Catching Up / Indiewire's 25 Most Anticipated /PGA Awards 1917 / SAG Award Winners Announced Last Night / ACE Award Surprise-Parasite

CATCHING UP

In the blur that has been the last couple of weeks of Oscar nomination announcement buildup and then the subsequent parsing...some notes and stories that I would have normally included in this space got left behind...so...time to catch up:

Mark Cousins article about the death of the late great Buck Henry is here from Indiewire.

Kris Tapley talks with The Two Popes Oscar nominated scribe Anthony McCarten on The Call Sheet Podcast.

Indiewire reports HBO and Bong Joon-ho are developing Parasite as a project for the premium channel.

The Film Stage on Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory.

Damien Chazelle's new Netflix joint will be featured at the Berlin Film Festival.



INDIEWIRE'S 25 MOST ANTICIPATED

Indiewire writers Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich and Kate Erbland published their collective list of 25 films that they have high hopes for on Jan. 11th.  I took a look at their list to continue to try to get an early bead on what might be in the TFF #47 conversation as we move toward spring, Cannes and ultimately the summer season when Telluride Film Fest energy grows and grows.

Consequently, here are the films from their list that seem TFF-y or that are just on my own personal wish list (presented alphabetical as is done in the original post):

Ana de Armas who will star in Blonde (photo via Indiewire)

BLONDE- Andrew Dominik's thinly veiled examination of a Marilyn Monroe-like character played by the currently red hot Ana De Armas (Knives Out).  From Netflix.  Release date: TBD.

DUNE- From director Denis Villenueve.  Villenueve tackles the Frank Herbert sci-fi classic and will certainly have a different approach than we can find in David Lynch's 1984 version.  Villenueve's fairly consistent presence at Telluride makes this a possibility ...or maybe more a wish on my behalf.  From Warner Bros.Release-Dec. 18th.

THE FRENCH DISPATCH- Wes Anderson is back.  A film reportedly about journalism and journalists with Anderson's usual array of regular stars (Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Saoirse Ronan) and a batch of new talent (Timothee Chalamet, Elizabeth Moss).  I expect that some version of the film will bow at Cannes, which as TFF followers know, doesn't preclude at Telluride play.  From Searchlight.  Release: TBD.

I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS- Directed by Charlie Kaufman.  Could Kaufman return to Telluride after screening Anomalisa there in 2015?  Could be.  Jesse Plemons and Jesse Buckley star.  From Netflix.  Release: TBD.

MANK- Director David Fincher's first feature film gig since 2014's Gone Girl finds him directing a script written by his father about the genesis of the film classic Citizen Kane.  Gary Oldman stars as Herman Mankiewicz, the screen writer of the film many regard still as the greatest film ever made.  At this point, it's the film I most ardently hope makes it to Southwest Colorado over Labor Day weekend.  From Netflix.  Release TBD.

Chloe Zhao (photo via Indiewire)

NOMADLAND- Chloe Zhao's follow up to The Rider.  I had this on my 2019 watch lists and that, obviously didn't happen.  Now I'm expecting a Cannes debut and a possible awards friendly release date.  Frances McDormand stars.  From Searchlight.  Release TBD.

ON THE ROCKS- Sofia Coppola re-teams with her Lost in Translation star Bill Murray.  Rashida Jones is cast as well in this father/daughter film.  Coppola screened Lost in Translation at TFF in 2003.  Could this mark a return for her?  From Apple.  Release TBD.

Check out the rest of the Indiewire 25 here.


PGA AWARDS 1917

The Producers Guild of America announced their winners for films and television for 2019 on Saturday night. 

Sam Mendes 1917 took the film top prize which might mean that the World War I set film that is shot to appear to be essentially one take is your front runner for the Best Picture Oscar.  Indiewire reports that the PGA winner is a 72% successful indicator of the eventual BP Oscar winner.

1917 beat out three TFF films that were also in the running: Parasite, Marriage Story and Ford v Ferrari.

Toy Story 4 was named the PGA winner for Animated Feature while the producers named Apollo 11 the Best Documentary of the year.

The complete PGA story is linked here.


SAG AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED LAST NIGHT

Telluride 2019 had a good night at the SAG Awards last night with TFF #46 film actors scooping up two prizes and a TFF film also won Best Ensemble.  Here's the rundown of winners for film:

Best Supporting Actress: Laura Dern/Marriage Story
Best Supporting Actor: Brad Pitt/Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood
Best ACtress: Renee Zellweger/Judy
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix/Joker
Best Ensemble: Parasite

The Parasite win was something of a surprise and positions it along with PGA winner 1917 as the two most likely front runners at this point for the Best Picture Oscar.  Though, I wouldn't rule out Once Upon a Time...just yet.

Now we wait to see what the DGA and WGA do.



ACE AWARD SURPRISE-PARASITE

The American Cinema Editors group surprised the film world on Friday awarding Bong Joon-ho's Parasite as the best edited film drama of the year.  Parasite beat Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, Ford v Ferrari, Marriage Story and Joker.

Jojo Rabbit won the Eddy for Film-Comedy.  Toy Story 4 won for Animated Feature and Apollo 11 won for editing for a Feature Documentary.

