Pre-Venice Tea Leaves / What We Can Expect Tomorrow / Holding Some Cards Close to the Vest

Good Monday to all you Telluride Film Fest Maniacs... We're getting closer...


PRE-VENICE TEA LEAVES

Over the weekend Variety was up with a post that named a slew of titles expected to be announced for the Venice Film Fest on Thursday.  As diviners for Telluride's lineup, we need to pay attention to titles, directors, distributors premiere status and dates of play.  All of those factors can provide clues for those of us trying to puzzle out T-ride's slate of films.

Variety's piece gives us some of those factors...if we assume, of course, that it's 100% accurate.

Titles Variety claims for Venice (beyond the previously announced opener: Alexander Payne's Downsizing) that the article says will be World Premieres:

George Clooney's Suburbicon
Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water
Stephen Frears' Victoria and Abdul
Paolo Virzo's Ella ad John/The Leisure Seekers
Paul Schraders' First Reformed
Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete
Lucrecia Martel's Zama

As frequent readers of MTFB know, Clooney, Del Toro, Frears, Schrader and Haigh have all been involved in past TFFs.  If Variety has all this right, you'll need to pay attention to when these films are scheduled for their Venice World Premiere.  Early enough in the Venice lineup means a T-ride play is possible.  Venice runs from Aug. 30th- Sept. 9th.

The Variety post also claims that Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a likely lock for the Biennale but doesn't flat out claim it would be a World Premiere...which is interesting.  In the same vein is the suggestion that Abdelatif Kechiche's Mektoub is Mektoub will play Venice bit doesn't say it will necessarily be a World Premiere.  That leaves the door open for both films to play at Telluride first and then screen at Venice in the second half of that festival.

And then there is the mention of Ritesh Bakta's Our Souls at Night starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford.  They'll World Premiere in Italy and Fonda and Redford will be honored. The timing of that is central to the question of whether the film and those stars cross the Atlantic to make Labor Day in the San Juans.

Also of note is the absence of Darren Aronofsky's mother! and Denis Villenueve's Blade Runner 2049.

The Variety article is linked here.


WHAT WE CAN EXPECT TOMORROW

The Toronto International Film Festival announces a portion of their lineup tomorrow morning at 10am EDT.  When that happens, it will NOT be their complete lineup.  More films will be announced in subsequent weeks and we need to pay attention to each of those announcements.

Tomorrow's announcement and all subsequent announcements for 2017 WILL include a film's premiere status.  That's crucial information for those of us trying to parse what will play at T-ride over Labor Day weekend.

The TIFF reveal is expected to be live streamed at www.tiff.net.

I will be on the road somewhere in Utah/Colorado when this all goes down but I do expect to be able to be in on what is happening via Twitter.  I will also be posting a special edition of MTFB on Wednesday with a breakdown of what we know and don't know so look for that.

Bring it on Toronto!


HOLDING SOME CARDS CLOSE TO THE VEST

One of the things that I find remarkable about this nine year journey is that I do, on occasion, get some inside dope.

As I write this I am sitting on three film titles that I fully expect will play Telluride but...the sharing of those titles has been confidential and until I can string a case together for their inclusion that I arrive at independently, I will keep them close.

I will say this...at least one of the titles has appeared in this post above.

Appetite whetted?


That's it for today.  More tomorrow and you might check my Twitter feed @Gort2 for Toronto/Telluride news. Additionally, there will be a special Wednesday post this week with the TFF/TIFF breakdown.

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TFF #44 Ten Bets #3 / The Playlist Has 50 Films They Want to See / The Darkest Hour Trailer

It's finally Friday...


TFF #44 TEN BETS #3

And so because it's Friday, it's time for the third iteration of MTFB's Ten Bets for Telluride.  It's my weekly attempt to guess what will play at this year's fest ranked in order of what I believe their likelihood to be.

Last week's Ten Bets looked like this:

1) Wonderstruck

2) Loveless

3) Visages/Villages

4) Battle of the Sexes

5) Downsizing

6) The Florida Project

7) A Fantastic Woman

8) The Other Side of Hope

9) 120 BPM

10) You Were Never Really Here

This week's Ten Bets...

1) Wonderstruck

2) Visages/Villages

3) Loveless

4) The Florida Project

5) A Fantastic Woman

6) Battle of the Sexes

7) 120 BPM

8) The Other Side of Hope

9) You Were Never Really Here

10) Downsizing

Others to consider: The Shape of Water, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Our Souls at Night, The Rider, Lean on Pete, Loving Vincent.

