The FAC and Other Oscar Categories / Oscar Matters: Pods / Focus On: "Spotlight", "Suffragette" and "Black Mass"

It's Thursday.

THE FAC LOOKS AT SOME OTHER OSCAR CATEGORIES

As we hit the mid-point of November, we're edging ever closer to the releases of a slew of year end critic's Ten Best lists.  December is rife with those and that's just around the corner.  They act as a constant reminder that the race for Oscar is about to get really serious.

Consequently, I thought I'd take the time today to run the numbers on a four Oscar categories that we haven't considered here at the FAC thus far for this season.  So today we look at Film Editing, Cinematography, Foreign Language Film and Documentary Feature.


For the purpose of The FAC I gather data from the publicly posted predictions of the following:

Erik Anderson/Awards Watch
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Knegt/Indiewire
Joey Magidson/Hollywood News
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kristopher Tapley/Variety-InContention
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

TFF #42 films are in Bold.


BEST FILM EDITING

1) The Revenant
2) Spotlight
3) Mad Max: Fury Road
4) Bridge of Spies
5) Steve Jobs

6) The Martian
7) Joy
8) Sicario
9) The Hateful Eight
10) Jurassic Park

Comment: The category that has become semi-mythical in terms of its pairing with the eventual Best Picture winner seems to be among the top six films here.  Though, any of these ten could get in.


BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) The Revenant
2) Sicario
3) Mad Max; Fury Road
4) Carol
5) Bridge of Spies

6) The Hateful Eight
7) The Martian
8) In the Heart of the Sea
9) The Danish Girl
10) Son of Saul

Comment:  The five nominees probably come from the top seven listed here.

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

1) Son of Saul
2) Labyrinth of Lies
3) Mustang
4) Second Mother
5) The Assassin

6) Rams
7) Viva
8) Goodnight Mommy
9) The Club
10) A Pigeon Sat on a Branch...

Comment:  This category is largely believed to be about narrowing the field down to the four films that eventually lose to "Son of Saul".  In a year where most categories are still fairly unpredictable, "Saul" might be the surest bet for Oscar of any film in any category.


BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1) Amy
2) The Look of Silence (TFF #41)
3) Going Clear
4) Best of Enemies
5) The Hunting Ground

6) Where Do We Invade Next?
7) He Named Me Malala
8) Listen to Me Marlon
9) Miss Simone
10) Cartel Land


Comment: Reflecting the sense that I got at Telluride this year, there's only one TFF #42 documentary that seems to have a shot this year and "Malala" is playing from behind.  TFF #41's "Look of Silence" looks solid.

If The FAC is 100% on the money, TFF #42 films earn another five nominations from these four categories with another four possibilities.


OSCAR MATTERS: PODS

Continuing our Thursday theme focused on the latest Oscar info, here are links to Oscar Poker with hosts Sasha Stone of Awards Daily and Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere and with special guest Erik Anderson of Awards Watch:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/podcasts/oscarpoker/episode115.mp3

and Awards Chatter featuring The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-michael-moore-838623


And here's a handy overview of over thirty films culled by the staff at Variety that they believe have the largest Oscar potential.  The list includes Telluride #42 films: "Anomalisa", "Beasts of No Nation", "Black Mass", "Carol", "45 Years", "Room", "Son of Saul", "Spotlight", "Steve Jobs" and "Suffragette".  Here's the link to the complete list:


http://variety.com/gallery/best-pictures-oscar-contenders-2015/


FOCUS ON: "SPOTLIGHT", "SUFFRAGETTE" AND "BLACK MASS"

This section includes interviews from "Suffragette" director Sarah Gavron, "Black Mass' star Johnny Depp and "Spotlight" director Tom McCarthy.  There's also a link to a dissection of "Spotlight" from Uproxx:


Sarah Gavron:

http://theyoungfolks.com/review/sarah-gavron-interview-suffragette/66460

Johnny Depp:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/afi-fest-johnny-depp-talks-black-mass-auditioning-for-the-coen-brothers-working-with-scott-cooper-more-20151109

Tom McCarthy:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/telluride-director-tom-mccarthy-puts-spotlight-on-sexually-predatory-catholic-priests-20150908

"Spotlight" feature:

http://uproxx.com/movies/2015/11/spotlight-inside-story/


That's the Thursday edition of MTFB/FAC.  Come back on Monday for more and have a great weekend...

Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

via Twitter @Gort2 OR to

Michael's Telluride Film Blog's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

More Directors Talk: "Anomalisa", "Spotlight" and "Son of Saul"/ Oscar Matters: Updates from The Feinberg Forecast and The Awards Circuit / Composing for "Steve Jobs"

Welcome to Monday at MTFB/FAC...hope it was a good weekend.

First, hey, I'm sorry.  In the midst of what was a busy week last week, I really didn't realize that I had posted the regular Thursday edition of MTFB/FAC on Wednesday until that cat had been out of the bag for a good long while, so I just let it stand.  Maybe, I'll get this put together a little more like normal this week.  Anyway, sorry for the 24 hour early post this last week.


