Berlin Adds Titles/Looks at the Queen and Holmes/Yet More Lists to Contemplate/Wither Warner Brothers?/Rudderless Is Arriving

Welcome to Monday!


There WAS other news that had some Telluride Film Festival interest this last week in addition to the phenomenal 33 (35 counting TFF #40's "Ida") Oscar nominations for Telluride titles; 22 between "Birdman", "The Imitation Game" and "Foxcatcher".  So, I thought it'd be a good idea to peruse some of those developments/stories...

BERLIN ADDS TITLES

The Berlin International Film Festival added competition titles this week.  At least two of them immediately caught my eye.  Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" with Nicole Kidman and Bill Condon's "Mr. Holmes" with Sir Ian McKellan and Laura Linney were announced in that group of titles.

As I have pointed out, we usually see a title or two that premieres at Berlin at Telluride.  To my thinking, and unless the film's respective distributors have some other plan for general release, these two films would be serious contenders to make the Berlin/Telluride play. "Queen of the Desert" has no distributor as yet and "Mr. Holmes" is with Roadside Attractions which ran "'71" through Berlin then Telluride last year.  Roadside also had Tommy Lee Jones "The Homesman" at Telluride as well.  Roadside also had "All is Lost" and "Gloria" in TFF #40.

Considering Herzog's strong ties to Telluride and Condon's occasional presence there (Condon's "Kinsey" with Linney played in 2004) as well as Laura Linney's frequent connection to the fest, means that both films would seem to be very real T-ride possibilities.

This all assumes that both films meet the exacting standards of the Telluride programmers.

Here's the post from IndieWire about the new Berlin titles:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/berlin-adds-competition-titles-from-werner-herzog-jafar-panahi-and-bill-condon-20150114


LOOKS AT THE "QUEEN" AND "HOLMES"

"Mr. Holmes" via Sir Ian McKellan's Twitter account

With the announcement of the addition of "Queen of the Desert" and "Mr. Holmes" we saw some posts this week with images for the two films:

Nicole Kidman as the "Queen of the Desert" from The Playlist

Check more of the shots from "Queen" from either The Playlist or Thompson on Hollywood here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-nicole-kidman-and-james-franco-in-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-20150114

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/berlinale-first-look-nicole-kidman-and-james-franco-star-in-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-20150114

YET MORE LISTS TO CONTEMPLATE

I continue to collect and analyze various "Most Anticipated" lists for 2015 in an effort to identify what films are coming down the pike that could make an appearance over Labor Day weekend.  I've got three more to eyeball in today's post:

First, IndieWire's 40 Indie Films they're "Most Excited" to see in 2015:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-40-indie-films-indiewire-is-most-excited-to-see-in-2015-20150112

  

Possible Telluride titles from this list:

"A Hologram for the King"

"Carol"

"Macbeth"

"Queen of the Desert"

"Southpaw"

"Suffragette"

"The Hateful Eight"

"The Revenant"

"The Tale of Tales"

Then, Ioncinema's 25 Most Anticipated Studio Films of 2015:

http://www.ioncinema.com/news/annual-top-films-lists/top-25-most-anticipated-studio-films-of-2015-jeff-nichols-midnight-special

Among the films they list, those that would seem to have some Telluride potential are:

#3 "The Light Between the Oceans"

#4 "The Hateful Eight"

#5 "The Revenant"

#6 "Our Brand is Crisis"

#8 "Sicario"

#9 "Macbeth"

#20 "Truth"

#25 "Mr. Holmes"

And from The Playlist: The 20 Most Anticipated Foreign Films:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-20-most-anticipated-foreign-films-of-2015-20150114

And from that list, here's what stands out as early Telluride potentials:

#7 "Erran"'
#5 "Every Thing Will Be Fine"
#3 "La blessure"
#1 "Flashmob"


WITHER WARNER BROTHERS?

Warners announced this past week that the Ron Howard film "In the Heart of the Sea" was being moved from a spring date to December.  Along with the announcement came a good deal of speculation as to why Warners had made the decision with positioning for an awards season run being a common theory.  Of course, from my perspective, it made the film go from "can't play Telluride if it's released in March" to "December makes it a possibility".

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/warner-bros-moves-ron-howards-in-the-heart-of-the-sea-to-christmas-1201405354/

I've already mentioned that I believe that Warners may press to return to Telluride after a noticeable presence in 2012 ("Argo")  and again in 2013 ("Gravity" and "Prisoners").  Warners wasn't in T-ride this year and that may be that their two biggest possible players: "American Sniper"  and "Inherent Vice" couldn't be ready in time or just preferred not to be a part of Telluride...or that Telluride didn't prefer those films.  Nevertheless, I wouldn't be surprised for Warners to be back at Telluride this year and they have a number of prospects that could make the lineup including the newly moved Ron Howard film "In the Heart of the Sea".  Other possibilities (meaning that they are films that have an announced released date post-Labor Day):

Jeff Nichols "Midnight Special" (Release: Nov. 25)
Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" (Release: Sept. 18)
and now
Ron Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea" (Release: Dec. 11)

At this point, I don't have a sense that any one of these films is more likely than the others.  I'd probably lean to starring "Black Mass" if it weren't for the release date opening less than two weeks after the close of the festival.  So let's leave it at..."Warners might be back with one or more of these films".