THE PLAYLIST HAS 50 FILMS THEY WANT TO SEE

Earlier this week The Playlist put up their annual "50 Films We Want to See" at fall film fests.  As a part of that listing the crew there make some predictions about where they think films are likely to appear/premiere.

They specifically mention Telluride in the context of six films (seven if you count a reference from their "other" films beyond the 50 they highlight.  They are:

Battle of the Sexes

The Current War

The Death of Stalin (MTFB comment...yes, please)

Mary Magdalene

mother!

Under the Silver Lake

and Breathe which is mentioned outside their 50

Among others of their 50 films that I have been following as potential T-ride players, here is that list and The Playback's notes regarding where they think the film will screen and/or premiere (and even in the case of these films, a play at any of the fests that are listed doesn't mean that the film would not also play at Telluride):

Blade Runner 2049-Venice (you might remember my comment yesterday about BR2049 maybe not playing any fest)

The Darkest Hour-Venice/TIFF (see below)

Disobedience From the director of A Fantastic Woman (which I think is likely for T-ride)-Venice/TIFF

Downsizing-all they say is that a "fall premiere...is a lock" which would almost certainly be Telluride I would think but there is still buzz concerning whether it will be ready.

Hostiles-AFI

Lady Bird-TIFF

Lean on Pete-Venice/TIFF

Molly's Game-AFI

Roman Israel, Esq-TIFF/AFI

The Shape of Water-TIFF

The Snowman-Venice

Stronger-Venice

Suburbicon-The Playlist says' We hear this already has a major festival slot lined up" but they don't speculate about which one.  They do say to expect an announcement sooner rather than later which would mean that whatever it is, it's not Telluride.  That doesn't preclude a T-ride play, however.

Three Billboards-Venice/TIFF

Wonder Wheel-Venice/NYFF

Wondershock-Venice/TIFF

Again, the entire post is here.

THE DARKEST HOUR TRAILER 

We saw yesterday that we would get a trailer for Joe Wright's Darkest Hour.  The big buzz has been about Gary Oldman's performance as Winston Churchill.  Here's the newly released trailer:

The film is being distributed by Focus Features and is set to be released on Nov. 22nd.  

Here are a couple of stories about the film and its trailer release from:

Indiewire

Deadline

Awards Daily

SlashFilm

There's your MTFB for Friday, July 14th.  More to come next Monday.

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We Have a Poster / Hollywood Elsewhere Makes Some Telluride Guesses / Spielberg at TFF #44? /

Good Thursday friendo...can you tell I was watching No Country for Old Men late last night?


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.

The new poster is on on sale online here.

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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The First Ten Bets for TFF #44 / The Distributors: Warners and Paramount / Breathe Will Open BFI- Fest

Welcome my friends...to the machine...for Friday, June 30, 2017.


THE FIRST TEN BETS FOR TFF #44

Well, it's arrived.  Since 2011, I have been formally taking a stab at what films will be at The SHOW with what I call "Ten Bets".  For what will be the seventh year running, those begin appearing the last week of June and will run on a weekly, updated basis until the day before the lineup is actually announced-probably Aug. 31.

As to its success...well, this first one you need to take with a gigantic grain of sodium chloride. The success rate of the first Ten Bets each year is less than impressive.


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

The average over these past six years 5.5 but as you can see, the last two years have been particularly challenging.  Last year's first list only correctly named Moonlight, Toni Erdmann and Fire at Sea.

Okay then, enough disclaiming...here's your first "Ten Bets" for 2017:

1) Loveless
2) A Fantastic Woman
3) Wonderstruck
4) Visages/Villages

5) The Florida Project
6) Downsizing
7) You Were Never Really Here
8) 120 BPM
9) The Rider

10) Battle of the Sexes

The Next Bets, in no particular order of likelihood:  Happy End, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, The Current War, Loving Vincent, Lean on Pete, Redoubtable, Spoor.



THE DISTRIBUTORS: WARNERS AND PARAMOUNT

Of the "major" film studios the two that have had the biggest footprint at Telluride over the past few years are Warners and Paramount.

Warners has particularly become a consistent presence in the past five years:

2012: Argo
2013; Gravity, Prisoners
2104:
2015: Black Mass
2016: Sully

Certainly Argo and Gravity worked out well for them both in terms of financial success and Oscar success.  Less so for Black Mass and Sully.  Still, you'd have to think that there's a least a decent shpt that Warners returns in 2017 with one film,  So what's in the Warners cupboard that has Telluride potential?

