Alexander Payne and The Holdovers / Screen Talk. She Said and NYFF / BFI-London Chooses Empire of Light

ALEXANDER PAYNE AND THE HOLDOVERS

(Photo via World of Reel)

Many of you know that I usually include Oscar winning director/writer Alexander Payne as a "Usual Suspects" that frequently attend the Telluride Film Festival.  Payne guest directed the fest in 2009 and is listed as a member of TFF's Board of Governors. But I didn't include Payne this year though I knew he was working on a new film starring his Sideways lead actor Paul Giamatti.  The Holdovers is described at IMDb as follows:

"Nobody likes teacher Paul Hunham (Giamatti) -- not his students, not his fellow faculty, not the headmaster, who all find his pomposity and rigidity exasperating. With no family and nowhere to go over Christmas holiday in 1970, Paul remains at school to supervise students unable to journey home. After a few days, only one student holdover remains -- a trouble-making 15-year-old named Angus, a good student whose bad behavior always threatens to get him expelled. Joining Paul and Angus is head cook Mary (Randolph)-an African American woman who caters to sons of privilege and whose own son was recently lost in Vietnam. These three very different shipwrecked people form an unlikely Christmas family sharing comic misadventures during two very snowy weeks in New England. The real journey is how they help one another understand that they are not beholden to their past-they can choose their own futures."

Well...Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel revealed  that The Holdovers test screened last week indicating that some semi-complete version of the film does exist.  And, as a consequence Jordan has asked (and others have as well) whether or not there is a possibility that it could play at Telluride in less than three weeks.

When I was asked if it could play at TFF #49 my response was if anyone could make that happen it would be Alexander Payne.  Do I think it WILL happen?  No.  Do I think it COULD happen?  Sure...it's Payne.  There's a chance and I, for one, would welcome it.

SCREEN TALK, SHE SAID AND NYFF

Maria Schrader's She Said has been something of a badminton birdie for me this summer-back and forth, back and forth.

The latest salvo was its lack of inclusion on NYFF's Main Slate announcement last week.  I had assumed that the film's supposed World Premiere at NYFF would mean its inclusion as a Main Slate selection.  So when it was not I thought...hey...maybe it's still in play for TFF.

But a comment posted to my blog by "Unknown" on Thursday suggests:

"NYFF’s press release re: its Main Slate stated “Currents, Revivals, Spotlight, and Talks sections will be announced in the coming weeks.” My best guess is that She Said will be announced w/i the next two weeks as a NYFF Spotlight film accompanied by a Talk with the main cast and the journalists they portray."

Makes a lot of sense.

Then Anne Thompson on Indiewire's ScreenTalk podcast said this:

"I announced awhile ago that She Said was going to have a big event at the New York Film Festival and I believe that that is going to turn out to be true."  Which makes me think Anne knows even more than what she's saying.  Does it mean it's a World Premiere at New York and nit a TFF selection?  Probably.  

I also kind of think that Anne might be leading the Q+A after the film at NYFF-pure speculation on my part.

BUT, then Anne goes on to say that Sarah Polley's Women Talking will be announced sometime soon as an addition to NYFF and I feel very confident that its initial bow will be at Telluride.

Sooo...She Said is a "probably not" again for TFF #49.  But....

BFI-LONDON CHOOSES EMPIRE OF LIGHT

The BFI-London Film Fest announced on Thursday that Sam Mendes Empire of Light will be this year's American Express Gala Screening at the British Film Institute/London Film Festival as a European Premiere.

Variety had the story which is linked here.

The premiere designation underscores the belief that the film will appear first at Telluride.  

The film stars Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Toby Jones.  

Variety described the film this way:

"Set in an English seaside town in the early 1980s, the film is about human connection and the magic of cinema."

It's on my list to see during The SHOW.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Spitballing Tributes / ScreenTalk Talks Fests / TIFF Second Wave Tomorrow

Welcome to Tuesday...running late today for a variety of reasons...

SPITBALLING TRIBUTES

2017 TFF Tributee Christian Bale

Although it's a little early, I thought we might take a quick stab today at considering who (or in some years it's been what) might be in line for a tribute at this year's TFF.  As a starting point, let's consider the films from latest Ten Bets-since I'm pretty confident about those titles making The SHOW lineup:

1) Roma
2) First Man
3) The Old Man and the Gun
4) Cold War
5) The Front Runner
6) Dogman
7) Shoplifters
8) Can You Ever Forgive Me?
9) Non Fiction
10) The Favourite

I also feel strongly about these making the lineup as well:

The Other Side of the Wind, White Boy Rick, Peterloo.

