Meyer Makes a Move/Conatgion Breaks Out/Pix from TTSS

Good Morning from "Area 51"...

MEYER MAKES A MOVE

Gary Meyer, co-director of the Telluride Film Festival, is making a big change in his life.  The San Francisco Gate/Chronicle reports this morning that Meyer is leaving his post as operator of the specialty and independent Balboa Theater in San Fran.

According to the story the anticipated cost for a potential switch over to digital projection has played a part in Meyer's decision.

You can read the entire story here:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/20/BAAK1KD5RI.DTL


NEW CONTAGION BREAKOUT

Stephen Soderbergh's "Contagion" is set to be released on Sept. 9 and could conceivably have a presence at this year's festival.  I had a copy of the teaser poster up not long ago.  Now comes a new poster making its way across the internet today.

We have it from Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon and have included it here as well as the link to the accompanying story.  Here's the link:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/infected-cities-named-official-poster-contagion

Poster looks cool.

TINKER TAILOR HAS SOME STILLS

The buzz on Tomas Alfredson's "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" (adapted from the John LeCarre novel and featuring a very, very buzzed about performance from Gary Oldman as Geroge Smiley) has me hoping that the rumor that it could be included at Telluride is accurate. 

The Playlist has a post with a number of stills from the set.  One of those, featuring Colin Firth, John Hurt, and Toby Jones is above.  Very intriguing.

Here is the link to The Playlist story and a bunch more pix:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/new_look_more_images_from_tomas_alfredsson_tinker_tailor_soldier_spy/

Heading home tomorrow...woo...hoo!

Contagious Contagion/Penn Preview/Another Trance Shift

Hello film fans. 

Today I have a look at a couple of films that have borderline prospects to play as a part of this year's Telluride Film Festival...

CONTAGIOUS CONTAGION

Stephen Soderbergh's "Contagion" has been all over the internet the last 24 hours.  Stills and a trailer have emerged and its release date has been moved up to Sept.9...which makes it an awfully tight but not impossible fit for Telluride. 

Soderbergh's film boasts an all star cast to tell the story of a pandemic breakout and how the world deals with it.  Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Laurence Fishburne lead the ensemble.

Here is the trailer from Awards Daily:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2011/07/trailer-breaks-out-for-steven-soderberghs-contagion/

Should "Contagion" somehow make it onto the SHOW's play list, it would definitely be on my must see list and would certainly add a number of intriguing possibles to my list of people that could be there in support of the film.

PENN PREVIEW

If Paolo Sorrentino's "This Must Be the Place" had received a warmer critical reception at Cannes, it is a film that would probably have made my "Ten Bets" list for Telluride.  As it is, it's still on my list of possible films.  It stars Sean Penn as a quasi-washed up rock star who decides to try to track down a past Nazi who was involved in the interment of his father during the World War II
. 

As these posters attest, it certainly has a novelty factor going for it.  And after yesterday, it also has a trailer going for it.  Here's the link to that trailer:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_trailer_for_sean_penns_weird_goth_holocaust_dramedy_the_must_be_the/#.Th3f6ex2HoY.email


ANOTHER TRANCE SHIFT

Vincent Cassel...In?

I've been chronicling the ebb and flow of Danny Boyle's next scheduled film, "Trance,"  over the past few weeks because Boyle has been such a dynamic presence at the film festival for his last two films (Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours).  Additionally, Boyle's casting news has included people who have also had or been in films that have had significant Telluride presence the past few years as well. 

Originally Michael Fassbender (Hunger, 2008) was in.  Then he dropped out and the story was that he would likely be replaced by Colin Firth (When Did You Last See Your Father, 2008 and The King's Speech, 2010).  Now comes word that Firth may be on the outs only to be replaced by another actor who was in a film that made a T-ride splash last year.  The Playlist at Indiewire reports that Vincent Cassel (Black Swan, 2010) may be the object of Boyle's pursuit for what is expected to be a 2013 release.

That story is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/will_vincent_cassel_fall_under_danny_boyles_trance/#.Th3gNe4edvE.email

"Trance" will likely be on the Telluride #40 watch list assuming that it is finished in time for the Labor Day festival.