Boy Erased News / The Story of Peterloo / Morgan Neville Talks Welles / Indiewire Celebrates Cuaron

Good Monday everyone.  Hope you all had a great weekend and enjoyed the extra hour you got back with the return to standard time.


BOY ERASED NEWS

I'm passing on a couple of things I ran across over the weekend about Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased which opened in limited release this past weekend.

The first item is from Indiewire's Kate Erbland who posted this interview with the film's star Lucas Hedges.

The other is an article from The Advocate that features half a dozen new posters for the film that debuted in The Advocate and are designed to highlight specific groups working to end conversion therapy.

I've included a couple of the new posters here:

The article and a view of the other posters is linked here.

THE STORY OF PETERLOO

Time.com published an online article from Ciara Nugent on Friday that reviews the actual incidents depicted in Mike Leigh's TFF #45 film Peterloo.  The actual events including the massacre occurred in August of 1819 in Manchester, England.

Peterloo will open in the U.S. on April 5, 2019.  It's opened in the U.K. this past weekend.

The Time story is linked here.

MORGAN NEVILLE TALKS WELLES

Netflix has released the final film from Orson Welles.  The Other Side of the Wind, which played at Telluride a couple of months back was available to stream as of last Friday.  Also available was the accompanying documentary from Oscar winner Morgan Neville (Twenty Feet from Stardom).  They'll Love Me When I'm Dead explores the project of finally finishing Welles' last film and is also available to stream on Netflix.

Jordan Ruimy conducted an interview with Neville for The Playlist which appeared on that site on Friday.  It is linked here.

INDIEWIRE CELEBRATES CUARON

Indiewire presented its second annual Indiewire Honors last Thursday.  Eight film makers were honored including writer/director/producer Alfonso Cuaron.  Cuaron received Indiewire's Vanguard Award.

Indiewire;s Eric Kohn wrote the story which included comments from Cuaron about Roma which was a huge success at Telluride after winning the Golden Lion at Venice. 

Roma is now considered a strong Oscar contender and, at least at this point, is positioned as the film with the best chance to continue Telluride's crazy streak of having screened the last eight and nine of the last ten winners of the Oscar for Best Picture.

The Cuaron article is linked here.


That's the MTFB for this Monday.  I'll have more for you on Thursday including an Oscar prediction update on the Leading Acting races.


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Foreign Language Contenders with Bigger Dreams / Trailer for They'll Love Me / Hitler's Last SHOW

Good Thursday to all of you TFFers and film fans...


FOREIGN LANGUAGE CONTENDERS WITH BIGGER DREAMS

Anne Thompson penned a piece at Indiewire this week assessing the Oscar prospects of two films that are expected to be major players in the Best Foreign Language Film category.  She's talking about Alfonso Cuaron's Roma and Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War both of which played TFF #45.

The two films seem locks for nominations in that category but Anne suggests they're both after bigger things as both Netflix with Roma and Amazon with Cold War are hoping that their respective films could be players for other nominations including Best Picture.

Roma already seems very likely to make the Oscar parade for Best Picture and probably direction, cinematography and editing as well.  It could well factor in the Best Original Screenplay category and perhaps even acting nominations for actress and supporting actress could be accessible.  I'm basing that assessment largely on the critical reception that Curaon's passion project has received as it has moved through Venice, where it won the Golden Lion, Telluride and Toronto.

Cold War seems like a longer stretch to me.  At this point I think it ends up with the single nomination for Best Foreign Film.

Both films have some baggage that may impede Oscar voters embracing them past the Foreign Language category.  The first thing, of course, is that they're not in English.  They're both black and white and both are from outlets that are viewed primarily as streaming services by many in the Academy and that, to some, is pejorative.

For more, take a look at Anne's article here.


TRAILER FOR THEY'LL LOVE ME WHEN I'M DEAD

Many of you saw They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, the companion documentary for The Other Side of the Wind at the fest a few weeks ago.  This week Netflix dropped a trailer for the Morgan Neville directed film as well as the above poster.

