Contemplating Toronto (And All the Rest) / Many More Pics from "Black Mass" / Wells Compares and Contrasts / Remember to Rate the Films

Welcome to Wednesday...


CONTEMPLATING TORONTO (AND ALL THE REST)

Well...

TIFF 2015 announced a ton a films yesterday and there were some surprises in as far as what that information probably revealed about TFF #42.

We learned that, in all likelihood, "Truth" "I Saw the Light" and "Our Brand is Crisis" will not make the trek to southwest Colorado.  Also missing screenings at Telluride: "About Ray", "Mia Madre" and "Miss You Already".

We also think that "45 Years" and "Rams" WILL PLAY in Telluride.  "45 Years" wasn't particularly a surprise on MTFB.  "Rams" really shouldn't be either as it was very well received at Cannes in UN Certain Regard and also won the top prize in that program.

We could still pick up an occasional morsel of useful info from this or that film fest announcement but the biggest morsels are now out there.

All indications at this point are that Venice and Telluride will share "Black Mass", "Anomalisa", "Spotlight", "Beasts of No Nation" and "Heart of a Dog".

Telluride and New York are likely sharing: "Carol", "Steve Jobs", "The Treasure" (See NOTE below)

Telluride and Toronto seem to be sharing: "45 Years", "Anomalisa", "Beasts of No Nation", "Black Mass", "Room", "Son of Saul", "Spotlight", "Amazing Grace", "Heart of a Dog", "He Named Me Malala", "Hitchcock/Truffaut", "Rams", "The Treasure". (NOTE: Comment from Anonymous points out that "The Treasure" is now listed by TIFF as a North American Premiere.  NYFF stills lists it as not having any premiere status which indicates that its U.S. Premiere happens somewhere else before NYFF...soooo...maybe it doesn't play T-ride)

It seems that Telluride and London Fests will share "Steve Jobs", "Suffragette" and "Carol" at least.


What's still out there that is a possible choice for Telluride?

You still have to think that either Herzog piece is possible: "Queen of the Desert" and "Salt and Fire".
Also, the Mark Cousins films "Atomic" and "I Am Belfast".
Sony Pictures Classics "13 Minutes"... maybe.
The Weinstein's "Burnt", "Tulip Fever" and "Macbeth"... maybe.
"A Hologram for the King" and/or "Genius" from Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions/Saban
Maybe "Tale of Tales" and/or "A Perfect Day" from IFC Films
Warners "The 33"...maybe.
Then there are films that seem to be in limbo: Derek Cianfrance's "The Light Between Oceans" and Sean Penn's "The Last Face".
Television programming from Steve McQueen ("Codes of Conduct") and Martin Scorsese ("Vinyl") could still be in play.
Maybe some footage from "Hateful Eight".  Maybe some footage from "The Revenant"???
And there's that Wim Wenders retrospective that I think could show up with some presence.
Additionally, don't forget the tease from one source a few weeks back that even Warren Beatty could show up somewhere with a surprise screening of his Howard Hughes film.

Then there are the other non-festivaled "Big" films: Russell's "Joy", Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea",  Jolie-Pitt's "By the Sea" and Stone's "Snowden" come to mind.  They all seem likely to dodge playing a fest or maybe playing AFI in November.

I have a lot to chew over in the next 48 hours before I put up this week's new and improved "Ten Bets" list.  I'll probably have more than ten bets this week.

I have linked Toronto's added lineup report from Variety:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/sandra-bullocks-our-brand-tom-hiddlestons-i-saw-the-light-to-premiere-at-toronto-1201572271/



MANY MORE PICS AND A SPOT FROM "BLACK MASS"

The Playlist posted yesterday an immense number of new still from Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" as well as revealing a new television spot for the film that hits theaters on Sept. 18.

I'm pretty certain it's playing at Telluride in a couple of weeks.

Here's the new T.V. spot via YouTube:

And the link to The Playlist story:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-a-new-tv-spot-trunk-full-of-images-from-johnny-depps-gangster-drama-black-mass-20150818

WELLS COMPARES AND CONTRASTS

Jeffrey Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere posted a rumination yesterday comparing/contrasting his view of Telluride and Toronto.  It's here and kind of interesting.


http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/08/slight-toronto-droopers/


REMEMBER TO JOIN THE PARTY AND RATE WHAT YOU SEE

For the fourth straight year Michael's Telluride Film Blog is asking you to join in rating the films you see at the fest.  I want your input as I gather your ratings on a 1-5 scale.  You can email them or tweet them or put them in a comment on this blog.  I'll compile and a week or so after the fest, I'll report to you what you, The People, thought about the films that play TFF #42.

I'll also be compiling ratings from some of the industry professionals that'll be in town for the festivities as well.  Included in this year's pros will be writers from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, IndieWire, Awards Daily and more.


More to come on Thursday...come back ya'll...


