

Screenwriter Bob Nelson talks to Vulture.com's Kyle Buchanan about the toughest scene to write in the film:

http://www.vulture.com/2014/01/toughest-scene-i-wrote-nebraskas-bob-nelson.html


OSCAR PODCAST

Sasha Stone of Awards Daily posted her latest Oscar podcast which you can find here:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2264


LABOR DAY RUSH



The Playlist posted a story this week with new images and television spots for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day".  According to my latest FAC, "Labor Day" has the smallest of shots at two Oscar nominations next week:  Best Actress for Kate Winslet and Best Adapted Screenplay.  Here's the story from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-tv-spot-photos-of-jason-reitmans-labor-day-starring-kate-winslet-josh-brolin-20140103


More on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week in the run up to the Oscar nomination announcement.






Monday, December 16, 2013

Peter O'Toole/Nomination Hangover/Awards Circuit Says/Oscar Talk/Inside Llewyn Interviews/Winslet on Labor Day

Good Monday Everyone...

PETER O'TOOLE

One of the great regrets that I have had about my Telluride experiences over this past 8 years is that we didn't start attending until 2006 which meant that we missed the 2002 tribute to Peter O'Toole.  O'Toole was the last of that Richard Harris, Richard Burton triumvirate and a tremendous story teller.  He was always fascinating whenever you could catch him in an interview.  In 2006, we saw his performance in Telluride in "Venus" and marveled at how fine an actor he remained that late in his lifer/career.  It is a crime he never won the Oscar he was nominated 8 times for.  Fortunately for us, we have so many of his performances on film to watch for generations.

Peace, Mr. O'Toole, peace...

NOMINATION HANGOVER



Last week was a little dizzying with Screen Actors Guild nominations and Golden Globe nominations.  One thing that I didn't note about the GG noms on Thursday was the incredible leap in the number of total GG nominations for Telluride films from last year.  As I did note on Thursday, there were 25 nominations this year for TFF #40 films plus an additional 2 for TFF #39 films.  Compare that to the results from the recent past:

2012: 10 GG nominations, led by 5 for "Argo".  Of course you could add the nominations for "The Hunt" and Greta Gerwig for "Frances Ha" could be added to the 2012 total.
2011: 19 GG nominations led by 6 for "The Artist"
2010: 16 GG nominations led by 7 for "The King's Speech"
2009: 11 GG nominations led by 6 for "Up in the Air"

The "average" number of Golden Globe nominations for Telluride films over the past 4 years has been 14.

So, you can see that TFF #40 is an astounding jump in numbers of Globe nominations.  It's nearly double the average.

Now, I don't think that the number of Golden Globe nominations really tell us anything about the quality of TFF from year to year.  I mean, it is The Globes and as any number of people in the business have noted, The HFPA has an agenda that sometimes rewards names over quality.  Nonetheless, the jump from 10 last year to 27 this year is astounding.

I attribute this circumstance to the 40th anniversary lure of this year's fest and the phenomenal programming that the staff at TFF did to make the anniversary very, very special.

And I'm going to go ahead and make a solid prediction for Oscar nominations.  This year, in an amazing coincidence, TFF #40 films will earn exactly 40 nominations...and there will be 2-4 for TFF #39 films as well.


AWARDS CIRCUIT SAYS



I recently ran through the Oscar nomination predictions from Oscar prognosticator Clayton Davis from his site Awards Circuit to see where he puts the films from TFF #40 (and #39) in this years race.  Here's the results of what Davis was saying:

"12 Years a Slave"-11 nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Production Design, Cinematography, Costumes, Film Editing, Score.

"Gravity"-9 nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actress, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects, Score.
"Nebraska"-5 nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay.

"Inside Llewyn Davis"- 7 nominations: Best Picture, Director, Supporting actor, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Cinematography, Sound Mixing.

"Nebraska"-5 nominations: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay.

"All is Lost"-4 nominations: Best Actor, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Original Song.

Single nominations for:

"Blue is the Warmest Color"-Adapted Screenplay
"The Wind Rises: Animated Feature
"Tim's Vermeer": Documentary Feature
"Prisoners"-Cinematography
"The Invisible Woman": Costumes

Also from TFF #39:
"Stories We Tell": Documentary Feature
"The Hunt": Foreign Language Film
"Wadjda": Foreign Language Film

Totals: 41 nominations for TFF #40 films and an additional 3 for TFF #39 films.

OSCAR TALK



The latest episode of the Oscar Talk Podcast with Anne Thompson and Kristopher Tapley is up at both of their websites (Thompson on Hollywood and HitFix/InContention:

You can find it linked here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-talk-ten-best-films-of-2013

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-hustle-wall-street-precursors-and-the-10-best-films-of-2013


INSIDE LLEWYN INTERVIEWS



As the "Inside Llewyn Davis" roll out continues (it opens wide on Dec. 20th) the ILD P.R. campaign continues as well.  Here's Anne Thompson's interview with the Coen Brothers:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-isaac-t-bone-burnett-inside-llewyn-davis-interview

Also, from The Hollywood Reporter, a clip of the Coens talking about how Oscar Isaac came to be Llewyn:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/inside-llewyn-davis-how-ensemble-664351


WINSLET ON LABOR DAY



And surprise Golden Globe nominee Kate Winslet (also newly recent mom for the third time) talks to Kris Tapley at HitFix about Jason Reitman's "Labor Day":

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/kate-winslet-talks-new-challenges-and-portraying-a-fragile-character-in-jason-reitmans-labor-day


More on Thursday...

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Globes and SAG boost 12 Years

After the announcements from The Screen Actors Guild and The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, the lull in the "12 Years a Slave" momentum has been stymied, I think.

It feels like that there was some loss of momentum after some of the critic group announcements, but the last two days have put some wind back in its sails.

Golden Globe breakdown:

Telluride #40 Films:

12 Years a Slave (7 nominations): Best Picture (Drama), Director, Actor (Drama), Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Screenplay, Score.

Nebraska: (5 nominations): Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), Director, Actor (Comedy), Supporting Actress, Screenplay.

Gravity (4 nominations): Best Picture (Drama), Director, Actress (Drama), Score.

Inside Llewyn Davis (3 nominations): Best Picture (Comedy/Musical), Actor (Comedy/Musical), Song.

All is Lost (2 nominations): Best Actor (Drama), Score.

Labor Day (1 nomination): Best Actress (Drama).