MORE DIRECTORS TALK: 'ANOMALISA", "SPOTLIGHT" AND "SON OF SAUL"

Charlie Kaufman, co-director and co-writer of the stop motion animated Telluride sensation "Anomalisa" had a couple of prominent interviews pop up this week for The New York Times and The Playlist (Indiewire) and I have included their links here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/movies/charlie-kaufman-discusses-anomalisa-his-existential-stop-motion-movie.html?_r=0

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-15-minute-anomalisa-q-a-with-charlie-kaufman-plus-new-poster-and-image-for-the-film-20151029

Additionally, National Public Radio talked to "Spotlight" director and co-writer Tom McCarthy.
That's here:

http://www.npr.org/2015/10/29/452805058/film-shines-a-spotlight-on-bostons-clergy-sex-abuse-scandal

And, friend of MTFB, Alex Billington/FirstShowing.net interviewed first time director, Laszlo Nemes, whose "Son of Saul" was red hot at Cannes and Telluride and has to be considered the favorite for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.  That interview is linked here:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/interview-son-of-saul-writerdirector-laszlo-nemes-on-great-cinema/


OSCAR MATTERS: UP DATES FROM THE FEINBERG FORECAST AND THE AWARDS CIRCUIT

The amorphous Oscar race continues and I have linked the latest analysis and predictions from The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg and The Awards Circuit's Joey Magidson.  The race continues to change...

Feinberg:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/awards/predictions/awards/predictions/oscars/2015/academy-awards-101615/

Magidson:

http://www.awardscircuit.com/2015/10/31/sizing-best-picture-2015/



COMPOSING FOR "STEVE JOBS"

Kiko Martinez talks to composer Daniel Pemberton about his work for Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" for the Tribeca Film Festival.  Take a look at that interview here:

https://tribecafilm.com/stories/steve-jobs-composer-daniel-pemberton-danny-boyle-michael-fassbender-kate-winslet-seth-rogen-apple-mac


That's Monday's MTFB/FAC.  More to come on Thursday...I promise, it will actually be on Thursday this week.

Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

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Oscar Matters: The View from David Poland / A New Look at "Spotlight" / Directors Talk: Fukunaga and Gavron

Thursday has dawned and here is your latest installment of MTFB/FAC.


OSCAR MATTERS

Movie City News awards wrangler David Poland has weighed in with an update on where he thinks the Oscar race is as we end the month of October.  His latest assessment can be found at the MCN site here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/10/18-weeks-to-oscar-why-the-martian-is-currently-the-movie-to-beat/

Bottom line is that Poland thinks Ridley Scott's "The Martian" is a serious threat.  He's also still high on TFF #42's "Spotlight"


A NEW LOOK AT "SPOTLIGHT"

A new clip has been released from Tom McCarthy's "Spotlight" with the film slated to open next week on Nov. 6.  Entertainment Weekly trumpeted a new clip from the film earlier this week that features Mark Ruffalo and Stanley Tucci.  You can find the post complete with the clip here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/10/26/mark-ruffalo-spotlight-exclusive



DIRECTORS TALK: FUKUNAGA AND GAVRON

I have highlighted and included two new conversations with directors who were in Telluride over Labor Day weekend.  The New York Times talked recently with "Beasts of No Nation" helmer Cary Fukunaga.  Meanwhile, Time.com has an interview with "Suffragette" director Sarah Gavron.  You can find those here:

Fukunaga:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/25/movies/cary-joji-fukunaga-on-the-perils-of-making-beasts-of-no-nation.html

Gavron:

http://time.com/4079023/suffragette/



So, let's put a bow on Thursday because that's a wrap...More to come on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

via Twitter @Gort2 OR to

Michael's Telluride Film Blog's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

The People's Telluride / "Amazing Grace" Saga Continues / Oscar Matters

It's Thursday and time for another episode of Michael's Telluride Film Blog/The Film Awards Clearinghouse...


THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE

Ten days after the conclusion of TFF #42, I have the results of the fourth annual "People's Telluride". Since the fests close, I have been gathering the data that Telluride film followers have been sending my way since then.  Over two dozen respondents sent their evaluations.  Using the same criteria as I did for The Professionals Telluride, films were collated only of they received evaluations from at least a third of those respondents.  With that, here are the results of The People with the rating average in parenthesis:

1) Room (4.47)
2) Spotlight (4.45)
3) Beasts of No Nation (4.35)
4) Ixcanul (4.31)
5) Son of Saul (4.30)
6) Marguerite (4.23)
7) Black Mass (4.13)
8) Carol (4.02)
9) Rams (3.98)
10) Steve Jobs (3.86)
11) 45 Years (3.78)
12) Suffragette (3.58)
13) He Named Me Malala (3.39)
14) Anomalisa (3.36)

The People included three films that the Pros did not: "Ixcanul", "Marguerite" and "Rams".  The Pros had "Taxi" and "Time to Choose" on their list that The People excluded.

The biggest agreement between the sets of data came toward the bottom of the list as The Pros and The People both placed "Suffragette" and "He Named Me Malala" at the #12 and #13 spots respectively.

The greatest disparity came at the top and bottom and vice versa for each set of data.  The People really loved "Room" as it reigns at the top of the People's list but The Pros had it as their #11 film (of 13).  Meanwhile, the Pros were all about Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's "Anomalisa" rating it #2 (just behind "Son of Saul") but the People had it at the bottom of their list at #14 (of 14).

Last year The People preferred "The Imitation Game" with a stellar 4.73 rating.  "Birdman" was #2 with a rating of 4.46.

In 2013, "Tim's Vermeer" led the People's poll with a 4.67 rating and "12 Years a Slave" was second with a rating of 4.55.

