Filmmaker Mag Looks at TFF #41/Best of the Week: What I Saw; Video: Rosewater and Birdman; Dance Called Oscar; Rudderless Music/THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE

FILMMAKER MAG LOOKS AT TFF #41

http://filmmakermagazine.com/87475-wanting-to-like-everything-the-telluride-film-festival/


BEST OF THE WEEK

WHAT I SAW IN TELLURIDE

Ten films over essentially two and a half days.  I would have liked to have gotten in about 4 more than I saw. Nevertheless, I saw some really fine film work at the top of the list.  Here's what I saw and how I rated them...

1) Birdman 5/5
2) The Imitation Game 4.5/5
3) Foxcatcher 4.5/5
4) Wild Tales 3.5/5
5) Red Army 3.5/5
6) The Homesman 3.5/5
7) Wild 3/5
8) Magician 3/5 (adjusted)
9) Rosewater 3/5
10) Two Days, One Night 2.5/5

A comment or two...

Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman" is a masterpiece and his best film...and I'm a fan of his other films. I think it's a tremendous piece of work.  First and foremost is Michael Keaton's turn as Riggan Thomson...the down and out former movie superstar who made his name as the titular "Birdman".  It is a fearless performance on a ridiculously high, ridiculously thin high wire and he is riveting.  It's one of the great performances on film I think I have ever seen.  Keaton must win Oscar...it is a oral imperative.  To deny this performance would be a crime.  And Keaton isn't alone.  Ed Norton and Emma Stone shine as well.  Both should earn nominations and Norton may very well win the Supporting Actor trophy.

The technical work is also dizzying.  The technique to create a two hour plus film that seems to be nearly one long, non-stop take is an amazing feat that is a marvel to behold.

Admittedly, there will be some who don't care for the film.  It's experimental, existential and eccentric but that's also makes it so special.

I was in a conversation Saturday night, right after seeing the film, with one of the industry's smartest people about the Oscar season and we both agreed that it's a tough sell for Best Picture but the more I've thought about it, the more I wonder about that assessment.  It's hard to deny the virtuosity here and the actors, which make up the largest block in The Academy, I think are going to eat it up.  It's an actor's film.  Further, I think it's going to end up with the most nominations when they are announced next January.  So maybe...maybe...

Ultimately I have a hard time believing that I'm going to see a better film between now and Dec. 31st.

Morten Tyldum...better get used to hearing that name.  He's the director of "The Imitation Game", the Alan Turing biopic starring Benedict Cumberbatch which came as close to being the consensus hit of last week's festival as I could find and deservedly.  I loved it too...not as much as "Birdman" but still...

Cumberbatch will be a nominee for this film as will, I expect, Mr. Tyldum and the screenwriter Graham Moore.  That's enough to virtually guarantee a Best Picture nomination.  There's some sentiment that Kiera Nightley might be in the running for a Supporting Actress nomination.  Noms for Costumes and Art Direction are real possibilities and I could also see an editing nomination.

Some have compared this to "The King's Speech", "Argo" and "The Artist".  Not thematically at all, but as a very well made film that Telluride audiences responded enthusiastically to.  For some that is damning praise...not to me.  Say what you will, about those three films (two of which were from The Weinstein Company, as is "Imitation Game") but they were all outstanding films in their own right.

All that said...it's a damn good film and Cumberbatch in almost any other year might be the Oscar favorite...

Finally, in terms of the films I really dug at TFF #41, there's Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher".  It's fantastic but won't be everyone's cup of tea.  "Too cold" is how I've heard it described and that makes some sense.  But that "cool" aesthetic is absolutely essential to the central performance/character.  Steve Carell is... well, some would say a revelation as deeply crazy buhzillionaire Jon duPont in this true story.  I wouldn't say "revelatory" because I've thought he was going to be great in the role since I first heard about it.  And if you read this blog with regularity, you know that I've been tracking this film for...well..ever.  You might recall that I (and others) went through last season thinking we might see it in 2013.  Nope.  But it was worth the wait.

