Ten Bets for TFF #51 / Coppola and Megalopolis Get a Distributor / Blitz Is Seen / No Nightbitch at TFF

TEN BETS FOR TFF #51 

I've been doing the "Ten Bets" format as a way of predicting Telluride lineups for since 2011.  

Here's last year's first Ten Bets with the films that actually played TFF #50 in Bold.

1) The Holdovers/Payne

2) May December/Haynes

3) Nyad/Chin and Vasarhelyi

4) Monster/Kore-eda

5) (All of Us)Strangers/Haigh

6) El Conde/Larrain

7) Poor Things/Lanthimos

8) Anatomy of a Fall/Triet

9) The American Buffalo/Burns

10) The End/Oppenheimer

So 6 of 10.

In previous years the correct ratios were:

2011: 8/10
2012: 5/10
2013: 6/10
2014: 7/10
2015: 4/10
2016: 3/10
2017: 7/10
2018: 5/10

2019: 4/10

2020: No fest

2021: 8/10

2022: 6/10

2023: 6/10

That puts the average of correct picks on this first whirl at 5.8.

That being said, I feel less confidence about this year's first Ten Bets than maybe any other year.  Sooo... with great trepidation...here are 2024's first Ten Bets for TFF:

1) Anora/Sean Baker

2) The Seed of the Scared Fig/Mohammad Rasoulof

3) Emilia Perez/Jacques Audiard

4) The Room Next Door/Pedro Almodovar

5) Bird/Andrea Arnold

6) Maria/Pablo Larrain

7) Oh, Canada/Paul Schrader

8) The End/Joshua Oppenheimer

9) Queer/Luca Guadagnino

10) Conclave/Edward Berger

Other possibilities:

We Live in Time/Crowley

I'm Still Here/Salles

Parthenope/Sorrentino

In the Hand of Dante/Schnabel

Hard Truths/Leigh

The Piano Lesson/Washington

Untitled Noah Baumbach

Nickel Boys/Ross

Blitz/McQueen

Megalopolis/Coppola

Now we'll see how this all plays out.

COPPOLA AND MEGALOPOLIS GET A DISTRIBUTOR

Lionsgate has acquired Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis for U.S. distribution.  The film has been set for a Sept. 27th release date putting it in position to potentially play TFF and/or Toronto.  Lionsgate has had an occasional presence at Telluride over the years with their last appearance in 2022 with Living.  

So it appears that the possibility of a Telluride play is still open.

Here's that story from The Playlist.

BLITZ IS SEEN

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel reports that Steve McQueen's Blitz has been screened in front of real humans in New York and London.  So, at least some of the mystery about its existence has been removed. 

Now, none of this means that Blitz will play any festival but it also doesn't preclude that possibility that it could play T-ride.

I still think that Blitz World Premiering at the BFI/London Fest is the most likely scenario for the film.

Here's that story from WOR.

NO NIGHTBITCH AT TFF

The Toronto International Film Festival  announced their first set of selections for their 2024 edition this week and included on that list was Marielle Heller's Nightbitch.  MTFB readers saw that in my look at Searchlight films that it seemed like their most likely TFF possibility.  As Toronto has announced that the film will be a World Premiere that implies that TFF #50 is off the table.

This is the link to that story from Variety.

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Steve McQueen's Blitz-Off the Table? / Screen Daily and the Venice Lineup / Bikeriders Riding Into Theaters Next Week

STEVE MC QUEEN'S BLITZ-OFF THE TABLE?

I wrote in the MTFB May 30th post:

"I'd reallllly...love for Blitz to get to TFF and McQueen has a solid past with the fest, but...given the story is about the blitz of London by the Nazis in WWII, I can see McQueen wanting to hold the World Premiere as a part of the London Film Fest in October."

Now, we're hearing that Blitz may not be in play for TFF or Venice adding some credence to the possibility of my theory.

Jordan Ruimy writing for his website Word of Reel has been following this Blitz situation this past week posting on June 10th an article headlined: Where Is Steve McQueen's Blitz?

Then yesterday Ruimy had more to say in an article titled: Blitz Not Submitted to Venice or Telluride.  In that piece Ruimy writes:

"...until I hear anything different, it looks like “Blitz” might not premiere on the Lido. Same with Telluride, which is said to still be in hot pursuit of the film."

A couple of takeaways here.  First, if Ruimy is correct then Blitz is seemingly off the TFF table.  BUT...that last sentence suggests that T-ride is still on the hunt to land the film.

Here's where I am.  Unless we find out more between now and next Thursday when my first "Ten Bets" for Telluride will be posted, Blitz will not be on that list.  But, I'm keeping the door open the slimmest of cracks on the basis that Ruimy's correct and the fest is still trying to get it.

SCREEN DAILY'S VENICE SPECULATION

Screen Daily posted their speculative piece about the films that could be at The Venice Film Festival on Monday.

I've been through the article trying to pick out films that might make their initial bow in Italy and then do the quick turnaround to come to Colorado.  From their list, here are the films that I think have the best shot at that (in the order they appear on the article):

Luca Guadagnino's Queer

Pablo Larrain's Maria

Edward Berger's Conclave

Julian Schnabel's In the Hand of Dante

Walter Salles' I'm Still Here

Mike Leigh's Hard Truths

Joshua Oppenheimer's The End

Malcolm Washington's The Piano Lesson

As a side note, Screen Daily included Steve McQueen's Blitz as a Venice possibility but see the above story.