3 Foreign Language nominations: Blue is the Warmest Color, The Wind Rises, The Past.

Also 2 nominations for TFF #39 films:  Greta Gerwig's Best Actress (Comedy/Musical) nomination for Frances Ha and the Best Foreign Language nomination for The Hunt.

27 total TFF nominations today from The Golden Globes.


Add today's announcement to yesterday's Screen Actors Guild nominations:

Best Supporting Actor:

Barkhad Abdi/Capt. Phillips
Daniel Bruhl/Rush
Michael Fassbender/12 Years a Slave
James Gandolfini/Enough Said
Jared Leto/Dallas Buyers Club


Best Supporting Actress:

Jennifer Lawrence/American Hustle
Lupita Nyong’o/12 Years a Slave
Julia Roberts/August: Osage County
June Squibb/Nebraska
Oprah Winfrey/The Butler


Best Actor:

Bruce Dern/Nebraska
Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years a Slave
Tom Hanks/Capt. Phillips
Matthew McConnaughey/Dallas Buyers Club
Forest Whitaker/The Butler

Best Actress:

Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock/Gravity
Judi Dench/Philomena
Meryl Streep/August: Osage County
Emma Thompson/Saving Mr. Banks

Best Ensemble:

12 Years a Slave
American Hustle
August: Osage County
Dallas Buyers Club
The Butler


12 Years-4 nominations
Nebraska-2 nominations
Gravity-1 nomination


Surprises???

Kate Winslet's "Labor Day" Best actress nomination.
No Oprah for Supporting Actress???( actually no "Butler" anywhere on the GG list this morning).  Sally Hawkins seems to have benefited.
No Woody Allen love for Picture, Director or Screenplay.


Glad to see:  "Inside Llewyn Davis" love for the film and Oscar Isaac.  Also happy to see Redford's name especially after not seeing it yesterday from the SAG nominations.

And a nice boost for "Nebraska" which, I think, over-performed this morning with its 5 nominations. Particularly pleased that Alexander Payne got a directing nod.


More to come...

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Labor Date/Oscar Matters/Dern at AFI/


Good Thursday to All...

I have loaded up on the "Llewyn Davis" soundtrack this week as the 6 copies of the vinyl arrived as did the CD which I have ripped to the various digital platforms I have.  I sort of like the soundtrack...a lot!

Now, on with this week's Telluride Film Festival news items...

LABOR DATE



Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" will get an Oscar qualifying run the lat week of December but won't open wide until January 2014.  The Wrap (with apologies to the earlier spelling error and thanks to Chris Schiller who caught it...color me embarrassed), The Playlist and The Hollywood Reporter filed these stories:

http://www.thewrap.com/paramount-sets-jason-reitmans-labor-day-wide-release-january/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/roundupjanuary-31-is-the-new-labor-day

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/paramount-moves-labor-day-limited-655125

Meanwhile, THR's Scott Feinberg talks to "Labor Day" star Kate Winslet:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/labor-day-star-kate-winslet-653268


OSCAR MATTERS



In the latest Oscar prediction news, Scott Feinberg's latest thoughts are here:

Feinberg Forecast:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-saving-mr-banks-653410

And Sasha Stone and friends share their Oscar insights on the Awards Daily Oscar Podcast:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2195

DERN AT AFI FEST



The Bruce Dern/Nebraska celebration continued this past week with a screening of the Alexander Payne film at the AFI Fest.  Dern talked to a bunch of outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, The Playlist and The Dissolve:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/afi-fest-bruce-dern-charms-655293

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-clip-from-nebraska-plus-afi-fest-bruce-dern-tribute-reel-introduced-by-quentin-tarantino-20131112

http://thedissolve.com/features/interview/267-bruce-dern-on-the-challenges-of-nebraska/

Dern also appeared on Charlie Rose which you can see here:

http://www.charlierose.com/watch/60297478


More on Monday...have a great weekend...

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Nebraska Blast/Labor Day Pie/Latest Feinberg/Jane Saga Continues/Chiwetel on Record/The Music of Llewyn Davis

God Thursday to Everyone...

NEBRASKA BLAST



A week away from limited release, Nebraska continues to draw a good deal of media attention.  Bruce Dern is definitely a part of the Best Actor Oscar conversation as is the film, actress June Squibb and Bob Nelson's screenplay.

Dern talked to Anne Thompson about the film:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/bruce-dern-tells-hollywood-tales-on-the-nebraska-promo-trail

The Playlist posted a ton of new stills from the film:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alexander-paynes-nebraska-unloads-a-state-full-of-new-photos-bruce-dern-will-forte-bob-odenkirk-20131103

And distributor Paramount announced that it would play in some cities on a double bill with the Peter Bogdanovich classic "Paper Moon":
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/paramount-plays-up-nebraskas-old-fashioned-charms-with-paper-moon-double-bill

LABOR DAY PIE



The Wrap reported this week that actor Josh Brolin really embraced the pie making that is a central plot point for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day".  That's here:
http://www.thewrap.com/josh-brolin-labor-day-pie-scene-sexiest-movie-ghost

LATEST FEINBERG FORECAST AND GURUS OF GOLD



Feinberg:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-field-is-set-652813

Gurus:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/11/gurus-o-gold-let-the-games-begin-2/


JANE GOT A GUN...THE SAGA CONTINUES



I couldn't let this pass by.  I've been following the twists and travails of the "Jane Got a Gun" shoot for months and there was new one this week.  The film's producers have filed suit against one time director Lynne Ramsay:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/jane-got-a-gun-producers-sue-director-lynne-ramsay

CHIWETEL ON RECORD


 
Potential Best Actor nominee and star of Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" continues to be the focus of much attention as the film continues its slow roll out this week (finally in Oklahoma City and Santa Fe tomorrow).  Both IMDb and Gold Derby posted video of him talking about the film this week:

http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi2027857945/

http://www.goldderby.com/news/5003/oscars-12-years-a-slave-chiwetel-ejiofor-interview-entertainment-news-64297518.html

THE MUSIC OF LLEWYN DAVIS



A couple of interesting developments this week concerning the music from the Coen Brothers "Inside Llewyn Davis".  First, NPR's First Listen has posted the entire soundtrack at their website so that you can stream it...I've been doing that all week.  Here's that link:

http://www.npr.org/2013/11/03/242103173/first-listen-soundtrack-inside-llewyn-davis

And Nonesuch Records, the label for the soundtrack released a vinyl version to sell in indy record stores at the "era" price of $5.98.  This is the complete soundtrack (and I've ordered 6 of them... some for Christmas gifts).  Those of us who were able to attend the Patron's Brunch at Telluride this year had already received a 6 song vinyl EP from the soundtrack as a part of the Patron swag.  The CEO also has the CD version on order as a part of my birthday gifts.  Needless to say, I like this soundtrack a lot.  Rolling Stone has the story of the vinyl LP release:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/inside-llewyn-davis-soundtrack-is-now-available-on-vinyl-20131105



More on Monday...Have a great weekend...