The complete list of nominees and winners is linked here from Awards Watch.



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Oscar Predictions: Best International Feature / Oscar Predictions Update: Actress and Actor / EFA Nominations Announced / Interviews From Marriage Story

OSCAR PREDICTIONS: BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Here's my first crack at parsing the likely nominees for the newly renamed Best International Feature category for the Academy Awards.  As always films from TFF are in Bold.

1) Parasite

2) Pain and Glory

3) Les Miserables

4) Atlantics

5) Monos

Other Possibles: And Then We Danced, Beanpole, The Painted Bird.

Notes: Honestly, the perception right now is that Parasite is so solid as the front runner for this Oscar that it seems a foregone conclusion that it will not only be nominated but will also win and that the rest of the field is playing for the proverbial "just honored to be nominated" status.  But then, remember Toni Erdmann...

OSCAR PREDICTIONS UPDATE: BEST ACTRESS AND ACTOR

Here's my latest updated predictions for Best Actress and Actor nominations.  I last updated the Best Actress prediction on Oct. 14th and Best Actor on Oct. 17th.

The latest predictions are listed in order of likelihood with their past position indicated in parentheses.  as is my custom, TFF #46 films are in Bold.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Renee Zellweger/Judy (1)
2) Charlize Theron/Bombshell (-)
3) Scarlett Johansson/Marriage Story (2)
4) Saorise Ronan/Little Women (-)
5) Cynthia Ervio/Harriet (3)

Other possibles: Awkwafina/The Farewell, Lupita Nyong'o/Us, Alfre Woodard/Clemency.

Notes: Theron coming on like a freight train as some folks have actually seen Bombshell.  Zellweger still has a solid grasp on the top spot.

BEST ACTOR

1) Adam Driver/Marriage Story (1)
2) Joaquin Phoenix/Joker (2)
3) Jonathan Pryce/The Two Popes (3)
4) Leonardo DiCaprio/Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood (4)
5) Eddie Murphy/Dolemite Is My Name (-)

Other possibles: Antonio Banderas/Pain and Glory, Robert DeNiro/The Irishman, Adam Sandler/Uncut Gems.

Notes: The category is relatively stable over the last three weeks.  Murphy sneaks in over Banderas and DeNiro...at least for now.

EFA NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED

The European Film Academy announced the nominees for their awards for superlatives in European films for the past year and they included films from both TFF #46 and TFF #45.

TFF nominees included:

Pain and Glory nominated for Best European Film, Antonio Banderas/Best Actor, Pedro Almodovar/Best Director, Pedro Almodovar/Best Screenwriter.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire: Celine Sciamma/Best Director, Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel/Best Actress, Celine Sciamma/Best Screenwriter

Beanpole: Viktoria Miroshnichenko/Best Actress

The Favourite (from TFF #45) Best European Film, Olivia Colman/Best Actress, Yorgos Lanthimos/Best Director

The complete list of nominees except for animated films is linked here from Deadline.

INTERVIEWS FROM MARRIAGE STORY

As Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story got its limited theatrical release this week and with its streaming release less than a month away (Dec. 6th) we are seeing more and more about the film including interviews with its principals.

Anne Thompson of Indiewire talks to Noah Baumbach

Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail talks to Adam Driver

Erik Anderson of Awards Watch talks to Alan Alda


That's Monday.

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Does Mill Valley Suggest Sorry We Missed You at Telluride? / Final Trailer for Pain and Glory / Little Women Gets a Trailer

Tuesday...Two Weeks. Three Days...


DOES MILL VALLEY SUGGEST SORRY WE MISSED YOU AT TELLURIDE?

Ken Loach was, once again, a part of Cannes' Palme d'Or competition this year with Sorry We Missed You.  The film has been one that I have kept an eye despite it having remained under the radar since its Cannes debut.  I had it on my 75 Films That Could Play Telluride post from July 22nd.  (That list currently has 15 films that I think are very much Telluride bound.  It also has 22 films that appear to have been eliminated from TFF consideration.)

The film has played a handful of other international film fests but still has no U.S. distributor and hasn't shown up in any announcement from Toronto (yet).

But Loach was a 1993 Telluride tribute recipient and Raining Stones screened.  Ladybird, Ladybird was programmed at TFF #21 the following year so there's a bit of history there.

And this weekend I happen to casually be perusing the early announced films for the Mill Valley Film Fest and happened across Sorry to Miss You announced as a West Coast premiere.  The only other film among the titles Mill Valley included that also has that designation is Agnes Varda's Varda by Agnes, which most of you readers know I have been thinking that it will be a Telluride screening  all summer long.

Consequently, it seems to me from this evidence that Loach's film suddenly looks like a real possibility for TFF #46.  It might even make the updated Ten/Bonus Bets on Friday.

Here's the list from Mill Valley.



FINAL TRAILER FOR PAIN AND GLORY

Indiewire

The Playlist


LITTLE WOMEN GETS A TRAILER

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track and several other outlets revealed yesterday that we should see a trailer for Little Women sometime today.

The Greta Gerwig film is currently not announced for any film fest and the scuttlebutt the last couple of weeks has been that the film could well bypass all the fests.  That seems to be the most likely scenario but I'm still holding onto a shred of hope that it magically makes an appearance at TFF #46 in a couple of weeks.