BIKERIDERS RIDING INTO THEATERS NEXT WEEK

I've made no secret of the fact that I really enjoyed Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders last year at TFF #50 but, admittedly, that feeling wasn't universal.  In my polls post-fest, my group of industry pros ended with it ranked 9th of the 12 films that had enough eyeballs on it. The People's Telluride poll had it at 10th of 16 and the Composite poll landed it at #8 out the 10 films that met the criteria for making that field.  

It seems, however that critics have embraced it a bit better.  Metacritic has it it with a respectable 73 and its Rotten Tomatoes score is a better than respectable 84.

At any rate, the film opens next week in theaters and consequently we're seeing a lot of P.R. about it ahead of that.  Here's a taste:

Director Jeff Nichols with The Hollywood Reporter.

Austin Butler via TheBikeriders X account.

Austin Butler and Jodie Comer from IGN.

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Anatomy of a Fall Poster and Trailer / Lenny Kravitz Sings for Rustin / Overlooked Possibility / Calling All People

ANATOMY OF A FALL POSTER AND TRAILER

Ahead of its expected appearance at Telluride next week, distributor Neon has released a poster (above) and a trailer. 

The film won this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes and stars Sandra Huller (Toni Erdmann).  IMDb describes it as follows:

"A woman is suspected of her husband's murder, and their blind son faces a moral dilemma as the sole witness."

Here's the official trailer from YouTube:

LENNY KRAVITZ SINGS FOR RUSTIN

Variety reports that singer/songwriter Lenny Kravitz has recorded an original song for the biopic Rustin.  I expect the film to be playing in Telluride over Labor Day weekend.  

Rustin stars Colman Domingo as Bayard Rustin, the true life civil and human rights activist that helped to create the 1963 March on Washington.  Domingo is already getting some Oscar buzz as Clayton Davis at Variety is currently predicting that he will be one of the five nominees.

Rustin is directed by George C. Wolfe and was written by Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black and Julian Breece.

Rustin is due in theaters on Nov. 17th.

OVERLOOKED POSSIBILTY

Still from Occupied City

I neglected to mention a week and a half ago that Steve McQueen's huge documentary (listed at IMDb at 246 min.) about the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II was announced for the New York fest without any premiere designation.  As it has not screened anywhere else since its debut at Cannes last May, we can probably expect to see it at Telluride.

The NYFF announcement says that the film will be screened there with an intermission.

McQueen has a solid history with TFF having screened Hunger, Shame and 12 Years a Slave at the fest.

CALLING ALL PEOPLE

For the 11th non-consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com 

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will be Sept. 15th.

I'll compile all of your responses and post those a few days after the festival.

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Kaurismaki's Fallen Leaves Has a Trailer / Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey Tops WOR Poll / McQueen's Occupied City Is Four Hours Long

KAURISMAKI'S FALLEN LEAVES HAS A TRAILER

Aki Kaurismaki's Fallen Leaves has been on the MTFB TFF #50 watch list for some time.  For moths it was rumored to be a choice for Cannes and that proved to be true as it was announced as a part of the Palme d'Or competition lineup back on April 13th.  

The film is set to be screened in Cannes on May 22nd.

Sales agent The Match Factory has released a trailer for the film ahead of its screening at Cannes.  Here it is from YouTube:

Here's the Variety story about the film and its trailer release.

KUBRICK'S 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY TOPS WOR POLL

I wrote on Monday that I had participated in World of Reel's latest "decade" poll.  This one called on a group of critics, bloggers and such to name the best films of the 1960s. Well, the results are in and Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey topped the poll with 53 votes.  Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was #2 which was just outside the ten films I submitted.

Here's the top ten from World of Reel:

1) 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick) 53 votes

2) Psycho (Hitchcock) 50

3) Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick) 35

4) Lawrence of Arabia (Lean) 34

5) The Graduate (Nichols) 27

6) Bonnie and Clyde (Penn) 27

7) Persona (Bergman) 27

8) Rosemary’s Baby (Polanski) 22 

9) 8 1/2 (Fellini) 21

10) The Apartment (Wilder) 20

And a reminder of my top ten:

2001: A Space Odyssey

The Apartment 

Cool Hand Luke

Dr. Strangelove

The Graduate

The Hustler 

Lawrence of Arabia

Midnight Cowboy 

To Kill a Mockingbird

They Shoot Horses Don't They

WOR's story lists the top forty vote getters and you can see that entire list here.

MC QUEEN'S OCCUPIED CITY IS  FOUR HOURS LONG

The program for Cannes screenings reveals that Steve McQueen's documentary about Amsterdam and the effect World War II had on that city-Occupied City- is listed as being 4 hours and 6 minutes long.  That seems daunting but I can still see it as a TFF #50 selection. 

Here's the IMDb description of the film:

"The past collides with the present in this excavation of the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam: a journey from World War II to recent years of pandemic and protest and a provocative, life-affirming reflection on memory, time and what's to come."

McQueen has some Telluride history-Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave.  The film is being distributed by A24 which certainly has had a presence at Telluride in recent years. 

Additionally, McQueen's other project-Blitz- which is a feature film focused on the Blitz of London during WW II,  may not be ready in time for TFF.  Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel indicated as much in his Venice post on May 5th. Absent its availability for TFF/Venice/TIFF Occupied City may be a hot commodity for the fall fests.

