Cannes Speculation and TFF #38

Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method"

Cannes will announce its line up in just under three weeks and some spec pieces have begun to appear as to what might be expected to play as part of that festival. This allows us to speculate about the likelihood of those guesses insofar as Telluride's 38th edition is concerned.

I'm specifically looking at articles from Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon (http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/45-potential-titles-rumored-for-the-2011-cannes-film-festival) and Mike Goodridge at Screen Daily (http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/fremaux-faces-a-list-deluge-in-countdown-to-cannes/5025131.article).

Here's what we know: Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris"is the only confirmed film at this time for Cannes.

Now the rest is guesswork...

Interestingly there is some discord between the two articles about the availability and/or likelihood that Pedro Almodovar's new film "The Skin I Live In" will or won't play Cannes. Brevet seems to think it's a likely prospect. Goodridge claims that Almodovar won't play Cannes this year because of the Spanish premiere date on Sept. 2 and the reported twists in the film that he doesn't want out of the bag in May.

I can see Almodovar preeming it on Sept. 2 and then it being a "sneak" at Telluride.

Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" is pegged as a likely Cannes film and that would just check off another box on the "factors that lead to a Telluride slot" checklist.

Also tipped as likely Cannes films that I have previously speculated to be Telluride-likely: Eran Kolirin's "The Exchange" and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Chicken with Plums."

A few Cannes guesses that I'm getting a Telluride vibe for are Paolo Sorrentino"s Sean Penn starrer "This Must Be the Place," "Free Men" starring "The Prophet's" Tahir Rahim and Lynne Ramsey's "We Need to Talk About Kevin."

And it seems that everyone is certain the David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" with Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender and Andrea Arnold's "Wuthering Heights" will not be ready for Cannes, but could and probably will be ready for the fall festival triad of Telluride, Toronto and Venice.

We'll know more in the next three weeks!

TFF #37/Oscar Clearinghouse and the DGA

Tom Hooper won the Director's Guild of America award late last night for Best Direction in 2010 for "The King's Speech." A whole host of Oscar watchers and critics are, again, dumbfounded this morning. Many thought that David Fincher would win for "The Social Network." Mmmmm....Nope.

The howling has been at a fever pitch for a week now. Beginning with the Producer's Guild Award to TKS last week and the "lead the pack" total of 12 nominations on Tuesday morning and culminating with last night's "surprise," The King's Speech" has been on a real roll...and it has the film "intelligentsia" up in arms..."How dare they?" has been the not-so-subtle refrain. Last night's DGA award, went the implicit narrative, will "restore some sanity" to the awards season. "Fincher gets the DGA," the thinking went, "because, surely, the directors 'get' the inherent superiority of "The Social Network." And that will also assure that the march of TKS to a Best Picture Oscar has been tempered and it's back to a real race...

And then, Boom!

A lot of people this week have been moaning that it's "Crash" beats "Brokeback" all over again...well...maybe.

But I'd submit the following:

1) I've been saying that TSN has been over-rated from the get go...I'd argue that it's overwhelming success with critics groups this past few months is at least as much a result of group-think and, really, a fear by some critics of an astonishing level of vitriol directed at any of them who dared to suggest that it might not actually be the year's best film.

2) As has been said in a lot of places, TSN certainly has a stronger appeal generationally to a younger demographic, and even older critics want to be regarded as hip...doesn't mean it's actually the best film or that it will win the Oscar...or should.

3) The "Crash/Brokeback" comparison stems, at least in part from the perception that the"Academy" is old and stodgy and scared of anything new or "controversial" and just doesn't "get it" which might explain why "Crash" won and probably does. But TSN "controversial"? Not really. And this week started with the PGA and ended with the DGA...NOT the Academy...I contend you can't use their results to paint that picture of the Academy..."the DGA doesn't get it?" Really???

4) Harvey Weinstein makes a salient point this week when he talks about "feeling" a movie...TSN celebrates its emotional distance...it's central to the film...how can anyone be surprised that that might not resonate with feeling, non-automatonic human beings?

5) Then there's this, maybe the majority of critics are just plain wrong...and make no mistake, I'm almost always on the side of critics...I live in a part of the world wherein the "celebration of film" is dwarfed by "what's on at the movies." Admittedly, I'm on the other side of the "generational" analysis mentioned above in point #2...and, further, I'm not even saying "The King's Speech" IS the year's Best Picture...I'd be inclined to vote for "True Grit." But, I have been pleased that the hubris of so many who had decided that it was all over months ago has been soundly shaken this past week.

