The People's Telluride / RIP Robert Redford 1936=2025 / New Trailer for Springsteen

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE

Running a tad late today...apologies.

Here's my compilation of film ratings from TFF attendees for TFF #52.  Respondents were asked to rate each film they saw on a 1-5 scale with 1 being not-so-good and 5 being "way good".  Over 60 attendees responded to the poll.  The traditional requirement for inclusion is that a film had to have been seen by a third of the respondents.  13 films met that criteria.  Here they are in order of their average rating:

1) Hamnet 4.55

2) Bugonia 4.37

3) Sentimental Value 4.30

4) It Was Just an Accident 4.23

5) Tuner 4.16

6) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere 3.80

7) The History of Sound 3.79

8) Jay Kelly 3.78

9) Frankenstein 3.77

10) Blue Moon 3.43

11) If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 3.42

12) A Private Life 3.35

13) Ballad of a Small Player 3.22

So, essentially universal agreement between the Peeps and the Pros regarding Hamnet, Sentimental Value and It Was Just an Accident.  Pretty big differences between the two groups on Bugonia, Tuner and Frankenstein.

The Composite Telluride is coming on Monday as well as updates to all three categories all time top ten films.

RIP ROBERT REDFORD 1936-2025

Robert Redford died on Tuesday.  He was 89.  He was also a giant having amassed a bevy of great performances in great films, as well proving himself a fantastic director and producer.  And, of course, he was the founder of the Sundance Institute and the Sundance Film Festival.

He was an Oscar winner for directing Ordinary People.  He was also nominated five other times:

Producer for Ordinary People, Direction and Producer for Quiz Show and Best Actor for The Sting.

A partial list of notable films in which he acted:

Barefoot in the Park (1967)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

The Candidate (1972)

The Way We Were (1973)

The Sting (1973)

Three Days of the Condor (1975)

All the President's Men (1976)

The Electric Horseman (1979)

The Natural (1984)

Out of Africa (1975)

A River Runs Through It (Narrator) (1982)

The Horse Whisperer (1998)

All Is Lost (2013)

There were many more.

Direction:

Ordinary People (1980)

The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)

A River Runs Through It (1992)

Quiz Show (1994)

The Horse Whisperer (1998)

And others.

I was fortunate enough to catch his Q+As in 2013 for All Is Lost for which Redford received the Telluride Silver Medallion and then again in 2018 for The Old Man and the Gun.

Robert Redford at his  TFF Tribute in 2013.

Like I suspect many of you, I have spent the last couple of days re-watching some of his films: All the President's Men, A River Runs Through It, The Great Waldo Pepper.  I've got more to do.

It's really difficult to adequately describe how much of a effect he had in the film world.  As I wrote above; he was a giant.  The film industry would have been a a vastly different place without his career.  We also owe him an immense amount gratitude for his environmental activism.

As always in cases like this, we are lucky to have his body of work to remind us of his greatness.

NEW TRAILER FOR SPRINGSTEEN

We have a new trailer released for Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere.  Here it is from YouTube:

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Friday Done, Saturday Looms / TBAs for Saturday / The Other Big News

TBAs for Saturday:

Massons Hall

11:45am-Watergate
8:00pm-Great Expectations
10:30pm-Dogman

The Zog

10:00pm-Free Solo


MY FRIDAY

Things changed with the discovery that the Patron/Press screening would be The Old Man and the Gun.  I took that in and then caught the North American premiere of Damien Chazelle's First Man.

Robert Redford talks with John Horn after the world premiere of David Lowery's The Old Man and the Gun

Sissy Spacek

Old Man and the Gun- Pleasant.  Was like a warm blanket to see Redford in fine form playing a lovable character.  Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck are capable in support.  Tom Waits damn near steals the film.  Honestly, I felt like the film suffered a bit from lack of depth.  Again, pleasant.

First Man-is first rate.  Gripping, pulse pounding but also moving with genuinely touching moments. Gosling and Foy are great and Jason Clarke as doomed astronaut Jason Clarke also does a bang up job in support.

I was a big fan of La La Land two years ago and First Man does not disappoint as a follow up.  The Venice raves were earned.  I think it's a "can't miss" for you Telluriders this weekend.

MY SATURDAY...depending on if I can make the appropriate moves around town and Mountain village: Roma (Cuaron tribute), Destroyer, Can You Ever Forgive Me and The Favourite (Stone tribute).


THE OTHER BIG NEWS

Tom Luddy is not here in Telluride this year.  Co-director Julie Huntsinger revealed during the opening press conference today that Luddy is back in Berkeley as a health pre-caution.  She says not serious or life threatening but rather a decision based on cautiousness.


