Distribution: Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate, Saban Films/Ten Bets #3/The Playlist's 50 Film Wish List for Fall Film Fests

It's Friday, Friday, Friday...

DISTRIBUTION: ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS/LIONSGATE/SABAN FILMS

On this Friday I continue my extensive look at film distributors with pasttrack records at the Telluride Film Festival to suss out clues about what films might play at this year's 42nd edition of the fest. Today I'm looking at the inter-related companies of Roadside Attractions, Lionsgate and Saban Films.


Taking each as an individual entity, here are their recent Telluride histories, such as they are:

Roadside Attractions:

2010: Biutiful
2011: Albert Nobbs
2012: Stories We Tell
2013: All is Lost, Gloria
2014: '71, The Homesman, Mommy


Lionsgate

2013: All is Lost

Saban:

2014: The Homesman



As you can see, Roadside has steadily increased its presence in the five year run since it first showed up at The SHOW in 2010.  Lionsgate and Saban have been peripherally involved on a couple of projects in that time.  So, what do these firms have in their collective quiver that might whet the appetite of T-ride programmers?

From Roadside: "A Hologram for the King", "Miss You Already", "The Sea of Trees", "Stonewall",

From Lionsgate: "A Hologram for the King", "Freeheld", "Miss You Already", "Sicario" "The Sea of Trees", "Genius"

Saban Films doesn't appear to have any film that looks Telluride-y, at least according to their IMDb listing.

It seems to me that Lionsgate actually has the strongest hand in as far as possible Telluride programming is concerned.  Probably the safest "bet" is Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario".  After that, it's all relatively doubtful for the remainder of the Roadside/Lionsgate/Saban field and even "Sicario" is iffy.

Chances:

"Sicario" 50%
"Freeheld" 40%
"A Hologram for the King" 35%
"Genius" 30%
"Miss You Already" 25%
"The Sea of Trees" 25%

Roadside, after a strong run last year, may be on the outside looking in.




TEN BETS #3

Last week's "Ten Bets" were:

10) "Queen of the Desert"
9) "Mountains May Depart"
8) "Suffragette"
7)  "13 Minutes"
6) "I Saw the Light"
5) "Youth"
4) "45 Years"
3) "Carol"
2) "Son of Saul"
1) "Dheepan"

This week's updated "Ten Bets" for TFF #42:

10) "The Club"
9) "Suffragette"
8) "13 Minutes"
7) "Queen of the Desert"
6) "45 Years"
5) "I Saw the Light"
4) "Carol"
3) "Youth"
2) "Son of Saul"
1) "Dheepan"

Pablo Larrain's "The Club" bumps "Mountains May Depart"...but it's close.


THE PLAYLIST'S 50 FILM WISH LIST FOR THE FALL FILM FESTS

The Playlist was up yesterday with their annual "wish list" of films for the upcoming fall film fest.  The yearly "wish/prediction" post has come to be a staple for parsing here at MTFB...

So, here's what they "wish/predict" as it pertains to what films they feel might make the lineup for Telluride:

The first film referenced for Telluride is the Bradley Cooper starring, Weinstein Company distributed "Adam Jones".  The Playlist says Telluride is a "possibility".

Next is Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" starring Johnny Depp as mob murderer Whitey Bulger.  "Black Mass" is from Warners.  You may recall that I think Warners will have a film or two at Telluride this year's list.  The Playlist suggests that a "sneak preview" is "very possible".

The next Telluride mention is for Guillermo Del Toro's "Crimson Peak".  Read my earlier posts that suggest that Del Toro could follow the footsteps of his "three amigos hermanos" Alejandro Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron.

Their next T-ride mention surprised me a bit as they suggest that Tom Hooper's "The Danish Girl" starring last year's Oscar Best Actor winner Eddie Redmayne could play Telluride as Hooper could follow the path that his "The King's Speech" did to Oscar glory with a Telluride appearance in 2010.

"I Saw the Light" from director Marc Abraham ("Flash of Genius" T-ride 2008) is called a "maybe" for TFF #42.  It's a biopic about country music legend Hank Williams starring Tom Hiddleston and Elizabeth Olsen.  I think this film is a real Telluride possibility.

The next film that The Playlist gives a "maybe" is Derek Cianfrance's "The Light Between the Oceans" with Michael Fassbender and Alicia Vikander.  It's distribution is still up for grabs for the U.S.

