Ten Bets (Plus) #9 for TFF #52 / New York Spotlight Clues, Confusions and Confirmations / Marty Supreme Drama / First Photo of Hamnet

TEN BETS (PLUS) #9 FOR TFF #52

New info earlier this week from announcements coming from the New York Film Fest and the Toronto International Film Festival inform this week's Ten Bets.  New York's Spotlight section announcements seem to confirm that La Grazia and Pillion are headed to Telluride.  

What will NOT be playing Telluride as it will World Premiere at New York id the return of Daniel Day-Lewis to film acting in Anemone.

Confusion was created when New York also listed Blue Moon and A Private Life as "New York" premieres as opposed to a "U.S." premiere designation.  Much like Landmarks (Nuestra Tierra) last week, that designation puts those film at odds with their "North American" premiere designations from TIFF.  Both designations can't be true.  Consequently I'll be putting both A Private Life as well as Blue Moon back on the list.

Toronto announced half a dozen new films and dropped their schedule on Tuesday.  The six films didn't reveal any Telluride possibilities but did confirm that No Other Choice and The Wizard of the Kremlin are not T-ride players. 

By way of recap, here's last week's Ten Bets (Plus):

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach 

11) Bugonia/Lanthimos

12) The Mastermind/Reichardt

13) Cover-Up/Poitras

14) Ghost Elephants/Herzog

15) Hamlet/Karia

Other possibilities: Resurrection, Nuestra Tierra, The Young Mother's Home, The Drama, Pillion, Die My Love, Anemone, At the Sea, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, Megadoc, Train Dreams.

And this week's goes like this:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach 

11) Bugonia/Lanthimos

12) The Mastermind/Reichardt

13) Cover-Up/Poitras

14) Ghost Elephants/Herzog

15) Hamlet/Karia

16) Pillion

17) La Grazia

18) Resurrection

19) Nuestra Tierra

20) Blue Moon

Other possibilities: A Private Life, The Young Mother's Home, The Drama, Die My Love, At the Sea, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Bucking Fastard, Megadoc, Train Dreams.

NEW YORK SPOTLIGHT CLUES AND CONFUSIONS 

Last Tuesday the New York Film Festival revealed their Spotlight section films and those reveals and their premiere designations provide us Telluride watchers with some clues.

First, the bad news... the Daniel Day-Lewis coming-out-of-acting-retirement film Anemone was announced as a NYFF World premiere...meaning no Telluride.

Some good news... from their designations as New York premieres it looks like Pillion and La Grazia are almost certainly Telluride bound.  La Grazia is opening Venice so has time to get to Telluride.

Some confusion:  Blue Moon and A Private Life were also listed as New York premieres which is a curious designation as those two films were announced by Toronto as Nort American premieres.  Both things cannot be true.  If the Toronto designation is correct then no Telluride for either film.  If the New York designation is trye that would signify a Telluride play as NYFF would almost assuredly have designated them as U.S. premieres if they were not playing Telluride.  That's illustrated by the U.S. premiere designation for Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.  It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.  For now, I'm back to cautious optimism about both films for Labor Day.

Some confirmations... Nouvelle Vague announced as a NY preem confirms for Telluride.

A couple of other notes...documentaries about Martin Scorsese and Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller are labelled World premieres so no Telluride for either.  I thought the Scorsese doc was a real possibility.

Here is the complete announcement from the New York Fest.

MARTY SUPREME DRAMA

Early in the week there was quite a bit of scuttlebutt that Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme might be showing up at a "fall fest" after all.  There was a good deal of speculation about what fest that might be.  With Toronto and New York purportedly done announcing films the likely culprits would be Telluride, New York or AFI.

Now, I was really hoping that might mean a landing at TFF #52 but replying to a query on X I expressed that it was my belief that the odds were 3-1 in New York's favor.  That estimate seems to have been born out.  According to World of Reel on Wednesday, if it is to happen it will be at NYFF.