That's it for today.

New Trailer for The Old Man / Neil Simon 1927-2018 / Tribute Clues / Too Much of a Good Thing / Ahead This Week / The People's Telluride

Welcome back from the weekend.  What are you doing next weekend?


NEW TRAILER FOR THE OLD MAN

Fox Searchlight dropped a second trailer for David Lowery's The Old Man and the Gun starring Robert Redford in what he has said is his last acting job.

Here's the trailer from YouTube:

Additionally, here is coverage of the trailer's release from Indiewire and Awards Circuit.

As an aside, here is my plea to Fox Searchlight-whatever entourage you're bringing to Telluride in support of this film, please include Tom Waits.  That is all.

NEIL SIMON 1927-2018

Photo via Getty Images

Neil Simon died yesterday.  He was the pre-eminent voice for Broadway comedy in the 20th Century.  Read a lot of "Doc" Simon's plays.  Directed some.  Acted in some as well.  

He was a giant that deserved to be regarded as such.  This world is a darker place without him in it.

Exeunt Doc...and rest ye well...

TRIBUTE CLUES

                                      

Was contacted last night by a couple of faithful followers of the blog (you know who you are) who passed along the news that Tellurideinside.com had published the free screenings that will occur at the Able Gance outdoor theater on Wednesday and Thursday nights.  Long time TFF fans know that those screening choices each year generally point to Tribute recipients.

Wednesday night's screening is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.  That film was directed by a guy named Alfonso Cuaron.

Thursday night's film is Crazy, Stupid Love which stars both Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone either of which might be a Tribute recipient this week (and bravo to TFF organizers for this selection that leaves us guessing still).  I suppose there's also a 2% chance that it could be Steve Carell and that Welcome to Marwen pops up in the T-ride lineup...but I really don't think that's going to happen.  Just like Julianne Moore (the fourth of the five stars in Crazy, Stupid, Love) might be a candidate if Gloria Bell was going to play TFF but as it is scheduled by Toronto as a World Premiere, that's not going to happen either.

I suppose it's not outside the realm of possibility that both Gosling AND Stone get Tributes.

Here's the story from Tellurideinside.com

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING...

As we get to this moment every year a number of people will ask what I'm most excited to see during the weekend.  I always admit a couple of things: I don't live in L.A. or N.Y. or any major metropolitan area...so I am always interested in films that I know won't make it to my small berg until late in the year if at all and, of course, I am very interested in films that may be part of the Oscar conversation so those two things tend to inform my list of films to see.  I will also have to admit that I can be swayed by the personalities that accompany a film.  And, just like many of you, my choices can and likely will shift through the course of the weekend based on what the buzz is in lines.

This year, more than most, my pre-fest preferences have shifted from week to week.  At the moment, these eight films are in a constantly evolving rotation with each other as to my "must sees" in alphabetical order: Boy Erased, Destroyer, The Favourite, First Man, The Front Runner, The Old Man and the Gun, The Other Side of the Wind and Roma.  That said, I'm also pretty hot for Cold War, Non-Fiction and Shoplifters.  

Ultimately, if you look at last week's Ten Bets, I'd like to get in the top 16 or so and I know that's impossible.  Also, there is another film, that, should it pop up as has been indicated to me, then I'd be compelled to add it.

AHEAD THIS WEEK

MTFB goes into Fest Week mode...

Tuesday's post will include something I've been working on for a year and a half.

Wednesday...will have a special posting of the FINAL TEN (25) BETS FOR TFF #45.

Thursday...I'll post the official lineup as soon as it drops with some extra content.

Friday through Monday...I'll post each day with schedules, TBAs and whatever else seems interesting.

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE

For the seventh 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".

When the time comes, you can send those ratings to me in any of the following ways listed as contact info for me listed below.

That's your Monday MTFB...more tomorrow...

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

The Provenance of the Ten Bets List / Redford Reflects / Indiewire's 15 Docs / Banging the Drum Begins Today

Good Monday film fanatics!


THE PROVENANCE OF THE TEN BETS LIST

Here's a brief rundown of the 10 films on the most recent Ten Bets list (from last Friday) and the reason(s) I believe that they're headed to Telluride...

1) First Man- Listed as a Canadian Premiere by Toronto and the Opening Night film from Venice.  Director Damien Chazelle will replicate the path that his La La Land took two years ago.

2) Roma- Named as the centerpiece film for the New York Film Fest without a specific premiere designation.  Subsequently announced by TIFF as a Canadian Premiere for TIFF.  Scheduled early enough at Venice to make a run to Telluride.  Cuaron follows the steps he took with Gravity in 2013.

