Cannes Prizes/Clips from Cannes Closer: "Macbeth"/Fassbender Talks the Scottish Film/Not So Fast Mr. Holmes

Welcome to Monday!

CANNES PRIZES

The 68th Cannes Film Festival came to a conclusion on last night in France (yesterday afternoon here in the States) with a bit of a surprise as Jacques Audiard's immigration drama "Dheepan" won the Palme d'Or.  The film is set for U.S. Distribution by Sundance Selects/IFC Films.

I have a strong feeling that it will likely make the Telluride program this year after its Palme win, reasonable critical reception and the face that Audiard's has been at Telluride twice in the last decade with "Un Prophet" and "Rust and Bone".

Other prizes from Cannes (and a comment or two along the way):

Grand Prix: "Son of  Saul" ( I think this could be a very possible T-ride contender)
Jury Prize: "The Lobster"
Best Direction: Hou Hsaio-hsein- "The Assassin"
Actor: Vincent Lindon-"The Measure of a Man"
Actress: Emmanuelle Bercot-"Mon Roi" and Rooney Mara-"Carol"
Screenplay: Michel Franco-"Chronic"

From among these winners, I feel "Carol" and possibly "The Assassin" might be your best Telluride possibilities, in addition to "Son of Saul" and "Dheepan".

Other competition titles that are still on my Telluride radar include "The Tale of Tales", "Youth" and "Macbeth".

CLIPS FROM CANNES CLOSER "MAC BETH"

Clip from "Macbeth" via YouTube

Linked are couple of clips from Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" which, despite being closed out of the awards at Cannes is still very much a film on my list of "could be at Telluride's".


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-michael-fassbender-marion-cotillard-go-to-war-in-the-first-full-clip-from-macbeth-20150522


AND FASSBENDER SPEAKS ABOUT THE SCOTTISH FILM

Additionally, actor Michael Fassbender, who plays the Scottish King, spoke with TheSpec about the film.

http://www.thespec.com/whatson-story/5640545-michael-fassbender-on-making-the-scottish-film-ahead-of-his-cannes-premiere-of-macbeth-/

NOT SO FAST  "MR. HOLMES"

We gave up on Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" for Telluride when it's July release date was announced.  However, this tidbit might mean that there is a roadblock to that plan.  The Conan Doyle estate has sued the film makers claiming copyright infringement.  Will this delay the film's release?  Probably not, but stay tuned for further developments.  Details are below in this story linked from The Playlist:

http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/sherlock-holmes-lawsuit-creator-estate-sues-miramax-mr-holmes-1201503941/

http://www.thewrap.com/sherlock-holmes-creators-estate-sues-to-block-ian-mckellen-film/


Look for more on Thursday...

"Mr. Holmes" is Off the Case/Jake Howell's Cannes Considerations/20 Anticipated Foreign Films/Ethan and Seymour

Good Monday World,


"MR. HOLMES" IS OFF THE CASE

Admittedly, Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" starring Sir Ian McKellen and Laura Linney has been a film that I thought had the right pedigree to be considered for the TFF #42 schedule.  It is also a film that I have unashamedly been hoping would make a stop in Telluride over Labor Day weekend.  I had even envisioned an Ian McKellen tribute a possibility.  After all, the film has a stellar set of characteristics to mark it as a Telluride film: Bill Condon's been to T-ride before.  Laura Linney has been to Telluride a lot.  It's produced, in part, by See Saw Films and BBC Films, both of which are often represented by films at Telluride and it's being distributed by Roadside Attractions (and Miramax) which has a serious Telluride profile over the past few years:

2014: "Mommy:, "The Homesman" and " '71"
2013: "All is Lost" and "Gloria"
2012: "Stories We Tell"
2011: "Albert Nobbs"
2010: "Biutiful"

There was a lot of smoke there but those flames were doused this week with the announcement that the film will be released in the U.S. on July 17th.

Here's the story from Awards Circuit:

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2015/03/12/release-date-set-for-mr-holmes-starring-ian-mckellen-directed-by-bill-condon/

So...no "Mr. Holmes" at Telluride or Toronto or any other fall film fest.  It seems very odd to me especially if you're thinking that Sir Ian might have an Oscar play here.  I'd love to know what the internal process was that led to this decision.

CANNES CONSIDERATIONS

The next few weeks should see an uptick in the speculation about what films will be announced as a part of the Cannes lineup.  I snagged the link to Jake Howell's Cannes speculation this week.  I believe this is the third year consecutively that I have featured Jake's analysis and detective work. Find it here at Movie City News:

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/03/divining-cannes-2015/


Jake's Cannes musings about "Likely Subjects"  that also might foreshadow a Cannes/Telluride connection seem to me to include:

Jacques Audiard's "Dheepan" (which has been called "Erran" until very recently)
Matteo Garrone;s "The Tale of Tales"
Walter Salles "Jia Zhhang-ke by Walter Salles"
Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" (though, I can't believe it would be finished in time for Cannes)
Gus Van Sant's "The Sea of Trees"

Among the other possibilities that Howell entertains are these films that could make the Telluride grade:

Sean Penn's "The Last Face"
Todd Haynes "Carol"

Take a look at the entirety of Jake's post and see what you think.


20 ANTICIPATED FOREIGN FILMS

Also out this week was a post from The Playlist with their 20 most anticipated foreign films for 2015. That seemed like an excellent companion piece to Howell's Cannes spec piece and you can find it here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-20-most-anticipated-foreign-films-of-2015-20150114


Perusing the list I found that the most likely Telluride players didn't appear until very near the top. Making the list and mine are:

at #7: Jacques Audiard's Dheepan (Erran)
#5 Wim Wenders "Every Thing Will Be Fine"
#3 Abdellafit Kechiche's "La Blessure"
#1 Michael Haneke's "Flashmob"



ETHAN AND SEYMOUR

Ethan Hawke's TFF #41 Documentary "Seymour: An Introduction" opened on Friday.  As a part of the rollout, Ethan Hawke spoke with The Dissolve:

http://thedissolve.com/features/interview/954-ethan-hawke-tries-to-figure-it-out/



More on Thursday...