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

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Toronto's Fourth Wave Announcement: Some Surprises

TORONTO'S FOURTH WAVE ANNOUNCEMENT

This morning's TIFF announcement of additional film Galas and Special Presentations as well at their Contemporary World Cinema program was most noticeable for what films it tells us WILL NOT BE AT TELLURIDE;

James Vanderbilt's "Truth"
Marc Abraham's "I Saw the Light"
David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis"
As well as: "About Ray", "Mia Madre" and "Miss You Already"

From what I can glean, we can deduce that Berlin and Cannes successes "45 Years" and "Rams" will both play Telluride.  "45 Years" from Andrew Haigh which won acting awards at Berlin for both leads, Tom Courtenay and Charlotte Rampling.  "Rams" won the top prize in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section.

Still floating in the "No Toronto/NYFF/Venice Void" are:

"Suffragette"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"By the Sea"
"Manchester-by-the-Sea"
"Secret in Their Eyes"
"Queen of the Desert"
"Salt and Fire"
"13 Minutes"
"Macbeth"
"Adam Jones/Burnt"
"Snowden"
"Joy"
"Light Between Oceans"
"The 33"
"Crimson Peak"
"The Last Face"


More tomorrow....


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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Telluride True Detective Finds "Tyrus" / Tom as Hank? / Inarritu's "The Revenant": A Difficult Shoot / Posters and Stills from Films We Could Hear from Today

It's just another Tuesday...

TELLURIDE TRUE DETECTIVE FINDS "TYRUS"

It's one of the more enjoyable parts of this obsession...when I track down a film that's likely going to play at Telluride that hasn't been pointed at or alluded to anywhere else.  It happened this weekend when I tumbled across a tweet that was as simple as a question about attending the festival.  As I backtracked that, I found a name or two here and there and with some use of Google and IMDb I came across a documentary that will probably play T-ride in two and a half weeks.

I mean to say, I think this is pretty solid detective work.  So, before Toronto announces it later today-if they do, let me just print here and now that it seems that the documentary "Tyrus" will play at The SHOW.

"Tyrus" focuses on 104 year old Chinese-American artist Tyrus Wong who was instrumental in creating the look for Disney's "Bambi" over six decades ago.

The documentary is directed and written by Pamela Tom and per IMDb has no U.S. distribution as yet.  Check out its IMDb entry here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2531928/companycredits?ref_=tt_ql_7



TOM AS HANK?

Entertainment Weekly posted yesterday an article entitled "Why Tom Hiddleston Was the Best Choice to Play Hank Williams in "I Saw the Light".

The post makes the case that the Brit, who is best known for his recurring stint as Loki, brother of Thor in the Marvel superhero action films was the definitive choice to  play the Alabama born "father of country music".

The film's director, Marc Abraham (who also wrote the script) makes a persuasive case for the actor's abilities.

Will it play Telluride?  Perhaps that question will be answered later today when the Toronto International Film Festival releases more of the films that will be playing there.  I have my fingers crossed and am cautiously optimistic that we'll see it.

Check the EW post here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/17/tom-hiddleston-channels-hank-williams-i-saw-light



INARRITU'S "THE REVENANT": A DIFFICULT SHOOT

Trailer for "The Revenant" via YouTube

Reportedly Alejandro Inarritu and crew finally finished shooting additional scenes for "The Revenant" last week in South America.  We've known for a while that we wouldn't be seeing the new film starring Leonardo DiCaprio at Telluride, although I still think it's possible that we might see Alejandro in town over Labor Day weekend.  Maybe we can ask him how it's going in the editing room.

Entertainment Weekly's Nicole Sperling recently wrote a story detailing the difficulties of the film's shooting experiences.  It wasn't easy.

Take a look at her report here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/14/alejandro-inarritu-revenant-insane-ongoing-making


POSTERS AND STILLS OF FILMS WE COULD HEAR FROM TODAY


New looks showed up the last day or two for films that could be named by the Toronto folks later today.  That information could also reveal whether any of these four films might make an appearance in the San Juans in a couple of weeks.  Here's new posters or pictures from "Our Brand is Crisis", "About Ray", "The 33" and "Spotlight":

New still from "Our Brand..."

Poster for "About Ray"

Poster for "The 33"

Poster for "Spotlight"

Bring on the TIFF announcement!


ANNUAL CALL FOR YOUR INPUT

For the fourth straight year Michael's Telluride Film Blog is asking you to join in rating the films you see at the fest.  I want your input as I gather your ratings on a 1-5 scale.  You can email them or tweet them or put them in a comment on this blog.  I'll compile and a week or so after the fest, I'll report to you what you, The People, thought about the films that play TFF #42.

I'll also be compiling ratings from some of the industry professionals that'll be in town for the festivities as well.

Join the fun...rate the film's you love, the one's you don't love...share!

MORE LATER TODAY AFTER WE LEARN THE LATEST WAVE OF FILMS FOR TORONTO!!!


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

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More from the North Tomorrow / Late Breaking: Trailer for "Carol" / "Suffragette" Director Sarah Gavron / New Views from "I Saw the Light: / AFI or Nothing?