RUDDERLESS IS ARRIVING

William H. Macy's Oklahoma shot and written directing debut "Rudderless" arrives on DVD and BluRay tomorrow.   Seek it!

http://newsok.com/william-h.-macy-renews-his-love-for-movies-with-rudderless/article/5384981


More on Thursday...

And Now for 2015: The Film Awards Clearinghouse Vol. 7 (21 Major Categories)/The Telluride #41 Oscar Breakdown/Updating the Opening T-ride #42 Salvo/Rudderless Kudos

Welcome to the first Monday of 2015...feels like it, doesn't it?

AND NOW FOR 2015: THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE VOL. 7 (21 MAJOR CATEGORIES)

Ten days from Oscar nominations and here's the most complete FAC of the season.   I'll try to get the Short Form Films before the nomination announcement.

The FAC uses the published predictions of the following to develop its list of likely Oscar nominees:

Kristopher Tapley/InContention/HitFix
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Bred Brevet/Rope of Silicon
Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood
Peter Knegt/IndieWire
Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Telluride #41 films are Bold (with their last rating in parentheses were applicable).


BEST PICTURE

1) Boyhood (1)
2) Birdman (2)
3) The Imitation Game (3)
4) Selma (4)
5) The Theory of Everything (5)
6) The Grand Budapest Hotel (6)
7) Whiplash (7)
8) Unbroken (9)
9) Gone Girl (10)

Note here:  The Academy has nominated nine films in each of the last three years, so I'm calling this the cutoff point for a Best Picture nomination.  The other BP possibilities are:

10) Foxcatcher (8)
11) Nightcrawler (12)
12) Into the Woods (11)
13) American Sniper (NR)
14) Interstellar (13)
15) Mr. Turner (14)

Hot: "American Sniper" apparently has set well with some Academy screenings.

Not: "Foxcatcher" which seems to be too "cool" in tone and "A Most Violent Year".


DIRECTION

1) Richard Linklater/Boyhood (1)
2) Alejandro G. Inarritu/Birdman
3) Ava DuVernay/Selma (3)
4) Morten Tyldum/The Imitation Game (4)
5) Wes Anderson/The Grand Budapest Hotel (5)
6) David Fincher/Gone Girl (6)
7) Damien Chazelle/Whiplash (7)
8) Bennett Miller/Foxcatcher (8)
9) Clint Eastwood (NR)
10) Angelina Jolie/Unbroken (9)

Hot: Eastwood...underscoring the positive buzz around "Sniper"

Not: James Marsh/The Theory of Everything.


BEST ACTOR

1) Michael Keaton/Birdman (1)
2) Eddie Redmayne/The Theory of Everything (2)
3) David Oyelowo/Selma (4)
4) Benedict Cumberbatch/The Imitation Game (3)
5) Jake Gyllenhaal/Nightcrawler (6)
6) Steve Carell/Foxcatcher (5)
7) Timothy Spall/Mr. Turner (7)
8) Ralph Fiennes/The Grand Budapest Hotel (8)
9) Bradley Cooper/American Sniper (NR)
10) Oscar Isaac/A Most Violent Year (9)

Hot: Cooper/Sniper

Not: Chadwick Boseman/Get on Up


BEST ACTRESS

1) Julianne Moore/Still Alice (1)
2) Reese Witherspoon/Wild (2)
3) Felicity Jones/The Theory of Everything (3)
4) Rosamund Pike/Gone Girl (4)
5) Jennifer Aniston/Cake (5)
6) Marion Cotillard/Two Days, One Night (8)
7) Amy Adams/Big Eyes (6)
8) Hilary Swank/The Homesman (7)
9) Emily Blunt/Into the Woods (9)
10) Shailene Woodley/The Fault in Our Stars (10)

Hot: Cotillard

Not:  Adams and Swank who continue to slide, ever so slightly, out of the picture.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

1) JK Simmons/Whiplash (1)
2) Edward Norton/Birdman (2)
3) Ethan Hawke/Boyhood (3)
4) Mark Ruffalo/Foxcatcher (4)
5) Robert Duvall/The Judge (5)
6) Josh Brolin/Inherent Vice (8)
7) Tom Wilkinson/Selma (6)
8) Miyavi/Unbroken (9)
9) Christoph Waltz/Big Eyes (7)
10) Chris Pine/Into the Woods (10)

Hot: Brolin

Not: Waltz


BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

1) Patricia Arquette/Boyhood (1)
2) Meryl Streep/Into the Woods (2)
3) Emma Stone/Birdman (3)
4) Kiera Knightley/The Imitation Game (4)
5) Jessica Chastain/A Most Violent Year (5)
6) Laura Dern/Wild (6)
7) Tilda Swinton/Snowpiercer (8)
8) Naomi Watts/St. Vincent (NR)
9) Carmen Ejogo/Selma (7)
10) Rene Russo/Nightcrawler (NR)

Hot: Wattts and Russo

Not: Ejogo, Anna Kendrick and Chastain's "Interstellar" performance.


BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) The Imitation Game (3)
2) Gone Girl (2)
3) The Theory of Everything (1)
4) Wild (4)
5) Inherent Vice (6)
6) Unbroken (8)
7) American Sniper (NR)
8) Into the Woods (9)
9) Still Alice (7)
10) Obvious Child (NR)

Hot: The Imitation Game. American Sniper and Obvious Child

Not: The Theory of Everything, Unbroken and Still Alice


BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1)  Boyhood (1)
2) Birdman (2)
3) The Grand Budapest Hotel (5)
4)  Whiplash (3)
5) Selma (4)
6) Nightcrawler (NR)
7) Foxcatcher (6)
8) Mr. Turner (8)
9) A Most Violent Year (7)
10) The LEGO Movie (9)

Hot: The Grand Budapest and Nightcrawler

Not: A Most Violent Year and Wild Tales

ANIMATED FEATURE

1) The LEGO Movie

2) How to Train a Your Dragon 2

3) Big Hero 6

4) The Boxtrolls

5) The Story of Princess Kaguya

6) The Book of Life

7) The Song of the Sea

8) Rio 2

9) Cheatin'

10) The Penguins of Madagascar

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1)  Citizenfour

2) Life Itself

3) Keep On Keepin' On

4) The Last Days of Vietnam

5) The Overnighters

6) The Case Against 8

7) Virunga

8) Finding Vivan Maier

9) Tales of the Grim Sleeper

10) Salt of the Earth

Foreign Language Film

1) Ida (TFF #40)

2) Wild Tales 

3) Force Majeure

4) Leviathan

5) Timbuktu

6) Tangerines

7) The Liberator

8) Accused

9) Corn Island

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) Birdman

2) Mr. Turner

3) Unbroken

4) Interstellar

5) The Theory of Everything

6) Selma

7) The Grand Budapest Hotel

8) Gone Girl

9) A Most Violent Year

10) Into the Woods

COSTUMES

1) Into the Woods

2) Mr. Turner

3) The Grand Budapest Hotel

4) Malificent

5) Selma

6) Big Eyes

7) The Imitation Game

8) The Theory of Everything

9) Exodus; Gods and Kings

10) Inherent Vice

FILM EDITING

1) Boyhood

2) Birdman

3) The Imitation Game

4) Whiplash

5) Gone Girl

6) Selma

7) Unbroken

8) Foxcatcher

9) Interstellar

10) American Sniper

Makeup/Hair

1) The Grand Budapest Hotel

2) Guardians of the Galaxy

3) Foxcatcher

4) Malificent

5) The Theory of Everything

6) Noah

7) The Amazing Spiderman 2

ORIGINAL SCORE

1) The Theory of Everything

2) The Imitation Game

3) Interstellar

4) Gone Girl

5) Unbroken

6) The Grand Budapest Hotel

7) The Judge

8) The Homesman

9) How to Train Your Dragon 2

10) Fury

ORIGINAL SONG

1) Glory/Selma

2) Lost Stars/Begin Again

3) Everything is Awesome/The LEGO Movie

4) Mercy is/Noah

5) Big Eyes/ Big Eyes

6) Miracle/Unbroken

7) Yellow Flicker Beat/Hunger Games; Mockingjay Part One

8) I'm not Gonna Miss You/Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me

9) Split the Difference/Boyhood

10) Opportunity/Annie

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1) The Grand Budapest Hotel

2) Into the Woods

3) Mr. Turner

4) Birdman

5) The Imitation Game

6) Interstellar

7) Malificent

8) Unbroken

9) The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

10) Snowpiercer

SOUND EDITING

1) Interstellar

2) Fury

3) Unbroken

4) Godzilla

5) Birdman

6) American Sniper

7) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

8) Guardians of the Galaxy

9) Transformers 4

10) Into the Woods

SOUND MIXING

1) Into the Woods

2) Unbroken

3) Transformers 4

4) Interstellar

5) Get On Up

6) Fury

7) American Sniper

8) Whiplash

9) Guardians of the Galaxy

10) The Hobbit; The Battle of the Five Armies

VISUAL EFFECTS

1) Interstellar

2) Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

3) Guardians of the Galaxy

4) The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

5) Godzilla

6) Transformers 4

7) X-Men: Days of Future Past

8) Malificent

9) Captain America; The Winter Soldier

10) Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

TELLURIDE #41 OSCAR BREAKDOWN

If The FAC was 100% accurate (and it's NOT...remember, past experience has shown The FAC to be 75-80% accurate on Oscar nomination morning with about 80% of the "misses' coming from the #6 spot in each category...except for Best Picture, of course)...

Anyway, if The FAC is 100% accurate, here's what would be the breakdown on Jan. 15:

Telluride #41 Films would have 28 nominations ("Ida" in foreign film would go back to add to the TFF #40 total...which sits at 34 as a result) with another 12 possibilities.

They'd be spread as such:

"Birdman" Ten nominations (the most of any film and likely the only film with double digit nominations): Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Production Design and Sound Editing.  

"The Imitation Game" Eight nominations (the second largest number of nominations of any film):  Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Score and Production Design.  It could also be nominated for Best Costumes.

"Mr. Turner" Three nominations: Cinematography, Costumes and Production Design.  "Turner" could also get into the act with nominations for Best Actor and Original Screenplay.

"Foxcatcher" Two nominations: Supporting Actor and Makeup/Hair.  "Foxcatcher" has one of the larger "possibility" profiles of any film with "maybes" for Picture, Director, Actor, Original Screenplay and Film Editing.

"Wild": Two nominations: Actress and Original Screenplay.  Also a "maybe" for: Supporting Actress.

Foreign Films : "Wild Tales" and "Leviathan" with the aforementioned TFF #40 title, "Ida", a likely nominee.

Documentary Feature:  "Keep on Keepin' On" looks like a a nominees with "Tales of the Grim Sleeper" and "Salt of the Earth" as also possibles.  You can semi-add "Life Itself" as it screened in Telluride the night before the festival opened in Elks Park.

