Euro Producers Part Three: The Brits-British Film Institute / A Look at Loving

Welcome to Wednesday...


EURO PRODUCERS PART THREE; THE BRITS: BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE

BFI hasn't been a long time fixture in as far as Telluride films are concerned going back over the past decade but, beginning with Ginger and Rosa in 2012, they have become a regular presence as the list below demonstrates.

BFI's past Telluride history includes:

2012: Ginger and Rosa
2013: Under the Skin

2014: Mr. Turner, '71

2015: Suffragette, 45 Years

Given the recent past and what BFI has had a hand in the only film that this truly points toward is Andrea Arnold's American Honey.  I've had American Honey consistently in my "Ten Bets" throughout the summer thus far.

Tomorrow we'll continue to look at European production houses and turn our attention to France.


A LOOK AT LOVING

A trailer has appeared for Jeff Nichols Cannes competition film Loving.  The film was well reviewed at Cannes in May and is regarded by many as a possible Oscar contender.  It stars Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton and concerns the true story of an interracial married couple in mid-20th century Virginia whose case in front of the Supreme Court overturned the Virginia law that made their marriage illegal.

Here's the official trailer via YouTube:

I have also linked coverage of the trailer release here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/judge-stops-web-sites-selling-91011

http://www.awardsdaily.com/2016/07/12/best-picture-watch-loving-trailer-debuts/

http://time.com/4394609/trailer-premiere-loving-movie-interracial-marriage/

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/07/loving-trailer-joel-edgerton-ruth-negga-jeff-nichols-oscar-contenders-1201704814/

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2016/07/a-respectable-period-drama-enhanced-by-ruth-neggas-performance

http://www.firstshowing.net/2016/must-watch-first-trailer-for-jeff-nichols-interracial-drama-loving/

http://www.slashfilm.com/loving-trailer/

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/first-trailer-for-jeff-nichols-loving-starring-ruth-negga-and-joel-edgerton/

More to come tomorrow...

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse-107846269309712/

OR leave a comment...



Distribution: Open Road and Zeitgeist / Ken Burns, Tom Hanks and Defying Nazis / First 2016 Oscar Poker Talks Some Telluride

Good Thursday Everybody...


DISTRIBUTION: OPEN ROAD AND ZEITGEIST FILMS

Using a baseball metaphor here on this Thursday as we round third base on distribution companies at Telluride and head toward home.  Today we'll examine Open Road Films and Zeitgeist Films. Tomorrow we'll bring the two week review of distributors home with a laundry list of players who are occasionally represented at T-ride.

OPEN ROAD FILMS

Open Road didn't make an appearance at Telluride until the past two years but they have made a substantial impression in that time.  In 2014 they brought Jon Stewart's directing debut, Rosewater, to the fest and though the film wasn't universally embraced, it certainly made some noise.  Then last year, Open Road was back with Spotlight which was universally praised and went on to Oscar glory for Best Picture and Original Screenplay as well as another four nominations.

With that as your preamble, you'd think that they'd be primed for another big run at Telluride and perhaps they are.

Open Road has two films that could figure into the Telluride lineup for 2016.  The most attention grabbing is Oliver Stone's Snowden.  The film features Jopseh Gordon-Levitt as the NSA-secret exposing Edward Snowden.  It also stars Shailene Woodley and Nicolas Cage.  The film is dated to open Sept. 16th.

I've mentioned before that Stone has been to Telluride in the past with U-Turn in 1997.  That's a long time ago.  I'm also a little out off by the 9/16 date, although that's the same weekend that Black Mass had after screening last year.

I have thought that the film could play Venice and Telluride. The Sept. 16 date tells you it's not going to be playing Toronto.

Meanwhile, the other Open Road possibility is Bleed for This with Miles Teller starring as real life boxer Vinnie Pazienza.  The film is directed by relative newcomer Ben Younger.

It seems to me that neither film is a slam dunk for The SHOW but that either or both could make it owing to Open Road's success the past two years.

Chances:

Snowden 40%
Bleed for This 40%


ZEITGEIST FILMS

Zeitgeist has played five films at Telluride over the past nine years.

2007- Chris and Don: A Love Story, Jellyfish
2008- Tulpan
2013- The Galapagos Affair
2014- Diplomacy

This year sees the specialty house with three films that could land on the Telluride list:

Old Stone directed by Johnny Ma (played well at Berlin)
InnSaei directed by Hrund Gunnsteinsdottir and Kristin Olafsdottir
Theo Who Lived directed by David Schisgall.

Old Stone is a feature and both Innsaei and Theo Who Lived are documentaries about which little is known.

Old Stone would seem to have the best shot at Telluride, but because director Johnny Ma has Canadian ties, it could well be a Toronto only play.

Give all three films a 25% chance of making the Telluride lineup.

Tomorrow, a laundry list of distribution houses:


KEN BURNS, TOM HANKS AND DEFYING NAZIS



Telluride regular (and MTFB "Usual Suspect") Ken Burns is a staple at the festival and often, though not every year, he has a project that screens as a part of the fest's lineup including 2012's Central Park Five.  This year, Burns has a documentary ready that is set for its PBS debut on Sept. 9.  Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War.  The film is narrated by Tom Hanks.

It wouldn't surprise me greatly if the film actually debuts in Telluride.