Welcome back from the weekend ladies and germs...

MORE FROM THE NORTH TOMORROW

The last big announcement of films for the Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled for tomorrow morning.  TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey tweeted over the weekend that they will reveal more Galas, Special Presentations and their Contemporary World Cinema program.  All of those could well (and probably will) reveal more titles that could play Telluride.

We could learn something about "Our Brand is Crisis", "Carol" and "I Saw the Light" (see below) which both had new photos/stills arrive late last week which could be an indication of imminent news concerning those films...or not.

Also, a couple of films released new poster art at the end of the week: "By the Sea" and "The 33". Does this indicate some TIFF news?

Perhaps we might also hear some news about some of the other films that have yet to have been revealed to have fall festival destinations such as "45 Years", "Truth", "Macbeth", "Secret in Their Eyes"and "In the Heart of the Sea" for example.

As I have been doing, I will post Tuesday's regular news in the morning and then follow it later in the day with a Toronto news special with more coverage and analysis about whatever we learn tomorrow on Wednesday.


LATE BREAKING-TRAILER FOR "CAROL"

As I am going to press this morning, I find the new teaser for Todd Haynes' "Carol".  Also news this morning that "Carol" will be featured at the BFI London Film Fest with a Gala presentation.  With out frills, here's the teaser and The Playlist story the reported it:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-cate-blanchett-rooney-mara-fall-in-love-in-first-trailer-for-todd-haynes-carol-20150817


IN-DEPTH WITH "SUFFRAGETTE" DIRECTOR SARAH GAVRON

Currently sitting at #7 on last week's "Ten Bets' for Telluride is Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette".  The film is the story of the women of Britain and their struggle for voting rights.  The film stars Carey Mulligan, Helena Bonham Carter, Brendan Gleeson and, in a small role, Meryl Streep.  The film is scheduled to be released in the U.S. on Oct. 23rd.

The Economist's Intelligent Life posted a profile of director Sarah Gavron over the weekend which I have included below.  Gavron, should "Suffragette" be a part of the Telluride lineup, would be returning to Telluride after having screened "Brick Lane" there in 2007.

Here's the profile:

http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/features/julie-kavanagh/vote-gavron



NEW VIEWS FROM "I SAW THE LIGHT"

We got a look at a few more stills from Marc Abraham's Hank Williams biopic "I Saw the Light" over the weekend as well.  Tom Hiddleston stars as the seminal country singing star with Elizabeth Olsen said to be outstanding as Williams' wife Audrey.

The film has been riding high on the "Ten Bets" lists all summer long (bumped slightly off this week) and the appearance of these new looks might indicate that it will be named tomorrow with a spot at TIFF which would/could indicate that it's also ready for a Telluride play.  I have been irrational excited about this film since I knew it was happening which is weird as I am not a particular fan of Williams' music nor am I necessarily a huge Hiddleston fan.  But still, I'm amped for this and have been for quite some time.

We'll see, maybe tomorrow, if it's coming to T-ride.

Here's the story with the new pics from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-tom-hiddleston-as-hank-williams-in-i-saw-the-light-20150812



FILMS LIKELY HEADED TO AFI FEST OR NO FEST AT ALL:

"Joy"
"Snowden"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"Crimson Peak"
"The Revenant"
"The Hateful Eight"


That's all for Monday...more tomorrow in a probable double post!

Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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New York Reveals Full Slate / "The Hateful Eight" Has a Trailer / Looking at Hank Williams/Tom Hiddleston / A Look at "Our Brand is Crisis"

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday...


A very busy 24 hours since my last post vi-s-a-vis The 42nd Telluride Film Festival with new information and also views of some films that could play at T-ride that we haven't seen much of anything from...yet.  Let's start with new info from...

NEW YORK REVEALS FULL SLATE (AND TELLS US SOME THINGS ABOUT TELLURIDE)

The New York Film Festival dropped the rest of their film lineup (barring any surprise screenings...and NYFF has certainly done some of that in the past) out of the blue yesterday.  Last year the NYFF program was revealed on Aug. 14 so we knew it was likely very soon.

Here's what we can discern/glean:

Announcements of Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" (which we knew from its earlier announcement as NYFF's centerpiece) is still label less in terms of premiere status.  That's a pretty strong indication that it's Telluride bound.

Todd Haynes "Carol" was also in the announcement yesterday with no premiere status indicated which tells me Telluride.

The ONLY other film that fits the "no premiere" status condition is Corneliu Porumbiou's "The Treasure".  It played Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section.  Critics loved, loved, loved it.  Looks like it's going to make the trip to the San Juans.

"The Treasure's"  IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4515684/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


We are also able to deduce that some films are now off the Telluride radar owing to their NYFF posted premiere status (barring mistakes or weirdness).  Off the T-ride table would appear to be:

Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies"
"Arabian Nights"
"Les Cowboys"
"The Measure of a Man"
"Mia Madre"
"Microbe and Gasoline"


There are also others off the Telluride grid but we either already knew that or never thought they were likely for Telluride to begin with.