Word is that the trailer is to drop sometime this morning.

Here's the link to the Trailer Track story.


THE CURRENT TEN BETS AND BONUS BETS:

10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) A Hidden Life
Bonus 5) The Report
Bonus 6) Beanpole
Bonus 7) The Kingmaker


DON'T FORGET TO PLAN TO RATE!

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


Report your ratings with any of the following contact methods:


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The Distributors 2019: Lionsgate-Roadside Attractions / Sorry We Missed You Trailer / Pain and Glory Trailer

Welcome to Friday and the end of a long week for me from the National Speech Tournament in Dallas, Texas.


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2019: LIONSGATE-ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

Lionsgate and affiliated film company Roadside Attractions have a solid appearance history with the Telluride Film Festival.

Lionsgate at Telluride:

2017: Hostiles
2016: La La Land
2013: All Is Lost

Roadside Attractions was repped at T-ride as follows over the past few years:

2018: Trial by Fire
2016: Manchester by the Sea
2014: '71, Mommy, The Homesman
2013: All is Lost, Gloria
2012: Stories We Tell
2011: Albert Nobbs
2010: Biutiful

Between the two affiliated distributors is an average of about one film each year.  1.2 films per year to be exact.

For 2019, between the firms, there seem to be two possibilities.

One is the Judy Garland biopic starring Renee Zellweger and directed by Rupert Goold.  The other is the Jay Roach directed, John Lithgow starring film about Roger Ailes and the working environment at Fox News.  The film also stars Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron and Margot Robbie and is due in theaters on Dec. 20th

I'd put the Telluride chances for both of these films at 40%.



SORRY WE MISSED YOU TRAILER


We have a trailer for Ken Loach's social drama Sorry We Missed You.  he film played at Cannes to moderately good critical response.  It's still unacquired for U.S. distribution and as such is not yet dated for release in the United States.

Here' the trailer for the film via YouTube:

I've linked an article about the film and its trailer debut from Alex Billington at FirstShowing.net here.


PAIN AND GLORY TRAILER


Another Cannes success has a new trailer for the UK. Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory which features Cannes Best Actor winner Antonio Banderas.  Penelope Cruz also stars in the film.Almodovar's semi-autobiographical film is under the auspices of Sony Pictures Classics and is set for U.S. release on Oct. 4th.

Could Pain and Glory be Almodovar's return to TFF?

Here's the trailer via YouTube.

That's the MTFB for the week.  Come back next Monday for more.


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Cannes’ Award Winners and Telluride 2019 / The Critical Final from Cannes

Welcome to today’s post Cannes MTFB...


CANNES AWARD WINNERS AND TELLURIDE 2019

The 72nd iteration of the Cannes Film Festival is in the books with the announcement of award winners Saturday night.  Taking the 2019 Palme d’Or was Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite.  The film was critically heralded and was considered among the favorites to win the top prize as the festival moved along.

Other Cannes awards presented by the competition jury led by this year’s president- Alejandro Inarritu- included:

Grand Prix: Atlantics
Jury Prize (tie): Les Miserables and Bacurau
Best Actress: Emily Beecham/Little Joe
Best Actor: Antonio Banderas/Pain and Glory
Best Director: Jean Pierre Dardennes and Luc Dardennes/Young Ahmed
Best Screenplay: Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Special Mention: It Must Be Heaven
Camera d’Or: Our Mothers

Honestly, my guess had been that Pedro Almodovar’s Pain and Glory would win the Palme.  Also, no glory for Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood which was a bit surprising given that it was probably the "biggest" film in the competition and also it was also the 25th anniversary of Pulp Fiction winning the Palme.

Also, a shutout for Terrence Malick’s generally well-received A Hidden Life was a bit of a surprise.
So, what are the TFF #46 chances for some of the winners?

First a reminder that winning the Palme itself is no guarantee that a film lands at Telluride.  Another reminder is that Cannes and T-ride share, on average, 7-8 titles each year but those titles can and do come from across all of the different sections of the Cannes fest.

Last year’s Palme winner, Shoplifters did play TFF but before that you have to go back to 2013’s Blue Is the Warmest Colour.

Other recent Palme winners that have played Telluride include:

Amour in 2012
The White Ribbon in 2009
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days in 2007
The Child in 2005
That's six Palme winners in the last 14 years...

So, history suggests that Parasite’s Palme win doesn’t mean a TFF berth and seems to imply it may be less likely to be programmed.  Additionally, as Bong hasn’t been a presence at T-ride before, that also diminished its chances.

Boosting its TFF profile, however, is its very positive critical reception (see below) and its U.S. distributor: Neon which has been a recent presence at TFF with Border and The Biggest Little Farm screening last year.

I also feel like the directing win for the Dardennes (and their past with T-ride) probably boosted the chances for Young Ahmed.  I suspect Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Les Miserables might have a Telluride future as a result of the attention they received in France.

From other sections perhaps The Lighthouse and The Climb will make the Telluride program.

Here are some links to coverage of this year’s Cannes winners:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

The Playlist



THE CRITICAL FINAL FROM CANNES

As I have done for many years now, I've been tracking the critical consensus for films screening as a part of the 72nd Cannes Film Fest through the work of Reini Urban who compiles an incredibly exhaustive list of the critics' takes on films that play throughout every part of the of the French fest.