Check the trailer here:

Defying the Nazis: The Sharp's War trailer via YouTube

Also take a look at this story from Mothers and Critics:

http://smallscreen.monstersandcritics.com/preview-tom-hanks-narrates-ken-burns-inspiring-tale-of-defying-the-nazis/

FIRST 2016 OSCAR POKER TALKS SOME TELLURIDE

Sasha Stone of Awards Daily and Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere have huddled up for their first Oscar Poker podcast for 2016 and in the course of their discussion they drop a few tidbits about Telluride.

The first is a glancing refernce to Telluride in the context of talking about the recently re-dated Ben Affleck film Live by Night.  The film was recently moved up by Warners to early January 2017 and there has been a good deal of speculation that Warners will release it in a limited fashion in December to qualify it for Oscar consideration.  The Telluride mention comes at about the 9:30 mark.

The duo also mentions Telluride 24 minutes in in regards to Damien Chazelle's La La Land.  It seems that both Wells and Stone feel that it's likely to make its bow at Venice on August 31.

They also spend a good chunk of time discussing Weinstein Company films Lion and HHhH both of which I have mentioned in terms of Telluride but Stone and Wells don't make that connection.  Their discussion of the two films happens about the 41 min. mark.

And finally, Wells re-iterates fairly strongly the notion that he espoused and we reported here June 27 that Olivier Assasyas' Personal Shopper is not going to play T-ride.  That comes near the end at the 57 min. mark.

Finally Stone and Wells more or less agree that they feel that there are six films that are out in front for the best picture Oscar at least perceptually at this point:

Silence
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk
La La Land
Birth of a Nation
Manchester-by-the-Sea
Loving

Here's the link to the Oscar Poker podcast:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/podcasts/oscarpoker/episode126.mp3

Back in the Game / Distribution: Strand Releasing and Focus Features / A Couple of Points of Passenger Interest

Welcome to Wednesday my friends...

BACK IN THE GAME

Well, for the fifth consecutive year the Telluride Film Festival has been gracious enough to grant Michael's Telluride Film Blog status as an actual journalistic endeavor.  I got word a couple of days ago that I had been accredited for TFF #43.

It never fails to blow my mind that MTFB gets accepted in the same breath as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Sasha Stone's Awards Daily and others.  Journalists and outlets that I read studiously and respect tremendously and I get to play like I belong in that pool for four days a year.


It's cool.

Thanks to the Telluride Film Festival and its directors Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger as well as P.R. Chief Shannon Mitchell and P.R. Coordinator Richard Parkin.


DISTRIBUTION: STRAND RELEASING AND FOCUS FEATURES

As we come down the home stretch of our review of distributors who have had the largest presence at Telluride over the last decade or so, we turn our attention to companies who have had a spotty, but serious record of inclusion.  These are outfits that are sometime players that you always need to account for because they show up just often enough that you'd be a fool to overlook them each year as you try to puzzle out possible lineup choices.

It's this type of organization we'll talk about through Friday and then next week, we'll turn our attention to overseas production companies.

Today, however, we look at distributors Strand Releasing and Focus Features.

STRAND RELEASING

Strand started showing up at the SHOW in 2010 and ran off appearances for five straight years before missing last year's SHOW.

2010- Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2011- Bonsai
2012- Paradise: Love
2013- The Missing Picture
2014- Dancing Arabs

In 2015, Strand failed to make the TFF #42 lineup.  I thought a year ago that there was some possibility of seeing Cemetery of Splendour but, as you know, that did not happen.

Much like last year, at this point Strand seems to have only one possibility and that is Alain Guiraudie's Staying Vertical.  The film played in Cannes competition and drew fair reviews.  You may have noticed that I posted its poster in yesterday's dispatch.  My feeling right now is that it may be a borderline inclusion in the TFF #43 lineup.  Call its chances 55%.

FOCUS FEATURES

Meanwhile, As we turn to Focus Features we regard a distributor who has had a very sketchy Telluride relationship.  Only three films from them have appeared at T-ride since 2006.

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

Now, I have to tell you that they impressed me last year in that they had the estimable Meryl Streep in Telluride in addition to director Sarah Gavron and writer Abi Morgan.  I also have to admit that I liked the film more than a good many others.  You may recall that in my post-SHOW ratings that The People had it ranked 12the of 14 films and The Professionals had it 12th of 13.  However, IMDb has it currently at 6.9, MetaCritic has it at 67 and Rotten Tomatoes at 73% s, in hindsight, though it didn't set the world on fire, it seems that the film actually came away in modestly good critical shape.

Still, Focus had to have believed or hoped for some awards season traction that never really materialized.

All of those factors will probably have some effect on the Focus decision about which film or films to submit to Telluride (if any) and Telluride's perspective on this films.

Nevertheless, Focus does have a few films that might merit consideration:

Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals
J. A. Bayona's A Monster Calls
Jeff Nichol's Loving
Colin Trevorrow's The Book of Henry

You could make a decent case for any of these.

Tom Ford's second film, Nocturnal Animals would seem to be highly desired by most of the big fall fests in light of the critical success of his first feature, A Single Man.  Additionally, it features Telluride regular (and MTFB "Usual Suspect) Laura Linney.

You could make a case for Jeff Nichol's Loving, as I have been since it screened at Cannes.  Decent reviews and a film that many in France thought was the film that had the most awards prospects of the Palme competition lineup.