A Look at Mr. Holmes/A Look at Lubezki/Step Right Up

Good Late Thursday morning to everyone...

Today's post is up a little later than usual due to weather issues here in the Great Plains.  Bouncing back today, though.


A LOOK AT MR. HOLMES

After its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, the producers/distribs for Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" have set a June 19th date to open the film in the U.K. but no U.S. date is set as yet.  I still am hoping/campaigning for it to be a Telluride choice.

At any rate, a teaser/trailer has appeared.  It looks cool.

Here are links to some posts that include the trailer and have additional information:

http://time.com/3733028/mr-holmes-ian-mckellen-sherlock-sherlock-holmes-mitch-cullin/


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-sherlock-holmes-tackles-an-unsolved-case-in-first-trailer-for-mr-holmes-starring-ian-mckellen-20150304


http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/ian-mckellen-playing-sherlock-holmes-is-the-casting-you-didnt-know-you-needed


A LOOK AT LUBEZKI

The last two Best Cinematography Oscars have gone to Emmanuel Lubezki and both for Telluride films: "Gravity" and "Birdman".

The Playlist, among others, has linked to a Vimeo supercut of the masters work.  It's also cool.  Look here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-breathtaking-supercut-celebrates-the-work-of-cinematographer-emmanuel-lubezki-20150304


STEP RIGHT UP

And perhaps you got this in your email earlier this week:

Join us for the 42nd Telluride Film Festival this Labor Day Weekend Friday, September 4th through Monday, September 7th, 2015.

Our online Box Office opens today Monday, March 2nd, 2015 at 9AM PST. You will need a headshot for your pass at the time of purchase — take the time now to scan that special shot, or better yet take a selfie with your camera phone. Any picture that is a close-up of your face will do.

If filling in information online gives you pause, use our downloadable form to complete your order. Available on our website, simply download the form, fill it out by hand and then mail your check and order form to Festival Headquarters. We'll still need those gorgeous photos.

If you have any questions on the best way to order your pass, or other general inquiries regarding the Festival, give us a call at 510.665.9494.

We are deeply grateful for your generosity and continuous support. Thank you, and see you at the SHOW!

That's right, passes went on sale for TFF #42.  It begins!

Here's the link to the official website for pass info:

http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/show/passes

That's all for now...more on Monday!

And Down the Stretch They Come/The Film Awards Clearinghouse: Less than a Week to Go/Writers Guild Awards/Berlin Winners/Birdman, Wild and Imitation Game Pieces/ Cannes Serious Speculation

Good Monday World...


AND DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME

Well...we're less than a week from answering all the Oscar questions.  Some categories are locked up (Best Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress).  Some categories are really thrilling: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Screenplays.  Some are obscure: Shorts: Feature, Documentary, Animated. Nevertheless, by this time next week, I'll be posting the annual Oscar aftermath/analysis and we'll all find things about which to be pleased, puzzled and outraged.

Then it'll start up again.

Honestly, it's really already started again with the Berlin fest concluding (see report below) and Cannes peeking around the corner.  We've already had a slew of "most anticipated" film lists for 2015 to chew over.  Once Oscar 2015 is in the rear view, we'll have some peeps that'll begin the early speculation about Oscar 2016.  Also coming, and in earnest, speculation about what films make the Cannes lineup and with that my Telluride #42 analysis/speculation will get more serious as well.

It's been a truly intriguing season and fun too.  When Telluride #41 was over, my favorite film of the weekend was Inarritu's "Birdman".  My belief at the time was that Keaton was going to be really hard to beat for Best Actor and that Inarritu might be have a real shot at Best Director and Original Screenplay but that the film itself might just be outside of The Academy's Best Picture comfort zone.  Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game" seemed like the most likely BP film from Telluride.

Now, at less than a week before the envelopes are open, it appears to be a two film dead heat between The Bird and The Boy (Richard Linklater's "Boyhood").  You'll see how tight it looks on the chart below.  After last year's down-to- the- wire battle between "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" I anticipated that we'd have a much less competitive race this year and for most of the season, it looked that way as almost every prognosticator thought "Boyhood" was the inevitable Best Picture winner. But with "Birdman's" strong Guild showing, the calculations have changed and it is, again, very, very close.

"Boyhood's" BAFTA wins last weekend seem to have turned the pundits away from a wholesale stampede to crown "Birdman" Best Picture and so, here we are.  It's a squeaker, it would seem, and The Academy's use of a preferential ballot will tell the tale.  Where do the votes go from the down ballot films once they're eliminated?  If this week's FAC is to be believed, "Whiplash" looks like the first film that'll drop off the ballot...what will its supporters have in that #2 spot?  Those votes will be re-apportioned to remaining films.

There is a threshold percentage that a film has to maintain in each round to stay in contention (I'm not certain what that is) but this process goes on until some film hits 50% plus one of the total #1 votes after a round of re-apportioning and that's your winner.

So, if all the "Whiplash" voters put "Birdman" at #2...the Bird gets much closer to flying.

A number of the real Oscar blogger types have run simulations.  I believe InContention and The Wrap have.  So, if you have an interest in a deeper look at the process, you might look at both of those blogs.  They're in my list of linked sights to the right of this column.

