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

Hello to all on a Wednesday in July...

THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2014 PART TWO

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

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

Iranian film maker Mania Akbari (via The Guardian)

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

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


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

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

"Birdman's" IMDb page:

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


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

Its IMDb page is here:

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

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



HERZOG ON HIS QUEEN

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

Here's the link to that story:

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


POLAND ON TELLURIDE VS. TORONTO

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

Take a look at it here:

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


More on Thursday...

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

Adopt Films, Strand Releasing, A24/Count on Cousins/Wild Poster

Hello Wednesday...the Pattersons New York excursion continued yesterday with performances of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder" and the revival of "Les Miserables".  Was a pretty good day and just a note: Ramin Karimloo is unbelievable as Jean Valjean in "Les Miz".

"Les Miserables" star Ramin Karimloo and some guy

We continue to look at distributors that have had a serious presence at Telluride with Adopt Films, Strand Releasing and A24.

ADOPT FILMS

Adopt Films made its Telluride debut two years ago in 2012 with "Barbara".  Than last year the distributor had "Bethlehem" at TFF.  This year they are the U.S. distributors for Cannes' Palme d'Or champion "Winter Sleep" which makes them a better than even bet to make the cut for TFF #41.



STRAND RELEASING

Here's what Strand has had at Telluride in the recent past:

2010: Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2011: Bonsai
2012: Paradise: Love
2013: The Missing Picture

So, Strand has been very consistent recently.  Another common thread is that all four of the above films played in some capacity at Cannes.  So the question becomes, does Strand have a project that fits this profile?  The answer is yes..."Girlhood"...played at Cannes and had a decent critical reaction.  So mark it down as a potential TFF #41 participant.



A24

A24 has not been around terribly long, but in their short existence they have come to play Telluride for the past two years.

2012: "Ginger and Rosa"
2013" "Under the Skin" and "Enemy"

So you have to think that they'll likely have a shot at something playing at T-ride.  What?

There's Atom Egoyan's "Captives" which was not all that well received at Cannes and seems a much more likely Toronto prospect.

Then there's J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" with Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain.  I'd like to believe that this film makes it to the San Juans.  The only other possibility is a virtually unknown flick from Julius Avery entitled "Son of a Gun"

Best chance is "A Most Violent Year"


COUNT ON COUSINS

Mark Cousins has become a common presence at the Telluride Film Festival 2009: "The First Movie", 2011; "The Story of Film: An Odyssey", 2012: "What is This Film Called Love?" and in 2013: "A Story of Children and Film".

Well, fear not Cousins fans, he's probably going to be back in Colorado on Labor Day weekend with another documentary project entitled "Life May Be" in which he co-directs and has a discussion with Iranian actress and director Mania Akbari.

Here's its IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3592704/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_2


WILD POSTER

Reese Witherspoon's "Wild" directed by Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club) released a poster for the film yesterday (see above).  The film is being distributed by FOx Searchlight and has some potentail to make this year's Telluride lineup.  I've linked an accompanying story from HitFix:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/reese-witherspoon-hits-the-road-alone-in-new-wild-poster

and "Wild's" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2305051/?ref_=ttco_co_tt


That's it today...more tomorrow including the latest Ten Bets list.