Want some weirdness?  Seems like only three films will crossover this year between Telluride and New York.  Last year it was 11 films that played both fests.  Not sure why but that's a dramatic difference.

Finally, for those keeping score, films that we still haven't seen on any of the three major fall fest lists (TIFF, Venice, NYFF) are:

"Suffragette"
"I Saw the Light"
"Our Brand is Crisis"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"By the Sea"
"Truth"
"Manchester-by-the-Sea"
"Secret in Their Eyes"
"Queen of the Desert"
"Salt and Fire"
"45 Years"
"13 Minutes"
"Macbeth"
"Adam Jones/Burnt"
"Snowden"
"Joy"

"The Light Between Oceans"

"Crimson Peak"

"The 33"

"The Last Face"

Of these, I feel that the best added Telluride shots are:

"Suffragette"

"I Saw the Light" (see below)

"Our Brand is Crisis"

"Truth"

"Secret in Their Eyes"

"Queen of the Desert"

"45 Years"

"13 Minutes"

"Macbeth"

Here are links to a slew of NYFF coverage:

http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2015/daily/the-new-york-film-festival-sets-26-films-for-the-2015-main-slate/

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/spielberg-coens-drama-bridge-of-spies-gets-new-york-film-festival-premiere/

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/new-york-film-festival-lineup-2015-bridge-of-spies

http://www.indiewire.com/article/53rd-new-york-film-festival-announces-main-slate-offerings-brooklyn-carol-and-bridge-of-spies-top-list-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/what-did-the-new-york-film-festival-get-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-york-film-festival-adds-world-premiere-of-steven-spielbergs-bridge-of-spies-to-main-slate-and-more-20150812

We should have more insight next week with the next wave of major announcements from Toronto.

"THE HATEFUL EIGHT" HAS A TRAILER

Well, let's all say it together: "The Hateful Eight" will not be ready in time to screen at TFF #42.

There's the disclaimer.

But I will say again that I do think we could see some footage of some kind.  I don't think that's stretch.  Maybe clips.  Maybe and extended scene or two.  Maybe a Quentin Tarantino tribute?

All possible.  

Yesterday's trailer release is reportedly what was shown at Cannes in May.  Check it here via YouTube:

And, as you might expect, I have linked a number of stories that accompanied the trailer release:


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hateful-eight-trailer-quentin-tarantino-1201568499/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/first-trailer-quentin-tarantinos-hateful-814804

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/08/hateful-eight-trailer-gives-season-much-needed-shot-in-the-arm/

http://thefilmstage.com/trailer/quentin-tarantino-returns-to-the-western-in-first-trailer-for-the-hateful-eight/

http://www.slashfilm.com/hateful-eight-trailer/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-quentin-tarantino-returns-to-the-western-with-a-gun-slinging-hateful-eight-teaser-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-bloody-blazing-trailer-for-quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-20150812


LOOKING AT HANK WILLIAMS/TOM HIDDLESTON IN "I SAW THE LIGHT"

We got our first official glimpse yesterday of Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in the Marc Abraham film "I Saw the Light" as you can see above.

As I was monitoring the internet traffic as the image was being reported I noted an exchange highlighted between @PennJK and the official Toronto Film Festival Twitter account.  TIFF tweeted the image themselves:

https://twitter.com/TIFF_NET/status/631573216054525952/photo/1

 In the exchange @PennJK asks if the tweet means that "I Saw the Light" will play in Toronto to which the TIFF account replies:

"No plans as of now.  Just a savory slice of film industry news."

Which strikes me as an non denial denial.  It seems to me to be too convenient a pic for the TIFF account to tweet if it weren't going to go to TIFF.  Kind of makes me think that it WILL play TIFF and I'd bet if it does that it plays Telluride first.  Perhaps we'll find out next week.

Your links to stories with the "I Saw the Light" image from yesterday.  The Anne Thompson post suggests the possibility of Telluride:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/i-saw-the-light-first-look-tom-hiddleston-as-country-star-hank-williams-20150812

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/tom-hiddleston-hank-williams-i-saw-light-first-lo

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-tom-hiddleston-as-hank-williams-in-i-saw-the-light-20150812

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-picture-of-tom-hiddleston-as-hank-williams-in-i-saw-the-light/

ALSO A LOOK AT "OUR BRAND IS CRISIS"

Just about the same time all the Hateful trailer stories and Hiddleston as Hank stories were blowing up, the folks behind the P.R. for David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis" were busy with the first official look of Sandra Bullock from that film (above).

Could this film play Telluride?  It's still on my list of possibilities.   Coverage is here from Entertainment Weekly:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/sandra-bullock-our-brand-crisis-first-look


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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"Steve Jobs" in the Center/"Maryland" (Disorder) Trailer and Poster/"Truth About "Truth"/"Hollywood Elsewhere Thinks "Our Brand" Could Head to T-ride

Good Tuesday Everyone...