Monday, November 4, 2013

Labor Day Trailer/12 Years Grab Bag/Inside Inside Llewyn/Women of Blue/More Lost/Nebraska/Far From Madding


Good Monday to Everyone...welcome to another week...


LABOR DAY TRAILER



Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" got a ton of attention this past week even though it doesn't open (in a limited run) until Christmas Day.  I have linked a number of those stories here for you to look at.  "Labor Day's" reception at Telluride/Toronto could best be described as mixed.


http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-first-two-labor-day-trailers/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/watch-two-trailers-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-with-kate-winslet/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-starring-josh-brolin-kate-winslet-20131031

http://www.slashfilm.com/exclusive-jason-reitmans-online-trailer-for-labor-day/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/kate-winslet-and-josh-brolin-in-the-trailer-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day

http://thedissolve.com/news/807-labor-day-trailer/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/trailer-of-the-week-josh-brolin-takes-kate-winslet-hostage-in-jason-reitmans-labor-day




12 YEARS GRAB BAG



The "12 Years a Slave" onslaught continues as the film opened "wide" this past weekend.  Although "wide" still seems to be a fairly selective term here.  I searched for the film in Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque and Santa Fe for this weekend and it wasn't listed for any theaters in those cities.

Nevertheless, here are some of the more eye catching "12 Years" stories that popped up this week.

Here's an interview with Solomon Northup's descendants provided from FoxSearchlight (and I believe Fox News...which makes me shudder...)
http://www.foxsearchlight.com/post/3857/behind-the-dream-12-years-a-slave/

Yahoo Movies did a story that focused on newcomer and likley Oscar nominee Lupita Nyong'o:
http://movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-talk/12-things-know-12-years-slave-breakout-lupita-185709419.html

Anne Thomopson interviews actor Paul Dano who is featured in both "12 ,Years" and Denis Villenueve's "Prisoners":
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/paul-dano-talks-12-years-a-slave-prisoners

and Michael Fassbender is interviewed at Toronto by Vanity Fair/Starz
http://video.vanityfair.com/watch/michael-fassbender-on-12-years-a-slave


HELPING TO GET INSIDE LLEWYN



Anne Thompson passed along this very cool story this week about the man that aided actor Oscar Isaac in his preparation to get inside "Llewyn Davis".

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-isaac-talks-the-real-life-inspiration-for-inside-llewyn-davis-honing-his-guitar-skills-and-more

THE WOMEN OF BLUE



The Playlist has the interview with the two actresses from the Cannes Palme d'Or winner and Telluride #40 film "Blue is the Warmest Color".  The film continues to be embroiled in ongoing shifts of controversy for any number of reasons.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/it-was-just-you-your-skin-and-your-emotion-lea-seydoux-adele-exarchopoulos-talk-blue-is-the-warmest-color-20131022

HOW THEY MADE LOST



The Wrap passes along this story featuring both director J.C. Chandor and star Robert Redford about how they filmed the fantastic "All os Lost":
http://www.thewrap.com/jc-chandor-robert-redford-all-is-lost-how-they-did-it

DERN LOVES NEBRASKA



Bruce Dern is now on record as proclaiming his role of Woody in "Nebraska" as the best role he has ever been offered.  The Playlist has that story here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/savannah-film-festival-bruce-dern-talks-nebraska-says-alexander-payne-alongside-hitchcock-kazan-and-more-20131030

FAR FROM MADDING



It's no secret that I have Thomas Vintenberg's adaptation of Thomas Hardy's "Far from the Madding Crowd" on my future Telluride radar.  The Playlist (among a number of other outlets) had a look at the first images from that shoot.  "Madding" stars Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-images-of-carey-mulligan-matthias-schoenaerts-in-thomas-vinterbergs-far-from-the-madding-crowd-20131031


More to come on Thursday...

Thursday, October 31, 2013

More Gravity Gravitas/Redford Choosing Lost/12 Years with McQueen and Ejiofor/Payne's Nebraska/Labor Look/Oscar Matters

Good Thursday Ya'll...



MORE GRAVITY GRAVITAS



One of the more interesting side stories that emerged as "Gravity" was rolling out at Telluride this year was the companion piece short film that was included elsewhere in the program.  Written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron's son and collaborator, Jonas Cuaron, the film, entitled "Aningaaq" could find its way into the Oscar discussion as a Live Action Short according to this post from HitFixInContention:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/alfonso-and-jonas-cuaron-talk-gravity-short-film-companion-piece-aningaaq

REDFORD CHOOSING LOST



TFF #40 Tributee Robert Redford spent some time during this year's festival talking about how he came to make "All is Lost" for writer/director J.C. Chandor.  www.tampabay.com explored that as well in this post.


http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/movies/redford-says-bold-invite-script-enticed-him-to-do-all-is-lost/2149588

12 YEARS A SLAVE: EJIOFOR AND MC QUEEN



Chiwtel Ejiofor who plays Solomon Northup, the "Slave" for 12 years spoke with The Fader about the role and the film:

http://www.thefader.com/2013/10/25/12-years-a-slave-chiwetel-ejiofor-intervie/

Also, from YouTube, this featurette about "12 Years" director Steve McQueen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgSzYe94FBQ&feature=share&list=PLWthn6pZiBNXb-o6Ak_vQ0DoGj-rP6PSw

PAYNE'S NEBRASKA



Director Alexander Payne spoke recently about the feel and look of "Nebraska" at the Savannah Film Fest. The Playlist reports:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/savannah-film-fest-alexander-payne-talks-nebraska-visual-effects-asks-where-adult-dramas-have-gone-20131027


LABOR LOOK



FirstShowing.net reports that there is a second poster out for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" and that a trailer for the film is expected to arrive later today.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/second-poster-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-before-trailer-tomorrow/

OSCAR MATTERS



Here's the link to the latest installment of Awards Daily's Oscar Podcast with Sasha Stone:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2159

More on Monday...Happy Halloween Everybody!