Personally, I still haven't caught "Boyhood".  It might really send me over the moon and I know I'll get there eventually (I actually nearly watched it Friday night but opted for "Nightcrawler" instead.  Was not disappointed.  A very good film and Jake Gyllenhaal gives what might be his best performance).  So, it doesn't make a lot of sense that I'm hoping for a "Birdman" win on Sunday night.  Maybe, with a "Boyhood" viewing, I might conclude that it really is the best film of the year.  But I doubt it.  I said in T-ride last Labor Day that I thought "Birdman" was a masterpiece and Inarritu's best film and I still think that's true.  Besides, I want the Telluride string to continue...

Last note and then it's onto the FAC for the eight major categories...

Right at this minute, I've got a warm feeling about The Bird's chances and I mean beyond Best Picture.  I have a feeling it might have a big night: Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay and Cinematography.  Maybe one other.  Of course, that feeling could just as easily pass by tonight and go through multiple permutations by Sunday night...

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE WITH LESS THAN A WEEK TO GO-THE BIG EIGHT

Here's the latest Oscar snapshot from The Film Awards Clearinghouse for the eight most anticipated categories.

The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar winners:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily

Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

Peter Knegt/IndieWire

Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold.  Telluride has 18 nominations form these eight major categories.

BEST PICTURE

1) Birdman
2) Boyhood
3) The Imitation Game
4) American Sniper
5) The Grand Budapest Hotel
6) Selma
7) The Theory of Everything
8) Whiplash

Comment:  "Birdman" and "Boyhood" swap spots at the top of the chart as a result of "Birdman" guild wins in the past few eeks (PGA, DGA, SAG) but it is soooooo close.  The metric I use, has them separated by one point...ONE.  Four experts say "Bird": Feinberg, Brevet, Davis and Knegt. Stone, Tapley and Thompson have "Boyhood" on top.  It's a nail biter.

BEST DIRECTOR

1) Richard Linklater/Boyhood
2) Alejandro Inarritu/Birdman
3) Wes Anderson/The Grand Budapest Hotel
4) Morten Tyldum/The Imitation Game
5) Bennett Miller/Foxcatcher

Comment:  Linklater stays on top here but, again, the separation is ONE POINT between he and Inarritu.  Inarritu's DGA win weighs heavily in the closeness of this race as well.  There is an increasing speculation that The Academy may well split picture and director again this year as it did last year.  That'd be weird, but the season has been weird.  What's weirder is that buzz cuts both ways with some in the biz suggesting a Bird BP win with a Linklater directing Oscar and others doing a "180" and suggesting a "Boyhood" BP win and the directing trophy to go to Inarritu.  My personal feeling, as mentioned above...and perhaps only transitionally, is that Bird/Inarritu are going to win both.

BEST ACTOR

1) Eddie Redmayne/The Theory of Everything
2) Michael Keaton/Birdman
3) Bradley Cooper/American Sniper
4) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Imitation Game
5) Steve Carell/Foxcatcher

Comment:  Redmayne's lead has opened up a bit over the last couple of weeks but it's still not enough to declare him a lock for Oscar on Sunday night.  I still think Keaton has a shot.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Julianne Moore/Still Alice
2) Felicity Jones/The Theory of Everything
3) Reese Witherspoon/Wild
4) Rosamund Pike/Gone Girl
5) Marion Cotillard/Two Days One Night

Comment: One of the three acting trophies that are locked up.  Moore wins.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Patricia Arquette/Boyhood
2) Emma Stone/Birdman
3) Kiera Knightley/The Imitation Game
4) Laura Dern/Wild
5) Meryl Streep/Into the Woods

Comment:  Ms. Arquette will have an Oscar to take to the CSI: Cyber set next week.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) JK Simmons/Whiplash
2) Edward Norton/Birdman
3) Ethan Hawke/Boyhood
4) Mark Ruffalo/Foxcatcher
5) Robert Duvall/The Judge

Comment: JK wins.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) Whiplash
2) American Sniper
3) The Imitation Game
4) The Theory of Everything
5) Inherent Vice

Comment:  This is a competitive category with "Sniper" moving up the chart strongly over the past couple of weeks.  I could see this landing for any of the five.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) The Grand Budapest Hotel
2) Birdman
3) Boyhood
4) Nightcrawler
5) Foxcatcher

Comment: Also an uber competitive category.  "Budapest"  edges past "Birdman" but it's very, very close.  Also, don't count out a "Boyhood" win here.

Other notes:

There's some talk that "Whiplash" could come out of the night with the most Oscar wins.  Best Supporting Actor is a lock and Editing looks fairly likely.  A win for Adapted Screenplay isn't out of the question and it has to be a serious contender for Sound Mixing.  That's four of the five it's nominated for and that might be the biggest haul of the night (last year that honor went to "Gravity").

There's another school of thought that all eight of the Best Picture nominated films might walk away with at least one trophy on Sunday night.  That would be really unusual but I can see it happening.

I still can't grasp how "Foxcatcher" missed a Best Picture nomination.  Noms for direction, screenplay, actor and supporting actor...but not Best Picture.  It doesn't make a lot of sense.  But, then it IS Oscar..."sense" don't figure into it...pardon the grammar.

COMING THURSDAY...ALL 24 OSCAR CATEGORIES RANKED FOR WINNERS IN THE ALMOST FINAL FAC!!!


