Shelley Duvall 1949-2024 / Trailers for TFF Possibles / Bikeriders Behind the Scenes Video from Indiewire / Still Wondering...

SHELLEY DUVALL 1949-2024

It's been a pretty rough last few days with the passing of Robert Towne, Donald Sutherland and Shelley Duvall.  I didn't note the passing of Towne or Sutherland in this space because to the best of my abilities, I could not find an instance where either of those two legends attended any edition of the Telluride Film Festival.

Shelley Duvall, however, was a frequent guest of the early days of TFF.  Again, as best that I can tell, Duvall was in attendance at TFF #2 (1975), TFF #7 (1980) as the fest paid tribute to Robert Altman and screened McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Brewster McCloud and Thieves Like Us and , finally, TFF #8 (1981).

Here's the remembrance from The Hollywood Reporter.

TRAILERS FOR TFF POSSIBLES:

EMILIA PEREZ (not in English)

THE SUBSTANCE

BIKEREADERS BEHIND THE SCENES VIDEO

From Indiwire: https://twitter.com/IndieWire/status/1811430282131554513

STILL WONDERING...

News this week that Sony Pictures Classics had picked up Nora Fingscheidt's The Outrun starring Saorise Ronan.  I had speculated back on June 3rd that perhaps TFF might program it and couple it with Steve McQueen's Blitz.  However, with the news that Blitz would World Premiere at the London Film Fest blew that theory up.

But...with SPC picking up the film and dating it for an Oct. 4th release, maybe it still ends up at The SHOW.  Here's what I'm thinking at the moment.  The fest tributes Ronan, screens The Outrun and maybe shows clips or a scene from Blitz.

Here's the SPC acquisition story from Variety.

Oh, and just to be a tease...I got a tip from a good source that one of the Ten Bets is confirmed for Telluride.  I'm not at liberty to cite the source nor name the film but I can tell you that it has appeared on all four lists of Bets thus far.

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Checking the Distributors: Netflix / Best Films of 2024 So Far?

 CHECKING THE DISTRIBUTORS: NETFLIX

Netflix first showed up in the Telluride lineup in 2015 with Beasts of No nation and Winter on Fire.  Since then the streamer/producer has been a sturdy presence at TFF.  Here's their titles that have made an appearance at T-ride:

2015: Beasts of No Nation, Winter on Fire

2016: I Called Him Morgan, The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno

2017: First They Killed My Father, Wormwood

2018: Dovlatov, Girl, Reversing Roe, Roma, The Other Side of the Wind, They'll Love Me When I'm Dead

2019: Inside Bill's Brain, Marriage Story, Tell Me Who I Am, The Two Popes

2020: No announced films

2021: The Hand of God, The Lost Daughter, The Power of the Dog, Procession

2022: Bardo, Lady Chatterley's Lover, Sr., The Wonder

2023: El Conde, Nyad, Rustin

The Netflix run has included major Oscar players such as Roma, The Power of the Dog and Marriage Story.

This year the Netflix larder of films that feel TFF-like seems thinner than most recent years.

The most likely title to make it to TFF #51 is Jacques Audiard's Cannes award (the Jury Award and a collective Best Actress award for the four main players) winner Emilia Perez.  Audiard has been represented at Telluride in the past but its been awhile.  SHOW passholders saw A Prophet in 2009 and Rust and Bone in 2012. 

Also in play is Malcolm Washington's filmed adaptation of the August Wilson stage play The Piano Lesson starring Samuel l. Jackson and John David Washington.

And there's a very outside shot that Noah Baumbach's latest might be ready for screening and should that happen it would be something we'd have to take very seriously for TFF #51.  IMDb reports that the film has been in post-production since early May.  Not much is known as the plot has been kept under wraps but the cast is stacked with George Clooney, Laura Dern, Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup, Emily Mortimer (who co-wrote the screenplay) and Greta Gerwig.

Chances:

Emilia Perez 50%

The Piano Lesson 25%

Untitled Baumbach 10%...mostly because it's just not likely to be ready in time.

BEST FILMS OF 2024 SO FAR?

I was invited to participate in World of Reel's poll to determine the best films of the year as we mark the end of the first half of 2024.

