Showing posts with label The Act of Killing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Act of Killing. Show all posts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Vanity Fair's Too Early Oscar Picks and TFF / Cannes Speculation and TFF / The Best Docs of the 21st Century and TFF

VANITY FAIR'S TOO EARLY OSCAR PICKS AND TFF




I'm continuing my current project of scouring early Oscar prognostications for possible titles that might pop up at the 51st Telluride Film Festival.  Today's source is Joe Reid of Vanity Fair. These predicted films seem to me to have the best chance at TFF (listed in the order they are presented in the article):

Megalopolis- Dir: Frances Ford Coppola
Hard Truths- Dir: Mike Leigh
Blitz- Dir: Steve McQueen
Bird- Dir: Andrea Arnold
The End- Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
Conclave- Dir: Edward Berger
The Actor- Dir: Duke Johnson
The Piano Lesson- Dir: Malcolm Washington
Maria- Dir: Pablo Larrain
The Nickel Boys- Dir: RaMell Ross
Queer; Dir: Luca Guadagnino
Long Day's Journey Into Night- Dir: Jonathan Kent
The Apprentice- Dir: Ali Abbasi
SNL 1975- Dir: Jason Reitman



CANNES SPECULATION AND TFF




In addition to Oscar speculation as a way to sense some of the films that could be on their way to Telluride, the films that are selected for inclusion at the Cannes Film Festival merit investigation.

Each year there are a number of films that end up playing at Cannes in May and again as a North American premiere at TFF.  Last year I logged 10 films that played both fests including Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest and The Teachers' Lounge.  The average is around eight per year.

So, to begin that part of the process, I took a look at Screen Daily's annual Cannes speculation  article that was posted a week ago.  Screen Daily divides its list geographically.  That said, here are what feel like films that could possibly make the Cannes/Telluride connection:

Anora- Dir: Sean Baker
Maria- Dir: Pablo Larrain
Megalopolis- Dir: Frances Ford Coppola
Bird- Dir: Andrea Arnold
The End- Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
Emilia Perez-Jacques Audiard
Dear Paris- Dir: Marjane Satrapi



THE BEST DOCS OF THE 21ST CENTURY AND TFF




Indiewire posted a list of what they have determined to be the 52 best documentaries of the 21st century.  Not surprisingly a good number of the films that made the list also made an appearance at the Telluride Film Festival.

Here's the list of docs from the top 52 that screened at TFF.  These are listed in reverse order by where Indiewire ranked them.  The year the doc appeared at Telluride is indicated to the title's right in parentheses:

43) The Central Park Five (2012)\
31) Procession (2021)
29) Fire at Sea (2016)
17) Waltz with Bashir (2008)
13) Bowling for Columbine (2002)
10) The Look of Silence (2015)
9) Stories We Tell (2013)
6) Faces Places (2017)
5) All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
4) Flee (2021)
1) The Act of Killing (2013)




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Monday, May 5, 2014

Two Films I Want/Counting Down to Cannes (cont.)/Another Note on "Act of Killing"

Welcome to Monday...and May!  Telluride Film Festival is now less than four months away!

TWO FILMS I WANT

The purpose of this blog has always been (mostly) about trying to provide insight about what films might make the cut and appear at the Telluride Film Festival despite the challenge that the organizers keep the lineup secret until the day before the festival starts.  Purpose #2 has been to track those films that do get picked every year through the film awards season since Telluride has become, whether they want to be or not, a pretty big part of the film awards launchpad.

In service of the first purpose, I work fairly diligently at trying to uncover the best available evidence of any particular film making it to The SHOW.  However, there are also films that I unashamedly WANT to make the list.  Sometimes wishes come true..last year's appearance of "12 Years a Slave" and "Inside Llewyn Davis" were examples of films that I really, really hoped would be in T-ride.  At the outset of this process last spring, I though "12 Years" was a pretty fair bet but the chances of "Llewyn" being there seemed pretty small.  Glad they both made it.

All that to get to this:  I've got a couple of films (well, probably more) that I'm already putting on the "hope" list.  Both have some characteristics that make me think that they could make the trip to the San Juans but neither are a lead-pipe cinch to be there.  I mention these two specifically because I ran across stories about them both this week.  They are:

J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain...Jessica Chastain on Colorado Ave?  Yes please!  The film popped up on my radar again this weekend as new photos emerged from Entertainment Weekly and then were subsequently posted by The Playlist:




Here's why I think it could make the T-ride lineup...Chandor (who's "All is Lost" played last year) and A24 is distributing.  A24 was involved recently with "Enemy", "Under the Skin" and "Ginger & Rosa"...which all played Telluride.  Also...Oscar Isaac is a cool dude.