Here, from YouTube, is the trailer:

I've also linked a couple of stories that came out this week about the documentary from:

Indiewire

FirstShowing

HITLER'S LAST SHOW

So, during this year's festival, I was asked if I might be interested in participating in a small project.  I said "maybe" and ultimately this was the result.

The folks that dreamed this up wanted to create a Hitler Downfall parody about TFF.  I didn't even really know what that was but I do now.  

For the uninitiated, there is a program that allows people to create their own script for the titanic Hitler rant in Oliver Hirschbiegel's 2004 Oscar nominated (Best Foreign Film) Downfall.

The "film" was completed this week and here it is with a couple of notes.

1) It pokes fun at TFF but it's all done with love.  Believe me, the folks who put this together love the fest.

2) There's a tad bit of language that would likely earn it a PG-13 rating so if that's an issue, maybe don't watch.

3) I am to credit the film to "An Anonymous TFF Fan".

As a teaser, here's a screenshot of one of the captions:

The complete project is linked here.

That's a wrap for MTFB for this Thursday.  There will be more here on Monday.  Have a fine weekend!

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COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Other Side of the Wind Confirmed / It Looks Like No Eyes / Aretha Franklin and Telluride / The People's Telluride Rides Again

Good Monday everyone.  We're down to the last few days to TFF #45 and I can feel the excitement building...tapping my foot here...


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND CONFIRMED

Ray Kelly at Wellesnet.com wrote this weekend that what we have been thinking is true and that is that Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind will bow at Telluride following its screening in Venice.

Kelly cites a "festival source speaking on condition of anonymity" as revealing that the first showing in the United States  for the long gestating film project will be at Telluride.  I can also tell you that I have been assured that Kelly's source is well placed.

I will certainly have it on my list of films to catch at some point during the weekend and am curious which film makers will be part of the film's entourage.  At a guess, I'd venture Frank Marshall and Peter Bogdanovich.  Both of whom have been instrumental in finishing the project.  Additionally, Bogdanovich acts in the film as well.

You can read Kelly's entire story at Wellesnet.com here.


IT LOOKS LIKE NO EYES

In other Orson Welles/Telluride news, it appears that we will not be seeing Mark Cousins' The Eyes of Orson Welles next week.  I ran across a listing of Cousin's screenings including those at which he is scheduled to do question and answer sessions and it seems that the film and he are booked in Europe during Labor Day weekend.

The Eyes of Orson Welles examines Welles and his career through the lense of  little known artwork that Welles created.

On a brighter note, I still have a good deal of confidence that the "making-of" documentary about The Other Side of the Wind will play at TFF #45.



ARETHA FRANKLIN AND TELLURIDE

With this week's passing of the Queen of Soul I have had a number of folks reach out to me asking if I think that this turn will change the status of the documentary Amazing Grace.  The film was twice seemingly set to play Telluride in 2015 and 2016 only to be thwarted by legal issues at the last minute both years.

The doc was shot during two days as Franklin live recorded the songs that would become the album Amazing Grace.

My feeling is that we may eventually see it and even at Telluride but that isn't likely to be this year by any means.  Franklin's family and estate will now have to decide what they think about the situation.

Chris Willman writing for Variety posted a lengthy story on Friday about the status of Amazing Grace as well an authorized biopic at MGM that reportedly would cast Jennifer Hudson as Aretha.

Take a look at that story here for a deep dive into where both of those projects are in terms of seeing the light of day.

Nick Allen also had a piece about the doc this past weekend in The Telegraph.


THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE RIDES AGAIN!

For the seventh consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

When the time comes, you can send those ratings to me in any of the following ways listed as contact info for me listed below.

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COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Second Telluride Film Festival-1975 / Cold War Trailer / Wells Thinks We'll See The Other Side

Welcome back from the weekend...

THE SECOND TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL-1975

Here's the penultimate addition to the ongoing look back at the history of the Telluride Film Festival.  