Now that Cannes #72 is in the rear view mirror here is some of what his work reveals...

First that the top critics' choice won the top prize (and I don't recall that happening before).  Bong Joon-ho's Parasite won the Palme this past weekend and lead all films in all sections in the combined critical summation with an 8.77 rating on a scale of 10 (with over 400 reviews counted).  That's mind blowing.

The runner-up?  Robert Eggers' The Lighthouse which won the FIPRESCI critics' award.  It had an 8.63 combined raring.  Third was Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory.

The complete listing of Urban's critical compilation is linked here.



I'll have more on Thursday.

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The New Malick at TFF #46? / The Critics at Cannes /Coming Soon

Hope that your week has been going well.  It's Thursday!

THE NEW MALICK AT TFF #46?

Like a lot of the film community, I've been keeping an eye on the latest film, A Hidden Life,  from auteur Terrence Malick for...well...a long time.  News appeared this week that might nudge its chances of playing at Telluride a bit closer to a reality.

Fox Searchlight acquired the film for U.S. distribution after its play in Cannes.  The film was reportedly acquired for somewhere between $12-14 million.  

The anticipation at this point is that Searchlight will likely position the film for a fall release, plays at a fall fest or fests and campaign it as an awards contender.

Malick is notoriously reclusive and his previous Telluride brief, as best as I can sniff it out, came in 1998 as a producer for the film Endurance (IMDb link here).

Fox Searchlight's participation certainly doesn't hurt the films chances of playing at TFF #46 as the distributor has become a frequent presence in the San Juans over Labor Day weekend.  Last year Searchlight was at the fest with Can You Ever Forgive Me, The Favourite and The Old Man and the Gun.  In 2017, FS screened The Shape of Water at TFF #44 which, of course, went on to capture the Oscar for Best Picture.  Searchlight has also has Best Picture wins in the last decade with 12 Years a Slave and Birdman both of which also played the Telluride fest.

So...this week's acquisition activity probably bumps up the chances that A Hidden Life makes its way to southwest Colorado in about thee months.

THE CRITICS AT CANNES

Checking in with Reini Urban's collection of critical responses to the films that have been screening this last week-plus at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival.

With just a few days left before awards are handed out Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite sits atop the overall critical reception.  The film boasts a cumulative 8.57 rating on a scale of 10 (with over 200 critics counted) making it not only the highest rated film of the Palme competitors but the top rated film when all categories are considered.

Parasite has U.S. distribution from a relative newcomer on the scene: Neon.  Despite its youth, Neon has been well represented at Telluride the past few years with The B Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography (2016), Border (2018) and The Biggest Little Farm (2018) all making the TFF lineup so Parasite becomes a serious potential TFF #46 film.

Other notes from the critical compilation: 3 other Palme competing films are in the critics top ten at the moment.  That includes Almodovar's Pain and Glory (8.43 at #3) , Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire (7.76 at #6) and Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood (7.57 at #9).

Robert Eggers The Lighthouse is at #2 with a 8.48 rating.  The Lighthouse is being distributed domestically by A24.  Aside from the Tarantino film which with be released in the U.S. on July 26th, the other four films have a shot at Telluride.

Other Cannes films that I've taken note of as potential TFF choices and their critical response at this point include:

Young Ahmed/Dardennes- 5.47
A Hidden Life/Malick- 6.93
Matthias and Maxime/Dolan 5.84
Frankie/Sachs 5.53
Joan of Arc/Dumont 6.30
Port Authority/Lessovitz 5.56
Diego Maradona/Kapadia 7.11
Family Romance/Herzog 5.95
The Climb/Covino 6.76

A rating above 6.0 is generally regarded as good to great but hasn't necessarily been a determinative factor regarding whether TFF programs a Cannes film.


The Palme and other awards will be announced tomorrow and Saturday.

The Urban critical compilation is linked here.


COMING SOON

Still of Sarah Paulson in The Goldfinch (from IMDb)

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track website says we're about to get the first trailer for John Crowley's The Goldfinch.  Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, the film stars Nicole Kidman, Sarah Paulson and Ansel Engort. 

The film is set for U.S. release on Sept. 13th and is distributed by Warner Bros with Amazon Studios distributing worldwide and also acting as a production company for the film.

All of this means that it's a TFF #46 possibility.

Stay tuned for the trailer.

That's it for today.  Come back Monday for a look at Cannes awards results and if that menas anything for Labor Day weekend.


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Dispatches from Cannes / Interviews: Herzog, Dern and Chester

Good Monday friends of film...

DISPATCHES FROM CANNES

The 72nd Cannes Film Festival has essentially reached its halfway mark with the Palme d’Or and other awards set to be handed out this weekend.


In its first week the critics have given big boosts to Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory, Bong Joon-ho's Parasite and Xavier Dolan's Matthias and Maxime among others.  Early critical reaction has also very favorable for Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.


Here’s the link to the largest online compilation of the critical response to the films from Cannes thus far.



