A Trailer for Manchester by the Sea / What's the Mystery Film? / Toronto Chiefs Name Contenders...They Sound Familiar

Good Thursday fellow film lovers.  The 43rd Telluride Film Festival is now only 7 days away...


A TRAILER FOR MANCHESTER BY THE SEA

Purportedly an Oscar contender since it bowed at The Sundance Film Festival last February, Kenneth Lonergan's Manchester by the Sea is expected by many to be that rare "Sundance" exception for The SHOW.  They don't come along very often.

For a good chunk of time I thought, and some others did as well, that Nate Parker's Birth of a Nation might be an exception too or instead but we're pretty sure that won't happen.

Manchester received great response from the Sundance crowd and is regarded by some as a strong contender for Oscar action.  The film stars Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams both of whom could well be in the conversation for acting awards.  The buzz on Affleck is particularly strong.

Those of us who didn't see the film in Park City now have a chance to look at some of it as Amazon/Roadside Attractions released a full trailer for it yesterday.  Here it is via YouTube:

As you might expect, here's coverage of the release of the trailer yesterday from:  

Indiewire

Awards Daily

The Film Stage

FirstShowing

Awards Circuit

The Playlist

WHAT'S THE MYSTERY FILM?

Well, the Ol' Blog is chugging right along.  It gets increasing attention the closer we get to the opening of each year's SHOW and this year has been no exception.  Within the last couple of weeks MTFB has been mentioned or linked by Awards Daily, Awards Circuit, Awards Watch and maybe most intriguingly by Hollywood Elsewhere last Sunday evening.

The HE mention included a version of the last week;s Ten (Plus) Bets.  What made it intriguing were a couple of phrases in the post to the effect that author Jeffrey Wells had run the list by "a guy who knows his stuff" and that said "guy" all but endorsed the "Ten Bets" but also apparently added that it did not include "one major American film that is definitely going".

Which piqued my interest.

So...what could that "major American film" be?

Seems to me that the description really gives us some clues and limits.

At this point, by reason of deduction, has be a film that is NOT playing Toronto or New York which have revealed (we think) all of the films for their lineups.

It could be a film that will play Venice as part of that festival occurs before Telluride begins and continues after T-ride is over.

It could also be a film that will play the AFI Fest, BFI (because we don't know their complete lineups yet) or isn't going to play any other Festival at all.

And it has to be a "major American" film.

So...

If you've been reading this space of late you know that one of the rumors that's swirling around is that Warners is going to screen Sully in Telluride.  That would seem to fit the criteria listed above.

As a matter of fact, the three Warners' pictures we've been batting around for weeks would all probably fit the bill: Sully, The Accountant and Live By Night.

Next, I'm going to admit what a number of people have been guessing since last Friday that the buzz I've heard about a Venice film that could play despite its Toronto designation as a North American premiere is (as some of you have guessed) Nocturnal Animals.

If Nocturnal IS the film that our "guy" is referencing then that would raise a bunch of questions centered on the veracity of Toronto's so-called "honest premiere status" policy.  I think you'd have to question any and all of Toronto's designations at that point.

Additionally, someone in some comment section or forum somewhere this last week, suggested that the term "major American film" implied a release from a major studio rather than a distributor like Focus Features which is distributing Nocturnal Animals.

That said, Nocturnal Animals could be in the TFF #43 lineup, if what I'm hearing is true.

Three other films seem, to me anyway, to fit the descriptive terms.

Warren Beatty's Rules Don't Apply (20th Century Fox, release 11/23)

Robert Zemeckis' Allied (Paramount, release 11/23)

David Frankel's Collateral Beauty (New Line Cinema, release 12/16)

Martin Scorsese's Silence and Denzel Washington's Fences seem out of reach for Telluride.  Scorsese has been reported as saying Silence won't be ready until October and hasn't git a release date.  Fences is also thought to be unready and isn't set for release until 12/25.

So, in order, it seems to me that the best guess is:

1) Sully
2) Nocturnal Animals
3) Allied
4) Rules Don't Apply
5) Collateral Beauty

But I wouldn't bet the kids college fund.

Last real quick blip...The Ron Howard Beatles doc Eight Days a Week; The Touring Years

Got other ideas or thoughts...comment!