The second Telluride Film Festival took place on Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 1975 with the following:

Tributes: Jack Nicholson. Werner Herzog and Henry King

SHOWS:

Ace Up My Sleeve

Aguirre, Wrath of God

Alexander's Ragtime Bad

Carnal Knowledge

The Cockfighter

Drive, He Said

Dupont Lajoie

Easy Rider

Even Dwarfs Started Small

Every Man for Himself and God Against All

Fata Morgana

Five Easy Pieces

Funny Face

Garden of Allah

General Idi Amin Dada

The Gunfighter

Happiness

Hester Street

Jesse James

Karl May

King of Marvin Gardens

The Last Detail

Leap Year

Legacy

Les Ordres

The Man Who Skied Down Everest

Man, Woman and Sin

Ride in the Whirlwind

Song of Bernadette

State Fair

Sweethearts

Taking Off

Tol'able David

Trail of the Lonesome Pine

12 O'Clock High

The White Moth

White Sister

Guests:

Shelley Duvall

Louise Fletcher

Milos Forman

Monte Hellman

Buck Henry

Anjelica Huston

Carol Kane

Mary Kay Place

Joan Silver

It's crazy how many of Jack Nicholson's films they programmed to coincide with his tribute: Carnal Knowledge, Drive He Said, Easy Rider, Five Easy Pieces, King of Marvin Gardens, The Last Detail and Ride in the Whirlwind.

Here's what's even crazier...Jack, Louise Fletcher and Milos Forman were all in town and there's no record of any screening of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest which would open on Nov. 19th of that year.

COLD WAR TRAILER

Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War made a splash at Cannes.  The film won Pawlikowski the Best Director prize there.

This weekend we saw the release of a trailer for the U.K.  Here it is from YouTube:

Linked here are stories about the film and its trailer release from The Playlist and The Film Stage.  A note that the August release date is for Great Britain not the U.S. which still leaves the door open for a play at Telluride.  Its distribution from Amazon Studios suggests that there's chance that it could play The SHOW.

WELLS THINKS WE'LL SEE THE OTHER SIDE

Jeff Wells posted a piece at his Hollywood Elsewhere site over the weekend assessing/analyzing the fall fest fortunes of Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind.

Over the past few days, the film has emerged as a popular guess as the possible opener for the Venice Fest.

Wells says he has heard a rumor to that effect but he is also relatively confident that regardless of its Venice status that we'll find it on the play list for TFF #45.

The complete Wells piece is here.

That's your MTFB for this Monday.  More tomorrow.

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The Distributors 2018: Netflix / Widows Has a New T.V. Spot / Coming Friday: Ten Bets #1

Hello on this late Tuesday in June...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: NETFLIX

I talked last week about Amazon Studios and how the streaming giant has developed a robust relationship with Telluride over the past few years.  Also making in-roads with Telluride is the other streamer that has changed the face of how film/TV relate and are integrated/ignored vis-a-vis film festivals.  Netflix has made its mark in Telluride over the past few years.  To wit:

2015- Beasts of No Nation, Winter on Fire
2016- The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno
2017- First They Killed My Father, Wormwood

So, a couple of things each year for the last three years.

It will be interesting to see if the Cannes/Netflix dustup from earlier this year has any effect on Netflix's TFF profile.

Netflix certainly has projects that could make a play at T-ride and/or, perhaps Venice since none of their stable played at Cannes.

Here are some of the films that are under the Netflix banner that could make the grade for Labor Day weekend:

Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind
Alfonso Curaron's Roma
David Mackenzie's Outlaw King
Alice Rohrwacher's Happy as Lazzaro
Lukas Dhnot's Girl

and a couple of wild cards...

IMDb reports that J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier has gone into post-production.  Could it be ready for an early September bow?  It's unlikely but not impossible.

And then there is the biggest of Netflix's big fish, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman which is dated for release until 2019 but has reported been in post-production since February.

All of these could make a play at TFF #45 but, as you'd expect, some have a better shot than others.