So, Carell is excellent as are Mark Ruffalo and Channing Tatum as two brothers trying to conquer the Olympics circa 1988.  Bennett Miller's direction is sure handed, confident.  He's a great talent.  It's too bad that he takes as much time as he does because that means we'll see fewer films from him over the next couple of decades.  But if his body of work continues to mirror "Capote", "Moneyball" and now "Foxcatcher"...it'll be worth the wait.


My expectation is that we'll see two acting nominations, Carell and either Ruffalo or Tatum...I can't see all three being nominated, though they probably should be...both Ruffalo and Tatum deserve the nod.  The Ruffalo love is probably not a surprise.  Tatum in that convo might raise an eyebrow until you see the performance.  Again, I'm not surprised.  I thought he'd be great too.

A Best Picture nomination is possible since we're likely to have nine films make the grade again this year.  A Best Direction nom for Miller is a tougher proposition though.  I'd vote for him but, you know, I'm not an Academy member.

A script nod for Dan Futterman and E. Max Frye is more likely.  Maybe editing as well.

That's the stuff I really liked of the ten films that I got to.


VIDEO FROM "ROSEWATER" AND "BIRDMAN"

Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood posted exclusive video of interviews with the "Rosewater" and "Birdman" folks and I'm passing  along those links to you:

"Rosewater":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-rosewaters-jon-stewart-and-gael-garcia-bernal-talk-purposeful-inauthenticity-exclusive-20140903


"Birdman":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu-talks-birdman-at-telluride-exclusive-video-20140901


L.A. WEEKLY'S OSCAR TAKE FROM TFF #41

L.A. Weekly posted their assessment of Oscar potentials from this year's Telluride crop yesterday.  Weirdly, no mention of "Birdman".  Check it here:

http://www.laweekly.com/publicspectacle/2014/09/03/wild-foxcatcher-rosewater-and-more-hunting-for-hits-at-telluride-2014

AND NOW THE DANCE CALLED OSCAR

Regular readers of this space know that now that the festival has concluded that two things are about to happen.  I'll go back to the regular twice a week publication schedule (Mondays and Thursdays) unless something special warrants a special post AND the focus of the blog shifts from the films that we puzzled about for six months to the actual films that played and their prospects for the upcoming awards season.

I know that plenty of TFFers couldn't care less about this or that Oscar prospect.  I completely understand that but I do enjoy the awards season and how those films that showed at The SHOW will fare.  As such, I have included a number of pieces of the "at first blush" variety from a number of the best Oscar/Awards thinkers and writers in the business.  Enjoy!

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2014/09/the-state-of-the-race-how-telluride-shapes-the-oscars/

Kristopher Tapley/HitFix

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/off-the-carpet-venice-and-telluride-signal-the-starting-gun

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood and Eric Kohn/IndieWire (Screen Talk podcast)

http://www.indiewire.com/article/listen-how-has-telluride-changed-the-oscar-race-anne-thompson-and-eric-kohn-discuss-on-indiewires-podcast-20140901

Tim Gray/Variety:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/telluride-awards-wrap-no-slam-dunk-but-lots-of-goodies-1201294687/

Joey Magidson/Hollywood News

http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2014/09/01/the-telluride-film-festival-launched-some-oscar-contenders/

Gathered for this year's "Class Photo" Hilary Swank, Jon Stewart, and Channing Tatum (Getty Images)

I have continued to gather reactions to this year's group of films from critics and those that roam the awards season landscape.  Included in a couple of the wrap-ups and reviews are kind mentions of MTFB...to Alex Billington/First Showing and Sasha Stone/Awards Daily...thanks!  They're two of the best in the business and are always encouraging about this small enterprise.  So we'll start there:

Sasha reviews the weekend here:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2014/09/telluride-diary-glory-in-the-hour/

Alex also provides a summary of the four days here:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/telluride-2014-cinema-thrives-in-colorado/

Anne Thompson offers her take with some really interesting background on the Toronto issue:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/telluride-wrap-the-little-festival-that-could-20140903

Variety's Justin Chang and Scott Foundas filed this dialogue that looks at the weekend that was:

http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/telluride-from-birdman-to-mommy-festival-soars-above-the-fray-1201295912/

And from a number of places, the continued assesment of Oscar:

Gold Derby:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/7189/oscars-birdman-foxcatcher-telluride-boyhood-unbroken-entertainment-13579086-story.html