J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls hasn't necessarily seemed like a Telluride possibility to me until recently.  I, am higher on its prospects this week.  Been hearing a bit of buzz plus one its executive producers is T-ride regular (and another MTFB "Usual Suspect")  Bill Pohlad/River Road Entertainment.  Pohlad has also produced Telluride-screened features 12 Years a Slave, Wild, Into the Wild, Fur and Brokeback Mountain.

The longest shot of the four seems to me to be Treverrow's The Book of Henry.  It's notable Telluride connection is that it stars the young Jacob Trembay of last year's Telluride breakout film Room.

Assessing the chances for these films is complicated by Focus Features spotty T-ride record and the unknown about how their perception of the reception of Suffragette last year had colored their strategy for the fall.

Chances for each:

Loving 60%
A Monster Calls 50%
Nocturnal Animals 40%
The Book of Henry 30%


Tomorrow we'll look at Open Road and Zeitgeist.


A COUPLE OF POINTS OF PASSENGER INTEREST

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence of Passengers via Teen Daily 

 A few days back I saw a brief blurb that there might some difficulties with a special effects firm and some late 2016 releases.  I kind of slapped in the back of my brain and moved on.

Then I ran across this post from Awards Circuit about the original story and how it could impact the Morten Tyldum film Passengers.

Now, I have mentioned Passengers briefly in the past and suggested that it might be an outside, outside shot to play Telluride because of Tyldum who directed The Imitation Game and seemed to have had a good time when he was there with that film in 2014.  Additionally, the presence of Jennifer Lawrence and her Oscar success (one win and four nominations since 2011) gave the sci-fi drama a bit more of a prestige factor.

The AC article also references the earlier piece from The Hollywood Reporter.

The bottom line is that Passengers could be delayed because of legal action involving this special effects outfit and, more to the point, Awards Circuit's article implies that it almost certainly bags the film for a possible Telluride play.

Now,  I'm not saying that AC is telling us that was in the cards...but it's really interesting speculation for them to come up with.  The actual quote from the piece goes, "...it's possible the producers planned a "Gravity" style campaign to drop the film at Telluride.  This news makes that plan somewhat unlikely now."

Makes you go...hmmmmmm.

The sfx firm is seeking a modification to the injunction to work on soon-to-be-released projects but who knows if that will be granted and how quickly.

I have linked the Awards Circuit and THR stories as well as Passengers IMDb page:

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2016/07/04/could-morten-tyldums-passengers-get-delayed/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/is-jennifer-lawrences-passengers-caught-907755

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355644/?ref_=ttco_co_tt

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse-107846269309712/

OR leave a comment...



The Day Has Come; First "Ten Bets" for TFF#43 / Two Outside Shots with Trailers

Good Friday everyone...

THE DAY HAS COME: THE FIRST "TEN BETS" FOR TFF #43

A couple of notes...

First, this will be the sixth year of the "Ten Bets" and on average this first list will name approximately six films that will actually be on the TFF #43 lineup when it's announced on Sept. 1. The best initial Ten Bets was the first in 2011 which git eight titles correct.  The worst was actually last year;s when only four films on the very first list made the T-ride lineup.

Also, keep in mind that I'll have weekly updates and the prognostication success rate gets better the closer we get to the Festival.

Third, if you've been reading much of the blog since the Oscars ended, the first Ten Bets won't/shouldn't be much of a surprise.

And finally, as David Letterman used to be fond of saying, "No wagering."

Here's the Ten Bets from MTFB on the last Friday in June, 2016 (Director, Distributor and U.S. release date-if known-in parenthesis)

10) Lion (Davis, TWC, 11/25)
9) Loving (Nichols, Focus, 11/4)
8) The Red Turtle (Dudok de Wit, SPC, TBA)
7) Moonlight (Jenkins, A24, TBA)
6) American Honey (Arnold, A24, TBA)
5) Fire at Sea (Rosi, Kino Lorber, TBA)
4) The Unknown Girl (The Dardennes, Sundance/IFC, TBA)
3) Toni Erdmann (Ade, SPC, TBA)
2) The Salesman (Fahradi, Amazon/Cohen Media, TBA)
1) Wilson (Johnson, Fox Searchlight, TBA)

Close: Things to Come, Aquarius, Birth of a Nation, La La Land, A United Kingdom, Journey Through French Cinema and Salt and Fire.



TWO OUTSIDE SHOTS WITH TRAILERS

We had appearances yesterday for trailers for two films that have a slim chance of making this year's SHOW.  You'll notice that neither is on the above "Ten Bets" list nor the additional films that I have labeled as "close".  Nevertheless, both films could find their way into the Telluride lineup.

Christian Puiu's Sieranevada, which was critically very well received at Cannes in May dropped a trailer with french subtitles.  You can see that here thanks to YouTube:

This is the story from The Film Stage that reported the trailer's release:

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/travel-to-sieranevada-in-first-trailer-for-cristi-puius-cannes-drama/


Also appearing yesterday was a trailer for Ewan McGregor's directing debut, an adaptation of Philip Roth's American Pastoral.

The film is set for an Oct. 21 limited release and is in the distribution hands of Lionsgate.  Here's its trailer from YouTube:

Here are some posts from that reported the trailer's release yesterday:

http://theplaylist.net/ewan-mcgregor-gets-philip-roth-first-trailer-american-pastoral-20160623/

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/ewan-mcgregor-makes-directorial-debut-in-trailer-for-philip-roth-adaptation-american-pastoral/


http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/american-pastoral-trailer-ewan-mcgregor-jennifer-connelly-dakota-fanning-1201692383/

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/06/23/ewan-mcgregor-american-pastoral-trailer

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse-107846269309712/

OR leave a comment...