Kenneth Lonergan's "Manchester-by-the -Sea" is suggested as a Telluride possible.  The film stars Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler and is also looking for U.S> distribution.

Joe Nichols' "Midnight Special" starring Michael Shannon is termed a "good bet" and is another of the four Warners films that could make the trip to the San Juans.

The Playlist actually says that Jodie Foster's "Money Monster" starring George Clooney and Julia Roberts could make the Telluride program.  That would be cool.  Sony Pictures/TriStar are distributing.  (See my upcoming 2015 edition of "The Unified Clooney Theory" in a week or so).

David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis" is the third Warners film that the article says could make it to Telluride.  The film stars Sandra Bullock and is produce, in part, by Clooney (see "UCT" note above).

Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" is said to be "expect(ed)" for Telluride after its announcement as a "European" premiere to open the London Film Fest.  The film stars Carey Mulligan and is distributed in the U.S. by Focus Features.

Richard Linklater's follow up to his critical darling "Boyhood" and the "spiritual sequel" to his classic "Dazed and Confused",
"That's What I'm Talking About" is called "very likely" for Telluride or Toronto or New York.

The last film that The Playlist lists Telluride as a possibility is "Truth" from director James Vanderbilt.  The post says that the film is "very likely" as it's from  Sony Pictures Classics.  The film stars Robert Redford as newsman Dan Rather and tells the story of his fall from grace at CBS News.

That's 13 of the 50 films listed in the post mentioning Telluride.

There are 37 other films (plus a bonus set at the end of the article) that The Playlist does not mention Telluride as a possibility.  Of those, I actually think that some DO have a shot.  For example:

Thomas Vintenberg's "The Commune"
Jean-Marc Vallee's "Demolition"
Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight"
Ron Howard's "In the Heart of the Sea"
Stephen Frears' "The Program"
Billy Ray's "Secret in Their Eyes"
Thomas McCarthy's "Spotlight"
Danny Boyles' "Steve Jobs"
Jay Roach's "Trumbo"
Justin Chadwick's "Tulip Fever"

are among The Playlist's 50 that they don't peg for a Telluride slot but that I think could play.

The only "Honorable Mentions" that they include that I feel have some shot at making Telluride is "Freeheld"

A lot to digest...

The complete post is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/50-movies-on-our-fall-film-festival-wishlist-20150709

That's all for Friday.  Have a great weekend!  More on Monday...


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Distribution: Fox Searchlight/New P.R. Gambit for "Sicario"/Spooky Looks from "Crimson Peak"

Welcome to a Tuesday in July...

We continue our look at film distributors with Telluride track records...

DISTRIBUTION: FREQUENT DISTRIBS AT TELLURIDE: FOX SEARCHLIGHT

Here's what we have seen from them art Telluride over the past 11 years:

2004: Kinsey
2005: Bee Season
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake
2007: Juno, The Savages
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009: ZIP
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan, Millions
2011: Shame, The Descendants
2012: ZIP
2013: 12 Years a Slave
2014: Birdman, Wild

16 films over that time span, which averages to 1.55 films/year.  2009 and 2013 were outliers with no Fox Searchlight films at T-ride.  2010 was extraordinary with the company having four films make the program.  Most importantly, probably to Fox Searchlight, is that they have three Best Picture Oscar winners since 2008, all of which played Telluride: "Slumdog Millionaire" (08), "12 Years a Slave" (13) and "Birdman" (14).  So, you kind have to be believe that if they have a film that they feel has a Best Picture shot, that it will likely play Telluride (and the buzz is that they do).

What's in the Fox Searchlight cupboard for this year?  They have a number of goodies including much ballyhooed Cannes Palme competition piece, Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth" with both Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel considered serious Oscar acting awards candidates.

Then there's Jean-Marc Vallee's "Demolition" starring the red hot Jake Gyllenhaal.  Vallee was in Telluride last year as the director of "Wild" which earned Oscar nominations for Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern.

Also in the FS house, the much anticipated documentary "He Named Me Malala" about Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai who was the victim pf a Taliban assassination attempt because she dared to be a young girl who wanted an education.  "Malala" is directed by Davis Guggenheim who directed "Waiting for Superman" and "An Inconvenient Truth".