Two other TFF titles have possible Oscar nominations.  "The Homesman" is still in the mix for Best Actress and Best Original Score and "Two Days, One Night" could also see a Best Actress nomination for Marion Cotillard.

Non-Telluride films are led by "Boyhood", "Selma", "The Theory of Everything" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" all with six probable nominations.

Expected to get five noms are: "Unbroken", "Interstellar" and "Gone Girl"

Four noms to" "Whiplash" and "Into the Woods"

Two nominations for: "The LEGO Movie", "How to Train Your Dragon 2", "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Godzilla"

The film with most "possible" nominations without currently sitting in ANY nomination spot is "American Sniper" with seven possibilities.  I'll bet it gets some on Jan. 15th.

I'll provide some updates in the next couple of posts on the major categories and a FINAL FAC on Jan 14.

UPDATING THE OPENING T-RIDE #42 SALVO

On Dec. 29th I posted a link to a Jeffrey Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere piece about anticipated films for 2015 and any clues therein about potential TFF #42 titles.  Wells re-visited the topic days later with more film and information, so I'm doing the same.  Wells' updated musings are here:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2014/12/2015-trying/

I posted both Inarritu's "The Revenant" and Cooper's "Black Mass" as initial TFF possibilities from Wells' original list.  Now, from his expanded list, let's add:

David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis".  Warner Brothers is distributing and, as I wrote in the Dec. 29th post, I think WB will back in Telluride this fall with something.  It's also produced, in part, by George Clooney, thereby invoking my "Unified Clooney Theory".

"Demolition" from "Wild" director Jean Marc Vallee and Fox Searchlight.  Jake Gyllenhaal comes to Telluride?  Maybe.  If the film's any good, Gylly could be in serious Oscar consideration again this time next year.

Todd Haynes "Carol" which I mentioned earlier this year as a TFF #41 possibility.  The Weinsteins have the distribution and Haynes played in Telluride in 2007 with "I'm Not Here".  Please invite Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara...thank you.

"The Hateful Eight".  Quentin Tarantino is shooting this outside of Telluride right now.  Weinsteins have the distribution.  Though QT wouldn't normally be on the Telluride potential list, I find it hard to believe that, if it's ready, he'd fail to unveil it in the town that hosted the actual making of the film.

Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert"...My expectation at this point is that it'll play either Cannes or Venice and then Telluride.

"Macbeth" from Justin Kurzel, which I had in my 2014 Telluride speculation.  Now, I'm thinking maybe Cannes then Telluride in 2015.  It's also a Weinstein joint.

Also, the gang at HitFix posted their first attempt at laying out 40 films to anticipate for 2015.  You can find it here:

http://www.hitfix.com/motion-captured/2015s-most-anticipated-movies-from-star-wars-to-spectre

Titles included that echo the Wells post:

"Carol"

"The Revenant"

"Black Mass" (listed as "Untitled Whitey Bulger Project)

"The Hateful Eight"

RUDDERLESS KUDOS

William H. Macy's "Rudderless" (and MTFB obsession) made another end of 2014 top ten list.  This one from Zach Hollwedel at The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/zach-hollwedels-top-10-films-of-2014-20141231

I'm Back!/Starting the Serious T-ride 2015 Speculation/Birdman: The Score Controversy and More/Imitation Game Notes/Troops for Wild as Well/Feinberg, Gurus and Derby/Rudderless Makes Some Noise

I'M BACK!



Good Monday morning and salutations on your last Monday of 2014.  MTFB/FAC returns after a week long hiatus with today's post but, fair warning, I will not be publishing a new post on New Year's Day.  The next new post will come on Monday, Jan. 5, 2015 and the regular posting schedule of Mondays and Thursdays will resume then as we get down to a matter of days before Oscar nominations are announced (Jan. 15).  Next Monday, I'll also post a new Film Awards Clearinghouse complete with every feature film category.

I hope that everyone has had a terrific holiday season thus far and here's wishing everyone a fantastic 2015!  Happy New Year!

STARTING THE SERIOUS T-RIDE 2015 SPECULATION

OK...maybe not that serious...but...

Here's the way my process works, more or less in a chronological fashion.

1) Sundance and Berlin Festivals...Sundance announcements act as a nearly complete guarantee that those films will NOT appear at Telluride on Labor Day weekend.  I can think of two exceptions over the nine years I've been going to Telluride: Tamara Jenkins "The Savages" in 2007 and Lone Sherfig's "An Education" in 2009.  So, films that have already been announced for next month's Sundance ("Slow West", "True Story", "A Walk in the Woods" "The End of the Tour", Noah Baumbach's "Mistress America", ) are almost certainly off Telluride's table.

Meanwhile, the Berlinale almost always unearths a film or two that make the Telluride lineup so looking at the films announced for that fest can sometimes give you a signal.  2014's " '71" and 2013's "Gloria" are both examples of films that played Berlin and then made an appearance at Telluride.

Some of Berlin's 2015 lineup has already been  announced.  Will Terrence Malick's "Knight of Cups" make its way from its announced Berlin premiere to Telluride?  (Probably not)  How about Peter Greenaway's "Eisenstein in Guanajuato"? (MTFB reader Christopher Schiller thinks that's a real possibility).  There are still more titles to be announced from Berlin and it's almost a certainty that one or two of them will be on our schedule come Labor Day.  Berlin runs from Feb. 5-15.