Osiason's Take on Possible Telluride Films / Trailer for American Honey Appears / Also a New Trailer for Birth of a Nation

Good Wednesday to all...



OSAISON'S TAKE ON POSSIBLE TELLURIDE FILMS

Jason Osiason is a friend of MTFB and has one of the best predictive minds in all of film twitterdom. He won last year's Gold Derby Oscar contest.  He's really good.

Recently, he put together a list of films that he feels have a real shot at playing Telluride and shared that with me.  With his permission, I thought I'd pass that list along.

Here's what he lists as "Likely" Telluride films:

20th Century Women
Aquarius
Arrival
Bleed for This
Elle
Fire at Sea
Loving
Manchester-by-the -Sea
Moonlight
Risk
The Eagle Huntress
The Red Turtle
The Salesman
Things to Come
Toni Erdmann
Wilson
How to Talk to Girls at Parties

He also lists as "possible":

Good Time
My Life as a Courgette (just won the top prize at the Annecy Fest)
Neruda
Nocturnal Animals
The Beautiful Days of Aranjuez
The Meyerowitz Stories
The Son of Joseph
The Mercy
Birth of a Nation
Girl on a Train

Jason has a couple of other ideas but we'll let those percolate for now.  I think his "likely" list is very, very good/impressive.

And I guess this is as good a time as any to announce that MTFB will have its first "Ten Bets" list for 2016 up on FRIDAY, June 26.  It's about to get serious.


AMERICAN HONEY TRAILER APPEARS

Andrea Arnold's American Honey had a trailer drop yesterday.  The film stars Shia LaBeouf and Sasha Lane and is distributed by A24 which was at Telluride recently with Room, Under the Skin and Ginger and Rosa.

Arnold has also been represented at Telluride with Fish Tank.

Here's the trailer from YouTube...it intrigues:

Linked coverage of the film and its trailer are here:

http://www.indiewire.com/2016/06/american-honey-trailer-sasha-lane-shia-labeouf-andrea-arnold-cannes-1201690990/

http://www.thewrap.com/american-honey-trailer-shia-labeouf-on-road-teenage-troublemaker/

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/first-trailer-for-andrea-arnolds-cannes-winner-american-honey/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2016/must-watch-first-full-trailer-for-andrea-arnolds-american-honey/

http://theplaylist.net/watch-first-trailer-andrea-arnolds-cannes-prize-winning-american-honey-starring-shia-laboeuf-riley-keough-20160621/

ALSO A NEW TRAILER FOR THE BIRTH OF A NATION

Nate Parker's Sundance sensation, The Birth of a Nation released a new, full length trailer yesterday as well.  I've flogged the notion that Telluride doesn't play Sundance films multiple times in this space but I've also frequently noted that they have had occasional exceptions.  Could this film be one of those rare exceptions?  

Some people think it could.

Here's the new trailer from YouTube:

Links to coverage:

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/the-birth-of-a-nation-trailer-full-nate-parker-1201800389/

http://theplaylist.net/sundance-sensation-birth-nation-wants-rise-revolt-watch-new-trailer-20160621/

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/a-revolt-begins-in-full-length-trailer-for-nate-parkers-the-birth-of-a-nation/

That's the post for Wednesday...

A reminder that MTFB's forst Ten Bets list goes up on Friday.

Thanks for reading...Have a good weekend.

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse-107846269309712/

OR leave a comment...

Cannes Postmortem Part One: The Disconnect / Part Two: 21 Competition Films Ranked in Order of Telluride Possibility

Good Thursday Everyone...


CANNES POSTMORTEM PART ONE: THE DISCONNECT

Well, the dust settled in the south of France as the 69th Cannes Film Festival came to a conclusion last Sunday with a series of stunning choices from the George Miller lead Palme d'Or jury (other members included Kirsten Dunst, Donald Sutherland, Valeria Golino, Arnaud Desplechin Laszlo Nemes and Mads Mikkelsen).  Again, the winners were:

Palme d'Or: I, Daniel Blake
Grand Prix: It's Only the End of the World
Jury: American Honey
Director: Tie- Mungiu/Graduation and Assayas/Personal Shopper
Screenplay: The Salesman
Actress: Jaclyn Jose/Ma' Rosa
Actor: Shahab Hosseini/The Salesman

What was striking was the huge chasm between the choices of the jury and where the critical community was.  For example, Palme winner I, Daniel Blake finished the fest with a combined critical rating of 6.06 (on the 10 point scale used by the Reini Urban compilation of Cannes critical reaction  http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2016 ). The Ken Loach film ended up ranked at the #11 spot out of the 21 films that were in Cannes competition.

Further, not one of the top five critically lauded films landed an award.  Toni Erdmann, Elle, Paterson, Sieranevada and Aquarius were all unrewarded.  Meanwhile, awards did go to films that finished at the 18 and 19 spots: #18: Ma' Rosa won for Best Actress-Jaclyn Jose and #19: It's Only the End of the World won The Grand Prix (Cannes' second place award).

As a matter of fact, the highest rated/ranked film to receive notice was Cristian Mungiu's Graduation (7.03/10, rank: #6) which shared the Best Direction prize with Olivier Assayas (5.81/10, rank #14).