3) The Old Man and the Gun- TIFF lists it as an International Premiere-which traditionally means a film's first screening outside of its nationality of origin.  TIFF's program notes indicates the U.S. as the nation of origin.  Leaves Telluride as the only option.  Fox Searchlight is looking to capitalize on a strong T-ride response as it received for films such as The Shape of Water, Birdman and 12 Years a Slave-Best Picture Oscar winners all.

4) The Front Runner- TIFF lists the film as an International Premiere...see above.  Jason Reitman returns to his old stomping grounds.

5) Destroyer- TIFF lists the film as an International Premiere with the requisite designation of U.S. origin in its Platform section.

6) Cold War- TIFF lists as Canadian Premiere and NYFF lists it with no premiere status. First Cannes crossover with T-ride on this version of the Ten Bets.  Pawlikowski returns to TFF.

7) Dogman- TIFF lists this as Canadian Premiere.  Also a Cannes crossover.  Garrone returns to The SHOW.

8) Shoplifters- TIFF lists this as a Canadian Premiere.  Palme D'or winner at Cannes...the first Palme winner programmed at Telluride since 2013's Blue Is the Warmest Color.  NYFF lists it without a premiere designation.

9) Can You Ever Forgive Me?- Another TIFF International Premiere and also from Fox Searchlight.

10) Non-Fiction- Listed as a Canadian Premiere by TIFF.  At NYFF sans premiere designation. Early enough at Venice to make the trip. Olivier Assayas returns to Telluride.

Other films that seem to have reasonably good corroboration that are outside the top ten bets:

11) The Favourite- NYFF's Opening Night film was announced without any premiere designation and the film is also scheduled early enough at Venice to make the trip.  The third Fox Searchlight film that seems to be headed to the San Juans for Labor Day weekend.

12) White Boy Rick- The fifth film listed by TIFF as an International Premiere with U.S. origins.  Demange returns to Telluride.

13) Peterloo- A Venice play that's just barely early enough.  Mike Leigh has had a strong connection to Telluride over the years.

14) The Other Side of the Wind- Also barely early enough in Venice.  Connections to Telluride regulars such as Frank Marshall and Peter Bogdanovich.

15) Meeting Gorbachev- A tweet from the docs composer, who is also the brother of its co-director.  Listed by TIFF as a Canadian Premiere.  And, of course, it's other director is Werner Herzog.


The additional possibilities list from Friday was: Girl, Border, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead, Graves Without a Name, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, On the Basis of Sex, He Dreams of Giants, Free Solo, Angels Are Made of Light, The Biggest Little Farm, Ghost Fleet, Cheney (Backseat), Nothing Like a Dame, Mid 90s, Mary Queen of Scots, Boy Erased, Ad Astra.

From this list I feel nominally confident anywhere between 5-10 of them will also be programmed for TFF #45.


REDFORD REFLECTS

Ahead of the expected Telluride screening of what he has said will be his last film acting, Robert Redford recently shared thoughts about many of his most well known and beloved films with Entertainment Weekly.

Redford recounts anecdotes and reflections about Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All the President's Men and Ordinary People among others.

I suspect that the 2014 TFF Tribute recipient and Best Director Oscar Winner is likely to turn up in T-ride in a couple of weeks.  At least I hope he does.  I am also hoping his co-star Sissy Spacek makes the trip as well.  I have Spacek on my list of possible Tribute recipients for this year and could certainly envision Redford on hand to award her a silver medallion.

The EW article by Joe McGovern is here.



INDIEWIRE'S 15 DOCS

Indiewire's Anne Thompson wrote an article over the weekend isolating 15 documentaries that have been announced for the Toronto International Film Festival that she says have a chance to make a splash at Oscar time.

Among those she analyzes are a number that we're relatively confident will or could show up in T-ride prior to their screening in Canada.

Included in Anne's list that may be TFF #45 bound: #3 Free Solo, #4 Meeting Gorbachev, #13 Angels Are Made of Light, #15 The Biggest Little Farm

Anne's article is linked here.


BANGING THE DRUM BEGINS!

For the seventh 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".

When the time comes, you can send those ratings to me in any of the following ways listed as contact info for me listed below.

 And that's the Monday edition of MTFB.  I'll have more tomorrow...


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

Add Werner to The SHOW / Awards Watch Looks at Oscar and Fests / Redford Restates: It's My Last / My Nomination for an Episodic Selection / Four of Eight / The Poster Remains a Mystery

Good Tuesday friends...


ADD WERNER TO THE SHOW

Composer Nicholas Singer (nominated for an Emmy in 2014 for his work on the music for Night Must Fall) tweeted yesterday that the documentary he has been working on will premiere at Telluride.  What makes the claim credible is that he says the film was made with Werner Herzog.  The film is titled Meeting Gorbachev.