Monday, October 7, 2013

12 Years Spot/Llewyn and Oscars and John/The Visible Invisible/Brolin Talks Labor Day/Oscar Matters

Good Monday to All...

12 YEARS SPOT

Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" has run its first television promo.  It's here:


I'm still of a mind that this film is the best film I'm going to see all year.

LLEWYN AND OSCARS AND JOHN



The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" is not going to be everyone's cup of tea.  It's certainly Coens-y but it sets its own distinct tone and isn't afraid of that.  Its title character isn't warm and fuzzy.  The film is an interesting mix of comedy and drama...mostly comedy, I think, but of a sly, low key sort.  Some have suggested that it's plotless which I think is a little silly.  There's certainly a plot, it's just not big and grand.  It's small and introspective.

All of the above is offered as I get to these posts from this week about the film.  The first is an examination from FirstShowing's Joey Magidson regarding the awards prospects for this difficult-to-pigeonhole film:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/where-do-oscar-isaac-inside-llewyn-davis-fit-into-the-oscar-race/

The other post is a look at John Goodman's career in the films of the Coens including his turn in "Llewyn" that I believe has a chance to earn Goodman his first Oscar nomination.  The post is from Greg Cwik for CriticWire/IndieWire:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/john-goodman-the-coen-brothers-common-man


THE VISIBLE INVISIBLE

Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman" has a trailer out this past week.  Here it is:




I've also linked a number of posts from around the web tied to the release of this trailer:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/watch-felicity-jones-in-ralph-fiennes-the-invisible-woman-trailer/

http://movies.yahoo.com/video/invisible-woman-trailer-211016775.html

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-charles-dickens-has-a-secret-in-trailer-for-ralph-fiennes-the-invisible-woman-20131004

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-first-trailer-ralph-fiennes-invisible-woman/


BROLIN TALKS "LABOR DAY"



Recently HitFix's Greg Ellwood sat down with "Labor Day" star Josh Brolin to talk about the Jason Reitman film.  Here's a link to that interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSRZiUK_M4A&feature=youtu.be&a


OSCAR MATTERS



Scott Feinberg has updated his Feinberg Forecast for The Hollywood Reporter.  His "scorecard" for Telluride films looks like this at the moment:

Best Picture:
Frontrunners: "12 Years", "Gravity", "All is Lost".
Major Threats: "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Nebraska".
Possibilities: "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Prisoners".
Long Shots: "The Past" and "Labor Day"

Director:
Frontrunners: McQueen/12 Years and Cuaron/Gravity.
Major Threats: Chandor/Lost, Coens/Llewyn and Payne/Nebraska
Possibilities: Villenueve/Prisoners, Kechiche/Blue
Long Shots: Farhadi/Past, Reitman/Labor

Actress:
Frontrunners: Bullock/Gravity
Major Threats: Exarchopoulos/Blue, Winslet/Labor, Bejo/Past
Possibilities: Gerwig/Frances Ha (TFF #39)

Actor:
Frontrunners: Redford/Lost, Ejiofor/12 Years
Major Threats: Dern/Nebraska, Issac/Llewyn
Possibilities: Jackman/Prisoners
Long Shots: Fiennes/Invisible

Supporting Actress:
Frontrunners: Nyong'o/12 Years
Major Threats: Leo/Prisoners, Squibb/Nebraska, Seydoux/Blue
Possibilities: Mulligan/Llewyn, Jones/Invisible
Long Shots: Paulson/12 Years

Supporting Actor:
Frontrunners: Fassbender/12 Years
Major Threats: Gyllenhaal/Prisoners
Possibilities: Clooney/Gravity, Brolin/Labor

Adapted Screenplay:
Frontrunners: 12 Years
Possibilites: Labor Day
Long Shots: The Invisible Woman

Original Screenplay:
Frontrunners: Inside Llewyn Davis
Major Threats: Gravity, All is Lost, Nebraska
Possibilities: Prisoners
Long Shots: Bethlehem, The Past, Frances Ha (TFF #39)

Animated Feature:
Frontrunners: The Wind Rises

Documentary:
Frontrunners: Tim's Vermeer, Stories We Tell (TFF #39)
Major Threats: The Unknown Known, Jodorowsky's Dune, The Act of Killing (TFF #39)
Long Shots: Salinger

For those keeping track, Feinberg has Telluride films  listed as Frontrunners in these "Big 8" categories 15 times, "Major Threats" 20 times, "Possibilities" 12 times and "Long Shots" 11 times.

Here's the latest Scott Feinberg Forecast from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-21-639287



In other "Oscar Matters", Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elksewhere references David Thomson's look at Robert Redford and J.C. Chandor's "All is Lost" and suggests that the Best Actor race is all but over.  I'm not so sure that's the case.  Take a look here:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2013/10/redford-vs-chewy/


 More on Thursday...


Monday, September 23, 2013

Coming Attractions/Oscar Conversations/12 Years Talk/Labor Day Poster/Blue View/India Chooses

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.

Here's the announcement story as posted earlier this week from Movie City News:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/09/thomas-vinterberg-to-direct-far-from-the-madding-crowd-for-fox-searchlight/

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:

Anne Thompson and Kris Tapley's Oscar Talk:
http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-ep-110-telluride-venice-toronto-wrap
 
Sasha Stone's Oscar Podcast:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2131

And The Playlist's podcast:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/podcast-the-playlist-talks-tiff-and-venice-film-festival-20130917


12 YEARS TALK

HitFix's Greg Ellwood sat down with Michael Fassbender last week to talk about Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KL2cb0g4IQ4&feature=youtu.be&a

LABOR DAY POSTER

We have art for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day:


Check the story from Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-poster-jason-reitmans-labor-day/

BLUE VIEW

Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue is the Warmest Color" has a trailer tailored to domestic audiences that was released this past week:



Here's the accompanying story from FirstShowing:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/nc-17-rated-palme-dor-winner-blue-is-the-warmest-color-first-trailer/?uid=983e5a79bbfad64ab445cd9e2428cd738d7274f8


INDIA CHOOSES NO LUNCHBOX

The Good Road (India Oscar entry 2013)

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.

The Hollywood Reporter posted this story about the choice:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-india-nominates-good-road-633774


More on  Thursday...