So, since Sunday, I began to wonder about past Cannes fests and critical/jury divergence.  I wondered if this year was wildly different or if every year there was the same level of disagreement.  Since I began following Telluride and its Cannes connection for the blog for the past several years, I have been vaguely aware in the past of some differences between the two groups but I'd never really considered how broad it was and how often it occurred.  So I set out to explore the previous six years (for which the Urban collective critical reaction is easily available) to see if this year was normal, abnormal or completely off the charts wacky (hint: go with that last choice).

So here's the breakdown year by year with competition winners, their rating and rankings.  For the purposes of this article I am defining an "anomalous winner" as a prize winning film that was critically ranked outside the top ten for that year.  They are marked with ***.

2010: Jurors included: Pres: Tim Burton, Kate Beckinsale, Benicio Del Toro, Alexandre Desplat

Palme: Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember His Past Lives (8.62/10, #1)

Grand Prix: Of Gods and Men (7.91. #5)

Jury: A Screaming Man (6.12, #11)***

Direction: On Tour (6.20, #10)

Screenplay: Poetry (6.50, #7)

Actress: Certified Copy/Binoche (6.50, #8)

Actor: (Tie) Our Life/Germano (3.58, #23)*** and Biutiful/Bardem (3.40, #24)***

2011: Jurors included: Pres: Robert DeNiro, Jude Law, Uma Thurman, Olivier Assayas

Palme: The Tree of Life (7.13/#4)
Grand Prix: (Tie) The Kid with a Bike (7.69, #2) and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (7.18, #3)
Jury: This Must Be the Place (4.67/#17)***
Director: Drive (6.52, #7)
Screenplay: Footnote (5.50, #13)***
Actress: Melancholia/Dunst (6.16, #9)
Actor: The Artist/Dujardin (6.50, #8)

2012: Jurors included: Pres: Nanni Moretti and Andrea Arnold, Diane Kruger, Ewan MacGregor, Alexander Payne

Palme: Amour (7.53, #1)
Grand Prix: Reality (5.51, #14)***
Jury: The Angel's Share (5.40, #15)***
Director: Post Tenebras Lux (4.91, #20)***
Screenplay:Beyond the Hills (6.64, #4)
Actress: Beyond the Hills/Flutur and Stratan (6.64, #4)
Actor: The Hunt/Mikkelsen (5.11, #17)***

2013: Jurors included: Pres: Stephen Spielberg, Ang Lee, Nicole Kidman, Cristian Mungiu, Lynne Ramsay

Palme: Blue is the Warmest Color (8.73, #1)
Grand Prix: Inside Llewyn Davis (7.68, #2)
Jury: Like Father, Like Son (6.24, #9)
Director: Heli (4.99, #17)***
Screenplay: A Touch of Sin (7.09, #4)
Actress: The Past/Bejo (6.40, #5)
Actor: Nebraska/Dern (6.25, #8)

2014: Jurors included: Pres: Jane Campion, Sophia Coppola, Willem Dafoe, Gael Garcia Bernal, Nicolas Winding Refn

Palme: Winter Sleep (7.71, #2)
Grand Prix: The Wonders (6.53, #10)
Jury: (Tie) Goodbye to Language (7.78, #1) and Mommy (6.86, #6)
Director: Foxcatcher (6.15, #11)***
Screenplay: Leviathan (6.53, #7)
Actress: Maps to the Stars/Moore (6.47, #9)
Actor: Mr. Turner/Spall (6.48, #8)

2015: Jurors included: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, Sienna Miller, Guillermo Del Toro, Jake Gyllenhaal, Xavier Dolan

Palme: Dheepan (6.13, #7)
Grand Prix: Son of Saul (6.95, #4)
Jury: The Lobster (6.37, #6)
Director: The Assassin (7.85, #2)
Screenplay: Chronic (5.21, #15)***
Actress:  Tie Carol/Mara (7.94, #1) and Mon Roi/Bercot (4.12/#17)***
Actor: The Measure of a Man/Linden (6.04, #8)

Anomalies by year:

2010: 3
2011: 2
2012: 4
2013: 1
2014: 1
2015: 2

On average, just over 2 anomalies per year.  Now look again at this year's winners:

Palme d'Or: I, Daniel Blake (6.06, #11)***
Grand Prix: It's Only the End of the World (4.41, #19)***
Jury: American Honey (5.69, #16)***
Director: Tie- Mungiu/Graduation (7.03, #6) and Assayas/Personal Shopper (5.81, #14)***
Screenplay: The Salesman (6.10, #10)
Actress: Jaclyn Jose/Ma' Rosa (5.06, #18)***
Actor: Shahab Hosseini/The Salesman (6.10, #10)

 Five of eight awards were "anomalous" and The Salesman just avoided it by .04 points on the critical average.

For only the second time in the seven years covered here, the top rated critical film-Toni Erdmann- did not receive an award of any kind.  Aki Kaurismaki's top rated Le Harve whiffed in 2011, though it did win the non-juried FIRPESCI screenplay award.

I talked to Toronto bases film writer and seven time Cannes attendee Jake Howell about how far apart the jury and the critics were.  He said,

"Here's the thing: juries are, obviously, subjective. Who knows if they're following the critical thermometer? Are they even interested? Are they familiar with the existing filmographies of other Competition filmmakers? There's not a lot to go on, and they're entitled to laud whichever film they like. But data like (this) provide context to those who weren't at the festival, because it would be unfortunate if those following remotely thought the films that won awards at this year's festival were in fact the films to write home about."