Though IMDb does not list the film in Singer's or Herzog's credits, it exists as Singer also tweeted a link to this RealScreen.com story that confirms its existence and that it will European premiere at the Leipzig Fest.  The film is reported to be the opening night film on Oct. 29th.

As the tweet also says that the film will play Toronto, we can expect to see that in their announcements today or next week.

The film is described in the RealScreen story as a "portrait of Mikhail Gorbachev".



AWARDS WATCH LOOKS AT OSCAR AND FESTS

Erik Anderson of Awards Watch posted a longish piece over the weekend in which he takes a look at what he believes are the biggest Oscar contenders and where we know or where he thinks films are going to play as we move into the next few weeks.

The piece is interesting and notable because he adds some spicy choices to the list of films that he thinks are likely for Telluride.  Films that either haven't been announced anywhere as yet or, in the case of A Star Is Born, have been announced but for which Anderson expresses a contrarian view.

What I mean is, I have certainly bagged the chances of seeing  A Star Is Born at T-ride as Toronto announced it as a North American premiere.  That designation has been rock solid as an indicator that a film will NOT play at Telluride since Toronto began the policy of requiring that films that they program reveal whether they're going to Telluride or not.  To my knowledge there has been only one exception and that came in the first year of TIFF's "honest premiere status" policy and that was Escobar: Paradise Lost.

I'd like to be wrong, though.

In as far as other morsels of interest...

Anderson has a bunch of what have become the consensus Telluride players based on previous announcements from other fests: Cold War, Dogman, Roma, The Favourite, First Man, The Other Side of the Wind, Peterloo, The Old Man and the Gun, White Boy Rick.

Of more interest are films that have not been announced that he thinks probably/possibly be at Telluride: Boy Erased, Green Book, Mary Queen of Scots and Mid 90s make that list.

The entire post is linked here.


REDFORD RESTATES: IT'S MY LAST

Entertainment Weekly posted an interview with Robert Redford yesterday in which the Oscar winning director of Ordinary People re-confirmed that The Old Man and the Gun will be his last acting gig.

Redford had said the same thing previously but seems to really put an exclamation mark to the notion with this story.

Redford's last film acting is expected to screen (for the first time for a public audience...call it a world premiere if you want to) in Telluride in three-ish weeks.

Here's the Entertainment Weekly interview.


MY NOMINATION FOR AN EPISODIC SELECTION

I've been interested in Maniac sense I learned that it was going to exist.  The combination of Cary Joji Fukunaga (directing all 10 episodes) and Emma Stone was more than enough to get my attention.

Now, with the decision to turn the Coen Brothers Ballad of Buster Scruggs from a six part limited series into a feature film, I humbly submit that TFF should program Maniac as an episodic presentation (like Wormwood from last year).

The Netflix release date is Sept. 21 so it would fit nicely...

The notion also crossed my mind yesterday as a new trailer was released...and it's goooood...

From YouTube:

FOUR OF EIGHT

Variety's Kristopher Tapley cryptically tweeted a list of nine films last week.  One assumes it is his first take on nine films that will ultimately end up being nominated for Best Picture.

Here's the list:

The reason for my excitement...half of Tapley's list is probable for T-ride-The Favourite, First Man, The Front Runner and Roma.  BlacKkKlansman and Black Panther have or will have already been released before Telluride and A Star Is Born will not be playing there as revealed by its North American Premiere status for Toronto.  The only film left on the list is tha Adam McKay film about Dick Cheney which could conceivably still make the Telluride lineup but I have seen/heard some scuttlebutt that McKay prefers to wait for its release later indicating that, perhaps an AFI berth is possible or no Fest play at all.

Still, I'm excited that so much appears on Tapley's list that we're probably going to see in the San Juans in three and a half weeks.

THE POSTER REMAINS A MYSTERY

It's August 6th and we still have seen no release of the 45th TFF official poster.  Last year was also a late reveal.  Even then, though, it was released on July 13th and that was the latest poster release in the last seven years.

Now we're behind that by three weeks.

Depending on the news we get today from other fests, I may post an update a little later today and as always...More to come on Thursday.

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New Things to Look At: The Old Man and the Gun (Trailer) / A Star Is Born (Trailer) / First Man (Stills)

Hello on this Thursday...


NEW THINGS TO LOOK AT:  Three films show us something about themselves and all of them could be in play on Labor Day weekend in southwest Colorado.

THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN (TRAILER)

We have a first trailer for the Robert Redford starring The Old Man and the Gun.  The film also features Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck in what Redford has said will be his last acting gig.  David Lowery (A Ghost Story, Ain't Them Bodies Saints) directs.