WRITERS GUILD ANNOUNCES

The Writers Guild of America announced the winners of their awards for 2014 Saturday.  TFF #41 film "The Imitation Game" by Graham Moore won Best Adapted Screenplay.  Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" won Best Original Screenplay.  The WGA isn't always the best predictor of the Oscar winner in those categories due its stringent eligibility rules.  For example, "Birdman" was ineligible for consideration making "Budapest's" win less definitive.  Writers Guild coverage is linked here:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/wga-awards-winners-2015-screenplay-tv-drama-comedy-1201434302/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wga-awards-winners-list-773595

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/wga-awards-what-happened-at-773614

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/02/14/grand-budapest-hotel-and-imitation-game-win-wga-awards?hootPostID=c9532e7a922c816cefc0e745703441e5


BERLIN HAS WINNERS

The Berlin Film Fest came to an end Saturday with the announcement of award winners.  The Golden Bear was won by guerrilla Iranian film maker Jafar Panahi's "Taxi".  The film maker whose work is banned in Iran and yet continues to make films and smuggle them out of the country was recognized for his docu-drama.  Pablo Larrain's "The Club" was winner of the Silver Bear while acting prizes went to Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay for Andrew Haigh's "45 Years".

Frankly, I think all three films mentioned above, in addition to Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" all have a real shot to make the trip to Telluride over Labor Day.

Linked below is some serious Berlin Awards coverage:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/berlin-film-festival-golden-bear-winners-announced-1201434184/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/jafar-panahis-taxi-wins-the-golden-bear-in-berlin-20150214

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/02/taxi-and-45-years-top-winners-at-berlinale/

http://www.thewrap.com/jafar-panahi-wins-berlin-film-fests-golden-bear-for-taxi/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/jafar-panahis-taxi-wins-golden-bear-at-2015-berlin-film-festival


BIRDMAN, WILD TAKES AND IMITATION GAME PIECES

As noted above, we're coming down the Oscar homestretch and I have linked some more of the late-in-the-game pieces for "Birdman", "Wild Tales"  and "The Imitation Game" here.

The first "Birdman" piece focuses on an extended clip from the film.  Variety has that here:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/birdman-extended-scene-keaton-vs-the-critic-1201432945/

Meanwhile, Kristopher Tapley at InContention "digs a little deeper" into the film here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/exclusive-dig-a-little-deeper-into-birdman-with-the-oscars-on-the-horizon

The New York Times published this "Making of" piece about Damian Szifron's Oscar nominated "Wild Tales" which is wildly considered the only film with a shot to deny "Ida" the Foreign Language Oscar.  It's here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/15/movies/awardsseason/the-making-of-wild-tales-an-oscar-nominee.html



Finally, two pieces both focused on "The Imitation Game" helmer and Oscar nominated Morten Tyldum.  One from IndieWire and the other from Gold Derby:


http://www.indiewire.com/awardsspotlight/mortem-tyldum-explains-why-alan-turing-was-the-right-subject-for-his-first-english-language-film-20150206

http://goldderby.libsyn.com/oscar-nominee-morten-tyldum-on-imitation-game-alan-turing-sex-and-awards


CANNES SERIOUS SPECULATION

And as mentioned above as well, the serious speculation about what will unspool at Cannes is heating up and took the form of this post from Cineuropa this week.  It's interesting but is also such an enormous list as to be not all that illuminating.

Titles that grabbed my attention included:

Stephen  Frears' "Icon" (his Lance Armstrong film)...though it is currently and ambiguously set for an August release in the U.S. which would mean no Telluride.

Thomas Vinterberg's "The Commune".  The article also mentions Vinterberg's "Far from the Madding Crowd" but that already has a U.S. release set for May 1st.

Matteo Garrone's "The Tale of Tales".

Todd Haynes' "Carol" starring Cate Blanchett

Jacques Audiard's "Erran".  Sundance Selects has already locked up the U.S. distribution for the film which should keep it in the Telluride conversation.  Last year the company was represented at Telluride by Ethan Hawke's "Seymour: An Introduction" and The Dardennes Brothers' "Two Days, One Night.

Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario" He's been programmed Telluride recently with "Prisoners" and "Incendies".

Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" with Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard.  The Weinsteins ("The Imitation Game") are distributing and See Saw Films is the production company ("Shame", "Tracks").

Sean Penn's "The Last Face" starring Charlize Theron, Javier Bardem and Adele Exarchopolous.  Penn' last directing effort "Into the Wild" played Telluride in 2007.

Barbet Schroeder's "Amnesia".  Schroeder has had a long relationship with Telluride but hasn't been represented at the festival since 2007's "Terror's Advocate".

There are a lot more titles to mull.  Look here:

http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=286876



More coming on Thursday including the complete 24 category Film Awards Clearinghouse Nearly Final Oscar Predictions.

Birdman or Boyhood?/Imitation Game and Wild Tales Notes/More on Mr. Holmes and Berlin

Good Thursday People...


BIRDMAN OR BOYHOOD?

Oscar pundits have re-evaluated their thinking in light of the Guild success of "Birdman" (PGA, DGA, SAG Ensemble) and the BAFTAs  which preferred "Boyhood" for Picture and Director.  The Gurus of Gold at Movie City News say...still a "Boyhood" Best Picture win, but the margin has definitely tightened.  Take a look at the latest Gurus BP chart as well as a look at what the Gurus think might be some surprises that happen on Oscar night here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/02/gurus-o-gold-6-days-of-voting-left/

I'll update the eight major categories for Oscar on Monday followed by The FINAL FAC a week from today with the call on all 24 Oscar categories.