Probably the most likely is the finished project from Orson Welles.  I am increasingly bullish on its chances of making the fest.

The two Cannes acquisitions, Girl and Happy as Lazzraro, are next in line in terms of TFF probability.

Curaon's Roma also has a decent shot to play as the buzz on it is strong and it's probably Netflix's best shot at breaking into this year's Oscar race.

I get the sense that the Mackenzie film is less likely and, of course, both the Chandor and Scorsese are extremely unlikely.

Netflix almost certainly has a documentary or two that I am overlooking that could/will make the TFF lineup.

This could be the first year Netflix lands more than two films at Telluride-or-because of the rift with Cannes-none.

Chances...

The Other Side of the Wind- 80%
Girl and/or Happy as Lazzaro- 50%
Roma- 40%
Outlaw King- 25%
Triple Frontier- 15%
The Irishman- 5%

Thursday's Distributor d'jour will be the Cohen Media Group.


WIDOWS HAS A NEW T.V. SPOT

Steve McQueen's Widows continues to draw a lot of attention and that interest was stoked once again earlier this week with the release of a new television spot for the film.

Widows tells the story of a group of women (Viola Davis, Carrie Coon and Michelle Rodriguez among them) who face the aftermath of a failed crime that their dead husbands tried to commit.  The film is slated to open Nov. 16th.

Here's the new spot courtesy of YouTube:

COMING FRIDAY: TEN BETS #1

That's right, three days hence comes the first "official" stab at ten films that I think will play at the 45th Telluride Film Festival.  I'll post a new "Ten Bets" each Friday until the fest with a special final "Ten Bets" on Wednesday, August 29th, the day before TFF announces the lineup.

Between this Friday and then we'll gain clarity from announcements about the lineups for Toronto, Venice, New York, London and Fantastic Fest (Austin).

Also, the "Ten Bets" will actually expand as more and more information becomes available.  Last year, the final list before the TFF announcement contained 25 films (24 of which played the festival).

So, mark your calendar you Telluride film fans...Friday is day one as the countdown to Labor Day weekend gets real.



That's a wrap for today's MTFB.  More to come on Thursday.


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Netflix Will Go Theatrical with the Wind / Karlovy Vary Lineup Announced / Documentary Corner

Welcome to the last day of May for 2018...


NETFLIX WILL GO THEATRICAL WITH THE WIND

Indiewire reported yesterday that Orson Welles' final film, The Other Side of the Wind, which has been completed after decades of effort, will get a theatrical release in the fall.

Indiewire's Jenna Marotta included Twitter traffic from producer Frank Marshall's account that flat said that a fall theatrical release strategy.  Indiewire also credits Wellesnet with having originated the story.

Interestingly, the original Welles net post notes that Marshall was asked directly (by Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeff Wells) if the screening(s) would occur before TFF #45 and they report that Marshall ignored the question.  Here's the Twitter screenshot:

Additionally, both the Wellesnet and Indiewire posts report that the release strategy is still in the planning stages.

The Wellesnet post is here.

The Indiewire story is here.



KARLOVY VARY LINEUP ANNOUNCED

The Czech based Karlovy Vary Film Festival announced their lineup this week.  That announcement is of some note to Telluride obsessives as there are usually some films that play there that also make the grade then for TFF.

Last year, for example, TFF #44 included Land of the Free, A Man of Integrity and The Other Side of Hope all of which played at the Czech festival before appearing at Telluride.