These three films all have some serious Telluride potential.  The other Fox Searchlight picture that could be in the mix is Luca Guadagnino's "A Bigger Splash" starring Ralph Fiennes and Dakota Johnson but I think it's Telluride profile is much smaller...

Other Fox Searchlight films that could make a splash as we move through the end of the year have already premiered/opened: "True Story", "Mistress America", "Brooklyn", "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl", "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", and "Far from the Madding Crowd" have either played Sundance, opened theatrically or both.

Ultimately at least one Fox Searchlight film will play and probably two.  There could be three altogether.


Chances:

"Youth" 80%
"Demolition" 60%
"He Named Me Malala" 50%
"A Bigger Splash" 25%

Of course, I have "Youth" on the current "Ten Bets" list at #5.

Tomorrow's distribution outlet:  The Weinstein Company.


NEW P.R. GAMBIT FOR "SICARIO"

Lionsgate, which is distributing Denis Villenueve's "Sicario", which played Cannes in competition, has debuted a different P.R. move releasing "Loteria" cards for the film. You see one above.   Loteria is a bingo-like game that comes from Latin America.

"Sicario" will open in the U.S. on Sept. 18 and remains a film with some possibility of playing Telluride largely due to Villeneuve's past participation at Telluride with "Incendies" (TFF 2010) and "Prisoners" (TFF 2013).

Here's the Rope of Silicon article that includes all five of the Loteria cards for the film released yesterday:



http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/five-loteria-card-posters-for-sicario-released/


SPOOKY LOOKS FROM "CRIMSON PEAK"

I talked last week about the unlikely, but nevertheless, possible appearance of Guillermo Del Toro's "Crimson Peak".  Yesterday we were treated to new character posters for the Gothic horror film that features Jessica Chastain and Tom Hiddleston.

Check out the links to HitFix and The Playlist for all of the posters and a couple of new stills from the film:


http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/exclusive-jessica-chastain-is-a-gothic-queen-in-blood-red-crimson-peak-poster

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-and-posters-for-guillermo-del-toros-gothic-horror-crimson-peak-20150706


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


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Oscar Hopeful Trailers/"Steve Jobs" Full Trailer/The Guardian Ups Its Game and Sponsors Too/Reminders

It's Thursday and this must be Michael's Telluride Film Blog...



OSCAR HOPEFUL TRAILERS

David Poland and Movie City News have posted a series of 17 trailers for films that he/they have deemed as Oscar possibles.  The trailers include a number of possible Telluride films: "Carol", "Black Mass", "In the Heart of the Sea", "The Program", "Sicario", "Youth" and "Suffragette".

Take a look at the post, which is expected to be updated as we move through the summer and into awards season with trailers from other films:

http://moviecitynews.com/2015/06/30-weeks-to-oscar-trailer-parade-17-currently-available/


"STEVE JOBS" FULL TRAILER

The full trailer for Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" dropped yesterday to a good deal of fanfare in the media.  The film stars Michael Fassbender as Jobs along with Seth Rogen, Kate Winslet and Jeff Daniels.  We had already seen a teaser for the film but this is a full two and a half minute trailer.

"Steve Jobs" trailer via YouTube

Additionally, I have linked a bunch of the coverage that accompanied the trailer's release yesterday:


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/michael-fassbender-steve-jobs-1201532460/

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/07/oscarwatch-michael-fassbender-and-kate-winslet-in-danny-boyles-steve-jobs/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-fassbender-steve-jobs-trailer-806209

http://www.hitfix.com/awards-campaign/new-steve-jobs-trailer-apple-co-founder-was-more-of-a-jerk-than-you-thought

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/must-watch-full-length-trailer-for-danny-boyles-steve-jobs-movie/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-steve-jobs-trailer-stars-michael-fassbender-as-apples-enigmatic-genius-20150701

http://www.indiewire.com/watch-michael-fassbender-and-danny-boyle-resurrect-steve-jobs-in-pulsating-trailer

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/steve-jobs-trailer-show-of-hands-whos-seeing-this-one/


Does "Steve Jobs" play Telluride?  That's a maybe.  It likely depends on how much sway Danny Boyle has and if he wishes to return.  I'd expect that Boyle would prefer to come back to Telluride as he has had so much success with "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2008 and "127 Hours" in 2010.