You can see the Cannes program here.

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If It Had Happened-The Tributes? / Sniffing Out Another Possible / What Might Have Been-Chicago 7 Looks

IF IT HAD HAPPENED-THE TRIBUTES?

Because my mind works the way it does (or doesn't?), after TFF announced that TFF #47 was not to be but that they had a list of 20 or so films that would have been programmed and that all of the tribute recipients were planning to attend, I got to wondering who those folks might be.

Then with Indiewire's story about some of the titles they thought might make the lineup when it is ultimately revealed, I put together a third new list of films that are my "Bets" to make the TFF list.  And from that I began to speculate and extrapolate tribute possibilities.

If you remember last Monday's 3rd Ten Bets:

10) Fireball
9) John Prine: Hello In There
8) There Is No Evil
7) Soul
6) The French Dispatch
5) Lover's Rock (Small Axe)
4) Mangrove (Small Axe)
3) Notturno
2) Nomadland
1) Ammonite

Other possibilities: Undine, Forgotten We'll Be, Untitled Garbus/Cortes Voting Rights Documentary,  The Secrets We Keep, American Utopia (probably not now as it has been named Toronto's opening night film) and French Exit.

Soooo...let's look at some of more intriguing possibilities:

From #1 Ammonite:  You could see either Kate Winslet or Saoirse Ronan getting named.  Rumors have it that Ronan might well have been a possible tributee in 2017 with Lady Bird.  Winslet was in T-ride with the cast of Steve Jobs in 2015.

From #2 Nomadland:  Two time Oscar winner Frances McDormand (Fargo/Three Billboards, three other nominations) is a no brainer possibility.

From #4 #5 Small Axe films Mangrove and Lover's Rock: Director Steve McQueen.  McQueen's feature list isn't lengthy but is impressive including 12 Years a Slave (for which he won an Oscar as a producer of the Best Picture winner), Widows, Hunger, Shame.  He's a definite consideration.

From #6 The French Dispatch:  Writer/Director Wes Anderson is the most obvious choice.  A lengthy  and well-loved resume' (including The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel) and seven time Oscar nominee makes that apparent.  But the cast is so large and diverse...you'd have a cornucopia of actor type possibilities: Saoirse Ronan (again), Frances McDormand (again), Elizabeth Moss, Edward Norton, Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe, Benicio Del Toro, Henry Winkler and, of course, Bill Murray (could he double up with the addition of Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks being programmed as well?)

From #7:  I think Pixar's Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out, Monster's Inc.) might be a possibility.  MTFB friend Christopher Schiller has suggested perhaps Pixar as an entity gets a tribute.  That sounds like a real possibility as well.

From the rest of the "Bets" and the other possibilities:

Undine director/writer Christian Petzold
Documentary producer/director Liz Garbus
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer from French Exit




SNIFFING OUT ANOTHER POSSIBLE

Poster for Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw's The Truffle Hunters (from IMDb)

As we await word from TFF organizers what the official TFF #47 lineup is/was I may have sniffed out another possibility.  Without going into details, because I can't, I respectfully offer the documentary The Truffle Hunters. 

Had some things happen the last day or so that makes me think if could be on the TFF #47 list when it gets announced.  Yes, I know, it bowed at Sundance back in late January which is usually means a clear "no" for TFF as it wouldn't be a North American premiere.  But...that's a less stringent truth when it comes to docs as, over the years, TFF has programmed docs that had previously screened in the U.S. before screening at Telluride. 

Working for the film's possible inclusion is that its distributor is Sony Pictures Classics which often has a substantial TFF profile.

The Truffle Hunters focuses on three elderly Italian men who, wait for it-hunt truffles.

The Truffle Hunters IMDb page is linked here.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for World Cinema-Documentary.


WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN-CHICAGO 7 LOOKS

(from Vanity Fair)

Vanity Fair had a knockout exclusive first look at stills from Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7. 

Included in the accompanying article by David Ansen is the revelation that the film will drop on Netflix on Oct. 16th.  I've had this film circled as a TFF possibility since learning that it was going forward (first mention in MTFB that I can find is Dec. 2018).  The Oct. 16th date feels like what, in the olden times-like last year- would have been a plan to drop the film after completing a run tha could have included TFF, TIFF, Venice and/or NYFF.

Nevertheless, despite Netflix's determination that they wouldn't be festing at all this season, this is one of three films that I'm really, really looking forward to (in addition are Mank and The French Dispatch).

Glad I have that Netflix subscription.

The complete story and many other photos are here at Vanity Fair.

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First Ten Bets of 2020 / Some Surprising Tidbits / The Distribs: Amazon

FIRST TEN BETS OF 2020

The last post of June has, over the past few years, become the post in which I lay down my first "Ten Bets" guesses for the Telluride Film Festival.  Most years, when I go back and look at the success rate of first "Tens" I'm feeling pretty good if I land 5 out of 10 that actually play over Labor Day weekend.  Here's the track record since I began the "Ten Bets" model of TFF predicting:

2011: 8/10
2012: 5/10
2013: 6/10
2014: 7/10
2015: 4/10
2016: 3/10
2017: 7/10
2018: 5/10
2019: 4/10

Average: 5.4 per year.