Of interest, perhaps to TFF fans is that two of the top ten were TFF #50 films.  Alice Rohrwacher's La Chimera landed at #8 and Jeff Nichol's The Bikeriders was at #10 (Bikeriders was on my list of five films that I submitted).

At the top of the list is Denis Villenueve's Dune Part Two.

The entire list from World of Reel is here.

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Looking at Distributors: Searchlight / From Out of Left Field / More as The Bikeriders Rolls out

CHECKING THE DISTRBUTORS: SEARCHLIGHT

Searchlight (and before it, Fox Searchlight) has been a stalwart in the TFF Universe for many years.  My running list of films from them goes back to 2004 and includes five Oscar Best Picture winners and a slew of nominations:

2023: Poor Things, All of Us Strangers, The Last Repair Shop

2022: Empire of Light 

2021: The French Dispatch 

2020: Nomadland (Best Picture Oscar) 

2019: A Hidden Life 
2018: The Favourite, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Old Man and the Gun 
2017: The Shape of Water (Best Picture Oscar), Battle of the Sexes 
2016: No Show
2015: He Named Me Malala 
2014: Birdman (Best Picture Oscar), Wild 
2013: 12 Years a Slave (Best Picture Oscar) 
2012: No Show
2011: Shame, The Descendants 
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan 
2009: No Show
2008: Slumdog Millionaire (Best Picture Oscar) 
2007: Juno, The Savages
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake 
2005: Bee Season 
2004: Kinsey 

But as you can also see there have been years that Searchlight was not a presence at TFF: 2009, 2012 and 2016.  2024 might be one of those off years.

I've scoured what Searchlight has set for release and what films are in post-production and the films that are or could be ready and feel like something Telluride might be interested in are meager.  As a matter of fact, at the moment I can only find Marielle Heller's Nightbitch as Searchlight's only real player.

The film's pedigree sounds like a real TFF possibility: Heller was in T-ride in with Can You Ever Forgive Me? in 2018.  The film's star, Amy Adams was a tribute recipient in 2016 and Searchlight set the film's release for Dec. 6th.  But...

The film has been described as perhaps being too odd and difficult to promote.  Here's part of the plot summary listed at IMDb Pro:

"A woman, thrown into the stay-at-home routine of raising a toddler in the suburbs, slowly embraces the feral power deeply rooted in motherhood, as she becomes increasingly aware of the bizarre and undeniable signs that she may be turning into a dog."

See what I mean.  On the other hand, T-ride programmed Poor Things last year to great success.  So...maybe?

So I'm giving Nightbitch a 30% shot at TFF #51 and I suppose there is the weakest of possibilities that we might see Nate Parker's (The Birth of a Nation) Solitary.  I give it a 10% chance.

FROM OUT OF LEFT FIELD

So I was perusing Jordan Ruimy's World of Reel for this and that and came across this story that Jordan posted on Saturday headlined:

Gia Coppola's ‘The Last Showgirl' Aims for Fall Fests; Oscar Nominee, Pamela Anderson?

Intrigued, I opened the story up and read some very interesting speculation including these choice comments:

"Here’s another potential title for Venice/Telluride."

and

"Coppola’s last film, “Mainstream,” was part of the pandemic-afflicted 2020 edition of Venice, but I’m hearing this one’s a worthier film and, more importantly, is a major showcase for Anderson. It’s also very likely headed to Telluride — that fest’s director, Julie Huntsinger, hasn’t locked her lineup just yet, but “The Last Showgirl” is a major possibility."

Could it be true? Ruimy seems to think so.

Additionally Coppola brought Palo Alto to T-ride in 2013 and would have had Mainstream there in 2020 had the fest not been bagged due to Covid.

We'll have to keep an eye on this.

Here's WOR's full story.

MORE AS THE BIKERIDERS ROLLS OUT

Ahead of its release this week, here's more for Jeff Nichol's The Bikeriders, a TFF #50 alum:

Austin Butler form The Hollywood Reporter's X account.

Austin Butler and Norman Reedus from Car and Driver.

Jodi Comer from The Bikeriders film X account.

And a 60 second look at the film from PopCrave.

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

STEVE MC QUEEN'S BLITZ-OFF THE TABLE?

