First Looks at You Were Never Really Here / Wakefield Begins to Emerge / Barry Jenkins Profiled / Burns Presents Vietnam at Harvard / A Look Back at TFF #31

It's your weekly Thursday...howdy!



FIRST LOOKS FOR YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE

Among the films chosen to play at Cannes that has caught my eye as a possibility to play Telluride in September is Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here.  The film stars Joaquin Phoenix.

The combination of Ramsay (who played T-ride in 2011 with We Need to Talk About Kevin), a Cannes selection and Amazon with distribution (Amazon had Manchester by the Sea at Telluride last year) make me believe that the film has a good shot at a T-ride slot.

Amazon released the first images for the film this past week which included the still from above.

Details and other photos can be accessed with these links:

from The Film Stage

and from The Playlist.

WAKEFIELD BEGINS TO EMERGE

One of the films that I salivated the most about prior to TFF #43 was Bryan Cranston's Wakefield. The film dropped a complete trailer this week in its run up to a release on May 19th.  You can see the trailer above and find more about the film, the trailer and its release here:

from Entertainment Weekly

from Indiewire

and from FirstShowing.Net

BARRY JENKINS PROFILED

Director/writer Barry Jenkins has had a whirlwind going since Moonlight dropped at Telluride last Labor Day weekend.  The film became a key player in the awards season earning eight Academy Award nominations and it won Oscars for Best Picture, Adapted Screenplay and Supporting Actor. Jenkins was busy throughout.

The Denver Post recently profiled the film maker who, as you might expect, is red hot as a result of Moonlight's success.  Take a look by clicking on the link.





BURNS PRESENTS VIETNAM AT HARVARD

I mentioned this as a potential SHOW addition in the last post: Ken Burns screening some of the 18 hours that will make up his documentary Vietnam that is scheduled to begin screening on PBS on Sept. 17th.

Burns recently screened some of the footage at Harvard and also appeared to answer some questions.
Coverage and clues about the project can be found here From The Harvard Gazette.



A LOOK BACK AT TFF #31

I continue the project I wrote about last week in today's post as I try to expend the history of past Telluride Film Festivals beyond the program links on the official Telluride Film Festival website.

Today, it's the 31st fest which ran from Sept. 3-6, 2004. Here's the review of the program:

Guest Director: Buck Henry

Tributes:

Theo Angelopoulous

Jean-Claude Carriere

Laura Linney

Special Medallion:

Fred Roos

Shows:

Aaltra

Adam and Paul

Bad Education

Baober in Love

Being Julia

Blackmail

Ecstasy

Enduring Love

Erotikon

Francis, George and Theo

From Saturday to Sunday

Gunner Palace

Harvest Time

House of Flying Daggers

Hunger

Keane

Kinsey

Kontroll

Landscape in the Mist

Maugham and the Secret Agent

Million $ Legs

Moolaade

Nobody Knows

Overlord

P.S.

Palindromes

Payday

THX 1138

Trilogy: The Weeping Meadow

Unforgiveable Blackness

Viva La Muerte

Yes

Guests included:

Buck Henry

Laura Linney

Rip Torn

Daniel Craig

Joan Allen

Sally Potter

Peter Sellars

Lenny Abrahamson

Annette Bening

Ellen Barkin

Todd Solondz

Bill Condon

Gael Garcia Bernal

George Lucas

Ken Burns

Peter Bogdanavich

Andrea Arnold is included with a short entitled Wasp.

 And that's that for this Thursday...more on Monday.

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

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Opening the Cannes/Oscar Lessons/Lynne and Jane

Welcome to Thursday...


OPENING THE CANNES

When I get to this point each year, the point at which Oscar season is over and it's time to begin to seriously think about Telluride's future list of films, I focus on three sets of information initially.  The first is the "most anticipated" lists of films that any number of websites and blogs toss out at the start of the calendar year.  The second is the immediate post-Oscar lists of possible Oscar films for the next year.

Both of those sets of info have happened and I've already done a couple of pieces based on that.

The third set of info is the speculation about Cannes titles.  The films chosen for the Cannes film festival have long provided a large number of the titles that make up the program at Telluride each year.  I don't expect this year to be any exception.

Historically, the link between the two fests is very strong.