The bottom line...this year's Cannes was historically unusual in the departure between critics and jurors.


POSTMORTEM PART TWO: 21 CANNES COMPETITION FILMS RANKED IN ORDER OF TELLURIDE POSSIBILITY

Here are the 21 films that were in competition for the Palme d'Or at Cannes last week ranked according the my best guess at their chances of being on the Telluride program on Sept.2.

Factors I am using:  Distributor, critical reception at Cannes, Cannes awards received and past Telluride appearances (I think ten of the directors that were in competition have had films play Telluride: Jarmusch, Loach, Mungiu, Arnold, Penn, Farhadi, Dolan Assayas and the Dardenne Brothers).

21) The Last Face-abysmal critical reaction makes it the least likely film to play T-ride despite Penn's appearance there in 2007 with his last dirctorial effort, Inot the Wild.

20) From the Land of the Moon-also critically doomed despite being distributed by frequent Telluride player Sundance Selects and starring T-ride favorite and past tribute recipient Marion Cotillard.

19) The Neon Demon- less than stellar reviews combined with a lack of history between Refn and Telluride means it's not likely.

18) Personal Shopper-luke warm reviews and what seems like a cooling towards Assayas from the fest.

17) It's Only the End of the World- Poor reviews and no distributor sink thos film despite Dolan' Telluride appearance two years ago with Mommy.

16) Ma' Rosa-winning Best Actress last week won't be enough to put this in play.

15) The Handmaid- Middling reviews and no Telluride connection.  Distributor is Amazon, which had a number of films play at Cannes and which I believe will make an appearance at Telluride this year...just not with this film.

14) Julieta-Despite a past with Telluride, generally positive reviews and distribution by Sony Classics, this Pedro Almodovar film seems as if it won't make the trip to Telluride.

13) Elle-Another SPC film with great reviews which should be a boost for its chances and starring past tributee Isabelle Huppert, but I just can't get my head around the fest inviting Paul Verhoeven.

12) Aquarius- Lacks U.S. distribution and that's tough.

11) I, Daniel Blake-It's been a couple of years since the Palme winner last played at Telluride which normally would mean that it's about time for one to make the trip.  Also it's distribed by Sundance Selects and Loach is a past tributee...but that was back in 1993 and he's had a lot of other films play well at Cannes since and hasn't been back...so probably not this year either.

10) Stay Vertical- good reviews and it's being released by Strand Releasing which has had  some history with T-ride.  A decent shot to play but not a great one.

9) Sieranevada-Very good notices are the only real calling card this film has to get in.  That's probably not enough.

8) Slack Bay- Good reviews and Kino Lorber as the distrib means it could make The SHOW.

7) Graduation-good reviews, the director's prize at Cannes a past T-ride appearance in 2007...it's a possibility.

6)  Paterson- I think this could well be a film that Amazon pushes hard to get into Telluride.

5) Loving- Focus Features is behind this film which many think is a serious Oscar player.  If Focus thinks the same and doesn't feel that their somewhat disappointing reception last year for Suffragette is a harbinger, this could play.

4) The Unknown Girl-Despite luke warm critical reception, it's the Dardennes and Sundance Selects which could well be enough to make the grade for T-ride.

3) American Honey-A24 and Andrea Arnold plus the Jury Award at Cannes.  Probable.

2) Toni Erdmann-Great reviews and SPC...I think it's very likely.

1) The Salesman-Farhadi plus last year's most represented distibutor-Cohen Media Group, decent reviews and two Cannes prizes for screenplay and best actor.  I'd be surprised if it doesn't play Telluride.

Remember, the last decade of statistics indicates that 4-5 of these films will play.


That's it for Thursday.  More to come on Monday...

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Warren's Coming Nov. 11 and the Rules Don't Apply / Checking the Critics at Cannes / The Salesman Makes a Sale / Views from Cannes / Latebreaking: The Red Turtle Goes to SPC

Welcome to Thursday from Michael's Telluride Film Blog...



WARREN'S COMING ON NOV. 11 AND THE RULES DON'T APPLY

Warren Beatty as Howard Hughes in Rules Don't Apply (from Entertainment Weekly)

Taking a break from the incessant Cannes coverage (at least until a little bit later in this post) news splashed across the internet yesterday that the long-awaited Warren Beatty "Untitled Howard Hughes Project" has both a title and a release date.

The title: Rules Don't Apply
The date: Nov. 11, 2016.

The film has been something of a hit-or-miss obsession here at MTFB.

The Nov. 11 date would be perfect timing for plays at fests like Telluride, Venice, Toronto and New York.  However, remember that Beatty is reported to sluiced cold water all over that notion in a ShowBiz411 story back in the middle of April.

I wrote at the time that Beatty might be bluffing.  His personality as such that I wouldn't be surprised if he responded that fall fests were unlikely simply as a way of having some fun with the press.

Additionally, there appears to be some negative buzz about the films quality and rumors that it was even possibly turned down by Cannes.

Finally, 20th Century Fox is distributing and they have virtually zero history with Telluride save for releases through their Fox Searchlight division.

All of which leads one to believe that the chances that we'll see Rules Don't Apply at T-ride are ridiculously small.  No Warren Beatty Tribute seems in the offing.

Still, the whole thing is fascinating...