I wrote in the MTFB May 30th post:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SCREEN DAILY'S VENICE SPECULATION

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

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

Luca Guadagnino's Queer

Pablo Larrain's Maria

Edward Berger's Conclave

Julian Schnabel's In the Hand of Dante

Walter Salles' I'm Still Here

Mike Leigh's Hard Truths

Joshua Oppenheimer's The End

Malcolm Washington's The Piano Lesson

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

BIKERIDERS RIDING INTO THEATERS NEXT WEEK

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

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

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

Director Jeff Nichols with The Hollywood Reporter.

Austin Butler via TheBikeriders X account.

Austin Butler and Jodie Comer from IGN.

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Time to Look at Distributors: A24 / Pics from The Bikeriders / So, About Anora

TIME TO LOOK AT DISTRBUTORS: A24

We're in early June which means that Cannes is done; Venice announcing its lineup is on the horizon and the first "Ten Bets:" for TFF #51 is two weeks away.  That means our annual summer review of what frequent TFF distribution companies have in the various film larders is nigh and we try to get a sense, from that perspective, about films that could be at Telluride on Labor Day weekend.

This year we start with A24.  I might not start there most years but I'm prodded by an article posted from Deadline.com that points to A24's fall crop of films making it an easy place to begin.

Last year A24 had four films make the TFF grade:

The Zone of Interest

Occupied City

Tuesday

Janet Planet

Previous years at TFF for A24:

2015-Room

2016-Moonlight

2017-First Reformed, Lady Bird, Lean on Pete

2019-Uncut Gems, Waves, First Cow

2021-C'mon C'mon, Red Rocket, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

2022-Aftersun, Close

In order of mention, these are the seven films that Deadline's Anthony D'Alessandro's piece:

The Front Room/Eggers Brothers

A Different Man/Aaron Shimberg

We Live in Time/John Crowley

Heretic/Scott Beck and Bryan Wood

Babygirl/Halona Reijn

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl/Rungano Nyoni

Parthenope/Paolo Sorrentino

My assessment of these film's chances of playing TFF:

Parthenope 50%

We Live in Time 45%

Babygirl 40%

On Becoming a Guinea Fowl 35%

Heretic 5%

The Front Room 5%

A Different Man 5%

An outside shot might be David Lowery's Mother Mary which has been in post-production since July of 2023.

Of the list, We Live in Time would be at the top of my list of these titles to actually see with my own eyeballs in T-ride.

Here's the complete Deadline piecenull.

PICS FROM THE BIKERIDERS

A late breaking entry from TFF #50 is Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders.  The film is set for release on June 21st.  Back when it screened at Telluride it looked like it would be a fall release but those plans changed.

Nevertheless, I was a moderately big fan of the film back at TFF and am looking forward to its release.  When it screened at Telluride there was a good deal of buzz about Jodie Comer's performance especially.  It'll be interesting to see if she can get some buzz going here at the beginning of summer.

Anywho...The Hollywood Reporter has some new pics from the film.

You can see them here.

null

SO, ABOUT ANORA

Yes, the Sean Baker film won the Plame d'Or at Cannes a couple of weeks back.  Discerning MTFB readers may have noticed that I had sort of edged away from including it as a TFF possibility because I was sure that I had seen somewhere that a summer release was going to happen.

After it won the Palme, I saw some speculation that if could play Telluride.  I reached out to a couple of friends who told me no such summer release was happening.  

As if to bolster that point, Variety and other sources reported Tuesday that Anora will be released on Oct. 18th.  That puts it in good shape to be a TFF selection and actually will likely make it among the 10 films in MTFB's initial "Ten Bets" for TFF #51 coming in two weeks on June 20th.

Here's the Variety story on the release date:null 

And...turns out I didn't make the summer release date story up.  A now deleted post on X from The Film Stage from April 24th said that:

 

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Megalopolis Teaser / Rasoulof Escapes from Iran / New Bikeriders Trailer for the U.K. / Critics from Cannes

MEGALOPOLIS TEASER

As Francis Ford Coppola nears premiering his latest and self-financed epic at Cannes, he released a teaser trailer on Tuesday.  It looks impressive.  Here it is from YouTube:

RASOULOF ESCAPES FROM IRAN

We've been following the latest travails of Iranian film maker Mohammad Rasoulof for the past few weeks.  Rasoulof has a number of films screen at Telluride (Manuscripts Don't Burn, A Man of Integrity) and has another film set to bow at Cannes on May 24th that could well be a TFF #51 possibility.

