Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
Good Thursday Everyone...The Telluride Film Festival announced yesterday that...
WE HAVE GUEST DIRECTORS...PLURAL
Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan via Variety
From the TFF Press Release...
BERKELEY, CA – Telluride Film Festival, presented by National Film Preserve LTD., is thrilled to announce its 2014 Guest Directors, Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan. The husband and wife team is set to select a series of films to present at the 41st Telluride Film Festival running over Labor Day Weekend, August 29 – September 1, 2014. The Guest Director program is sponsored by Audible.com.
Festival organizers annually select one of the world’s great film enthusiasts to join them in the creation of the Festival’s program lineup. The Guest Director serves as a key collaborator in the Festival’s programming decisions, bringing new ideas and overlooked films to Telluride. In keeping with Telluride Film Festival tradition, Maddin and Morgan’s film selections, along with the rest of the Telluride lineup will be kept secret and unveiled on Opening Day, August 29, 2014.
“Guy and Kim have long been a part of Telluride,” said Telluride Film Festival executive director Julie Huntsinger. “There was no question that they were the perfect choice for this year’s Festival. Their energy, knowledge and enthusiasm is a winning combination – our audience will benefit from that when their selections are unveiled at the Festival!”
Guy Maddin is an installation artist, writer and filmmaker, the director of ten feature-length movies, includingMy Winnipeg(2007), The Saddest Music in the World (2003), and innumerable shorts. He has also mounted around the world over seventy performances of his films featuring live elements – orchestra, sound effects, singing and narration.
Twice he has won America'sNational Society of Film CriticsAward for BestExperimental Film, with Archangel (1991)and The Heart of the World (2001). He has been bestowed many other awards, including the Telluride Silver Medallion in 1995, San Francisco International Film Festival’s Persistence of Vision Award in 2006, and an Emmy for his ballet film Dracula – Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2002). Maddin is a print journalist and author of three books
Kim Morgan is a film, music and culture writer who has written for Salon, GQ, LA Weekly, Criterion, MSN Movies, Huffington Post, IFC, Entertainment Weekly, The Dissolve, Playboy, The Los Angeles Review of Books and Garage Magazine.
Morgan has presented movies and moderated interviews for the Los Angeles Film Noir Festival and the Palm Springs Noir Festival. She has guest programmed for TCM and recently presented two films for Telluride Film Festival.
Morgan has worked with Maddin on several occasions appearing in his short films, or “Hauntings” with Udo Kier. They collaborated together on the short, “Bing & Bela” and their upcoming series “Seances” will move to MOMA in 2014.
“We are honored and thrilled to be guest directors at Telluride, by far the most concentrated, smartly curated, and enchanting of all the film festivals,” Guy Maddin and Kim Morgan commented jointly. “More than any other festival, Telluride is driven by the sheer love of cinema -- discovering new talents, honoring titans and unearthing neglected masterworks and geniuses. The opportunity to share our favorite films with Telluride and its always-discerning audience is not only exciting but an absorbing, wonderful challenge. There are so many movies we love, and to program a selection of six... where to begin? We really wanted to show those masterpieces we felt hadn't been revived enough, if ever, and to see them as they were meant to be seen -- on the big screen. We can’t wait to watch!”
Past Guest Directors include Caetano Veloso, Michael Ondaatje, Alexander Payne, Salman Rushdie, Peter Bogdanovich, B. Ruby Rich, Phillip Lopate, Errol Morris, Bertrand Tavernier, John Boorman, John Simon, Buck Henry, Laurie Anderson, Stephen Sondheim, G. Cabrera Infante,Peter Sellars, Don DeLillo, J.P. Gorin, Edith Kramer and Slavoj Zizek.