In 2012, "Stories We Tell was tops with a 4.80 closely followed by "Argo" with a 4.75.

Coming on Monday...The Combo Telluride...what happens when we put the two lists together?  We shall see.

Seems to me that being #2 on The People's Telluride is a real harbinger as "Argo", "12 Years a Slave" and "Birdman" all won the Best Picture Oscar.  So if you're Tom McCarthy and the crew from "Spotlight"...maybe a sign of things to come.




"AMAZING GRACE" SAGA CONTINUES

The legal saga that began at Telluride on its opening day between the producer of "Amazing Grace" and its subject, Aretha Franklin.  Took a new twist this week.  Franklin sued in Colorado court and obtained an injunction on T-ride's opening day which torpedoed the planned screening of the documentary just hours before it was set to appear.

Subsequently, planned screenings at both the Toronto and Chicago Film Fests were also scuttled.  This week, amid reports that the film was about to be screened privately for prospective distributors brought yet another threat to sue from Franklin and her lawyers.

In light of all this, producer Alan Elliot has agreed to a 30 day moratorium on screening of the film. Speculation is that the 30 day hold will  be used for both sides to negotiate terms under which the film could be screened.

Here's the story from Variety:


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/aretha-franklin-lawsuit-amazing-grace-documentary-1201594489/




OSCAR MATTERS

MTFB continues to make its annual transition from a Telluride film prediction outlet to a Telluride film in the awards season blog by looking at the latest and best prediction professionals and what they are saying after Telluride, Venice and now that Toronto is winding down.

Gold Derby shows a sharp rise for "Spotlight" and "Steve Jobs" from the Telluride plays and reactions.  Meanwhile, Sasha Stone reports that Vulture's Kyle Buchanan has claimed that "Spotlight" is out front in the Oscar race right now.  Take a look at both stories here:


Gold Derby

http://www.goldderby.com/news/10367/oscar-predictions-best-picture-steve-jobs-the-revenant-leonardo-dicaprio-975386420.html


Buchanan

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/09/kyle-buchanan-declares-spotlight-frontrunner-out-of-toronto/


More on Monday including The Combination Telluride...combining of the Professionals and The People's Telluride.  Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

via Twitter @Gort2 OR to

Michael's Telluride Film Blog's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

Oscar Matters: Looking at Oscar from a Long Way Out/Best of the Week

It's Saturday!


OSCAR MATTERS: LOOKING AT OSCAR FROM A LONG WAY OUT

Oscar predictions are a fool's errand at best and that's true up until the moment the envelopes are opened.  Still, some intrepid souls have the courage to stick their necks out months ahead of time and attempt to suss out what's going to happen.  That's important to the enterprise of what I try to do here at MTFB-which is to do my level best to explore the possible Telluride Film Festival lineup.  It's secret nature makes it a challenge that this space tries to accept.  To that end, even early Oscar predictions can give some insight into the films that, at a minimum, have some perception of being quality productions and because of that give us some clues about what films are likely in the mix for prime placement at Toronto, Venice New York and Telluride film fests.

Late this week, Joey Magidson of Hollywood News updated his early early Oscar predictions which you can find in its entirety here:

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2014/06/06/foxcatcher-by-bennett-miller-a-june-oscar-predictions-update/

Magidson's ten predicted Best Picture films are "Foxcatcher", "Unbroken", "Men, Women and Children", "Big Eyes", "Rosewater", "Gone Girl", "Interstellar", "Mr. Turner", "Boyhood" and "A Most Violent Year".

Of these ten, you could make a case for any title being at Telluride with the likely exception of "Boyhood" which played Sundance.  The most likely film to make T-ride from Magidson's list is Mike Leigh's "Mr. Turner".  Also with at least a 50/50 chance from this list: "Foxcatcher", "Men, Women and Children" and "A Most Violent Year".  The other five films are all possibles but unlikely at this point.

From other categories that Magidson predicts,  "Suite Francaise" and "Inherent Vice" mentions remind me that they also some TFF #41 potential.


BEST OF THE WEEK

20 FILMS FROM HITFIX

Michael Fassbender as "MacBeth"

Last week, the staff at HitFix posted a story entitled : "20 Movies Coming Out in 2014 That Aren't on Your Radar Yet".  Maybe they're not on everyone's radar, but most of them have been on the MTFB radar and some of them for quite awhile.  Of the 20 films that HitFix include are a good half dozen that have real Telluride potential:

"Birdman" from Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.  Inarritu and distrib Fox Searchlight make this one to watch for TFF #41.

"MacBeth" from Justin Kurzel.  Distrib is The Weinstein Company.

"The Imitation Game" from Morten Tyldem...also distributed by TWC.

"Men, Women and Children" from T-ride fave Jason Reitman.  Paramount is distributing and had both Reitman's "Up in the Air" and "Labor Day" at Telluride.

"A Most Violent Year" from J.C. Chandor.  A24 is the distributor (which had "Enemy" and "Under the Skin" at T-ride last year)

"Suite Francaise" from Saul Dibb.  Another TWC film.