MULTIPLE INTERVIEWS

Lots of interviews from people that either have films out or coming out that played TFF #45 or are involved with the current edition of Cannes:


WERNER HERZOG/FAMILY ROMANCE LLC

Scott Roxborough for The Hollywood Reporter talks to Werner Herzog whose film Family Romance LLC is playing as a part of the Cannes Fest as a special screening.


The interview is here.


LAURA DERN/TRIAL BY FIRE

Katie Kilkenny does an interview for The Hollywood Reporter with Oscar nominee Laura Dern talking about her new film that played at TFF #45.  That's ed Zwick's Trial by Fire which also stars Jack O'Connell.

The interview with Dern is Linked here.



JOHN CHESTER/BIG LITTLE FARM

Joshua Encinias writing for The Film Stage talks with John Chester for of Big Little Farm.  The documentary played at TFF #45 and made a big impression on everyone who I talked to who had seen it.

That interview is here.


More to come on Thursday.

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Ad Astra Flies Back Into Consideration / Frankie: SPC Has It and Some Images

The first weekend of May 2019 is in the books.  Hope you had a good one!

AD ASTRA FLIES BACK INTO CONSIDERATION

I've had James Gray's Ad Astra on the radar for quite some time.  The film combines high concept and prestige plus a notable cast (Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones, Donald Sutherland, Ruth Negga) to have created quite a  stir.  Also creating a stir has been its shifting release dates.  At one point it was set for a Jan. 2019 release and its latest official release date has been May 24th.  That date will also reportedly go by the wayside according to a number of sources over the past few days and I mention that here because the scuttlebutt now is that Disney/Fox has settled on a fall release for the film which may well include the fall festivals.  

"Fall Festivals" usually refers to Venice, Toronto, New York and, of course, Telluride.  Gregory Ellwood writing at The Playlist reported that "it's likely that Fox will aim for a Venice debut" which would make a good deal of sense...and perhaps the film would follow what has become a not uncommon move of transferring directly from Venice to Telluride.  The Shape of Water, Gravity, Birdman and La La Land have all been recent travelers of that path.

The Ellwood article is linked here.

I, for one, am pleased that this film is back in the conversation and will be looking over the summer for other clues about its ultimate fate regarding where it play and if that could include TFF #46.

FRANKIE: SPC HAS IT AND SOME IMAGES

Ahead of its premiere at Cannes in the next week or two came news late last week that Ira Sachs' Frankie starring former TFF Tribute recipient Isabelle Huppert has been acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.  SPC's claim moves Frankie right into consideration for possible TFF #46 inclusion.  SPC has historically had a very solid relationship with TFF.  As a matter of fact, it has been the strongest distributor relationship with TFF over the near decade and a half I have been attending.

Last year was a bit of an aberration as SPC only had Ralph Fiennes' The White Crow in the TFF lineup.  In the 2017, more characteristically, SPC had five films on the TFF #45 program: Fantastic Woman, Loveless, The Rider, Foxtrot and Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.  Over my time at TFF, SPC has averaged 4.4 films per year.

Penelope Cruz in Pedro Almodovar's Pain and Glory

I honestly expect SPC to be back at TFF with more than one film in 2019.  Perhaps Pedro Almodovar returns with a TFF film for the first time since 2006's Volver with his Cannes entry Pain and Glory?  Could we see the documentary about John  Prine (John Prine; Hello In There)?  Or the Clive Owen, Tim Roth starrer The Song of Names?

And who knows what SPC might acquire in the next couple of months as a result of Cannes?

Both The Film Stage and Deadline have stories about the SPC acquisition of Frankie as well as numerous images released prior to its Cannes' bow.  You can find The Film Stage story here and the Deadline story here.

Done for Monday.  More on Thursday.

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Telluride Re-wind-TFF #15 / A Fantastic Woman / A Trailer for The Other Side of Hope

Welcome to Thursday, Nov. 16, 2017.


TELLURIDE RE-WIND-TFF #15

My ongoing Telluride Film Festival history project continues today with a flashback to the 15th Telluride Film Festival which ran from Sept. 2-5, 1988.  Here are the details:


Guest Director: Donald Richie

Tributes: Pedro Almodovar, Cab Calloway, The Xi'an Studio

SHOWS:

Aschik Kerib
Broken Down Film
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
Distant Voices, Still Lives
The Dragon Painter
Far North
High Hopes
Homeland of Electricity
The King of Children
Kric! Krac! Tales of a Nightmare
La Lectrice
The Legend of the Forest
Little Vera
Manifesto
Men of Kishnou Island
Night of the Hunter
The Old Well
One Hand Don't Clap
Patty Hearst
Rapt
Red Sorghum

Salaam Bombay
Split
Summer Vacation
That Rhythm Those Blues
Track 29
Voices from the Attic
Voices of Sarafina
Wherever You Are
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Wrath of the Gods

GUESTS:

Keith Carradine
Olympia Dukakis
Daryl Hannah
Tess Harper
Chuck Jones
Mike Leigh
Mira Nair
Nicholas Roeg
Teresa Russell
Paul Schrader
Barbet Schroeder
Sam Shepard


A FANTASTIC WOMAN

The L.A. Times Tre'vell Anderson interviewed Oscar contender Daniela Vega recently.  Vega stars in the TFF #44 film A Fantastic Woman and has been making buzz around the film since its premiere last February at the Berlin International Film Festival.    The film won a number of prizes at Berlin including Best Screenplay.