IMITATION GAME AND WILD TALES

As Oscar voting continues materials for "The Imitation Game" continue to pop up in a number of media outlets.  A new trailer showed up this week and was featured at The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/watch-new-imitation-game-trailer-exclusive/


Bill Desowitz writing for Thompson on Hollywood profiles the actual methods used by Turing and the British code breakers that are the heart of the film.  Check that story here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/how-they-did-it-breaking-the-enigma-code-in-the-imitation-game-video-20150211



Meanwhile Damian Szifron's Oscar nominated Foreign Language film "Wild Tales" got some attention these past few days as well.  Szifron's multi-storied look at revenge and its effects were the focus of this Gold Derby post:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/8441/damian-szifron-interview-wild-tales-oscars-foreign-film-entertainment-13579086-story.html


MR. HOLMES AND BERLIN

The Berlin International Film Festival has made the turn into its final stretch and awards speculation has begun.  At this point, a number of possible Telluride #42 titles have played.  The strongest positive reactions to films that were high on my T-ride list have been Pablo Larrain's "The Club" which could well be in the conversation for the Golden Bear among the Darren Aronofsky-led jury and Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" which played out of competition.  Both films have received laudatory critical response.  A couple of other T-ride possibles have not fared as well critically: Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and Wim Wenders "Every Thing Will Be Fine" both had some serious negative critical response .  I'm certainly not saying that the Herzog nor the Wenders films are definitively off the Telluride menu as a result but my expectations for their appearance have been tempered.  Honestly, had the response to "Queen" been largely positive, it likely would have begun June as the top Telluride prospect.

Variety, this week, put up a story about "Mr. Holmes" that focuses on director Bill Condon and star Sir Ian McKellen.  It's here:

http://variety.com/2015/film/features/mckellen-condon-reunite-to-examine-later-years-of-sleuth-mr-holmes-1201430280/

Calling it now..."Mr. Holmes" plays Telluride with Sir Ian as the recipient of a tribute...

Directors Guild Announcement and BAFTA Means Oscar Looming/Films Making Noise from 41/Looking Ahead to 42

Good Monday to All...

DIRECTORS GUILD ANNOUNCEMENT AND BAFTA MEANS OSCAR LOOMING

Alejandro G. Inarritu was named the awarded the Best Direction prize last night by the DGA for "Birdman".  With that and wins from the PGA and SAG (ensemble) it might now be the real favorite for Best Picture on Oscar night.

Alejandro G. Inarritu with The DGA via HitFix/InContention

Here's some of the coverage and analysis from last night's announcement:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/alejandro-g-inarritu-wins-directors-guild-award-for-birdman/1

http://deadline.com/2015/02/birdman-dga-win-oscar-1201368817/

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/dga-prize-boosts-birdman-in-oscar-race-analysis-1201427652/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/dga-feature-award-goes-to-birdman-gaining-oscar-momentum-20150208

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/dga-awards-alejandro-g-inarritu-771156

But a "Birdman" win is not foreordained.  "Boyhood" rocked three BAFTA awards Sunday including Best Picture, Director and the expected Best Supporting Actress.  That closed the 24 hour cycle that had all but anointed "Birdman".  At this point, it seems to me that the "Bird" is flying a little higher than the "Boy" but neither film has this locked up.  Also, with a preferential ballot, despite that fact that it has been essentially a no-show throughout the Oscar run-up, I still think "The Imitation Game" could sneak onto enough ballots as #1, #2 and #3 to surprise come Oscar night.

Eddie Redmayne picked up the BAFTA Best Actor award.  He has to be considered the front runner, but I still stubbornly insist that a Michael Keaton win is possible.

I have linked BAFTA coverage and analysis here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/bafta-awards-boyhood-shows-signs-771273

http://deadline.com/2015/02/bafta-awards-analysis-baftas-winners-losers-1201368766/

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2015/02/08/and-the-winners-of-the-2015-british-academy-film-awards-are/

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/02/20-weeks-to-oscar-what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-best-picture-2/

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/02/the-state-of-the-race-boyhood-is-honored-in-england-while-hollywood-sends-a-message-to-studios/

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/off-the-carpet-how-to-look-at-what-the-guilds-and-bafta-awards-have-told-us

Oscar voting has begun and is ongoing.



FILMS MAKING NOISE FROM 41

Quick looks here at three films that were highlighted by stories on the web since my last post.  first, an interview from Gold Derby with "The Imitation Game" screen writer Graham Moore:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/8416/graham-moore-interview-imitation-game-oscars-entertainment-13579086-story.html

Andrea Gronvall profiles Gabe Polsky, the director of the documentary "Red Army":

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/02/the-gronvall-report-gabe-polsky-on-red-army/

Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon passes on a story of the original ending for Alejandro G. Inarritu's "Birdman".  It might have been very, very different:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/original-birdman-ending-revealed-feature-johnny-depp/

Finally, this from FirstShowing.net...a trailer for Eyhan Hawke's very well received documentary "Seymour: An Introduction":

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/must-watch-trailer-for-ethan-hawkes-seymour-an-introduction/


LOOKING AHEAD TO 42

The Berlin International Film Festival is underway.  In the run up to the fest IndieWire posted a piece highlighting nine films that they were excited about.  The list includes a few films that I've been thinking are real Telluride possibilities:  "Queen of the Desert" (although the reviews aren't rocking the film world after its premiere, so maybe this is a Herzog that doesn't play at The Zog), "Mr. Holmes" and "The Club".  MTFB/FAC friend Christopher Schiller opined last weekend that "45 Years" might make the T-ride lineup.  Actually, almost any one of the nine films on IndieWire's list could pop up over Labor Day weekend.  Here's the post:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/berlin-2015-the-9-films-indiewire-cant-wait-to-see-20150205

Furious Cinema has posted an interesting piece on the influences that Quentin Tarantino is likely playing with as he films "The Hateful Eight" just outside Telluride.  It's fun.  Take a look:

http://www.furiouscinema.com/2015/01/hateful-eight-primer/

Finally, Sir Ian McKellen tweeted the first poster for the above-mentioned Berlin film and possible Telluride choice "Mr. Holmes":

More on Thursday...Have a great week...

