With apologies to Dire Straits for lifting the lyrics from Sultans of Swing to title this item...
The Telluride Jazz Festival announced that they will postpone until 2021. The Jazz Fest had been scheduled for Aug. 13-15 but will forgo 2020 altogether and opt to "wait until next year" according to a post on the Jazz fest's website.
The closing sentence reveals that the plan is to have the fest back on the same weekend in August of 2021.
The cancellation or postponement as the fest seems to prefer is worrisome from the Film Fest's perspective as Jazz takes place just a couple of weeks prior to Film. Comparing the two fests is not exact. The Jazz Fest is centered during each day at Town Park and Elks Park and then there are "After Dark" performances in a variety of venues around town. Nevertheless, despite some differences in terms of structure, the cancellation of the 2020 edition of Jazz Fest makes one take pause.
The announcement from Jazz Fest organizers is here.
LATE BREAKING: VARIETY REPORTS ON CANNES
Variety's Elsa Keslassy posted a story early this morning with a number of interesting reveals about the Cannes Film Festival.
- Cannes will announce their list of 50 or so titles that would have played there on June 3.
- Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch will be on that list along with ThomasVinterberg's Another Round, Francois Ozon's Summer '85, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria, Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks, Gia Coppola's Mainstream and Naomi Kawase's Come Morning.
- The French Dispatch is "likely" to world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The article suggests that Coppola might also go to TIFF.
- It appears that the notion of some co-operation between Cannes and Venice has disappeared.
- Venice appears to have landed Nanni Moretti's Tre Piani and Maiwenn's DNA meaning they won't be on the Cannes list next Wednesday.
If the claims are true, it implies that The French Dispatch and On the Rocks may be off the list for TFF #47.
LATE BREAKING: VARIETY REPORTS ON CANNES
Variety's Elsa Keslassy posted a story early this morning with a number of interesting reveals about the Cannes Film Festival.
- Cannes will announce their list of 50 or so titles that would have played there on June 3.
- Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch will be on that list along with ThomasVinterberg's Another Round, Francois Ozon's Summer '85, Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria, Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks, Gia Coppola's Mainstream and Naomi Kawase's Come Morning.
- The French Dispatch is "likely" to world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The article suggests that Coppola might also go to TIFF.
- It appears that the notion of some co-operation between Cannes and Venice has disappeared.
- Venice appears to have landed Nanni Moretti's Tre Piani and Maiwenn's DNA meaning they won't be on the Cannes list next Wednesday.
If the claims are true, it implies that The French Dispatch and On the Rocks may be off the list for TFF #47.
The complete article is here with other info including other films expected to be announced for Cannes next week and a list of films that are said to be holding off for Cannes 2021.
LATE BREAKING: NO NETFLIX FOR FALL FESTS (added at 11:00am EDT on Thurs.5/28)
It is rare that I deviate from the publishing schedule for MTFB but this news justifies and additional post today. Anne Thompson at Indiewire has reported that Netflix has determined that they will be sending no films to any of the major fall fests Telluride included.
That report came late yesterday.
The news means that a number of high profile projects are no longer in play for TFF as well Venice, Toronto and New York.
Titles from Netflix that have been a part of the conversation: Mank, Hillbilly Elegy, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and White Tiger.
The news could impact Telluride considerably as Netflix has been a major presence at the fest over the last few years:
2015: Beasts of No Nation, Winer on Fire
2016: The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno
2017: First They Killed My Father, Wormwood
2018: Roma, Dovlatov, Girl, Reversing Roe, The Other Side of the Wind, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2019: Marriage Story, The Two Popes, Tell Me Who I Am, Inside Bill's Brain
Thompson's claim is pretty definitive as she writes:
"As awards groups adjust to the evolving post-pandemic reality, so will the studios. And the first up is everyone’s favorite Oscar insurgent, Netflix: While it will provide sponsorship for some major festivals in 2020, it’s not planning to send any of their films or talent to attend them."
Thompson's complete article is linked here.
LATE BREAKING: NO NETFLIX FOR FALL FESTS (added at 11:00am EDT on Thurs.5/28)
It is rare that I deviate from the publishing schedule for MTFB but this news justifies and additional post today. Anne Thompson at Indiewire has reported that Netflix has determined that they will be sending no films to any of the major fall fests Telluride included.
That report came late yesterday.
The news means that a number of high profile projects are no longer in play for TFF as well Venice, Toronto and New York.
Titles from Netflix that have been a part of the conversation: Mank, Hillbilly Elegy, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and White Tiger.
The news could impact Telluride considerably as Netflix has been a major presence at the fest over the last few years:
2015: Beasts of No Nation, Winer on Fire
2016: The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno
2017: First They Killed My Father, Wormwood
2018: Roma, Dovlatov, Girl, Reversing Roe, The Other Side of the Wind, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead
2019: Marriage Story, The Two Popes, Tell Me Who I Am, Inside Bill's Brain
Thompson's claim is pretty definitive as she writes:
"As awards groups adjust to the evolving post-pandemic reality, so will the studios. And the first up is everyone’s favorite Oscar insurgent, Netflix: While it will provide sponsorship for some major festivals in 2020, it’s not planning to send any of their films or talent to attend them."
Thompson's complete article is linked here.
POLAND HAS SOME THOUGHTS
Move City News' David Poland posted a very extensive article on Monday that takes a look and offers thoughts and prescriptions to Fall Fail Fests including Telluride. It's interesting.
Poland talks about what he perceives as the conditions that would need to be met for both Telluride and Toronto to occur in something of a normal state. He also addresses the notion of what virtual versions of both fests might or could look like. He also talks about potential piracy problems and ultimately suggests that he thinks the window for both fests to make a definitive decision is about a month.
We'll see.
NEW DOC FROM MORRIS
Errol Morris is working on a new documentary focused on 60's counter-culture figure Timothy Leary. The film's working title "A Film by Errol Morris". Indiewire reports that the film is inspired by the memoir of Laery companion Joanna Harcourt-Smith.
The film is being produced by and for Showtime. No release date is included in the article but there is a teaser which says the film is "coming soon". From YouTube:
In normal times I'd be eyeballing this as a possible/probable addition to the TFF lineup but the lack of a release date and the vagaries of Covid-19 changes that calculus. I think it's still possible that it could play but that feeling isn't nearly as strong as I would customarily have for an Errol Morris project.
EMAIL: mpgort@gmail.com
