Leaving Wednesday / Tribute Clues / The Mastermind Has a Trailer and a Poster / Blue Moon Madness / Documentary Hints / The 13th People's Telluride

LEAVING WEDNESDAY

Yup.  Leaving Wednesday.  I will post MTFB's Final Bets for TFF #52 on  Wednesday morning.  Then, as has been our custom, we'll drive to Salida on Wednesday.  We'll complete the drive to Telluride on Thursday after the official lineup is announced and I've posted it here. 

I have to tell you that this has been one of the more difficult years to crack and I am less than confident about the films that will be on The Final Bets  in a couple of days.

TRIBUTE CLUES

Telluride film fans have known for some time that the films screened at the Abel Gance outdoor theater on the last couple of evenings before the Festival begins are often clues to possible Tribute recipients.  Last year, for example, the free screenings were After Hours and Lady Bird.  They pointed to tributes for Thelma Schoonmaker and Saorise Ronan.  The third tribute last year was for Jacques Audiard...which neither free screening pointed to.

So what does the free screenings for this year portend?

Before Sunshine...Richard Linklater or Ethan Hawke or possibly both.  Linklater almost certainly be in Telluride with Nouvelle Vague and possibly Blue Moon.  Hawke may be in town with Blue Moon and/or with a documentary discussed below.

The Squid and the Whale almost certainly means Noah Baumbach is getting a Silver Medallion as well.  

As to the third tribute?  My best guesses would be Chloe Zhao (who I believe would have been tributes in 2020 had the fest occurred), Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Jesse Plemons, Scott Cooper or Kelly Reichardt.  It could also be a behind the camera honoree as Schoonmaker was last year.

, 

THE MASTERMIND HAS A TRAILER AND A POSTER

From YouTube, here's the trailer:

And the poster:

I enjoyed the trailer and might be enough for me to put The Mastermind on my list for this weekend.

BLUE MOON MADNESS

It's real and it continues.  After my last post a helpful reader pointed me towards the Calabasas Film Festival which will be screening Blue Moon during its run from Sept. 17-22.  I looked it up...it's true. Here's a pic from the Calabasas Fest's home page:

That would explain the "disconnect" between Toronto and New York premiere designations and mean no Blue Moon at Telluride.  I'll tell you, though, I still think that Blue Moon might make an appearance at TFF #52.  Hope it does.

DOCUMENTARY HINTS

Last post you might have seen the section that mentions Oscar Isaac slipping in a visit to Telluride this weekend between screenings in Venice per Variety.  He's reported to be headed our way to support a mysterious documentary.  Try as I might, I haven't unearthed what it is.  

Since the last post I have also stumbled across a mention on social media of a probable documentary focused on Country and Western music legend Merle Haggard.  After some digging that would likely be a film that, at least as reported by a California TV News program, would be "Merle Haggard: Highway 99" and has been directed by Ethan Hawke.

Don't bother looking for it on IMDb.  It's not there.

I do have the video that ran at station KGET of Bakersfield, CA:

HE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE-13TH EDITION

For the 13th 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".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com 

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

I'll compile all of your responses and post those a few days after the festival.

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MTFB Oscar Update: Lead Acting / Belfast News / Interviews: Stewart, Ahmed, Isaac / The Lost Daughter Trailer

MTFB OSCAR TAKE: LEAD ACTING

Here's an update for my predictions of  the lead acting categories for the 94th Academy Awards.  As always, TFF #48 performers are in Bold. The performers' last position in these predictions is indicated to the right in parentheses.  These categories were last predicted on Oct. 7th.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Kristen Stewart/Spencer (1)

2) Jessica Chastain/The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2)

3) Frances McDormand/The Tragedy of Macbeth (3)

4) Olivia Colman/The Lost Daughter (New)

5) Lady Gaga/House of Gucci (4)

Alternates: Penelope Cruz/Parallel Mothers and Jennifer Hudson/Respect

BEST ACTOR

1) Will Smith/King Richard (1)

2) Denzel Washington/The Tragedy of Macbeth (3)

3) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Power of the Dog (2)

4) Peter Dinklage/Cyrano (4)

5) Andrew Garfield/tick, tick...BOOM (5)

Alternates: Clifton Collins/Jockey and Joaquin Pheonix/C'mon C'mon

BELFAST NEWS

* Won the Audience Awards from both the Middleburg and Mill Valley Film Festivals this past week.  Here's that story from Sasha Stone at Awards Daily.  Incidentally, The Rescue won for Best Documentary at both fests and C'mon C'mon won Audience Favorite for U.S. Cinema at Mill Valley.