2) Post-Oscar predictions...Almost immediately after the Oscars are announced on Feb. 22, enterprising analysts and bloggers will publish/post Oscar 2015 speculation and prediction lists.  Those are often a lot of fun to cull for possible Telluride titles.

I looked back at what I posted the last couple of years based on the "Monday morning" post-Oscar speculation and found that the first post-Oscar post this year that included 2014 Oscar speculation (and, as a result for me , Telluride speculation) had mentions of "Birdman", "The Imitation Game", "Wild" and "Foxcatcher".  I posted Oscar speculation lists from The Playlist, Sasha Stone's Awards Daily and The Atlantic just a week after last year's Oscars.  The Playlist also had a brief mention for "The Homesman".

In 2013, The Hollywood Reporter had the first piece of Oscar 2014 speculation that I jumped on after Oscar 2013 was done.  They included "Foxcatcher" (we didn't know we'd be a year premature), "Inside Llewyn Davis"and  "Nebraska".  So, the immediate post-Oscar speculation about the following year's Oscar prospects can give some good clues.

3) Cannes speculation, lineup announcement, presentations and awards.  Cannes is a veritable smorgasbord of Telluride possibilities year in and year out.  Cannes speculation and rumor starts early (it's already started for this year).  I've made a lot of the Cannes/Telluride connection over the last few years and with good reason.  The connection between the two fests is remarkable.  In 2014 Cannes and Telluride shared "Two Days, One Night", "Foxcatcher", "Leviathan", "Mommy", "Mr. Turner", "Wild Tales" and "The Homesman" and that was just from Cannes' competition lineup.  So keeping an eye on the rumors about what could play Cannes, the actual announcement of its lineup, the critical reactions as the films play and the awards that are announced at the end of the festival are all good ways to find possible Telluride films.

4) Summer...I begin to post six times a week the first week of June and that schedule continues right up to and through the festival.  During those months I focus on a number of factors: Distributors, producers, film makers with a Telluride history and, of course, the speculation of the film media.  Toward the middle of summer, speculation about Venice, New York and Toronto lineups can often provide clues.  Which leads to...

5) This past year, the "Toronto" ultimatum and its subsequent listing of the films it announced for its lineup complete with that film's premiere status made Telluride speculation an easier and more certain prospect.  That was true for this space but also for any number of major film media outlets as the announcements from Toronto proceeded last summer.  If the process remains the same this year, then you can expect to have a pretty good idea of a bunch of Telluride's titles published/posted in a bunch of places.

The Toronto honchos are on record as having been very happy with how this worked in 2014 and have vowed to continue the policy in 2015.  That said, there was some comment from the TIFF folks that there might be some "tweaks" with The Hollywood Reporter on Sept. 14th publishing this:

"Both Bailey and Handling  (Toronto Artistic Director and CEO respectively)  said it was too early to decide whether the Telluride premiere policy will be tweaked, but that they will consult the industry ahead of next year's event."

I wrote at the time that seemed like Toronto was giving itself some "wiggle room" to adjust the policy while still sounding bullish on its first year implementation.  

Personally, and I emphasize this is strictly me and strictly speculation on my part, it seemed the "industry" was none too keen on how Toronto played last year and I honestly have doubts that the Torontonians can have been all that pleased.  

When your big debuts were "The Judge", which may get a single Oscar nod for Robert Duvall) and "The Theory of Everything", which may end up with as many as half a dozen Oscar nods but is fairly likely to end up with bupkes on Oscar night...you may want to re-think the policy that created that situation. 

Adding insult to injury was the fact that Telluride "premiere" "The Imitation Game" won Toronto's Audience Award despite not having the big opening weekend slot reserved for it.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if the Toronto policy is "tweaked" come this summer.

That said, I just read a post from The Hollywood Reporter yesterday that is a 2014 review of all things Canadian vis-a-vis the film business and that reporter seems to think that Toronto is just fine with the way events have played out.

So, there it is, a broad outline of how this thing bumbles along for six months of the year. And all of that is to get to this... Jeffrey Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere posted a "20 Films" list for 2015.  Included there are some interesting Telluride possibilities:

The first T-ride possible mentioned is Alejandro G. Inarritu's "The Revenant" staring Leonardo DiCaprio.  I've mentioned it here before.  The film is listed as "filming" by IMDb at this moment, so the real conversation is whether it would be ready in time for a 2015 Telluride play.  The key clue to look for:  If it's finished and thick in the middle of Venice speculation and is ultimately announced for Venice, look for Alejandro in the San Juans for a "sneak" of the film.

 Wells mentions the Scott Cooper directed "Black Mass" with Johnny Depp as real life, legendary gangster Whitey Bulger.  Warner Brothers has the distribution for this film and could well return to Telluride in 2015.  WB missed the party in 2014 but their success with "Argo" in 2012 and "Gravity" in 2013 makes me believe that "Black Mass" could definitely be a part of this year's Telluride conversation.

From Wells' list, those two films seem to have the greatest chance of playing in Telluride.

Here's the link to the complete post:

 http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2014/12/20-films-might-2015-maybe/


BIRDMAN: THE SCORE CONTROVERSY AND MORE

The Academy's Music Branch rejected the attempt to overturn their original decision disallowing Antonio Sanchez's percussion heavy score for Best Original Score Oscar consideration.  Seems a shame.  When I saw it in T-ride, I thought it was oppressive but when I saw it a second time over Thanksgiving, it seemed to have been slightly altered and was a much more appealing part of the film.

