Descendants Hopscotch/More Toronto Musings/Venice Becomes Official/Le Havre is BACK!/Herzog at Comic Con

A shout out to Dan Peek, original member of America, gone at 60.  "This is for all the Lonely People..."

DESCENDANTS HOPSCOTCH

Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere reports last night that Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" has a NEW release date (11/23) and FLAT OUT SAYS IT WILL BE IN TELLURIDE.  Check his story:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/07/family_time.php


MORE TORONTO MUSINGS

The Toronto International Film Festival announced the bulk of its gala/special presentation lineup yesterday.  As we have noted, there is almost always a significant overlap between Telluride and Toronto and you can bet that it's very likely that 7-12 films will share the two venues. 

We think after posts yesterday from Ioncinema that you can start lining up at The Palm or The Chuck for "The Artist," "Drive" and "We Need to Talk About Kevin."  That leaves us trying to divine 4-9 films that share Telluride/Toronto presentations.

So among the 50+ films listed by TIFF yesterday, what are the ones that are the most likely to play in Telluride as well?

Add to your calculation that you can expect an average of 2 films to play both Telluride and Venice and that sometimes those films will actually be in all three places (Ex: "Black Swan," "Life During Wartime," and "The Road" were at all 3 festivals). 

So with that set of parameters...my best guesses are: Todd Solondz's "Dark Horse," Steve McQueen's "Shame" and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Chicken with Plums" may try to do the hat trick of all three festivals.

Michael Fassbender shooting "Shame"

Now we're looking at trying to puzzle out the half dozen or so pictures that will share Telluride/Toronto presentations.  My guesses (I'm listing 7): "Albert Nobbs," "Moneyball," "Coriolanus," "The Descendants," "Habemus Papum (We Have a Pope), "Machine Gun Preacher, " and "The Skin I Live In" (or Inhabit).  And as I have said here repeatedly, I think "The Descendants" is a lead pipe cinch...but remember, I also thought that the Jason Reitman/Diablo Cody collaboration "Young Adult" was a 90% likelihood too.  Until yesterday when Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood categorically claimed that it would not be at Telluride.

I am bummed.

VENICE ANNOUNCES

The Venice Film Festival has had film titles oozing onto the Internet all week.  They're official announcement comes today.  We're expecting, in addition to the films that I listed in Monday's post that Stephen Soderbergh's "Contagion" will be on the Venetian list someplace.

More thoughts about Venice and the intersection of it with Toronto and Telluride after they make it official.

LE HAVRE IS BACK ON THE LIST...

Cannes fave "Le Havre" has distribution

"Le Havre" from director/writer Aki Kaurismaki was a critical and crowd favorite in May at the Cannes Film Festival.  I immediately starred it as a possible Telluride prospect.  In fact, it has appeared on my "Ten Bets" list this summer frequently, but I had pulled it lately as it hadn't found a distributor.  I had thought that The Weinstein Company or Sony Pictures Classics would jump on it and that would set the table for its screening in the San Juans in September.

So far...not so much...Until today.

Janus Films...the specialty film house that has focused on classic films has picked up the rights for "Le Havre" and I think that means you can also put it back in the mix as a probable film come Labor Day.  Janus has had a long time relationship with TFF and it has played in distribution in terms of contemporary film including TFF #35 (2008) offering "Revanche." 

Eric Lavallee at Ioncinema broke the story and even speculates that "Le Havre" is likely to be at Telluride.  That story is here:
http://networkedblogs.com/kVAS3

WERNER PLAYS IN GEEK WORLD

Numerous sightings this past weekend that Telluride mainstay Werner Herzog showed up unannounced and unexpectedly at Comic Con in San Diego.  That blows my mind.  It would have been interesting to hear Herr Herzog as he made his way through the hall.

The first time I was anywhere near Herzog in Telluride was in 2007 waiting on line for the bus to take us to the patron's brunch.  I was mind-boggled then.  And I can tell you, the people in that line looked very different than the one above.

Awards Daily had the pictures and the story.  You can find it here:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2011/07/werner-herzog-and-comic-cons-collective-dreams/

More Tomorrow!

Tintin Trailer/Fassbender's Jump/Dreaming/Tree of Life

Good Morning Everyone from New Mexico!

We took down Kris' one woman exhibition yesterday in Taos, NM at the fantastic Trading Post Cafe and Gallery.  Eat there.  It's terrific and tell Kimberly hello.  Sounds like Kris will have the opportunity to return with another show in the future so she was very happy after to be invited back after having the series of food still lifes hanging there for 6 weeks.  Good day.