"The King's Speech" opened (finally) in my town Friday night...of course, I saw it in September at Telluride...but I'm pleased to tell you that I'm going to go see it again tonight. I will be happy when it wins the Oscar for Best Picture in a month.

TFF #37...Coming Soon to a Mountain Near You! (well Sept. 3-6)

Well, before we go away for awhile (and we may not stay away as much or as long as we have in the past)...we thought we'd collate some information and speculation to take our first stab at guessing some films that may show at the SHOW... and why we think they might. (Our thanks to In Contention and Ioncinema...their 2010 Oscar guesses and Cannes guesses are what are forming the basis for this first attempt...5 1/2 months before it happens!)

Here goes nothin'...

1) "Betty Anne Waters"...why...Fox Searchlight...Tony Goldwyn directs Hilary Swank looking to come back after the dud that was "Amelia" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1244754/

2) "Biutiful"...why...Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu directing his first film since "Babel" and "Babel" had a great start at Telluride in 2006...He might be back. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1164999/

3) "Black Swan"...why...Fox Searchlight...Darren Aronofsky directing after "The Wrestler" http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0947798/

4) "The Eagle of the Ninth"...why...Kevin Mcdonald is the director and he has been a Telluride favorite with his last two projects: "My Enemies Enemy" and "The Last King of Scotland".

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034389/

5) "Chloe"...why...Sony Pictures Classics...which has a great relationship with TFF...Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson star in this feature from Atom Egoyan...whose "Adoration" played at Cannes...and Cannes is another indicator of a possible Telluride presentation. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/

6) "Howl" ...why...Because it seems to be the kind of unusual film that does get chosen...like "Fur" in 2006 or "I'm Not There" in 2007. This is the Allen Ginsburg picture starring James Franco. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1049402/

7) "Never Let Me Go"...why...Fox Searchlight...and it stars Sally Hawkins ("Happy Go Lucky" her last in Telluride in 2008) and Carey Mulligan (who was the belle of the Telluride ball last year with "An Education"). http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334260/

8) "Rabbit Hole"...why...also Fox Searchlight...and it seems to be the kind of film that might be connected to a tribute (like "The Road" and Viggo Mortensen last year and "Benjamen Button" and David Fincher in 2008). Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt star in the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize Winning play. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0935075/

9) "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger"...why...It's from Sony Pictures Classics. It's rumored to be in the Cannes lineup. It already has some speculation that it might be Telluride-bound (Hit Fix). Why not??? I have a hard time believing that Woody Allen shows up in the San Juans on Labor Day...but, if he did... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1182350/

10) "Love and Other Drugs"...why...Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere has speculated that it might be a part of the Telluride lineup. The film stars Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhall...already some Oscar buzz for Hathaway... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758752/

Others from the "well, maybe..." list: Jodie Foster's "The Beaver", Carey Mulligan and Helen Mirren (both at TFF #36) in "Brighton Rock", Sofia Coppola's "Somewhere", "The Rum Diary" with Johnny Depp in Hunter S. Thompson's story, "My Own Love Song" starring Renee Zellweger and Forest Whitaker (who won his Oscar for "Last King" after it got its start at Telluride), "The Social Network", David Fincher's post-Button project.

AND THE HOLY GRAIL(S) FOR THIS FALL:

The Coen Brothers re-invention of "True Grit" with Oscar winner Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn.

True Grit: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1403865/

Tree: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/

O...we can only hope...

The Oscar Clearinghouse #12...Last Call???

Probably the last post til it's all over on Sunday night. Here's the best guesses...

Best Picture: The Hurt Locker

Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow-The Hurt Locker

Best Actor: Jeff Bridges-Crazy Heart

Best Actress: Meryl Streep-Julie and Julia (bold, huh?)