The big question, and maybe the only question regarding Warners this fall and Telluride is:  Do they bring and does Telluride want Denis Villenueve's Blade Runner 2049?

I've been grappling with that question for most of the spring and into the summer.  The case for it is that it is from Warners and it is directed by Denis Villenueve and he and Telluride have a long and pleasant history:

1998-August 32nd on Earth
2009-Incendies
2013-Prisoners
2016-Arrival

And as I have said a number of times, the inclusion in recent years of Gravity and Arrival make a pretty good empirical evidence for a film like Blade Runner 2049 to make the TFF lineup.

Finally, I suspect that BR 2049 is going to make a big splash when it opens Oct. 6th.  Too many people have wanted anxiously for so long for the sequel to the 1982 original and I believe Villenueve is going to make the material sing.

But...

I still am not completely sold on the idea.  Had anyone been suggesting this style of film for Telluride prior to 2013 I almost certainly would have said "no way" with Villenueve attached or not.  And Villenueve's track record does show a pattern of gaps between Telluride appearances.  So BR 2049 is no cinch for a T-ride play.

Chances: 30%

And at this point, if BR 2049 does NOT play, I doubt Warners has a film at the fest in 2017.

Paramount Pictures has a spotty Telluride resume:

Arrival played in 2016
Anomalisa in 2015
Labor Day 2013
Up in the Air 2009

Paramount has, in my estimation, three films that they could be interested in bringing to Telluride:

Alexander Payne's Downsizing
George Clooney's Suburbicon
Darren Aronfsky's mother!

All three film makers have been at Telluride within the last few years.  Payne has become a regular and as you can see from the Ten Bets above, I expect him back again this year with Downsizing.

Clooney was in Telluride in 2011 with Payne's The Descendants.  Clooney was a tribute recipient that year but hasn't returned.

Aronofsky sneaked Black Swan at the fest in 2010.

Chances:

Downsizing 75%
Suburbicon 30%
mother! 25%


BREATHE WILL OPEN BFI-LONDON FEST

We saw the first signs of Andy Serkis' directing debut yesterday with the trailer for Breathe and the announcement from the BFI-London Film Fest that it would open there on Oct. 4th as an European Premiere meaning that it will world premiere somewhere previously not on the European continent. That almost certainly means a play at Telluride, Toronto and/or New York.

My bet, at the moment is Toronto.

The film is being distributed by Bleeker Street Media which partnered with Netflix in 2015 to release Beasts of No Nation.

Here's the trailer for Breathe from YouTube:

And that's a wrap for Friday.  Enjoy your weekend.


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The Distributors: Cohen Media Group / Circuit Breaker Fall Film Guesses #2 / Telluride History: TFF #23

THE DISTRIBUTORS: COHEN MEDIA GROUP

One of the recent hard chargers at Telluride in terms of distribution firms that have made a splash is the Cohen Media Group.

CMG's history at Telluride:

2012-The Attack
2014-Magician
2015-Hitchcock/Truffaut, Marguerite, Rams
2016-Journey Through French Cinema

And CMG has a number of possible players for the 2017 edition of the Telluride Film Festival:

Francois Ozon's L'amant Double
Michel Hazanavicius' Redoubtable
Christian Carion's Mon Garcon
and even Pappi Corsicato's Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait.

Of the four, the chances for L'amant Double and Redoubtable are virtually indistinguishable.  Both played Cannes with modset-to-good reviews.  Redoubtable's metascore-67, L'amant Double's 64.  Both directors have made a splash at previuos Tellurides.  Hazanavicius being more notable with Oscar Best Picture winner The Artist in 2011.  Ozon was at Telluride last year with Frantz.

I'm givng Redoubtable a slight edge with a 50% chance to SHOW.  L'Amant Double goes in at 45%.

As to Carion's Mon Garcon, I include it here as CMG is calling it a 2017 release and Carion's 2009 TFF film, Farewell, is enough to make me think it should be considered.  Give it a 30% chance.

FInally, despite the fact that Cosicato's Julian Schnabel documentary has played in the U.S. at Tribeca, it might end up at Telluride anyway.  The inclusion of Tribeca films in the T-ride lineup isn't frequent  but has happened more than once: Peggy Guggenheim in 2015, Keep On Keepin' On in 2014 and My Dior in 2013.

Schnabel's poster for TFF #29

Additionally, Schnabel has had a TFF history as poster artist in 2002 and presenting his fantastic The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in 2007.  So I wouldn't rule this film out even though it played Tribeca.