HitFix/InContention, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety carried stories, among other outlets, about the process and the appeal:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/exclusive-birdman-composer-says-oscar-dq-doesnt-make-mathematical-sense

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/inside-story-why-birdmans-drum-760140

http://variety.com/2014/film/awards/antonio-sanchez-saddened-that-oscar-nixes-birdman-score-1201386404/


Additionally, in other "Birdman" news, Dave Karger's Fandango Frontrunners series on YouTube included a segment with Oscar candidate Michael Keaton.  You can see that here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUsxPG9RQxs&feature=youtu.be


Meanwhile, The New York Times Movie blog interviewed the cast of "Birdman" about the challenges of acting on the stage for the play within the film:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/27/movies/birdman-stars-describe-acting-onstage.html


IMITATION GAME NOTES

Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game" continues to fare well in limited release.  I saw, over the long holiday weekend at some point, the InContention's Kristopher Tapley thinks that it might be the film that wins the big prize on Jan. 22.  I've said that as well.

For me, the calculation goes like this: "Boyhood" too long and not much really happens.  "Birdman" too weird.  "Selma"  Questions about historical accuracy...which leaves you with : "The Imitation Game" against which the biggest "knock" seems to be "not gay enough"...Now, this isn't what I'm saying...just some of the narratives that I've seen being spun and, frankly, among a good part of the Academy "not gay enough" won't hurt it.  What's left?  "The Theory of Everything"?  The lack of serious buzz for director James Marsh makes me dubious.  "Whiplash"?  JK Simmons win is fore-ordained at this point, otherwise, no.

So. perhaps it is "The Imitation Game" that wins out.  I wouldn't be surprised.

I have included a couple of links to posts focused on "The Imitation Game".  The first is from Variety's "Directors and Their Troops" series that looks at the technicians behind the camera that make the film happen:

http://variety.com/2014/artisans/awards/directors-their-troops-morten-tyldum-on-his-imitation-game-team-1201382995/

The other post is from The Hollywood Reporter and focuses on the producers who put the film together:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cracking-code-how-two-work-745734


TROOPS FOR "WILD" AS WELL

Variety's "Directors and Their Troops" series also recently focused on Jean Marc Vallee and the crew that made "Wild".  Check that here:


http://variety.com/2014/film/news/directors-their-troops-jean-marc-vallee-on-his-wild-bunch-1201382908/


FEINBERG'S LATEST FORECAST, GURUS OF GOLD AND THE GOLD DERBY

In lieu of an update from The Film Awards Clearinghouse and because Oscar ballots are out today into the hands of Academy members, here are the links to the latest postings from Oscar expert Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter as well as the latest compilations of experts from The Gurus of Gold/Movie City News and The Gold Derby (according to them all, "Boyhood" is still the overwhelming favorite...so my boldness on "The Imitation Game" above..maybe is folly):

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/awards/predictions/oscars/2015/oscars-12242014-3


http://moviecitynews.com/2014/12/gurus-o-gold-academy-members-please-watch/


http://www.goldderby.com/awardshows/experts/oscars-2014-nominations-nominations/best-picture.html


RUDDERLESS MAKES SOME NOISE

 William H. Macy's Oklahoma-centric (filmed in state and co-written by Okies Casey Twenter and Jeff Robison) is showing up here and there on some end-of the -year Ten Best lists.  Congratulations "Rudderless" crew!  You can see it on lists from Crave Online and WeLive Film.com:

http://www.craveonline.com/film/articles/800787-14-best-films-2014-final-opinion#/slide/8

http://welivefilm.com/the-10-best-films-of-2014-by-moviemanmenzel/


That's it for a week, unless something truly earth shattering comes up...Happy New Year from Michael's Telluride Film Blog!

Viewing the Awards Landscape/Music News for Oscar/Inarritu: Moving On/Nuts and Bolts: Editing Imitation/Awards Season Overload?/Hateful 8 Has Begun

Good Monday to Everyone...


VIEWING THE AWARDS LANDSCAPE

Everyone, take a breath.  The first real wave of awards season news has come ( Golden Globe. Independent Spirit and SAG nominations and critics lists and awards from NBR, AFI and LA and NY) with that, here are some thoughts:

Richard Linklater's "Boyhood" is your betting favorite for Best Picture (and likely Best Director and Supporting Actress.  Maybe even Original Screenplay).  It made all seven of the above organizations lists/awards .  It also appears that "Birdman" and "The Imitation Game" are the only films with any kind of shot to challenge.

Acting favorites are all pretty solid but not as much of a lock as it might seem.  Even Patricia Arquette (Boyhood) and JK Simmons (Whiplash) who have seemed unbeatable may have a bit more of a challenge than has been previously thought.  For Simmons, that would appear to come from Edward Norton (Birdman)  and for Arquette the challenge looks to be coming from Jessica Chastain for "A Most Violent Year".

Lead acting  favorites are Michael Keaton (Birdman) and Julianne Moore (Still Alice).  Keaton has never been perceived as a prohibitive favorite and his biggest challenge is likely from Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything).  Moore has been a prohibitive favorite, but the rise of Jennifer Aniston's profile for "Cake" over that past couple of weeks, should give Moore pause.