The original Hollywood Elsewhere post is here:

Hollywood Elsewhere


TORONTO CHIEFS NAME CONTENDERS...AND THEY SOUND FAMILIAR

In a story in The Guardian on Wednesday, Toronto International Film Festival CEO Piers Handling and Artistic Director Cameron Bailey responded to inquiry about the films that they have programmed for TIFF 2016 focusing on their evaluation of awards prospects.

The gentlemen named three films: Damien Chazelle's La La Land, Barry Jenkins' Moonlight and Denis Villenueve's Arrival.  Those comments were music to my ears as all three are expected (by MTFB anyway) to make the lineup for the 2016 version of The SHOW.

Last week's Ten (Plus) Bets had La La Land at #3, Arrival at #4 and Moonlight at #5.

Here's the article from The Guardian

That's going to do have to do it for this Thursday.  A new Ten (plus) Bets drops tomorrow!

Contact MTFB at:

mpgort@gmail.com

OR on Twitter @Gort2

OR check out Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook:

Michael's Telluride Film Blog Facebook Page

Or leave a comment.

The Euro Producers: The French-France 3 Cinema / NYFF Opener is a Surprise / A Venice Tidbit

Welcome to Wednesday...

THE EURO PRODUCERS: THE FRENCH

FRANCE 3 CINEMA

Here's the France 3 Cinema track record at Telluride for the past several years.  As you can see, they have been a fairly active presence.


2003: Dogville, The Tripletts of Belleville
2004:
2005: Lemming, Live and Become, Cache
2006: The Page Turner, Indigenes
2007: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly, Persepolis
2008: I've Loved You So Long
2009: The White Ribbon
2010: The Illusionist, The Princess of Montpensier, Of Gods and Men
2011: The Artist
2012: Superstar, Amour
2013: The Past

2014: The Gate, The Price of Fame, Mr. Turner
2015: Marguerite

France 3's best shot at TFF #43 is the animated Ma Vie de Courgette (My Life as a Zucchini).  It's actually a pretty reasonable shot after its successful debut at the Annecy Animation Film Festival.

Here's the poster for the film:

And its IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2321405/?ref_=nv_sr_1



NYFF OPENER IS A SURPRISE

It was all over the internet yesterday that the New York Film Festival had chosen Ava DuVernay's documentary The 13th to open that fest on Sept. 30.  Reports list it as the film's world premiere which means a couple of things for readers of this space,  First, we know that it won't be playing Telluride-it's "world" premiere status tells us that.  Second, it might open the door to Telluride for some other major films that could have conceiveably played that opening night slot for NYFF.

The film focuses on the discriminatory nature of the American justice system.

Last year's opener was Robert Zemeckis' The Walk.


Linked here are stories about the NYFF opener:

http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2016/daily/ava-duvernay-the-13th-new-york-film-festival/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ny-film-fest-ava-duvernay-912321

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/20/movies/ava-duvernay-new-york-film-festival-the-13th.html?_r=2


 A VENICE TIDBIT

As I mentioned yesterday, the announcement for the lineup for Venice's Film Fest is two weeks from tomorrow.  We may have learned a bit more via Twitter yesterday as a couple of tweets suggested that Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals (Focus Features) will world premiere there.

That follows news from a month ago that Damien Chazelle's La La Land will open the Venetian soiree.

The Venice shot for Nocturnal Animals does not preclude a play at Telluride as it has become fairly common for a number of films to play both fests.  Last year eight films played both: Oscar winner Spotlight, Beasts of No Nation, Anomalisa, Black Mass, Heart of a Dog, Marguerite, Winter on Fire and Taj Mahal.  In 2014 Oscar winner Birdman, 99 Homes, The Look of Silence and The Price of Fame played the same duet.

Nocturnal Animals is set to open in the U.S. on Dec. 9.


Tis all for this Wednesday.  More tomorrow...

Contact MTFB at:

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Back in the Game / Distribution: Strand Releasing and Focus Features / A Couple of Points of Passenger Interest

Welcome to Wednesday my friends...

BACK IN THE GAME

Well, for the fifth consecutive year the Telluride Film Festival has been gracious enough to grant Michael's Telluride Film Blog status as an actual journalistic endeavor.  I got word a couple of days ago that I had been accredited for TFF #43.

It never fails to blow my mind that MTFB gets accepted in the same breath as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Sasha Stone's Awards Daily and others.  Journalists and outlets that I read studiously and respect tremendously and I get to play like I belong in that pool for four days a year.