CIRCUIT BREAKER FALL FILM GUESSES #2

A week ago (June 19) I posted the link to Awards Circuit's Circuit Breaker podcast because they included a rundown of some guesses about where films might be headed to film festivals.

This week;s podcast includes another segment about the same topic.  The nearly half hour segment includes mentions of a couple of dozen films and those that are mentioned as having some possibility for Telluride (by at least one of the participants) are:

The Darkest Hour
Suburbicon
Downsizing
Battle of the Sexes
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Snowman
Stronger

The complete podcast can be heard here.  The discussion of fall film fest plays begins approximately at the 47:20 mark.


TELLURIDE HISTORY: TFF #23

Here's another installment of my on-going and fairly sporadic review of the history of the Telluride Film Festival.  Today a look at #23 which occurred  from Aug.30-Sept. 2, 1996.

Guest Director: B. Ruby Rich

Tributes: Shirley MacLaine, Mike Leigh, Alain Cavalier

SHOWS:

Actress
Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life
Beautiful Thing
Ben Johnson: Third Cowboy on the Right

Breaking the Waves
Cardiogram
Carmen's Pure Love
The Cloud Capped Star
Daisies
Drifting Clouds
Fly Away Home
Forgotten Silver
Gabbeh

Irma Vep
Kolya
La Recontre
Le Ciel est a Vous
Le Samuorai
Le Trou
Lillian's Story
Message to Love
Microcosmos
Riot
Secrets and Lies
Self Made Hero

Sling Blade
Swingers
Therese
Twelfth Night
Two Eyes, Twelve Hands
The Unknown

Guests:

Olivier Assasyas
Jacques Audiard
Carroll Ballard
Harry Carey, Jr.
Maggie Cheung
Jon Favreau
Don Hertzfeldt
Werner Herzog
Mike Leigh
Doug Liman
Leonard Maltin
Shirley MacLaine
Trevor Nunn
John Ritter
Stellan Skarsgaard
Billy Bob Thornton
Warwick Thornton
Vince Vaughn
Emily Watson


Of particular note were the short films from Warwick Thornton (Payback, now called From Sand to Celluloid: Payback) and Julie Delpy (Blah Blah Blah) both making their directing debuts and Don Hertzfeldt with his second short (Genre).

That's your Thursday from MTFB.

Come back tomorrow for 2017's first Ten Bets.

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Time Tunnel: TFF #26 / State of the Race 2017 Vol. I

Welcome to the first Friday post on some time...


TIME TUNNEL: TFF #26


I'm continuing my on-going step back in time.  Today we go back to the 20th century and the 26th Telluride Film Festival (1999).  This is a part of my project to more accurately document the history of TFF.  Ultimately all of these posts of past Telluride Film Fests will replace the :Selected History" page that currently exists here at MTFB.


TFF 26 occurred from Sept. 3-6, 1999.

Guest Director: Peter Sellars

Tributes:

Catherine Deneuve
David Lynch
Philip Glass

Special Medallion: Arena


SHOWS:

Allah Tantou
Black and White
Bona
The Brian Epstein Story
Dust in the Wind
Dracula
East is East
Falalblas
Farewell, Home Sweet Home
The Girl on the Bridge
Greed
I Could Read the Sky
I'll Take You There

Jesus' Son
Journey to the Sun
Kadosh
Kurt Garron's Karussell
Journey to the Sun
La Garnde Bouffe
Me Myself I
Mifune
My Best Friend
Nothing More than a Woman
Orefu
The Passing
Place Vendome
Princess Mononoke
The Shakedown

The Straight Story
Time Regained
Travellers
The Taeback Mountains
Wisconsin Death Trip


Guests (a partial list):

Ken Burns
Billy Crudup
Catherine Deneuve
Richard Farnsworth
Philip Glass
Werner Herzog
David Lynch
Gary Meyer
Peter Sellars
Ally Sheedy
Adrienne Shelley
James Toback


A personal note: Denueve, Lynch and Glass in town at the same time...OMG!  (and Peter Sellars too...you're killing me!...Farnsworth...Burns...)


STATE OF THE RACE 2017 VOL. I

It's not a secret that one of the factors I look at this far out from the fest is the early line on Oscar contenders from the Oscar prognosticating professionals.