From this list of six films I feel the most strongly about "Birdman".  I actually think "A Most Violent Year" is the next most likely TFF #41 selection from this particular list.  I'm personally pretty hot to catch "MacBeth" and "The Imitation Game" but one of the big mysteries for puzzling out Telluride titles this year is trying to figure out how Harvey Weinstein is going to play with the pieces he has.  Last year TWC had "Tracks", "The Unknown Known" and "Salinger" which was  a last minute replacement for "Philomena".  The year before, they were repped at Telluride only by "The Sapphires".  But Harvey has also had great success in past years with both "The King's Speech" and "The Artist" running through Telluride before going n to win the Best Picture Oscar.

Three other films that are on the HitFix list that have what I would term a "theoretical" chance to play T-ride are Tim Burton's "Big Eyes" (another TWC film), James Marsh's "Theory of Everything" (Focus Features) and Jon Stewart's "Rosewater" (Open Road Films).

All of this comes with the same caveat that I have already been repeating fairly ceaselessly which is: Toronto's demands to chose them or Telluride for prime screening  times is a joker in the deck that adds an incredible level of uncertainty into the mix.

Here's the link to the HitFix post:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/20-movies-coming-out-this-year-that-arent-on-your-radar-yet#oErfmwXyRE1WK7bP.99

SPC VS. TWC

I have often wondered about the dynamic that exists between these two powerhouse independent distributors and now we have a really good article that addresses that very situation.  Steven Zeitchik in the Los Angeles Times wrote this analysis about the battle for Indie supremacy between the two:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sony-weinstein-20140529-story.html#page=1


POLAND ON LEVIATHAN

David Poland from The Movie City News put up his latest DP/30 focusing on Cannes hit (and screenplay winner) "Leviathan" from director and co-writer Andrey Zvyagintsev.  SPC has the U.S. distribution.  That combined with the high profile success at Cannes makes it a very real Telluride #41 lineup possibility.  Here's the link:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sony-weinstein-20140529-story.html#page=1

RUDDERLESS APPEARS

I couldn't say anything about it until it happened and it happened last night.  William H. Macy's "Rudderless" screened in a private setting in Oklahoma City last night and through the kindness of co-writer Casey Twenter, my wife and I were in attendance.

Lots to talk about.  The film, the Q and A after with Macy in attendance and the plans going forward.for the film which is in the Samuel Goldwyn Films distribution company.

Most of that's coming in tomorrow's post.  Suffice it to say we had a great time and were thrilled to be a part of the first screening in Oklahoma.

I will say what I tweeted last night...I've been waiting to see this film, literally for years...and  I finally got to. It didn't disappoint...it is very, very good.

RUDDERLESS REACTION

William H. Macy at the Q&A for "Rudderless" in OKC Monday night via Kristy Patterson

As Monday night's OKC screening fades a bit in the rear view of the mind...here are some impressions of William H. Macy's "Rudderless":

The film's screenplay has changed a good bit from the original version that I first looked at back in November of 2009.  It's even changed since the re-write that I looked at after Macy came on board the project.

The acting is generally good with standout performances from Billy Crudup in the lead and excellent support from Anton Yelchin, Laurence Fishburne and Felicity Huffman.  Selena Gomez, who soaks up a lot of the press that has surrounded the film, is very effective in a small but pivotal role.

The music is outstanding.  Virtually all of it was written for the film by Simon Steadman and Charlton Pettus. Macy said in the Q&A Monday night that the music is intended to be its own character and that is definitely the case.  It also serves, as you'd expect, to carry a lot of subtext for the film. It does that too.  Make no mistake here, the music is just great...and largely performed by the cast.  You can sample the music at the Rudderless Movie website.  I've linked it below.

Expect (finally) a trailer to drop in a month or so...that's according to Macy.

The future for "Rudderless" is still an open question at this point.  Samuel Goldwyn Films has the U.S. distribution and Macy said Monday night that they along with Paramount are still developing a marketing plan.  Realistically, the decision about how to market the film will be determinative in terms of when and how the film id released.  Frankly, I expect (and this without a shred of implication from any of the principal players on Monday night) that the SGF folks will attempt to position the film via some plays in film fests this fall.  As I have noted numerous times, the "Rudderless" play at Sundance virtually guarantees that it's out of the running for Telluride.  Frankly, New York and Venice don't feel right to me either.  Toronto...I could see that happening.

"Rudderless" was reportedly shot for $5 million and credit should go to all involved as it sure looks and sounds like a much more expensive production.

For those that haven't kept up with the "Rudderless" developments over the years...here's the official synopsis from the film's website:

Several years after tragically losing his son in an all-to-familiar school shooting, a grieving father, SAM (Billy Crudup), discovers a box of demo tapes and a notebook full of lyrics. The revelation of his son's unknown talent drives him to perform one of the songs at an open-mic night. What was supposed to be an act of catharsis sets in motion a series of events that ends with him reluctantly agreeing to start a band with a quirky young man named QUENTIN (Anton Yelchin). As weeks turn into months and practices turn into gigs the band, RUDDERLESS, begin to gel. With each performance it seems Sam has found the catalyst he needs to move on with his life. He revels in the opportunity to do things for Quentin that he never did for his own son. He swells with pride over the prospect of completing Josh’s musical journey. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long for his illusion of a second chance to begin to crumble. RUDDERLESS is an uplifting human drama about music’s ability to heal, chasing dreams and the unconditional love of a parent. - See more at: http://www.rudderlessthemovie.com

Finally, maybe I'm a sucker for this because I have been spooking around on the fringes of this project for more than five and half years.  Admittedly it punches some of my buttons thematically and so I'm predisposed to affection for the film and I do love the music.

