Invitation/Wells Says/Ten More That Could Play

Good Thursday to Everybody...8 Days...(7 til the bus leaves the Oklahoma Panhandle!)...

INVITATION

Please consider yourself officially invited to a brief "meet and greet and discussion of film" as The River Club kindly presents my "Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW".  Refreshments, re-acquaintances, new acquaintances all at 5:00 pm at The River Club at 550 Depot in Telluride.  Should be fun.



WELLS SAYS...

I make no secret that I'm an amateur when it comes to this whole film blog universe and am not in the same league as a good number of other folks who really do play the game in a serious fashion.  One of those is Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere.  Mr. Wells will be attending Telluride and usually does and clearly he has sources...so when he drops some T-ride info...best pay attention.  And he did yesterday as I was kindly alerted by Film Blather's Eugene Novikov, Mr. Wells seems to nail down some of the Telluride lineup.  He says, cryptically, that we'll see Ben Affleck's "Argo", Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson", Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha", Ken Burns "Central Park Five" and Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone".  He implies we're also likely to see Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder".  And he mentions Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with the Curve" in such a way that I can't tell if he's debunking the thought that it will be there...or implying that it will obviously be there.  Mr. Novikov thinks it's likely the former...

Check the whole entry here:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/08/loose_talk_1.php

"Rust", "Hyde Park" and "Central Park Five" are on this week's "Ten Bets".  The rest have been or will be on this week's progressive "Thirty That Could Play" list that concludes with the final 10 today.  See below...

Frankly, the big surprise, to me anyway, would be the Malick...but it would be on my short list of films to catch at the festival if Wells is right.

Also, I have to admit that I had become pretty convinced that "Trouble with the Curve" was happening...but as I said, Wells sentence structure and emphasis make me uncertain as to what he's really saying...


TEN (OF THIRTY) THAT COULD PLAY

I've spent the week outlining 30 films in addition to this week's "Ten Bets" that could find their way onto screens in Telluride next week and assigning a percentage of chance to each one.  In all honesty, the Wells blurb yesterday has altered how I have written this final installment.  Here are 10 more that could play:

"The Impossible" trailer

"The Impossible" from Juan Antonio Bayona...the film focuses on the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia and the true story of one family.  Ewna MacGregor and Naomi Watts star and attention to it has risen very rapidly over the last 2-3 weeks.  Chances-50%

"To the Wonder" from Terrence Malick.  The master has turned around a film just months after "The Tree of Life" which for Malick is historically unprecedented.  It's reportedly a love story set in part in Europe and Oklahoma...and shot to some extent here in the Sooner State.  To be truthful, I have been low balling any chance that it would be in Telluride...until the Wells post yesterday (and credit where due, InContention/HitFix's Kris Tapley said he thought it was a "possible"..so...Chances-60%.

"Yellow" from Nick Cassavettes...also shot partly in Oklahoma, I've thought it might be Telluride material from the first moment I heard about it...still think it could be.  Chances-50%

"Frances Ha" from Noah Baumbach.  Baumbach has played Telluride before and though I recently put this film on my radar, still thought its chances were small...again, the Wells post makes me reconsider.  Chances-60%.

Trailer for "Quartet"

"Quartet" from first time director Dustin Hoffman...mostly on my radar as it's from The Weinstein Company...Hoffman directing an adaptation of a Roland Harwood play...Chances-25%

"At Any Price" from Ramin Bahrani and starring Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Heather Graham in an agricultural family drama.  Decent buzz and Tapley's inclusion as a "probable" makes it one to consider.  Chances-40%.