Continuing this week's listing of great films that played Telluride that I actually caught elsewhere...So far that has included: "Amelie", "Brokeback Mountain", "Sling Blade", "Ed Wood" "Blue Velvet" and "The Straight Story". Today's addition's are:
Another film from 2005: Bennett Miller's "Capote". 2005 was the year before my first foray into the Telluride Film Festival. Wish I had been there. "Capote" rightfully won Philip Seymour Hoffman the Oscar for Best Actor. The film was also nominated for four other Academy Awards. "Capote announced Miller's arrival in bold terms. I came to it to see Hoffman's performance. I stayed with it because it's just a really good film.
From 2006: "The Lives of Others". This won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film and remains one of the best foreign films I have ever seen. Terrific work from the lead Ulrich Muhe, who plays an East German officer of the secret police, who finds that he may have a conscience. It's haunting film making from director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck.
Tomorrow, my two final Great TFF films that I didn't see at Telluride.
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I've been passing along tidbits here and there about "The Impossible", a film centered on the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean starring Naomi Watts and Ewan MacGregor and which just this week got scheduled for an awards friendly release date from Summit Entertainment.
Naturally this caught my eye along with the speculation in some quarters that because of the noticeably flashy date (Dec. 21) that Summit might be looking at some fall fest action for it. Also what little reaction to screenings that I've been able to find suggests that it might also be a pretty good film. So, it's on my watch list.
Consequently I have added a couple more posts that shine a bit more light on the film including a Spanish language trailer linked by Jeff Wells.
News and posts today about one of the most intriguingly titled films in years: "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"...any film title that references one of the five best Beatles songs is going to catch my eye. The casting news in these stories suggests that some seriousness of purpose.
I started this week with an analysis of what major studio(s) might have been dangling their Oscar wares at the Telluride programmers last week in Los Angeles per a story from Deadline.com's Pete Hammond:
MAJOR WANTS TO PLAY
Deadline.com's Pete Hammond posted a story yesterday that focused primarily on the opening of the L.A. film fest but it also included a number of references to this year's Telluride fest as the TFF crew was in L.A. host a TFF-centirc soiree. The article includes references to likely TFF choices "Rust and Bone" and "Amour". Perhaps the most intriguing Telluride note came in the last paragraph of Hammond's post:
"Meanwhile the LAFF isn’t the only film festival action taking place this week in Los Angeles. The Telluride Film Festival threw a party at the London Hotel on Sunset the night before the LAFF launch to tout their upcoming Labor Day weekend 39th edition of a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season. Fest directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are still putting the program together and, as is the custom, won’t announce it in advance. But it’s clear this fest which draws Oscar-hopefuls from the likes of SPC, Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Focus and others has also attracted the attention of the major studios with eyes on Oscar this year. At least one of them was busy showing their wares to the Telluride honchos this week in hopes of making the cut."
Which leads to a couple of points:
1) Which studio and what films?
2) It's not that the majors don't play Telluride, but their participation is usually a small part of the festival. One wonders if this bit of news signals a larger presences for 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Universal etc.
3) And finally, you have to believe that Hammond's line "a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season." (which is something I have been saying the last five years) is reflected by a greater desire from the majors to be included on the Telluride bill of fare.
So here's that day by day breakdown of four "major" studios:
If you looked in on this space Saturday you saw this tidbit repeated from a Pete Hammond post from Deadline.com:
“The Telluride Film Festival threw a party at the London Hotel on Sunset the night before the LAFF launch to tout their upcoming Labor Day weekend 39th edition of a fest that grows in importance every year as a key start to awards season. Fest directors Gary Meyer, Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are still putting the program together and, as is the custom, won’t announce it in advance. But it’s clear this fest which draws Oscar-hopefuls from the likes of SPC, Searchlight, The Weinstein Company, Focus and others has also attracted the attention of the major studios with eyes on Oscar this year. At least one of them was busy showing their wares to the Telluride honchos this week in hopes of making the cut.“
Which has kept my mind whirling for the last 48 hours...which studios? what films? Certainly it seems that Hammond is implying more than one.