FIRST PHOTO FROM HAMNET

We're 99% sure Chloe Zhao's Hamnet will bow at TFF #52.  Tuesday we got our first official image from the film that stars Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley.  Here that is:

The IMDb description for Hamnet:

The story of Agnes - the wife of William Shakespeare - as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. A human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet.

Hamnet is set for a limited opening on Nov. 27th.

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Ten Bets #6 for TFF #52 / This Year's Barbera "Mystery" / The History of Sound Poster / Maybe Some TV?

TEN BETS #6 FOR TFF #52

Well, here we are.  We probably know some things with a reasonable degree of certainty at this poinmt after reveals from Toronto, Venice and New York.

After Toronto's Monday announcement we think this is true:

These seven films appear locked into Telluride:

Hamnet

Ballad of a Small Player

It Was Just an Accident

Nouvelle Vague

Sentimental Value

The Secret Agent

Tuner

These are film's from Venice that feel like they might play there and then come over for TFF #52:

La Grazia

Jay Kelly

The Wizard of the Kremlin

House of Dynamite

Bugoina

Orphan

Hand of Dante

Ghost Elephants

Cover-Up

I had After the Hunt on this list right up until yesterday when New York announced it as its Opening Night film as a North American Premiere...so  no Telluride.

Other films that seem gone from Telluride consideration:

Sirat

Frankenstein

Eleanor the Great

Other films that could still play Telluride:

Bugonia

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Blue Moon

The Young Mothers' Home

The History of Sound

The Love That Remains

Left-Handed Girl

Pressure

Die, My Love

The Mastermind

The American Revolution

Bucking Fastard

Last week's Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Bugonia/Lanthimos

5) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper

6) Blue Moon/Linklater

7) Sirat/Laxe

8) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardenne Brothers

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

Other possibilities: The Ballad of a Small Player, The Love That Remains, The Secret Agent, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great,  Pressure, Die My Love, The Mastermind, The American Revolution.

This week's new Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Bugonia/Lanthimos

9) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

10) The History of Sound/Hermanus

Other possibilities: Blue Moon, The Young Mother's Home, The Love That Remains, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Die My Love, Anemone, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, A House of Dynamite, Orphan, Hand of Dante, Cover-Up.

Information that will further illuminate what could be at TFF #52:

*Waiting to hear from Toronto as they likely have other titles to add over the next few weeks.

*Waiting to see Venice's schedule.

*Waiting for the rest of New York's lineup.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about where this week's "Bets" are.

THIS YEAR'S BARBERA "MYSTERY"

Over the last couple of years Venice Film Fest chief Alberto Barbera has, unwittingly or not, let slip bits and pieces of information that have given away a couple of Telluride titles.  Tuesday as he was introducing the Venice lineup we referenced Josh Safdies' Marty Supreme saying that (it) "will screen in the autumn".

Now, we know that Marty Supreme is set for a Dec. 25th release which isn't "autumn".   Does that mean Barbera has, again revealed a Telluride play?  My guess is no.  I think New York seems more likely.  I;m not saying that the reference precludes Telluride but NYFF makes more sense as the film is set primarily in NYC and the "autumn" reference matches up with New York's Sept. 26-Oct. 13 time frame better than TFF just two days after the Venetian kickoff.

Here's a link to a video of Barbera's comment.

THE HISTORY OF SOUND POSTER

From distributor Mubi yesterday, a poster for Oliver Hermanus' The History of Sound, currently sitting at #10 on this week's Ten Bets. Word is that a trailer is coming today. I'll try to add that to this post before the end of the day should it be forthcoming. Here's the poster:

MAYBE SOME TV?

@Movielo10274449 posted on X yesterday the notion that Matthew Heineman's The Savant could play Telluride and it makes some sense.

Last year the fest programmed Apple TV+'s and Alfonso Cuaron's Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett (currently Emmy nommed for the role) and Kevin Kline. The fest ran all seven of the series episodes.

Could this happen again this year with The Savant which is also from Apple+?

Maybe Jessica Chastain who stars in the series will be in town? Please...