That being said, Jake Howell has written an excellent analysis of what he thinks, and what historical data show, might be some of the films that could well play Cannes and by extension some films that will have an improved chance of playing at Telluride.

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/02/divining-cannes-2014/

Among what Howell terms "The Likely Suspects" for Cannes emerge these films/directors who, historically, would seem to be the most likely to make the Cannes/Telluride connection for this year:

"Clouds of Sils Maria" from Olivier Assasyas
"Two Days, One Night" from The Dardennes Brothers
"The Search" from Michel Hazanavicius
"Birdman" from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
"Mr. Turner" from Mike Leigh
"Far from the Madding Crowd" from Thomas Vinterberg
"Every Thing Will Be Fine" from Wim Wenders

There are other possibilities, but these seem the most likely.  Check out Howell's post.

OSCAR LESSONS

HitFix's Gregory Ellwood ventured into post-Oscar analysis mode this week with this post from Monday:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/exhale-lessons-from-the-2013-2014-oscars-season

Most notable from my perspective is this paragraph from that post:

Stop whining, Toronto: Telluride is the kingmaker
The powers that be at the Venice and Toronto film festivals hate it, but there is no argument anymore.  If you're not able to screen your film at the Telluride Film Festival (and preferably before it goes to Toronto) you're not a serious player to win best picture. Five of the last six Best Picture winners all had either their world premiere, er, "sneak preview," at the Colorado festival, or, in the case of "The Artist," its North American debut. In that same time frame, "Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Gravity," and "The Descendants" also made Telluride their first (or almost first) stop. Now, those films are all from The Weinstein Company, Fox Searchlight and Warner Bros. The three companies who have won the last four Best Picture Oscars. Guess they realize it too, huh?

Here's hoping that Ellwood has a good bead on why films and film makers with an interest in awards season should look closely at attempting to get on the Telluride program in light of Toronto's newly established criteria for screening films that might want to play both places.


LYNNE AND JANE

Over the past year I have posted a considerable number of times concerning the travails of "Jane Got a Gun".  The project was originally under the direction of Lynne Ramsay but that changed as did a number of the cast members.  Now comes word from Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood that Ramsay and the film's producers have reached a settlement in the dispute surrounding her participation.  That story is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/natalie-portman-lynne-ramsay-team-for-western-jane-got-a-gun

More on Monday...

Leigh and SPC/ Lynne Leaves a Gun/Sapphires and Killing

Good Thursday everyone...


LEIGH AN SPC

Mike Leigh has a new project and Sony Pictures Classics has signed up to distribute.  That means that a likely Telluride film for the future is inn the drawing boards since both Leigh and SPC are common fixtures at the TFF.  Here are a slew of links to that story:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/mike-leighs-turner-biopic-finds-a-home-with-sony-classics

https://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/mike-leighs-upcoming-project-picked-sony-pictures-classic-81736

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/sony-pictures-classics-mike-leigh

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/mike-leigh-gets-to-work-on-untitled-j-m-w-turner-feature-with-timothy-spall/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-pictures-classics-reteam-writer-429694

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sony-pictures-classics-picks-up-mike-leighs-untitled-jmw-turner-biopic-for-2014-release-20130319


LYNNE LEAVES A GUN

Meanwhile, another story that may, in fact, derail a film that had at least some Telluride potential.  I'm talking about "Jane Got a Gun" which, until Tuesday, was being directed by Lynne Ramsay as her follow up to "We Need to Talk About Kevin".  Here are a number of reports posted this week:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/warrior-director-gavin-oconnor-replaces-lynne-ramsay-on-jane-got-a-gun-20130320

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/we-need-to-talk-about-the-director-lynne-ramsay-quits-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production-20130319

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/lynne-ramsay-no-shows-and-drops-out-of-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/we-need-to-talk-about-the-director-lynne-ramsay-quits-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production-20130319

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/lynne-ramsay-quits-natalie-portman-western-jane-got-a-gun-on-day-one-of-shooting


TFF #39 FILMS CONTINUE TO MAKE A MARK

Included here, a new interview with Chris O'Dowd of "The Sapphires" which opens in limited release this weekend...go see it if you can...it's pretty good.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/toronto-2012-chris-odowd-bridesmaids-sapphires-movie-369735

Anne Thompson talks "The Act of Killing".  The Josh Oppenheimer documentary.  That post is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/act-of-killing-at-moma



More Monday, have a great weekend!