It's cool.

Thanks to the Telluride Film Festival and its directors Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger as well as P.R. Chief Shannon Mitchell and P.R. Coordinator Richard Parkin.


DISTRIBUTION: STRAND RELEASING AND FOCUS FEATURES

As we come down the home stretch of our review of distributors who have had the largest presence at Telluride over the last decade or so, we turn our attention to companies who have had a spotty, but serious record of inclusion.  These are outfits that are sometime players that you always need to account for because they show up just often enough that you'd be a fool to overlook them each year as you try to puzzle out possible lineup choices.

It's this type of organization we'll talk about through Friday and then next week, we'll turn our attention to overseas production companies.

Today, however, we look at distributors Strand Releasing and Focus Features.

STRAND RELEASING

Strand started showing up at the SHOW in 2010 and ran off appearances for five straight years before missing last year's SHOW.

2010- Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
2011- Bonsai
2012- Paradise: Love
2013- The Missing Picture
2014- Dancing Arabs

In 2015, Strand failed to make the TFF #42 lineup.  I thought a year ago that there was some possibility of seeing Cemetery of Splendour but, as you know, that did not happen.

Much like last year, at this point Strand seems to have only one possibility and that is Alain Guiraudie's Staying Vertical.  The film played in Cannes competition and drew fair reviews.  You may have noticed that I posted its poster in yesterday's dispatch.  My feeling right now is that it may be a borderline inclusion in the TFF #43 lineup.  Call its chances 55%.

FOCUS FEATURES

Meanwhile, As we turn to Focus Features we regard a distributor who has had a very sketchy Telluride relationship.  Only three films from them have appeared at T-ride since 2006.

2006- Catch a Fire
2012- Hyde Park on Hudson
2015- Suffragette

Now, I have to tell you that they impressed me last year in that they had the estimable Meryl Streep in Telluride in addition to director Sarah Gavron and writer Abi Morgan.  I also have to admit that I liked the film more than a good many others.  You may recall that in my post-SHOW ratings that The People had it ranked 12the of 14 films and The Professionals had it 12th of 13.  However, IMDb has it currently at 6.9, MetaCritic has it at 67 and Rotten Tomatoes at 73% s, in hindsight, though it didn't set the world on fire, it seems that the film actually came away in modestly good critical shape.

Still, Focus had to have believed or hoped for some awards season traction that never really materialized.

All of those factors will probably have some effect on the Focus decision about which film or films to submit to Telluride (if any) and Telluride's perspective on this films.

Nevertheless, Focus does have a few films that might merit consideration:

Tom Ford's Nocturnal Animals
J. A. Bayona's A Monster Calls
Jeff Nichol's Loving
Colin Trevorrow's The Book of Henry

You could make a decent case for any of these.

Tom Ford's second film, Nocturnal Animals would seem to be highly desired by most of the big fall fests in light of the critical success of his first feature, A Single Man.  Additionally, it features Telluride regular (and MTFB "Usual Suspect) Laura Linney.

You could make a case for Jeff Nichol's Loving, as I have been since it screened at Cannes.  Decent reviews and a film that many in France thought was the film that had the most awards prospects of the Palme competition lineup.

J.A. Bayona's A Monster Calls hasn't necessarily seemed like a Telluride possibility to me until recently.  I, am higher on its prospects this week.  Been hearing a bit of buzz plus one its executive producers is T-ride regular (and another MTFB "Usual Suspect")  Bill Pohlad/River Road Entertainment.  Pohlad has also produced Telluride-screened features 12 Years a Slave, Wild, Into the Wild, Fur and Brokeback Mountain.

The longest shot of the four seems to me to be Treverrow's The Book of Henry.  It's notable Telluride connection is that it stars the young Jacob Trembay of last year's Telluride breakout film Room.

Assessing the chances for these films is complicated by Focus Features spotty T-ride record and the unknown about how their perception of the reception of Suffragette last year had colored their strategy for the fall.

Chances for each:

Loving 60%
A Monster Calls 50%
Nocturnal Animals 40%
The Book of Henry 30%


Tomorrow we'll look at Open Road and Zeitgeist.