You bet your buns! Heineman, as @Movielo10274449 points out has screened his last two projects at T-ride. 2022's Retrograde and 2023's fantastic American Symphony.

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Distributor Monday #4: A24 / Bugonia Has a Teaser / Tidbits: Hedda, It Was Just and Accident, Two Prosecutors

 DISTRIBUTOR MONDAY #4: A24

We continue to look at film distribution outlets that have historically had a strong presence at the Telluride Film Festival to see what films they might be proffering to TFF for the 2025 edition.  Today's company is A24.  A24 first landed at Telluride in 2012 with Ginger and Rosa and followed the next year with Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin which made quite the splash.  Since then A24 has been an almost constant presence at TFF.  Since their debut at T-ride in 2012, A24 has only missed three times: 2014, 2018 and last year.  Last year's absence ended a four year run of A24 having multiple films at the fest including 2023 when it had four: Janet Planet, Occupied City, Tuesday and The Zone of Interest.

So, where does that put A24 on the possibility of being back at TFF in 2025?

The odds suggest that they will be back but...I'm not so sure.  A24 has two pretty big films set to come out this fall season.  Josh Safdie's Marty Supreme (Dec. 25th)  and Benny Safdie's The Smashing Machine (Oct. 3rd).  Pretty clearly with its Christmas Day release, A24 thinks that Marty Supreme is prime awards season catnip.  With Timothee Chalamet in the lead, they're probably right.  

The Smashing Machine is intriguing.  As attested to by what we've seen from photos from the set, Dwayne Johnson has managed a significant makeover.  I get the sense that this is Johnson's play for a prestige picture.

Trying to divine A24's release strategy for these and additionally any fall festival strategy is tough to do.  There are credible reports that The Smashing Machine will play Venice.  Not so much as regards Marty Supreme.

It's worth noting that the Safdie Brothers and A24 debuted Uncut Gems at Telluride in 2019.  It subsequently played Toronto, New York and London before opening in limited release on Dec. 13th followed by going wide on Christmas Day.

A24 also has a couple of other possibilities.  Here's the rundown for each listed in alphabetical order.  All participants who have attended TFF in the past are indicated with *.

Eternity.  Director: David Freyne.  Stars: Miles Teller*, Elizabeth Olsen, DaVine Joy Randolph. Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

After death, everybody gets one week to choose where to spend eternity. For Joan, Larry, and Luke, it's really a question of who to spend it with.

This film is a true wild card from A24 at this point.

Marty Supreme.  Director: Josh Safdie*.  Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion.  Release date: Dec. 25th.  IMDb description:

Marty Mauser, a young man with a dream no one respects, goes to hell and back in pursuit of greatness.

Marty probably is A24's best shot at an awards season contender.

Pillion.  Director: Henry Lighton.  Stars: Alexander Skarsgard, Henry Melling.  Won the Screenplay award for Cannes' Un Certain Regard section.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

A directionless man is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker takes him on as his submissive.

A24 acquired Pillion in October of 2024.  It was a critical success at Cannes with a combined of 7.30 on Cannes rating org's critics collective.  That was the 4th best among Un Certain Regard films and 15th best overall for the fest.  Based on this, Pillion might actually be A24's best bet for TFF #52.

The Smashing Machine.  Director: Benny Safdie*.  Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt.  Release date: Oct. 3rd.  IMDb description:

The story of mixed-martial arts and UFC champion Mark Kerr.

As mentioned above, The Smashing Machine is likely to premiere at Venice.  Does it make the jump from Venice to Telluride?  

Chances:

Pillion: 50%

Marty Supreme 25%

The Smashing Machine 25%

Eternity 20%

Next Monday we'll take a look at Searchlight.

BUGONIA HAS A TEASER

The latest collaboration between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone has a teaser.  Here that is from YouTube:

Bugonia currently sits at #3 on MTFB's Ten Bets for TFF#52.  Most of that is because both Lanthimos films, The Favourite and Poor Things, played Venice and then came to Telluride.  The history is there.  I also think that star and producer Emma Stone really loves Telluride.