Consequently, when Awards Daily's Sasha Stone starts to turn her attention to the upcoming Oscar race, I pay attention as it may provide valuable insight into the films that will end up making it into the TFF #44 program

Sasha suggests that we keep an eye out for:

The Florida Project'
Wonderstruck


In addition to those two films, Sasha also suggests that we'd be wise to pay attention to clues surrounding these films (that could make The SHOW):

Suburbicon
Battle of the Sexes
The Current War
mother!
Victoria and Abdul
Downsizing


Take a look at Sasha's complete post here.

That's all the news that fits...See you back here on Monday...



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Downsizing and Suburbicon at CinemaCon / Cannes #70 Poster Features Claudia / Will Hazanavicius Return? / And from the Hopes and Dreams Dept.

Good Thursday to you.  Here's some film stuff that may or may not have anything to do with TFF #44:


DOWNSIZING AND SUBURBICON AT CINEMACON:  REACTIONS AND RELEASE DATES

George Clooney and Matt Damon at CinemaCon this week (via The Hollywood Reporter)

Both Alexander Payne's Downsizing and George Clooney's Suburbicon have been well received after the Paramount presentation at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week.

Check here for the reactions coming out of Vegas for these two films which both feature Matt Damon and which could both find the Telluride program in September.

Suburbicon will be released Nov. 3rd.  Downsizing will be released Dec. 22nd.

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter


Here are reactions to the footage of both films that was screened at CinemaCon:

The Hollywood Reporter

The Playlist

The Wrap

Indiewire

CANNES #70 POSTER FEATURES CLAUDIA CARDINALE

There it is.  The official poster for the 2017 edition of the Cannes Film Festival.  The poster features Cannes favorite Claudia Cardinale.  Telluride fans may remember that Cardinale was a tribute recipient in T-ride in 2010.

Here's coverage of the poster selection and reveal from The Film Stage.

Cardinale in Telluride in 2010 (via Getty Images)

WILL HAZANAVICIUS RETURN?

Louis Garrel as Jean-Luc Godard in Redoubtable

His last film, The Search, played Cannes and was drubbed critically and resulted in a rather quiet disappearance and certainly no berth at Telluride but his latest, Redoubtable, which focuses on a real life love story from the life of film pioneer Jean Luc-Goddard has been getting significant pre-Cannes buzz.

Just this last couple of days, we began seeing stories focusing on the film, including some pics (see above).  That indicates to me that Redoubtable is a likely Cannes selection.  We'll find out, in all likelihood, on April 13th when the bulk of the Cannes lineup is announced.


Check out the french teaser  and other details here from Indiwire and here from The Playlist.


AND FROM THE HOPES AND DREAMS DEPT.

PTA via The Film Stage

Here's the latest...Paul Thomas Anderson's new film set in the world of high fashion and starring Daniel Day Lewis has been dated for release on Dec. 25th.  The Film Stage reports that its working title is Phantom Thread.

Insert obligatory note here about its unlikelihood for Telluride (for a number of reasons) as well as the expected wish that it would magically screen there.

Here's the story from The Film Stage.


That's a wrap for this Thursday.  Have a good weekend and come back for more on Monday.


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The Croisette Speculation Continues / Wakefield Wakes / The Scent of Rain and Lightning

Hope you had a nice spring weekend...But now it's Monday.



THE CROISTETTE SPECULATION CONTINUES

Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig in Downsizing (from The Daily Mail)

As we are three weeks prior to the official announcement of the competition (and most other) films for the 70th Cannes Film Festival, the insider dope and speculation continues to come forth.  This week it was The Playlist's turn to offer up thoughts about the films that may be included in the April 13th reveal.

Here's the skinny from that Kevin Jagernauth piece in as far s films that we have been batting back and forth as potential Telluride selections as well.

Jagernauth flat out declares that Wim Wenders Submergence and Alfonso Cuaron's Roma are out for Cannes.

Among the films that he lists as "Possibly in the Mix" are:
George Clooney's Suburbicon
Alexander Payne's Downsizing
Lynne Ramsay's You Were Never Really Here
Andrew Haigh's Lean on Pete
Andrey Zvyagintsev's Loveless

And among those he lists as "Strong Contenders":

Michael Haneke's Happy End
Todd Haynes' Wonderstruck
Michel Hazanavicius' Redoubtable
Abdellatif Kechiche's Mektoub is Mektoub


There are several other films listed as "Strong Contenders"  The entire Jagernauth/Playlist piece is here.