Also on my "wish list": Morten Tyldum's "The Imitation Game".  The film follows the story of Brit Alan Turing who  was instrumental in breaking the Nazi's Enigma Code in WWII and. without hyperbole, ended the war sooner rather than later. Turing, who was gay, was hectored mercilessly for that by the very government he helped save.  

I'm really high on the concept.  It's a story that has fascinated me since reading Hugh Whitemore's play "Breaking the Code" in the 1980's.  Additionally, like most of the rest of the world, I've decided that Benedict Cumberbatch...who plays Turing in the film, is possibly a great actor. The Weinstein Company is distributing and they have played Telluride with some frequency.  Some years more successfully than others.

There was a good deal of reportage last year that TWC was originally going to sneak "Philomena" at TFF and changed plans at the last minute.  "Salinger" was the replacement.  I'd like to think that TWC will bring this to Telluride as they have realized the boost a successful run at T-ride can give and has given awards-seeking films in the last decade including TWC's own "The Artist" and "The King's Speech".

I was reminded this week of "The Imitation Game" as it has an announced release date...Nov. 21.  Check the story, also from The Playlist:


So...Telluride honcho's who read this space...I nominate "A Most Violent Year" and "The Imitation Game" for inclusion in the 41st edition of TFF.

That's today's "wish list".  There will be more.

COUNTING DOWN TO CANNES

(Photo from MCN)


Jake Howell and Movie City News continue their series of highlighting Cannes Palme d"Or contending films with a look at Xavier Dolan's "Mommy".  Find that here:



ANOTHER NOTE ON "THE ACT OF KILLING"



I reported in my last post my belief that Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Look of Silence"...a documentary sequel to his "The Act of Killing" is a fairly safe bet to play TFF 2014.  Underscoring the fact that it's back in the film news a bit was IMDb's tweet that "Act of Killing" sits atop a list that has been constructed there of the best docs of the current decade.

Also in the top ten of (based on their critical rating as averaged by IMDb): are past Telluride docs "Tabloid" (4), "Tim's Vermeer" (5) and "Stories We Tell (8).  Herzog's "Into the Abyss" is #11.

The complete list is here;



More on Thursday...


Thursday, May 1, 2014

More Films for Cannes/The Act of Killing Part 2?/More from the "Scottish" Movie

MORE FILMS FOR CANNES



Cannes Film Fest programmers have added six more films to the various sections including one in the Une Certain Regard section that is generally considered as the second tier below the Palme d"or competition category.

After looking at the new films added I can tell you that none of them immediately jump out as likely Telluride contenders.  That said, there is some buzz that one more film might be added to the main competition slate. The story is covered in these posts from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cannes-adds-six-films-official-700109


http://variety.com/2014/film/festivals/cannes-film-festival-adds-six-features-to-the-official-selection-1201167463/

THE ACT OF KILLING PART 2?

"The Act of Killing", Joshua Oppenheimer's documentary about genocide in Indonesia, made quite a splash at Telluride in 2012.  As we have reported in this space before, Oppenheimer has been working on a sequel to "Act" that switches the focus from the perpetrators to the victims.  The film is called "The Look of Silence".  Screen Daily reported  this week that the new documentary is nearing completion and that it is expected to be ready for the fall film fest season.  The Dissolve goes a  step further and mentions Telluride by name and suggests that the desire is fro the sequel to follow the same path that "Act" did.

I expect that will happen.  As the sequel purports to be the other "half of the coin"of this same story and has Werner Herzog and Errol Morris  as executive producers, chances are it's on Telluride's list on Labor Day weekend.

http://www.screendaily.com/news/production/oppenheimers-killing-follow-up-readied-for-autumn-fests/5071115.article?referrer=RSS

http://thedissolve.com/news/2110-joshua-oppenheimers-the-act-of-killing-sequel-is-a/


MORE FROM THE "SCOTTISH" MOVIE


Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender in "MacBeth" (photo from The Playlist/EmpireOnline.com)


Another new photo has emerged from the filming of Justin Kurzel's "MacBeth" of stars Marion Cotillard (Lady MacBeth) and Michael Fassbender (MacBeth).  It's no secret that I am fascinated by this project.  It's listed by IMDb as a 2015 release but also listed as being in post-production.  It's distributor is The Weinstein Company and the production firm all has had reasonably good ties to past Telluride films (See Saw; "Tracks", "Shame", "The King's Speech").  If I were betting, right now I'd bet this doesn't make the trip to T-ride but I'd like it to.