FAC Update/All Things Argo/CP5 to Court?/Coming Attractions

Good Monday Everyone, if such a thing is even possible...

Here's this week's FAC on the Oscars for Best Picture as well as Best Actress and Best Actor

BEST PICTURE


1) Argo (1)
2) Silver Linings Playbook (2)
3) Les Miserables (3)
4) The Master (4)
5) Lincoln (5)
6) Life of Pi (7)
7) Beasts of the Southern Wild (6)
8) Amour (8)
9) Zero Dark Thirty (9)
10) Flight (13)***
11) Django Unchained (10)
12) Anna Karenina (12)
13) Promised Land (14)
14) Moonrise Kingdom (11)###
15) Hitchcock (New)***


Dropping Out: The Sessions

Comment: “Flight” takes flight in the last two weeks and the Fox Searchlight announcement that “Hitchcock” will play in awards season has been met with a lot of anticipation. “The Sessions” and “Moonrise Kingdom” suffer as a result.


BEST ACTRESS


1) Jennifer Lawrence/Silver Linings Playbook (1) (Perfect Score)
2) Quevenzhane Wallis/Beasts of the Southern Wild (2)
3) Marion Cotillard/Rust and Bone (4)
4) Keira Knightley/Anna Karenina (5)
5) Emanuelle Riva/Amour (6)
6) Naomi Watts (3)###
7) Helen Mirren/Hitchcock (New)***
8) Meryl Streep/Hope Springs (7)
9) Judi Dench/Best Exotic (New)***
10) Mary Elizabeth Winstead/Smashed (New)***



Dropping Out: Viola Davis, Laura Linney, Maggie Smith

Comment: Two weeks after the first Clearinghouse and no one doubts that Jennifer Lawrence is the odds on favorite to win the category. The “Hitchcock” announcement catapults Helen Mirren into serious consideration.



BEST ACTOR

1) Joaquin Phoenix/The Master (1)
2) John Hawkes/The Sessions (2)
3) Daniel Day Lewis/Lincoln (3)
4) Denzel Washington (4)
5) Bradley Cooper/Silver Linings Playbook (5)
6) Anthony Hopkins/Hitchcock (New)***
7) Jean Louis Trintignant/Amour (7)
8) Hugh Jackman (6)###
9) Jamie Foxx/Django Unchained (9)
10) Bill Murray/Hyde Park on Hudson (8)###



Dropping Out: Philip Seymour Hoffman

Comment: “Hitchcock” momentum in this category puts Sir Anthony Hopkins into play in a serious way. Jackman and Murray seem to be fading. My bet is that the Murray balloon will continue to deflate but that we haven’t seen the last of Mr. Jackman just yet.


ALL THINGS ARGO

With its release this week the "Argo" hype is building dramatically.  I have included multiple links to interviews and other pieces about the film, Ben Affleck and its Oscar status...

http://www.hitfix.com/awards-campaign/clooney-and-affleck-bring-argo-to-hollywood

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?shva=1#inbox

http://www.freep.com/article/20121007/ENT01/310070054/Ben-Affleck-s-latest-project-Argo-puts-him-firmly-on-Hollywood-s-A-list?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cp

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-argo-ben-affleck-the-master-silver-linings-playbook-369718

http://millvalley.patch.com/articles/ben-affleck-s-argo-holds-up-to-the-hype-at-the-35th-mill-valley-film-festival

http://www.examiner.com/article/ben-affleck-s-new-film-argo-premieres-beverly-hills

http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/ben-affleck-shines-in-front-of-and-behind-the-camera-in-argo/2012/10/05/348aa03c-0cc9-11e2-a310-2363842b7057_gallery.html#photo=1

http://www.deadline.com/2012/10/oscar-ben-affleck-george-clooney-argo-hollywood-premiere/


