Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
Elmore Leonard died yesterday. He was 87. He was a writer and if you've never read anything by him, that's you're loss. The man could flat write. Westerns at first, then crime fiction in the second half of his career. That's where I ran across him. The crime stuff.
There are few authors who could write better, cleaner dialogue and characters than Elmore. And funny...Good Lord, his characters could be so funny.
We're lucky that there have been some pretty good film/TV adaptations of his work: "Out of Sight", "Get Shorty", "Jackie Brown" (Rum Punch) and FX's current "Justified". But as good as some of the film stuff is...reading Elmore was always better.
He was also a Telluride guy. Leonard was a fest guest in 1991 and a Special Medallion recipient in 2000.
He was a unique and wondrous talent and will be missed in my home and many, many others.
INVITATIONS...
1) "THE GUIDE"-Come and visit, talk a little film, have a beverage and a nosh at The 3rd "Guide to the Ride". It's an opportunity for us all to get together before the serious business of watching film until our heads spin. "The Guide" will be hosted by Mitzi and Larry Mallard at The River Club in Telluride (550 Depot) at 5:00 pm on Thursday, Aug. 29.
2) RATE THE FILMS- For the second year MTFB is calling on you readers to share your impressions of the films you chose to watch during Labor Day weekend. I call it "The Paople's Telluride". Rate what you see on a 0-5 scale and send those ratings to me. Email, DM, Facebook...whatever. I'll collect and collate and report to everyone the week after the Festival concludes. Also don't forget to check out "The Critic's Telluride". Some very kind and generous people have agreed to rate the films they see as well.
Alex Billington/First Showing
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Scott Foundas/Variety
Eric Kohn/IndieWire
Eugene Novikov/Film Blather
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kristopher Tapley/HitFix/InContention
I have feelers out and would like to snag a couple of more of the "pros". We'll see.
3) Bebop over to Screencraft.org (www.screencraft.org) during the fest. I'll be posting there as well. A daily summary of what is going on, impressions of the films I see and the buzz about the weekend.
INTERNATIONAL COUNSELLOR TRAILER
I'm very intrigued with Ridley Scott's "The Counsellor (2 l's for the UK trailer that dropped yesterday). The film stars Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Brad Pitt and Cameron Diaz in Cormac McCarthy territory. Fassbender is an attorney who gets into a drug deal gone bad. I've linked the trailer above from YouTube and a variety of reports/stories that accompanied the new trailer below:
The Toronto International Film Festival announced a slew of additional titles yesterday to various different segments of TIFF. The Wrap has a nice rundown of the new titles here:
Among the titles that popped up that could have a Telluride showing previous are:
"A Touch of Sin" and "Closed Curtain" in the Masters section.
"For No Good Reason" in the Mavericks section.
"Ilo Ilo" and "Palo Alto" from the Discovery section (again, we're thinking "Palo Alto" is IN because of James Franco tweeting it a couple of days ago.)
"Gravity" has been programmed as an IMAX presentation...think it's going to be in Telluride...
"How I Live Now" and "Tracks" in the Next Wave section ("Palo Alto" is in this section as well)
As always, it will be interesting to see what shows at the SHOW before going to Toronto.
In other Toronto-related news, The Wrap's Steve Pond also posted a story yesterday about the Telluride?Toronto connection and rivalry. The story is entitled: "Why Alexander Payne and the Coen Brothers Are Skipping Toronto". Check that story here:
And finally this tidbit: Jason Reitman has announced for the second straight year that he'll be doing one of his "live reads" of a film script in Toronto. It's set for Sept. 6. Script and cast have yet to be announced.
Friend of the blog Christopher Schiller tweeted out yesterday a suggestion that Reitman do a run through in Telluride... because it's likely he'll be in town with "Labor Day". That'd be a cool addition to the 40th anniversary program...wouldn't it?
NEW VIEWS FROM "ENOUGH SAID"
HitFix/InContention posted exclusive new photos from the Nicole Holofcener film "Enough Said" yesterday. The film stars James Gandolfini in one of his final roles. There has been a good deal of speculation that the film might show up in Telluride next week before it heads to Toronto. Sounds like a good idea to me.
The CEO and I head west this morning for Salida, CO. She's showing art. I'm driving the art. We'll be there until Sunday. It's worth noting that Salida is 2/3 of the way on our normal route to Telluride.
Which is THREE WEEKS AWAY!
TAKING STOCK
The potential film landscape has really shifted a lot in the past couple of weeks with revelations/expectations for some films that were merely thought as outside possibilities coming into focus in that time period.