THE GUARDIAN UPS its GAME AND SPONSORS TOO

British publication The Guardian has a new reporter and anew emphasis on American film with their hiring of Nigel Smith.  The story from The Guardian yesterday also revealed that it would be involved in the Telluride Film Festival in a "premiere partnership" capacity.

In concrete terms, The Guardian will be sponsoring Telluride's Noon Sessions and the Labor Day picnic.  The complete story is here:

http://www.theguardian.com/guardian-us-press-office/2015/jun/30/nigel-m-smith-joins-the-guardian-as-entertainment-writer-increasing-film-coverage-in-the-us




REMINDERS:  The second edition of 2015's Telluride "Ten Bets" from MTFB is coming tomorrow. Also, don't forget, MTFB begins its annual July look at distributors, producers and "usual suspects" for clues as to what may play at TFF #42 ON MONDAY!

That's it for Thursday...come back tomorrow for more...


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Telluride's Annual Party/"Sicario" Trailer/Looks at "Carol", "Youth", "Macbeth", "The Lobster"

It's Friday!

TELLURIDE'S ANNUAL PARTY

Each summer, the Telluride Film Festival hosts a swank party at The London Hotel in Los Angeles and celebrates the festival with friends.  The 2015 version of that happened Wednesday evening.  I've tried to use it to read the tea leaves with limited success the last couple of years.  Fortunately, I can rely on Pete Hammond's/Deadline.com report of the story to provide a little bit of film choice speculation for TFF #42.

Hammond mentions that a number of the "usual suspects" were at the wing ding: Werner Herzog, bigwigs from Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight and Roadside Attractions.

Hammond specifically mentions SPC projects "Son of Saul" and "Truth", The Weinstein Company's "Carol" (see below), Fox Searchlight's :"Youth" (also see below).

The presence of the folks from Roadside Attractions is interesting.  RA has a couple of films that could well be in the mix come Telluride time: "The Sea of Trees" and "A Hologram for the King", for example.  They could also dip into the films that their partners Lionsgate ("Freeheld" and "Sicario"...see below) have available.

Read Hammond's entire report here:


http://deadline.com/2015/06/telluride-film-festival-hits-hollywood-but-which-oscar-bait-movies-will-they-take-back-to-colorado-1201448864/



'SICARIO" TRAILER

Speaking of Denis Villeneuve's "Sicario", which I did above as well as in yesterday's post, we have a trailer!

"Sicario" trailer via YouTube

I've linked a few stories that dropped the trailer as well:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-sicario-trailer-emily-blunt-crosses-the-border-in-violent-first-look-20150618

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/sicario-trailer-emily-blunt-josh-brolin-1201523189/

http://thedissolve.com/news/6007-emily-blunt-gets-caught-in-the-crossfire-in-the-si/



LOOKS AT "CAROL", "YOUTH", "MAC BETH" AND "THE LOBSTER"

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood shared a compilation of footage put together by the European production house (and in on all four of these films) Film4.  The compilation is about 10 minutes from the four films.  You can look at it on Anne's post here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-blanchett-mara-embrace-in-new-carol-footage-plus-scenes-from-macbeth-the-lobster-youth-20150618

Of the four, all could play T-ride.  I'd list them in order of likelihood as 1) "Youth", 2) "Carol", 3) "Macbeth" and 4) "The Lobster"


Speaking of lists, the first Ten Bets for 2015 is a week away.  Look for it in next Friday's post.

And with that...have a great weekend everyone...

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Animation in France/Future Telluride: Villeneuve's Next Project/There is Another

Welcome to Thursday...

ANIMATION IN FRANCE

The annual Annecy Animation Film Festival is on the run in Annecy, France as I write.  The fest runs through June 20th.  As most of you know, Annecy films have often made a splash at Telluride so having a look at what's going on there can sometimes give insight into some of the shorts and occasional feature animated films that make up a portion of the Telluride program.

Both "Paperman" and "Get a Horse" made an appearance at Annecy before showing up at the SHOW.

Variety is keeping track of the goings on in France and you can take a look at their reporting here:

http://link.variety.com/public/4578832


Annecy's official website is here:

http://www.annecy.org/home

FUTURE TELLURIDE: VILLENEUVE'S NEXT PROJECT

Denis Villeneuve, who has made a couple of stops at Telluride over the years ("Incendies" in 2010 and "Prisoners" in 2013) and who could be back again this year ("Sicario") has a number of irons in the proverbial fire.  Villeneuve is famously on board to direct the long gestating sequel to Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" but before that happens, he will finish work on "Story of Your Life".