Consequently, during the course of this week, I'll take a look at the "major" studio offerings that are expected as we move to the end of the year that most think want to be Oscar contenders and at least see if we can discern what the field of possibilities looks like.
Today we start with Universal Pictures which looks to be distributing two "Oscar-y" films: Tom Hooper's "Les Miserables" and Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" (the Osama Bin Laden/Seal Team 6 film).
The Bigelow film seems more "Telluride-ish" (as I thought "The Hurt Locker" might be back in 2008) but Tom Hooper had a great deal of success out of Telluride for "The King's Speech" in 2010..so both films seem plausible Telluride contenders if Universal has decided to make that play and T-ride's heads deem them acceptable.
Other connections..."Les Miz's" production company Working Title had a production connection to Telluride 2006 "sneak" "Catch a Fire".
Continuing to look at "Major" studios who might have been the studio reference by reports from the L.A. Film Festival that a so-called "major" was dangling bait in front of Telluride programmers we review the late year offerings from 20th Century Fox.
It looks like four possibilities emerge:
Ang Lee's "Life of Pi"...which I'm watching anyway because Lee's been represented at Telluride before with "Brokeback Mountain" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" perhaps most notable.
Curtis Hanson's "Of Men and Mavericks"...mostly because I met Hanson at Telluride a few years ago.
And Daniel Barnz's "Won't Back Down" starring Viola Davis in what purports to be this year's vehicle for Ms. Davis to challenge for the Best Actress Oscar that Meryl Streep won over her last year.
Won't Back Down" is featured in a post this week from The Playlist with links to 4 clips from the film.
And of course, the big dog Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" which Fox is co-producing with Dreamworks and Amblin and a bunch of others. I'll have more to say about it on Friday. ("Lincoln's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/)
20th Century Fox has been represented at Telluride in the past with: "The Descendants" (2011), "127 Hours", "Never Let Me Go" and "Black Swan (2010) and "The Savages" (2007) and others.
My take: "Life of Pi" chances are at 30%, "Of Men and Mavericks" 15% and "Won't Back Down" at 25%.
Tomorrow a look at what Warner Brothers might have tried to play with if they're the studio in question.
PARAMOUNT
In light of commentary this weekend in a Pete Hammond post for Deadline.com that suggested that one of the major studios had been plying their wares for the head honchos of the Telluride fest, I have taken it upon myself this week to look at what those possibilities might be. Today, I'm looking at Paramount and we can probably rule them out pretty quickly. Despite past recent participation at Telluride with "Up in the Air", "Benjamen Button", "Zodiac", "Babel" and "Paranormal Activity" and probable future Telluride films "Labor Day" and "Nebraska" as of right now they have only one film that might be conceivably considered Oscar material and that's the Denzel Washington starrer and Robert Zemeckis directed "Flight". And frankly, I don't think it sounds like either a Telluride picture or much of an Oscar one for that matter. So I'm writing Paramount off.
Deadline. com reported last week that at least one "major" studio was showing film to TFF programmers in an effort to polish Oscar chances who were in L.A. during the L.A. Film Fest and so this week I have been trying to nail down some possibilities. Today: Warner Brothers.
According to their IMDb page (http://www.imdb.com/company/co0026840/) WB is distributor for a ton of Oscar bait films: Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby" (DiCaprio, Maguire and Telluride favorite Carey Mulligan), Ben Affleck's "Argo"( Affleck, Goodman, Arkin) , The Wachowski Bros."Cloud Atlas"(Hanks, Sarandon, Berry), Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with the Curve" (Eastwood, Adams), and Ruben Fleischer's "Gangster Squad" (Penn, Gosling, Brolin). Oh, and that "Hobbit" thing.
There's a lot there and WB has played in Telluride before...just not recently. They distributed "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008 and "Rails and Ties" in 2007...Allison Eastwood's directing debut...I have a nice New Sheridan story about her. WB also produce "Benjamen Button" and "zodiac" which were a pert of the festival's David Fincher tribute in 2008.