"Rudderless" is very, very good.

As you might expect, I'll keep following this project as it continues its journey.  I'll also continue to follow the fortunes of Oklahoma film makers Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison whose dream "Rudderless" who managed to make the dream become a reality...believe me, there were ups and downs...and I don't even know all of them.  Casey and Jeff...if you're reading this somewhere:  you're an inspiration!

ANY DAY NOW

Three events are (or almost have to be looming) as far as the 41st Telluride Film Festival is concerned.

1) A poster artist should soon be named...though early June isn't always an absolute certainty.  Last year the artist was named on June 3rd.  In 2012, it was July 9th before we found out who it would be.  In 2011, we actually had the 38th TFF poster released for public consumption.  So, I expect that an artist announcement is probably very near.

Last year's poster:

Hey, Telluride Honchos, if you're still looking for a poster artist...or want to start thinking about one for next year...look at these samples of what my wife is currently doing.  Imagine a "SHOW" version:

OR

They're original illustrations done directly on rescued/re-purposed vintage dictionary pages.  The illustration is done on a page on which that definition appears.  Would be a cool poster...

Check this and her other work on Etsy or Pinterest:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/flyingshoes

http://www.pinterest.com/flyingshoes/

2) A guest director announcement should probably occur before June is gone.  Of course last year there was no announcement...really ever.  It was the lineup press release the day before the fest that revealed the many-headed approach that the fest took last year as a part of their 40th anniversary edition.  Since we're back to "normal" this year (no anniversary...no five day fest), I expect we'll be back to normal as regards a guest director as well.  That means we have a good chance to see that news in the next three weeks.  The 2012 announcement came on June 11th while the 2011 announcement came June 28th.

3) Will there be a "Telluride Party" in L.A. in the next week or two?  There has been, at least for the last two years.  I reported that news on June 12, 2013 and June 16, 2012 respectively.  My guess is probably yes.  Will it give us any clues about what to expect?  The jury is out about that.  Last year I got bupkes from it.  I chased the presence of James Grey as a sure indicator that "The Immigrant" would screen and tried to puzzle out the significance of the attendance of "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner.  I thought it meant we might see Weiner's film or that he might be the 40th TFF Guest Director...um...no.  None of that.

The previous year's story on the T-ride L.A. wing-ding gave some clues that panned out..I.E. "Amour" and "Rust and Bone" as well as a reference to a major studio making a play for Telluride programmers.  I have always thought that was likely Warners and that they were making the pitch for "Argo".

So three events to watch for over the next thee weeks that will have some significant baring on our TFF #41 experience.  Stay tuned.

MARION COTILLARD AND TWO DAYS (AND MAC BETH TOO)

Marion Cotillard in "Two Days, One Night"

The first "Ten Bets" for TFF #41 is two weeks away (or so) and almost certain to land somewhere on that list is "Two Days, One Night" from the Dardennes Brothers starring Oscar winner Marion Cotillard.

Cotillard was a tributee in 2012 at Telluride and could conceivably make a return this year to accompany the film (and also with Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" with Michael Fassbender...Marion is one of this year's "twofer" possibilities).

The Playlist posted a big article yesterday with Cotillard's new pics from "Two Days", an interview with Charlie Rose, a Brit interview about MacBeth, the Cannes press conference for "Two Days", footage from "The Immigrant".  There's a lot of stuff.  Take a look here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-20-minute-marion-cotillard-james-gray-interview-on-charlie-rose-plus-new-photos-of-two-days-one-night-20140604

SALT OF THE EARTH

Wenders and Selgado via The Film Stage

Thompson on Hollywood posted links yesterday to clips from Wim Wenders documentary about Brazilian photographer Sebastiao Selgado entitled "Salt of the Earth".  "Salt" is one of a number of docs that seem like they have reasonably good chances to make the Telluride '14 lineup ("Red Army" is another).

 The Thompson piece links to those clips via The Film Stage. I have provided the links to both posts here:

 http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-provocative-new-clips-from-wim-wenders-doc-salt-of-the-earth

http://thefilmstage.com/news/preview-wim-wenders-the-salt-of-the-earth-with-first-batch-of-clips/#BYEErCFKmFWTVZwi.03

NEW VIEWS OF IMITATION

Benedict Cumberbatch in "The Imitation Game" via Entertainment Weekly

Also up yesterday...a couple of new stills from the set of "The Imitation Game" directed by Morten Tyldum.  Anyone who reads this space with much frequency knows that this right at the top of my TFF #41 wish list.

Take a look at the post and the other pic from Entertainment Weekly/The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-photos-of-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-in-the-imitation-game-20140605

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/06/05/benedict-cumberbatch-outwits-nazis-in-the-imitation-game-first-look/

Remember to like and follow Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook and Twitter @Gort2

More coming on Monday...

More Gravity Gravitas/Redford Choosing Lost/12 Years with McQueen and Ejiofor/Payne's Nebraska/Labor Look/Oscar Matters

Good Thursday Ya'll...