Here's the first post for the blog today bit another is coming later after the morning announcement from the Toronto International Film Festival...so keep checking back today to see what the TIFF2015 announcement tells us about Telluride.  Last year we were able to nail down seven T-ride films from the first Toronto announcement.  Also, a reminder, Venice announces their lineup tomorrow.

"STEVE JOBS" IN THE CENTER

The New York Film Fest announced late yesterday afternoon that Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" starring Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet will be its centerpiece gala on Oct. 3.  The film is set for an Oct. 9th U.S. release.

Does that take it off the table for Telluride?  Probably but maybe not yet.  The story from the NY Times Arts Beat blog omits that "premiere" status of the film.  Is this an oversight?  Is it intentional so as to be tricky?  If it doesn't world premiere in New York that leaves the door open.  Perhaps we'll find out more later today or with Venice's announcement tomorrow.

Last year's NYFF centerpiece was "Inherent Vice".  In 2013 it was "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". in 2012 it was "Not Fade Away" and in 2011 it was "My Week with Marilyn".

Here's coverage:

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/07/27/steve-jobs-gets-centerpiece-slot-at-new-york-film-festival/

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/07/steve-jobs-boyle-sorkin-rudin-joint-to-be-new-york-film-fests-centerpiece/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/danny-boyles-steve-jobs-starring-michael-fassbender-headed-to-new-york-film-festival-20150727

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/jobs-michael-fassbender-new-york-film-festival-1201549347/

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/27/steve-jobs-new-york-film-festival-2015

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/boyles-steve-jobs-heading-to-new-york-film-festival-but-is-a-toronto-premiere-in-the-offing/

In Jeffrey Wells Hollywood Elsewhere piece, he talks about the possibility that "STeve Jobs" makes the trip to Telluride and also that "Trumbo" will NOT:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/07/one-telluride-heartbreaker-possibly-two/

And this last night from Britain's The Guardian reporting "sources" that claim the film will bypass Toronto and Venice:

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jul/27/danny-boyle-steve-jobs-new-york-film-fest


"MARYLAND" (DISORDER) TRAILER AND POSTER

I have mentioned this film a couple of times as a distant Telluride possibility by its original title "Disorder" (June 9 and July 17 MTFB posts).  The arrival yesterday of a trailer and poster seems to indicate that we'll probably see it named for Toronto and/or Venice and possibly still be in play for Telluride.

Here's the trailer via YouTube:

The trailer looks intriguing and the pairing of Matthias Schoenaerts and Diane Kruger is also whets the appetite.  The film is directed by Alice Winocour and is distributed by Sundance Selects.

Reports linked here from FirstShowing, The FilmStage and The Playlist:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/trailer-for-maryland-starring-matthias-schoenaerts-diane-kruger/

http://thefilmstage.com/trailer/first-trailer-for-cannes-drama-maryland-starring-matthias-schoenaerts-and-diane-kruger/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-international-trailer-for-maryland-starring-matthias-schoenaerts-and-diane-kruger-20150727

THE TRUTH ABOUT "TRUTH"

I am increasingly confident about "Truth" making the Telluride lineup.  The true life film based on the decline and fall of Dan Rather at CBS News is from SPC and seems like a ht T-ride prospect.  We learned yesterday that the film has been dated for an October 16th release date which comports well with a possible festival run which could include Telluride, Toronto, Venice and New York.

HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE THINKS "OUR BRAND" COULD HEAD TO T-RIDE

Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere echoes much the same train of thought that I did in yesterday's blog post that the David Gordon Green film "Our Brand is Crisis" could make an appearance on the T-ride 2015 program.

Wells lays out his case for it making a fall fest appearance as well as runs down a history of the film's development here:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/07/brand-will-probably-hit-festivals/

THAT'S ALL FOR NOW.  MORE COMING IN A FEW AFTER THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL MAKES ITS FIRST SET OF ANNOUNCEMENTS.

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"Black Mass" to Venice/"Our Brand" Gets a Release Date/The "Unified Clooney Theory"/This Would Be a Shocker

Good Monday morning campers.  I hope you enjoyed a stress free weekend.



"BLACK MASS" TO VENICE

"Black Mass" trailer via YouTube

The Venice Film Festival announced Friday that Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" will world premiere out of competition as a part of their lineup on Sept. 4.

You probably noticed that I listed "Black Mass" in Friday's MTFB post at #10 and for the first time this summer.  I also mentioned in this space last week that I was seeing a good deal of smoke about the chances that it would play Telluride and in light of the Hollywood Elsewhere story above, the #10 spot seems conservative.

 Finally, I have been suggesting for months now that I thought that Warners would be back at Telluride this year after laying out last year.  Their success with "Argo" in 2012 and "Gravity" in 2013.  In addition to "Black Mass", Warners also has "Our Brand is Crisis" and "In the Heart of the Sea" and "Midnight Special" as potential material for Telluride.