Fox Searchlight is distributing and coming off of last year's Best Picture Oscar win for The Shape of Water combined with an announced release date of Sept. 28th and the fact that Redford is a fairly recent T-ride tribute recipient, you have to think that the film has a shot at a Telluride berth.  Maybe a Sissy Spacek tribute?

Also, the trailer's great.  Here it is from YouTube:

Coverage from:

Indiewire

The Wrap

Trailer Track

A STAR IS BORN (TRAILER)

The Internet lost its collective mind yesterday over the first trailer drop for the fourth (I think) version of A Star Is Born.  This version stars and is directed by Bradley Cooper.  Lady Gaga also stars as the star who gets born.  Sam Elliott and Dave Chapelle also are featured.

In fairness to the Internet...this trailer is also impressive.  There had already been good buzz building for the film and it seems the trailer has added fuel to the fire.

As a matter of fact, a few weeks back I started paying some serious attention to its Telluride chances because of the scuttlebutt I was seeing about test screenings.

There has been Oscar buzz and that also took a jump with the trailer's release yesterday. 

So...the factor to consider:  It could be Warner Brothers ticket back to Telluride.  Since 2012 WB has had: Argo, Prisoners, Gravity, Black Mass and Sully at the fest.

A Star Is Born is set for an Oct. 5th release.

Here's the trailer via YouTube:

Coverage from:

Awards Daily

Indiewire

Variety

Trailer Track

FIRST MAN (STILLS)

And also appearing yesterday, the first stills from Damien Chazelle's Neil Armstrong biopic First Man starring Ryan Gosling.  The La La Land pair could see this film book a return trip to Telluride for Chazelle (with Gosling, perhaps, attending this time around).

The film is under the Universal banner and is set for domestic release on Oct. 12th.

As you can see from the imprint, People magazine was the first to post the pics:

Coverage:

People

Coming Soon

Indiewire

Slash Film

That's going to have to do it for this Thursday.  I'll be back tomorrow to wrap up this first week in June.

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

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TIFF in a Week / The Usual Suspects 2017 / Mr. Osiason Says... / Redford and Fonda at Venice

Good Tuesday everyone...

TIFF IN A WEEK

The word is that the Toronto International Film Festival will have their first announcement of films for their fest a week from today.  For those of you that have been reading this space for a long time, you know what that means.  For those of you that are new or have been casual readers, here's why that's important:

TIFF will announce each film complete with its "premiere status".  (Venice will too).  When they do that [as we have seen with New York's announcement that Last Flag Flying is a world premiere, so it will not be seen at Telluride] that will tell us some things that allow us in many cases to determine whether a film will/won't or could play TFF #44.  New York's recent announcement that Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck will be its Centerpiece as a "New York" premiere indicates an almost certainty of a Telluride play.

Fort example, if George Clooney's Suburbicon is announced as a World Premiere next Tuesday at TIFF that means it will not play Telluride.  If it's a North American premiere...no Telluride.

If a film is an International premiere...that depends on where else it has already played or will be announced to play. If it's a Canadian Premiere and didn't play Sundance or Tribeca...it's almost certainly headed to Telluride.

Toronto won't announce it's whole lineup but it's crucial to note that the overlap between Toronto and Telluride is historically impressive.  Last year the fests shared 22 titles.  That level of crossover may not quite happen this year owing to TIFF's announcement earlier that they will program 20% fewer titles this year so that should mean a bit less of an overlap.

TIFF will  have other announcements each week as we wind down the summer and we'll need to pay attention to each just as we'll need to scrutinize announcements from Venice, New York and London.

But don't sweat figuring that all out...That's what MTFB is here for.  I'll probably have a special Wednesday edition next week to analyze the TIFF announcement.


THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2017

As I do each summer...here's a look at some of the people that often have projects that land at Telluride, what this year's project is and an assessment of that project's chances of making the TFF #44 lineup:

Ken Burns: Vietnam documentary...25%
Werner Herzog-Exec. Prod. on A Gray State...10%
Alexander Payne-Downsizing...80%
Paul Schrader-First Reformed...10%
Wim Wenders-Submergence...20%
Todd Haynes-Wonderstruck...85%
Alejandro Inarritu-V.R. Installation Carne y Arena...30% (if I could believe that Telluride could find a suitable venue...)
Michael Haneke-Happy End...50%
Stephen Frears...Victoria and Abdul...30%
Lynne Ramsay-You Were Never Really Here...50%
Errol Morris-The Lure...35%
Agnes Varda-Visages/Villages...70%
Ritesh Bakta-Our Souls at Night...20% (see below)
Aki Kaurismaki-The Other Side of Hope...35%
Sebastain Lelio-A Fantastic Woman...40%


MR. OSIASON SAYS...