CP5 SUBPOENAED

A big splash of news out of New York this week that the city had subpoenaed unused film from the TFF #39/Ken Burns Documentary "The Central Park Five".  Movieline included a couple of posts that explained:

http://movieline.com/2012/10/03/new-york-city-subpoenas-ken-burns-film-central-park-jogger-rape-89-central-park-five/

http://movieline.com/2012/10/04/sarah-burns-central-park-five-subpoena-accusations-ken-burns/#utm_campaign=homepage&utm_source=maincolumn&utm_medium=topstories&utm_content=slot5#utm_source=copypaste&utm_campaign=referralhttp://bit.ly/PZsULh


COMING ATTRACTIONS

This week's "Coming Attractions" focuses on recent announcements about the next (well, maybe after "Jane Got a Gun") Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin).  Because it's Ramsay and because she's been a Telluride player and because it just sounds...odd...here it is:

Ramsay is setting up to direct a "Moby Dick" adaptation set in space...I do not lie.

Take a look at this from Get the Big Picture:

http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2012/10/4/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-director-developing-space-themed.html

and Anne Thompson:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/in-the-works-lynne-ramsay-tackles-moby-dick-her-way-with-sci-fi-thriller-mobius-scott-pictures-to-produce


and The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/lynne-ramsays-sci-fi-moby-dick-tale-mobius-gets-backing-20121002

Intrigued?  Confused?  Yes.

More on Thursday...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2.

"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog/The Film Awards Clearinghouse on Facebook.

More Major Spec/Trailers from Ebert/Trailers for London

Good Morning...back in the Oklahoma Panhandle...

MORE MAJOR SPECULATION

If you looked in on this space Saturday you saw this tidbit repeated from a Pete Hammond post from Deadline.com:

“The Telluride Film Festival threw a party at the London Hotel on Sunset the night before the LAFF launch to tout their upcoming Labor Day weekend 39th edition of a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season. Fest directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are still putting the program together and, as is the custom, won’t announce it in advance.  But it’s clear this fest which draws Oscar-hopefuls from the likes of SPC, Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Focus  and others has also attracted the attention of the major studios with eyes on Oscar this year.  At least one of them was busy showing their wares to the Telluride honchos this week in hopes of making the cut. “

Which has kept my mind whirling for the last 48 hours...which studios? what films?  Certainly it seems that Hammond is implying more than one.  

Consequently, during the course of this week, I'll take a look at the "major" studio offerings that are expected as we move to the end of the year that most think want to be Oscar contenders and at least see if we can discern what the field of possibilities looks like.

Today we start with Universal Pictures which looks to be distributing two "Oscar-y" films: Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" (the Osama Bin Laden/Seal Team 6 film).

The Bigelow film seems more "Telluride-ish" (as I thought "The Hurt Locker" might be back in 2008) but Tom Hooper had a great deal of success out of Telluride for "The King's Speech" in 2010..so both films seem plausible Telluride contenders if Universal has decided to make that play and T-ride's heads deem them acceptable.

Other connections..."Les Miz's" production company Working Title had a production connection to Telluride 2006 "sneak" "Catch a Fire".

"Zero Dark Thirty's" IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790885/

"Les Miserables" IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1707386/

We'll look at Paramount tomorrow.

TRAILERS FROM EBERT

Roger Ebert has posted a collection of what he terms "out of the mainstream" trailers.  They include both "The Master's" teaser featuring Joaquin Phoenix and "Hyde Park on Hudson" both of which I have linked to in earlier posts and have at least some Telluride potential.  There are also many other films linked here.  Take a look:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/beyond-the-mainstream-ebert-cl.html

TRAILERS FROM LONDON

And this from our Danny Boyle/London Olympics file...a trailer for four short films about the London Games from different director's including Telluride featured directors Mike Leigh and Lynne Ramsay from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-trailer-for-new-olympic-short-films-from-mike-leigh-lynne-ramsay-asif-kapadia-20120618

More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Shame News/Pina Trailer/Tilda Talks/Dangerous and Albert

SHAME NEWS...