The Telluride/Venice overlap is usually fairly smallish.  In most years, the overlap is around three films.  But...

The dating of the "Black Mass' premiere for Sept. 4th works for a Venice play followed by a Telluride screening half way through.  "Gravity" followed that path in 2013.



A couple of questions remain.  First, does Johnny Depp make the trip from Venice to Telluride and second, do any of the supporting players also come along?  Like Benedict Cumberbatch?  You may recall that in 2013 a mass of the "12 Years a Slave" crew made the journey: McQueen, Pitt, Fassbender, N'yongo, Ejiofor...so maybe the whole gang.

Here is a sampling of the coverage from the media about the Venice "Black Mass" announcement:

http://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/johnny-depp-starrer-black-mass-to-world-preem-at-venice-film-festival-1201547904/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/venice-black-mass-world-premiere-810884

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/24/black-mass-venice-film-festival

http://www.indiewire.com/article/johnny-depp-heading-to-venice-film-festival-for-black-mass-world-premiere

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/johnny-depps-black-mass-will-officially-play-the-venice-film-festival-out-of-competition-20150724





"OUR BRAND" LANDS WITH A FALL DATE

Another tidbit of interest that was announced this weekend was the dating of release for David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis" for Oct. 30th.  That puts the film in prime position to be a part of any number of fall film fests including Telluride.  As mentioned above, "Our Brand" is being distributed by Warners which could bring it to T-ride along with "Black Mass" as they did with "Prisoners' and "Gravity in 2013.

"Our Brand" stars Sandra Bullock, Billy Bob Thornton and Zoe Kazan and is based on the 2005 documentary of the same name which explored the extension of American style political campaigning in South America.

The film also shows up below in my look at "The Unified Clooney Theory" of Telluride possibilities.

The stories from Variety and The Hollywood Reporter:


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/sandra-bullock-our-brand-is-crisis-set-for-oct-30-1201548567/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sandra-bullocks-crisis-gets-october-811106

THE UNIFIED CLOONEY THEORY

George Clooney on the set of the Coen Brothers' "Hail Caesar"

It's time once again to re-visit my annual proposal of the "Unified Clooney Theory".  The UCT suggests that Telluride clues can be found by examining the work of George Clooney and his friends and associates.  Last year the UCT was abysmal at suggesting possibilities, but remember that 2013 when the UCT was actually fairly prophetic: "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity".  So...it's a "so-so" tool at best but kind of fun...

So, start with Clooney himself.  Acting wise, he's involved with a couple of films that might be Telluride worthy: "Money Monster" directed by Jodie Foster that almost certainly is unready (IMDb says it is till filming and isn't "expected until Mar. 31) and "Hail, Caesar" the Coen Brothers (also members of The UCT) film that is set for Feb. 5, 2016 release.

I'd really love "Caesar" to be surprise at T-ride...but it's not likely.

Much more likely is a film that Clooney is a producer on which David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis"  The film stars (and is also being produced by) Sandra Bullock.  The film is distributed by Warners and I actually think there's a real shot for it to play on Labor Day weekend.

Next up in The UCT is Clooney pal and sometimes co-star Brad Pitt.  Pitt and his wife Angelina Jolie have a much anticipated film that they have done together and was directed by Jolie.  "By the Sea" is at Universal and is set for a Nov. 13th release.  Honestly, I think the film is more likely as a New York Film Fest possibility rather than Telluride...but you never know.

The third member of The UCT to mention is Matt Damon.  Unlike Clooney and Pitt, Damon has not made it to Telluride.  His big acting gig for this year is the upcoming "The Martian" from director Ridley Scott.  "The Martian" is distributed by 20th Century Fox and is scheduled for release on Oct. 2.  One could make the case that it could SHOW with a big splash as "Gravity" did a couple of years ago but I'd be very, very surprised.

Damon, like Clooney, might be more likely to be Telluride involved through hos producing as he is a producer for Kenneth Lonergan's "Manchester-by -the-Sea" which, although I don't think its T-ride chances are great, has a greater chance to make the lineup than "The Martian" does.

Then there's Damon's longtime friend and occasional collaborator Ben Affleck who is all about being Batman now in the upcoming "Batman vs. Superman" flick.  Affleck is also starring in "The Accountant" from Warners which has late January release date.  Warners could conceivably include it at T-ride with the roll out of "Black Mass".

Known Clooney accomplice Julia Roberts could show at The SHOW with "Secret in Their Eyes".

Cate Blanchett, another Clooney crony, has both "Truth" (which appears to be set for Telluride-see above) and "Carol" (which may not be as solid for Telluride as I have been thinking-also see above).

Of course, Clooney pal Don Cheadle is off the T-ride chart with his Miles Davis biopic that has been announced as the world premiere closing night film for the New York Film Fest.

Then there's Tilda Swinton who received a tribute at Telluride the same year as Clooney and has been in a number of films with Clooney and/or other UCT members: "Michael Clayton", "Hail, Caesar", "Burn After Reading", "Benjamin Button".  She's in "A Bigger Splash" which could be in the TFF #42 lineup.