"Story" is scheduled to be release in 2016 and is set to be distributed through Paramount and FilmNation Entertainment.

The Hollywood Reporter revealed yesterday that character actor Michael Stuhlbarg has been added to the cast of the film that already has Amy Adams and Jeremy Renner in key roles.

Whether we see the film in 2016 at Telluride may depend on how Villeneuve and Lionsgate play the roll out of his upcoming "Sicario" which played at Cannes and is set for U.S. release on Sept. 18. The disposition of the "Sicario" vis-a-vis Toronto (Villeneuve is Canadian) could give us some clues.

Here's the THR story on the Stuhlbarg casting:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/michael-stuhlbarg-star-opposite-amy-803112



THERE IS ANOTHER

I've spent a lot of time and energy over the last year and a half on the chances that Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" might or might not make a play at Telluride.  Despite middling reviews from its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, I still feel like it's a reasonably good shot at playing The SHOW.

It seems, however, that Werner may also have another poker in the fire.  Following on yesterday's "Venice" speculation piece, which casually suggested that Herzog's "Salt and Fire" might be ready for that fest which would also mean that it'd be ready for T-ride.

"Salt and fire" is listed by IMDb as being in post-production.  The film's cast is reported to include Michael Shannon and Telluride favorite Gael Garcia Bernal.

IMDb calls it a thriller and lists the ambiguous "2015" as a release date.

So, maybe Herzog brings one or both films to the San Jauns over Labor Day.

"Salt and Fire's" IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4441150/companycredits?ref_=tt_ql_7



More on Friday...

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Cannes Countdown/Mulligan Talks "Suffragette" and More/New from "Sicario"/Coming Attractions: "Into the Inferno"

CANNES COUNTDOWN

We're less than a week away from the opening of the Cannes Film Festival (May 13) and the screening of a number of titles that could also screen in 4 months in The Chuck, The Palm or The Zog.  Consequently, The Playlist posted its examination of 20 Cannes film that it is most energized about.  Included in its list are such tiles as: "The Sea of Trees", "Carol", "The Cowboys", "Dheepan", The Lobster", "Macbeth", "Sicario", "The Tale of Tales" and "Youth".  Take a look at their entire list and the films' details here:


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-25-most-anticipated-films-of-the-2015-cannes-film-festival-20150506




MULLIGAN TALKS "SUFFRAGETTE" AND MORE

Anne Thompson posted this phone interview this week with British actress and two time Telluride attendee Carey Mulligan.  Mulligan could make a third trip to T-ride on Labor Day weekend with Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" which is among the topics Anne discussed with Mulligan, who is currently in NYC on Broadway in "Skylight".  The interview is here:



http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/carey-mulligan-just-says-no-goes-full-feminist-with-far-from-the-madding-crowd-and-suffragette-20150504


NEW FROM "SICARIO"

A new image from Denis Villeneuve's Cannes competition entry "Sicario" comes via HitFix this week.  Emily Blunt stars in what the director says is his best film.  Does it show at The SHOW?  I suspect that its possible, but might be a more likely a Toronto premiere.  Here's the story:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/exclusive-first-look-emily-blunt-and-josh-brolin-in-cannes-premiere-sicario



COMING ATTRACTIONS: "INTO THE INFERNO"

As we contemplate whether Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" will be a part of TFF #42's lineup, word comes yesterday that the auteur has his sights set on his next project which immediately becomes a Telluride possibility for 2016.  Herzog will shop "Into the Inferno" to producers over the Cannes Film Festival with an eye to beginning production soon.  Details linked below:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-werner-herzogs-volcano-doc-793802

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/werner-herzogs-volcano-doc-into-the-inferno-heads-for-cannes-market-20150506

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/werner-herzogs-volcano-doc-into-the-inferno-heads-for-cannes-market-20150506


More to come on Monday...