MUSIC NEWS FOR OSCAR

A couple of big announcements for the Music categories for The Academy Awards this past week. The Academy  announced 114 eligible scores and original songs and, as there always seem to be, there were some surprises.

First surprise to be mentioned is the ineligibility of Antonio Sanchez's percussion heavy, and very distinctive, score for Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman".  TFF scores that are eligible include: "The Homesman", "The Imitation Game", "Merchants of Doubt", "Mr. Turner", "Red Army", "Rosewater", "The Salt of the Earth" and "Wild Tales". Also from TFF #40: "Tracks" and "Under the Skin".  The complete list is here from The Gold Derby:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/7931/oscars-birdman-whiplash-entertainment-13579086-story.html

Meanwhile, The Academy also released the list of 79 eligible original songs for Oscar consideration. Among them is: "You Fooled Me" from "The Merchants of Doubt".  Additionally, blog obsession "Rudderless" had three songs make the the list: "Over Your Shoulder", "Sing Along" and "Stay with You".  The complete list is here from Deadline.com:

http://deadline.com/2014/12/oscars-original-songs-movies-1201322686/


Listen to some of the "Rudderless" songs here:

https://soundcloud.com/lakeshore-records/rudderless-soundtrack-preview/s-9L7Pa

INARRITU MOVING ON

Despite the fact that awards season madness is in full swing and that his "Birdman" is in the midst of a hot campaign for a number of trophies and baubles (it will almost certainly garner more Oscar nominations than any other film this year), Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu is already deep into his next project.  That's the revenge western "The Revenant" starring Leonardo DiCaprio.  Inarritu is in Canada filming away.  Kristopher Tapley reports for HitFix/InContention that Inarritu is set to film until April.  The film has an announced limited release date for Dec. 25, 2015.  I have to believe that it would play Venice/Telluride if Inarritu has it ready but that would be a really tight window.  Check out Tapley's story here:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/birdmans-inarritu-says-its-important-to-stay-busy-during-ego-stroking-awards-season


NUTS AND BOLTS: EDITING "THE IMITATION GAME"

As we get deeper into awards season, you can see the P.R./Oscar machine begin to go into every possible cranny to get traction.  Stories about the technical aspects of various contenders pop up with more and more frequency.  Case in point is this Variety story focused on the film editing for Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game":

http://variety.com/video/editing-the-imitation-game/


AWARDS SEASON OVERLOAD

Does it get overwhelming?  This past ten days or so have seen the announcements of film excellence winners and nominees for the Independent Spirit Awards, Golden Globes, NBR, AFI, New York and Los Angeles Film Critics and the Screen Actors Guild plus more.

Well, fear not.  The Film Society of Lincoln Center has developed an awards matrix.  It's really useful.  Look at it here:

http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/the-awards-matrix-2014


"HATEFUL 8" HAS BEGUN

As had been announced earlier, Quentin Tarantino has begun actual filming of his next (and last project?) "The Hateful Eight" just outside of Telluride.  Star Samuel L. Jackson tweeted  this picture on Wednesday:

That'll do it for today...check back for more on Thursday...

Leviathan Leads London/Trailers for Two/Oscar Matters/News from the Future/Rudderless Reminder

Good Thursday everyone...


LEVIATHAN LEADS LONDON

Russian Foreign Language Oscar entry and Telluride/Cannes hit "Leviathan" continues to impress as it was just named the Best Film at the recently concluded 58th British Film Institutes's London Film Festival.  The Andrey Zvyagintsev directed film was also the Best Screenplay winner at Cannes last May.  The film was a bit of a surprise as Russia's official Oscar entry as it is less than flattering in its depiction of modern day Russia.  I've linked coverage of the London win from HitFix and Variety:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/leviathan-takes-best-film-at-the-london-film-festival#Xd5llxLfyeZgDIBb.99

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/russian-oscar-entry-leviathan-takes-top-prize-at-london-film-fest-1201333550/


TRAILERS FOR TWO

Trailers were released this week for two Telluride #41 films, both of them documentaries.  Joshua Oppenheimer's follow up to "The Act of Killing": "The Look of Silence" as well as Chuck Workman's examination of the life and career of Orson Welles: "Magician".  Stories and links to the trailers are here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-trailer-for-act-of-killing-followup-the-look-of-silence-plus-18-min-talk-with-director-joshua-oppenheimer-20141021


http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/orson-welles-magician-documentary-astonishing-life-and-work-trailer


OSCAR MATTERS

The latest edition of The Film Awards Clearinghouse is going to be delayed until Monday with my apologies.  Wedding and play competition finally overwhelmed my ability to have that ready for today.  To tide you over until Monday's post I have linked Scott Feinberg's latest Feinberg Forecast from The Hollywood Reporter here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-oscar-landscape-post-741955


NEWS FROM THE FUTURE

Two projects that I am following had news this week.. The Coen Brothers added more cast members to their next project, "Hail Caesar" and Quentin Tarantino is a step closer to filming his next opus, "The Hateful Eight" just outside Telluride.  Here are stories about each announcement via The Hollywood Reporter and Tempo:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/coen-brothers-hail-caesar-adds-741718

http://entertainment.tempo.com.ph/2014/10/tarantino-film-gets-permit-to-use-telluride-ranch/


RUDDERLESS REMINDER

William H. Macy's Oklahoma filmed and written directing debut "Rudderless" continues its run as it expends into more markets and theaters this week as well is available on demand. Check it out.