The film is a remake of a 2003 South Korean film titled Save the Green Planet.  That film played at the Cannes Film Festival.

TIDBITS: 

***The Toronto International film Festival announced five world premieres for its 2025 edition this past week.  Of the five only one had been among films that I thought had some shot at at TFF #52.  That was Nia DaCosta's Hedda.  With this announcement you can scratch it off your Telluride dance card.  Here's the gist from Variety.

***Current #1 on MTFB's Ten Bets, Jafar Panahi's It Was Just an Accident has been dated for release in the U.S. on Oct. 15th.  The Gold Derby article post with that news notes that for distributor Neon it's essentially the same dating as last year's Palme and Oscar winner Anora.  Does that mean Neon will also follow the same strategy with regard to where the film plays during the fall fest circuit?  My bet, at least right now, is yup!

Here's the link to the Gold Derby post.

***Janus acquires Two Prosecutors.  The Hollywood Reporter reported last week that Janus films had acquired North American rights for Sergei Loznitsa's Two Prosecutors.  The film played in Palme d'Or competition at Cannes in May winning the Francois Chalais Prize.  Janus's play improves the film's profile for TFF consideration.

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TFF #52 Poster Released / 50 Fall Film Possibilities / Cannes Sales Update /

TFF #52 POSTER RELEASED

It dropped yesterday and here it is:

And the press release from TFF:

We are proud to unveil our 2025 Festival poster, created by celebrated cartoonist and graphic novelist Daniel Clowes.

Daniel Clowes is one of the most influential and acclaimed figures in contemporary graphic storytelling. Best known for his seminal comic-book series Eightball and the cult classic graphic novel Ghost World, Clowes has defined the landscape of alternative comics for over three decades. His body of work includes Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron, David Boring, Ice Haven, The Death-Ray, Wilson, and Patience. His most recent book, Monica, was named by Kirkus Reviews as one of the 100 greatest works of fiction of the 21st century.

Clowes received an Academy Award nomination (with Terry Zwigoff) for the screenplay adaptation of Ghost World and has been recognized with a PEN America Literary Award, as well as numerous Eisner and Harvey Awards. His work has been exhibited in a solo retrospective, Modern Cartoonist, at The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago and other venues. His illustrations have appeared on movie posters, album covers, multiple covers of The New Yorker, and even a Hermès scarf. He lives in Oakland, California with his wife Erika.

Clowes shared, “I’m thankful to the Telluride Film Festival for giving me the opportunity to focus my energy on something unassailably positive and noble in these dystopic times.”

Festival director Julie Huntsinger adds, “We’ve long admired Dan’s unparalleled ability to tell emotional, layered stories through both image and language. His poster for this year’s festival is a rich and brilliant capsule of that – a perfect reflection of his depth and wit through the lens of cinema and all that it can offer.”

50 FALL FILM POSSIBILITIES

Ezra Cubero writing for Silver Screen Express has posted his annual set of speculation about which films might go where as regards Telluride, Venice, Toronto and New York.  It's an interesting take with some surprise.

I culled the post and began by creating a list of the films that Cubero thinks have some shot at the TFF #52 lineup.  It's a lengthy list which follows below (with director listed to the right).

After the Hunt/Guadagnino

Anemone/Day-Lewis

At the Sea/Mundruczo

Blue Moon/Linklater*

Bugonia/Lanthimos

Christy Martin Biopic/Michod

Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper

Eleanor the Great/Johansson

Hamnet/Zhao

Hedda/DaCosta

The History of Sound/Hermanus

It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

Jay Kelly/Baumbach

Kiss of the Spiderwoman/Condon*

Late Fame/Jones

A Magnificent Life/Chomet

Marty Supreme/J. Safdie

The Mastermind/Reichardt

Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

Rental Family/Hikari

The Rivals of Amziah King/Patterson**

Roofman/Cianfrance

The Secret Agent/Filho

Sentimental Value/Trier

Sirat/Laxe

The Smashing Machine/B. Safdie

Sound of Falling/Schiliniski

* indicates a premiere at Sundance

** indictaes a premiere at South by Southwest

Notable films that Cubero does not mention as a Telluride possibility at all:

Alpha/Ducournau

The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

Die My Love/Ramsay

Father Mother Sister Brother/Jarmusch

Frankenstein/Del Toro

One Battle After Another/PT Anderson

And one last note.  Cubero doesn't pick Bradley Cooper's Is This Thing On for Telluride but does write about it saying: "Telluride might not happen."  Which isn't a total rejection of its chances.