Friday, August 30, 2013

Telluride Day One/Friday's TBA and Sneaks

Telluride 2013 Day One:

Busy day today occasionally interrupted by waiting.

The day got off to an amazing start at the annual Patron’s Brunch.  The Brunch affords Patrons and Sponsors pass as well as the Fest organizers and a number of the filmmakers a chance to meet and schmooze before any of the actual films have been screened.  The food is fantastic and it’s always fun seeing who shows up.  This year’s version did not disappoint.  Highlighting the morning (for me) was the appearance of Francis Ford Coppola, reportedly here to introduce his granddaughter Gia’s film “Palo Alto” during the weekend.  I actually got to shake the great man’s hand and thank him for the films he’s given us.  I’m sure that for him it is a common refrain, but for me it was a very nearly transcendent moment.  He was kind enough to stop a moment for a stranger.

Another incredible moment had actually occurred earlier in the morning.  Robert Redford had arrived and the grounds of Gray Head (the name of the facility where the brunch is held) was alive with electricity.  A few minutes later, Coppola appeared.  Redford broke away from the crowd that had engulfed him to greet him.  One legend greeting another, it was an incredible sight.  Fortunately caught on camera by my wife Kristy:



I also briefly met Bruce Dern this morning.  He was also very kind and funny.  He’s here starring in Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska”.  I’m planning to see that first thing in the morning.  More about my planned schedule for tomorrow a bit later.



Then a long wait for a bus made me almost late for the first screening of the day, the Patron’s screening of Jason Reitman’s “Labor Day” starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.    The story of a chance meeting between a single mom, her son and an escaping convict seems to have been generally well received in early reviews.  My take: structural issues early in the film are a tough balancing act.  I have some issues of credibility in terms of the rapid development of the relationship between the two lead characters and that credibility is crucial to the second half of the film.  That said, the second half plays beautifully.  Winslet is good and Brolin is outstanding.  Child actor Gattlin Griffith is also very good as Winslet’s son.

Following the “Labor Day” screening we scurried over the mountain to my annual meet up with followers of my blog.

Then a quick dinner at the Opening Night Feed.  There the Mrs. Met and got a photo of the one and only Penn Jillette, here with the documentary “Tim’s Vermeer”.



We concluded the night with a screening of “Inside Llewyn Davis” with a Q & A after with Joel and Ethan Coen, T-Bone Burnett and Oscar Issac.  The film follows a week in the life of fictional folk singer, the Llewyn Davis of the title-played by Issac.  He’s terrific.  John Goodman and F. Murray Abraham are great. The music is terrific.  I loved the film quite a lot.  I think it speaks to anyone who has had any artistic aspirations and who hasn’t seen them fulfilled whether from lack of talent, lack of opportunity or the vagaries of life.

Day One was incredible.

On Day Two I’m currently planning the Robert Redford Tribute, , “Tim’s Vermeer”, “All is Lost”, The Coens tribute and “The Past” if I have enough energy.  Of course, that all could change with the announcement of the Friday TBAs. Seven slots to fill tomorrow afternoon and evening.

FRIDAY'S TBA'S AND SNEAKS

• 4pm Masons GLORIA (33)

• 6pm Herzog Sneak: PRISONERS

• 6:30pm Masons BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID

• 7:30pm Galaxy Sneak: 12 YEARS A SLAVE

• 9pm Nugget PARTICLE FEVER (I)

• 10pm Pierre STARRED UP (32)

• 10:30pm Galaxy LUNCHBOX (25)

Sneak Preview: Prisoners

A father (Hugh Jackman) goes ballistic trying to punish the suspected abductor (Paul Dano) of his daughter and another girl, while running afoul of the diligent cop (Jake Gyllenhaal) working the case. Sounds like countless hours of TV procedural-cop dramas? Nope. Director Denis Villeneuve (INCENDIES, TFF 2010), working from Aron Guzikowski’s fiendishly inventive script, reaches Dostoyevskian depths, creating a terrifying, morally ambiguous universe where ordinary human decency faces the harshest of tests. The superb supporting cast includes Terrence Howard, Viola Davis, and Melissa Leo. It may surprise you that Hollywood genre moves can still be this good. (U.S., 2013, 107m) In person: Denis Villeneuve

• Sneak Preview: 12 Years a Slave

In 1840s New York State, Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an impeccable middle-class attorney with a happy family and superb skills as a violinist, is an African American free from birth who has never spent a moment of his life confronting the horrors of black experience down South. Pursuing a business opportunity in Washington, DC, he is kidnapped and enslaved, and descends into a harrowing nightmare of moral corruption and irrational violence. Director Steve McQueen (HUNGER, SHAME) and screenwriter John Ridley shape Northrup’s memoir into a vivid, compelling historical fresco, with superb performances from Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, in his third collaboration withMcQueen, Lupita Nyong'o, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti and Brad Pitt. (USA, 2013, 133m) In person: Steve McQueen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o

More tomorrow…




Wednesday, August 28, 2013

TFF #40 LINEUP ANNOUNCED/SELECTED SUMMARIES

Here's the link for the lineup of films announced for the 40th Telluride Film Festival today:

http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/

40th Anniversary Program Line-up
We are proud to announce official program selections for the 40th anniversary edition of Telluride Film Festival. TFF’s annual celebration of artistic excellence brings together, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and artists to discover the best in world cinema in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado. TFF will screen more than 100 feature films, short films and revivals representing twenty-five countries, along with special artist Tributes, Conversations, Panels, Education Programs and Festivities. 

In honor of its 40th anniversary, the usual four-day Telluride Film Festival has an additional day of programming and takes place Thursday, August 29 - Monday, September 2, 2013

In celebration of their contributions to Joel and Ethan Coen’s new film INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS and the 40th anniversary of Telluride Film Festival, Punch Brothers will perform. The performance will include songs featured in several of T Bone Burnett and the Coen Brothers’ collaborations, including songs from the soundtrack of INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS. The concert will be tonight, Wednesday, August 28 at 5:00 pm in Telluride Town Park.

Telluride Film Festival is honored to present the Werner Herzog Theatre, the fourth cineaste for whom the Festival has named a theatre. Situated in Telluride’s Town Park Pavilion, the Werner Herzog Theatre is the Festival’s most technologically advanced theatre accommodating 650 pass holders. Chuck Jones, Abel Gance and Pierre Rissient also share this tribute. 