"Passion" from Brian DePalma.  A lot of people think this is going to make the cut and play at Telluride next week so I have to take it seriously, but I have to say I've been dubious about its chances all summer.  Chances-40%

Trailer for "The Sessions"

"The Sessions" from Ben Lewin starring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt.  This Sundance hit is one of two films that really hit a nerve from that festival (the other being "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Beasts is in release).  I've been campaigning in my own tiny way for its inclusion at Telluride despite the fact that it preemed in Utah.  Its distributor, Fox Searchlight reportedly wanted it to play Telluride, so my hope is that sentiment (and a lean Fox Search cupboard) makes that a reality.  Chances-45%

"Great Expectations"  Mike Newell with the latest adaptation of the Dickens classic with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter.  Tapley says its a "maybe".  I'm not that optimistic.  Chances-30%

"Ernest and Celestine"  It's French...it's animated...I'll bet it plays.  Chances-55%
 

And beyond these 40 films there are still others that could (and will) play...for example: "The Company You Keep", "A Late Quartet", "Arthur Newman", "Dangerous Liaisons", "Caesar Must Die" (look out for this one), "Everybody Has a Plan", "The Gatekeepers" (also this), "In the Fog", "Laurence Anyways", "Love is All You Need", "Much Ado About Nothing", "The Place Beyond the Pines", "Populaire", "Post Tenebras Lux", "Room 237", "Seven Psychopaths" and "The We and the I".

THE SESSIONS

Hollywood News makes noise about the Sundance hit and my wish list #2 film for Telluride as it preps to go to Toronto. 
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2012/08/22/the-sessions-gets-an-official-poster-toronto-2012/


BEYOND THE HILLS

Christian Munigu's follow up to his Cannes Palme D'or winning "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days" is sitting at #10 on this week's "Ten Bets".  The writer/director recently talked to Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood about the Telluride possible film:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/cannes-interview-cristian-mungiu-talks-beyond-the-hills

More later...

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Ten Bets/BBC Films/The Sapphires Pics/What Are We Doin' Tonight Marty?

God Monday Everyone...hope you had a great weekend!


TEN BETS #3

Here's a look at last week's "Ten Bets":


1) Amour
2) Rust and Bone
3) Beyond the Hills
4) Hyde Park on Hudson
5) Song for Marion
6) No
7) Something in the Air
8) The East
9) Midnight's Children
10) The Central Park Five


Here's this week's

"Song for Marion"

1) Amour
2) Rust and Bone
3) Beyond the Hills
4) Hyde Park on Hudson
5) Something in the Air
6) No
7) Song for Marion
8) On the Road
9) The Central Park Five
10) Serge Bromberg's Charlie Chaplin Project

The East and Midnight's Children dropped to make room for On the Road and the Bromberg project.  That's because I bumped into some bits and pieces of info this past week that made me re-evaluate On the Road's chances (which I have been decent anyway...even when it was bumped briefly from the "Ten Bets" list).  Other info leads me to believe, pretty strongly, that Serge Bromberg will be back in town on Labor Day.  I'm still also leaning toward "The Hunt", "Like Someone in Love", "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" and "Reality".




BBC FILMS

We're going to finish up our stroll through film production/distribution houses with history at Telluride this week and we'll be looking primarily at England.  Today's specimen is the BBC Films.

BBC Films at Telluride the past few festivals include:

2011: We Need to Talk About Kevin
2010: The First Grader, Tamara Drewe
2009: Bright Star, Fish Tank, An Education
2000: Shadow of the Vampire

BBC Films has been a relative newcomer to Telluride and, as you can see, the track record indicates that 2 films from them in a year is what might be expected.  So what does BBC Films have its fingers on that seems Telluride-like?

One film that I have already mentioned is Dustin Hoffman's directorial debut "Quartet".  That seems like a 50-50 candidate at best.

There's the Dakota Fanning vehicle "Now is Good" in which she plays a young woman dying of leukemia with a wish list that includes losing her virginity before she dies (which seems like it could play on a double bill with Fox Searchlight's Sundance success "The Sessions")...

There's the BIG adaptation of Dickens' "Great Expectations" with Ralph Fiennes as Magwitch and Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham directed by Mike Newell.