Here's a bunch of links of the coverage from yesterday, most of which stemmed from an original story from Entertainment Weekly:


http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/18/warren-beatty-howard-hughes

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/warren-beatty-howard-hughes-movie-release-date-1201778002/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/rules-dont-apply-pictures-warren-beatty-film-lily-collins-alden-ehrenreich-20160518

https://thefilmstage.com/news/first-look-at-warren-beattys-rules-dont-apply-starring-alden-ehrenreich-and-lily-collins/

http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/rules-dont-apply-to-the-long-rumored-howard-hughes-film-by-warren-beatty



CHECKING THE CRITICS AT CANNES

As we make the turn toward the last few days of the Cannes Fest (it closes on Sunday)...here's what the various critic collectives have told us seem to be the consensus quality films in competition for the Palme d'Or

Screen Daily critics panel says the top three films thus far are (ratings are on a 0-4 scale):

1) Toni Erdmann 3.7
2) Paterson 3.5
3) Aquarius 3.1
Just outside: Sieranevada

Ioncinema's critics panel top three (using a 0-5 scale)

1) Toni Erdmann 4.0
2) Aquarius 3.6
3) Paterson 3.5
Close: Loving and Slack Bay

Todas Las Criticas top three (on a scale of 1-10)

1) Sieranevada 8.38
2) Toni Erdmann 8.21
3) Paterson 7.97
Close: Aquarius

Reini Urban Collation (scale of 1-10)

1) Toni Erdmann 8.23
2) Paterson 7.41
3) Sieranevada 7.33
Close: Aquarius

Check the current critical line for all of the films playing in competition and in the rest of the Cannes Fest at these links:

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-aquarius-debuts-strongly-on-screen-jury-grid/5104129.article

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/film-festivals/2016-cannes-critics-panel-day-8-brillante-mendozas-slumdog-manila-in-ma-rosa

http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes/2016

http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2016


So...what films win the Palme and other prizes?


THE SALESMAN MAKES A SALE

Ahead of its World and Cannes premiere as the last film in the Palme d'Or competition, Asghar Farhadi's The Salesman has picked up distribution for the United States.  Amazon and The Cohen Media Group have teamed up to take the distrib rights for the film.

That's a departure for Farhadi whose Academy Award winning A Separation and The Past were both distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.  SPC had both of those films make the T-ride lineup.

Despite the switch of distributor, however, I suspect that the sake yesterday doesn't diminish the film's chances of making kits way to the San Juans on Labor Day weekend.  The Cohen group had the largest distrib presence at Telluride last year with three films in the SHOW: Hitchcock/Truffaut, Marguerite and Rams.  Additionally, I'm already on record having said that I expect that Amazon will follow the trail blazed by Netflix last year and have some presence at Telluride this year.  The Salesman seems made to order.

Here's coverage of the sale:

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/cannes-amazon-cohen-media-group-nab-asghar-farhadis-the-salesman-1201777693/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-amazon-cohen-media-take-895317


VIEWS FROM CANNES

A collection of clips, teasers and trailers that have dropped for films playing at Cannes:

Personal Shopper:

via YouTube

http://www.indiewire.com/article/personal-shopper-trailer-kristen-stewart-ghosts-olivier-assayas-cannes-2016-20160517

https://thefilmstage.com/trailer/kristen-stewart-sees-a-ghost-in-first-trailer-for-olivier-assayas-personal-shopper/


The Unknown Girl:

https://thefilmstage.com/news/watch-first-trio-of-clips-for-dardennes-cannes-drama-the-unknown-girl/



American Honey:

https://thefilmstage.com/news/watch-first-clip-and-full-cannes-press-conference-for-andrea-arnolds-american-honey/


Dog Eat Dog:

via YouTube

https://thefilmstage.com/news/new-images-and-clips-from-paul-schraders-dog-eat-dog-starring-nicolas-cage-and-willem-dafoe/


LATE BREAKING: THE RED TURTLE GOES TO SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

News very early this morning is that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the very well received Cannes animated film The Red Turtle.  The film is currently sitting with a 6.32 composite critics score which is fourth best among Un Certain Regard films that have screened in France thus far.

The SPC acquisitions places The Red Turtle into the Telluride conversation in a big way.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-sony-pictures-classics-takes-895659

http://www.thewrap.com/sony-classics-buys-animated-movie-the-red-turtle/

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A Weekend of Telluride Speculation / Continuing to Look at Cannes

Good Monday to All...

A WEEKEND OF TELLURIDE SPECULATION

Over the weekend I was in the midst of a good deal of Telluride speculation.  Fueled by mentions on Twitter and a couple of posts from various sources some very interesting and unlikely film titles made up the basis for the weekend's T-ride musings.

A Scott Feinberg/Hollywood Reporter piece about Cannes films and their Oscar potential included a Telluride reference late in the article that Sundance critical darlings Birth of a Nation and Manchester are "rumored" to be playing at Telluride.

If true, that would violate Telluride's "North American premiere" rule, although the fest has occasionally allowed that to happen in rare cases before.

I'm dubious but Feinberg has better ears on the ground than I ever will.  Check his post here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-are-any-contenders-cannes-883959

Birth of a Nation teaser via YouTube

The other news of note focused on an interview with Cannes Artistic Director Theirry Fremaux with Screen Daily.  Fremaux talked about films that didn't make the Cannes lineup including a reference to Oliver Stone's Snowden.  Fremaux suggests that Snowden distributor Open Road is opting for a "different strategy" despite the fact that Fremaux says that Cannes would have liked to have the film.

Snowden's current release date is Sept. 16.