Over the years I have been attending T-ride (since 2006) several other films have followed this path including:

2016-The Eagle Huntress, Fire at Sea, Graduation, Toni Erdmann
2015-Ixcanul, Rams, 45 Years
2014-'71, Leviathan, Mommy, Wild Tales
2013-Gloria, The Lunchbox, Missing Picture, The Story of Children and Film
2012-Amour, Barbara, Paradise:Love, Piazza Fontana, What Is This Film Called Love?
2011-The Kid With a Bike, Le Havre, Pina, A Separation, Turin Horse
2010-Border, Cameraman: Jack Cardiff, The Illusionist, Le Quattro Volte, Of Gods and Men, Poetry
2009-Fish Tank, Gigante, Room and a Half, Samson + Delilah, The White Ribbon
2008-Gommorah, O'Horten, Tulpan, Waltz with Bashir
2007-4 Months 3 Weeks & Days, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Jar City, Secret Sunshine
2006-12:08 East of Bucharest

So, as you can see, the average number of films that play both fests is four per year (with a statistically noticeable tie to films that have played Berlin or Cannes prior to their inclusion at Karlovy Vary.

With all that said, none of the announced films scream"This will play Telluride".  At a guess I might keep an eye on Ewa Bukowska's 53 Wars, Vladimir Bitokov's Deep Rivers and Giedre Beinoiriute's Breathing Into Marble.

Articles with the lineups included are here from Variety and The Playlist.


DOCUMENTARY CORNER

Errol Morris' Wormwood played TFF #44 and is available to stream on Netflix.  Indiewire put together an in depth look at the series from the Telluride regular earlier this week.

The lengthy article includes interview material with Morris.

You can read the piece from author Chris O'Falt here.

That's today's installment of MTFB.  More to come next week...


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New Trailer for Don Q / Cannes Supports The Don and Gilliam / Awards Watch Previews Foreign Language Oscar Hopefuls / The Wind Is Closer to Completion

Good first Thursday in May my friends...

NEW TRAILER FOR DON Q

Amidst all the legal brouhaha over Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote and whether it will actually screen to close Cannes on May 19th, we have a second trailer for the film, which, for my money is better and more enticing than the first.

Here it is from YouTube:

CANNES SUPPORTS THE DON AND GILLIAM

The top brass at the Cannes International Film Festival released a statement of support this week for Terry Gilliam and his beleaguered film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.  The film has taken two decades to complete and continues to be mired in legal woes.

A hearing is set to take place in Paris on May 7th concerning the claims of one of the past producers of the film.  The decision in that proceeding could determine whether Quixote actually screens as Cannes closing night feature on May 19th.  It's also entirely possible that the ruling could bar the film's screening.

Original reporting on this particular legal claim suggested that the ultimate court finding might not occur until June.

All of that means that the film's Cannes future is uncertain and certainly that would continue to be true in the context of a potential play at Telluride.

Here is coverage from Indiewire on Cannes' statement of support for Gilliam and the film.



AWARDS WATCH PREVIEWS FOREIGN LANGUAGE OSCAR HOPEFULS

Erik Anderson at Awards Watch posted a piece this week examining 16 films that will be playing the Cannes Fest that he thinks could be players in the Foreign Language Oscar race.

Among those 16 are several that I have my eye on as possible TFF #45 candidates:

Cold War
Everybody Knows
Dogman
Ash Is the Purest White
Burning
Three Faces
Ayka


The complete rundown of the 16 films is here from Awards Watch.


 THE WIND IS CLOSER TO COMPLETION

Producer Frank Marshall tweeted a photo on Monday with the caption explaining that the sound mix for Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind was "a wrap".  That moves the film one step closer to completion and potential screening.

Increasingly I am convinced that we're going to have the opportunity to catch a screening of the film over Labor Day weekend.

Additionally, I also think a screening of Mark Cousins' new Welles documentary, The Eyes of Orson Welles could show as a companion piece.

Here's the photo:

and the text of Marshall's tweet:

That's a wrap! An historic moment as we finish the sound mix for THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND, almost 50 years after Orson Welles began shooting his final picture. @OrsonWelles @netflix

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Cannes and the Rest of the Lineup? / Milos Forman 1932-2018

Welcome back from the weekend on this Monday...


CANNES AND THE REST OF THE LINEUP

Followers of the Cannes Film Fest know that the Palme d'Or lineup is probably not complete.  It has been common in recent years that films have been added to the competition and other sections of the fest after the main announcement and I expect that to be the case again this year.