This group of 13 films gives us a rich list of potential tribute candidates.

Actors from the above films that could get the tribute treatment:

Ryan Gosling/First Man
Sissy Spacek/The Old Man and the Gun
Hugh Jackman/The Front Runner
Rachel Weisz/The Favourite
Emma Stone/The Favourite
Juliette Binoche/Non Fiction
Guillaume Canet/Non Fiction
Matthew McConaughey/White Boy Rick


Directors that could be feted:

Matteo Garrone/Dogman
Olivier Assasyas/Non Fiction
Alfonso Cuaron/Roma
David Lowery/The Old Man and the Gun
Hirokazu Kore-eda/Shoplifters


What do you think?


SCREENTALK TALKS FESTS

Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn of Indiewire sat down after last week's Toronto and Venice announcements to record their ScreenTalk podcast. 

The discussion was far-ranging and included specific mention of films they are willing to tag as Telluride films: The Favourite, Roma, First Man, White Boy Rick.  They also mention Can You Ever Forgive Me? and Peterloo though not in the context of Telluride.  They also spend some time talking about a theory that some distributors are now wary of Telluride suggesting that the four day weekend puts too much pressure on a film.

Could this explain the (at least so far) absence of any mention of films from Focus Features?  Boy Erased, Mary Queen of Scots and On the Basis if Sex?

Last weekend's ScreenTalk is here.


TORONTO'S SECOND WAVE TOMORROW

The Toronto International Film Festival will announce their second wave of films tomorrow morning.  It will be Canadian-centric, though they do sometimes make some other announcements in this wave, they are few. 

Last year I wasn't able to glean any truly useful Telluride info from their second announcement.  In 2016, I was able to eliminate Xavier Dolan's It's Only the End of the World because of TIFF's second wave so there is a occasionally some knowledge that can be gotten.  Perhaps we'll discover the status of Dolan's new film The Death and Life of John F. Donovan.


That's today's MTFB.  More will be forthcoming on Thursday!

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

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Dear Guillermo... / Tribute Clues / WeiWei Interview / Screen Talk Talks Fall Fests / Reminder to Rate Your Films

Welcome back from the weekend.  It's Monday, August 28, 2017.  The 44th Telluride Film Festival begins in four days.


DEAR GUILLERMO...

This section of MTFB is going to be a little different than what you readers commonly see here but...

First, most everyone reading here knows that I have been very sure these past few weeks that Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water will be announced on Thursday as a part of the TFF #44 lineup.  I am very excited about the film but you know who's insane about it?

My wife.

Let me tell you why because it goes beyond the excitement about seeing GDT's new film in the incredible setting that is Telluride.

Some of you know that both my wife and I teach high school in a rural town (pop. 12,500)  in the Oklahoma Panhandle.  She's the art teacher here and damned good at what she does.  Especially in light of our current student body.

Please understand, that's not a slam about our kids but our situation is really unique.

In 1992 a massive pork processing facility opened in our community and to fill their workforce they have scoured the planet to find workers willing to re-locate.  That has meant a reliance on immigrants, refugees and others.

In the last 20 or so years our demographics have shifted from a majority Anglo population to one in which minority students are the majority.  Mostly kids from about every country south of the southern border of the U.S. but we're not exclusively Latin.  We have have significant student populations from Burma, S. Korea, Thailand, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia and more.

Our school administration tells us we have somewhere between 25-30 languages spoken in our high school (enrollment is a shade under 900 kids grades 9-12).  Imagine that in a Podunk Oklahoma town.

Many of you also know that Del Toro had a harrowing childhood and turned to art as a kid to deal with that.  My wife sure does.  Del Toro's story and artwork have become an integral part of the curriculum in her classwork because...you know..it resonates with these kids...immigrant kids. They can relate to Del Toro's story because, for many of them, it's a lot like their stories.  Del Toro's body of film work plays a part too.  All these kids know Hellboy.

And, of course, because it's art, the language barrier is a much smaller problem in my wife's classroom than about anywhere else in the building.  For some of her students, it's the safest and most comfortable place they find themselves every day and that's not an exaggeration.  Some of her refugee kids spell out the terrors that they have lived through from refugee camps to predatory traffickers to hiding from death squads and civil war.

Needless to say, Guillermo has a more than special place in her heart.

So...I've never done this before in the nine years I've been writing this thing...but

If anyone knows anyone in the Del Toro camp (and I'm assuming here that he will make the trip with the film from Venice to Telluride), I'm asking for a favor.  You know what I'm going to say here...