*Jumped to a larger lead on the Gold Derby odds for the Best Picture Oscar.  Here that is from Gold Derby.

*Focus Features dropped a new trailer for the film.  Here that is from YouTube:

INTERVIEWS

Variety's Clayton Davis with Kristen Stewart (Spencer)

Variety's Matt Donnelly with Riz Ahmed (Encounter)

Indiewire's Eric Kohn with Oscar Issac (The Card Counter)

THE LAST DAUGHTER TRAILER

Netflix released a first trailer on Monday for Maggie Gyllenhaal's The Lost Daughter which stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson and Jesse Buckley.  The film is due Dec. 31st.  Here's the trailer from YouYube:

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Ten Bets #4 for TFF #48 / The Usual Suspects 2021 / The Card Counter Moves Up / Alloy Is No More

 TEN BETS #4 FOR TFF #48

Well, after last week's embarrassing inclusion of Val, I'll try to ne a bit more circumspect with the newest Ten Bets.  Also of note here is that this should be the last Ten Bets prior to the announcement from Toronto (expected next Tuesday) of a number of their selections.  If TIFF follows recent protocol, they will announce titles with premiere status included from which we can reverse engineer some titles that could play Telluride.

Toronto has already announced 13 films that will screen and Focus Features has revealed that Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho and Kenneth Brannagh's Belfast will both World Premiere at TIFF.

At this point, I'm more or less confident that almost all of the other 13 films that were included on the TIFF pre-announcement list will also likely be World Premieres as well.  That list included: Celine Sciamma's Petit Maman, Theodore Melfi's The Starling and Alison Klayman's Jagged.

The one film on that TIFF pre-announcement list that I still think might be in the Telluride conversation is Denis Villenueve's Dune.  It seems to me that Toronto has been coy with the language that they have used with regard to its status.  We know that Dune will World Premiere at Venice (reportedly on Sept.3rd),  TIFF has billed its screening of Dune as a "World Exclusive IMAX presentation" which sounds way more impressive than "Canadian Premiere".

Last week's Ten Bets:

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) Something(s) from Mark Cousins***

4) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

5) The Card Counter/Schrader

6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Val/Poo, Scott

10) Mothering Sunday/Husson

Here is the fourth iteration of the Ten Bets for TFF #48:

1) Something from Mark Cousins***

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) The Card Counter/Schrader

4) The Power of the Dog/Campion

5) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Julia/Cohen and West

10) Spencer/Larrain

Other Possibles: Dune, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Mothering Sunday and Bergman Island.

***Mark Cousins projects that could play:

The Story of Looking

The Storms of Jeremy Thomas

The Story of Film: The Next Generation

THE USUAL SUSPECTS

If you've been a Telluride obsessive for any length of time, you'll have noticed that there are a number of film makers that have be included as a part of the fest several times.  Paying attention to those "Usual Suspects" and whether they have films available for screening can sometimes give you some solid guesses about what films could make the TFF #48 list.

Therefore, in alphabetical order, here are some of The Usual Suspects that could make an appearance at T-ride 2021:

Jacques Audiard: Paris 13th District

Ken Burns: Muhammad Ali

Mark Cousins: The Story of Looking, The Storms of Jeremy Thomas, The Story of Film: The Next Generation

Asghar Farhadi: A Hero

Mia Hansen-Love: Bergman Island

Todd Haynes: The Velvet Underground

Werner Herzog: Last Exit: Space

Roger Michell: Elizabeth

Jason Reitman: Ghostbuster: Afterlife (I'm semi-serious about this)

Paul Schrader: The Card Counter

Martin Scorsese: The Card Counter (Exec. Producer)

Denis Villenueve/Dune

THE CARD COUNTER MOVES UP

Rumors that writer/director Paul Schrader let slip that his new film, The Card Counter starring Oscar Isaac, will play both Venice and then Telluride move that title up in this week's Ten Bets (see above).  The film moves back up to its #3 spot where it began on the very first Ten Bets three weeks ago.

The Car Counter has been on all four Ten Bets lists and always within the top five.