For my money...if it was Warners...I'd guess "Argo" and "Curve" would be the best possibilities and "Gatsby" on the outside.
MAJOR ANALYSIS
All week long I have been trying to parse the meaning of Pete Hammond's post at Deadline.com from last week in which he describes at least one :major" studio plying Telluride film programmers with their "wares" trying to entice T-ride into a programming choice. That original Hammond post is here:
This week I have looked at Universal, Paramount, Warner Brothers, and 20th Century Fox and what films they are either producing and/or distributing that look like they're also positioned for an Oscar run.
Re-capping... Universal is distributing has "Les Miserables" and "Zero Dark Thirty" (This with Columbia). Paramount: "Flight" Fox: "Life of Pi", "Won't Back Down" and "Lincoln" (with Dreamworks and Amblin, obviously) Warners: "Argo", "Cloud Atlas", "The Great Gatsby", "Trouble with the Curve" and "Gangster Squad".
["Argo" trailer]
Going to go BOLD here...
I lean toward Warners or Fox and here's why...
Warners...If I'm the Eastwood people and I really want Clint to be in play for a Best Actor Oscar I can't ignore the recent past concerning that trophy and Telluride.
2011: Jean Dujardin/The Artist (and a near miss for George Clooney for "The Descendants")
2010: Colin Firth/The King's Speech
2009: Another near miss by Geroge Clooney for "Up in the Air"
2007: Daniel Day Lewis for "There Will Be Blood"
2006:Forest Whitaker for "The Last King of Scotland"
2005: Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Capote" (also near miss for Heath Ledger for "Brokeback Mountain").
I don't think it's a coincidence...
So if you're looking at what is likely Clint's last shot at Best Actor...don't you play in Telluride?
And there is some Eastwood/Telluride history. He's been there before...and I always default to believing that almost everyone that comes once wouldn't mind coming back.
Fox... same logic applied to Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" and Best Picture. Again, look at the last few year's of BP winners from Telluride:
2011: "The Artist"
2010: "The King's Speech"
2008: "Slumdog Millionaire"
2007: No winner but "Juno" and There Will Be Blood" nominated
2006: "Babel" nominated
2005: "Brokeback" and "Capote" nominated
3 of the last 4 BPs got a huge boost from Telluride.
If you're he Spielberg people aren't you tired of the near miss status of the last few years? "War Horse", "Munich", "Saving Private Ryan". Plus the films that didn't even get a nomination for BP. And then there is the Marshall/Kennedy connection to Telluride.
So there you are...
As always, I could be totally, completely, 100% wrong...and probably am.
MASTER #2
A second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" appeared this week:
The film sites are abuzz since late last night with a second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" which is far and away the film I am most energized about for the coming fall/winter.
I am crossing my fingers that this plays at the Telluride festival this year but to be honest, I'd guess it's chances at about 45%. A lot depends on the strategy The Weinstein Company chooses to pursue vis a vis Oscar campaigning.
I still think that "The Master" could play T-ride, but Harvey has a lot of arrows in his quiver this year and he/they may well think that they'd benefit from this PTA film being a Venice/New York thing.
I'm not alone, however, in at least thinking that it's still a possible Telluride choice as, in the midst of all the posting about the new teaser Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere wrote today:
"If Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is going to play the Venice Film Festival, as rumored, surely there's a decent chance it'll also play Telluride...no? Along with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder and Brian De Palma's Passion withRachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (which will probably be minor at best -- DePalma's best days are long past)"
Which makes me feel a little more confident about keeping it on our list of Telluride possibles.\\Here's the link to the rest of Wells' story and the teaser as well as comments (including mine):
I had a big piece this week on Venice speculation:
VENICE SPECULATION
We're probably about 5 weeks away from the official lineup announcement for the Venice Film Festival.