WAKEFIELD WAKES

One of the joys of TFF #43 was getting to sit in a room and listen to Bryan Cranston talk about film. Cranston's Wakefield (also starring Jennifer Garner and directed by Robin Swicord) played to a middling response.  The People's Telluride gave it a 3.59/5 rating to be 12th of 21 films rated but The Professionals had it at 2.67/5  to be the 13th of 14 films rated.

We got news this week that the film has a distributor-IFC Films and a release date for the U.S.-May 19th.

Here's the story from The Wrap.




THE SCENT OF RAIN AND LIGHTNING

Film maker and friend of MTFB Casey Twenter and his writing partner Jess Robison are at it again.  The duo who wrote and produces Rudderless, which closed Sundance in January of 2014 have a new film that is out in the world soon.

The Scent of Rain and Lightning is their adaptation of a novel by Nancy Pickard and premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival this past weekend.  The film will also play soon at the Cleveland International Film Festival, the Newport Beach Film Festival and the Kansas City FilmFest.

Blake Robbins directed and the film stars the red hot/rising actress Maika Monroe.

Robbins penned this "nuts and bolts" descriptive piece for MovieMaker.com that appeared this week.

It might be added that a certain blogger has seen a a screener of the film and it very well done.

Congratulations and good luck to Casey, Jeff, Blake and the whole Rain/Lightning crew.



That's your MTFB for this Monday.  I'll have more later in the week...like on Thursday.


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

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Looking Ahead / Oscar Post Mortems / And for Fun

Good Thursday People...

Over your Oscar hangover yet?

LOOKING AHEAD

What an Oscar night for the Telluride Film Festival..  Between Moonlight, La La Land, Manchester by the Sea, Arrival and The White Helmets it was an extraordinary night for TFF #43.  Count 'em up...13 Oscars between the aforementioned films including Moonlight's Best Picture surprise win (BP at Telluride for the seventh straight year and eight of the last nine):

Moonlight-3
La La Land-6
Manchester-2
Arrival-1
The White Helmets-1

But Oscar night is behind us and that can only mean one thing and that is that it's time to put away The Film Awards Clearinghouse and go back to the business of Michael's Telluride Film Blog...trying to determine the lineup possibilities for TFF #44...

To that end, you might note that I bought my pass yesterday.  I'll be applying for press accreditation within the next month or so...with the notion of bringing you the best coverage possible in the run-up and then presentation of the 2017 iteration of TFF.

So...let's get serious.

Awards Circuit has posted their 50 Most Anticipated Films and let's parse that list for possible Telluride titles for Labor Day.

#39-The Current War- Alejandro Inarritu protege Alfonso Gomez Rajon directs Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Shannon as Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse battling over electricity.  From The Weinstein Company, I could see this film as the Weinstein's return vehicle for Telluride.


#38-Downsizing- Matt Damon stars in an Alexander Payne film.  That could be sufficient to get it a berth at TFF

#27-Suburbicon-George Clooney directs a script co-written by the Coen Brothers and with a stellar cast: Damon (again), Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac and Julianne Moore...oh my.  This might be a hope more than a real Telluride play. but I've thought since Clooney was a tribute recipient in 2011 that he would return and this could be the vehicle for that to happen. Paramount is distributing (this as well as Downsizing) so let's have a Matt Damon double feature.  Maybe a Damon tribute?

#24- Battle of the Sexes- Billy Jean King vs. Bobby Riggs in the person of Emma Stone and Steve Carell.  They've both been to T-ride.  Bring 'em back say I with this film that I think I've had on the radar for a couple of years.  It could mark the return to Telluride of Fox Searchlight.

#17-Wonderstruck-Todd Haynes directs.  Does he return after Carol's play a couple of years ago.  Julianne Moore stars (as mentioned above, she's also in Suburbicon)  A Moore tribute?  Yes please.  From Amazon...which made a splash at Telluride in 2016 with Manchester by the Sea.

#10-Molly's Game-Aaron Sorkin directs Jessica Chastain in his directing debut.   Maybe more a desire than a realistic possibility...but...

These seem to me to be the best shots.  Take a look at the entire 50 film list plus some other titles here;

Awards Circuit's 50 Most Anticipated Films


OSCAR POST-MORTEMS

Here's a link or two to podcast coverage of the Oscar ceremony from Sunday night:

Oscar Podcast #52 from Awards Watch

Awards Daily Podcast


AND FOR FUN...



Here is the "Honest Trailer" take for the nine films nominated for Best Picture this year.  It's entertaining:

Entertainment Weekly Honest Best Picture Trailers

More on Monday...


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

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