The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/reese-witherspoons-odd-f-bombs-michael-keaton-mania-weird-tales-show-stealing-7-takeaways-from-telluride-film-fest/

Cinema Blend:

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Benedict-Cumberbatch-Imitation-Game-Win-Telluride-Battle-Oscar-Buzz-67015.html


MUSIC FROM RUDDERLESS

My countdown to the release of William H. Macy's set in Oklahoma Sundance drama "Rudderless" continues.  It's set to release on Oct. 17th.  News came yesterday that music form the film...and it's cool music...will be available within the month.  One of the things that was said after the Oklahoma City screening of the film last June was how good the music was.  Now you'll soon have a chance to hear for yourself.  The Playlist posted the release story online and here's the link to that:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/exclusive-listening-preview-songs-from-the-rudderless-soundtrack-performed-by-selena-gomez-eef-barzelay-ben-kweller-more-20140904

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE

The ratings from readers have begun to come in and this is your reminder to be a part of the annual rating compilation of  the films you saw at Telluride.  Please drop me a line with your rating of each of the films you saw using a 0-5 scale with "0" for the atrocious and "5" for the sublime.  Send them to me via Twitter @Gort2 or email:  michael_speech@hotmail.com or as a comment to this post.  I'll collate them and publish the results in the next week or so.  It's fun!

A Brief Post from The Real World

Good Tuesday...

GRATITUDE

I'm back to the real world in the Panhandle of Oklahoma.  Back in the classroom in a matter of minutes.  SO this morning's post is brief.  Larger post coming tomorrow.

Thanks to Mitzi, Larry, Katie and Retta Mallard who make the whole thing possible every year.  Thanks also to The River Club and the staff who make us feel that Telluride is home.

Thanks to Julie Huntsinger, Muffy Delaurier, Erica Gioga and Shannon Mitchell of the Fest who treat me and my wife with respect and kindness each and every time we interact with them.

Also a massive thank you to the members of the press that I finally got to meet on this trip: Alex Billington, Greg Ellwood, Tomris Laffly and Scott Foundas.

A special extra thanks to Sasha Stone, Kris Tapley and Scott Feinberg who I got to know much more at this particular Festival.  I'm glad I got to spend some actual time just conversing and getting to know them a bit more personally.

Also, a big shout out to the festival guests who were almost uniformly gracious and kind.  As always, I can't believe that I get to be a part of that world each year.

And, of course, a huge thank you to those of you that continue to read this blog each year.  You're the reason!

REMINDER

Now that the fest is over...rate your film choices on a 0-5 scale and send those to me for "The People's Telluride".  I'll publish that next week.

I'll also have the "Professional's Telluride" next week.  Some of those ratings are coming in already.

THE FILM LIST:

Here are my top five films for TFF #40:

1) "12 Years a Slave"
2) "Nebraska"
3) "Inside Llewyn Davis"
4) "All is Lost"
5)  "Tim's Vermeer"

More tomorrow...

A Reminder/Argo on Fire/Rust Poster

Good Saturday Everyone...

Pardon my truncated post today as I am on the road for a meeting of Oklahoma speech and debate teachers.

A REMINDER

Don't forget to send me your ratings of films that you saw last weekend at Telluride.  Please rate 0 to 5 with "5" being "great" and "0" being "abysmal".  Tomorrow night is the deadline for me to be able to post The "People's" Telluride ratings on Monday.  It should be fun and illuminating.


ARGO ON FIRE

No other film got more traction/boost and buzz last week than Ben Affleck's "Argo".  The thriller has grabbed solid reviews and opened in Toronto last night to good buzz as well.  It may be headed to multiple Oscar nominations.  Check this overview from The Huffington Post:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/01/argo-reviews-telluride-ben-affleck_n_1848831.html

As to the aforementioned reaction last night in Toronto, here's that story from the Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/goldstandard/la-et-mn-toronto-argo-premiere-20120907,0,155894.story


RUST POSTER

"Rust and Bone's" Facebook page has premiered and English version of the poster for the Marion Cotillard film.  Here's the poster:

"Rust and Bone's" Facebook page is here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=139234986221583&set=a.139234982888250.39960.139234772888271&type=1&theater

Sorry this is short but...