TINTIN TRAILER

This morning The Playlist posted a link to the teaser/trailer to the "other" Steven Spielberg film coming out later this year.  The unwieldy title is :"The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" which sounds kind of goofy.  The film uses motion capture animation and Peter (Lord of the Rings) Jackson is a producer.  The trailer looks very cool, however.  The link to the story and trailer is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_new_tintin_trailer_looks_like_the_indiana_jones_sequel_we_should_have/

The Tintin IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2977741056/tt0983193

Now, I don't really think that there's any chance that this will play in Telluride's 38th edition of the SHOW...but it has dominated a lot of discussion about whether it meets the AMPAS standards for being an "animated" film. 

And it looked cooler than I though it would...

FASSBENDER IS FAST

I passed along the information last week that Michael Fassbender (who has a couple of films on the list that could play T-ride this year: "A Dangerous Method" and "Shame) had exited Danny Boyle's 2013 film project "Trance" and that Boyle was looking to snag last year's Telluride tributee and Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth for that role.  Now comes word, also via The Playlist, that Fassbender has moved into another commitment.  He's now expected to be in Brandon Gleeson's directorial debut entitled "At Swim-Two-Birds."  You gotta love the title.

The Playlist story is linked here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/michael_fassbender_joins_brendon_gleesons_at-swim-two-birds/

DREAM SLATE

So what films that DO have a chance at playing Telluride this year would make my "dream" slate of films?  What am I just really hoping will be there?

Three films that have excellent prospects to be a part of the fest that I am definitely looking forward to and that would be on that "dream list" are Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" and Michael Hazanavicius' "The Artist".

Films whose prospects are sketchy that I would love to see on the SHOW list are: Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut of Shakespeare's rarely performed "Coriolanus," George Clooney's sophomore directing gig "The Ides of March"  and David Cronnenberg's "A Dangerous Method."

Then there are four big Oscar baity type films that have almost 0% chance to be in Telluride, but it would be cool if any of them made a bow there:

Leo DiCaprio on the set of "J. Edgar"

Eastwood's "J. Edgar"

Spielberg's "War Horse"
Scorsese's "Hugo"
and Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

What about you?  What films are YOU looking forward to as we rush headlong into awards season?

TREE OF LIFE

Finally saw Terrence Malick's  Palme D'Or winner last night.  Still processing it.  My initial impression is that the Cannes jury was probably right.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Big Day/The WeinsteinCo./Steven Soderbergh Maybe?

Steven Soderbergh's "Contagion" Could it be at TFF #38?

BIG DAY ON THE BLOG

Yesterday turned out to be a crazy day for this blog.  Very busy.  I was planning two separate posts anyway.  One, a long piece focusing on the presence over the last 5 years of Sony Pictures Classics and Fox Searchlight at the Telluride Film Festival. 
The second post, also lengthy, was a review for the new film "Missing Pieces" (so new that it's still looking for distribution).  So it was going to be the most involved day of the summer insofar as the blog was concerned to begin with. 
Then, mid-afternoon, the surprise word that the Festival had chosen and announced their Guest Director for this year...Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso.  Suddenly, I had a third post to get out quickly and a re-write of the first big post to include the breaking story. 
Whew!  Got it all done but it was a strain.  At the end of the day, it was one of the "most viewed" days in the three year history of this endeavor.  Thanks!

ANOTHER COMPANY ON THE PROWL AT T-RIDE

After looking at Fox Searchlight and SPC yesterday, I thought we might evaluate another company that has been something of a player at Telluride.  I reference none other than The Weinstein Company...Harvey Weinstein's shingle now that he's not with Miramax.  There participation the past 5 years hasn't been as involved as SPC, but the films they have had as a part of past TFF's have made a mark.  Look:

2007: "The Band's Visit," "Persepolis," "My Enemy's Enemy" and "I'm Not There"
2008: No TWC at TFF
2009: "The Road,"
2010: "The King's Speech"  (Won 4 Oscars: Picture, Actor, Director, and Screenplay)

Harvey has learned to come to Telluride and play with one or two films and you have to believe after the rousing success that was TKS last year that he'll try to repeat that with one or two pictures.
Currently it seems that there are 5 TWC films that could fit the bill ( with a caveat of a possible 6th or even 7th): "The Iron Lady," "My Week with Marilyn," W.E." "The Artist," and "Coriolanus."  The possible 6th could be "The Wettest County in the World." but IMDB lists it as a 2012 release.  The 7th could be "Le Havre"  which had a hint last week that it would be picked up by TWC, but to the best of our knowledge, that hasn't happened yet. 
What are the chances for each of these? 
At this point I'm guessing Harvey goes for two to play at TFF #38 but if he pushes only one there, my best bet is Cannes favorite "The Artist."   It's a mostly silent, black and white film but from all reports, it's a charmer.  There is even a good deal of early speculation that it could be in the Best Picture mix come Oscar night.  I really think it makes the cut.
After that I have no strong feelings about the rest of the TWC field.  At this point I'd say the next most likely is "Coriolanus" followed by "My Week with Marilyn,"  and "The Iron Lady."  I think there is virtually no chance that we'll see Madonna's "W.E." at Telluride.  Of course this guestimate could all change in a flash.  I personally think there's an excellent chance that "Le Havre" makes the list whether its under the TWC banner or not.