The film's story focuses on the life of a transgender woman in Chile and is directed and was written by Sebastian Lelilo.  The film currently sits at the #5 spot in this week's Film Award Clearinghouse Oscar predictions for Best Foreign Film.

That interview is here.

A Fantastic Woman is scheduled to open in the U.S. on Feb. 2nd.


A TRAILER FOR THE OTHER SIDE OF HOPE


Aki Kurismaki's The Other Side of Hope  played the Berlin International Film Festival as well.  Kaurismaki won the Berlin prize for Best Directing;  The film highlights the European refugee situation.

The film's first trailer arrived this week from Janus Films.  Here it is:

The Other Side of Hope opens in New York on Dec. 1st.

The Playlist coverage of the trailer debut is here.



That's your MTFB for this Thursday.  I'll have more on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

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COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Jonathan Demme Remembered / Judging Cannes / Inarritu Talks VR in NY / 30th Telluride Film Festival Re-visited

It is Thursday, April 27, 2017...No really...it s.

JONATHAN DEMME REMEMBERED

The news of Jonathan Demme's death yesterday was a shock.  He was 73, so I suppose, in terms of age, it isn't that anomalous but Demme always seemed so vital that he didn't seem to be 73.

Demme's best known work was the five Oscar winner Silence of the Lambs.  I was a huge fan of the Thomas Harris book long before it became a film and when it came out in 1991 I was skeptical that anyone could make the film version stand up to the novel.  I was pleasantly surprised.  It's one of those rare films that succeeds as well as its source material.  Demme (and screenwriter Ted Talley) proved me wrong.  

Demme won an Oscar for direction and the film won Best Picture as well as Adapted Screenplay, Actress (Jodie Foster) and Actor (Anthony Hopkins).  It became the first film since One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) to win the Big Five Oscars.

Demme also had other memorable efforts including Philadelphia and Something Wild.

In 1987 his documentary effort Haiti Dreams of Democracy appeared as a part of the 14th TFF screening on Telluride Community Television.

Indiewire marked Demme's passing yesterday with this profile and with this reminiscence from Barry Jenkins.

JUDGING CANNES

The official announcement of jurors for the Plame d'Or for the 70th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has been revealed.

We already knew that the jury would be presided over by Pedro Almodovar and it had slipped that actress Jessica Chastain would be a jury member as well.  The group was completed yesterday with the official confirmation of Chastain along with actor (and surprise choice) Will Smith as well as directors Maren Ade (Toni Erdmann), Park Chan-wook (The Handmaiden), Paolo Sorrentino (Youth).  Additional members of the jury are Fan Bingbing, Agnes Jaoui and musician Gabriel Yared.

As always, the jury composition is eclectic and varied.  Where will they land for the Palme.

Indiewire has more about the Cannes jury here.

INARRITU TALKS VR IN NY

Alejandro Inarritu's virtual reality project Carne y Arena is set to play at Cannes and this week the Oscar winning director was in New York as a member of a Tribeca Film Festival conversation focused on VR and his project.

I'd be very interested should TFF chose to invite Inarritu and present the project over Labor Day weekend but the challenges are interesting.  

Here's coverage of the Inarritu convo from Tribeca from Entertainment Weekly as well as from Indiewire.

30TH TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL RE-VISITED

MTFB's continuing project focused on the past programs from the Telluride Film Festival reviews the program from TFF #30 (Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2003)

Here are the highlights:

TFF #30 Program-Aug. 29-Sept. 1, 2003

GUEST DIRECTOR: Stephen Sondheim

TRIBUTES: Toni Collette, Peter Brook, Krystof Zanussi

SHOWS

Alexandra’s Project

The Barbarian Invasions

The Battle of Algiers

The Beggar’s Opera

La Belle Equipe

Best of Youth

Carnet du Bal

Contract

Dans la Nuit

Dogville

Elephant

A Face in the Crowd

Fog of War

French Can Can

The General

Girl with a Pearl Earring

Horatio’s Drive

I’m Not Scared

Intermission

Japanese Story

Lost in Translation

Love Me If You Dare

The More the Merrier

My Life Without Me

Noi Albinoi

Osama

Panique

Reconstruction

Sexual Dependency

Shattered Glass

Song of the Little Road

Struggle

Tell Me Lies

This Little Life

Touching the Void

The Triplets of Belleville

Uzak

Wheel of Time

GUESTS:

John Crowley

Errol Morris

Robert S. McNamara

Sarah Gavron

Budd Schulberg

Peter Bogdanovich

Kevin Macdonald

Chloe Sevigny

Peter Sarsgaard

Rolf De Heer

Peter Sellars

Werner Herzog

Ken Burns

Mark Ruffalo

Gus Van Sant

Paul Schrader

 That's a wrap for this Thursday.  See you on the other side of the weekend...

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

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COMMENT to the BLOG

"Secret in Their Eyes" Trailer and a Question/Almodovar Set to Produce Farhadi/Spying on "Snowden" with a Trailer

Hello everyone, it's Wednesday...