Those three films seem t like the most likely of the films currently listed for BBC Films by IMDb to be Telluride possibles and I have to say that I don't have a strong inclination that nay of them will actually make the trip across the pond for Labor Day weekend.  BBC Films does have other projects in the bag, but for one reason or another, they don't seem as likely as the three I have listed here.

So, perhaps, this is a year like 2008 or 2011 in which BBC films doesn't make the Telluride scene, or if they do, it's with one film only.

Tomorrow a look at the UK Film Council.


THE SAPPHIRES PICS

Another of the possible films that Harvey Weinstein and the crew at TWC could end up with on the Telluride program is their Cannes acquisition "The Sapphires" directed by Wayne Blair.

The film follows the fortunes of a 60's girl group from Australia.

The Playlist posted new photos and a information late last week and here's the link to that:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-from-the-weinsteins-the-sapphires-starring-chris-odowd-20120705#

"The Sapphires'" IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673697/


WHAT ARE WE DOIN' TONIGHT, MARTY?

That iconic line is from the Paddy Chayefsky penned/Delbert Mann directed "Marty" for which Ernest Borgnine won the Best Actor Oscar in 1956.  Borgnine died this weekend at the age of 95.  He also appeared in a number of other notable projects over the years including "The Dirty Dozen", "From Here to Eternity" and "The Poseidon Adventure".  For a kid rowing up with the relatively new medium of television in the early 1960's, he was Lt. Cmdr. McHale in the series "McHale's Navy".

His loss coupled with Andy Griffith's last week create a huge hole where a lot of television used to be.

Bloopers from "McHale's Navy" via YouTube

Ernest Borgnine 1917-2012.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000308/

More later...

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Andy/Canal+/Quartet Trailer/The 176

Good Tuesday Everyone!


Reports this morning that Andy Griffith has died.  It's difficult to overstate how big an impact his career had on what television programming was and became.  As I tweeted earlier...Mayberry mourns and we're all from Mayberry.

CANAL+

Today our focus on production companies turns overseas as I begin to look at European firms that have had films on the program at Telluride and what their past participation may mean for 2012.

Today we look at the French firm Canal+

Canal+'s recent Telluride presence includes:

CANAL+ (French production company)

2011: Crazy Horse, Goodbye First Love, Le Havre, The Kid with a Bike, The Artist

2010:  Carlos, Of Gods and Men, The Princess of Montpensier, The Illusionist

2009:  Farewell, The White Ribbon, Inferno, A Prophet, Coco Before Chanel

2008:  Flame and Citron, I’ve Loved You So Long

2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Terror’s Advocate

2005: Cache

As you can see, Canal+ has increased its presence over the last 3 years with 4-5 films on the program.  So what do they have their fingers in that could provide a signal as to what we'll see Labor Day weekend?

Here's the most likely Telluride-ish films on the Canal+ 2012 slate:

Leo Carax's "Holy Motors"

Walter Salles' "On the Road"

Alain Renais' "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"

Michael Haneke's  "Amour"

Matteo Garrone's "Reality"

Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone"

As regular reders are aware, I think that the Haneke and the Audiard are locks for Telluride.  Any of the other 4 (and perhaps all of them) could well be on the T-ride playlist as well.

Tomorrow I'll evaluate France 2 Cinema.

QUARTET TRAILER

Dustin Hoffman's directing debut is set to be released here in the U.S. before the end of the year. It's being distributed by The Weinstein Company and has to be considered a possible (if not probable) Telluride film.  It has a trailer out this week.

You can also persuse a couple of stories that announced the arrival of the trailer.