That's all for now.  More on Monday...

New York Ends and Had Telluride Goodness: Birdman, Mr. Turner and Foxcatcher/Rudderless for Real/Post New York Feinberg

Good Monday everyone...


It's wedding week at the Patterson house as the youngest ties the knot Sunday evening.  This week will be full and insane...in  addition to the impending nuptials, I'll have parent/teacher conference nights tonight and tomorrow night plus broadcasting Tiger football on KKBS (kkbs.com) on Thursday evening from Deer Creek and then there's that One Act play that moves onto the State contest next week that will need some rehearsal.  Going to be a busy week.

NEW YORK ENDS AND HAD TELLURIDE GOODNESS

The New York Film Festival concluded this past weekend with the presentation of "Birdman", which, for my money, is the best film of 2014 (of course I still have to see a number of films that could alter that declaration: "Whiplash", "American Sniper", "Interstellar", "Unbroken", "The Theory of Everything", "Inherent Vice", "Boyhood", "Fury" and "A Most Violent Year").  That said, because a good number of TFF #41 films played NYFF ("Birdman", " '71", "Foxcatcher", "Mr. Turner", "Tales of the Grim Sleeper" and "Two Days, One Night")  this last couple of weeks have seen a variety of features, stories and posts about those films.  Here are some of the most recent beginning with a Gold Derby look at "Birdman" and its cast:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/7436/birdman-nyff-michael-keaton-emma-stone-edward-norton-oscars-entertainment-13579086-story.html

Additionally, here's a look at an interview with "Foxcatcher" director Bennett Miller from The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-fest-how-738935

And from NYFF itself, Mike Leigh talking about the creation of "Mr. Turner":

http://www.filmlinc.com/nyff2014/blog/listen-mike-leigh-and-the-crew-of-mr.-turner-uncover-the-world-of-j.-m.-w


RUDDERLESS FOR REAL

Counting down the days...William H. Macy's Oklahoma set and filmed "Rudderless" which I have been following for more than five years is finally unleashed this week.  Friend of the blog and "Rudderless" co-writer Casey Twenter says that the film will open Friday in Oklahoma City as well as Tulsa, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Houston, Miami, Chicago, Los Angeles, Scottsdale/Phoenix, Portland, Seattle, Philadelphia and Eugene, OR.

To continue to set the stage for the film I have linked the music video for "Hold On" from the film here:

Additionally, here's a scene from the film that's up on Yahoo Movies:

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/when-actors-take-a-turn-in-the-directors-chair-99576283237.html

Go see it this weekend!

POST NEW YORK FEINBERG

The Hollywood Reporters' Awards expert Scott Feinberg has updated his latest crystal ball for the Oscars.  Check his latest Feinberg Forecast that includes analysis from the just concluded New York Film Festival:


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-as-new-york-739976


More on Thursday...probably...

The Foreign Candidates/"Birdman" Items/Imitation" UK Trailer/As "Rudderless" Gets Closer/Latest Feinberg Forecast (with bonus "American Sniper" trailer)

Welcome to Monday...


THE FOREIGN CANDIDATES

Argentina's entry and TFF fave "Wild Tales"

The deadline has come and gone for nations to nominate films for Academy Award consideration for Best Foreign Language Film.  HitFix/InContention reports that there are 70+ entrants for the 2014 competition and they list their ten most likely nominees in order plus a list of all the films nominated by their home countries for the Oscar.  Among the top ten contenders according to them are:

"Ida" from TFF #40 as well as,  "Leviathan",  "Wild Tales", "Mommy" and "Two Days, One Night" from TFF #41.

The complete listing and story are here:

http://www.hitfix.com/contenders/best-foreign-language-film


"BIRDMAN" ITEMS

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood recently posted an interview with Antonio Sanchez, the man behind the percussive score for Alejandro Inarritu's "Birdman".  Check that out here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-how-birdman-composer-antonio-sanchez-drummed-the-score-20141003

For those who didn't catch "Birdman" at the fest thus year, or even those who did, Yahoo Movies posted an exclusive clip fro m the film this weekend ahead of it's presentation as the closing night film for the New York Film Festival which concludes this coming weekend.  That's here:

https://www.yahoo.com/movies/given-hes-been-in-a-public-eye-for-three-decades-98980521627.html


"IMITATION" UK TRAILER

The British trailer for Morten Tyldum's very,very good and likely Oscar Best Picture nominee, "The Imitation Game" appeared at the end of the week.  If you follow this blog then you know that the film was the top selection among those responding to my "People's Telluride" poll of films.  Take a look at the story and the U.K. trailer form The Playlist here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-uk-trailer-for-the-imitation-game-starring-benedict-cumberbatch-keira-knightley-20141002


AS "RUDDERLESS" GETS CLOSER

"Rudderless" is just days away from release (Oct. 17th) and The Wall Street Journal has a nice interview with the film's lead, Billy Crudup.  Here's your link to that:

http://online.wsj.com/articles/billy-crudup-is-still-almost-famous-1412355022?google_editors_picks=true


LATEST FEINBERG FORECAST

The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg has updated his weekly Feinberg Forecast for this year's Oscar competition.  Looks like Scott really has been impressed with the "American Sniper" trailer as it makes a solid jump up.  Check the latest Forecast as well as that trailer below.

"American Sniper" trailer vie YouTube

The latest Feinberg Forecast:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-updated-projections-as-738173

More on Thursday...