"SECRET IN THEIR EYES" TRAILER AND A QUESTION

"Secret in Their Eyes" trailer via YouTube

We saw the release of a trailer yesterday for "Secret in Their Eyes" starring Julia Roberts, Chiwetel Ejifor and Nicole Kidman.  The film is directed and scripted by Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass"/Telluride 2003).  Ray was Oscar nominated in 2014 for his screenplay for "Captain Phillips".

 The film is based on the 2009 Best Foreign Language Oscar winner from Argentina.

Ray's participation and his past presence at Telluride make the film worth a thought or two concerning its possible inclusion in the T-ride 2015 lineup and also raises a question about the new wave of films being developed and planned for distribution by unusual sources.  "Eyes" is from Showtime and will be distributed by STX Entertainment.  It joins films such as Cart Fukunaga's "Beasts with No Nation" (Netflix) and Liza Johnson's "Elvis and Nixon" (Amazon w/ distribution through Bleecker Street Media-which also has Jay Roach's "Trumbo") that are difficult to evaluate in terms of possible festival status.

Just a couple of years ago the above films would have been stylistically and topically films that I would have thought were strong contenders to play at Telluride but their provenance creates uncertainty.  I'll be very interested to see what happens with these and other films in the same boat with regard to festival and release strategies as we move through the fall.

Nevertheless, I have linked a number of stories that accompanied the trailer release of "Secret in Their Eyes":



http://variety.com/2015/film/news/secret-in-their-eyes-trailer-1201531472/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-secret-in-their-eyes-trailer-pictures-starring-chiwetel-ejiofor-julia-roberts-nicole-kidman/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/ejiofor-roberts-kidman-in-billy-rays-secret-in-their-eyes-trailer/



"Eyes" is scheduled for its theatrical release on October 23rd, whatever that might mean.



ALMODOVAR SET TO PRODUCE...FARHADI.

Pedro Almodovar used to be a frequent filmic invitee to the Telluride Film Festival but hasn't had a film selected to play there since 2006's "Volver"  He was represented last year as a producer of one of the festival's biggest hits, Damian Szifron's "Wild Tales".

Recently we learned that Almodovar was going to work on his next film "Silencio" but more newsworthy in terms of T-ride and recent Telluride history was the word yesterday that Almodovar will produce a new film from recent T-ride favorite and Foreign Language Oscar winner Asghar Farhadi ("A Separation"/Telluride 2011 and "The Past"/Telluride 2013).

The film is not expected to begin filming until late 2016.

I have included stories about the new collaboration and Almodover's latest film:



http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/pedro-almodovar-to-produce-spanish-language-film-from-a-separation-director-asghar-farhadi-20150629

http://www.indiewire.com/article/pedro-almodovars-silencio-picked-up-by-sony-pictures-classics-20150609




SPYING ON "SNOWDEN" WITH A TRAILER


Oliver Stone and a Christmas Day release mean that "Snowden" is really not an incredibly likely choice for a Telluride spot doesn't mean that it's impossible.  "Snowden" stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the NSA contractor that spilled U.S. intelligence gathering secrets and is currently in hiding in Russia.

We got a trailer yesterday which you can see here:

"Snowden" trailer via YouTube

The film is being distributed by Open Road ("Rosewater"/TFF 2014) which does offer a glimmer of hope that it could make a festival play.  Linked below are a number of stories that came with the trailer release:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/06/trailer-snowden/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-oliver-stone-warns-america-in-menacing-snowden-teaser-20150630

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-dramatic-trailer-for-oliver-stones-snowden-is-cloaked-in-mystery-20150630

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-snowden-teaser-trailer-oliver-stone-edward-snowden/

http://www.thewrap.com/joseph-gordon-levitt-is-m-i-a-in-first-trailer-for-edward-snowden-biopic-video/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/teaser-trailer-for-oliver-stones-snowden-is-missing-the-footage/

QUICK NOTICE:

I'll start the annual summer review of distributors, production companies and "usual suspects" as various prisms through which to view potential Telluride choices next Monday.

That's all for Wednesday...more tomorrow...


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New York Galas/Thompson and Wells on the NYFF/Posters of Possibles

Good Morning All.

I may have further personal developments concerning this year's festival by the end of the week...or maybe not.  We'll see.

NEW YORK GALAS

The New York Film Festival (in October) announced two more gala presentations yesterday afternoon (in addition to "My Week with Marilyn" which had already been announced) and both of the films chosen have been on our Telluride watch list.  Gala presentations were announced for David Cronenberg's Freud vs. Jung duel  "A Dangerous Method" (Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender) and Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In" (Antonio Banderas).

This leaves New York's fest with its closing night film still yet to be named and that is supposed to happen by the end of the week. 

In all likelihood the addition of "Method" and "Skin" to New York's lineup while not eliminating the chance that one or both might play Telluride diminishes the chances that they turn up there. 