From The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-retired-opera-singers-congregate-in-the-first-trailer-for-dustin-hoffmans-directorial-debut-quartet-20120702

And from FirstShowing.net:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/first-whimsical-trailer-for-dustin-hoffmans-directorial-debut-quartet/

Quartet's IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441951/

THE 176

A number of web sources reported earlier this week that AMPAS has invited 176 potential new members into the Academy.  Awards Daily has the complete list here:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2012/06/29/academy-invites-176-to-membership/

Of particular note to Telluride attendees would likely be the invitations issued to:

Berenice Bejo

Michael Hazanavicius

Asghar Farhadi

Jean Dujardin

Janet McTeer

Joseph Cedar

Luc Dardenne

Jean-Pierre Dardenne

Rodrigo Garcia

Two others invited that are not really Telluride-centirc but that I found interesting:

Terrence Malick and Stephen King...

More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

TWC/Silver snd Sessions Trailers/Coming Attractions

Good Friday to All!


THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

Today marks the fourth day to continue our examination of production/distribution film firms that have or may have a Telluride connection in the past and one for 2012.  Today's company du jour is The Weinstein Company.

TWC usually plays Telluride, but it often does so with two characteristics being true.  First, they don't normally have many films there and second, the films they do have are almost always serious awards contenders by the end of the year and it's very clear that the Weinstein people (meaning head guy Harvey Weinstein) carefully calibrates choices in terms of what they wish to unveil during the Labor Day festival.

Here's the TWC Telluride history as a distributor/producer:

2011: The Artist (Best Pic winner), Butter
2010: The King's Speech (Best Pic winner)
2009: The Road
2007: I'm Not There, My Enemy's Enemy

So, as you can see, one or two films per year with the last two years being part of the path that TWC used on the way to winning the Best Picture Oscar.

So what does TWC bring to Telluride in 2012?  Their shelves are stocked full...so many potential Telluride releases.  I have a feeling that this is the year that there are more than two TWC films on the TFF #39 program...

Here are the most likely/intriguing possibilities that TWC has slated for a 2012 release that fit Telluride's window:

Dustin Hoffman's "Quartet"
Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained"
Kar Wai Wong's "The Grandmasters"
Regis Roinsard's "Populaire"
David O. Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook"  (see trailer below)
Paul Andrew Williams "Song for Marion"
Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master"
Andrew Dominick's "Killing Them Softly"
Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires"

John Hillcoat's "Lawless" is set for an Aug. 29th release date...so no Telluride for what was once called "The Wettest County in the World".

Currently I only have "Song for Marion" listed on this week's "Ten Bets" list but I think ANY of the films listed above are possible T-ride choices.

If forced to handicap the field I'd suggest that the most likely are "The Sapphires", "The Silver Linings Playbook" and, yes, I'm going to say it..."The Master".

Mid-level possibilities: "Killing Them Softly" and "Populaire"

Least Likely: "The Grandmasters", "Quartet" and "Django Unchained".

TWC's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0150452/

Keep your eyes open and your fingers crossed!


SILVER LININGS AND SESSIONS TRAILERS

Trailers broke online yesterday for "The Silver Linings Playbook" and "Sessions"...my pet "please program this" project.  For what its worth, I think "Silver Linings" looks better than expected and "Sessions" looks like the film that Sundance on fire (along with "Beasts of the Southern Wild").  Here they are via YouTube:

Silver Linings:

Sessions:

FirstShowing.net had posts up yesterday about both films' trilaers (and "Sessions" poster as well):
http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/bradley-cooper-jennifer-lawrence-in-silver-linings-playbook-trailer/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/john-hawkes-stars-in-first-trailer-for-sundance-hit-the-sessions/


Silver Lining's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1045658/

The Sessions IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1866249/





COMING ATTRACTIONS

Each Friday this summer, I'm trying to highlight an announced film project that has at least some chance to play at TFF #40 (or 41).  Today's addition to that list is "August:Osage County"  set to star Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts.  Directed by John Wells.  George Clooney and Grant Heslov signed n as producers last week and The Weinstein Company is on board to distribute.  It's based on Tracy Lett's Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway stage hit.