More later...

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Critics' Telluride/Argo Trailer/First Gurus on BP/

Good Friday to Everyone...

CRITICS' TELLURIDE

For the first time I have asked some of the best in the business to rate what they saw at the Telluride Film Festival and they have responded.  I asked each critic/blogger to rate the films they saw on a scale from 0 to 5 with 0 being "abysmal" to 5 being extraordinary.

And now I want you to do this too.  Send me YOUR ratings using the same 0 to 5 scale and I'll compile and post the collective take on Monday.  You rate your films here as a comment to the blog or email me at mpgort@gmail.com or michael_speech@hotmail.com

Now here's the take from the professionals who accepted my invitation.

From Alex Billington/First Showing:  Amour-1, Argo-4.0, At Any Price-5, The Attack-4.5, Frances Ha-4, Ginger and Rosa-1, The Hunt-2, Hyde Park on Hudson-4, N0-4, Rust and Bone-4.5, Stories We Tell-3.5.

From Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter: Amour-4, Argo-5, Central Park Five-4, Hyde Park on Hudson-3.5, The Iceman-3.5, Love, Marilyn-4, No-3.5, Rust and Bone-4.5, The Sapphires-4.5

From Eugene Novikov/Film Blather: The Act of Killing-3, Amour-4, Argo-3.5, At Any Price-4, The Attack-4.5, Baraka-2, Everyday-2.5, Frances Ha-5, The Gatekeepers-2, The Hunt-4.5, Midnight's Children-0, No-3.5, Piazza Fontana-2, A Royal Affair-3, Rust and Bone-3.5, Wadjda-3

From Sasha Stone/Awards Daily: Argo-5, Amour-5, Central Park Five-5, Frances Ha-4, The Hunt-5, Hyde Park on Hudson-3, No-3, Paradise: Love-3, Rust and Bone-5, Stories We Tell-5

From Kristopher Tapley/InContention-Hit Fix: Argo-5, Baraka-5, Central Park Five-5, Everyday-3, Frances Ha-4, The Gatekeepers-4, Hyde Park on Hudson-2, The Iceman-4, No-3

Michael Patterson/Michael's Telluride Film Blog: Amour-3.5, Annecy Animation-3.5, Argo-4.5, At Any Price-2, The Attack-3.5, Corman's World-4, Frances Ha-4, Hyde Park on Hudson-2.5, No-3.5, Rust and Bone 4.5, The Sapphires 4

The combined averages for every film earning at least two responses was as follows:

1) Central Park Five-4.7
2) Argo-4.5
3) Stories We Tell- 4.3
4) The Sapphires 4.25
5) (Tie) Frances Ha and The Attack- 4.2
7) Rust and Bone- 4.0
8) The Iceman- 3.8
9) At Any Price- 3.7
10) (Tie) Amour and Baraka- 3.5
12) No- 3.4
14) (Tie) Hyde Park on Hudson and The Gatekeepers 3.0
15) Everyday- 2.8

All other films were viewed/rated by only one respondent.


ARGO TRAILER


Ben Affleck's "Argo" seems to be the big hit of this year's festival with critical reaction enthusiastic and Oscar watchers suggesting the possibility of multiple nominations.  As you can see from above, it was a favorite among the critic/bloggers that were kind enough to participate in my first ever post-Telluride poll.  It will be interesting to see if the reaction in Toronto is as enthusiastic (my bet is that it will be).

At any rate, the film opens Oct. 12 and has its theatrical trailer out for all to see.  If you missed it last week and your in Toronto, try to catch it...it's very, very good.

"Argo's' IMDb entry:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1024648/


GURUS ON BP AND OSCAR HEAT

The Gurus of Gold have their first tentative look at where they think the Best Picture race starts.  Included in the conversation from Telluride are "Argo" and "Amour".  Take a look here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/08/gurus-o-gold-pre-toronto-international-film-festival-2012/

And The Playlist also analyzes the Oscar prospects after Telluride and most of Venice and before Toronto.  That's here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/oscars-which-contenders-got-heat-coming-out-of-venice-and-telluride-20120906

DON'T FORGET TO SEND YOUR RATINGS OF LAST WEEK'S FILMS FOR THE "PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE".

More later...

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