In the last 15 days or so we have seen the ascendancy of "Inside Llewyn Davis", "All is Lost" and "Gravity" into serious consideration as Telluride possibles. We have seen some of the films essentially confirmed that we have been pretty certain of for some time: "Nebraska", "Labor Day" and "The Invisible Woman".
There are some films that we have been high on that we haven't heard very much about in as far as Telluride is concerned. Nobody is really talking "The Past", "The Unknown Known", "The Immigrant", "Philomena" or "12 Years a Slave"...but I still feel pretty good about all of them.
The New York Fest has claimed "Captain Phillips" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" for its opener and centerpiece. They still have a closing night film to announce and the rest of their lineup expected in the next 10 days or so.
And there are films that I'd still like to see show up that could but about which there hasn't been any scuttlebutt, at least that I can suss out: "Foxcatcher", "The Fifth Estate", "The Dallas Buyers Club" and "The Counselor" come to mind.
All in all, you'll see a definite effect on tomorrow's new "Ten Bets" list. It's shaping up to be an incredible 40th anniversary festival.
Meanwhile, from the "A Guy Can Continue to Dream" Dept. Here's this...
COUNSELOR TRAILER
"The Counselor" had its second straight day of high profile P.R. as the Ridley Scott film dropped an official trailer. Would love to see this on the Telluride program.
I have included posts from The Playlist, Rope of Silicon and FirstShowing
A note here...this two day blitz makes me wonder if "The Counselor" might be in line to be announced as the closing night selection for the New York Film Festival.
VIEWS OF "HUSTLE" AND "MONUMENTS"
A couple of films I'm also not expecting to see in Telluride are David O. Russell's "American Hustle" and George Clooney's "The Monuments Men'. I'd like to see them in T-ride but as I've reported here, "Monuments" is reportedly unready and I just haven't ever thought there was a big chance for "Hustle" Nevertheless, both films have been among my "Coming Attractions" for some time now.
Both of them releases official images yesterday. I have linked Rope of Silicon and The Playlist below:
Three tributes (and occasionally an additional "Special Medallion")...who could they be for this year's 40th Telluride Film Festival.
I've been batting this around in my head for a while now and some friends of the blog have given it some serious thought too. So, as a way to organize some thoughts about this, let's look at some of my "Ten Bets" films (and some others as well) to see who some possible Tribute candidates are:
Like Alexander Payne's "Nebraska". You have to believe Bruce Dern is a real Tribute possibility.
"The Invisible Woman"...Ralph Fiennes seems like a possibility.
"Inside Llewyn Davis"...The Coen Brothers...and here's a crazy thought: John Goodman.
"Labor Day"...Kate Winslet (Josh Brolin doesn't feel right).
From other films just below the "Ten Bets"
"12 Years a Slave"...Brad Pitt...if you can fete Clooney...you can fete Pitt. The rest of the cast and Steve McQueen need more on their resumes...but watch for future tributes for Cumberbatch and Fassbender.
"All is Lost"...Redford...seems like a natural choice.
"Philomena"...Judi Dench would also seem to be a very likely candidate.
With this week's surge that "Gravity" is a very real possibility...Sandra Bullock becomes a part of the tribute conversation.
Then there's Roger Ebert. I am a firm believer that the Festival will recognize him this year. My guess is a "Special Medallion"...but it's not a crazy thought that he could be tributed.
Other less likely scenarios:
Julia Roberts if "August: Osage County" makes the lineup.
Ridley Scott with "The Counselor"
Nicole Kidman with "Grace of Monaco" or "The Railway Man"
Matthew McConnaughey with "The Dallas Buyers Club"
Jessica Chastain with "The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"
Philip Seymour Hoffman with "A Most Wanted Man"
Paul Giamatti or Billy Bob Thornton with "Parkland"
So those are my thoughts about the most likely candidates. I have a reader who suggests that there will a third "out of nowhere" selection that non one can see coming...and I'll bet he's absolutely right.
COUNSELING VIEWS
The release came yesterday of new clips from Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" which stars Michael Fassbender, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Cameron Diaz and Brad Pitt. I'm still holding a dwindling hope for this to make the Telluride lineup.
Here are links to the new clips via The Playlist and Rope of Silicon:
Also dropping yesterday was a trailer for the James Gandolfini starring "enough said". There has been a good deal of buzz that this film could very well play Telluride. The film also stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Catherine Keener. Stories linked below from HitFix, FirstShowing and The Playlist:
Good Saturday...hope your weekend has gotten off to a great start!
