TF#36 Post Mortem

Welllll...so how'd we do in the run up to this year's Telluride Film Festival??? The answer is "so-so". I felt like the reported films that we sniffed out we pretty much got right...even when we waffled. Let me explicate.

I think the blog can justifiably claim we got "Bright Star," "Life During Wartime," "The Road," "The Last Station" (at the last minute), and "Vincere" (also at the last minute). At least to some extent we can claim we got it right on "An Education" (despite the uncertainty because it had been a Sundance film) and also "Up in the Air".

I also feel that we certainly shaded the likelihood of "The White Ribbon," "Coco Before Chanel"and "A Prophet".

But we did whiff big time on "Amelia," "Broken Promises," "Sympathy for Delicious," and "Precious" (like "An Education", this was a Sundance entry). And we were totally wrong on "Lebanon."

But we figured out "Bad Lieutenant" late in the game, and were redeemed by the sneak of "My Son, My Son..." Our mistake was underestimating how much Werner Herzog was going to be a part of TFF #36.

All in all, it seemed like we got better at the "reportage" part this year, but were just about as bad as last year in terms of the "educated" guess work. We were thrown by the absence this year of Fox Searchlight...particularly since they had been well represented in recent festivals (i.e. "Slumdog")...and the demise of Paramount Vantage and Warner Independent also presented challenges to our guess work.

Finally a shout out to the new folks who were kind enough to read/follow the blog this year and drop a comment or two along the way. Made us feel like we were actually doing something worthwhile rather just amusing ourselves...so thanks...Kelly, Gant, Jen, Jarrette, Matt, Rich, Haywood, M. Austin and Reilly.

Later today...Oscar Clearinghouse #1 or 2009...I'll let some of you off the hook from the mandatory email alert for the new posts!

Two Days

Well, some interesting tidbits here and there tonight...

Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere all but confirms: "Up in the Air," "The Road," "Bad Lieutenant," and "An Education" and claims that the "other" Herzog film..."My Son, My Son..." will NOT be playing Telluride.

At this point "Up in the Air" seems to be a lock...we've seen some other pretty compelling evidence that it's a-happenin'.

Additionally, the internet has been burning up the last 24 hours or so with the rumor that Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" with Michael Cera will pop up in Telluride...we think that rumor is more than just a rumor!

As to "Amelia" and "Broken Embraces" nary a breath...so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about after all!

An Echo Chamber

Anne Thompson, writing in her blog "Thompson on Hollywood" for IndieWire.com is up with her Telluride guess list... and that of Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly...here's that link:http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/08/30/festival_watch_new_moon_pics/

Thompson and Willman's lists share "The White Ribbon," "The Road," "An Education," and "Up in the Air" before differing.

From both lists, I concur with all of Thompson's guesses and take issue only with one of Willman's. That disagreement is with "Bad Lieutenant". Willman includes it on his list and I never have. I've always thought it was unlikely and Werner Herzog (who is tied into the Festival) has another film I have mentioned in this post..."My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?"

My guess is that it's in and "Bad Lieutenant" is out...Of course, I could be completely wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

"The Road" to Telluride

Down to less than a week before the 36th Telluride Film Festival and this post seeks to sum up everything we have been able to track down, stumble across or just guess at.

Latest news: Podcast by Anne Thompson of IndieWire and Kristopher Tapley at Incontention.com at least implies that "An Educaton" may be at Telluride. This is the second film in a week that would NOT fall under the Telluride rules that I thought were in place in terms of whether films had played other places before Telluride..."Precious" being the other. But both Thompson and Tapley let slip early in the podcast that "An Education" is/could be on the play list. You can find their podcast at: http://incontention.com/?p=12596.

But the biggest news from the podcast is Anne Thompson's near certain assertion that John Hillcoat's "The Road" will be there. Viggo Mortensen stars in the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel. This is a film that we originally thought would be released last year, but was moved to 2009.

Now on to the summary: Here are the films that someone somewhere has claimed will be at Telluride: "Bright Star, " Life During Wartime," "My Son My Son What Have Ye Done?," "Lebanon"and "The Road."

Films that someone has implied might be there: "Precious" and "An Education"...see caveat above and "Up in the Air (Tapley says he thinks it will follow the "Juno" path)."

Films I am flat just guessing will be there...but it's a good bet..."Amelia, " "Broken Promises," "Coco Before Chanel," and Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut "Sympathy for Delicious".

Films I am less confident of, but wouldn't be surprised if they were in Telluride: "Leaves of Grass," "Ondine," "Wild Grass," "The Damned United, " The White Ribbon, " "Get Low," "Brothers," "Un Prophete," and "Gentlemen Broncos".

And finally...Films I would love to show up in Telluride, but I don't think that there is much of a chance: "The Men Who Stare at Goats, " "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Nine," "The Informant," "A Serious Man," and "The Tree of Life."

Last note...Scorsese's "Shutter Island" and Julie Taymor's "The Tempest" have reportedly been bumped to release in 2010...

I will post again as information warrants over the next few days leading up to travelling time. I leave Thursday afternoon and plan to start the Telluride experience at the Patron Brunch on Friday morning. Hope to meet some of you there!

Lynch and Herzog???

Living In Cinema's Craig Kennedy speculates this evening that the digitally shot "My Son My Son, What Have Ye Done" may make an appearance at the Telluride fest. The film is produced by David Lynch and directed by Werner Herzog (who also co-wrote the script). Both of these film makers have a history with the festival...(Herzog and I rode the same yellow school bus to the Patron brunch two years ago...sort of freaked me out at the time).

The Film is said to be based on a true story about a murder that stems from a man's belief/obsession with Sophocles "Oedipus Rex."

The film stars: Willem Dafoe, Brad Dourif, best supporting actor Oscar nominee Michael Shannon and Oscar nominated Chloe Sivigny among others.