Jason Osiason is a friend of MTFB and a cinephile to make note of.  He digs as deep as anyone I know with regard to film world so when he makes a practice of sussing out/predicting what will happen there, you'd do well to take note.

Jason has been posting his predix for Telluride choices this summer and, in a spirit of providing my readers with as big a picture as possible, here are his latest comments re: TFF #44:

Jason also added Scott Cooper's Hostiles as a possible and You Were Never Really Here as "hard to believe these don't go".



REDFORD AND FONDA AT VENICE

The Venice Fest announced yesterday that Robert Redford and Jane Fonda will be honored there and their film Our Souls at Night from director Ritesh Bakta will World Premiere there on Sept. 1.

MTFB friend Kenny Miles points out that, despite the WP at Venice, that the film could play there and make the jump to Telluride for Sunday and Monday screenings.  He also makes the point that the film was filmed in Colorado which he believes boosts its chances for a SHOW spot.  That point is very well taken.

My original response was to think that the Venice announcement made the film's TFF #44 appearance unlikely but Mr. Miles analysis makes some sense.  So, I'm not ruling out the film's chances for a T-ride play.

Here's the story of the Venice selection from The Wrap.


That's your Tuesday...more will be here on Thursday...

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

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"Truth" is Coming / Abi Morgan on "Suffragette" / Screen Talk Focuses on Film Festivals

The weekend is in your rear view...It's Monday people...


"TRUTH" IS COMING

Cate Blanchett and Robert Redford in "Truth"

I have James Vanderbilt's "Truth" listed on last Friday's latest version of the "Ten Bets" list at #10.  The "based on actual events" drama stars Robert Redford as CBS newsman Dan Rather and Cate Blanchett as CBS news producer Mary Mapes and focuses on the 2004 election year news story that claimed that George Bush's Vietnam era National Guard service was a sham.

The story all but wrecked Rather's career.  The film is based on Mapes book, "Truth and Duty".

The big new over the weekend was that Sony Pictures Classics, which is handling the film's distribution, has dated it for limited release on Oct. 16th landing it squarely in the awards season melee.  The date is certainly compatible with a festival screening at either Telluride or Toronto or both.  Even the New York Fest  is a possibility.

Here's coverage of the announcement including a Rope of Silicon story that suggests the Telluride possibility:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/cate-blanchett-robert-redford-rathergate-truth-1201554377/

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/31/truth-cate-blanchett-robert-redford-release-date?hootPostID=5783b5ca06b89499d8ca4d092bef88b0

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/robert-redfords-dan-rather-scandal-812469

http://www.thewrap.com/cate-blanchett-and-robert-redfords-dan-rather-drama-truth-gets-fall-release/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-look-sony-classics-dates-truth-in-oscary-october-slot/


On an interesting note, Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere now suggests that "Truth" may not be as much of a lock for Telluride as I have thought.  Look at the Wells; post here:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/08/walk-right-back/


ABI MORGAN ON "SUFFRAGETTE"

"Suffragette" trailer via YouTube

Screen writer Abi Morgan sat down recently with John Nathan of the Financial Times and talked abut her new play as well as the film that she wrote that currently sits at #8 on the latest "Ten Bets" list. "Suffragette" stars Carey Mulligan and Helena Bonham Carter and was directed by Sarah Gavron.  The film is due to hit theaters on Oct. 23 after having shown at the London Film Fest for its "European Premiere" on Oct. 7.

The film focuses on the struggle to gain the vote in early 20th Century Britain.  That interview is here:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/c9ac0654-3059-11e5-91ac-a5e17d9b4cff.html#axzz3hZVmBeFF



SCREEN TALK FOCUSES ON FILM FESTIVALS

This week's edition of Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn"s Screen Talk podcast spends a good deal of time talking about films that have been announced for Toronto and Venice and, as a result, talk about a number of films that will or could make the Telluride lineup.

Oddly, they reference Telluride in relation to Jay Roach's "Trumbo" which is not at all probable for T-ride as it is announced for Toronto as a world premiere.

Here's the link to the podcast:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/podcast-how-the-toronto-lineup-changed-oscar-season


That'll do for Monday...more tomorrow...

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Cannes and the Critics/First Looks": "Dheepan"/Looking for "Jobs"/All I Want is Some "Truth"/"Macbeth" Director on the Record

Good Thursday to All..