MORE GRAVITY GRAVITAS

One of the more interesting side stories that emerged as "Gravity" was rolling out at Telluride this year was the companion piece short film that was included elsewhere in the program.  Written and directed by Alfonso Cuaron's son and collaborator, Jonas Cuaron, the film, entitled "Aningaaq" could find its way into the Oscar discussion as a Live Action Short according to this post from HitFixInContention:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/alfonso-and-jonas-cuaron-talk-gravity-short-film-companion-piece-aningaaq

REDFORD CHOOSING LOST

TFF #40 Tributee Robert Redford spent some time during this year's festival talking about how he came to make "All is Lost" for writer/director J.C. Chandor.  www.tampabay.com explored that as well in this post.


http://www.tampabay.com/things-to-do/movies/redford-says-bold-invite-script-enticed-him-to-do-all-is-lost/2149588

12 YEARS A SLAVE: EJIOFOR AND MC QUEEN

Chiwtel Ejiofor who plays Solomon Northup, the "Slave" for 12 years spoke with The Fader about the role and the film:

http://www.thefader.com/2013/10/25/12-years-a-slave-chiwetel-ejiofor-intervie/

Also, from YouTube, this featurette about "12 Years" director Steve McQueen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgSzYe94FBQ&feature=share&list=PLWthn6pZiBNXb-o6Ak_vQ0DoGj-rP6PSw

PAYNE'S NEBRASKA

Director Alexander Payne spoke recently about the feel and look of "Nebraska" at the Savannah Film Fest. The Playlist reports:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/savannah-film-fest-alexander-payne-talks-nebraska-visual-effects-asks-where-adult-dramas-have-gone-20131027


LABOR LOOK

FirstShowing.net reports that there is a second poster out for Jason Reitman's "Labor Day" and that a trailer for the film is expected to arrive later today.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/second-poster-for-jason-reitmans-labor-day-before-trailer-tomorrow/

OSCAR MATTERS

Here's the link to the latest installment of Awards Daily's Oscar Podcast with Sasha Stone:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/?p=2159

More on Monday...Happy Halloween Everybody!

The FAC #2 Part Two/TFF#40 Echos Continue: 12 Years, Invisible, Blue, Past, Lost, Nebraska/Oscar Matters

Hello Everyone...hope you had a good weekend!

THE FAC #2, PART TWO

As promised last Thursday, here's the other half of the updated Film Awards Clearinghouse with the latest numbers for Best Supporting Actor and Actress as well as Adapted and Original Screenplay.

I use the publicly posted predictions of these Oscar experts:

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily

Kris Tapley/HitFix-InContention

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

Peter Knegt/IndieWire

Alex Carlson/Film Misery

Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit

Brad Brevet/Rope of Silicon

The films position on the first FAC is in parenthesis.  Telluride #40 films are Bold.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) Jared Leto/Dallas Buyers Club (2)
2) Michael Fassbender/12 Years (1)
3) Tom Hanks/Saving Mr. Banks (3)
4) Daniel Bruhl/Rush (4)
5) Barkhard Abdi/Capt. Phillips (-)
6) James Gandolfini/Enough Said (-)
7) Bradley Cooper/American Hustle (7)
8) Jeremy Renner/American Hustle (-)
9) Matthew McConnaughey/Mud (-)
10) John Goodman/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)

Dropping out: Mark Ruffalo, Daniel Oyelowo

Hot Stuff: Abdi, Gandolfini, Cooper, Renner

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Oprah Winfrey/LD's The Butler (1)
2) Lupita Nyong'o/12 Years (2)
3) June Squibb/Nebraska (3)
4) Julia Roberts/August: Osage County (7)
5) Jennifer Lawrence/American Hustle (6)
6) Octavia Spencer/Fruitvale (5)
7) Sally Hawkins/Blue Jasmine (9)
8) Margo Martindale/August: Osage County (4)
9) Carey Mulligan/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)
10) Amy Adams/Her (-)

Dropping Out: Cameron Diaz

Hot Stuff: Roberts (at the apparent expense of Margo Martindale), Hawkins, Mulligan and Adams.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Captain Phillips (3)
3) Before Midnight (2)
4) August: Osage County (-)
5) Philomena (6)
6) The Wolf of Wall Street (4)
7) Labor Day (-)
8) Blue is the Warmest Color (-)
9) Short Term 12 (-)
10) The Book Thief (-)

Dropping: Monuments Men and Foxcatcher as they have been moved to 2014 release dates.

Hot: August, Labor Day, Blue, Short Term and Book Thief.


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Inside Llewyn Davis (2)
2) Nebraska (6)
3) Blue Jasmine (3)
4) American Hustle (1)
5) Her (5)
6) Gravity (-)
7) Saving Mr. Banks (4)
8) Lee Daniel's The Butler (8)
9) Fruitvale Station (7)
10) Dallas Buyers Club (-)

No drop outs

Hot Stuff: Gravity, Nebraska, Dallas Buyers

ANALYSIS

Here's the breakdown of the "Great Eight" categories vis-a-vis Telluride #40.  If these predictions were true on nomination morning...

12 Years a Slave: Nominated in six (of these 8 categories...I really think it ends up with 11 overall): Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress and Adapted Screenplay.

Nebraska: 5 nominations: Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay.

Gravity: 3 Nominations: Picture, Director, Actress and 1 possible for Original Screenplay.

Inside Llewyn Davis: 2 nominations: Picture, Original Screenplay.  3 possibles: Directors, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress.

All is Lost: 2 nominations: Picture, Actor, 1 possibility: Director.

Blue is the Warmest Color: 2 possibilities: Actress, Adapted Screenplay.

Labor Day: 2 possibilities: Actress, Adapted Screenplay.