That said, it appears that the door has not completely closed on three films of particular interest to this writer that I've been eyeing as potential Cannes/Telluride crossovers for months.

First, the Netflix/Cannes stand off...which includes Alfonso Cuaron's Roma and Orson Welles' now completed The Other Side of the Wind.

Those doors where thought to be closed with last Thursday's announcement as Netflix withdrew any films from consideration for any section of the festival.  The conflict centers on the Netflix distribution model and Cannes' insistence that competition films must have a French theatrical release.

Despite what happened Thursday, there are reports that there still may efforts to open the door for both of those films.  Indiewire reported that Fremaux is still lobbying for Roma to play Cannes and that Welles' daughter is imploring Netflix and the fest to find some way that The Other Side of the Wind could still play.

Honestly, I don't have a good sense of how this will eventually shake out.  My best guess is that the standoff remains in place and both Roma and Wind don't get added and may, instead screen at Venice and/or Telluride but I wouldn't wager any money on that.

The other film to mention is Terry Gilliam's The Man Killed Don Quixote.  Its chance of playing Cannes seemed to be dashed by ongoing legal proceedings involving one of the film's past producers.  However, there were hints this weekend that even that door might not be totally closed.

Again, if I were forced to guess, I wouldn't count on Gilliam's film making it to the Croisette.  Its past history suggests that.  Actually, it's past history suggests that it's chances at T-ride, Venice, New York and/or Toronto are all dicey at best.


MILOS FORMAN 1932-2018

Milos Forman has died at 86.  His body of work as a director was smallish.  IMDb lists 20 features with Forman directing but the list of 20 is formidable and includes two Best Direction Oscar wins for One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Amadeus (both of which also won Best Picture).  In addition to those two classics Forman also directed Man in the Moon, Ragtime, The People vs. Larry Flynt and Hair.

Forman was in Telluride for the festival in 2001 with the re-release of Amadeus that screened that year.

Several of you probably know that I have occasionally said that Cuckoo's Nest is my favorite film (though that claim shifts from time to time).

Forman was notable for directing all manner never getting stuck in a particular genre or format.  His versatility was remarkable.

Here's Indiewire's report on his passing.



More on Thursday...

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Battle of the Sexes First Trailer / Orson Welles in 2018 / Cannes Teasers and Clips Continued / More Acquisition News from France / New Films to Watch for TFF #44 / Telluride Rewind-TFF #28

Good Thursday Friends...Cannes is full swing which means that MTFB is busy!



BATTLE OF THE SEXES FIRST TRAILER

From Awards Daily

From Awards Watch

From The Playlist

ORSON WELLES  AND ALFONSO CUARON IN 2018

from The Film Stage

Meanwhile we also learned this week that Alfonso Cuaron's Roma will also be targeting a 2018 release taking it off the Telluride possibilities list.  Indiewire reported the news and also included a "sneak peek" of the film.  That "peek" is here via YouTube:

The Indiewire story is here with further details.

CANNES TRAILERS AND CLIPS CONTINUED

The parade of first-look teasers and clips continues from films that are playing in France over the next few days as a part of the Cannes film festival.  I have provided links to a number of those which have been released in platforms other than YouTube below:

Clips from You Were Never Really Here and The Meyerowitz Stories and more from Playwire and The Film Stage.

Happy End clip from Playwire and The Film Stage

Loveless trailer from Playwire and The Film Stage

MORE ACQUISITION NEWS FROM FRANCE

Two announcements yesterday from Cannes grabbed my attention as the players involved probably boost the notion that the films involved have Telluride potential. 

Sony Pictures Classics bought Andrey Zvyganistev's Loveless while The Cohen Media Group nabbed L'amant Double.  Both of those films had already been on my TFF #44 watch list and SPC's and Cohen's previous plays at Telluride, at the very least, don't reduce those films chances of making the T-ride lineup.

Loveless details are here from Deadline,  Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.

Details of the deal for L'amant Double are here from Variety.