Our focus continues to be what is happening in France at the Cannes Film Festival.  As the films unspool, I continue to sift through news reports, press releases, reviews and social media posts scouring for items that could give insight into the eventual TFF #42 lineup.  Here's what I have for today:


CANNES AND THE CRITICS

Here's the links to the latest from the critics collective response to films at the Cannes Film Festival:

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/cannes-louder-than-bombs-drops-into-screen-jury-grid/5088411.article

http://cannes-rurban.rhcloud.com/2015

http://www.todaslascriticas.com.ar/cannes

Ioncinema's critical roundup is down at post time.

FIRST LOOKS:  "DHEEPAN"

Jacques Audiard's last film was "Rust and Bone" and prior to that "A Prophet" both of which made the T-ride grade so you have to think that if this film is any good that it will also make the grade for 2015.  "Dheepan" also has a leg up in that it is being distributed domestically by Sundance Selects which has been a significant Telluride presence the last few years with films such as : "Two Days, One Night", "Seymour: An Introduction", "Blue is the Warmest Color" and "Goodbye First Love".

Here's the first teaser/trailer for the film:

"Dheepan" teaser via YouTube

Check the coverage here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/cannes-first-clip-pictures-from-jacques-audiards-dheepan/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-clip-from-jacques-audiards-cannes-drama-dheepan-has-a-secret-20150519


LOOKING FOR "JOBS"

"Steve Jobs" teaser via YouTube

Also up this week is our first look at a teaser for Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" starring Michael Fassbender.  Boyle's participation makes the film something to pay attention to as a Telluride possibility ("Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours").  The fact that it's from Universal probably mitigates its chances.

Here's a couple of stories about the teaser and the film:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/05/first-trailer-for-steve-jobs-with-fassy-and-kate-winslet/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-michael-fassbender-takes-the-stage-in-first-trailer-for-steve-jobs-20150517


ALL I WANT IS SOME "TRUTH"

Sony Pictures Classics continues to grab titles during the business part of the Cannes fest.  SPC acquired U.S. rights to the James Vanderbilt film that focuses on the aftermath of Dan Rather's reporting about George W. Bush in the 2004 election.  Rather ended up gone from CBS after reporting that Bush had a questionable record regarding his service in the Alabama Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.

"Truth" stars Robert Redford as Rather and Cate Blanchett, Dennis Quaid and Elizabeth Moss.

The SPC buy moves the film into serious consideration for TFF #42.

Stories:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-sony-pictures-classics-acquiring-796302

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/sony-classics-buys-dan-rather-scandal-movie-starring-robert-redford-and-cate-blanchett-20150519


"MAC BETH" DIRECTOR ON THE RECORD

Justin Kurzel talked to The Hollywood Reporter recently about his adaptation of the Bard's classic that will be closing the competition slate at Cannes later this weekend.  The film stars Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-justin-kurzel-what-makes-796236


More to come on Monday...

NBR and New York Critics...What's It Mean?/Llewyn's About to Be Inside...Theaters/Doc Shortlist/Bob Talks Lost/More on 12 Years

NBR AND THE NEW YORK CRITICS...WHAT'S IT MEAN?

The choices of the New York Film Critics Circle that were announced on Tuesday... (TFF #40 Films in Bold)

Best Picture: American Hustle
Best Director: Steve McQueen/12 Years a Slave
Best Actress: Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine
Best Actor: Robert Redford/All is Lost
Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Lawrence/American Hustle
Best Screenplay: American Hustle
Best Cinematography: Inside Llewyn Davis
Best Foreign Film: Blue is the Warmest Color
Best First Film: Fruitvale Station
Best Animated Feature: The Wind Rises
Best Non-Fiction: Stories We Tell***

***TFF #39 film


And the announced winners from the National Board of Review from yesterday:



What's it all mean?

I have said since before TFF #40 started that I expected "12 Years a Slave" to win Best Picture.  I'm also on record as having said (since its first trailer dropped) that David O. Russell's "American Hustle" might have the best chance of beating "12 Years".  In light of the last week or so, I still feel the same way...though a lot of people are on the "Gravity" and/or "Wolf of Wall Street" wagon as well.

My take on the NYFCC wins is that they do give "American Hustle" an immediate boost but that the reported closeness of the vote for Best Picture and the Steve McQueen win for Best Director means that "12 Years a Slave" is still in very good shape.  I think that "Gravity" is the film that may have been nicked up by its exclusion altogether from the NYFCC announcement.

Redford's NYFCC win gives him a shot of adrenaline in the Best Actor race, which many think is the most competitive of all the major categories.

Now, on to the parsing of yesterday's NBR announcement...Here's that list again:

NBR NAMES SPIKE JONZE'S "HER" BEST PICTURE OF 2013

Telluride Film in Bold...