We already know that it's under new direction from a past director.
We know it will be smaller (near Telluride-size in terms of the total number of films screened).
We know that the new director has claimed that he's likely to have "The Master", "To the Wonder" and Brian DePalma's new film, "Passion", though I think these might all be wishful thinking rather than hard and fast commitments.
We know that the overlap between Telluride and Venice films is usually very small...last year: 3 films (to the best of my ability to dig this up): "Shame", "A Dangerous Method" and "Diana Vreeland". And 3 is about normal.
Overlap in 2010: "Black Swan" and "Letter to Elia"
Overlap in 2009: "The Road", "Life During Wartime" and "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"
So Venice is usually a lineup that winnows Telluride possibilities...
All that to get to this: The Playlist has a big Venice speculation piece posted yesterday.
Highlights include two specific Telluride references in their analysis of Derek Cianfrance's "The Place Beyond the Pines" and David O. Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook". "Pines" is Cianfrance's follow up to the very well received "Blue Valentine". "Silver Linings" is the latest project from the director of "The Fighter" and "Three Kings" and will be distributed by The Weinstein Company.
Some other intriguing notes from The Playlist post:
They appear to believe the claims about "The Master", "To the Wonder" and "Passion" as they have them listed as "strong possibilities" for Venice along with "Anna Karenina", "Argo", "Gangster Squad" and "Something in the Air" among others.
Among "possibilities" they list: "Life of Pi", "The Place Beyond the Pines" and "Love is All You Need".
Among the "long shots" are: "Seven Psychopaths", "The Silver Linings Playbook", "Django Unchained","Low Life", "Cloud Atlas", "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "Zero Dark Thirty".
That seemingly led to a Twitter follow from the PR Director from the Venice Film Fesival: Giovanni Santoro.
Finally this week, a wish list from the folks at IndieWire provided some interesting fun:
50 FILMS FOR THE FALL
The fine people at IndieWire posted a "wish list"/prediction piece yesterday about what they hope and expect will play as part of the fall festival lineups (i.e. Telluride, Toronto and Venice.) It's fun to look at and drool over.
They specify Telluride in the case of these films:
"A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III" from Roman Coppola and...
"The Place Beyond the Pines" from Derek Cianfrance (and this becomes the second time in a week that someone has tried to connect "Pines" to T-ride...
Among the 48 other films listed that have the most Telluride "potential" (in my view):
[Trailer from "Hyde Park on Hudson"]
"Anna Karenina" (d. Joe Wright)
"Argo" (d. Ben Affleck)
"Gambit" (d. Michael Hoffman)
"Hyde Park on Hudson" (d. Roger Michell)
"Life of Pi" (d. Ang Lee)
"Love is All You Need" (d. Susanne Bier)
"The Master" (d. Paul Thomas Anderson)
"Quartet" (d. Dustin Hoffman)
"The Silver Linings Playbook" (d. David O. Russell)
"Something in the Air" (d. Olivier Assayas)
"Song for Marion" (d. Paul Andrew Williams)
I think that 3 of the above are really solid guesses...check back on Monday for my first "Ten Bets" of the season to see which 3.
Old friends of this blog will note a new page today. You can access what I have termed a "selective" history of the Telluride Film Festival. It's still "under construction", but a good portion of what it will be is up and examines the fest from its inception in 1974 up until 1995.
I'll be finishing it throuhout the coming weeks. Take a look by clicking on the tab "Selected TFF History" above.
Good Tuesday everyone! Taking forever to get the blog loaded today.
MASTER #2
The film sites are abuzz since late last night with a second teaser/trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" which is far and away the film I am most energized about for the coming fall/winter.
I am crossing my fingers that this plays at the Telluride festival this year but to be honest, I'd guess it's chances at about 45%. A lot depends on the strategy The Weinstein Company chooses to pursue vis a vis Oscar campaigning.