Best Supporting Actress: Mo'Nique-Precious

Best Supporting Actor-Christoph Waltz-Inglourious Basterds

Original Screenplay: Inglourious Basterds (bit of a surprise over Hurt Locker)

Adapted Screenplay: Up in the Air

Animated Film: Up

Foreign: The White Ribbon

Cinematography: The Hurt Locker (bit of a surprise over Avatar...tho White Ribbon w/n surprise me either)

Film Editing: The Hurt Locker

Art Direction: Avatar

Sound Editing: Avatar

Sound Mixing: Avatar

Visual Effects: Avatar

Makeup: Star Trek

Score: Up

Song: The Weary Kind-Crazy Heart

Costumes: Young Victoria

Documentary: The Cove

Short Doc: The Last Truck

Live Short: The Door

Animated Short: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Comments:

1) Only 5 categories are the least bit competitive, if the conventional wisdom is correct...Actress (and that's probably just me that thinks it's competitive. I seem to be very lonely picking Streep...everything else says it's Bullock's to win), Foreign Film, Editing, Cinematography and Original Screenplay.

2) My totals if correct: Hurt Locker-4, Avatar-4, Up-2, Crazy Heart-2 and Inglourious Basterds-2...as your only multiple winners.

3) Telluride films win 4 Oscars if I'm right...Adapted Screenplay for Up in the Air, Foreign Film for The White Ribbon, Short Doc-The Last Truck and Live Short-The Door.

And this last word...Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere speculates that "Love and Other Drugs" featuring Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhall may be in line to play at TFF #37...so the game begins anew!

See you on the other side...

TFF #36 Critics/AFI and The Oscar Clearinghouse

The Hurt Locker and Kathryn Bigelow have had a really good last couple of days...

The American Film Institue Top Ten for 2009:

“Coraline,” “The Hangover,””The Hurt Locker,” “The Messenger,” “Precious,” “A Serious Man,” “A Single Man,” “Sugar,” “Up” and “Up in the Air.”

Los Angeles Film Critics:

PICTURE: "The Hurt Locker"Runner-up: "Up in the Air"

DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow, "The Hurt Locker"Runner-up: Michael Haneke, "The White Ribbon"

ACTRESS: Yolande Moreau, "Séraphine"Runner-up: Carey Mulligan, "An Education"

ACTOR: Jeff Bridges, "Crazy Heart"Runner-up: Colin Firth, "A Single Man"

ANIMATION: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"Runner-up: “Up"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Summer Hours"Runner-up: "The White Ribbon"

NEW GENERATION: Neill Blomkamp, "District 9"

MUSIC/SCORE: T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton, "Crazy Heart"Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, "Fantastic Mr. Fox"

PRODUCTION DESIGN: Philip Ivey, "District 9"Runner-up: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg, "Avatar"

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Christian Berger, "The White Ribbon"Runner-up: Barry Ackroyd, "The Hurt Locker"

SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo'Nique, "Precious"Runner-up: Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"

SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, "Inglourious Basterds"Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, "In the Loop"

SCREENPLAY: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air"Runner-up: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, "In the Loop"

DOCUMENTARY / NON-FICTION FILM: "The Beaches of Agnès" and "The Cove" (tie)DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: Anders Edstrom and C.W. Winter, "The Anchorage"

New York Film Critics:

FILM: "The Hurt Locker"
DIRECTOR: Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker"
SCREENPLAY: "In The Loop"
ACTRESS: Meryl Streep for "Julie & Julia"
ACTOR: George Clooney for "Up In The Air" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo’Nique for "Precious"
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Christian Berger for "The White Ribbon"
ANIMATED FILM: "Fantastic Mr. Fox"
NON-FICTION FILM: "Of Time And The City"
FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM: "Summer Hours"
FIRST FEATURE: "Hunger," director Steve McQueen

And the nominees for The Critics Choice Awards (Broadcast Film Critics):