We reported recently that Rasoulof had been sentenced to an eight year prison term as well as other punishments as the Iranian regime seeks to silence him and stifle the release of his films.

Now comes word from multiple sources that Rasoulof has managed to get out of Iran and is in hiding somewhere in Europe.

Rasoulof did release a statement regarding the escape:

"I arrived in Europe a few days ago after a long and complicated journey.

About a month ago, my lawyers informed me that my eight-year prison sentence was confirmed in the court of appeal and would be implemented on short notice. Knowing that the news of my new film would be revealed very soon, I knew that without a doubt, a new sentence would be added to these eight years. I didn’t have much time to make a decision. I had to choose between prison and leaving Iran. With a heavy heart, I chose exile. The Islamic Republic confiscated my passport in September 2017. Therefore, I had to leave Iran secretly."

At this point it is not known whether Rasoulof will attempt to make a live appearance for the premiere of his Cannes competition film The Seed of the Sacred Fig. 

NEW BIKERIDERS TRAILER FOR THE U.K.

Late last week Universal and Focus Features released a third trailer for Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders for consumption in the U.K.  Here it is from YouTube:

The Bikeriders opens in the U.S. on June 21st.

CRITICS FROM CANNES

Now that the 77th Cannes Film Festival is underway you can expect to see MTFB's usual compilation of critical responses coming your way beginning with Monday's post.  I'll be following multiple collections of critical response in order to get a sense of what films are capturing the moment in Cannes and as a way to assess TFF potential.  One of those sources will be, again, the massive critical collection from Reini Urban.  Last year TFF films that appeared at Cannes first had these ratings from Urban's list using a ten point scale:

The Zone of Interest 8.16

Perfect Days 7.91

Anatomy of a Fall 7.90

La Chimera 7.46

Fallen Leaves 7.46

The Taste of Things 7.01

Occupied City 6.97

Anselm 6.41

Little Girl Blue 6.21

Room 999 also played Cannes then Telluride last year but is nowhere to be found on Urban's list.

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Is Cannes #77 in Trouble? / Views from The Bikeriders / More on Rasoulof

IS CANNES #77 IN TROUBLE?

And the root of that question stems from a threatened strike by a collective of 200 or so film festival workers who have called for a strike of the fest.  With the festival set to start on May 14th, it seems like there would be some sense of urgency on the part of Cannes organizers.

An open letter to Deadline.com from the collective says, in part:

"Our warnings and demands have been received with polite consideration so far, but no concrete measure has been offered by the CNC or the Ministry of Culture. That is why the upcoming opening of the Cannes Festival is leaving us with a bitter taste.

In a context of extreme vulnerability and absolute emergency to protect our work, and after consultation and vote of the members of the collective, we call for a strike of all employees of the Cannes Film Festival and of its sidebars."

Here's the story from Deadline.

Variety reported yesterday that Cannes officials had responded with a statement of their own:

“We wish to emphasize that they are aware of the difficulties faced by some of their staff who, working on strings of contracts for film festivals, are affected by the reform of the French unemployment insurance scheme, and must grapple with a drop in their benefits.

Faced with this situation, we hope that solutions will be found, and are prepared to set up lasting dialogue conditions to support them.

Aware of the sounding board that the Cannes Festival and its parallel selections represent, we understand the timeliness of these demands. But in order to undertake a constructive reflection aimed at reforming the status of these workers, all the festivals concerned, the institutions and the unions need to come together around the bargaining table. This is the work that must now be undertaken collectively.”

The complete story from Variety is here.

More as it develops...

VIEWS FROM THE BIKERIDERS

As the release date approaches for TFF #50 film The Bikeriders from director Jeff Nichols, we're seeing an increase in P.R. moves.  Including recent releases of a new trailer as well as a new poster.  Now comes two separate posts from Variety and Entertainment Weekly focusing on behind-the-scenes photos from the film.

Take a look at the photos...

From Variety.

From Entertainment Weekly.

The Bikeriders opens June 21st.