The past 40 years have seen Telluride Film Festival mixing highly anticipated award hopefuls with the films of talented emerging filmmakers and auteurs from around the globe. First-time filmmakers discovered at TFF include Terry Zwigoff, Jim Jarmusch, Billy Bob Thornton, Robert Rodriguez, Michael Moore, Doug Liman, Jon Favreau, Andrea Arnold, Lodge Kerrigan, Robert Luketic and Sarah Gavron. In addition, TFF has previewed numerous films that have generated wins at the Oscars® in recent years, including FOG OF WAR, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, THE LIVES OF OTHERS, BABEL, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, JUNO, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, UP IN THE AIR, THE KING’S SPEECH, BLACK SWAN, A SEPARATION, THE ARTIST, THE DESCENDANTS and ARGO. 

“This year’s 40th anniversary is a celebration of what Telluride Film Festival has accomplished over the past four decades, as well as what we are doing now and forty years from now” said Telluride Film Festival Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. We are committed to presenting groundbreaking films with the world’s most preeminent talent in technologically advanced, state-of the art facilities including the brand new Werner Herzog Theatre. We look forward to continuing to explore the future in cinema through current masters of the art form and breakthrough talents.”  

40th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program, the ‘SHOW’: 
ALL IS LOST (d. J.C. Chandor, U.S., 2013)
BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL (d. Philippe Claudel, France, 2013)
BETHLEHEM (d. Yuval Adler, Israel, 2013)
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (d. Abdellatif Kechiche, France, 2013)
BURNING BUSH (d. Agnieszka Holland, Czech Republic, 2013)
DEATH ROW: BLAINE MILAM + ROBERT FRATTA (d. Werner Herzog, U.S., 2013)
FIFI HOWLS FROM HAPPINESS (d. Mitra Farahani, U.S., 2013)
THE GALAPAGOS AFFAIR: SATAN CAME TO EDEN (d. Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine, U.S., 2013)
GLORIA (d. Sebastián Lelio, Chile, 2013)
GRAVITY (d. Alfonso Cuarón, U.S./U.K., 2013)
IDA (d. Pawel Pawlikowski, Poland, 2013)
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS (d. Joel and Ethan Coen, U.S., 2013) 
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN (d. Ralph Fiennes, U.K., 2013)
LABOR DAY (d. Jason Reitman, U.S., 2013)
THE LUNCHBOX (d. Ritesh Batra, India, 2013)
LA MAISON DE LA RADIO (d. Nicolas Philibert, France, 2013)
MANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN (d. Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran, 2013)
THE MISSING PICTURE (d. Rithy Panh, Cambodia/France, 2013)
NEBRASKA (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2013)
PALO ALTO (d. Gia Coppola, U.S., 2013)
THE PAST (d. Asghar Farhadi, France/Italy, 2013)
SLOW FOOD STORY (d. Stefano Sardo, Italy, 2013)
STARRED UP (d. David Mackenzie, U.K., 2013)
TIM’S VERMEER (d. Teller, U.S., 2013)
TRACKS (d. John Curran, Australia, 2013)
UNDER THE SKIN (d. Jonathan Glazer, U.K., 2013)
THE UNKNOWN KNOWN (d. Errol Morris, U.S., 2013)

Additional Sneak Previews may play outside the main program and will be announced over the course of the five-day weekend.

“During its 40 years Telluride has brought together established filmmakers and those about to be discovered to celebrate together the joys of great cinema,” commented Festival Artistic Director Gary Meyer. “This year is especially exciting because of the many wonderful movies we were able to consider and then program, and also frustrating given the amount we could not fit into the program.  Our selection of classics this year is truly rich as we celebrate the past, present and future of the art.” 

Since its inception in 1974, Telluride Film Festival has paid tribute to numerous influential filmmakers and artists. Gloria Swanson, Francis Ford Coppola and Leni Riefenstahl were the first to be honored, and forty years later the prestigious list has grown to include Pedro Almodovar, Claudia Cardinale, George Clooney, Penelope Cruz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Catherine Deneuve, Laura Linney, Clint Eastwood, Colin Firth, Jodie Foster, Stephen Frears, Werner Herzog, Isabelle Huppert, Jack Nicholson, Jean Simmons, Meryl Streep, Tilda Swinton, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Agnes Varda to name a few. 

Joining that list, the 2013 Silver Medallion Awards, given to recognize an artist’s significant contribution to the world of cinema, go to Grammy and Oscar-winning music producer T Bone Burnett and Oscar-winning filmmakers the Coen Brothers, whose four collaborations together include THE BIG LEBOWSKI, LADYKILLERS, O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? and INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS with a 90-minute program featuring a musical performance by the Americans, a clip reel with scenes from the collaborations and an onstage interview; Iranian director Mohammad Rasoulof (THE TWILIGHT, THE WHITE MEADOWS, GOODYBE) presenting his latest film, MANUSCRIPTS DON’T BURN. The program includes a selection of clips followed by the presentation of the Silver Medallion and onstage interview; and Oscar-winning director, actor, producer Robert Redford (ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) who stars in the TFF selection ALL IS LOST. The program includes a selection of clips showcasing the range of performances during his career, followed by the presentation of the Silver Medallion and an onstage interview. 

“When I joined James Card and Bill Pence to start the Telluride Film Festival, we wanted to make tributes, retrospectives and revivals central to the Festival” said Co-founding Artistic Director Tom Luddy. “40 years later, Julie, Gary and I are still able to present a show which focuses on film artistry and preservation. This is something I’m very proud of. The fact that there is still a large audience for it makes me believe in the future of the cinema.” 

For each of the past 25 years, Telluride Film Festival directors have selected a Guest Director to serve as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to light. Donald Richie, to whom the Festival is dedicated, had the first honor in 1988 and has been followed by many notable collaborators including Laurie Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, John Boorman, J.P. Gorin, Edith Kramer, Errol Morris, Alexander Payne, Peter Sellars, Stephen Sondheim, Bertrand Tavernier and Slavoj Zizek, among others. 