BEST PICTURE
Nominees:• Avatar• An Education• The Hurt Locker • Inglourious Basterds• Invictus• Nine• Precious• A Serious Man • Up• Up In The Air
BEST ACTOR
Nominees:• Jeff Bridges - Crazy Heart • George Clooney - Up In The Air • Colin Firth - A Single Man• Morgan Freeman - Invictus • Viggo Mortensen - The Road • Jeremy Renner - The Hurt Locker
BEST ACTRESS
Nominees:• Emily Blunt - The Young Victoria • Sandra Bullock - The Blind Side • Carey Mulligan - An Education • Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones • Gabourey Sidibe - Precious • Meryl Streep - Julie & Julia
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Nominees:• Matt Damon - Invictus • Woody Harrelson - The Messenger • Christian McKay - Me And Orson Welles • Alfred Molina - An Education • Stanley Tucci - The Lovely Bones • Christoph Waltz - Inglourious Basterds
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Nominees:• Marion Cotillard - Nine • Vera Farmiga - Up In The Air • Anna Kendrick - Up In The Air • Mo’Nique - Precious • Julianne Moore - A Single Man • Samantha Morton - The Messenger
BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Nominees:• Jae Head - The Blind Side • Bailee Madison - Brothers• Max Records - Where The Wild Things Are • Saoirse Ronan - The Lovely Bones • Kodi Smit-McPhee - The Road
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
Nominees:• Inglourious Basterds • Nine • Precious • Star Trek • Up In The Air
BEST DIRECTING
Nominees:• Kathryn Bigelow - The Hurt Locker• James Cameron - Avatar • Lee Daniels - Precious • Clint Eastwood - Invictus • Jason Reitman - Up In The Air• Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Nominees:• Mark Boal - The Hurt Locker • Joel Coen & Ethan Coen - A Serious Man • Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber - (500) Days Of Summer • Bob Peterson, Peter Docter - Up • Quentin Tarantino - Inglourious Basterds
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Nominees:• Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach - Fantastic Mr. Fox • Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell - District 9 • Geoffrey Fletcher - Precious • Tom Ford, David Scearce - A Single Man • Nick Hornby - An Education • Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner - Up In The Air
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nominees:• The Hurt Locker• Nine • Avatar • The Lovely Bones• Inglourious Basterds
BEST ART DIRECTION
Nominees:• A Single Man • Avatar • Nine • The Lovely Bones• Inglourious Basterds
BEST EDITING
Nominees:• Up In The Air • Inglourious Basterds • The Hurt Locker • Avatar • Nine
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Nominees:• Nine • Bright Star • The Young Victoria • Inglourious Basterds • Where The Wild Things Are
BEST MAKEUP
Nominees:• Avatar • District 9 • Nine • The Road • Star Trek
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Nominees:• Avatar • District 9 • The Lovely Bones • Star Trek • 2012
BEST SOUND
Nominees:• Avatar • District 9 • The Hurt Locker • Nine • Star Trek
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Nominees:• Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs • Coraline • Fantastic Mr. Fox • Princess And The Frog • Up
BEST ACTION MOVIE
Nominees:• Avatar • District 9 • The Hurt Locker • Inglourious Basterds • Star Trek
BEST COMEDY
Nominees:• (500) Days Of Summer • The Hangover • It’s Complicated • The Proposal • Zombieland
BEST PICTURE MADE FOR TELEVISION
Nominees:• Gifted Hands • Grey Gardens • Into The Storm • Taking Chance
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Nominees:• Broken Embraces• Coco Before Chanel • Red Cliff• Sin Nombre • The White Ribbon
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Nominees:• Anvil • Capitalism: A Love Story • The Cove • Food, Inc.• Michael Jackson’s This Is It
BEST SONG
Nominees:• "All Is Love" - Karen O, Nick Zinner - Where The Wild Things Are• "Almost There" - Randy Newman - The Princess And The Frog • "Cinema Italiano" - Maury Yeston - Nine • "(I Want To) Come Home" - Paul McCartney - Everybody’s Fine • "The Weary Kind" - T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham - Crazy Heart
BEST SCORE
Nominees:• Michael Giacchino - Up • Marvin Hamlisch - The Informant! • Randy Newman - The Princess and the Frog • Karen O, Carter Burwell - Where The Wild Things Are • Hans Zimmer - Sherlock Holmes

Commentary:

Well...obviously, "The Hurt Locker" is going strong...this may signal a bit of weakening in the "Up in the Air" juggernaut as well as the decline in support for "Precious". "The Last Station" may be suffering from its limited presence...(ONLY at Telluride)...Additionally, "TheLovely Bones" mixed (at best) reviews signal that its place in Osacr land continues to be questionable. And I'm kind of getting the vibe that "Avatar" may succumb to the sci-fi curse and get a bunch of tech nominations, but be shut out of Best Picture.

The Golden Globes nominations are announced tomorrow morning...we'll see what they reveal...and post the Clearinghouse one more time before we head away for the Holiday Break! See you tomorrow!

Day Four...And It's a Wrap!