Best UCT Telluride chances this year are:

1) "Truth" (Blanchett)
2) "Carol" (also Blanchett)
3) "Our Brand is Crisis" (Clooney)
4) "Manchester-by-the-Sea (Damon)
5) "Secret in Their Eyes" (Roberts)

THIS WOULD BE A SHOCKER

Roger Freidman's ShowBiz411 posted this tasty rumor/tidbit over the weekend: the Warren Beatty Howard Hughes project could show up at one of the three upcoming festivals...including Telluride.

The story seems unlikely, but I guess it's possible.  Freidman cites a "source close to the production" who also is reported to have claimed that if it were to show at Venice, Toronto or Telluride that it might well be a "surprise" screening.

That would be a stunning coup for any of the fests as the project is shrouded in mystery.

Here's the IMDb page for the untitled film:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1974420/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

and the link to the Freidman post:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/07/24/warren-beattys-howard-hughes-movie-may-surface-at-fall-film-festival



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RIP James Horner/"Our Brand" Could Be Our Brand/Not Really Thinking This Could Happen...But.../First "Ten Bets" Coming Friday

Welcome to Tuesday...


RIP JAMES HORNER

Bad news yesterday as we learned that Oscar winning composer James Horner ("Titanic", "Apollo 13") was killed in an airplane crash in California.  Horner's latest score is for the Jake Gyllenhaal film "Southpaw".  Horner won two Oscars for score and song for "Titanic" in 1998.  He was also nominated for an additional eight Oscars.  His talent will be sorely missed.


Horner's IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000035/?ref_=nv_sr_1#composer



OUR BRAND MIGHT BE "OUR BRAND"

Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere reported yesterday that David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis" is in screen testing mode in L.A.  Wells concludes that this means that an awards season release date is likely.  He says October/November.

My feeling for a number of months is that its distributor, Warner Brothers, is likely to at least make the attempt to screen one or two of four films at Telluride.  In addition to "Our Brand" (which I think might be a realistic choice), WB has Ron Howard's  "In the Heart of the Sea", Jeff Nichols' "Midnight Special" and Scott Cooper's "Black Mass".

Also, playing into my "Our Brand" could be a T-ride pick, is the fact that it's produced by Grant Heslov and George Clooney (check out my "Unified Clooney Theory" post later this summer).

Here's the link to the Wells' post from yesterday:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/06/simmer-softly-hurry/


NOT REALLY THINKING THIS COULD HAPPEN...BUT...

They've been called the Three Amigos...Mexican film makers and friends Alejandro Inarritu, Alfonso Cuaron and Guillermo Del Toro.  Innaritu has become a veritable fixture at Telluride and Cuaron made the journey (and very successfully) in 2013 with the multiple Oscar winning "Gravity" but their amigo Del Toro hasn't made the trip to the San Juans.

We know that Cuaron won't this year as he is presiding over the Venice jury.  Inarritu may or more likely may not be ready to screen his latest "The Revenant" but Del Toro's Gothic horror "Crimson Peak" should be ready as it has an October 16 release date.

Could this be the year that the third amigo makes a trek to Telluride?  Admittedly the chances are small.  Universal is distributing and to the best of my research ability, they haven't had a film at Telluride since 2008's "Flash of Genius".

But... don't completely rule it out as I imagine Alejandro and Alfonso have both talked up the T-ride experience.

Add to this blurb the release of character posters over the weekend for the film covered here by The Playlist:


Also "Crimson Peak's" IMDb page:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2554274/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


And ultimately add that I want Jessica Chastain in Telluride...


DON'T FORGET, 2015'S FIRST "TEN BETS" FOR TFF #42 IS COMING ON FRIDAY!!!


More on Wednesday...



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A Look at the Landscape as Cannes Looms/Projects of Interest Announced

Good Monday Everyone...

It's May and that means that the Cannes Film Fest is about to launch.  Cannes opens May 13 and runs through May 24.  As always, I will be keeping an eye and ear attuned to the critical reactions coming out of Cannes especially in terms of the Palme competition slate as well as the Un Certain Regard section.  I'll also have my ear to the ground concerning the views of the experts in as far as which films seem to have the best shot at Cannes award glory from the jury led by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Last year's crossover films (the films that played both Cannes and then Telluride) came largely from the Palme competition slate (Leviathan, Mr. Turner, Foxcatcher...others) but that isn't always the case.  Cannes-Telluride crossovers can come from almost anywhere within the Cannes programs.

And with that as a preface...

A LOOK AT THE LANDSCAPE AS CANNES LOOMS

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood posted an update this week of her view of Oscar possibilities and in light of being right on the cusp of Cannes, it seemed like a good idea to re-visit her outline as it serves as an excellent overview of any number of films that could make their way to the San Juans over Labor Day weekend.