So, I'm rolling up my sleeves and am going to make an attempt at a first Ten Bets for this year...but I'm already pleading a pre-emptive "mea culpa" for getting so much wrong.

10) Ammonite
9) Undine
8) The Secrets We Keep
7) Forgotten We'll Be
6) Untitled Garbus/Cortes Voting Rights Doc
5) Fireball
4) Nomadland
3) John Prine: Hello in There
2) Small Axe (Mangrove and/or Lover's Rock)
1) There Is No Evil


SOME SURPRISING TIDBITS

I ran across a couple of eye-opening news items since my last post.  First, the revelation from member of the TFF Board of Governors Ken Burns in an interview/Awards Chatter podcast with The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg that he will not be attending TFF #47.  From the article accompanying the podcast:

"However, Burns, whose Beatles-like haircut makes him instantly recognizable wherever he goes, laments that because of the pandemic, he cannot to some places he would like to, such as the Telluride Film Festival, which takes place in Colorado's Rocky Mountains each Labor Day weekend. "I've gone for 30 straight years, 31 overall," he says. "I premiered Huey Long [his 1985 doc] there, and then The Civil War, and I've never not gone [since]. It's incredibly painful not to go there, but I don't want to turn Telluride into Manhattan when it was a hot spot."

That's a lightning bolt.

The Feinberg article as well as the link to the complete interview are here.

Additionally both Indiewire's Anne Thompson and Deadline's Pete Hammond had some thoughts on Saturday about Telluride and the other fall fests in an interview with Gold Derby.

Thompson talks about TFF perhaps being a down-sized event:

"Anne Thompson of Indiewire and Pete Hammond of Deadline — they are both doubtful that an event in the less-populated state of Colorado will welcome outsiders with open arms this year. Thompson has booked a room for the time being, but also adds it is refundable. “I am prepared to go if it is happening.” But, realistically, she can’t see the festival allowing film journalists to attend who live in such large metropolitan areas as New York City and Los Angeles, where the COVID-19 numbers are high. She believes it just might be a local event, given all the restrictions it would have to overcome."

Hammond is even more provocative in a couple of statements.  He suggests that Telluride should announce titles beforehand rather than following their normal practice of announcing the day before the fest starts:

“Telluride is a big question mark for me. I haven’t decided if I am going , and definitely won’t if they don’t announce what movies they have a la TIFF. They normally don’t until the day before the fest, but this year is different and I don’t know if it is worth it."

We had heard (via Thompson in an earlier story at Indiewire) that Telluride would be announcing further plans in mid-July.  Hammond suggests that deadline might carry more weight than a listing of precautions that the festival would take:

"Heard as of two weeks ago for them the movies still aren’t there and they are waiting until mid-July to make a final call on go or no go.”

The complete article from Gold Derby is here.



THE DISTRIBS: AMAZON STUDIOS

Amazon Studios has been a constant player at Telluride since appearing for the first time in 2016.  Last year, however, their TFF entries did not become awards season players.  Here's the rundown of Amazon Studios films that have played TFF in their relatively short history:


2019: The Aeronauts, The Report
2018: Peterloo, Cold War
2017: Wonderstruck
2016: Manchester by the Sea

This year's most likely Amazon players look to be:

Steve McQueen's two Cannes "selected" films that are a part of his Small Axe project.  Both Mangrove and Lover's Rock carry the "Selection of Cannes" label as two of the 56 films named a few weeks back.  McQueen has a significant history with Telluride having screened Hunger, Shame and 12 Years a Slave there.

Will Sharpe's feature directing debut is the biopic of 19th century artist Louis Wain starring Benedict Cumberbatch.  The film also stars Andrea Riseborough and Claire Foy.

The untitled Liz Garbus/Lisa Cortes Voting Rights documentary featuring former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams-particularly timely in this election year.

And finally, Julia Hart's woman on the run film starring The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel's Rachel Brosnahan.

Chances:

Mangrove and/or Lover's Rock 50%
Garbus/Cortes Doc 40%
Louis Wain 25%
I'm Your Woman 20%

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Cannes Titles Revealed / Fremaux Interview Sheds Light / Analysis of the Cannes Selections

CANNES TITLES REVEALED

The 73rd Cannes Film Fest list ofn 50ish films that would have been chosen was announced yesterday.  FIlms gthat seemed to me to have some overt Telluride possibilities included:

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch
Francois Ozon's Summer '85
Francis Lee's Ammonite
Steve McQueen's duo of Mangrove and Lover's Rock from what was supposed to have been a T.V. series but is now billed as six small films-Small Axe was the title of the anthology.
Thomas Vinterberg's Another Round


Here's the complete list of films announced:

“The French Dispatch,” Wes Anderson
“Summer of 85,” François Ozon
“True Mothers,” Naomi Kawase
“Lover’s Rock,” Steve McQueen
“Mangrove,” Steve McQueen
“Druk (Another Round),” Thomas Vinterberg
“Peninsula,” Sang-ho Yeon
“ADN,” Maïwenn
“Soul,” Pete Docter
“Ammonite,” Francis Lee
“Falling,” Viggo Mortensen
“Broken Keys,” Jimmy Keyrouz
“Truffle Hunters,” Gregory Kershaw and Michael Dweck
“Aya and the Witch,” Goro Miyazaki
“Limbo,” Ben Sharrock
“Heaven,” Im Sang-soo
“Last Words,” Jonathan Nossiter
“Des Hommes,” Lucas Belvaux
“Passion Simple,” Danielle Arbid
“Good Man,” Marie-Castille Mention Schaar
“The Things We Say, the Things We Do,” Emmanuel Mouret
“John and the Hole,” Pascual Sisto
“Limbo,” Ben Sharrock
“Here We Are,” Nir Bergman
“Rouge,” Farid Bentoumi
“Sweat,” Magnus von Horn
“Teddy,” Ludovic and Zoran Boukherma
“Un médecin de nuit,” Elie Wajeman
“Enfant Terrible,” Oskar Roehler
“Nadia, Butterfly,” Pascal Plante
“Pleasure,” Ninja Thyberg
“Slalom,” Charlène Favier
“Casa de Antiguidades,” João Paulo Miranda Maria
“Ibrahim,” Samuel Gueismi
“Gagarine,” Fanny Liatard, Jérémy Trouilh
“16 Printemps,” Suzanne Lindon
“Vaurien,” Peter Dourountzis
“Garçon chiffon,” Nicolas Maury
“Si Le Vent Tombe,” Nora Martirosyan
“On the Way to the Billion,” Dieudo Hamadi
“9 Days at Raqqa,” Xavier de Lauzanne
“Cévennes,” Caroline Vignal
“French Tench,” Bruno Podalydès
“Un Triomphe,” Emmanuel Courcol
“Le Discours,” Laurent Tirard
“L’Origine du Monde,” Laurent Lafitte
“Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen
“Eight and a Half,” Ann Hui, Sammo Kam-Bo Hung, Ringo Lam, Patrick Tam, Johnnie To, Hark Tsui, John Woo, Woo-Ping Yuen

I have linked coverage of the announcement from:

Indiewire

Variety

Deadline



FREMAUX INTERVIEW SHEDS LIGHT

Cannes Artistic Director Thierry Fremuax (via Indiewire)

Tuesday, the day before the Cannes lineup announcement, Variety's Elsa Keslassy reported that Cannes artistic Director Thierry Fremaux had written a letter highlighting some of the facts of the selections and the process for this most unusual year.

Among the items of interest in the article that Keslassy penned from that letter is this paragraph:

"Fremaux also said Cannes’ official selection has been invited, as per tradition, to festivals that succeed it, such as Locarno, Telluride, Toronto, Deauville, San Sebastian, Pusan, Angoulême (for French cinema), Morelia, New York, Lyon, Rome, Rio, Tokyo, Mumbai or Mar del Plata and even Sundance."

As best as I can tell, it's the first acknowledgement from one of the players that Telluride will be in the mix for some of these Cannes #73 films,  Up until this point I have been assuming that the traditionally strong connection between Cannes and Telluride would continue to exist but the news stories that I have seen have never explicitly mentioned T-ride.  They had explicitly mentioned a whole slew of other fests but I hadn't seen Telluride by name until Tuesday.

Keslassy followed the Tuesday article with another yesterday after the Cannes lineup was announced and it also included a nod to Telluride programming Cannes' titles:

"The other fests that are expected to play Cannes-labeled films include Telluride, Deauville, Busan, Morelia, New York, Sundance and Fremaux’s own Lumiere festival in Lyon."

Now our next best move is to start paying attention to how Venice, Toronto and New York structure themselves and announce the films that will play at each of those stops.  We may still be able to figure out some of what will be a part of TFF #47.

Here's the link to the Fremaux letter article.

Today's follow-up is linked above.


ANALYSIS OF THE CANNES SELECTIONS

Indiwire's Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson in separate posts yesterday took some time to parse the list of 50+ films that Cannes has now said would have played as a part of Cannes #73.

Kohn's article looks at a number of topics including films that were not named.  That list included some films that are presumed to be eyeing Cannes for 2021 like Paul Verhoeven's Bendetta.  Among the other films not named, which I have thought might be part of a normal year's Telluride conversation, were Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks and Mia Hansen-Love's Bergman Island.

Kohn's article is linked here.

Thompson's story focuses on the Oscar chances of the films that were named.  Her conclusion-Oscar fare is not in abundance in this lineup. 

Her assessment is that the best Oscar candidates here are Anderson's The French Dispatch, Lee's Ammonite and Docter's Soul.

Incidentally, Thompson also makes the claim in print that we can expect to see some Cannes titles at TFF #47:

"The Cannes 2020 selection will eventually get that extra push from critics, media and audiences at Venice, Telluride, Toronto and New York, in whatever hybrid form they take"

The Thompson article is linked here.

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Ten Bets #4 for TFF #45 / Venice Speculation and Telluride / A Star Is Born Could Be Off the Table / And Where Is the Poster???

It's the last Friday before announcements from Toronto and Venice...tick...tick...tick...

TEN BETS FOR TFF #45

Here's the fourth installment of MTFB's Ten Best for TFF #45.  It's the last one that happens this year before announcements from major film fests that will give us some solid evidence about what we can expect to see over Labor Day weekend.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Beautiful Boy
5) Cold War
6) The Old Man and the Gun
7) Widows
8) Boy Erased
9) Roma
10) The Front Runner


The latest Ten Bets:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Roma
5) Widows
6) Cold War
7) Beautiful Boy
8) The Old Man and the Gun
9) Boy Erased
10) First Man

Other films in the hunt:

Sunset, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, The Front Runner, A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows, Nothing Like a Dame, The Favourite, Peterloo, Burning

This week's Ten Bets has been influenced by news of the positioning of Steve McQueen's Widows for the London Fest, First Man for Venice and Roma for New York. 