Reporting about the Schrader mention came from Jordan Ruimy's World of Reel and Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeff Wells.

ALLOY IS NO MORE

Word from an anonymous source this week that the famed Alloy Orchestra is no more.  I had an email from a friend pointing me to an article from WBUR, Boston's NPR station.  Jim Sullivan writing on July 8th:

"All things must pass. Or, perhaps, mutate.

After three decades, Alloy Orchestra is no more. (Ken)Winokur has exited; (Terry)Donahue and keyboardist Roger Miller, who joined in 1998 after (Caleb)Sampson’s death, continue on under a new moniker, Anvil Orchestra. Larry Dersch, who’d played with Miller in a previous band, Trinary System, will take Winokur’s spot in the new group.

The Anvil Orchestra makes its debut in Athens, Greece on Aug. 27, once again accompanying “Metropolis.” 

The Alloy Orchestra had become a Telluride Film Fest institution providing music for a number of silent film presentations as a part of the fest for years.

Here's a YouTube video of The Alloy Orchestra scoring the silent version of The Phantom of the Opera from July of 2020.

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The FAC and The Gold Derby/Payne and Dern/Llewyn Davis News/Rudderless Stills/Oscar Talk/Oscar Podcast/Invisible Woman Visible

THE FAC AND THE GOLD DERBY ( AND A LITTLE BIT FROM THE GURUS OF GOLD)

 Here’s a comparative look at where the major Oscar categories are between The Film Awards Clearinghouse and The Gold Derby and in the case of Best Picture and Director, where they are ranked by Movie City News’ Gurus of Gold.

BEST PICTURE

FILM/FAC RANK/GOLD DERBY/GURUS OF GOLD

12 Years a Slave          (1)        (1)        (1)       

Gravity                         (2)        (2)        (2)       

Capt. Phillips                (3)        (4)        (3)       

Saving Mr. Banks         (4)        (5)        (4)       

American Hustle           (5)        (3)        (6)       

Nebraska                     (6)        (9)        (5)       

Inside Llewyn Davis      (7)        (8)        (7)       

The Wolf of Wall St.     (8)        (6)        (9)       

LD’s The Butler            (9)        (7)        (8)       

All is Lost                    (10)      (15)      (11)     

Her                             (11)      (13)      (10)     

August: Osage             (12)      (11)      (13)

Blue Jasmine               (13)      (12)      (12)

Dallas Buyers Club      (14)      (13)      (16)

Fruitvale Station          (15)      (10)      (15)

BEST DIRECTION

Cuaron/Gravity            (1)        (2)        (1)

McQueen/12 Years     (2)        (1)        (2)

Greengrass/Phillips       (3)        (4)        (3)

Russell/Hustle              (4)        (3)        (4)

Coens/Llewyn Davis    (5)        (7)        (6)

Payne/Nebraska          (6)        (6)        (5)

Hancock/Mr. Banks    (7)        (9)        (10)

Scorsese/Wolf             (8)        (5)        (8)

Chandor/Lost              (9)        (8)        (9)

Jonze/Her                    (10)      (11)      (7)

BEST ACTOR

Ejiofor/12 Years          (1)        (1)

Redford/Lost               (2)        (2)

McConnaughey/DBC   (3)        (3)

Hanks/Phillips              (4)        (4)

Dern/Nebraska            (5)        (5)

Whitaker/Butler            (6)        (6)

Bale/Hustle                   (7)        (11)

DiCaprio/Wolf             (8)        (10)

Isaac/Llewyn Davis      (9)        (12)

Jordan/Fruitvale           (10)      (7)

Gold Derby also has Phoenix and Elba in its Top Ten

BEST ACTRESS

Blanchett/Jasmine         (1)        (1)

Bullock/Gravity            (2)        (2)

Streep/August Osage   (3)        (5)

Thompson/Banks         (4)        (4)

Dench/Philomena         (5)        (3)

Adams/Hustle              (6)        (7)

Excharopolous/Blue     (7)        (6)

Delpy/Midnight            (8)        (12)

Winslet/Labor Day       (9)        (11)

Bejo/Past                     (10)      (10)

Gold Derby also has Larson and Louis-Dreyfuss in its Top Ten.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Fassbender/12 Years     (1)        (2)

Leto/DBC                     (2)        (1)

Hanks/Banks                 (3)        (3)