Cubero was pretty solid on this last year hitting 13 films he listed as "Yes" or "Maybe" for Telluride that actually made the lineup.  His post last year went up on June 24th.

Cubero's entire fascinating piece is linked here.

CANNES SALES UPDATE

Indiewire has kept track of sales during and after the 78th Cannes Film Fest and I have taken a look at buyers/titles that do not have an announced release date or do have a release date post-Telluride.  I also focused on distributors that have had a fairly serious presence at TFF over the past few years.

Here's the rundown beginning with Neon, which went on a buying spree.

Neon (7): It Was Just an Accident, Sirat, The Secret Agent, Alpha, Orwell 2+2=5, Sentimental Value, Splitsville.

Mubi (5): Sound of Falling, Die My Love, The History of Sound, The Mastermind, My Father's Shadow.

Sony Pictures Classics (3): The President's Cake, Eleanor the Great, A Magnificent Life.

Janus Films (3): Magellan, The Love That Remains, Resurrection.

Netflix (2): Left-Handed Girl, Nouvelle Vague.

A24 (1): Pillion.

Kino Lorber (1): Amrum.

Lots of TFF potential here.

The complete list from Indiewire is here.

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New Baumbach Film Has a Date / Awards Watch's First Oscar Picks

NEW BAUMBACH FILM HAS A DATE

Noah Baumbach's latest film, Jay Kelly, has been dated for theatrical release by Netflix.  The film will be released into theaters on Nov. 14th.  Netflex will start streaming it on Dec. 5th. The film stars George Clooney and Adam Sandler. 

Several outlets reported on the announcement earlier this week with a couple making some noise about a possible play at Telluride.  Gregory Ellwood writing for The Playlist commented in his story that:

"It’s possible Netflix could hold “Kelly” to the New York Film Festival, but Clooney’s participation makes a Venice Film Festival bow much more likely. In theory, that means Telluride and TIFF screenings are up for discussion. Whatever the case, the streamer’s release strategy makes it clear they believe it’s a prime awards season contender."

Ellwood's complete story is here.

Additionally, Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel echoed the Telluride possibility writing:

“Jay Kelly” could very well have its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September. It will certainly be hitting the fall fests, and that could include Toronto, Telluride and New York."

Ruimy's post is linked here.

The Telluride pedigree is impressive.  Baumbach has had a presence at Telluride having screened Margot at the Wedding (2007), Frances Ha (2012) and Marriage Story (2019) at TFF.

Clooney was in town in 2011 with Alexander Payne's The Descendants.  Sandler was in T-ride in 2019 with the Safdie Brothers' Uncut Gems.  And a couple of members of the supporting cast have had a presence at TFF including Laura Dern (Marriage Story, Trial by Fire and Wild) and Greta Gerwig (Frances Ha and Lady Bird).

Finally, it's Netflix project and they have been well represented at the fest since 2015.

AWARDS WATCH'S FIRST OSCAR PICKS

Erik Anderson who runs Awards Watch has had his first set of predictions for 2025 going up this week.  He's got four categories up so far: Picture, Direction, Actress and Actor.  There are a couple of reasons to look at what Erik has to say.  First, as with other early Oscar picks highlighted here on the blog, I'll run through his picks and post a list below of possible TFF #52 titles.  Secondly, Erik makes a couple of interesting observations about Telluride in his Best actress/Actor predictions.