BEST OF THE WEEK
WELLS SPECULATES...MIND BLOWN
Jeff Wells/ Hollywood Elsewhere tweeted enigmatically the link to this bit of Telluride #40 speculation:
"All is Lost"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Blue is the Warmest Color" and
"Captain Phillips"
Not much movement in the "Ten" this week. Anxiously waiting for the Toronto and Venice fests to announce lineups next week and see how that news impacts the thinking about Telluride.
This week's Ten Bets:
1) Nebraska
2) The Invisible Woman
3) The Unknown Known
4) The Story of Children and Film
5) The Past
6) The Immigrant
7) Daughter of the Dawn
8) Labor Day
9) Blue is the Warmest Color
10) Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Just below the "Ten": "The Lunchbox", "Like Father Like Son", "Life Itself", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "12 Years a Slave", "Quai d'Orsay", "Heli", "Philomena" and "The Selfish Giant". With the Jeff Wells speculation from Thursday add "Inside Llewyn Davis", "Captain Phillips" and "All is Lost" as additional possibilities.
Also be looking out for SPC additions (reportedly) "Foxcatcher" and "Jodorowsky's Dune" as possibles.
Monday was the deadline for submissions to the Telluride Film Festival. I have been told on occasion that some of the "higher-ups" in the TFF hierarchy actually take a look at this space from time to time. I'm not sure I believe that but I'd like to. So, in that spirit, here's my list of 20 films that I'd sure like the Telluride Film Festival to consider programming. Some of these I'm very sure will play. Others don't have a snowball's chance of being in San Miguel County on Labor Day but it's a "wish list" (most with some kind of clip or trailer)of sorts so...
And to those film makers out there that are responsible for the films on this list...come on...apply...(of course, I fully realize that there are sometimes "late additions" to the Telluride lineup...that's OK too).
In alphabetical order they are:
"12 Years a Slave"- Steve McQueen's third feature following "Hunger" and "Shame" tells the true story of a free black man taken slammed into slavery and his struggle to regain that freedom. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender lead a massive and talent-laden cast. Rumors are strong that it will play the Venice fest.
"All is Lost"- J.C. Chandor's follow-up to "Margin Call" features Robert Redford, a boat and the ocean...and not much dialogue. It played at Cannes out of competition and was rapturously received. Lot of buzz for Redford vis-a-vis awards season.
"American Hustle" -David O. Russell is on a hot streak. "Silver Linings Playbook" last year and "The Fighter" in 2010. "AH" is a true story of political corruption that features a phenomenal cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro from "SLP" and Christian Bale and Amy Adams from "Fighter" plus throw in Jeremy Renner.
"August: Osage County"-Meryl Streep leads the all star cast in this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family. Other cast mates: Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Shepard.
"Captain Phillips"- Tom Hanks plays the real life Captain of the U.S. ship hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Paul Greengrass directs.
"The Counselor"- Ridley Scott (?) directs an original Cormac McCarthy script abut a lawyer who gets in over his head when dealing with the illicit drug trade. The cast is intriguing: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.
"Dallas Buyers Club"- Matthew McConnaughey looks to continue his current acting winning streak with this true story of a homophobic Texan who contracted AIDS in 1986 and his attempts to find ways to treat it. Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) directs.Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner also star.
"The Fifth Estate"- Director Bill Condon's take on Julian Assange and the development of WikiLeaks. Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl and Laura Linney star.
"Foxcatcher"- Bennett Miller has directed two straight winners: "Capote" and "Moneyball". I'm hopeful that "Foxcatcher" will give him a hat trick. "Foxcatcher" is another true story (notice that there are a lot of those on this list?). This focuses on millionaire John DuPont and his murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum star.
"Gravity"-Alfonso Curaon is back. The director finally follows up his 2006 gem "Children of Men" with another sci-fi piece. Now, I really liked "Children of Men" but Frankly was just lukewarm about this "lost in space" story starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...most Bullock I understand. That is until I saw the teaser...now, I'm kind of hot to see the film.
"Her" Spike Jonze directs, Joaquin Phoenix acts in a story about a men in love with his computer's operating system. Yes. Plus a lot of beautiful talented women: Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. The combo of Jonze and Phoenix is a enough for me.
"The Immigrant" James Gray's story of a young women trapped in a bad life in 19th century America with Marion Cotillard Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. I've been hot to see it since they teased it last year at TFF#39.
"Inside Llewyn Davis"-The Coen Brothers ode to music (folk music specifically) was roundly applauded at Cannes. The buzz is very, very good. Oscar Issac stars as the title character who appears to be a struggling New York folk musician in the early 60's. Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake co-star. This might be the #1 film on this fall's "must see" list.