A Look at Mr. Holmes/Jobs Has a Date/Trailer for Wild Tales/A Plea Like Mine

Good Thursday to Everyone...


Oscar Night is just 16 days away!

A LOOK AT MR. HOLMES

We have our first moving glimpse of Bill Condon's Mr. Holmes starring Sir Ian McKellan as a retired version of the famed detective.  The film also stars Laura Linney.  Best reasons to think it could play Telluride: Linney,  Condon and Roadside Attractions.  Damper: Condon has only played T-ride once.

"Mr. Holmes" Clip via YouTube

Coverage:

The Playlist, Rope of Silicon, HitFix

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-ian-mckellen-is-sherlock-holmes-in-first-clip-for-mr-holmes-20150204


http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-ian-mckellen-talks-kid-new-clip-mr-holmes/


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/first-look-ian-mckellen-is-an-old-sherlock-in-new-clip-of-mr-homes


JOBS HAS A DATE

Universal announced yesterday that Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs biopic "Jobs" will be released Oct. 19th which means that it could certainly be ready for a screening at Telluride.  It' still a close call but doable.  Best reason to think it will play: Boyle.  Damper: Universal

Coverage:

The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, FirstShowing:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/universals-steve-jobs-movie-gets-770209


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/steve-jobs-movie-release-date-1201423722/


http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/steve-jobs-biopic-is-coming-fast-as-universal-sets-october-release/


TRAILER FOR WILD TALES

"Wild Tales" trailer via YouTube

One of the hits of last year's festival and the highest flying foreign entry per the Telluride Peoples and Professionals polls reported here was Damian Szifron's Oscar nominated "Wild Tales".  NOw comes a trailer cut for the United States which is above.

Coverage from The Dissolve and FirstShowing:

http://thedissolve.com/news/4661-new-trailer-for-oscar-nominee-wild-tales-is-suitab/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/indie-trailer-sunday-brilliant-argentinian-anthology-film-wild-tales/

AND A PLEA LIKE MINE

HitFix's Greg Ellwood filed a story this week about potential 2016 Oscar contenders that screened at Sundance.  He points at two possible Best Picture candidates "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" and "Brooklyn"  We take note here as Ellwood makes a plea directly to the programmers at Telluride to make an exception to the "no Sundance/only North American first screenings" policy and sites the appearance of "An Education" in 2009 as I have done from time to time..  Ellwood suggests that "An Education" was an anamoly due to some connection to a tribute, though I can't find that.  TFF #36 tributed Viggo Mortensen, Margarethe von Trotta and Anouk Aimee that year.  Here's Elllwood's Sundance Oscar dispatch:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/did-the-2016-oscars-race-start-at-sundance-again

More on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Berlin Adds Titles/Looks at the Queen and Holmes/Yet More Lists to Contemplate/Wither Warner Brothers?/Rudderless Is Arriving

Welcome to Monday!


There WAS other news that had some Telluride Film Festival interest this last week in addition to the phenomenal 33 (35 counting TFF #40's "Ida") Oscar nominations for Telluride titles; 22 between "Birdman", "The Imitation Game" and "Foxcatcher".  So, I thought it'd be a good idea to peruse some of those developments/stories...

BERLIN ADDS TITLES

The Berlin International Film Festival added competition titles this week.  At least two of them immediately caught my eye.  Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" with Nicole Kidman and Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" with Sir Ian McKellan and Laura Linney were announced in that group of titles.

As I have pointed out, we usually see a title or two that premieres at Berlin at Telluride.  To my thinking, and unless the film's respective distributors have some other plan for general release, these two films would be serious contenders to make the Berlin/Telluride play. "Queen of the Desert" has no distributor as yet and "Mr. Holmes" is with Roadside Attractions which ran "'71" through Berlin then Telluride last year.  Roadside also had Tommy Lee Jones "The Homesman" at Telluride as well.  Roadside also had "All is Lost" and "Gloria" in TFF #40.

Considering Herzog's strong ties to Telluride and Condon's occasional presence there (Condon's "Kinsey" with Linney played in 2004) as well as Laura Linney's frequent connection to the fest, means that both films would seem to be very real T-ride possibilities.

This all assumes that both films meet the exacting standards of the Telluride programmers.

Here's the post from IndieWire about the new Berlin titles:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/berlin-adds-competition-titles-from-werner-herzog-jafar-panahi-and-bill-condon-20150114


LOOKS AT THE "QUEEN" AND "HOLMES"

"Mr. Holmes" via Sir Ian McKellan's Twitter account

With the announcement of the addition of "Queen of the Desert" and "Mr. Holmes" we saw some posts this week with images for the two films:

Nicole Kidman as the "Queen of the Desert" from The Playlist

Check more of the shots from "Queen" from either The Playlist or Thompson on Hollywood here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-nicole-kidman-and-james-franco-in-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-20150114

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/berlinale-first-look-nicole-kidman-and-james-franco-star-in-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-20150114

YET MORE LISTS TO CONTEMPLATE

I continue to collect and analyze various "Most Anticipated" lists for 2015 in an effort to identify what films are coming down the pike that could make an appearance over Labor Day weekend.  I've got three more to eyeball in today's post:

First, IndieWire's 40 Indie Films they're "Most Excited" to see in 2015:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-40-indie-films-indiewire-is-most-excited-to-see-in-2015-20150112

  

Possible Telluride titles from this list:

"A Hologram for the King"

"Carol"

"Macbeth"

"Queen of the Desert"

"Southpaw"

"Suffragette"

"The Hateful Eight"

"The Revenant"

"The Tale of Tales"

Then, Ioncinema's 25 Most Anticipated Studio Films of 2015:

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/annual-top-films-lists/top-25-most-anticipated-studio-films-of-2015-jeff-nichols-midnight-special

Among the films they list, those that would seem to have some Telluride potential are:

#3 "The Light Between the Oceans"

#4 "The Hateful Eight"

#5 "The Revenant"

#6 "Our Brand is Crisis"

#8 "Sicario"

#9 "Macbeth"

#20 "Truth"

#25 "Mr. Holmes"

And from The Playlist: The 20 Most Anticipated Foreign Films:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-20-most-anticipated-foreign-films-of-2015-20150114

And from that list, here's what stands out as early Telluride potentials:

#7 "Erran"'
#5 "Every Thing Will Be Fine"
#3 "La blessure"
#1 "Flashmob"


WITHER WARNER BROTHERS?