First, possible TFF #52 films from Erik's Best Picture predictions (in his order of mention):

Bugonia/Lanthimos (Focus)

Jay Kelly/Baumbach (Netflix)

Marty Supreme/J. Safdie (A24)

After the Hunt/Guadagnino (Amazon MGM)

Die, My Love/Ramsay (TBD)

Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper (20th Century)

The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger (Netflix)

Frankenstein/Del Toro (Netflix)

Hamnet/Zhzo (Focus)

Is This Thing On?/B. Cooper (Searchlight)

Pressure/Maras (Focus)

Anemone/Day-Lewis (Focus)

Eleanor the Great/Johansson (SPC)

The History of Sound/Hermanus (Mubi)

The Mastermind/Reichardt (Mubi)

Rental Family/Hikari (Searchlight)

You can find Erik's full list of Best Picture and Direction predictions here.

Meanwhile in his piece on Best Actress/Actor predictions he makes a couple of interesting statements.  The first relates to Rental Family and Is This Thing On?  From the post:

"I’m also keeping an eye on two Searchlight Pictures men, recent winner Brendan Fraser in Rental Family and Will Arnett in Is This Thing On?, the latter of which just recently wrapped production under Bradley Cooper’s direction. A Telluride or Toronto debut feels likely for one or both, if they’re ready for this year."

Later in the same piece, he writes this concerning Hamnet:

"The Focus Features adaptation of the Maggie O’Farrell fictional story of Agnes, the wife of William Shakespeare, as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, the titular Hamnet, will likely find its debut at Venice or Telluride (possibly screening at both) and setting the stage for her."

Interesting, eh?

Here's the link to the complete set of Best Actress/Actor predictions.

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Late Look at Early Oscar Predix and TFF Possibilities / Kiss of the Spider Woman?

 LATE LOOK AT EARLY OSCAR PREDICTIONS AND TFF POSSIBILITIES

Joey Magidson who runs Awards Radar has posted his early Oscar predictions at his site.  I thought we'd mine the 25 titles he has listed as possible Best Picture nominees for guesses about TFF #52.

These are in the order that Magidson has them listed by likelihood of being nominated:

1) Deliver Me From Nowhere/S. Cooper

4) Jay Kelly/Baumbach

5) Marty Supreme/Safdie

6) Bugonia/Lanthimos

7) Hamnet/Zhao

9) Eleanor the Great/Johansson

11) The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

16) Is This Thing On?/B. Cooper

17) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

19) Die, My Love/Ramsay

22) Frankenstein/Del Toro

23) Anemone/Day-Lewis

Magidson's complete list and predictions in other categories can be found here.

KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN?

Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/LD Entertainment have announced and October 10th, 2025 release date for Bill Condon's Kiss of the Spider Woman.  This rendition is based on the Broadway musical adaptation.  The Oct. 10th date signals the intent that the distributors are serious about making a play for Awards season.

That intention makes you think that they will be aiming for some fall fest love such as TIFF and New York.  But maybe also Telluride.  Normally, its screening at Sundance in January would write it off as a TFF #52 selection, however, Telluride has made exceptions in recent years: The Outrun, Living andThe Report come to mind.

So perhaps I won't immediately reject the notion.

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Last Shot at Cannes / A Look at the E-Mailbag

LAST SHOT AT CANNES

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel has been keeping a steady eye on the speculation about what may be screening at the 78th Cannes Film Festival.  His extensive list has been developing for months.  Now, on the brink of the titles being revealed (on Thursday, April 10th) we take a last look at his predictions and assess possible Telluride selections.  From Ruimy's list, the most likely TFF #52 players are:

After the Hunt/Amazon-MGM/Luca Guadagnino

Couture/No Distrib/Alice Winocour

Die, My Love/No Distribution/Lynne Ramsay

Orphan/No Distrib/Laszlo Nemes

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele/No Distribution/Kirill Serebrennikov

The History of Sound/Mubi/Oliver Hermanus

The Love That Remains/No Distrib/Hylnur Palmason

The Mastermind/Mubi/Kelly Reichardt

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol/Sony Pictures Classics/Sylvain Chomet

The Way of the Wind/No Distribution/Terrence Malick

The Young Mother's Home/No Distribution/The Dardennes Brothers

Untitled Jafar Panahi Film

Here's the link to Ruimy's entire article.