A COUPLE OF POINTS OF PASSENGER INTEREST

Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence of Passengers via Teen Daily 

 A few days back I saw a brief blurb that there might some difficulties with a special effects firm and some late 2016 releases.  I kind of slapped in the back of my brain and moved on.

Then I ran across this post from Awards Circuit about the original story and how it could impact the Morten Tyldum film Passengers.

Now, I have mentioned Passengers briefly in the past and suggested that it might be an outside, outside shot to play Telluride because of Tyldum who directed The Imitation Game and seemed to have had a good time when he was there with that film in 2014.  Additionally, the presence of Jennifer Lawrence and her Oscar success (one win and four nominations since 2011) gave the sci-fi drama a bit more of a prestige factor.

The AC article also references the earlier piece from The Hollywood Reporter.

The bottom line is that Passengers could be delayed because of legal action involving this special effects outfit and, more to the point, Awards Circuit's article implies that it almost certainly bags the film for a possible Telluride play.

Now,  I'm not saying that AC is telling us that was in the cards...but it's really interesting speculation for them to come up with.  The actual quote from the piece goes, "...it's possible the producers planned a "Gravity" style campaign to drop the film at Telluride.  This news makes that plan somewhat unlikely now."

Makes you go...hmmmmmm.

The sfx firm is seeking a modification to the injunction to work on soon-to-be-released projects but who knows if that will be granted and how quickly.

I have linked the Awards Circuit and THR stories as well as Passengers IMDb page:

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2016/07/04/could-morten-tyldums-passengers-get-delayed/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/is-jennifer-lawrences-passengers-caught-907755

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355644/?ref_=ttco_co_tt

Contact MTFB at:

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Nocturnal Animals to Be Released / Acquisition Wrap-up from Cannes-So Many Telluride Possibilities / More Than the Palme Could Play

NOCTURNAL ANIMALS TO BE RELEASED

Nocturnal Animal stars Amy Adams and Jake Gyllenhaal via MovieWeb

News this week that Tom Ford's sophomore directorial effort, Nocturnal Animals, will be released in November.  Telluride fans might want to take notice.  The film is being distributed by Focus Features (which we already are eyeballing because they're also distributing Jeff Nichols' Loving).  I really do expect Focus is likely to try to play Telluride and up until now that meant a play for Loving.  This dating of the release for Nocturnal Animals might change that calculus.

Additionally, a couple of the stories in the Big Time Press say that Telluride regular Laura Linney is in the cast, which might boost its T-ride profile.  However, a late check of Ms. Linney's IMDb credits shows no such affiliation with the film.  Can anyone clear that up?

Here's coverage of the date announcement:

http://variety.com/2016/film/news/jake-gyllenhaal-nocturnal-animals-release-date-1201784012/

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/05/26/jake-gyllenhaal-amy-adams-michael-shannon-film-release

https://thefilmstage.com/news/tom-fords-nocturnal-animals-starring-jake-gyllenhaal-and-amy-adams-gets-november-release/

ACQUISITION WRAP-UP FROM CANNES-SO MANY TELLURIDE POSSIBILITIES

Toni Erdmann

I have linked this report from The Hollywood Reporter that runs down a good deal of the acquisition news that came out of Cannes from last week.

Based on those acquisitions and past Telluride associations we should probably pay some attention to:

Sony Pictures Classics pickups: Toni Erdmann, Elle and The Red Turtle.

Sundance Selects: I, Daniel Blake

Amazon (with Cohen Media): The Salesman

Check the story here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-deals-wrap-fest-was-897057

MORE THAN THE PALME COULD PLAY

Last Thursday I put up a ranking of all 21 Cannes Palme competition entries in the order of what I think their probability of playing The SHOW.  But as you know, not all films that make the crossover from Cannes to Telluride are Palme competition films.  On average (over the last 10 years) one film from the Un Certain Regard section will double the two fests and another 2.2 films will come from other segments; Directors Fortnight or Special Screenings for example.

Based on directors, critical response, past Telluride plays and/or distributors, these ten films seem to me to be the most likely candidates for those 3-4 spots:

My best guess at the order of likelihood:

The Red Turtle
Hell or High Water
Dog Eat Dog
Neruda
Exil
Risk
Peshmerga
Endless Poetry
After the Storm
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki


Tha's a wrap for Memorial Day...more on Thursday...when I'll begin the summer posting schedule of Monday through Friday.

Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

via Twitter @Gort2 OR to