STEVEN SODERBERGH WHERE ARE YOU?
I haven't mentioned Soderbergh's two films ("Contagion" and "Haywire")  that have been bandied about as possible awards fodder because Soderbergh has no history with Telluride.  A report from The Playlist at Indiewire on the Soderbergh films has underscored the fact that this year is likely to be no different.  Reports are that "Haywire" has been bumped to 2012 for release and that "contagion" will be released Sept. 9...just 4 days after the Festival closes. 
That story is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/pacific_rim_gets_july_12_2013_date_steven_soderberghs_contagion_moves_up_to/


Though it doesn't mean it's impossible for "Contagion" to be a part of Telluride's lineup...it may make it less likely.  It may mean that the film doesn't play at any of the big three festivals.

More Early Oscar Predix/Le Havre Goes Weinstein/Rudderless/AND ANOTHER COEN MUSICAL!

Poster for Simon Curtis' Telluride possible: "My Week with Marilyn"

Ioncinema is hinting this morning that The Weinstein Company will be picking up "Le Havre."  It was a critically and publicly popular film at Cannes last month and a film that I think has a better than average chance of being at this year's Telluride Film Festival.

Also, The Playlist is reporting that Christian Bale and Darren Aronofsky may be getting together for Aronofsky's "Noah" project.  http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/christian_bale_in_talks_to_star_in_darren_aronofskys_noah/

Film Misery has its first stab at Oscar predictions up this morning.  You can find those here:
http://www.filmmisery.com/?p=7500
On the list there are these TFF#38 possibles: "The Descendants," "The Iron Lady," "The Ides of March," "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."  Other TFF #38 "maybes" on his list of other possible Best Picture nominations would be: "Drive," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Artist," "Moneyball," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," (John Madden's new film, Fox Searchlight is involved) "Young Adult," "My Week with Marilyn," and "Carnage."

I also discovered that Scott Feinberg had his first attempt up a couple of weeks ago.  You can find that here:
http://scottfeinberg.com/2011projections1
Added films from the Feinberg list of Telluride interest that are not included in Film Misery's list: "Coriolanus" and"The Wettest County in the World."

And now for something completely different (and I feel OK about including this in the blog because it is such a Telluride Film Festival story)...In November 2009 I received an email from someone who actually read this blog in the run-up to TFF#36.  He said he enjoyed it and was an aspiring screenwriter, had some things working, etc. etc.  His name: Casey Twenter.  Would I want to read the script he was currently working on?  Me...I said sure.  Entitled "Rudderless," I read it, liked it and we struck up an email, twitter, facebook friendship.  Got to meet Casey last summer in Kansas City (during the National Speech Tournament).  We had lunch and a really pleasant discussion about film, and the background about how "Rudderless" had come to be up to that point.

Back in 2009, Casey (and his writing partner Jeff Robison) were looking for financing to independently produce the film.  Over the last year and a half, that effort has ebbed and flowed and taken on a number of different forms.  Now, it looks increasingly like the film will get made and not just out of Casey and Jeff's pockets and fund raising.  Some big, BIG names are already on board and there are other names in the mix.  Some of them I can talk about, some not.

The biggest reveal that I am allowed to pass on is that veteran actor/writer/director and Oscar nominee (for Fargo..which fits right in with this week's Coen Brothers musical rant that I've been on) William H. Macy has signed on to direct and produce.  You read that right.  WILLIAM H. MACY!

There are other Oscar nominee/winner types in talks for the male lead and the main female supporting character that I can't get into...yet. But it is all terribly exciting.  As things progress I'll pass it on when I can.

My hope is that "Rudderless" gets made, is great and in a Kharmic full circle ends up at Telluride's 39th Film Festival next year.

You can find the "Rudderless" IMDB page here:   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798243/
The "Rudderless" facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rudderless-The-Movie/194390831736

Again, as more information becomes available, I'll pass it along in this space.

Now...as you're almost certainly aware, we've had hints the last few days that the Coen Brothers next film might be a musical, which necessarily has caused me to speculate that if it were successful that we should go back and re-imagine their body of work in that light.  I've already made some suggestions for "Raising Arizona:The Musical" and "Fargo:The Musical. 

And now...the next Coen Brothers musical..."O Brother, Where Art Thou?" which is already got some music that you'll just have to include like: "Down to the River to Pray," and "Man of Constant Sorrow."  But because it'll be a big Broadway style musical it will have to include new musical numbers such as: "I'm with you Fellas," "Gopher, Everett?," "I'm a Dapper Dan Man," "Dumber than a Bag of Hammers," and "Damn, We're in a Tight Spot."

More Coen's musicals to come...