Warners announced this past week that the Ron Howard film "In the Heart of the Sea" was being moved from a spring date to December.  Along with the announcement came a good deal of speculation as to why Warners had made the decision with positioning for an awards season run being a common theory.  Of course, from my perspective, it made the film go from "can't play Telluride if it's released in March" to "December makes it a possibility".

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/warner-bros-moves-ron-howards-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-to-christmas-1201405354/

I've already mentioned that I believe that Warners may press to return to Telluride after a noticeable presence in 2012 ("Argo")  and again in 2013 ("Gravity" and "Prisoners").  Warners wasn't in T-ride this year and that may be that their two biggest possible players: "American Sniper"  and "Inherent Vice" couldn't be ready in time or just preferred not to be a part of Telluride...or that Telluride didn't prefer those films.  Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised for Warners to be back at Telluride this year and they have a number of prospects that could make the lineup including the newly moved Ron Howard film "In the Heart of the Sea".  Other possibilities (meaning that they are films that have an announced released date post-Labor Day):

Jeff Nichols "Midnight Special" (Release: Nov. 25)
Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" (Release: Sept. 18)
and now
Ron Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea" (Release: Dec. 11)

At this point, I don't have a sense that any one of these films is more likely than the others.  I'd probably lean to starring "Black Mass" if it weren't for the release date opening less than two weeks after the close of the festival.  So let's leave it at..."Warners might be back with one or more of these films".


RUDDERLESS IS ARRIVING

William H. Macy's Oklahoma shot and written directing debut "Rudderless" arrives on DVD and BluRay tomorrow.   Seek it!

http://newsok.com/william-h.-macy-renews-his-love-for-movies-with-rudderless/article/5384981


More on Thursday...

Five Future Films/And Then There's Another/MCN's Latest Gurus/Birdman Poster and Images/Latest Screen Talk

FIVE FUTURE FILMS THAT COULD PLAY TELLURIDE

Alejandro Inarritu

I'm always on the lookout for announcements of future film projects that seem to me to have the potential to end up in Telluride over Labor Day weekend.  I'll collect some of the posts and press material when I stumble across that kind of thing and hoard it.  Now that we're almost a month removed for the 41st edition of TFF, I thought that I might as well drag some of those out and post the some of the info that's been out there.  So, without further adieu, here are ten films that have been announced that could end up at a future Telluride Film Fest:

1) "The Revenant". Director: Alejandro Inarritu and starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  A revenge western.  Reason for a TFF play: Inarritu.  The Oscar nominated director has played Telluride with three straight films: "Babel", "Biutiful" and "Birdman".  A couple of sticking points:  Will it be done in time?  It's set for a Dec. 25th release in 2015 and the distributor is 20th Century Fox which has a spotty record at Telluride at best.  Here are your "Revenant" posts:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/scorseses-silence-inarritus-the-revenant-both-arrive-in-2015/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/inarritus-revenant-starring-dicaprio-hardy-set-christmas-2015/

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/tom-hardy-confirmed-to-join-leonardo-dicaprio-in-the-revenant-1201255146/

http://www.thewrap.com/were-the-millers-star-will-poulter-joining-leonardo-dicaprio-in-the-revenant/

And the IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663202/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_2

Sir Ian as "Mr. Holmes"

2) "Mr. Holmes". Director: Bill Condon.  Starring: Ian McKellan and Laura Linney.  Reasons it would play Telluride:  Condon and Linney who have been at Telluride in the past with "Kinsey" in 2004.  Linney has also been a Telluride presence in "Jindabayne", "The Savages" and "Hyde Park on Hudson".  Additionally, the film is being co-distributed by Roadside Attractions whose TFF profile grew to three films this year and one of the Production companies is See Saw Films which has had a high profile Telluride presence in recent years with films: "The King's Speech", "Shame" and "Tracks".

"Mr. Holmes" links:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/ian-mckellen-mr-holmes-us-distribution-1201296769/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-look-ian-mckellen-sherlock-holmes-bill-condons-mr-sherlock/

"Mr. Holmes" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3168230/?ref_=nv_sr_1

From IndieWire; Trumbo and Cranston

3) "Trumbo" Director: Jay Roach.  Starring: Bryan Cranston, Helen Mirren, John Goodman.  Reasons ot would play Telluride:  Well, there really aren't ANY.  No history with this director.  As a matter of fact, Jay Roach's resume is odd.  He has a couple of quality HBO gigs under his belt: "Game Change"  and "Recount" but he also is the director of such "classics" as all three "Austin Powers" films as well as a couple of the "Fockers" franchise.

The listed U.S. distributor for "all media" via IMDb is Bleeker Street.  It's listed as exactly their fourth feature to distribute.  The other three: "Pawn Sacrifice" (Ed Zwick's Bobby Fischer/Boris Spassky flick), "Danny Coliins" (from Dan Fogelman) and "Captain Fantastic" (from Matt Ross).  So there's no TFF history there.

The film's production companies don't have any Telluride connection either.  IMDb lists Groundswell Productions (no T-ride past), Inimitable Pictures (ditto) and ShivHans Pictures (the same).