Here's the story that goes with the photo:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michael-fassbender-marion-cotillard-bring-shakespeare-to-life-with-new-image-from-macbeth-20140428


That's all for now, folks...more on Monday.  Have a great weekend!

Monday, February 24, 2014

Oscar in the Headlights/Directors Talking

Good Monday Everyone...hope you had a good weekend.

OSCAR IN THE HEADLIGHTS



It's down to less than a week until the envelopes are unsealed and the closest Best Picture race in a good long while comes to an end.  I'll have a final FAC Check of the Oscar categories on Thursday with the possibility of some tweaking on Friday and Saturday...maybe even Sunday morning.  As I wrote last week, I am planning to include all 24 Oscar categories including the "Shorts" in this final prognostication.

What's buzzing as we move into the last two days of Oscar balloting (remember balloting must be done by 5PM Pacific Time tomorrow)?

***It's still a horse race for Best Picture.  "12 Years a Slave" with a perceived slight edge over "Gravity" with no one completely dismissing the chance that it could be "American Hustle".

***Almost everyone that thinks they know this stuff is saying that Alfonso Cuaron wins Best Director regardless of the Best Picture outcome.

***Three of the four four acting categories have front runners that seem virtual locks: McConaughey for Actor for "Dallas Buyers Club", Leto for Supporting in the same film and Cate Blanchett for Actress for "Blue Jasmine".  Best Supporting Actress is a closer contest with Lupita Nyong'o Of  "12 Years" perceived to have a small advantage over Jennifer Lawrence for "Hustle".

I have been hearing some buzz about a possible DiCaprio surprise for Actor but Leto and Blanchett appear solid.  There's even a bit of a Chiwetel Ejiofor buzz after his BAFTA win last week.

***"Gravity" is going to win the most trophies Sunday night.  The questions are: How many? and Which ones?

***"Hustle" could end the night with no wins despite having the most nominations of any film (10, tied with "Gravity").  It's best chance is in Original Screenplay where it's thought that it's in a very tight race with "Her".  It's next best chance is Lawrence and its third best shot might actually be Best Picture.

***I mentioned this on my last post, at the end of the night the film with the second most wins may very well be "Dallas Buyers Club" which is seen as likely winning three: Actor, Supporting Actor and Makeup/Hair.  If "12 Years" goes down in Best Picture, Supporting Actress and/or Adapted Screenplay all of which could happen.

***As a matter of fact, "12 Years" could go home empty handed.

Anyway, the Oscar season is in full force for six more days...

Here are some of the last few days key Oscar prognosticators:



Gurus of Gold and their "top three" edition:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/02/gurus-o-gold-top-3/

Also the Gurus "If We Could Sway the Academy" edition:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/02/gurus-o-gold-if-we-could-sway-the-academy/

Here's a link to Scott Feinberg's next to last Feinberg Forecast...he still has "12 Years" listed on top for Best Picture:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/feinberg-forecast-whos-up-whos-680714

Feinberg has also posted his "Forecast" for the Shorts categories.  You can find that here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/oscars-winner-predictions-whos-going-682650

And Sasha Stone has her latest installment of "The State of the Race" in which she says what I say...it's about Telluride:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/the-state-of-the-race-down-to-the-wire-best-picture-still-set-on-telluride-time/

And Stone and Jeff Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere have put up a rare version of Oscar Poker as we enter this last week before the awards:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2014/02/oscar-poker-pulse/


DIRECTORS TALKING



Fox Searchlight tweeted this link to an interview with "12 Years a Slave" director Steve McQueen over the weekend:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f2x189cLoo&feature=youtu.be



And Daniel Montgomery of Gold Derby has this interview with Oscar nominated documentarian and TFF #39 participant Joshua Oppenheimer whose "The act of Killing" is in hot competition to win the Best Doc Oscar on Sunday night:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/5694/oscars-documentary-act-of-killing-joshua-oppenheimer-entertainment-news-37485960.html


More on Thursday...

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Wolf on the Prowl/Mandela's Poster/Act of Winning

Good Tuesday everyone...from Birmingham, Alabama and the National Speech and Debate Tournament...