This year, Telluride Film Festival invites six past Guest Directors to return with new programs: novelist Don Delillo (TFF 2006) presents LA MORTE ROUGE (d. Victor Erice, Spain, 2006) and analyzes the 26-second ZAPRUDER film; screenwriter, director Buck Henry (TFF 2005) presents the “director’s cut” of THE TERMINAL MAN (d. Mike Hodge, U.S., 1972); writer Phillip Lopate (TFF 1995) presents NAKED CHILDHOOD (d. Maurice Pialat, France, 1969) with Pialat’s short, LOVE EXISTS (France, 1960); novelist Michael Ondaatje (TFF 2010) presents short films LA JETÉE (d. Chris Marker, France, 1962) and ELEPHANT (d. Alan Clarke, U.K., 1989); film scholar, curator and author B. Ruby Rich (TFF 1996) presents ONE WAY OR ANOTHER (d. Sara Gómez, Cuba, 1974); writer Salman Rushdie (TFF 2004) presents MAHANAGAR (d. Satyajit Ray, India, 1963). 

Additional film revivals include Pierre Rissient’s selections, short MUSCLE BEACH (d. Irving Lerner, Joseph Strick, U.S., 1948) and TV episode A PIECE OF THE ACTION (d. Bernard Girard, U.S., 1962); “Pordenone Presents” has two selections: HE WHO GETS SLAPPED with The Alloy Orchestra performing their brand new score, and A SIMPLE CASE (d. Vsevolod Pudovkin, USSR, 1930) with a live musical performance by Gabriel Thibaudeau both presented by Paolo Cherchi Usai; PORTRAIT OF JENNIE (d. William Dieterle, U.S., 1948) presented by David Thomson; LE JOLI MAI (d. Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme, France, 1963) presented by Colin MacCabe; LA POISON (d. Sacha Guitry, France, 1951) presented by Monique Montgomery; AGUIRRE, THE WRATH OF GOD (d. Werner Herzog, Germany, 1972); and Michael Barker presents DEATH RIDES A HORSE (d. Giulio Petroni, Italy, 1967).

Backlot, Telluride’s intimate screening room featuring behind-the-scenes movies and portraits of artists, musicians and filmmakers, will screen the following programs, five of which are preceded by short films: 
DIOR AND I (d. Frédéric Tcheng, U.S., 2013)
HERE BE DRAGONS (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2013) 
JODOROWSKY’S DUNE (d. Frank Pavich, U.S./France, 2013)
LOCATIONS: LOOKING FOR RUSTY JAMES (d. Alberto Fuguet, Chile, 2013) select screening will be followed by Francis Ford Coppola’s RUMBLE FISH (U.S., 1983)
NATAN (d. David Cairns, Paul Duane, Ireland, 2013) 
MILIUS (d. Zak Knutson, Joey Figueroa, U.S., 2013)
MULTIPLE VISIONS, THE CRAZY MACHINE (d. Emilio Maille, Mexico, 2012)
MUSIDORA, THE TENTH MUSE (d. Patrick Cazals, France, 2013)
PARTICLE FEVER (d. Mark Levinson, U.S., 2013)
REMEMBRANCE – A SMALL MOVIE ABOUT OUUL IN THE 1950s (d. Peter Von Bagh, Finland, 2013)
ROAD MOVIE: A PORTRAIT OF JOHN ADAMS (d. Mark Kidel, U.K., 2013)
A STORY OF CHILDREN AND FILM (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2013)

Telluride Film Festival annually celebrates a hero of cinema who preserves, honors and presents great movies. This year’s Special Medallion award goes to Alejandro Ramirez who runs Cinepolis, the fourth-largest chain of movie theatres in the world, with a focus on how movies can address poverty and social change. Past recipients include C. Chapin Cutler Jr. and Boston Light & Sound, Criterion Collection, HBO, Ninon Sevilla, Ted Turner, Stanley Kauffman, Manny Farber, Pierre Rissient, Leonard Maltin, Serge Bromberg and UCLA Film & Television Archive. 

Telluride Film Festival’s SHOWcase for Shorts features eleven short films chosen to precede select feature films; Filmmakers of Tomorrow includes four programs: Student Prints, Great Expectations – narrative and non-fiction, and Calling Cards from twenty-one emerging filmmakers. 

Telluride Film Festival’s Education Programs present students the opportunity to experience film as an art and expand participants’ worldview through film screenings and filmmaker discussions. Celebrating its 25th year, the Student Symposium provides 50 graduate and undergraduate college students a weekend-long immersion in cinema. In honor of its anniversary, 25 new students and 25 alumni will make up the 2013 Symposium. The City Lights Project, now in its 14th year, brings fifteen high school students and five teachers from three divergent schools the opportunity to participate in a concentrated program of screenings and discussions. In 2011, TFF and UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television (UCLA-TFT) launched FilmLAB, an extraordinary new program giving ten outstanding graduate film students from UCLA/TFT the opportunity to attend the festival and learn from the greatest filmmakers in the world in a workshop/lab setting: and For The Love Of Movies, a Los Angeles High School Screening Program focusing on the most creatively promising and under-served young talent featuring the “Best” of Telluride Film Festival, managed by UCLA-TFT graduate students and with the participation of selected filmmakers and TFT faculty.

Telluride Film Festival’s Talking Heads programs allow attendees to go behind the scenes with the Festival’s special guests. Eight Conversations take place between Festival guests and the audience about cinema and culture, and three outdoor Noon Seminars feature a panel of Festival guests discussing a wide range of film topics. These programs are free and open to the public. A special seminar, Alice & Friends, with panelists Alice Waters, Michael Pollan and Dieter Kosslick will focus on the issues at the intersection of food sustainability, consumption and art and will be followed by the presentation of Participant Media’s inaugural FOOD, INC. Movement Award to Alice Waters. 

Various Festivities take place throughout the Festival including Book Signings with Don DeLillo signing Libra and Underworld; Robyn Davidson signing Tracks; David Thomson signing Moments that Made the Movies; and Joyce Maynard signing Labor Day. Other festivities include Story Night in Brigadoon; Disney’s never-seen-before short GET A HORSE; and 40 Years of THE SHOW, presented by AMPAS featuring two 40th anniversary exhibitions from the Academy’s Telluride Film Collection, a photography display and clip reels highlighting TFF’s history from the Academy Film Archive to precede film screenings. 

Corporate support at Telluride Film Festival plays an essential role in the life of the Festival and underscores the Festival’s commitment to quality, adventure and distinction in the art of cinema. TFF is privileged to collaborate with some of the world’s most renowned consumer and entertainment brands, including Land Rover North America, Turner Classic Movies, Audible.com, Meyer Sound, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Pine Ridge Vineyards and Universal Studios; and excited to welcome new partners Bombardier Business Aircraft, EY, Film Finances, Inc. and Participant Media-- each of which are aligned with a unique feature of the festival. Equally, Telluride Film Festival is extremely proud of its committed relationships with Americas Film Conservancy, The London Hotels, Teatulia, The Hollywood Reporter, Cinedigm, Dolby, New Sheridan Hotel, Telluride Alpine Lodging, and UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

The 40th Telluride Film Festival’s program will be posted here in its entirety on Wednesday, August 28, 2013 at noon.