THOMPSON AND WELLS ON NEW YORK

Three posts from yesterday afternoon provide some context and in one case, sort of opposing perspectives from two of the best in the business.  I have included two posts from Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.  The first is a straight up presentation of the two films that have been added to the NYFF slate as Gala Presentations:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/nyff_cronenbergs_dangerous_method_and_almodovars_skin_i_live_in_added_to_ga/

Following that is Anne's discussion in a separate post of the chances that "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" might be offered the closing night slot at NYFF.  She also mentions "The Iron Lady" as a possible for that spot but it almost seems as if that is a secondary consideration.  Clearly, if TTSS closes New York it is my belief that it will definitely be off the Telluride list.  That second Thompson post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/will_tinker_tailor_soldier_spy_or_iron_lady_land_new_york_film_festival_ber/?utm

However, Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere in his post late yesterday about New York's selections seems to at least imply that TTSS is all but off the table as far as any participation in the New York Festival is concerned.  And Wells suggests in the comments section that he thinks TTSS at Telluride is still a possibility.  The Wells post is linked here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/will_tinker_tailor_soldier_spy_or_iron_lady_land_new_york_film_festival_ber/?utm

It will be really interesting to see what comes out later this week as the NYFF actual closer.

So, in review:

Chances for "Method" DOWN
Chances for "Skin" also DOWN (but not down as much as "Method" I think)
Chances for "TTSS":  HOLDING STEADY

NEW POSTERS

A big post from Rope of Silicon with new poster art for a number of films including at least three that I have been including on the TFF #38 watch list.  "Drive," "Carnage" and "Moneyball" (see above).  Of the three, "Drive" may be the most likely to actually be in Colorado in two and a half weeks. Then "Moneyball."  "Carnage" is unlikely as it is the NYFF opener.

Take a look at the new poster art for them plus sevearl other films at this link to ROS:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/posters-drive-american-reunion-moneyball-carnage-harold-kumar


Hope you're having a good week...more on the morrow...

Diablo Directs/Tinker Tailor Has A Trailer/Pathe at Telluride

Diablo Cody purportedly the morning after her Oscar win for Juno (via Thompson on Hollywood)

DIABLO WILL DIRECT

We have been speculating for a long time that we're pretty likely to see "Young Adult," the Diablo Cody penned, Jason Reitman directed dramedy featuring Charlize Theron at this year's Telluride Film Festival.  The Pair teamed up in 2007 at T-ride to put "Juno" on the path to success.  And Reitman returned to Telluride in 2009 with "Up in the Air."  So, although I don't think that it's a lock, I do think it's very likely. 

In the midst of all of this speculation came the news last week that Reitman was already set for his next project..."Labor Day."  I immediately slated it as a possible selection for TFF #39. 

Now word all over the Internet yesterday that Cody will slide into the director's chair herself for her next script.  Cody has penned a comedy entitled "Lamb of God" that she will calling the shots for (word is that Reitman will also be a producer for this film).  Consequently, I'll be adding it to the "possibles" list for next year's Telluride Film Festival.

Here are a couple of links to posts about the announcement yesterday:

From HitFix:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/awards-campaign/posts/diablo-cody-will-make-her-directorial-debut-with-lamb-of-god

The Wrap:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/diablo-cody-make-feature-directorial-debut-lamb-god-28699

Thompson on Hollywood:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/06/29/mandate_buys_diablo_cody_script_lamb_of_god_for_her_to_direct

And from Cody herself:
http://honesttoblr.tumblr.com/post/7073255285/change-of-direction

TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER TRAILER

Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" has already started to generate a lot of buzz for possible Oscar love, especially Gary Oldman who plays the role of George Smiley.  There has been some thought that it could possibly be on the list of films for the 38th Telluride Film Festival or perhaps a "sneak".  Yesterday, a teaser/trailer started popping up in many places and it looks terrific. 

I have included the link for the embedded trailer at The Playlist.  Playlist also says that TTSS is a virtual lock for the Venice Film Festival, which, as I've said before in this space, isn't a death sentence in as far as playing at T-ride, but probably reduces the chances that will happen.  Expect one or two films to make the crossover between Venice and Telluride.

Here's the link to The Playlist post and the trailer...enjoy.
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_get_all_kinds_of_goosebumps_with_outstanding_teaser_trailer_for_tinke/

The TTSS IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/

OUR CONTINUING LOOK AT STUDIOS/PRODUCTION HOUSE/DISTRIBUTORS

I've been looking this week at various film companies and their recent connections to TFF to attempt to expose links and make deductive guesses at what we could see in September.  Today let's examine the French film outfit Pathe...

Pathe films at the Telluride Film Festival over the past 4-5 years:

2006: Volver
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009: Farewell, Bright Star
2010: The Illusionist, 127 Hours

So what do they have their fingers on that could play in 2011?  Two films are possible.  Both played at the Cannes Film Festival, but neither is a cinch.  More likely is probably Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit."  It was generally well received at Cannes and Almodovar films have had a significant presence at Telluride over the years...but remember, his last film "Broken Embraces" did NOT play at TFF.

The other Pathe possibility is "Pater" (Father) directed by Alain Cavalier which was a virtual non-entity as far as response from Cannes was concerned.  "Lukewarm" might be the best way to sum up the reaction it received there.  Ioncinema's collective critical scorecard had it with an anemic 2.1.  So, my feeling s that it is an unlikely presence at TFF #38.

Tomorrow we'll look at another French film company that also plays at Telluride and see what they have to offer as TFF #38 possibilities.