So, why is it on my list?  Because I think a Dalton Trumbo biopic starring Bryan Cranston in the title role sounds like a perfect fit for Telluride if it's well executed.  If Roach is in "Game Change/Recount" mode, then I could see this being a part of the TFF #42 lineup.

Here's some of the stories that have come out about "Trumbo":

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hobbit-actor-play-kirk-douglas-734744

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/casting-mike-epps-frontrunner-for-richard-pryor-biopic-daisy-ridley-returning-for-star-wars-8-9-and-more-20140811

http://www.thewrap.com/john-goodman-in-talks-to-join-bryan-cranston-in-jay-roachs-trumbo-exclusive/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bryan-cranston-star-as-blacklisted-631845

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/bobby-cannavale-joins-pacino-de-niro-in-martin-scorseses-gangster-picture-the-irishman-20140909


"Trumbo's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3203606/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_2

From projectcasting.com: The novel and Affleck

4) "Live by Night" Director: Ben Affleck.  Starring: Affleck, Zoe Saldana, Elle Fanning and Sienna Miller.  Affleck returns to a Dennis Lehane story for this film.  Lehane wrote the novel that was the basis for Affleck's first directing experience, "Gone Baby Gone".  This story is set in the Prohibition era and features cops and gangsters.

Why Telluride?  Affleck and Warner Bros. cannot be unhappy with the way Affleck's last directing gig turned out.  "Argo" launched at Telluride and went on to win three Academy Awards including Best Picture.  That's enough for me to think that they may want to try the same path in 2015 or 2016 (IMDb lists its  domestic release on Oct. 7, 2016 but a number of the posts you'll look at below say it'll be out at the end of 2015).  TFF #42 or #43 could be a very real scenario.

Posts about "Live by Night":

http://www.thewrap.com/ben-afflecks-live-night-hit-theaters-christmas-day-2015/

http://www.slashfilm.com/ben-afflecks-live-by-night-will-shoot-this-fall/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/ben-affleck-returns-to-dennis-lehane-territory-eyes-live-by-night-as-next-directorial-outing-20121011


The IMDb page for "Live by Night": http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2361317/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt


5) Danny Boyle's next project...Boyle has a couple of potential projects bouncing about.  There's "Porno", sequel to his acclaimed "Trainspotting" and then there's the untitled film that centers on the 1973 "Battle of the Sexes" tennis match between Billy Jean King and Bobby Riggs.  "Porno" seems to be closer to actually being on the tracks to being made.  Either way, it seems that Boyle would be a likely candidate to return to Telluride after very successful trips there in 2008 with eight time Oscar winner "Slumdog Millionaire" and then again in 2010 with "127 Hours" which was nominated for six Academy Awards.  If Fox Searchlight gets involved, that would further increase the chances that we'd see the film in T-ride as they were distributors for both "Slumdog" and "127 Hours".

Here's some press about "Porno":

http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27293478

http://www.moviereviewworld.com/news/irvine-welsh-confirms-trainspotting-2-film-sequel-works/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-1-hour-talk-with-danny-boyle-mark-kemode-physicist-brian-cox-about-sunshine-20140211


and other posts about the possible "Battle of the Sexes":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/danny-boyle-to-direct-film-about-1973-battle-of-the-sexes-tennis-match-between-billie-jean-king-bobby-riggs-20140219

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/19/danny-boyle-biopic-billie-jean-king-film-battle-of-the-sexes

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/danny-boyle-working-on-a-billie-jean-king-bobby-riggs-tennis-drama/

 "Porno's" IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2763304/?ref_=nv_sr_2



AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER

It's been rumored for awhile and though still not confirmed, it appears to be very close to that.  We're talking the possibility/probability of Quentin Tarantino shooting seven weeks for his next film "The Hateful Eight" near Telluride.

You have to also think that if he does shoot there that he'd maybe want to play the film there as a part of TFF #42.  I've actually seen a couple of people suggest that possibility in correspondence.

According to the linked story below from the Denver Business Journal, the film would begin shooting in the San Juans in December if all the pieces fall into place.  Further, the film is being produced and will be distributed domestically by The Weinstein Company which just came off a triumphant set of screenings of "The Imitation Game" at last month's film fest.  The film is planned to have a late 2015 release.  It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Walton Goggins and Bruce Dern among others.

Check the Denver Business Journal story here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2014/09/26/embargoed-until-9-05-a-mcolorado-expecting-to-have.html

another story from The Denver Post:

http://www.denverpost.com/entertainment/ci_26611060/quentin-tarantino-set-shoot-hateful-eight-colorado


"The Hateful Eight's" IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3460252/?ref_=ttfc_ql


MCN'S LATEST GURUS

The Gurus of Gold have been polled post fall festival season and just prior to this past weekend's kickoff of the New York Film Festival.  They have "boyhood" at the top followed by "The Imitation Game" and "Birdman".  Take a look at that here (as well as some interesting numbers concerning actors and bumps that may have happened as a result of festival plays):

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/09/gurus-o-gold-pre-venicetelluridetoronto-best-picture-field-2/


'BIRDMAN" POSTER AND IMAGES

New images and a new poster for Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" emerged at the beginning of the weekend.  The poster you see above.  Here are accompanying stories from Vulture.com and The Playlist:

http://www.vulture.com/2014/09/check-out-the-brand-new-birdman-poster.html

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-new-images-from-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritus-birdman-20140926


LATEST SCREEN TALK

Check here for the latest edition of Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn's Screen Talk podcast as the duo tackle the early info from the New York Film Festival and the ever evolving Oscar race:


http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/screen-talk-new-york-film-festival-preview-20140926


More on Thursday...