Director Steve McQueen says that "Shame" will stay exactly as we saw it in Telluride over Labor Day weekend. The film which has created a sensation after showing in the San Juans and also in Venice and Toronto especially for the performances of Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan is almost certainly headed toward an NC-17 MPAA rating. McQueen says that he won't change anything to avoid the rating. McQueen's insistence is reported in this story from Hollywood News:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/09/12/%E2%80%9Cshame%E2%80%9D-director-wont-cut-anything-to-avoid-nc-17-rating/

Shame's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723811/

PINA TRAILER

Wim Wenders film homage to dance pioneer and legend Pina Bausch that was well received by a lot of Telluride patrons.  The film "Pina" has a trailer up now and you can take a look at it from First Showing.net here:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/indie-trailer-sunday-wim-wenders-3d-dance-doc-pina-trailer

Pina's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1440266/

TILDA TALKS

Tilda Swinton was one of this year's three tributees and appeared at TFF #38 with her new film "We Need to Talk About Kevin."  The film premiered at Cannes in May and has created a good deal of Oscar buzz for her performance.  She sat down recently with Roger Ebert in an interview that I have linked for you to look at here:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/09/the_world_according_to_saint_t.html#

Kevin's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/

DANGEROUS AND ALBERT

Reviews continue to pour in from Toronto screenings of Telluride #38 films.  David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" is still swimming upstream (I agree) while Rodrigo Garcia's "Albert Nobbs" is still dividing critics (I thought it was very good).  Hollywood News posted brief reviews yesterday (along with a brief review of Sundance favorite "Take Shelter").  Here's the link:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/09/10/method-isnt-dangerous-but-albert-nobbs-is-wonderful-awards-alley/

Method's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571222/

Albert's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602098/

Late Breaking News/Ten(+) Bets/Kevin's Trailer/Darren Aron-NOAH-sky/My Friend Marlon

Good Morning America!

Back to a real job today for this guy.  Teaching Inservice today and tomorrow.  Classes start Wednesday.
Also...pseudo-waiting...

The 38th Telluride Film Festival starts in 18 days...

LATE BREAKING NEWS

Two items making Telluride connected news late last night.:

1) Ioncinema.com baldly claims what I have expected for some time and that is that Werner Herzog's documentary "Into the Abyss" will play T-ride.  No surprise there.



and 2) Film critic and Telluride regular (and past Silver Medallion recipient) Leonard Maltin had surgery for a detached retina yesterday in El Paso, TX.  Wishing you a speedy recovery, Mr. Maltin!


TEN (+) BETS

There's some chance that we see W.E.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) The Descendants
2) Gazing Into the Abyss
3) A Trip to the Moon
4) The Artist
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin
6) Le Havre
7) Prohibition
8) Drive
9) Shame
10) The Kid with a Bike/Dark Horse (tie)

This week's Ten Bets:

1) The Descendants
2) Into the Abyss
3) The Artist
4) A Trip to the Moon
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin
6) Le Havre
7) Prohibition
8) Shame
9) Drive
10) The Kid with a Bike

Here's the "+"
11) Dark Horse
12) The Birds Upstairs
13) The Skin I Live In
14) The Lady
15) W.E.
16) The Ides of March
17) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
18) Albert Nobbs
19) Coriolanus
20) A Dangerous Method

Note: Kris Tapley at Incontention.com in his July 28th Telluride spec piece listed three Sundance films as possibles, but because they already appeared in Park City, I'm doubtful that they will be in T-ride.  The three are: "Take Shelter," "Like Crazy" and "Martha Marcy May Marlene."

Now that we're down to less than three weeks, I may update the "Ten Bets" list with more frequency than once a week depending what oozes out that I can latch onto.


KEVIN'S ENGLISH TRAILER

A lot of buzz surrounding Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin" this last week including a post from the weekend from First Showing.net for the film's U.K. trailer.  Tilda Swinton and John C. Reilly star.  The trailer looks appropriately chilling and kind of creepy.  "Kevin" remains at #5 on this week's "Ten Bets."

Here's the link:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/must-watch-we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-official-uk-trailer-lands/

Kevin's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/

DARREN ARONOFSKY AND NOAH

Earlier this summer I passed on the news that Darren Aronofsky (director of last year's TFF#37 sensation and multi-Oscar nominated "Black Swan"--Natalie Portman winning Best Actress) was  tackling the Biblical story of Noah as his next project.  Because it's Aronofsky and because "Swan" had such a successful run last year, you have to include "Noah" as a future Telluride possibility at least for the time being.