I still think that "The Master" could play T-ride, but Harvey has a lot of arrows in his quiver this year and he/they may well think that they'd benefit from this PTA film being a Venice/New York thing.
I'm not alone, however, in at least thinking that it's still a possible Telluride choice as, in the midst of all the posting about the new teaser Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere wrote today:
"If Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master is going to play the Venice Film Festival, as rumored, surely there's a decent chance it'll also play Telluride...no? Along with Terrence Malick's To The Wonder and Brian De Palma's Passion withRachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace (which will probably be minor at best -- DePalma's best days are long past)"
Which makes me feel a little more confident about keeping it on our list of Telluride possibles.\\Here's the link to the rest of Wells' story and the teaser as well as comments (including mine):
In light of commentary this weekend in a Pete Hammond post for Deadline.com that suggested that one of the major studios had been plying their wares for the head honchos of the Telluride fest, I have taken it upon myself this week to look at what those possibilities might be. Today, I'm looking at Paramount and we can probably rule them out pretty quickly. Despite past recent participation at Telluride with "Up in the Air", "Benjamen Button", "Zodiac", "Babel" and "Paranormal Activity" and probable future Telluride films "Labor Day" and "Nebraska" as of right now they have only one film that might be conceivably considered Oscar material and that's the Denzel Washington starrer and Robert Zemeckis directed "Flight". And frankly, I don't think it sounds like either a Telluride picture or much of an Oscar one for that matter. So I'm writing Paramount off.
Tomorrow a more likely suspect in 20th Century Fox.
CLOONEY IN AUGUST
Word late yesterday that there are new producers coming on board The Weinstein Company's big 2013 prestige project. The film adaptation of the massive Broadway success "August: Osage County" now has George Clooney and Grant Heslov as a part of the team. Clooney was one of last year's tributees at Telluride. Details here:
It all seemed a little weird until you put together the fact that the film will be directed by John Wells with whom Clooney worked back in their "E.R." days...
This morning's regularly scheduled post had some serious trouble, so I am trying to resurrect it.
CANNES IS CLOSER
Cannes is getting closer and closer to an official announcement. Hollywood News.com speculates on possible titles and stars that might appear there and the article includes many films that I have on my Cannes/Telluride #39 radar. Look:
The same source has a nice introduction to the opening on Broadway of the Mike Nichols directed version of "Death of a Salesman" featuring past Telluride attendees Philip Seymour Hoffman and Andrew Garfield.
TFF #38 came to a close a week ago today. In some ways I feel like it just ended last night and in others, like it was months ago...
VENICE
The Venice Film Festival drew to a close this past weekend with presentation of a number of awards. Perhaps the most notable with regard to Telluride's Festival was the naming of Michael Fassbender as Best Actor for "Shame." I'm pleased at that since I think Fassbender's performance in the film was the best acting I saw last weekend in the Rockies. Frankly, I think he's incredible. So I was pleased to hear that he had been rewarded.
The award plus the news over the weekend that Fox Searchlight had picked up the U.S. distribution rights for "Shame" means that Fassbender and maybe Carey Mulligan also, has at least a shot at an Oscar nomination for Actor and Supporting Actress respectively.
Perhaps no other film drew such distinctly polar reactions in Telluride last week as Steve McQueen's sophomore effort. I often felt pretty lonely standing in a line as a champion of the film. A lot of people really didn't care for it. But for my money, Best Film of the weekend and Fassbender and Mulligan give revelatory performances. So I say "Go Fox Search!"
Here are a number of posts that include the Venice run down and the slate of prizes including the Golden Lion to Alexander Sokurov's "Faust" which drew mixed reviews and was also a minor blip on my Telluride possibilities list at one time.