The Past: 2 possibilities: Actress, Original Screenplay.

In the Big Eight categories Telluride #40 predicted currently to have 18 nominations and another 10 possibilities.
 
In terms of total nominations, I'm still expecting a record number for Telluride films this year.  In the 30's is likely.  40+ is a stretch, but possible.

Other non-Telluride films expected to be big players;

Captain Phillips: 5 nominations.
American Hustle: 4 nominations and another 4 possibilities.
Saving Mr. Banks: 3 nominations and 2 possibles.
August: Osage County: 3 nominations and 2 possibles.
Lee Daniel's The Butler: 2 nominations and 3 possibles.
Dallas Buyers Club: 2 nominations and 2 possibles.
Blue Jasmine: 2 nominations and 2 possibles.
Philomena: 2 nominations.
The Wolf of Wall Street: 1 nomination and 3 possibles.
Her: 1 nomination and 3 possibles.
Before Midnight: 1 nomination and 1 possible.
Fruitvale Station: 4 possibles.

I suspect that "Wolf" lost some predictive steam because of its "limbo" status concerning its release date. Now that that has been resolved, I expect that it will begin to pick up some heat from Oscar pickers.  I also think "Her" picked up some heat from its New York Film Fest debut and that it may still be gaining some momentum.  Same is true for the London premiere of "Mr. Banks".  Reports were very positive, so despite my "vibe" that it wouldn't make much of a dent, people in the know and that have seen it would beg to differ with me.

Right now, I also have a "vibe" that "Dallas Buyers Club" may be a more serious player than merely Actor and Supporting Actor nominations.  I get the sense that it could rise in the Best Pic, Director and Screenplay races as well.

Bottom line for me is that "American Hustle" may still be the biggest threat to "12 Years" Oscar supremacy. Maybe "Wolf" as well, but I think the real race might come from the David O. Russell film.  Even with that being said, my gut tells me that it'll be a "12 Years" night on Mar. 2.  Multiple wins...Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actress, plus under the line wins for Costume, Production Design and maybe Score.  Ejiofor won't win the Actor's trophy, though.  I think it's going Redford's way.

TFF#40 ECHOS CONTINUE

     12 YEARS A SLAVE NEWS

I continue to make it clear that this is the best film of the year.  It continued its roll out this weekend by adding a few more cities.  Coming this weekend it adds a slew more and if you didn't catch it in Telluride (or Toronto) I'd encourage you to go see it.  Frankly, I'm going to find a way to see it again in a theater though I think the chances of it being programmed at my local 8 screener in the middle of the Oklahoma Panhandle is unlikely until it gets the 10-11 Oscar nominations that I think are coming its way.  Probably going to have to catch it in Oklahoma City, Amarillo, Albuquerque or Santa Fe sometime in the next six weeks or so.

Nevertheless, for those who haven't seen the film or wish to re-visit it, The Playlist posted links to two clips and a Steve McQueen featurette here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-2-clips-directors-vision-featurette-for-steve-mcqueens-12-years-a-slave-20131024

Also, Canada.com's Bob Thompson talks to "12 Years" star Chiwetel Ejiofor:
http://o.canada.com/entertainment/scene-and-heard-12-years-a-slaves-chiwetel-ejiofor-would-rather-talk-about-the-film-than-the-oscars/

     THE INVISIBLE WOMAN, VISIBLE IN A DIFFERENT CATEGORY

News reported by The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg that Felicity Jones who is the titular "Invisible Woman" in the Ralph Fiennes film will be campaigned by Sony Pictures Classics as a Best Actress candidate rather than Supporting which most observers thought would be the direction that SPC would take.  Here's the post from Feinberg:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-invisible-womans-felicity-jones-651103


     BLUE CONTINUES TO MAKE WAVES

Julian Scanton of Esquire talked recently to "Blue is the Warmest Color" co-star Lea Seydoux as the film continues to spark controversy and conflicting commentary and reportage from the stars and the director. Here's the Esquire interview with Seydoux:

http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/lea-seydoux-interview

     FARHADI ON THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

Indie Wire's Laya Maheshwair talks to the Iranian genius about his current film and some thoughts about future projects:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/asghar-farhadi-on-oscar-odds-for-the-past-iranian-filmmaking-directing-an-opera-and-making-an-english-language-movie

     ALL IS LOST'S CHANDOR ALSO PAST AND FUTURE

"All is Lost" director J.C. Chandor talked to Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net about the survival film starring Oscar favorite Robert Redford and also about some of his future plans:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/video-interview-talking-with-all-is-lost-writerdirector-j-c-chandor/

     NEBRASKA IN NEW YORK

If there was no "12 Years a Slave" Alexnader Payne's "Nebraska" would probably be in the tank for.  It or "Inside Llewyn Davis".  Nevertheless, Edward Davis writing for The Playilist explores the tone of "Nebraska" and includes the link to the half hour conversation about the film from the New York Film Festival with Alexander Payne, Bruce Dern and Will Forte:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nyff-alexander-payne-bruce-dern-will-forte-talk-the-particular-tone-of-nebraska-20131009


 OSCAR MATTERS

In addition to the above addition to The Film Awards Clerainghouse, here are some other Oscar-y tidbits. For example, tale a look at the latest from Gold Derby (which varies a bit from The FAC):

http://www.goldderby.com/news/4952/gravity-12-years-a-slave-oprah-entertainment-news-721480395.html

And here is the link to the latest Oscar Podcast from Kris Tapley of HitFix/InContention and Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-nyff-gotham-nominations-awards-contenders-head-for-2014

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar-talk-where-are-we-now


More to come on Thursday...