MORE ON RASOULOF

We've been following news of Mohammad Rasoulof for a bit now as Iran Has been pressuring him and others to withdraw his film The Seed of the Sacred Fig from the Cannes competition lineup.  Now Indiewire is reporting that the Iranians have sentenced Rasoulof to eight years in prison, flogging as well as confiscation of property and a fine.

Rasoulof;s films have been a frequent selection at Telluride and could possibly be again this year with this new film.

The Indiewire story is here.

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Megalopolis Trailer / Third Trailer for The Bikeriders / Parthenope Has a Home

MEGALOPOLIS TRAILER

Just this weekend American Zoetrope released an initial trailer for Francis ford Coppola's anticipated Megalopolis.  The film is set to debut at Cannes.  I have wondering (hoping?) if it might be a TFF #51 selection.  

Here's the trailer from YouTube and JoBlo:

THIRD TRAILER FOR THE BIKERIDERS

This past week we got a new poster for Jeff Nichol's The Bikeriders which world premiered at Telluride in September.  A day or so later Focus Features dropped a third teaser/trailer for the film .  Here that is from YouTube and JoBlo Upcoming Movies:

The Bikeriders opens June 21st.

PARTHENOPE HAS A HOME

Many of the early Oscar predictions and looks at "Most Anticipated" lists that I have been looking at to get a sense of what films might be in line for a T-ride berth have included Paolo Sorrentino's Parthenope.  The case for a possible screening at TFF #51 may have been strengthened this week as the film was picked by A24 for U.S. distribution ahead of its premiere screening in competition at the Cannes Film Festival in a couple of weeks.

A24 has become a consistent presence at Telluride in recent years including screening of The Zone of Interest (2023). Aftersun (2022) and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) among many others.

The acquisition of Parthenope by A24 doesn't guarantee anything, but it also doesn't hurt.

Here are the details from Deadline.com.

Parthenope is described as follows (from the Deadline article):

"The movie follows Parthenope, who born in the sea of Naples in 1950, searches for happiness over the long summers of her youth, falling in love with her home city and its many memorable characters." 

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Rasoulof Difficulties / The Bikeriders New Official Poster / Nickel Boys Has a Release Date

RASOULOF DIFFICULTIES

(Rasoulof photo via IMDb)

A week ago I wrote that among the titles that had just been added to the lineup for the 77th Cannes Film Festival that Mohammad Rasoulof's The Seed of the Sacred Fig was  a film worth watching as a possible selection for TFF #51.

Now, Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel reports and not surprisingly, authorities in Iran (Rasoulof's home country) are putting pressure on producers and cast members of the film to keep the film from being screened at the Fest.  A number of people connected to the film have been banned from leaving Iran.  Rasoulof himself has been banned from leaving the country since 2017.

Rasoulof has previously screened a number of films at Telluride including There Is No Evil and Manuscripts Don't Burn but a successful push to keep this new film from screening at Cannes might also portend no play at TFF.  

Ruimy's complete post is here.

THE BIKERIDERS NEW OFFICIAL POSTER

Focus Features has released an official poster for Jeff Nichols The Bikeriders.  The film screened at last year's 50th TFF and though responses seemed mixed at the time I quite enjoyed the film.  Currently the film sits at 73 on Metacritic and 83 on Rotten Tomatoes.

Here's the poster:

The Bikeriders will be in theaters on June 21st.

NICKEL BOYS HAS A RELEASE DATE

Deadline.com and other outlets reported this week that RaMell Rosses Nickel Boys will be released on Oct. 25th.  The adaptation of Colson Whitehead's Pulitzer Prize winning novel is now positioned to be a possible inclusion for Telluride, Venice, Toronto and/or New York.

The film's distributor-Amazon/MGM doesn't hurt its chances at a TFF #51 berth either.  Keep an eye on this one.

The Deadline post is here.