One of the films that I have my eye on as a possibility for TFF #39 is the Paul Thomas Anderson project entitled (at least for now) "The Master" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. Now comes word from "Hollywood Elsewhere", PT Anderson fan sight "Red Vines and Cigarettes" and Twitter that filming is complete. That should give Anderson a good amount of time to edit (don't know if it will be enough, though...). My expectation would be that if it's ready we might see it as an entrant at Cannes in May 2012 and then possibly in Telluride next September...
Here's the tweet: "Phillip Seymour Hoffman confirms "The Master" is done filming, denies it has anything to do with Scientology.http://t.co/TLYLJfv#themaster"
As we approach Telluride (and Venice, Toronto and New York) the peeps that do Oscar predicting as a serious business are, not surprisingly, starting to get serious. Last week saw the first predictions from Incontention.com's Guy Lodge. Now add to that the first speculative piece from David Poland at Movie City News (home of The "Gurus of Gold"). As you might expect, a number of films that I have in the discussion about what we might see in four weeks are included in Poland's initial stab at divining what might happen in the awards season.
Telluride possibles included in Poland's piece are:
360
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Descendants
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Ides of March
A Dangerous Method
The Artist
Coriolanus
W.E.
The Lady
Shame
Albert Nobbs
The Rum Diary
POLLEY'S WALTZ
Sarah Polley"s follow up to "Away from Her" has landed a spot in Toronto and also has had some Telluride speculation as well. The film stars Seth Rogen and the uber busy Michelle Williams as a young married couple facing challenges.The Playlist at Indie Wire has the first three clips form the film and are very positive about their look.
I'm about as certain as someone can be without actually being one of the Telluride programmers that Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" with George Clooney starring will be at this year's festival. Every sign points to that happening. I actually got a DM from a film blogging colleague earlier this week that he had received an email from the Fox Searchlight people that made him believe that even more.
So it won't be a surprise to me. The other Clooney vehicle this fall film fest season is the one that Clooney has directed, "The Ides of March." I am much less sanguine about its chances of being in the San Juans on Labor Day. It's already tipped to open the Venice fest and is scheduled for a "gala" presentation at Toronto. But at the same time I'm not completely ruling it out for T-ride.
I can see a scenario in which Clooney arrives in Telluride after the Venice opening to support "The Descendants" and brings a copy of his film along with him. Probable? No. Possible: Yes.
Again, remember that "Black Swan" opened Venice last year and was a Toronto gala as well and still managed to set Telluride on fire.
At any rate, it may be the best chance for Telluride Clooney fans to see him as the next couple of projects that he has lined up don't sound particularly Telluride-friendly. Take a look at what Mr. Clooney has in store in this article from The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-whats-coming-up-219874
THE MASTER RUMOR
I've already been sort of semi-psychotically obsessing about Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. The film focuses on the aftermath of WWII and a man's (Hoffman) development of his own "belief system". It's wildly believed to be a fictional accounting of the development of Scientology.
Anderson has been reportedly filming in California and Hawaii. Now comes word from The PT Anderson fan site Cigarettes and Red Vines that principle photography may be close to complete.
The tweet to that effect is here:
Cigarettes&RedVines (@cigsandredvines)
8/5/11 7:58 PM
"We received a tip from a source close to production that principal photography is wrapping up soon on "The Master." #dobirdsbark"
Well, not exactly. Sources are reporting that Brit comedian Russell Brand has been offered a large role in Diablo Cody's "Lamb of God." The Oscar winning writer of "Juno" is set to direct her own script and is on my TFF #39 watch list as a result (although you have to wonder about that in light of the news that Reitman and Cody will not be in Telluride this year with their "Young Adult").
The Playlist on IndieWire offers their version of the story in this post: http://dlvr.it/dZx5S
Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo" is on my list of films with an outside shot of playing at Telluride this year. His "Almost Famous" is a favorite of mine as is "Say Anything." So this part of the post is a two for one.
First, news that Crowe might actually consider a sequel to "Say Anything." That also via The Playlist here: http://dlvr.it/dPHhs
