WE HAVE A POSTER
After teasing you with glimpses of what we thought was the official poster hanging in the Nugget Theater in Telluride we have the confirmation now as the Telluride Film Festival officially announced this year's poster artist as well as releasing the poster to the public for viewing and for sale. Here's the visual:
This year's poster artist is Lance Rutter who, according to the TFF press release is a graphic designer and also teaches design at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. He is also a Vice President of Silicon Valley based start up Design for Quantifind. He also is on the national board of the American Institute for Graphic Arts.
TFF #44 poster artist Lance Rutter (via quantifind.com)
Rutter is quoted in the release saying, "I don't think it's possible to overstate how thrilled I was to be asked to create a poster for the 44th edition of the Telluride Film Festival." He went on to say, "I believe there is something uniquely magical that happens there every year."
Festival Executive Director Julie Huntsinger said, "Lance's design for this year's poster is simply stunning."
Rutter joins an impressive list of artists who have designed the fests posters in past years that includes: Julian Schnabel, Chuck Jones, Gary Larson, Laurie Anderson, William Wegman and Dave Eggers among others.
HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE MAKES SOME TELLURIDE GUESSES
You can tell that TFF #44 is getting closer as well as the entire fall film fest gauntlet as the press covering the film industry increase their focus on what films will be featured at which festivals.
Tuesday saw Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere post his first serious take on what he thinks will and won't and could play at The SHOW.
Wells has some interesting thoughts about TFF.
He says that he thinks that Todd Haynes Wonderstruck, Sean Baker's The Florida Project and Sebastain Lelio's A Fantastic Woman are all "locks" for TFF #44. All three films have been on my first two Ten Bets lists these past two weeks.
Other films that Wells says would be a "good fit" or "make sense" are:
Denis Villenueve's Blade Runner 2049 (more about that later on in this post).
Aaron Sorkin's Molly's Game
Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri
Ritesh Batra's Our Souls at Night
Geroge Clooney's Suburbicon
John Curran's Chappaquiddick
Couple of notes here: I keep forgetting about both Batra's and Curran's films which I shouldn't as both film makers have had films at Telluride in the past. Batra with The Lunchbox in 2013. Our Souls at Night also has the distinction of re-paring of Jane Fonda and Robert Redford (Barefoot in the Park, The Electric Horseman). It would be a tremendous event to have those two in Telluride for a Jane Fonda tribute. As best as I can determine Fonda has never been to Telluride with a film. Redford, of course, was a tribute recipient in 2013 with All Is Lost. Netflix is the distributor of the film.
John Curran was also at Telluride in 2013 with Tracks.
As to Blade Runner 2049...I keep hearing buzz that Warners is going to forgo any Fest play in an effort to keep the film's secrets and twists under wraps until its release on Oct. 6th. That makes a bunch of sense to me and despite the fact that I think I've made a pretty good case for why it could be a Telluride pick...right now, it feels like it's still not likely.
Other Well's notes on some TFF possibilities on a film by film basis:
Downsizing...HE says "nope".
The Current War "probably not"
Wonder "maybe"
mother! Wells says "Bring it on" which I'm not sure if he means that he thinks it will be at T-ride or that he wants it to be or both.
Mary Magdalene "no clue"
Three Billboards "likely"
Stronger "maybe"
Suburbicon "maybe"
The Shape of Water "doesn't seem like a Telluride-type" (though I hear some buzz that Fox Searchlight might really want it to play at TFF)
Blade Runner 2049 "likely" (see above)
Molly's Game "maybe"
Again, the entire "Telluride Spitball" post is here.
SPIELBERG AT TFF #44?
No. No. No. Not with The Papers which has almost zero chance to be ready by Labor Day. I think that it'll be lucky to hit its limited release date of Dec. 22nd.
No, instead, I think we might have a chance to see the HBO doc about Spielberg that was all over the media the last couple of days.
HBO Docs has had a substantial presence at Telluride recently:
2012: Love, Marilyn
2014: The 50 Year Argument, Tales of the Grim Sleeper
2015: Heart of a Dog
2016: Bright Lights
So a spot for a doc about Steven Spielberg seems like a real possibility. The film will air on HBO on Oct. 7th.
Coverage is here from SlashFilm and here from Indiewire.
A screening in Telluride would also coincide with the Sept. 1 re-release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind to celebrate its 40th anniversary.
There's your MTFB post for Thursday, July 13, 2017. More to come tomorrow including the latest update TFF #44's Ten Bets.
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