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MTFB Oscar Update: The Penultimate Middle Eight Predictions / The Satellite Awards and TFF / The Bikeriders Has a New Trailer / Pass Saga / Interviews and Profiles

 MTFB OSCAR UPDATE: PENULTIMATE THE MIDDLE EIGHT PREDICTIONS

 BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

1) The Zone of Interest/United Kingdom (1)

2) Society of the Snow/Spain (2)

3) The Teachers' Lounge/Germany (3)

4) Perfect Days/Japan (4)

5) Io Capitano/Italy (5)

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

1) 20 Days in Mariupol (1)

2) Bobi Wine: The People's President (2)

3) Four Daughters (3)

4) The Eternal Memory (4)

5) To Kill a Tiger (5)

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

1) Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verse (1)

2) The Boy and the Heron (2)

3) Elemental (3)

4) Nimona (4)

5) Robot Dreams (5)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

1) What Was I Made For?/Barbie (1)

2) I'm Just Ken/Barbie (2)

3) Whazhazhe/Killers of the Flower Moon (4)

4) It Never Went Away/American Symphony (3)

5) The Fire Inside/Flamin' Hot (5)

ORIGINAL SCORE

1) Oppenheimer (1)

2) Killers of the Flower Moon (2)

3) Poor Things (3)

4) American Fiction (4)

5) Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (5)

CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) Oppenheimer (1)

2) Poor Things (3)

3) Killers of the Flower Moon (2)

4) Maestro (4)

5) El Conde (5)

EDITING

1) Oppenheimer (1)

2) Killers of the Flower Moon (2)

3) Anatomy of a Fall (3)

4) Poor Things (4)

5) The Holdovers (5)

PRODUCTION DESIGN

1) Poor Things (2)

2) Barbie (1)

3) Oppenheimer (3)

4) Killers of the Flower Moon (4)

5) Napoleon (5)

Comment:  Seven of the eight categories seem locked and have been consistent throughout the post-nomination period.  Production Design is the only one of these eight that remains competitive.  It's super-tight between Poor Things and Barbie.  I've moved Poor Things to the top of the PD chart based on its BAFTA win but this category could go either way and is definitely one of a handful that will determine Oscar pool winners/losers.

THE SATELLITE AWARDS AND TFF

The International Press Academy's Satellite Awards were revealed Sunday night.  Three TFF films earned wins:

The Holdovers (4): Best Film (Comedy or Musical), Best Actor (Comedy or Musical, Best Supporting Actress and Best Film Editing.

Poor Things (2): Best Actress (Comedy or Musical), Best Supporting Actor (Ruffalo).

The Zone of Interest (1): Best International Feature.

The complete list of winners can be found here.

THE BIKERIDERS HAS A NEW TRAILER

Focus Features released a second official trailer for Jeff Nichol's The Bikeriders.  The film received mixed reviews out of TFF but I was rather enthusiastic about it.  It stars Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer who steals the movie.  The film will be released on June 21st.

Here's the new trailer from YouTube:

PASS SAGA

503 Error Codes that popped up even before the passes for TFF #51 went up for sale and then a torturous process for actually getting the info to actually purchase passes resulted in the first ever situation where the Patterson's don't have passes for a TFF since the second year we attended (2007).  And I know anecdotally that we weren't the only folks that experienced the same issue.

I have communicated with the pass team and have another couple of angles I am exploring.  We're not giving up yet, but Friday was massively frustrating and disheartening.

I do want to pass along a big "thank you" to any number of MTFB readers who offered their services or suggestions in the effort to get the deed done on Friday as well as post-failure suggestions about resolving the situation.

We have our lodging secured and will keep pursuing passes by other means for a bit anyway.  

INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES

Composer Jerskin Fendrix on Poor Things from A.Frame.

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Oscar Update: Screenplays / The Bikeriders Pics / Interviews and Profiles: Payne

OSACR UPDATE: SCREENPLAYS 

Here's MTFB's first Oscar Update for the screenplay categories since the original set of predictions On Sept. 25th.  As usual TFF #50 films are in Bold.  A film's previous position on the MTFB Oscar chart is listed in parentheses.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Barbie (1)

2) The Holdovers (2)

3) Past Lives (3)

4) Anatomy of a Fall (5)

5) Maestro (4)

Alternates: Saltburn, Air, May December.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) Oppenheimer (1)

2) Killers of the Flower Moon (2)

3) Poor Things (3)

4) American Fiction (4)

5) All of Us Strangers (-)

Alternates: The Zone of Interest, The Taste of Things, Origin.

Beginning this week I'll start providing Oscar Updates with every post focused on the Big Eight categories.

THE BIKERIDERS PICS

I advance of its Nov. 9th issue that will feature Jeff Nichols' The Bikeriders, Total Film has posted some photos of the film.  The pics feature Austin Butler, Tom Hardy and Jodie Comer.  Check them out here.