VENICE SPECULATION AND TELLURIDE

The Venice Film Fest will announce the bulk of its lineup on Wednesday next week.  With the Venice announcement requires us to pay attention next week and also later.  What I mean is that the premiere status about a film in the Venice announcement has limited value.  Of greater interest is the placement of a film in the Venice schedule which we won't find out for a few weeks yet.  Films scheduled the first or last three days can often make a Telluride appearance either before or after a Telluride play.  Still, we may be able to eliminate some films and keep others in consideration for TFF based on what we see from Italy.

Variety posted a big Venice prediction piece yesterday.  The article claims that Venice will program the following films of Telluride interest:

The aforementioned First Man (opener), The Sisters Brothers, Beautiful Boy, Roma, The Favourite and Peterloo.  A couple of other notes: Paul Greengrass' Norway is set for Venice per the Variety post which means we should probably take it seriously as a TFF possibility.  Variety also reports that A Star Is Born is likely but not a lock for Venice.  More on A Star Is Born below.

The last piece of news from all of this is reporting that both Barry Jenkins If Beale Street Could Talk and Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased will NOT play Venice.  In the case of Beale Street, that news almost assuredly means that the film will have its first screening in T-ride.  In as far as Boy Erased is concerned, the lack of a Venice play could indicate that it premieres at Telluride, Toronto, New York, L.A., London or AFI.  I think Telluride is the most likely but it's not clinched by any means.


The complete Variety piece is linked here.




A STAR IS BORN COULD BE OFF THE TABLE

Amidst the Venice speculation is the note that Bradley Cooper's A Star Is Born will probably screen in Venice out of competition.  Both Indiewire and Deadline reported yesterday that the film is expected to premiere in Venice on Friday, Aug. 31st.  That date doesn't preclude a Telluride play but it's at the outer limit of Venice's opening period of time to still allow a play at Telluride.

More telling about A Star Is Born's future is Deadline's report that it is expected to have its North American premiere at Toronto which would mean that it will bypass T-ride.  It's not definitive but it seems close.

Other notes from the Deadline story are claims that both Roma and The Other Side of the Wind will play TFF #45 and there is an implication that Alfonso Cuaron may be a tribute recipient.

The Deadline article is here.

The Indiewire reporting is here.


AND WHERE IS THE POSTER???

For the second year running, we are deep into the summer and have no official poster release for TFF #45...What up?


That's your MTFB for this Friday.  More to come Monday...and a lot more to come next week.  Have a great weekend!

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TFF #45 Ten Bets #3 / Trailer for Mary Queen of Scots / More on Widows in London / Another Note About Acquisitions

Good Friday fellow film fans...


TFF #45 TEN BETS #3

Here's the third installment of the summer's Ten Bets for TFF #45, an ongoing assessment of the films that I feel are the most likely to make the Telluride lineup.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Cold War
4) Capernaum
5) Beautiful Boy
6) Burning
7) Boy Erased
8) Peterloo
9) The Old Man and the Gun
10) The Front Runner

This week's list:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Capernaum
4) Beautiful Boy
5) Cold War
6) The Old Man and the Gun
7) Widows
8) Boy Erased
9) Roma
10) The Front Runner


Other films in the hunt:

Sunset, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, First Man, A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows, Nothing Like a Dame, The Favourite, Peterloo, Burning

TRAILER FOR MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

As promised, we got a trailer release yesterday for Josie Rourke's Mary Queen of Scots which stars Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie locked in a tussle for the English crown.  The film is being distributed by Focus Features and is slated for U.S. release on Dec. 7th.

Here's the trailer from YouTube:

And I have linked coverage here from:

Variety

Indiewire

SlashFilm

Awards Daily

FirstShowing

MORE ON WIDOWS IN LONDON

The BFI-London Film Fest dropped a huge announcement yesterday (covered in my post from yesterday) that Steve McQueen's Widows, starring Viola Davis and Colin Farrell, will open their festival on Oct. 10th.

Of immediate interest to Telluride fans was the published designation of the film's status for that screening as its International Premiere.  My understanding of that designation is that it means that the BFI-London screening will be the film's first outside of its nation of origin.

There was some back and forth yesterday in some online circles about whether that means a Telluride play, a Toronto play or both.

If the "IP" designation means what I think it means, a Telluride play is happening with no Toronto (also no Venice).  But as a friend emailed me yesterday when the news was breaking..."International premiere-but who knows what that means anymore?"  So, you know, the point there is that the term may be more flexible than it used to be.

All of that plus McQueen's track record with Telluride, was enough for me to place Widows on my Ten Bets list this week (for the first time) at #7.  

Here's linked coverage of the BFI-London announcement from yesterday:

The Guardian (which specifically suggests Telluride is possible)

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline

ANOTHER NOTE ABOUT ACQUISITIONS

I mentioned yesterday that Magnolia Pictures hadn't had a film at TFF since 2015.  Eagle-eyed friend of the blog Kenny Miles messaged me with the info that Magnolia partnered with Amazon on Ai WeiWei's documentary Human Flow last year.  Thanks to Kenny for the info!