A meeting between Kris and Guillermo would be...um...nice.  Well, she'd likely lose her mind at least a little bit.  She's already got a big honking copy of Guillermo's Cabinet of Curiosities and will be hauling it this weekend on the off chance that she might be able to get an autograph.  I'd like to make it a little less "chancy".

If anyone has some insight about making this happen, please contact me using any of the methods listed at the bottom of this post.

And Senor Del Toro, if YOU are reading this, hear my plea and reach out to me.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post.


TRIBUTES CLUES

Many of you know that in the days before the beginning of the festival that, usually a couple of films are screened in Elks Park and that they almost always hint at who the tribute recipients will be.

A Telluride local and friend of the blog, who I am keeping anonymous, emailed me the an ad that has run locally in T-ride for the films that have been scheduled:

The choice of these two films seems to confirm earlier speculation that tributes are set for Christian Bale and cinematographer Ed Lachman.  As to the third tribute, I think I have that nailed down as well but am going to keep that under wraps for the time being.

WEIWEI INTERVIEW

Artist, dissident and film maker Ai Weiwei is certainly set for screening his documentary Human Flow at Venice this week and then is very likely to bring it Telluride this weekend.  He was the subject of a substantial interview with Variety this past week in which he speaks about the film.

Nick Vivarelli writes.  Here's the interview.

SCREEN TALK TALKS FALL FESTS

This week's podcast of Screen Talk with Indiewire's Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn spends a good deal of time focused on some of the upcoming launch of the fall film fests and Oscar season.  Although neither of them can name films that will be at Telluride, they do make mention of the fest and make no bones about Downsizing being there.  Among other films that they mention that I'm feeling will lay are: Lady Bird, Darkest Hour and The Shape of Water.

The Screen Talk podcast is here.


REMINDER TO RATE YOUR FILMS THIS WEEK

Don't forget, my friends, I want your ratings of the films you see next weekend.  Use a 0-5 scale with 0 being "putrid" and 5 being "best film since..."

I will publish The People's Telluride film ratings a week to ten days after the festival concludes.  Join in!

That's all for now.  More tomorrow and on Wednesday I'll post a special edition of MTFB with the final "Bets" for TFF #44.

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

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Things to Come is Coming (and has a trailer) / Talking Telluride Films

Good Monday people...


THINGS TO COME IS COMING (AND HAS A TRAILER)

Telluride watchers were rewarded this past week with a new trailer for Mia Hansen-Love's Things to Come starring past T-ride tribute recipient Isabelle Huppert (and it IS the year of Huppert with this performance plus Elle and others).  Things to Come was very well respected by MTFB's Pros as it  was pegged at the #3 spot with a solid 4.20 rating.  The film currently has an 88 Metacritic score and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes (with 36 critics weighing in).


Here's the new trailer (with English subtitles) from Sundance Selects via YouTube:

Things to Come opens in the United States on Dec. 2nd.


I have also linked coverage of the trailer release from Indiewire andFirstShowing.net .



TALKING TELLURIDE FILMS

Kristopher Tapley's Playback Podcast had actor Aaron Eckhardt as his guest this last week.  Eckhardt is getting notice for his roles both in Sully and Bleed for This.  Eckhardt could be in the Best Supporting Actor conversation for both of those roles, though his turn in Bleed for This seems to be getting the most attention.

Here's the link to the Playback podcast.

Additionally, The Hollywood Reporter published a multi-actress interview with German actresses. Two of those are Sandra Huller from Toni Erdmann and Paula Beer from Frantz both of which were part of the TFF #$3 program.

That interview is here.

And, Indiewire's weekly Screen Talk podcast featuring Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson (both of whom serve as MTFB pors for rating films each year at TFF).  This week the duo talk Birth of a Nation and 20th Century Women.

The Screentalk podcast is here.



That's a wrap for Monday.  More to come on Thursday...including a new Film Awards Clearinghouse update.


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

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT to the Blog itself.

New York by Way of Telluride / Maudie Has a Home / Screen Talk

Good Monday ladies and germs...

NEW YORK BY WAY WAY OF TELLURIDE

The New York Film Festival opened over the weekend with Ava DuVernay's documentary 13th as the opening night film.  NYFF will run through Oct. 16th and will double up on a number of films that played at TFF #43 including: Fire at Sea, Graduation, Manchester by the Sea, Moonlight, Neruda. Things to Come and Toni Erdmann among their Main Slate presentations.  Here is the complete NYFF Main Slate lineup.

Additionally, in its Retrospective section you will find Bertrand Tavernier's Journey Through French Cinema which also played TFF #43.
Tavernier and Journey Through French Cinema was recently profiled in this piece from Variety.