A WOLF ON THE PROWL



The first trailer for Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" starring Leonardo DiCaprio dropped yesterday and the internet was abuzz with multiple ways to link to it. Although I don't think that it's a likely Telluride entrant, it almost certainly will have some effect on the upcoming Oscar season.  Further, it's not completely impossible that it could be a part of The SHOW.  So here's the trailer and several links to accompanying stories:

itunes:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/paramount/thewolfofwallstreet/

Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/the-wolf-of-wall-street-movie-trailer-dicaprio-scorsese/


The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/leonardo-dicaprio-martin-scorsese-party-hard-wolf-wall-street-trailer-97706


MANDELA'S POSTER



A film with a somewhat rosier prospect of Telluride play is Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela and directed by Justin Chadwick.  That film released its first poster yesterday as per this post from The Hollywood Reporter:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/idris-elba-channels-nelson-mandela-569953


ACT OF WINNING



One of the most talked about documentaries at last year's TFF was Josh Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing".  It continues to make waves as it was named winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Sheffield Doc/Fest.  IndieWire has that story here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/the-act-of-killing-tops-sheffield-doc-fest

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More tomorrow...



Thursday, March 21, 2013

Leigh and SPC/ Lynne Leaves a Gun/Sapphires and Killing

Good Thursday everyone...


LEIGH AN SPC



Mike Leigh has a new project and Sony Pictures Classics has signed up to distribute.  That means that a likely Telluride film for the future is inn the drawing boards since both Leigh and SPC are common fixtures at the TFF.  Here are a slew of links to that story:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/mike-leighs-turner-biopic-finds-a-home-with-sony-classics

https://www.thewrap.com/movies/article/mike-leighs-upcoming-project-picked-sony-pictures-classic-81736

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/sony-pictures-classics-mike-leigh

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/mike-leigh-gets-to-work-on-untitled-j-m-w-turner-feature-with-timothy-spall/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/sony-pictures-classics-reteam-writer-429694

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sony-pictures-classics-picks-up-mike-leighs-untitled-jmw-turner-biopic-for-2014-release-20130319


LYNNE LEAVES A GUN



Meanwhile, another story that may, in fact, derail a film that had at least some Telluride potential.  I'm talking about "Jane Got a Gun" which, until Tuesday, was being directed by Lynne Ramsay as her follow up to "We Need to Talk About Kevin".  Here are a number of reports posted this week:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/warrior-director-gavin-oconnor-replaces-lynne-ramsay-on-jane-got-a-gun-20130320

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/we-need-to-talk-about-the-director-lynne-ramsay-quits-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production-20130319

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/lynne-ramsay-no-shows-and-drops-out-of-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/we-need-to-talk-about-the-director-lynne-ramsay-quits-jane-got-a-gun-on-first-day-of-production-20130319

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/lynne-ramsay-quits-natalie-portman-western-jane-got-a-gun-on-day-one-of-shooting


TFF #39 FILMS CONTINUE TO MAKE A MARK



Included here, a new interview with Chris O'Dowd of "The Sapphires" which opens in limited release this weekend...go see it if you can...it's pretty good.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/toronto-2012-chris-odowd-bridesmaids-sapphires-movie-369735

Anne Thompson talks "The Act of Killing".  The Josh Oppenheimer documentary.  That post is here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/act-of-killing-at-moma



More Monday, have a great weekend!






Thursday, November 1, 2012

Final Jog/Rust and Bone/The Gatekeepers/Act of Killing/Oscar Time/In Nebraska: Coming Attractions...sort of

Good Thursday Everyone!  One more blog post to come before election day...exercise your franchise!

FINAL JOG


"The Jogger" wraps in OKC

Friend pf the blog, Casey Twenter has wrapped primary photography on his (co-director/co-writer) feature film "The Jogger".  "The Jogger" still has a few days to go on its Kickstarter clock to put together money for post-production extras.  You can toss "The Jogger" a buck or two here:


RUST AND BONE



Getting closer to its U.S. release (limited on Nov. 23), Rust and Bone and SPC are stepping up the PR around the film including an official website here:


Also, here are links to interviews with Best Actress Oscar contender Marion Cotillard:


And director Jacques Audiard:


THE GATEKEEPERS



Dror Moreh's look at the Israeli intelligence community made big waves at Telluride this year and has continued to do so post-festival.  The Jewish Daily Forward sat down with the filmmaker for this interview:




THE ACT OF KILLING



Big buzz generating documentary "The Act of Killing" is also creating a good deal of heat/news as you can see below with links to the news that Drafthouse Films will distribute the film:


Also director Joshua Oppenheimer talks to RealScreen.com about the film:



OSCAR TIME



Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter offers his first assessment of the Oscar season at this post bat THR:


Also, Tom O'Neil (Gold Derby) and Thelma Adams stroll through their Oscar Update here:




AND FINALLY, IN NEBRASKA...