Cannes Announces/"Jobs" is Done/"Suffragette" Teaser

CANNES LINEUPS ANNOUNCED

Here's the complete list of films announced this morning for the Cannes Film Festival via Greg Ellwood at HitFix:

Competition
"Dheepan," (Working Title) Jacques Audiard
"A Simple Man," Stéphane Brize
"Marguerite and Julien," by Valérie Donzelli
"The Tale of Tales," Matteo Garrone
"Carol," Todd Haynes
"The Assassin," Hsiao-Hsien Hou
"Mountains May Depart," Jia Zhang-Ke
"Our Little Sister," Hirokazu Kore-Eda
"Macbeth," Justin Kurzel
"The Lobster," Yorgos Lanthimos
"My King," MaiWenn
"Mia Madre," Nanni Moretti
"Son of Soul," László Nemes
"Youth," Paul Sorrentino
"Louder than Bombs," Joachim Trier
"The Sea of Trees," Gus Van Sant
"Sicario," Denis Villeneuve

Midnight Screenings
"O Piseu (Office)," Hong Won-Chan
"Amy," Asif Kapadia

Special Selections
"Amnesia" Barbet Schroeder
"A Tale of Love and Darkness," Natalie Portman
"Panama," Pavle Vuckovic
"Oka," Souleymane Cisse
"Hayored Lema'Ala," Elad Keidan

Out of Competition
"Irrational Man," Woody Allen
"Asphalte," Samuel Benchetrit
"Mad Max: Fury Road," George Miller
"Inside Out," Pete Doctor and Ronaldo De Carmen
"The Little Prince," Mark Osbourne

Un Certain Regard
"Fly Away Solo," Neeraj Ghaywan
"Rams," Grímur Hakonarson
"Journey to the Shore," Kurosawa Kiyoshi
"I Am A Soldier," Laurent Lariviere
"The High Sun," Dalibor Matanic
"The Other Side," Roberto Minervini
"One Floor Below," Radu Muntean
"The Shamless," Oh Seung-Uk
"The Chosen Ones," David Pablos
"Nahid," Ida Panahandeh
"The Treasure," Corneliu Porumboiu
"The Fourth Direction," Gurvinder Singh
"Madonna," Shin Suwon

Jumping out to me as a Telluride junky are:

From the Palme d'Or competition titles:  "Dheepan", "The Tale of Tales", "Carol", "Macbeth", "The Sea of Trees" and "Sicario".

Also catching my eye is Barbet Schroeder's "Amnesia".

Ellwood says that other titles will likely be added next week including up to an additional two competition titles so stay tuned for that.

Cannes Analysis:

HitFix:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/inside-out-carol-and-macbeth-highlight-the-2015-cannes-film-festival-selections

 Indiewire:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/5-observations-about-the-2015-cannes-film-festival-lineup-20150416


The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/macbeth-todd-haynes-carol-pixars-inside-out-lead-2015-cannes-film-festival-line-up-20150416


'JOBS" IS DONE

On a different note, The Film Stage tweeted news this week that principal phtography has been completed on Danny Boyle's Steve Jobs biopic that stars Michael Fassbender as the APple founder.  The film is set for an October release so the news that it's "wrapped" means that it could have an appearance at Telluride.  Boyle was at T-ride previously with "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours".  Check the tweet from The Film Stage:

https://twitter.com/TheFilmStage/status/587720599226736640/photo/1



"SUFFRAGETTE" TEASER

This week also saw the appearance of a  teaser for Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette".  The film looks to me like a moderately likely Telluride choice.  Check the teaser below via YouYube:

More on Monday...Have a great weekend everyone...

Cannes Gets Closer/McQueen-Flynn Collaboration

Good Monday World...

CANNES GETTING CLOSER

With the next big Telluride harbinger being the announcement of the Cannes Film Fest lineup now down to a mere two and a half weeks away, the speculation, and in some cases-informed"speculation,  about what titles will be named for the lineup is growing more intense.

This past week, two giant posts went up exploring the Cannes possibilities from Variety and Screen Daily.  Variety's seems to be a bit more discriminating about their considerations while the Screen Daily Post seems more like a grab bag of every possibility.

There are films that appear, as you might expect, in both places that I have thought seemed like they could also make the trip to Southwest Colorado for Labor Day weekend. Among them are:

Jacques Audiard's "Erran" (Dheepan?)
Matteo Garrone's "The Tale of Tales"
Jeff Nichols' "Midnight Special"
Todd Haynes' "Carol"
Denis Villaneuve's "Sicario"
Sean Penn's "The Last Face"
Stephen Frears' "Icon"
Gus Van Sant's "The Sea of Trees"
Barbet Schroeder's "Amnesia"


A couple of other notes:  Screen Daily's post suggests Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" and Abdellatif Kechiche's "Le Blessure" are possibilities while Variety does not.