INTERVIEWS AND PROFILES:

Alexander Payne on The Holdovers from Uproxx.

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Oscar Update: Lead Acting / Trailers: Poor Things, Nyad, Saltburn, Rustin / Interviews: Butler

OSCAR UPDATE: LEAD ACTING

Here's MTFB's first Oscar Update for the Lead Acting category since the original set of predictions On Sept. 25th..  Today I'm updating the Lead Acting categories.  As usual TFF #50 films are in Bold.  A film's previous position on the MTFB Oscar chart is listed in parentheses.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Emma Stone/Poor Things (2)

2) Lily Gladstone/Killers of the Flower Moon (1)

3) Carrie Mulligan/Maestro (3)

4) Margot Robbie/Barbie (-)

5) Annette Bening/Nyad (4)

Alternates: Sandra Huller/Anatomy of a Fall, Natalie Portman/May December and Fantasia Barrino/The Color Purple

BEST ACTOR

1) Cillian Murphy/Oppenheimer (1)

2) Bradley Cooper/Maestro (4)

3) Colman Domingo/Rustin (2)

4) Paul Giamatti/The Holdovers (5)

5) Leonardo DiCaprio/Killers of the Flower Moon (3)

Alternates: Jeffrey Wright/American Fiction, Andrew Scott/All of Us Strangers and Barry Keoghan/Saltburn.

Comment: Among the Best Actress category is still seems a death match between any of the top six women.  In the Best Actor category-a nice uptick for Cooper and Giamatti.

Oscar nominations will be announced on Jan. 23rd, 2024

TRAILERS: POOR THINGS, NYAD, SALTBURN, RUSTIN

Within a few hours of last Thursday's post distributors/producers for four TFF #50 films released teaser/trailers for their films.  I honestly thought about updating Thursday's post with them but that post was already lengthy.  So, ultimately I decided to post the trailers in today's regularly scheduled MTFB offering.  Here they are from YouTube:

POOR THINGS:

NYAD:

 

SALTBURN:

RUSTIN:

INTERVIEWS: BUTLER

Austin Butler on The Bikeriders from Entertainment Weekly (and Interview Magazine).

Austin Butler from Indiewire.

Austin Butler from The Hollywood Reporter.

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Indiewire's Fall Film Fest Assessment / Mexico Chooses Totem / Poster for All of Us Strangers

INDIEWIRE'S FALL FILM FEST ASSESSMENT

Late last week Indiewire's Anne Thompson and Marcus Jones posted their assessment of fall film fest titles that they characterize "key players in the Oscar race".  Here are the Telluride titles that made that list arranged in order of their Metacritic score (included here in parentheses):

All of Us Strangers/Andrew Haigh (96)

The Zone of Interest/Jonathan Glazer (95)

Poor Things/Yorgos Lanthimos (91)

Anatomy of a Fall/Justine Triet (88)

Beyond Utopia/Madeliene Gavin (85)

The Holdovers/Alexander Payne (83)

The Taste of Things/Tran Anh Hung (80)

The Pigeon Tunnel/Errol Morris (78)

Cassandro/Roger Ross Williams (76)

The Teachers' Lounge/Ilker Catak (75)

The Promised Land/Nicolaj Arcel (74)

The Bikeriders/Jeff Nichols (74)

Perfect Days/Wim Wenders (72)

Rustin/George C. Wolfe (68)

Nyad/Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi (65)

Saltburn/Emerald Fennell (59)

MEXICO CHOOSES TOTEM

Deadline, among other outlets, reports that Mexico has chosen Lila Aviles' Totem for consideration for the International Film Oscar.  The film joins a number of TFF #50 (and one TFF #49) titles that have entered the race.  As of this past weekend, here are the TFF films that have been put forward thus far:

The Monk and the Gun/Bhutan

The Promised Land/Denmark

Fallen Leaves/Finland

The Taste of Things/France

The Teachers' Lounge/Germany

Godland/Iceland (TFF #49)

Perfect Days/Japan

Totem/Mexico

The Zone of Interest/United Kingdom

POSTER FOR ALL OF US STRANGERS

Searchlight has dropped a new poster for Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers.  The film stars Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal and is currently set for release on Dec. 22nd.  Here's the poster:

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