A LOOK AT THE E-MAILBAG

I have a file in one of my email accounts labeled "Future Telluride".  That's where I file away posts/articles about future films that, for some reason...and not always the same reason, strike me as having some Telluride Film Fest potential.  There are some dating all the way back to 2014 that I've held onto.

So, anyway, I was cleaning the folder up a bit over the weekend and kind of went down a rabbit hole of films that I had tagged and that had ultimately screened at TFF over the last couple of fests.  The folder contains links for TFF #50 films such as: The Zone of Interest, Poor Things, Nyad, All of Strangers and The Bikeriders.  For TFF #51: The Outrun, Emilia Perez, Maria, Bird and A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things.

So, I thought, what the heck...what films possible for TFF #52 are tucked away in the folder?  Here they are:

After the Hunt/Luca Guadagnino/Amazon-MGM

Ballad of a Small Player, The/Edward Berger/Netflix

Bride, The/Maggie Gyllenhaal/Warners

Bugonia/Yorgos Lanthimos/Focus

Deliver Me From Nowhere/Scott Cooper/Searchlight

Die, My Love/Lynne Ramsay/No Distribution

Frankenstein/Guillermo Del Toro/Netflix

Hamnet/Chloe Zhao/Focus

History of Sound, The/Oliver Hermanus/Focus

Jay Kelly/Noah Baumbach/Netflix

Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol, The/Sylvain Chomet/SPC

Marty Supreme/Josh Safdie/A24

Mastermind, The/Kelly Reichardt/Mubi

Pressure/Anthony Maras/Focus

Roofman/Derek Cianfrance/Miramax

Untitled Alejandro Inarritu Project/Alejandro Inarritu/Warners

Not saying these will all make the TFF #52 lineup...but I bet some of them do.

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Last Look for Early Oscar Predictions / TFF and Cannes

 LAST LOOK FOR EARLY OSCAR PREDICITONS

From Gold Derby, here's the last look at an early Oscar Prediction list as a guide to potential TFF #52 films.  Here's my best shot from their list:

After the Hunt/Amazon-MGM/Luca Guadagnino

The Ballad of a Small Player/Netflix/Edward Berger

Bugonia/Focus/Yorgos Lanthimos

Deliver Me from Nowhere/20th Century/Scott Cooper

Die, My Love/No Distributor/Lynne Ramsay

Frankenstein/Netflix/Guillermo Del Toro

Hamnet/Focus/Chloe Zhao

Jay Kelly/Netflix/Noah Baumbach

Marty Supreme/A24/Josh Safdie

Pressure/Focus/Anthony Maras

Here's the complete list from Gold Derby.

TFF AND CANNES

I get all entangled in the speculation about the Cannes Film Festival and its lineup every year at this time because historically there has been a steady cache of films that do Cannes in May and then North American Premiere at Telluride over Labor ay weekend.

Over the last ten years (leaving out the Covid year of 2020) the fests share 7-8 titles per year.  Last year, as near as I can discern, Telluride screened eight films that had premiered at Cannes, right on the average.  They were:

All We Imagine as Light

The Apprentice

Bird

Emilia Perez

Misericordia

Santosh

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

And Palme d'Or winner Anora. 

Of these eight, I had five pretty consistently in my posts about Cannes from last year.  Not on my radar: All We Imagine as Light, Misericordia and Santosh.

Though TFF has screened the last two Palme d'Or winners, the Golden Palme is no guarantee that a film will be featured at Telluride.  As a matter of fact, it's often less likely that a Palme winner makes the Telluride lineup. 

Here are the years when TFF programmed the Palme winner:

1974: The Conversation

1984: Paris, Texas

1993: Farwell My Concubine and The Piano (tie and both played TFF)

1996: Secrets and Lies

1997: Taste of Cherry

2003: Elephant

2005: L'Enfant

2007: 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days

2009: The White Ribbon

2012: Amour

2013: Blue Is the Warmest Color

2018: Shoplifters

2019: Parasite

2023: Anatomy of a Fall

2024: Anora

That's just 16 Palme winners at TFF over the 52 fests.