NEW FILMS TO WATCH FOR TFF #44

Geoffrey Rush and Armie Hammer in Final Portrait

Pre-Cannes acquisitions and announcements this week put two new films on my TFF #44 watch list.

First, Sony Pictures Classics announced that they had acquired Stanley Tucci's Final Portrait.  Final Portrait played at the Berlin Film Festival back in February.  

Final Portrait stars Geoffrey Rush (T-ride attendee in 2010 with The King's Speech) and Armie Hammer.

Further details are here from Variety as well as here from The Wrap.

Additionally, we discovered yesterday that documentarian Michael Moore has a Trump documentary in the works  and that film has been bought by The Weinstein Company.  Moore was last at Telluride for the 2013 40th anniversary celebration.

The greater likelihood is that Moore's new doc will play in late July as part of the Traverse City Film Festival (that he founded) and that will probably mean no play at T-ride but never say never.  

The doc is titled Fahrenheit 11/9 playing off of Moore's most successful film, the Iraq war documentary Fahrenheit 9-11.

Details are here from Indiewire.

TELLURIDE RE-WIND: A LOOK BACK AT TFF #28

Today I continue my expended history of the Telluride Film Festival.  If you haven't been following along, I have undertaken to expend the "Selected History" section of this blog.  Working backward from the 2005 fest which is most recent one for which a program is not linked on the official TFF website.

So I have been working in reverse chronological order and posting the details of past fests.  Today we go back to TFF #28 whcih ran from Aug. 31-Sept 3, 2001.

Guest Director: Salman Rushdie

Tributes: Ken Russell, Om Puri and Catherine Breillat

SHOWS:

Amadeus

Amelie

Band of Brothers

The Cat's Meow

Dear Fidel

The Devil's Backbone

Drive-In Movie Memories

The Fast Runner

The Fat Girl

The Golden Fortress

Grateful Dawg

Italian for Beginners

Killer Me

La Cienega

Lantana

Late Marriage

Lovely and Amazing

Mark Twain

Metropolis

Mulholland Drive

The Mystic Masseur

Nine Queens

Orphan of Anyang

Ravi Shankar

Revolution #9

Shot in the Heart

Solaris

Song for Martin

To End All Wars

Turn of the Century

Walt

The Young and the Dead

Partial Guest List:

Bille August

Peter Bogdanovich

Ken Burns

Guillermo Del Toro

Faye Dunaway

Kirsten Dunst

Roger Ebert

Milos Forman

Edward Herrmann

Agnieszka Holland

Nicole Holofcener

Tom Hulce

James Ivory

Catherine Keener

Elias Koestas

Anthony La Paglia

Tobey Maguire

Leonard Maltin

Ismail Merchant

Giovanni Ribisi

Lone Scherfig

Peter Sellars

Kiefer Sutherland

I was particularly pleased an surprised that Del Toro has been to Telluride.

That's it for Thursday...more on Monday...

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Building a Mystery / "Steve Jobs" T.V. Spot / "The Revenant" Fnally Finished Shooting? / Toronto News Tomorrow? / MTFB in Other Places

Welcome back from what I hope was a fantastic weekend...

BUILDING A MYSTERY

Concept poster via Indiegogo

A couple of weeks back (July 27 MTFB post) I wrote that I had come across a tantalizing tease from Showbiz411 about the outside shot that Warren Beatty might chose to unveil his long gestating, untitled Howard Hughes film at one of the upcoming fall festivals.

That really would shake up the buzz surrounding the fests but it's also, I suspect, incredibly unlikely. Then, this weekend Showbiz411 tweeted this on Friday and then I re-tweeted it:

"A very surprising film is headed to Telluride and Toronto, and it’s not Warren Beatty’s but does involve a late director-producer."

Which led me to spend a significant amount of time on Saturday and Sunday trying to puzzle out what it might be.