Addi/Phillips                  (4)        (4)

Bruhl/Rush                     (5)        (5)

Gandolfini/Enough          (6)        (6)

B. Cooper/Hustle          (7)        (10)

Hill/Wolf                       (8)        (14)

Goodman/Llewyn          (9)        (7)

Renner/Hustle               (10)      (13)

Gold Derby has Oyelowo and McConnaughey in its Top Ten.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Nyong’o/12 Years       (1)        (1)

WinfreyButler               (2)        (2)

Squibb/Nebraska         (3)        (4)

Roberts/August            (4)        (5)

Lawrence/Hustle          (5)        (7)

Martindale/August        (6)        (6)

Spencer/Fruitvale         (7)        (3)

Hawkins/Jasmine          (8)        (8)

Mulligan/Llewyn           (9)        (18)

Paulson/12 Years        (10)      (9)

Gold Derby also has Johansson in its Top Ten.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

12 Years                      (1)        (1)

Capt. Phillips                 (2)        (5)

Before Midnight            (3)        (2)

August: Osage              (4)        (4)

Philomena                     (5)        (7)

Wolf of Wall St.            (6)        (3)

Blue is Warmest            (7)        (10)

Labor Day                    (8)        (11)

Short Term 12               (9)        (NR)

Book Thief                   (10)      (8)

Gold Derby has Walter Mitty and Lone Survivor in its Top Ten.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

Blue Jasmine                (1)        (2)

Inside Llewyn Davis     (2)        (3)

Nebraska                     (3)        (4)

American Hustle           (4)        (1)

Her                              (5)        (7)

Saving Mr. Banks         (6)        (8)

Gravity                         (7)        (5)

Fruitvale Station           (8)        (6)

The Butler                    (9)        (13)

Enough Said                (10)      (9)

Gold Derby has Dallas Buyers Club in its Top Ten.

PAYNE AND DERN

Alexander Payne told us in Telluride that there was a color version of "Nebraska".  Now he's telling The Dissolve the same thing and explaining why it exists:

http://thedissolve.com/news/972-theres-a-color-version-of-nebraska-alexander-payne/


And the Bruce Dern charm offensive continues.  Dern was interviewed this week by Awards Daily's (and friend of the blog) Sasha Stone:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/brucedern/


LLEWYN DAVIS NEWS

The Playlist posted a story that includes a new clip from the Coen Brothers' film as well as a trailer for the Showtime presentation of the concert "Another Day Another Time".  The concert will air on Showtime on Dec. 13.  Here's the post:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-inside-llewyn-davis-visits-the-record-label-in-new-clip-plus-trailer-for-showtime-concert-movie-with-cast-20131121


Additionally, The Wrap reports on its presentation of "Llewyn" as a part of its screening series and how Oscar Isaac came to be Llewyn Davis:

http://www.thewrap.com/inside-llewyn-davis-oscar-isaac-t-bone-burnett-coen-brothers


INVISIBLE WOMAN BECOMING VISIBLE

The Playlist has the U.K. trailer and a new poster for Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman" this week:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-uk-trailer-poster-for-ralph-fiennes-charles-dickens-drama-the-invisible-woman-20131120

RUDDERLESS STILLS

There were a couple of key stories this week about William H. Macy's Rudderless this week.  The film, written by Oklahomans (friend of the blog) Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison and  filmed in Oklahoma, was highlighted by a story about the first look at stills from the film and was also tipped as a hot prospect for The Sundance Film Festival by IndieWire.  Here are the links to those stories:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-pics-from-william-h-macys-rudderless-starring-anton-yelchin-selena-gomez-20131119

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-wishlist-30-films-we-hope-will-head-to-park-city-in-2014


OSCAR TALK

HitFix/InContention's Kristopher Tapley and Thompson on Hollywood's Anne Thompson have posted their latest version of Oscar Talk.  Links to it on either of their sites are here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-afi-fest-out-of-the-furnace-lone-survivor-and-preparing-for-the-critics-awards

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-talk-whos-ahead-in-the-oscar-race-post-afi-fest-and-the-governors-awards-documentaries-and-beyond

OSCAR PODCAST

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily also has her latest Oscar Podcast up:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2204


More on Thursday/Thanksgiving Day...which will be posted from Albuquerque, NM and the Rio Grande Arts and Craft Festival: Holiday Show.