"Monuments Views"/Oscar Moves/Cannes Hopes/The Sapphires/Wadaja Festivals On/Paradise Love Trailer

Good Thursday morning,

"MONUMENTS" VIEWS

Just Jared has posted a number of photos from the set of the George Clooney directed, co-written and starring vehicle "The Monuments Men".  They feature Clooney and co-star Matt Damon.  You can access them here via Awards Daily:

http://www.justjared.com/2013/03/25/george-clooney-monuments-men-set-with-matt-damon/

OSCAR MOVES

The Academy Awards have been moved to March 2 for 2014 to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics.  That puts it a week later than it was this year.  The Oscars will reportedly move back to the last Sunday in February for 2015.  Check the story from The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/oscars-move-march-2014-82346

CANNES HOPES

Guy Lodge at HitFix/InContention has posted his list of 10 films that he hopes/thinks will be Cannes choices.  You can see that post here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/10-films-were-most-hoping-to-see-at-the-cannes-film-festival

Included on Lodge's list that I think have some Telluride potential:

"The Past"
"The Congress"
"Twelve Years a Slave"
"Lowlife"


THE SAPPHIRES

Guy Lodge also continues his look at Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires".  Take a look:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/wayne-blair-and-deborah-mailman-on-taking-the-sapphires-from-stage-to-screen

WADJDA GOES FESTIVALING

"Wadjda", which is notable among other things for being a Saudi Arabian film directed by a woman, was highlighted at TFF #39 and now has been selected to open The Gulf Film Festival in Dubai.  That news came from Screen Daily:

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/wadjda-to-open-gulf-film-festival/5053335.article


PARADISE: LOVE

Ulrich Seidl's "Paradise:Love" which played at TFF #39 has a trailer and is reportedly scheduled to open on April 26.  Here's that trailer:

More on Monday...

Oscar Matters: Another Oscar 2014 Speculation/Berlin Calling

Good Monday...

OSCAR MATTERS: ANOTHER OSCAR SPECULATION LIST FOR 2014

Brad Brevet of Rope of Silicon has tagged 40 films as potential Oscar players for the coming year.  These are the 10 on his list (which is pretty informative, by the way) that I think have the likeliest Telluride profile:

"12 Years a Slave"
"August Osage County"
"The Butler"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"The Fifth Estate"
"Foxcatcher"
"Labor Day"
"Lowlife" (The Nightingale)
"The Monuments Men"
"Nebraska"

You can find Brevet's complete set of films beginning here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/2014-oscar-preview-best-picture-contenders-12-years-slave-elysium-counselor/


BERLIN (2013) CALLING

The Berlin International Film Festival is usually an interesting mix of films that have already released in the U.S. and foreign films that have yet to pop up in North America.  As the following list reveals, as of late, there are usually a couple of films that make their way from Berlin to Telluride.

2012: "Barbara" and "A Royal Affair"
2011: "A Separation", "The Turin Horse" and "Pina"
2010: None
2009: "Gigante" and "London River"
2008: "Happy Go Lucky" and "I've Loved You So Long"



So what might we see from this year's recently completed Berlin fest?

Here's the lineup from the just completed festival (Feb. 7-17, 2013):

In competition:

"Dolgaya schastlivaya zhizn" ("A Long and Happy Life"), director Boris Khlebnikov.

"Prince Avalanche," David Gordon Green.

"Uroki Garmonii" ("Harmony Lessons"), Emir Baigazin.

"Vic+Flo ont vu un ours" ("Vic+Flo Saw a Bear"), Denis Cote.

"W imie ..." ("In the Name of"), Malgoska Szumowska.

"Camille Claudel 1915," Bruno Dumont.

"Elle s'en va" ("On my Way"), Emmanuelle Bercot.

"Epizoda u zivotu beraca zeljeza" ("An Episode in the Life of an Iron Picker"), Danis Tanovic.

"Gloria," Sebastian Lelio.

"Gold," Thomas Arslan.

"La Religieuse" ("The Nun"), Guillaume Nicloux.

"Layla Fourie," Pia Marais.

"The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman," Fredrik Bond.

"Nugu-ui Ttal-do Anin Haewon" ("Nobody's Daughter Haewon"), Hong Sangsoo.

"Paradies: Hoffnung" ("Paradise: Hope"), Ulrich Seidl.

"Parde" ("Closed Curtain"), Jafar Panahi and Kambozia Partovi.

"Pozitia Copilului" ("Child's Pose"), Calin Peter Netzer.

"Promised Land," Gus Van Sant.

"Side Effects," Steven Soderbergh.

Out of competition:

"Before Midnight," Richard Linklater.

"Dark Blood," George Sluizer.

"Night Train to Lisbon," Bille August.

"The Croods," Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders.

"Yi dai zong shi" ("The Grandmaster"), Wong Kar Wai.

Trying to hit the bullseye of what films might come from Berlin's lineup isn't easy.  My best guesses: "Paradise: Hope"  (the third of a trilogy,  Paradise: Love" played at Telluride last year; the other is "Paradise: Faith"). "Gloria", "Closed Curtain" and "Camille Claudel 1915".

More on Thursday.