Here are summaries for select films announced today:



 “All is Lost”- Directed by J.C. Chandor.  The second feature effort from Chandor (Margin Call) stars Robert Redford, a boat and the Indian Ocean.  This film played out of competition at Cannes to very good reviews and started some serious buzz for a possible Best Actor nomination for the 70 year old Redford.  Reportedly it has very little dialogue.  Lionsgate is distributing and the release date is also Oct. 18. The film is being presented in conjunction with a Festival Tribute of Redford. IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2017038/?ref_=ttco_co_tt



“Blue is the Warmest Color”-Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche.  The film that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Steven Spielberg led jury took the unusual step of specifically recognizing the two lead actresses (Lea Seydoux and Adele Exarcopoulos) in addition to director Kechiche.  The film explores an intense relationship between two young women.  “Blue” is set to be released in the U.S. on Oct. 25.  Oddly, because of its release date in France and Academy rules, it will not be France’s entry for the Foreign Language Oscar.  “Blue’s” domestic distribution will be handled by Sundance Selects.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2278871/?ref_=ttco_co_tt

“Gloria” – Directed by Sebastien Lelio.  Paulina Garcia took the Best actress prize at the Berlin International Film Festival as the title character in this film about a woman of a certain age who has a whirlwind romance.  “Gloria” will also play the New York Fest in October.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2425486/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt



“Gravity”- Directed by Alfonso Cuaron.  The film stars Sandra Bullock and George Clooney. As Cuaron returns to feature film directing for the first time since his outstanding 2006 film “Children of Men”.  We’ve heard a couple of things about this highly anticipated film: Clooney’s screen time is limited and it’s reportedly beautifully shot (and in 3D).  There has been quite a bit of buzz that this could return Bullock to the Oscar race.  “Gravity” is from Warner Brothers and is set for release on Oct. 4.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1454468/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt



“Inside Llewyn Davis”- Directed by Ethan and Joel Coen and starring Oscar Issac (as the title character), Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake.  The Coen’s dive into the world of the Greenwich Village folk music scene in the early 1960’s in a film based loosely on Dave Van Ronk’s memoir of the period, “The Mayor of McDougal Street”.  “Llewyn” won the Grand Prix Award at Cannes in May (the unofficial second place award).  The film features a soundtrack of traditional folk music under the guidance of T. Bone Burnett repeating the job he did for the Coen’s “O Brother Where Art Thou?”  “Llewyn” is set for release on Dec. 6 and is being distributed by CBS Films.  The film is being screened as a part of a Festival Tribute of the Coen Brothers. IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2042568/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt



“The Invisible Woman” -Directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes.  It also stars Felicity Jones as the title character.  Another true story, this film centers on the secret relationship British literary legend Charles Dickens had with a much younger woman.   Kristin Scott Thomas and Tom Hollander co-star.  Sony Pictures Classics is distributing and have set a U.S. release for Christmas Day.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700845/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt



“Labor Day”-Directed by Jason Reitman.  Reitman returns to Telluride where both “Juno” and “Up in the Air” showed with this film starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.  Winslet is a single mother and Brolin is a con on the lamb whose paths cross with unexpected consequences.  Tobey Maguire and James Van Der Beek co-star.  The script was written by Reitman and bases on a novel by Joyce Maynard. I have a buddy who has seen it and says it is Reitman’s most mature work.  Distribution is under the direction of Paramount who will issue it in limited release on Dec. 25.  IMDb:


The Lunchbox- Directed by Ritesh Batra.  Irrfan Kahn stars in this film set in Mumbai and focused on the relationships that are changed as the result of a mix up in the delivery of a lunchbox.  This was a selection to the Cannes Critics Week.  Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it “an ingenious tale of romance by correspondence” IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2350496/?ref_=sr_1



“Nebraska” –Directed by Alexander Payne.  Payne returns to Telluride after the success of “The Descendants” in 2011.  “Nebraska” (which will be presented in the U.S. in black and white) stars Bruce Dern and Will Forte as an estranged father/son duo who make a cross country trip to claim a big money prize.  Dern was named Best Actor at Cannes for his portrayal of the alcoholic father.  Stacy Keach and June Squibb also appear. Paramount is distributing and the film is due in theaters on Nov. 22.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821549/



“Palo Alto”-Directed by Gia Coppola.  The first thing you notice is the relationship of the director and the star, Emma Roberts, to other, more famous people.  Coppola is Francis Ford Coppola’s grand-daughter and Roberts is the daughter of Eric Roberts and niece to Julia.  The film is based on stories by James Franco who also appears in the film as does Val Kilmer.  The story is described a “dark drama” focused on a group of teenagers.  The film does not currently have a U.S. release date.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2479800/?ref_=sr_1



“The Past” –Directed by Asghar Farhadi.  Farhadi returns to Telluride as well with this follow up to his Oscar winning “A Separation”.  Berenice Bejo won the Best actress prize at Cannes for her portrayal of a young wife caught between two men, one of them her past the other her possible future.  Sony Pictures Classics has the distribution for the film which is set for U.S. release on Dec. 20.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404461/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

“Tim’s Vermeer”- Directed by Teller (of Penn and Teller…Penn Jillette is one of the films producers).  Martin Mull is featured in this story about an American inventor, Tim Jenison, and his attempt to understand the intricacies of the paintings of Johannes Vermeer.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089388/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

“Tracks”-Directed by John Curran.  Mia Wasikowska stars in this true story of a young Australian woman who goes on a lengthy journey of self discovery through the Outback.  “Tracks" also stars Adam Driver and has yet to establish a U.S. release date.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2167266/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt



 “Under the Skin”-Directed by Jonathan Glazer.  Scarlett Johansson stars in this film about an alien in human form traveling through Scotland.  The film is playing both Venice and Toronto as well.  Currently, it has no announced U.S. release date.  Glazer returns to direct a feature film for the first time since 2004’s “Birth”.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441395/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


“The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld”.  Documentarian Errol Morris examines the life of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2390962/?ref_=sr_6