All of which suggests, at least to me, that we need to take the possibility of a Snowden screening at Telluride seriously.


The Fremaux interview is here:

http://www.screendaily.com/news/cannes-thierry-fremaux-interview/5102645.article


CONTINUING TO LOOK AT CANNES

Jeff Nichol's Loving

I have included here a couple of "Cannes breakdown" articles that seek to provide analysis about the films selected for the 69th edition of that festival:

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-2016-the-critics-take/5102617.article

http://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/cannes-official-selection-numbers-1201753696/



That's it for this Monday...more on Thursday...

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69th Cannes Film Festival Announces Its Lineup / Maybe No Warren

Good Thursday Everyone and MTFB is back.

After an unplanned layoff, I'm back in the saddle to post this Thursday and glad to be back.

69TH CANNES FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS LINEUP:

Here is the lineup announced from Thierry Fremaux in Cannes from early this morning (via Awards Daily):

Opening Night Film

Cafe Society – directed by Woody Allen

Competition

Toni Erdmann – directed by Maren Ade

Julieta – directed by Pedro Almodovar

American Honey – directed by Andrea Arnold

The Unknown Girl – directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne

Personal Shopper – directed by Olivier Assayas

It’s Only The End Of The World – directed by Xavier Dolan

Ma Loute – directed by Bruno Dumont

Paterson – directed by Jim Jarmusch

Rester Vertical – directed by Alain Guiraudie

Aquarius – directed by Kleber Mendonca Filho

Mal de Pierres – directed by Nicole Garcia

I, Daniel Blake – directed by Ken Loach

Ma’Rosa – directed by Brilliante Mendoza

Loving– directed by Jeff Nichols

Bacalaureat – directed by Cristian Mungiu

Agassi – directed by Park Chan-Wook

The Last Face – directed by Sean Penn

Sieranevada – directed by Cristi Puiu

Elle – directed by Paul Verhoeven

The Neon Demon – directed by Nicolas Winding Refn

Un Certain Regard

Varoonegi – directed by Behnam Behzadi

Apprentice – directed by Boo Junfeng

Voir Du Pays – directed by Delphine Coulin and Muriel Coulin

La Danseuse – directed by Stephanie Di Giusto

Clash – directed by Mohamed Diab

La Tortue Rouge – directed by Michael Dubok de Wit

Fuchi Bi Tatsu – directed by Fukada Koji

Omar Shakhsiya – directed by Maha Haj

Me’Ever Laharim Vehagvaot – directed by Eran Kolirin

After The Storm – directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu

Hymyileva Mies – directed by Juho Kuosmanen

La Large Noche de Francisco Sanctis – directed by Francisco Marquez & Andrea Testa

Caini – directed by Bogdan Mirica

Pericle Il Nero – directed by Stefano Mordini

The Transfiguration – directed by Michael O’Shea

Captain Fantastic – directed by Matt Ross

Uchenik – directed by Kirill Serebrennikov

Outside Competition

The BFG – directed by Steven Spielberg

Money Monster – directed by Jodie Foster

The Nice Guys – directed by Shane Black

Gok Sung – directed by Na Hong-Jin

Special Screenings

Gimme Danger – directed by Jim Jarmusch

The Train to Busan – directed by Yeon Sang-Ho

A Chad Tragedy – directed by Mahamat-Saleh Aroun

The Death of Louis XIV – directed by Albert Serra

L’Ultima Spiaggia – directed by Thanos Anastopolous and Davide Del Degan

Exile – directed by Panh Rithy

Le Cancre – directed by Paul Vecchiali

Some random thoughts regarding the announced films Telluride...remember that Cannes and TFF commonly share seven-ish films by average and that usually the majority of the films come from the competition slate.

Competition films that would seem to have the most likely chance of making the Telluride lineup are:

Arnold's American Honey

The Dardennes' The Unknown Girl

Assasyas" Personal Shopper 

Dolan's It's Only the End of the World

Nichols' Loving

Mungiu's Bacalaureat (Family Photos)

Penn's The Last Face

As of today none of the titles from Un Certain Regard or the Out of Competition or Special Screening selections jump out as big possibilities.  That could change when Cannes kicks off on May 11th.  We could also see  some titles show up in the Directors Fortnight that could intrigue T-ride programmers.

MAYBE NO WARREN

There was a good deal of speculation this week regarding the Warren Beatty Howard Hughes project. Reports that it was done.   Reports that it was NOT bound for Cannes but could be looking at the fall fests (intriguing!!!) and finally, word purportedly from Beatty himself that seems to cast doubt on ANY fest screening.  The last coming from ShowBiz411 quoting Beatty's response to a "fall festival" question with the response "Why would I want to do that?"

Sooo...it seems Beatty is either playing a bluff or...the film won't play any fest (most likely).  Perhaps Beatty might not regard New York or AFI a "fall fest; which might allow either of those fests to screen the film.

But taken at face value, it doesn't sound like the highly anticipated film will be at Telluride or anywhere else for that matter.

Here's the coverage from ShowBiz411:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/03/29/exclusive-warren-beattys-howard-hughes-movie-gets-a-distributor-fox-now-needs-a-title-release-date

http://www.showbiz411.com/2016/04/13/exclusive-warren-beatty-film-has-no-set-release-date-because-he-doesnt-want-to-do-film-festivals

 That's all for Thursday...come back for more on Monday...

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mpgort@gmail.com OR

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