Anne, who has participated the last two years in MTFB's "The Professionals Telluride" rating of films that play at the fest, has no less than 50 feature films that she lists as having serious Oscar potential that give us a really good starting point for Telluride speculation and discussion.

Thompson starts with a brief rundown of films from Sundance and Berlin which have already appeared.  The Sundance films you can scratch from our consideration.  Anne only mentions one Berlin title and that's "45 Years" which, I think is a strong Telluride contender.  Anne does not mention a few other Berlin titles that I think have some Telluride potential: "Every Thing Will Be Fine", "Queen of the Desert", "Taxi" (The Golden Bear winner), "The Club", "Elser" and "The Pearl Button".

Thompson mentions The Weinstein Company's Cannes pieces "Carol" and "Macbeth" both of which are on my radar as well as Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette".

Among the post-Cannes films on her list that are on my Telluride watch list are:

"A Bigger Splash"
"Black Mass"
"The Danish Girl"
"Demolition"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"Midnight Special"
"Our Brand is Crisis"
"The Revenant"

There are others that she mentions that In also have on the periphery of my 2015 T-ride consideration (ex: "Spotlight", "Truth") but that'll do for now.  Check all of Thompson's article here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/oscar_predicts_chart


PROJECTS OF INTEREST ANNOUNCED

Okay, admittedly this next segment isn't really much about Telluride and is much more about my own personal reaction to a couple of development announcements that popped this week.  First came reports that Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" will be developed by IM Global Television.

"Cat's Cradle" was my first experience in reading the works of Vonnegut.  As a result, Vonnegut became a lifelong obsession.  Needless to say, I am both anticipating and fearing what may come of this.

Variety has the details:

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/kurt-vonnegut-cats-cradle-adapted-tv-im-global-1201485074/

Similarly, another announcement this week hit me much the same way.

One day back in the late 70's, when I was attending college, I was walking through our student union and was hailed by one of my drama professors.  He was sitting at a table with a rather scruffy looking, long haired gent that looked to be in his thirties.  My prof introduced him as a sci fi writer and named him.  The name meant zip to me as I was never much of a sci fi guy (except, of course in as far as Vonnegut was often categorized in science fiction...)

Anyway, I sat for awhile and mostly listened as my professor and sci fi guy shot the breeze.  After some time had passed, I politely excused myself with some excuse about studying or working lines for whatever play I was in at the time and departed thinking to myself...yea, yea, Sci Fi writer...whoop-tee-doo.  Based on his appearance, I had concluded that he must be an "aspiring" writer because he sure didn't look like what my version of a "successful" writer might look like.

On a whim, as I passed the campus bookstore, I ducked in and headed to its limited science fiction section, fully anticipating that my search would be in vain and in a matter of seconds, found his name on a paperback.  The book was Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War" which, because I had met the guy a few minutes earlier, caused me to plunk down the $1.50...which to a starving drama major was no small sum in 1977.

Went back to the Union to see if Haldeman was still there...nope.  Long gone.  Joe Haldeman, Hugo, Nebula and Campbell Award winner.  Even as a reader that normally looked down his nose at science fiction, I knew those awards meant something important.

Read it.  Loved it. Read almost all of his other stuff.  Wished I'd been a smarter guy back then.

So, Joe Haldeman (who is a native Oklahoman), if you're out there reading this somewhere...drop me a line, send me an email...I'd love to make up for the 1977 ignorant me.

All that to get to this:

There will apparently be a feature film version of "The Forever War" starring Channing Tatum.  So says the reports from The Wrap and The Playlist.  It seems Warner Brothers has the rights.  Maybe this happens.  Maybe it's great...crossing fingers.

Here's a photo of my first Joe Haldeman purchase so many years ago.  I snagged from my bookshelf where it still lives to this day:

And links to the stories from The Wrap and The Playlist:

http://www.thewrap.com/channing-tatum-to-star-in-the-forever-war-as-bidding-war-heats-up/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/channing-tatum-to-star-in-long-developing-former-ridley-scott-sci-fi-the-forever-war-20150430

And finally, one last project of note announced this week that has me salivating and might actually have a better shot at making the trip to Telluride in a couple of years.   A24, which has had a recent presence at Telluride with "Under the Skin" in 2013 and "Ginger and Rosa" in 2012, is developing the true story drama of Joe and Jadin Bell which will be written by Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana.  McMurtry and Ossana co-wrote and were listed as executive producers and producers respectively for "Brokeback Mountain" which played Telluride in 2005.

Adding to the anticipation is the news that "True Detective" director Cary Fukunaga is set to direct the adaptation.  IMDb lists the film as a 2017 release and it is the first film that A24 will shepherd from start to finish.  Take a look at the news from The Dissolve and Thompson on Hollywood:

http://thedissolve.com/news/5572-cary-fukunaga-will-direct-a-film-about-joe-and-jad/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/cary-fukunaga-teams-with-brokeback-mountain-writers-for-a24s-first-original-film-20150430



That's all for now.  More on Thursday...