Best Film:  HER
Best Director: Spike Jonze, HER
Best Actor: Bruce Dern, NEBRASKA
Best Actress: Emma Thompson, SAVING MR. BANKS
Best Supporting Actor: Will Forte, NEBRASKA
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, FRUITVALE STATION
Best Original Screenplay: Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside LLEWYN Davis
Best Adapted Screenplay: Terence Winter, THE Wolf of Wall Street
Best Animated Feature: The Wind Rises
Breakthrough Performance: Michael B. Jordan, Fruitvale Station
Breakthrough Performance: Adele Exarchopoulos, BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR
Best Directorial Debut: Ryan Coogler, Fruitvale Station
Best Foreign Language Film:  THE PAST
Best Documentary: Stories We Tell
William K. Everson Film History Award: George Stevens, Jr.
Best Ensemble:  PRISONERS
Spotlight Award: Career Collaboration of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio
NBR Freedom of Expression Award: Wadjda
Creative Innovation in Filmmaking Award: Gravity

Top Films
(in alphabetical order)
12 YEARS A SLAVE
Fruitvale Station
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Lone Survivor
Nebraska
Prisoners
Saving Mr. Banks
The Secret Life of Walter MITTY
THE Wolf of Wall Street

Top 5 Foreign Language Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
Beyond the Hills
Gloria
The Grandmaster
A Hijacking
The Hunt

Top 5 Documentaries
(In Alphabetical Order)
20 Feet from Stardom
The Act of Killing
After Tiller
Casting By
The Square

Top 10 Independent Films
(In Alphabetical Order)
Ain’t Them Bodies Saints
Dallas Buyers Club
In a World…
Mother of George
Much Ado About Nothing
Mud
The Place Beyond the Pines
Short Term 12
Sightseers
The Spectacular Now

Huge boost for "Her" and now it probably moves up on a number of Oscarologists charts as a potential Bet Picture nominee.  "Nebraska" gets a boost too.  Certainly for Dern's nominations chances but the inclusion of Forte as Supporting winner may help him become a part of the conversation and likely helps the film overall in the Best Picture race.

Also, a likely boost for "Prisoners", which has been largely forgotten in the last month, as well as "Fruitvale Station".  I don't think that these results mean that "Her" moves up to the top of the board...I still think "12 Years" probably is the frontrunner.  It is worth  noting that "American Hustle", which the NYFCC thought was triple worthy of notice on Tuesday, wasn't mentioned at all by the NBR yesterday.

LLEWYN DAVIS ABOUT TO BE INSIDE...THEATERS

The Coen Brothers fantastic "Inside Llewyn Davis" is set to open in limited fashion this weekend and, as you might expect, there is an intensification of P.R. accompanying that.  I've linked a few things that seemed interesting...btw...buy the album, it's terrific!

From The Playlist, Charlie Schmidlin talks to actress Carey Mulligan about "Llewyn" and other matters:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/carey-mulligan-talks-ferocity-in-her-inside-llewyn-davis-character-nicholas-winding-refns-i-walk-with-the-dead-more-20131203


Casey Cipriani talks to The Coens about the music of the film for IndieWire here;

http://www.indiewire.com/article/can-inside-llewyn-davis-become-the-next-o-brother-where-art-thou-soundtrack

And as a side note, the AP via The Playlist reports that the Coens may be penning a film set in ancient Rome...really:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-coen-brothers-say-theyre-writing-a-sandal-movie-set-in-ancient-rome-20131203

DOCS AND THE LAST TWO TELLURIDES

The Academy's short list for the documentary feature Oscar was released this week and includes 2 TFF #39 films and a single possibility from TFF #40.  The Los Angeles Times reports that TFF #39 docs Sarah Polley's  "Stories We Tell" and Joshua Oppenheimer's  "The Act of Killing" made the cut as did Teller's "Tim's Vermeer" which was the highest rated film on The People's Telluride poll I conducted after the conclusion of this year's film.

Here's the link to the complete L.A. Times article which includes the complete list of short-listed documentaries:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/goldstandard/la-et-mn-oscar-documentary-short-list-20131203,0,40560.story#axzz2mYhmgxUg


BOB TALKS LOST

Anne Thompson talks to NYFCC Best Actor winner Robert Redford about his role in J.C. Chandor's "All Is Lost":

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/goldstandard/la-et-mn-oscar-documentary-short-list-20131203,0,40560.story#axzz2mYhmgxUg


MORE ABOUT THE SLAVE FOR 12 YEARS

The L.A. Times also posted this featurette video about the real life Solomon Northup.  Check it here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/moviesnow/la-et-mn-12-years-a-slave-legacy-video-featurette-solomon-northup-20131202,0,3863922.story#axzz2mYhmgxUg


More on Monday...have a great weekend!