Me And Curtis Hanson (LA Confidential) at the picnic

Viggo Mortensen between screenings of "The Road"...Oscar Nom??? I'd say yes.

Nicolas Cage and Werner Herzog at the picnic before "Bad Lieutenant"

Ken Burns signs our books and discovers we may be source material for his next project. No, really! See below.

Kelsey, me, Kristy and Merri with our small scale "class photo" for TFF #36

The fourth and final day of the 36th Telluride Film Festival was heavy on festival and light on film...but, personally a very fulfilling day.

Started the day with Ken Burns' book signing...got an autographed copy of "National Parks" that coincides with his PBS series in 3 weeks. And...when he asked where we were from, he lit up. Seems his next documentary project is about the Dust Bowl...and when we revealed we were from the bulls eye of the Dust Bowl, Burns was very animated...took our name, numbers and email address. An associate producer is set to contact us in the next couple of weeks. Holy Crap!

Then...on to the Labor Day film fest picnic and a really tasty lunch hosted by Omaha Steaks...good food! And good conversation...a wonderful conversation with a Colorado couple who has two kids in the Yale School of Drama...very nice. Nicolas Cage showed up for a presentation...he's here with "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans"...more later.

Ran across new friends Mark Helfrich and his wife, whom we met the first day, and compared notes of movies we had seen and opinions of them...Mark is a film editor of some renown...he's a serious deal...IMDB him, you'll be impressed. Here's his link to IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0375068/. We're invited to their home in LA for their Oscar party...cause I'm sure we'll be in LA...but , ain't that cool?

Noticed that Kris had offered our seats as we were ready to leave to film director and writer Curtis Hanson...he directed "LA Confidential" ...only one of my favorite movies ever made...ever! Got a chance to talk to him for a few moments. And a pic!

As we left, got a chance to congratulate Oscar nominated actress Brenda Blethyn on her "London River" performance.

Then to the Palm for "The Road". Viggo Moretensen sighting and picture. Then the movie...Brutal, harrowing, disturbing and a very nearly great film. It's hard to watch...but a really stunning film. Mortensen's performance...YES!..Other standouts are Robert Duvall and Charlize Theron. There's been a lot of buzz for Kodi Smit-McPhee...but I think he's just OK in the role of the boy....also John Hillcoat's direction is eloquent. 3 and 1/2 stars...

Then to The Galaxy for "Bad Lieutenant"...and long story short...It's bad! (in the traditional sense, meaning not good). 1 and 1/2 stars. Worst thing I saw this weekend.

As always...things I wanted to get and didn't: "The White Ribbon," "Vincere" and "A Prophet". Thought they'd be TBAed today and there weren't. Thank God for Netflix!

4 days and 12 films...some great and others less so. Spoke with Laura Linney this weekend and have the picture to prove it and tonight Ken Burns has my contact info in his pocket...oh man....

Top picks: "Life During Wartime," "The Road," "Up in the Air," "Farewell" and "The Last Station".

Lots of people liked "An Education" I thought it was OK. Lots of people loved "Bright Star"...again...OK

Biggest buzz on something I did not see...the "Red Riding" trilogy. It seemed to be a big hit with fest-goers.

Started the weekend with some goals and they all happened. And to a much greater degree that I thought possible. Love this weekend, this festival and this spot on the planet. Start the countdown to Telluride Film Festival #37!

Day Three

A shorter day of film today as we give our evening in Telluride over to our hosts who so graciously make it possible for this to occur each year.

And a tough day of film going it was...Started off the day with "Room and a Half" the Russian memoriam to poet Joseph Brodsky (met the director at the Patron Brunch on Friday) ..some clever animation and some arresting images...but , Good Lord, the film was slow. And that turned out to be the theme of the day! SLOOOOOWWW.... 2 Stars out of 4

Second film was the much anticipated Jane Campion entry "Bright Star"...poet John Keats ill-fated romance with Fanny Brawne. Abbie Cornish: Good, Costumes:Good...the rest...SLOOOOOWWW. 2 and 1/2 Stars of 4.

Third film: Oscar Nominee Brenda Blethyn in "London River"...she's good but the film is predictable and SLOOOOWWWW! 2 stars out of 4>

Ultimately, today's films paled in comparison to yesterday's line-up. One hopes that the last day makes up for that.