Other Telluride 2016 selections playing in NYFF are included in its Spotlight on Documentary section. Included there from Telluride are: The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography, Bright Lights; Starring Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher and I Called Him Morgan.



MAUDIE HAS A HOME

 A small film at Telluride that gained some notoriety and  a bit of buzz for Sally Hawkins' performance was Aisling Walsh's Maudie about real life artist Maud Walsh.  As a matter of fact, TFF filmgoers rated the film in MTFB's People's Telluride ratings at a very respectable 4.29 (out of 5) and it finished as the third highest rated film of this year's fest only trailing current Oscar buzzy films La La Land and Moonlight.

The film played T-ride without having been picked up for domestic distribution but that changed over the weekend as Sony Pictures Classics announced that they had grabbed the rights to the film.

Here's coverage of the acquisition from Variety  The Hollywood Reporter and The Wrap,

There's no word yet on whether SPC is planning to release the film this year but there is plenty of speculation that they might to get Hawkins into the conversation for the Best Actress Oscar. However, that field is crowded this year.


SCREEN TALK

As the New York Fest gets underway, Indiewire's Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn take aim at the films playing there in the context of the Oscar race with a special focus in this week's podcast on Oscar and film diversity.  Figuring into their conversation is Barry Jenkin's Telluride selection Moonlight.  Check out the latest version of ScreenTalk here.

That'll be a wrap for Monday.  More on Thursday!

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

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT to the Blog itself.

Interviews and Backgrounds for "Malala", "Steve Jobs" and "Room" / Oscar Matters: Screen Talk, Oscar Poker and The Awards Pundits

Good Monday to all.  Back from Dallas and headed back to the every day...


INTERVIEWS AND BACKGROUNDS FOR...

"HE NAMED ME MALALA"

Time's Eliza Berman is behind this "Behind the scenes"featurette about the creation of the Davis Guggenheim documentary "He Named Me Malala".

That is here:

http://time.com/4075739/malala-yousafzai-featurette/


"STEVE JOBS"

The National Board of Review talks about the Danny Boyle film that peers at the life of Apple co-creator Steve Jobs,  Included in the Q and A are Boyle, Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels and screenwriter Aaron Sorkin.

Here that is:

http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/2015/10/qa-with-michael-fassbender-jeff-daniels-danny-boyle-aaron-sorkin-and-kate-winslet/


"ROOM"

The NBR folks also spent some time with Brie Larson discussing her film, "Room".  Here's the link for that:

http://www.nationalboardofreview.org/2015/10/qa-with-brie-larson/


OSCAR MATTERS:  SCREEN TALK AND THE AWARDS PUNDITS

Here's the link to the latest installment of Screen Talk featuring Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood and Eric Kohn of Indiewire.  Included are discussions of "Room" and "Beasts of No Nation":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/screen-talk-we-handicap-the-awards-chances-of-a-slew-of-new-weekend-openers-20151016

Sasha Stone and Jeff Wells (with special guest Erik Anderson of Awards Watch) are here with their latest look at the Oscar field on Oscar Poker:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/2015/10/18/oscar-poker-dives-into-the-top-categories/

Meanwhile, over at The Hollywood Reporter, there's another edition of "The Awards Pundits" with Scott Feinberg and Steve Galloway.  "Beasts of No Nation" also gets a mention in there discussion as does "Steve Jobs".  That is here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-pundits-oscar-presidential-race-832659



That's it for a Monday in October.  More to come on Thursday including a new look at the Film Awards Clearinghouse for Best Picture, Director, Actress and Actor.


Contact me at:

michael_speech@hotmail.com OR

mpgort@gmail.com OR

via Twitter @Gort2 OR to

Michael's Telluride Film Blog's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

"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...

Leave a comment here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

You can also message me on Facebook (and "Like" me too)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712

Looking Back We Find Something That Sounds Familiar/Toronto Sun Article Hits Closer to the Mark/Anne and Eric Look Ahead

Good Monday All!

LOOKING BACK WE FIND SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR

I spent some time this weekend looking back at last summer's Toronto/Telluride drama.  I wanted to remind myself how that had played out in a number of ways.

One of the things that I remembered and re-visited was the reaction from Sony Pictures Classics Tom Bernard and his characterization that the policy TIFF adopted last year was "imperialistic". Interestingly, as I was reviewing some of my posts and the posts of others that I linked, I discovered that Bernard may well have provided the template for this year's "adjustment".  Bernard is credited in the Toronto Star (and subsequently in The Hollywood Reporter) as suggesting:

"Bernard suggested a compromise to the premiere tussle.