My best guess-and I do mean guess...some version of Orson Welles final, unfinished film "The Other Side of the Wind". That film was the subject of a crowd funding effort to raise the money for final editing into releasable form.  The funding goal fell short with just over $400,000 raised of a million dollar goal. Backers that were/are behind the push to finish the film included Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Frank Marshall and Bret Ratner.

The organizers of the Indiegogo campaign to raise funds have pledged to finish the film despite falling short of the goal.

Admittedly, the film isn't a perfect fit for the Showbiz411 tease as it seems like it would be really pushing it hard to have a complete version ready for Telluride/Toronto.  A couple of friends/colleagues that I shared this with this weekend are also dubious that "Wind" is really what is being referenced.  That said, none of us could come up with another film that fit the brief description in the tease, so...

Clearly, a premiere of the last unseen full length feature from the a legend of Welles' stature would be astounding and Telluride would be the perfect venue for such an animal.  I can envision the Telluride return of Peter Bogdanovich, who used to attend T-ride regularly, as a presenter of the film along with producer Frank Marshall.  Both men still have ties to TFF.  Bogdo and Marshall are listed on TFF's  list of "Esteemed Advisors" as of last year's program.

Marshall is producing the film and Bogdo acts in it and was a Welles confidant and protege.

Finally, I just would like this to be true.  Imagine the electricity of that screening...a brand new, never-before-seen full length feature from Orson Welles.  It would be magical.

This disclaimer, however...when I contacted Showbiz411 and asked if there was any further information that could be shared I found that-whatever the project is- it isn't a sure thing at this point for either Telluride or Toronto.  All of this frothing over the original tweet may well be for naught.

If you have any insight or maybe you have another candidate for a film that fits the limited info from the Showbiz411 tease, provide a comment, email or message.

IMDb for "The Other Side of the Wind";

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069049/?ref_=ttco_co_tt


Here's a piece Vanity Fair ran about the film, its history and the effort to finish it that ran originally in May 2015:

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/04/orson-welles-the-other-side-of-the-wind-making-of

"STEVE JOBS" T.V. SPOT

A new television spot for Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" appeared last Thursday.  It's somewhat different from the previous couple of teaser/trailers that have appeared.

I have "Steve Jobs" listed as the #10 film on the latest "Ten Bets" list.

via YouTube

Here's coverage of the T.V. spot release:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/watch-new-extended-tv-spot-for-danny-boyles-steve-jobs-movie/

http://www.slashfilm.com/steve-jobs-tv-spot/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fassbender-tv-spot-for-steve-jobs-with-new-footage-plus-pics-from-macbeth-trespass-against-us-20150807

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/07/steve-jobs-tv-spot

"THE REVENANT" FINALLY FINISHED SHOOTING?

The Film Stage tweeted Sunday morning that Alejandro Inarritu has finished additional photography for "The Revenant".



The film had to head to South America to get snowy, cold weather to finish the last bit of shooting after having had a difficult time with the primary shoot in Canada.  The film has zero chance of being ready for a play at Telluride, there's just still too much to get done.

Until its limited release on Dec. 25th we'll all have to continue to survive on the trailer:

TORONTO NEWS TOMORROW?

After having been off by a day last week concerning the announcement of Canadian films for the Toronto Film Festival, I'm a little hesitant to write this but I believe we will be hearing from TIFF with more revelations of their lineup tomorrow.

If that is the case, it will, in all probability provide us with a few more clues about what could take place in the San Juans on Labor Day weekend.  That's my hope anyway.


MTFB IN OTHER PLACES

I had a kind of interesting weekend as MTFB ended up in some different places.  Screencraft.org's John Rhodes asked me to write up a pre-Telluride piece for their, which I did and was up Friday and then Sasha Stone of Awards Daily also published a story that referenced the blog considerably.  My thanks to both of them for their generosity in allowing me to expose MTFB to a wider audience.

Links to both posts are here:

https://screencraft.org/2015/08/07/prediction-telluride-film-festivals-2015-lineup/

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/08/on-the-hunt-for-best-picture-telluride-predictions/



That's your Monday...more coming tomorrow...


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