Tomorrow sees us hoping to get in "The Road" and maybe "A Prophet" and "Vincere"...and a Viggo Mortensen sighting as well as a Nic Cage sighting...and Daryl Hannah would be a bonus! And purportedly Curtis Hanson is in town...writer/director of "LA Confidential"...one of the best movies in the last fifteen years...would love to meet him too!)

My fave so far...Todd Solondz's "Life During Wartime" and Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" (sat next to him during the "Bright Star" presentation this afternoon...can you believe it???)

Can't wait for Monday...but so sad it's here so soon!

And a quick note to Joel, Heather and Natausha...as you may have guessed...Mrs. P and I are "off the clock". Love!

Day Two

Unbelievable....

Had a tremendous day of film here in the San Juan Mountains...

Started off the day with Todd Solondz's "Life During Wartime"...Great film! Incredible performances across the board...just amazing...standouts: Shirley Henderson, Allison Janney, Cirian Hinds, Paul Ruebens, Michael K. Williams, Ally Sheedy and Rich Pecci...but really...the entire ensemble is phenomenal...I'm betting half way thru that this is my favorite film of the festival...and today was a great day for films. 4 stars out of 4...

Next up was "Farewell" a French film that we just sort of added as a filler between "Life" and "Up in the Air"...and...what a great film! A true life story of Cold War intrigue and masterfully done! Super performances from leads Emir Kusturica and Guillaume Canet with great support from veteran Fred Ward as Ronald Reagan and Willem Dafoe...Stunningly good movie! 3 and 1/2 stars out of 4...It's really good.

Then, amazingly, we were in the crowd to see the World Sneak Premiere of Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney. It gets surreal here. Sat two rows behind Reitman, two seats to the right of TFF 36 Guest Director Alexander Payne (About Schmidt, Sideways, Election) and right behind AMPAS (that's the Oscars people) President Sid Ganis. Soooo..the movie is a winner...a worthy follow up to his success with "Juno". It's a more mature film. And it was a hoot to see how nervous Reitman was...not that surprising,though, considering how high the expectations are for this film. But it's a winner! Highlight is that I got to ask a question during the Q & A and then also got in a joke that actually made Ganis, Payne and Reitman himself laugh. Seriously, since I've actually spoken to Laura Linney and made Jason Reitman laugh this weekend...I think I could die happy. Clooney's great, Vera Farmiga..great, Anna Kendrick...really great...Amy Morton (saw her in New York two months ago in August:Osage County) great... Overall 3 and 1/2 stars ...GO SEE IT!

And then we concluded the day with "The Last Station". Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James Mc Avoy bring us the realization of writer/director Michael Hoffman's adaptation of a novel about the last year of Leo Tolstoy's life. And it rocked! Plummer...great, Mirren...great and McAvoy better than he's ever been. It's a wonderful performance as Tolstoy's secretary and the audience's representative. 3 stars. The evening topped off with a Q & A with director Hoffman and Oscar winner Dame Helen...and a sighting of Dame Helen's husband as we left the theater, director Taylor Hackford.

An amazing day of film in Telluirde...Can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Day One

Patron Brunch...Check...good food and good conversation...talked with Laura Linney...see above. Also talked to Russian director Andrey Khrzhanovsky here with his film "A Room and a Half"... engaging fellow. May try to get his film in tomorrow.

Today' s films: "An Education" Good performances from Carey Mulligan and Alfred Molina...the picture itself...so-so...2 1/2 stars (out of 4)

"Coco Before Chanel" I'm an Audrey Tautou fan...but...film starts well and then about half hour in, the slog begins...2 stars tops.

Tomorrow: Probably "Life During Wartime" and "The Last Station" (dame Helen Mirren is supposed to do a Q &A after). AND FINALLY..."Up in the Air" will sneak preview here tomorrow afternoon...my sources on this are really good...Jason Reitman expected to be here to intro the film...I'll be there for sure.

And now, on to the SHOW

After the ten hour drive we are here.

Ready to grapple with the next four days and very excited about them and the chance to see great film. On tap: A Prophet, Vincere, The Road, Bad Lieutenant, Coco Before Chanel, The Last Station and many others.

Have already spotted documentarian Ken Burns (personal hero) and critic/reporter/bloggers Anne Thompson and Eugene Hernandez.