Get the Big Picture.com posted a fairly substantial speculative piece about that "Noah" project this weekend.  You can take a look at that post here:
http://www.getthebigpicture.net/blog/2011/8/13/we-can-only-speculate-what-noah-will-be-like-under-darren-ar.html?utm

Aronofsky's IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004716/


MY FRIEND MARLON

One of the most viewed posts that I put up this summer included my pictures of me and film legend Marlon Brando.  It was fun to relive that two day period when the double Oscar winner and arguably the finest screen actor of all time was in Weatherford, OK.

So, naturally, when I saw the post this week from Open Culture.com that included Brando's screen test for "Rebel Without a Cause" I had to put a link to it here on my blog.  Not only because it's really cool, but also because it gave me another excuse to put up the Brando and me photo...

Here's the link to Brando's screen test (which, of course, was unsuccessful. Some kid named James Dean got the role  The article also has a link to Dean's screen test):
http://www.openculture.com/2011/08/marlon_brando_screen_tests_for_irebel_without_a_causei.html

Brando's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000008/

Rebel's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048545/



FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
http://twitter.com/#!/@Gort2

Ten Bets/Tinker Trailer/Kevin Too/Animated Offering?/15,000

I'm being proactive today!  Hope everyone had a great weekend.

The 38th Telluride Film Festival Countdown: 25 Days

THIS WEEK'S TEN BETS

Last week's list of ten films I feel the most strongly about being on the TFF #38 program:

1) The Descendants
2) The Artist
3) We Have to Talk About Kevin
4) Drive
5) A Trip to the Moon
6) Gazing into the Abyss
7) Prohibition
8) Shame
9) Le Havre
10) The Kid with a Bike

Last week's positioning on the list was fueled in part as a result of tweets from Ioncinema during the announcements for the Toronto lineup.  This week, the list fluctuates due to the announcement that "The Artist" is headed to the Montreal World Film Festival this month.

1) The Descendants (I'm telling you it's a lock ladies and germs)
2) Gazing Into the Abyss
3) A Trip to the Moon
4) The Artist
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin
6) Le Havre
7) Prohibition
8) Drive
9) Shame
10) The Kid with a Bike/Dark Horse (tie)

TINKER TRAILER...

Tomas Alfredson's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy has a new trailer out over the weekend.  It looks good.  Here's the link to the story and trailer from First Showing.net:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/watch-second-thrilling-uk-trailer-for-tinker-tailor-soldier-spy/

Additionally, I continue to think that TTSS has somewhere in the neighborhood of a 50/50 chance to be in Telluride.  That feeling got a little boost as the result of a post from Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere yesterday.  Wells seems to think that TTSS almost has to be at either Telluride or New York and he implies that he's pretty sure that Clint Eastwood's "J. Edgar" is likely to be the NYFF closer...which would leave Telluride as the last fest standing for a U.S. film fest presentation for TTSS prior to its scheduled opening on Nov. 18.

Here's the link to the Jeffrey Wells post:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/08/eliminations.php

And Tinker's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/


KEVIN HAS A TRAILER TOO

The Playlist posts a story and link to the trailer for Lynne Ramsay's "We Need to Talk About Kevin."  The film stars Tilda Swinton (in what is said to be a possible Oscar nominated role) and John C. Reilly as parents dealing (or not) with the aftermath of violence committed by their son.

The film was fairly well received at Cannes and I have it currently at #5 on the list of Ten Bets for this week.
Here's your link to The Playlist story with the trailer included:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_international_trailer_provides_first_look_at_lynne_ramsays_we_need_to/

Kevin's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1242460/


ANIMATION AT TELLURIDE

A Tweet this weekend from Jarvis Films leads me to add "The Birds Upstairs" " to the list of probable films this year.  It's an animated short.

Quoting the tweet here:

JarvisFilms (@JarvisFilms)

8/5/11 10:47 PM

"Incredibly honored to be part of the Telluride Film Festival this year!"

After an inventory of the Jarvis Film website, it's my guess that "The Birds..." is the film that makes the cut for T-ride.
The Jarvis Films website is at:
http://www.jarvisfilms.com/

The Birds IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1709146/
 15,000

And finally, this blog passed 15,000 views over the past weekend.  5,000+ since April 26th.  Thanks to everyone that takes a look and apologies for all the things I get wrong.

Tomorrow!