A final note on the probability that this year's Palme winner makes it to TFF #52...Telluride has never scheduled the Palme winner three years in a row.

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Coming Attractions: What Could Play TFF #52? / Trailer for One to One: John & Yoko / Spinal Tap???

 COMING ATTRACTIONS: WHAT COULD PLAY TFF #52?

In today's post I continue to take a look at early Oscar predictions as a way of searching for possible TFF titles for this year.  Today we're looking at Daniel Howat's take from Next Best Picture.  From the ten films NBP has as predicted as Best Picture nominees, these might be the ones with the most Telluride potential:

After the Hunt/Amazon-MGM/Luca Guadagnino

Bugonia/Focus/Yorgos Lanthimos

The Ballad of a Small Player/Edward Berger

Deliver Me from Nowhere/Scott Cooper

Die, My Love/No Distributor/Lynne Ramsay

Marty Supreme/A24/Josh Safdie

And among the other films NBP assesses for Oscar potential:

Anemone/Focus/Ronan Day-Lewis

The Bride/Warners/Maggie Gyllenhaal

Frankenstein/Netflix/Guillermo Del Toro

Hamnet/Focus/Chloe Zhao

Hedda/Amazon-MGM/Nia DiCosta

The History of Sound/Mubi/Oliver Hermanus

Jay Kelly/Netflix/Noah Baumbach

The complete list from Next Best Picture is linked here.

TRAILER FOR ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO

From directors Kevin Macdonald and Sam Rice-Edwards here is the recently released trailer for TFF #51 documentary One to One: John & Yoko.

The IMBd description:

Set in 1972 New York, this documentary explores John and Yoko's world amid a turbulent era. Centered on the One to One charity concert for special needs children, it features unseen archives, home movies, and restored footage.

The film is set to open in the U.S. on April 18th.

SPINAL TAP???

Many readers know, I'm sure, that a sequel to the classic This Is Spinal Tap has been in the works for some time.  Now word comes that the film has been picked by Bleecker Street for distribution and a release date has been set.  Look for the film in theaters on Sept. 12th.

The combination of the distributor, which has had its share of films play over the years at T-ride, and the weekend date immediately following the close of TFF #52 allows for a possible TFF screening.

Do I have a lot of confidence in this possibility?   Right now...No.  But it's logistically possible and really an intriguing thought.

Here's the story from Indiewire.

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MTFB Looks at "Too Early" Oscar Predictions

MTFB LOOKS AT "TOO EARLY" OSCAR PREDICTIONS

Sorry I'm running late today.  Been on the road this morning...

Today we begin to take a look at some of the Oscar Predictions for 2025-26 as a way of trying to sniff out some of the films that could possibly play at TFF #52.  we're beginning with the early view from Variety's Senior Awards Editor Clayton Davis.

Davis has predicted 10 films as nominees for Best Picture and has also included a list of alternates.  From his list of 10, here are films that feel like they might be possible players to be screened at Telluride:

The Ballad of  a Small Player/Netflix/Edward Berger

Bugonia/Focus/Yorgos Lanthimos

Deliver Me from Nowhere/20th Century/Scott Cooper

Hamnet/Focus/Chloe Zhao

And from the list of "Alternates":

After the Hunt/Amazon-MGM/Luca Guadagnino

Anemone/Focus/Ronan Day-Lewis

The Bride/Warners/Maggie Gyllenhaal

Eleanor the Great/Sony Pictures Classics/Scarlett Johansson

Eternity/A24/David Freyne

Frankenstein/Netflix/Guillermo Del Toro

Jay Kelly/Netflix/Noah Baumbach

Marty Supreme/A24/Josh Safdie

Family Rental/Searchlight/Hikari

Clayton's full set of predictions can be accessed here.

More on Thursday...

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