Girding up for the Patron Brunch in the morning at Skyline Ranch. Purportedly Viggo Mortensen (The Road) and Nicolas Cage (Bad Lieutenant) are already in town and we hope to see them there.

Finally...still pretty sure Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" will "sneak" on Sunday or Monday...and can't wait to see it.

Can't believe I get to do this...

Thanks Larry and Mitzi...

And Away We Go

Leaving in about an hour. Word is that the official schedule will be released at noon today...but if you're following the chatter on the web you probably already have a pretty good idea of what's likely to show up...

But if not...here is an incomplete list of what to expect...

"Coco Before Chanel" (starring the incandescent Audrey Tautou), "Bright Star" (new from Jane Campion of "The Piano" fame), "Life During Wartime" (Todd Soldonz's newest...with Ally Sheedy and Allison Janney among others), "A Prophet" (Cannes entry), "The Road" (Viggo Mortensen in Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic story...also has Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, and Robert Duvall), "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" (Werner Herzog directs Nicolas Cage in a re-imagining of the Abel Ferrera original), "Up in the Air" (Jason Reitman's post-Juno project starring George Clooney), "An Education" ( a Sundance favorite with Peter Sarrsgard) and "The Last Station" with an incredible cast: Christopher Plummer, Helen Mirren, Paul Giamatti and James McAvoy....

Can't wait to hit the road, and hope to see and talk to some of you in Telluride!

One Day

Leaving in less than 24 hours and the rumors and info are flying fast and furious about this year's lineup...

Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeffrey Wells continues to add to the list he says will be there...including today's additions of "A Prophet, " "Vincere'" and "Life During Wartime". See it at: http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/

The net also is pulsing with a rumor that Michael Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" will show up.

The Scott Pilgrim rumor from yesterday has been debunked in a number of quarters...

Two Days

Well, some interesting tidbits here and there tonight...

Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere all but confirms: "Up in the Air," "The Road," "Bad Lieutenant," and "An Education" and claims that the "other" Herzog film..."My Son, My Son..." will NOT be playing Telluride.

At this point "Up in the Air" seems to be a lock...we've seen some other pretty compelling evidence that it's a-happenin'.

Additionally, the internet has been burning up the last 24 hours or so with the rumor that Edgar Wright's "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" with Michael Cera will pop up in Telluride...we think that rumor is more than just a rumor!

As to "Amelia" and "Broken Embraces" nary a breath...so maybe I don't know what I'm talking about after all!

An Echo Chamber

Anne Thompson, writing in her blog "Thompson on Hollywood" for IndieWire.com is up with her Telluride guess list... and that of Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly...here's that link:http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2009/08/30/festival_watch_new_moon_pics/

Thompson and Willman's lists share "The White Ribbon," "The Road," "An Education," and "Up in the Air" before differing.

From both lists, I concur with all of Thompson's guesses and take issue only with one of Willman's. That disagreement is with "Bad Lieutenant". Willman includes it on his list and I never have. I've always thought it was unlikely and Werner Herzog (who is tied into the Festival) has another film I have mentioned in this post..."My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?"

My guess is that it's in and "Bad Lieutenant" is out...Of course, I could be completely wrong. Wouldn't be the first time.

Documentary en francais?

Camille Rousselet...listed as festival manager for WIDE management tweets that the French/Belgian documentary "14-18 The Noise and the Fury" directed by Jean-Francois Delassus will play at Telluride.

The IMDB address is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323562/

Five Days Left...

A couple of quick notes this morning...nothing new to add definitively...just a new nugget or two.

Seems Sony Pictures Classics picked up the distribution for "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus" two weeks ago which bumps it from my list of "Ain't gonna happen!" to "Well, at least it's possible." As I have noted in these posts before, SPC has had a good relationship with Telluride in the past.

Don't think that just because a film is on the Toronto list that it won't play at Telluride. Last year by my unofficial quick count 16 feature films played both places...For Venice, however, the incidence is much, much smaller.

A couple of other films to add to my last post that wouldn't utterly shock me to be at Telluride include Taylor Hackford directing his wife Helen Mirren in "Love Ranch" and Michael Moore's new documentary "Capitalism, A Love Story."

And finally a quick shout out to my new friend at "A Random Walk Through Film" at http://seattlefilmfest.blogspot.com/

He has been very kind to link to some of posts and pass info on...appreciate it and maybe we'll meet up in a few days...

More as it becomes available...