August's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1322269/

Here are a series of links concerning the early developments surrounding "August: Osage County":

The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/meryl-streep-julia-roberts-star-august-osage-county-35446

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/george-clooney-grant-heslov-produce-august-osage-county-44631

The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-grant-heslov-august-osage-county-338804

HitFix: http://www.hitfix.com/news/george-clooney-teams-with-julia-roberts-meryl-streep-for-august-osage-county


More later...


Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Cannes: More to Come/Penn in Cannes/MCN #2/More from Harvey?/R & B Pics/Caesar/Passes

Good Morning!

Lots of this and that from around the Cinema world today as we hit the ten day mark in our countdown to the 65th Cannes Film Festival and its function (from my perspective) as a precursor for some films that will be in Telluride starting with...

CANNES: MORE TO COME

As expected, Cannes head man Thierry Fremaux has let slip the the lineup is not 100% complete.  Peter DeBruge posted this Fremaux tweet this week:

Cannes topper confirms there are 2 or 3 more pics. RT @THIERRYFREMAUX: @CinemaScopeMag Oui un film demain - et un ou d'autres plus tard.

And, as a matter of fact, I believe that they've already added a new documentary.  With ten days left, it's very possible that other offerings will be added...or that there could be other movement.  Remember that last year, "The Artist" was moved into the competition category at the very last minute.

PENN IN CANNES

What Cannes is probably NOT going to add is "Gangster Squad".  There had been some speculation that we could see "Gangster" as rumors flew this week that Sean Penn would be appearing in France for some reason.  Well, it seems that reason is Haitian relief not the Reuben Fleischer film.  See this via Entertainment Weekly:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2012/05/03/cannes-sean-penn/

MCN #2

Meanwhile, Movie City News continues its profiles of Cannes competition films in the second part of its series and this edition focuses on Michael Haneke's "Amour" and Alain Renais' "You Haven't Seen Anything Yet".  I think the Haneke is a virtual certainty for Telluride and that the Renais has also got a least a chance at being in TFF #39.

Here's that post:

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/05/countdown-to-cannes-resnais-haneke/

MORE FROM HARVEY?

Not long ago we reported that The Weinstein Company had signed on to distribute "Populaire" which made it at least a consideration for TFF.  Now comes word this week that TWC has added another film to its stable for possible 2012 release and that is the directorial debut of screen legend and double Oscar winner Dustin Hoffman.  The film is entitled "Quartet" and you can read about it here via The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/harvey-weinstein-dustin-hoffman-quartet-movie-debut-320350

Also look at its IMDb page here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1441951/

Which begs the question...how many if any of TWC's projects will we see in Telluride?  It was 2 last year: "The Artist" and "Butter".  "The King's Speech" in 2010 and "The Road" on 2009.  The TWC list is full for the end of 2012: "The Master", "The Silver Linings Playbook", "Django Unchained", "Song for Marion", "Killing Them Softly", "The Grandmasters" (though I doubt that it's ready) plus the two mentioned above.  I assume that "Lawless" is off the table with because of its announced Aug. 31 release date. Frankly, "Song for Marion" is the film I feel most strongly about being at TFF #39.

RUST AND BONE PICS

More stills from what is shaping up to be one of my most anticipated titles that I am feeling like will make the journey from the Croisette to the San Juans and that is Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone".  I am on record already that I think Marion Cotillard is likely to be Oscar nominated for the film...write it down...you read it here first...

Here's the link to the new pics from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/more-new-images-of-marion-cotillard-matthias-schoenaerts-in-jacques-audiards-rust-and-bone-20120504


CAESAR

A film that I think has some Telluride potential and that is NOT on the Cannes playlist but has still been well received in other film festival competitions (especially Berlin) is "Caesar Must Die".  It centers on a jailhouse production of Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar.  Well, the film had another good week last week as reported by The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/caesar-die-tops-donatello-award-320415

Check out Caesar's IMDb page here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177511/



PASSES

And finally, word is that passes are selling like hotcakes for TFF #39...you might want to shake a leg and get yours lined up soon...


http://telluridefilmfestival.org/news/2012-05


More later,

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2