Variety says Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" will not be ready and Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeff Wells suggests that it may headed for Telluride/Toronto;

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/03/varietys-cannes-forecast/


We know that "Mad Max: Fury Road" and Woody Allen's "Irrational Man" as well as Pixar's "Inside Out" have been announced or are very likely to play as some part of the fest.  There's also a lot of buzz that Brad Bird's "Tomorrowland" will appear.

And finally, there's Cary Fukunaga's "Beasts of No Nation" which I might highlight as a Telluride possibility because of Fukunaga's "True Detective" success last year.  Both Variety and Screen Daily think it could appear in some section of the Cannes lineup but with Netflix distributing...and major theater chains boycotting the film because of the expectation that the film will be released for screens and VOD simultaneously...who knows what that means for any chance that it would have some play at fall film fests.  Stay tuned...

Here are the links to the complete Cannes posts from Variety and Screen Daily:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/cannes-film-festival-whats-in-and-whats-out-1201460030/

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/and-the-cannes-line-up-is/5085749.article





MC QUEEN-FLYNN COLLABORATION

You know that if a film maker has made a total of three films and all three have played the Telluride Film Fest, that you'd better think that film #4 is a strong candidate to make an appearance.  Such is the case with British film maker Steve McQueen.

McQueen's "Hunger", "shame" and "12 Years a Slave" all played Telluride so I pay attention to announcements concerning his projects.  We know that he has been involved with an HBO project entitled "Codes of Conduct" and there had been some talk that his next feature film would be a biopic on Paul Robeson but news this week suggests otherwise.  Multiple sources reported that McQueen will next direct a heist themed picture penned by Gillian Flynn-you know-"Gone Girl".

The film will be based on a British television miniseries called "Widows".

That's an interesting combination of talents as well as an interesting switch in film styles for McQueen.  Reporting seems to indicate that the Robeson project has been moved back in favor of this...and it will be intriguing to see if the completed film becomes McQueen's fourth Telluride entrant.

For that matter, depending on HBO's plans for when "Codes of Conduct" will be rolled out, I suppose that IT could be McQueen's fourth Telluride appearance.

Linked here are reports on the collaboration from The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Thompson on Hollywood:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/gillian-flynn-joins-steve-mcqueen-784886

http://deadline.com/2015/03/gillian-flynn-steve-mcqueen-heist-thriller-widows-new-regency-film-4-1201399898/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/gillian-flynn-and-steve-mcqueen-team-for-heist-thriller-20150327


More on Thursday...

"Incendies". "Prisoners" and.../Larrain: From Berlin to Telluride?/Is a Ride in Panahi's "Taxi" in Your Futrure?

Good Thursday to All.

Today's installment looks at three directors who could have their next project land at Telluride beginning with Denis Villeneuve...




"INCENDIES", "PRISONERS" AND...

Villeneuve's "Sicario" is set for U.S. release on Sept. 18th which Ioncinema has speculated puts it in a window that is friendly to a Venice, Telluride, Toronto run.  "Sicario's" IMDb page is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/berlin-review-jafar-panahis-enjoyable-act-of-dissidence-taxi-20150207


Perhaps the bigger news this week, however, was the announcement that Villeneuve would be helming the anticipated "Blade Runner" sequel.  Check that news below.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/prisoners-enemy-director-denis-villeneuve-to-helm-blade-runner-sequel-harrison-ford-confirmed-to-return-20150226


LARRAIN FROM BERLIN TO TELLURIDE?


Pablo Larrain's "No" was a part of the program for Telluride's 40th anniversary five day blowout in 2013 and I won't be surprised if he's back this year with his latest film, "The Club".  The Playlist explores Larrain's thoughts about the project.

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/interview-pablo-larrain-on-catholicism-the-club-and-keeping-his-actors-in-the-dark-20150220


IS A RIDE IN PANAHI'S "TAXI" IN YOUR FUTURE?


Jafar Panahi's "Taxi" won Berlin's Golden Bear last month and there is s peculation that we could see it in the San Juans over Labor Day.  The Playlist took a look at the film recently and filed this:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/berlin-review-jafar-panahis-enjoyable-act-of-dissidence-taxi-20150207



That's it for now.  More on Monday...