That's wrap for this week on MTFB.  More to come on Monday...from...somewhere in Colorado...

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Late Breaking: Widows to Open BFI-London Fest / The Usual Suspects 2018-Part Two / Trailers Are Happenin' / Acquisition News

Good Thursday friends and neighbors...


LATE BREAKING: WIDOWS TO OPEN BFI-LONDON  FEST

News early this morning from Britain that Steve McQueen's Widows will open the BFI-London Film Fest on Oct. 10th.  Of particular interest is that fact that the film is listed as its International Premiere.  That means a couple of things.  It will not have played Venice but, as it is not the World Premiere, it will have played somewhere else prior to BFI-London.  If I understand the designation that would mean that it would be playing in London for the first time outside its nation of origin.

To me that sounds like a Telluride play though I have seen some commentary that it could mean Toronto.  I think the former os more likely.

Here's the release from the BFI-London Fest:

LONDON, Thursday 12th July, 2018 – The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® is thrilled to announce that this year’s Opening Night gala will be Academy Award®- winner Steve M cQueen’s WIDOWS. The International premiere will take place on Wednesday 10th October at the Cineworld, Leicester Square. Co-written by McQueen and best-selling novelist and screenwriter Gillian Flynn and starring Academy Award®- winner Viola Davis, WIDOWS is a complex thriller about a group of women with nothing in common except a debt left behind by their dead husbands' criminal activities. A star-studded ensemble cast includes: Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, Cynthia Erivo, Colin Farrell, Daniel Kaluuya and Jacki Weaver with Robert Duvall and Liam Neeson. BFI Fellow, WIDOWS Director and Co-Writer Steve McQueen comments: “I am absolutely delighted that WIDOWS will be opening this year's BFI London Film Festival. Watching the UK TV version of Lynda La Plante's original thriller as a teenager in the 80s had a major impact on me and so it feels very special to be sharing this film with a UK audience." BFI London Film Festival Artistic Director, Tricia Tuttle says: “We treasure the work of BFI Fellow and Festival alumni Steve McQueen, so it’s an utter pleasure to open our Festival with the International Premiere of WIDOWS. Adapted from a ground-breaking UK television classic into a feature to savour on the biggest cinema screens, this is scintillatingly rich storytelling from a magnificent filmmaker, probing issues around race, class and gender, while always delivering immense style and crackingly sharp thrills.” From Steve M cQueen (12 Years a Slave) and co-writer Gillian Flynn (Gone Girl) comes a blistering, modernday thriller set against the backdrop of crime, passion and corruption. Taking place in contemporary Chicago, amid a time of political and class turmoil, tensions build when Veronica (Oscar® winner Viola Davis), Alice (Elizabeth Debicki), Linda (Michelle Rodriguez) and Belle (Cynthia Erivo) take their fate into their own hands and conspire to forge a future on their own terms. WIDOWS also stars Liam Neeson, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Daniel Kaluuya, Lukas Haas and Brian Tyree Henry. Based on the TV series “Widows” by Lynda La Plante, the film sees Steve M cQueen serve as producer, together with Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Arnon Milchan. From Twentieth Century Fox, Regency Enterprises and See-Saw Films in association with Film4, WIDOWS is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 9 November. The 62nd BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express® takes place from Wednesday 10 October-Sunday 21 October 2018. The full Festival programme will be announced on Thursday 30 August 2018. 


THE USUAL SUSPECTS 2018-PART TWO

I started on Tuesday looking at people with significant Telluride pasts that have films that could make an appearance at TFF #45.  Tuesday's crew was Barry Jenkins, Steve McQueen, Jacques Audiard, Jason Reitman and Alfonso Cuaron (with an assist from Alejandro Inarritu).

Today a look at six more:

Ken Burns...a Telluride staple.  Burns doesn't officially seem to have anything ready, however he's been working on his Muhammed Ali documentary for PBS since March of last year.  It's not outside the realm of possibility that some or all of that might show up on a screen in Telluride over Labor Day.

Roger Michell...Michell has been to Telluride in the past with Hyde Park on Hudson, Venus and Persuasion and Enduring Love.  He's been to T-ride a lot and this year has a special documentary... Nothing Like a Dame features four grand dames of British acting: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins.  IFC Films has the U.S. distribution.  Definitely think this is possible.

Sebastian Lelio...Great T-ride success for Lelio in the recent past with Gloria in 2013 and A Fantastic Woman last year. This year his Disobedience made a splash.  Now, he could possibly return to Telluride with the English language version of Gloria starring Julianne Moore in the title role.  The film is reportedly in post-production.  Would it be odd to see the new version of a film that played in TFF in 2013?  Sure, but not impossible.

Mark Cousins...Cousins was, at one time, one of the surest picks for TFF.  The Story of Film, What is This Film Called Love?, The Story of Children and Film but he hasn't been in the San Juans since 2013.  That could change this year with his latest doc, The Eyes of Orson Welles.  I could certainly see that being a selection to complement the expected screenings of Welles' The Other Side of the Wind...which seems very likely to me to play TFF.

Mike Leigh...Leigh has also deep T-ride roots with High Hopes, Naked, Secrets and Lies (as a part of his 1996 tribute), Happy-Go-Lucky, Another Year and more.  And he has a new film ready to go: Peterloo.  I have been thinking its inclusion is a no-brainer...but...I've heard some rumblings over the past week and the latest from Mr. Leigh may be less likely a cinch than I originally thought.  Peterloo may be out of the Ten Bets tomorrow.