TIFF could create special evening premiere slots for the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival at major venues such as Roy Thomson Hall and the Princess of Wales and Elgin theatres. That would give TIFF some exclusive premieres, while also allowing Telluride and other fests first dibs on showing other movies."

Sounds familiar doesn't it?  It's not exactly the newly announced "adjustment"...but there's a good deal of similarity.

The posts from both The Star and THR from last summer are re-linked below:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/06/26/tiff_vs_telluride_tussle_turns_movie_premieres_into_a_battle_of_wills_peter_howell_column.html


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/toronto-film-festivals-anti-telluride-720646


TORONTO SUN ARTICLE HITS CLOSER TO THE MARK

Bruce Kirkland writing Friday afternoon in the Toronto Sun explains last week's change in film policy from the Toronto International Film Festival in terms more closely in line with my take.  We're not 100% compatible but he does make some of the same points that I have.   Kirkland writes that "...TIFF did change the rules of combat-but the tension continues.  And TIFF is still positioned as the bully..."

Take a look at the complete post here:

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/05/kirkland-tiff-premiere-feud-with-telluride-isnt-over#



ANNE AND ERIC LOOK AHEAD

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood and Eric Kohn/IndieWire, both of whom have been kind enough to participate in my "Professionals of Telluride" film ratings, have posted their latest installment of their podcast: Screen Talk in which they spend a good chunk of time discussing the Fall Film Fest season.  In fact, the podcast is titled: "Why We're Excited for Fall 2015".

Anne and Eric get to the Toronto "adjustment" at about the 6:40 mark in the cast. 

Take a listen here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-were-excited-for-the-fall-2015-movie-season-podcast-20150605



More on Tuesday....


Follow Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook: 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Michaels-Telluride-Film-Blog-and-The-Film-Awards-Clearinghouse/107846269309712


And on Twitter @Gort2

Anne and Eric Talk Telluride and Toronto/Selma as a Player/What's Up Ken's Sleeve?

Welcome to Monday...

I'm back from Kansas City and the National Speech/Debate Tournament.  It was a fun week.

ANNE AND ERIC TALK TELLURIDE AND TORONTO

"Birdman" from antenna3.com

Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood and Eric Kohn of IndieWire (who is Anne's new podcast partner) posted their second edition of  "ScreenTalk".  In it they spend a reasonable amount of time talking about the Toronto ultimatum about North American premieres, which is a direct shot across Telluride's bow. They also talk a bot about Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's "Birdman", which I'm very excited about and which will almost certainly be on the first 2014 TFF "Ten Bets" list (coming Friday).   The discussion of Toronto/Telluride situation and "Birdman" starts at about the 16 minute mark.  You'll find the entire podcast here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/screen-talk-episode-2-boyhood-jersey-boys-telluride-vs-toronto-clash-more

SELMA AS A PLAYER

Ava DuVarnay via The Huffington Post

The Hollywood Reporter, among others, over the weekend reported that Ava DuVernay's "Selma" (about the civil rights marches that culminated with the passage of the Voting Rights Act) will be a limited release on Christmas Day.  That puts the film, which hadn't been expected until next year, right in the middle of the awards season and raises the question about whether it is a Telluride possibility.

Arguing against is chances:  it's reportedly still filming which would put it on a really tight deadline to be ready for any of the major fall festivals.

Elements that suggest that it could happen:  Production companies Pathe (which has had a good relationship with T-ride) and Plan B (Brad Pitt's outfit that brought a little thing called "12 Years a Slave to last years fest) suggest it could happen.  Also Christian Colson is one of the producers.  He also produced "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".  And finally, Oprah Winfrey herself is a producer and a member of the cast and certainly has had a long relationship with Telluride (the community not the film festival).  Finally, the film is being produced by Paramount which has some play over the years at T-ride including: "Labor Day", "Up in the Air" and "Zodiac".

Stay tuned...

WHAT'S UP KEN'S SLEEVE

Ken Burns via IMDb.com

Long time Telluride Film mainstay Ken Burns has "The Roosevelts" up his sleeve.  It's a seven hour documentary about the famed American family focusing on Teddy, Franklin and Eleanor.  PBS is set to begin the series on Sept. 14th and it's that 9/14 date that makes me think that there's a good chance that Telluride patrons will be able to see at least some of the doc on Labor Day weekend.  Burns has often premiered parts of his current projects in the TFF forum and this wouldn't be a surprise.  Catch up on some details of this enterprise from The Poughkeepsee Journal (of all places) here:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/2014/06/12/ken-burns-roosevelt-library/10376967/

The article includes video of Burns talking about the project.

More tomorrow...

Follow/Like Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook/Twitter (@Gort2).