"The Road" to Telluride

Down to less than a week before the 36th Telluride Film Festival and this post seeks to sum up everything we have been able to track down, stumble across or just guess at.

Latest news: Podcast by Anne Thompson of IndieWire and Kristopher Tapley at Incontention.com at least implies that "An Educaton" may be at Telluride. This is the second film in a week that would NOT fall under the Telluride rules that I thought were in place in terms of whether films had played other places before Telluride..."Precious" being the other. But both Thompson and Tapley let slip early in the podcast that "An Education" is/could be on the play list. You can find their podcast at: http://incontention.com/?p=12596.

But the biggest news from the podcast is Anne Thompson's near certain assertion that John Hillcoat's "The Road" will be there. Viggo Mortensen stars in the adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's post-apocalyptic novel. This is a film that we originally thought would be released last year, but was moved to 2009.

Now on to the summary: Here are the films that someone somewhere has claimed will be at Telluride: "Bright Star, " Life During Wartime," "My Son My Son What Have Ye Done?," "Lebanon"and "The Road."

Films that someone has implied might be there: "Precious" and "An Education"...see caveat above and "Up in the Air (Tapley says he thinks it will follow the "Juno" path)."

Films I am flat just guessing will be there...but it's a good bet..."Amelia, " "Broken Promises," "Coco Before Chanel," and Mark Ruffalo's directorial debut "Sympathy for Delicious".

Films I am less confident of, but wouldn't be surprised if they were in Telluride: "Leaves of Grass," "Ondine," "Wild Grass," "The Damned United, " The White Ribbon, " "Get Low," "Brothers," "Un Prophete," and "Gentlemen Broncos".

And finally...Films I would love to show up in Telluride, but I don't think that there is much of a chance: "The Men Who Stare at Goats, " "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus," "Nine," "The Informant," "A Serious Man," and "The Tree of Life."

Last note...Scorsese's "Shutter Island" and Julie Taymor's "The Tempest" have reportedly been bumped to release in 2010...

I will post again as information warrants over the next few days leading up to travelling time. I leave Thursday afternoon and plan to start the Telluride experience at the Patron Brunch on Friday morning. Hope to meet some of you there!

And maybe back on the list

I had pretty much written off "Precious/Push/Sapphire" since it played at Sundance this year and I had always thought that Telluride avoided scheduling films that had played in Utah....but...Kristopher Tapley writing yesterday for Incontention.com suggests that it could still end up in Telluride next week.

Tapley says: "Lee Daniels’s “Precious.” The film will play the Toronto, New York and Chicago fests, perhaps Telluride (that typically secretive line-up is begging to be revealed slowly in conversations around town)." You can find this and more at: http://incontention.com/

Tapley is well connected, so you have to give the concept some credence. "Precious" was originally on my list of three major guesses back in July along with "Amelia" and "Broken Promises".

Stay tuned!

10 Days and Counting

No real news tonight...nothing popping up that we have been able to discern in the last 48 hours.

Did get a note from Reilly Capps at the Telluride Daily Planet alerting us to a story he posted last week. In it he quotes Telluride Film Fest Co-Chair Gary Meyer any number of times characteristically declining comment on what may or may not be playing. Of note, however is Meyer's quote near the end of the article. He says, "“I will tell you that it’s going to be a fantastic festival and there are some real surprises.” Capps full article can be found at: http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2009/08/19/news/doc4a8cd662dc40f505807691.txt

That is great news. Last year's fest was undeniably affected by the writer's strike and both Meyer and fellow Co-Chair Tom Luddy are to be commended for the festival that they put on last year in light of that.

With that note, however, it is worth commenting on what appears to be Meyer's enthusiasm about this year's lineup. When Meyer says "real surprises" I believe him and have a hard time waiting to see what they might be. It has me very excited to head to the San Juans!

Two Weeks

Two weeks away from the festival and...

Rumors have been floating for a couple of months (since the middle of June when it was announced as a selection for Toronto) that Jason Reitman's new film "Up in the Air" starring George Clooney would follow the path that his Juno did two years ago and be at Telluride.

As cool as that would be, there has been nothing more than rumor and speculation. Sites such as Hitfix and Filmcatcher have hinted at the possibility...but absolutely no one is being more definite than that.

Here's hoping it's included on the program. It's arrival is highly anticipated.