TRAILERS ARE HAPPENIN'

Yesterday gave us a couple of new posters for Mary Queen of Scots starring Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie.  Additionally, we found out that a trailer for the film will drop today.  I'll tweet that out on my @Gort account when that happens and include it here tomorrow.

We also know from earlier in the week via Anton Volkov's Trailer Track website that On the Basis of Sex should be showing up with a trailer very soon as well.

Last night Volkov let spill that a trailer for Boy Erased is also soon to be released.  That story is linked here.

Very exciting that we're going to get to see the wares from Focus Features.


ACQUISITION NEWS

A couple of pieces of intriguing acquisition news.  Magnolia has reported nabbed domestic rights to Matteo Garrone's Dogman.  The film played well at Cannes.  It could portend at Telluride play.  Or not.  Magnolia hasn't placed a film at T-ride since Viva! in 2015.

Also in the news was Roadside Attractions/Lionsgate/ LD Entertainment acquiring the Julia Roberts starrer Ben Is Back, also starring Lucas Hedges (who also has Boy Erased in place for this fall).  The film has been dated for a Dec. 7th release making me wonder if it will also see some time on the fall fest circuit.

The Dogman story is here from The Hollywood Reporter.

The Ben Is Back story is here from The Hollywood Reporter  as well as The Wrap.


That's your Thursday.  Tomorrow will have the 3rd Ten Bets for TFF #45 and should have the trailer for Mary Queen of Scots.  Come on back!


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First Signs of Beale Street / The Usual Suspects -Part One 2018 / The Favourite Teaser Appears

Welcome to Tuesday, July 10, 2018...


THE FIRST SIGNS OF BEALE STREET

Stefan James, Kiki Layne, Regina King and Barry Jenkins at Essence Fest

One of the most hotly anticipated titles of the fall has to be Oscar winner Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk.  The film is the writer/director's follow up to the thrice Oscar winning Moonlight.  It's an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel of the same name.

That alone would be enough to pique the interest of Telluriders but adding fuel to the fire has been the relative quiet surrounding the film.

There is a good deal of speculation that it will play Venice and I have had it at the number one spot on this summer's first Ten Bets lists for TFF #45.  We also know that its one of the films that Annapuna Pictures is distributing this fall...as Megan Ellison's production company adds distribution to its list of services.  Other films in their lineup include: Backseat, The Sisters Brothers and Destroyer.

All that to get to the story that Jenkins and some of the actors in the film: Regina King, Stephan James and Kiki Layne, were featured in a Q+A about the film at New Orleans' Essence Fest this past weekend.

Here's the 14 minute interview from YouTube:

I found the interview via a story from Awards Watch and that story is linked here.

More coverage is here from BlackFilm.com and also from Hollywood Elsewhere.

If Beale Street Could Talk is not yet scheduled for release in the United States.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS-PART ONE 2018

If Beale Street Could Talk director and TFF Usual Suspect Barry Jenkins

There are a number of people that have, over the years have become frequent players at Telluride.They're folks that may not always be there and even if they are there, they don't always have a project that screens at the fest but often times you can predict some of the choices for the fest based on The Usual Suspects and what they do have to offer.

For example...Barry Jenkins...who has been a part of the fest in a variety of ways for a decade and a half.  That's why his If Beale Street Could Talk is at the top of the Ten Bets list.

Steve McQueen-His Hunger, Shame and Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave all screened at Telluride which leads one to think that Widows is a good bet.  I've been holding back on putting it in the Ten Bets because the film's description seems less Telluride-y than McQueen's previous efforts.  Still, it wouldn't surprise if it were to screen at T-ride.

Jacques Audiard-Audiard has been represented thrice at TFF 1996- A Self Made Hero, 2009-A Prophet and 2012-Rust and Bone.  However his Palme D'or winning Dheepan wasn't at The SHOW in 2015.  His The Sisters Brothers could get him back to the San Juans.

Alejandro Inarritu is a great example of a "usual suspect" who attends even when he doesn't have a project.  That happened last year when he was in town to support his amigo Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water.  I suspect that could happen again this year for Alfonso Cuaron's Roma.  Cuaron, himself would become a "usual suspect" this year if Roma plays.  I think that could happen.

Jason Reitman- At one point Reitman was a sure TFF bet as he ran off a series of SHOW entrants: Juno (07), Up in the Air (09) and Labor Day (13) but Young Adult and Men, Women and Children which might have played The SHOW did not.  Reitman could return this year with The Frontrunner.  There's a decent chance that could happen.

I'll look at more of  "The Usual Suspects on Thursday.

THE FAVOURITE TEASER APPEARS

Yorgos Lanthimos has made a big splash on the art house circuit over the past few years with The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer including an Oscar nomination for writing The Lobster.

This year he has directed the historically based The Favourite set during the reign of Queen Anne in Britain in the 1700's.  Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone star and the film is reportedly more "accessible" than either Lobster or Scared Deer.  As it is from Fox Searchlight, this might be the year that a Lanthimos film makes the TFF lineup.

All of that reminder material is to get to the fact that the film had a teaser/trailer release on Monday.  Here it is from YouTube:

The Favourite is scheduled for release on Nov. 23rd.

That's your Tuesday MTFB.  More to come on Thursday.


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