Last week my "Coming Attraction" was Alexander Payne's "Nebraska".  This week I jumped the gun and put up George Clooney's emerging "The Monuments Men" on Monday instead of waiting for its normal slot today...so...here is a quick addition of updates to both of those films.

First, a story of Payne returning to rural Nebraska to work on the film of the same name:


And a few more links from stories that have posted since Monday's early MTFB post for "The Monuments Men":






More on Monday...have a great weekend!

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Friday, August 24, 2012

Frances Ha/Passion Trailer/Promised Land's Promise//Master Poster #3/Invitation/Preview for Saturday

Good Friday to All!  7 days until it happens! (6 days 'til I'm burning up road to get there)

FRANCES HA



Just yesterday I reported that Jeff Wells had posted that he was hearing the Noah Baumbach's and Greta Gerwig's "Frances Ha" was likely going to show at the SHOW next week.  Consequently I included it in the concluding (part 3) portion of my "Thirty That Could Play" and put its chances at 60%.

I'm bumping that up today.  I'm saying with very little equivocation, count on it playing.  So much so that "Frances Ha" will be somewhere on Monday's (and the final) "Ten Bets" list.

Wells also revisited the film yesterday at some length and you can find that post linked here:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/08/spiritual_buoya.php


"Frances" has an IMDb entry here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2347569/


PLUS TWO



I've posted "Thirty That Could Play" throughout the week and as I go to press today two more films have emerged as real possibilities for the SHOW program...so "32 That Could Play"?

Jeff Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere continues his reveal of snippets he's learned about prospective Telluride films with "Ginger and Rosa" directed by Sally Potter and starring Elle Fanning and Alice Englert with Annette Bening and Christina Hendricks in support.  The film follows the lives of two young women in London in 1962.

Wells says it's "another likely Telluride Film Festival attraction".
His full post is here:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/08/two_rode_togeth_1.php

"Ginger and Rosa's" IMDb entry: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2115295/

Meanwhile, as I was perusing the Toronto International Film Festival website this week I cam across a documentary that has been executive produced by Werner Herzog and Errol Morris (though neither is IMDb credited).  That alone is enough to think that it has serious Telluride potential.  The title: "The Act of Killing" from Joshua Oppenheimer and according to its TIFF info it focuses on Indonesian death squads.

Its IMDb entry is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/



PASSION TRAILER


Trailer for DePalma's "Passion"


Also moving up on the is Brain DePalma's "Passion" which released a trailer yesterday...looks...intriguing?  It stars Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams.

Check the post from Rope of Silicon here:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/watch-passion-trailer-brian-de-palma-mcadams-rapac/


PROMISED LAND'S PROMISE



Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land" co-written and starring Matt Damon and John Krasinski has a just announced December release date (Dec. 28 in NY/LA) says Kris Tapley at InContention/HitFix.  But Tapley also flat out states "no festival season" for the film based on a story by Dave Eggers...this year's TFF #39 poster artist.


Bummer...I really thought I might have connected the dots here by including "Promised Land" as a 30% shot among the "Thirty That Could Play".  As long is it was "ready" I said. Thought I was pretty smart...but I guess it's not "ready"

Still...

Keith Jagernauth at The Playlist says there is NO word on festival status for the film and even tosses Telluride into the converstion.  Look...here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/gus-van-sants-promised-land-with-matt-damon-john-krasinski-gets-december-28th-release-date-20120823#

OK...I'm gonna say it...I STILL think this could "sneak" next weekend...call me crazy...go ahead...I'll wait...

Here's Tapley's post:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/matt-damon-and-john-krasinski-join-the-season-in-gus-van-sants-promised-land


MASTER POSTER #3

Apparently unleashed on the San Francisco crew that watched the screening of "The Master" at the Castro Theater on Tuesday night:





YOUR INVITATION...




I want to make sure every reader knows that they (well, everyone) is cordially invited to a brief reception on Friday, Aug. 31 at 5:00pm at The River Club (550 Depot) in Telluride.  The soiree is called "The Second Annual(?) Guide to the "Ride; The Flow of the SHOW".  We'll rub elbows and talk a little bit about what the weekend is going to hold for us.  Should be fun.  Hosts Mitzi and Larry mallard tell me that we can expect refreshments...maybe a little wine, maybe a nosh.


SATURDAY PREVIEW



Tomorrow's post will focus on re-assessing the "Thirty That Could Play" complete with updated chances and rankings of likelihood...plus any late breaking news and any other "Best of the Week" items that strike me as worthy of re-posting.


More later...

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