"Labor Day"- I sure hope that Jason Reitman returns to Telluride. I enjoyed "Juno" and "Up in the Air" and a brief conversation with Reitman both times. This project sounds intriguing. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star. Brolin's on the run from the law whose path crosses with Winslet's character.
"The Monuments Men"- George Clooney and company save art from Nazis. Clooney directs, stars and co-wrote the film which also features Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Jean Dujardin. Come on back to Telluride George!
"Nebraska"- Alexander Payne's story of a father-son road trip to claim a potential fortune. Bruce Dern and Will Forte star (see story below).
"Out of the Furnace"- Scott Cooper follows "Crazy Heart" with this hard scrabble film about a man looking for justice for his brother. Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson and Zoe Saldana star.
"The Past"-Berenice Bejo won Best Actress at Cannes in May in this film from "A Separation's" Asgahr Farhadi. "A Separation" was one of the best films of 2011. If this story of domestic difficulties is remotely in the same ball park, it should be worth our time.
"The Wolf of Wall Street"-Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up yet again for this true story of high finance, crime and corruption. McConnaughey and Dujardin are both in this as well in addition to Jonah Hill and Jon Favreau.
"The Zero Theorem"-Terry Gilliam playing at satirizing our world with Christoph Waltz in the lead...yes please...in Telluride please.
Friend of the blog Chris Schiller tweeted out an interesting thought this weekend. He speculated on some possible TFF#40 "2fers". People that might star in 2 films showing as a part of the SHOW. Last year Mads Mikkelsen fit that bill being in both "A Royal Affair" and "The Hunt" (see below, by the way).
Schiller's tweet:
2fer predictions/hopes for#TFF40Benedict Cumberbatch(THE FIFTH ESTATE, AUGUST:OSAGE COUNTY) Tilda Swinton(THE ZERO THEOREM, ONLY LOVERS…)
So that got me to thinking, "what other '2fers' could pop up?" Not that they will or that I think that they will, but, you know, what could? Here's the list I came up with: Michael Fassbender: "The Counselor' and "12 Years a Slave" Joaquin Phoenix: "Her" and "The Immigrant" Christian Bale: "Out of the Furnace" and "American Hustle" Amy Adams: "American Hustle" and "Her" Jeremy Renner: "American Hustle" and "The Immigrant" Tom Hanks: "Captain Phillips" and "Saving Mr. Banks" Matthew McConnaughey: "Dallas Buyers Club" and "The Wolf of Wall Street" Daniel Bruhl: (actually a 3fer): "A Most Wanted Man", "Rush" and "The Fifth Estate" Jean Dujardin; (also a 3fer): "The Monuments Men", "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Mobius" George Clooney (kind of a 3fer): "The Monuments Men", "Gravity" and producing "August: Osage County" And this note...Cumberbatch also a "3fer" as he appears in "12 Years a Slave". Who else? Drop me a line if there are others that you can think of that are "2fers" or more!
12 YEARS TRAILER
It dropped last night, the first trailer for Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave". I have multiple links to stories with the trailer attached:
Much as "12 Years a Slave" did the other day, we had a trailer drop late last night for Bill Condon's "The Fifth Estate" starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl and Laura Linney.
I have thought this had promise and some Telluride possibilities because of Condon's and Linney's presence and I still do. After seeing the trailer, I'm even more eager. Here it is via YouTube:
I have also linked to a number of posts from early this morning that included the trailer as well:
"The Fifth Estate" opens Oct. 11th or 18th depending on which website you believe.
DOMESTIC COUNSELOR TRAILER
A new domestic trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" is making the rounds. I have stories linked here through The Playlist, FirstShowing and Rope of Silicon:
It will be interesting to see where this film lands next week when Venice and Toronto begin announcing their lineups.
BLUE SAGA CONTINUES
Pete Hammond at Deadline.com and Keuth Jagernauth at The Playlist reported late yesterday that, despite some serious efforts to change the outcome, Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color" is still ineligible for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration. The film is set to open in France (its home country) 9 days after The Academy's deadline. U.S. distributor Sundance Selects has it set for here on Oct. 25.
Maybe of more importance to the concerns of this blog space is the unsurprising reveal that the film has been submitted to Telluride (and Toronto and New York). I've thought that its chances of a T-ride play were pretty good and now with the confirmation that it was submitted, I feel that its even a bit more likely.
Not much movement in the "Ten" this week. Anxiously waiting for the Toronto and Venice fests to announce lineups next week and see how that news impacts the thinking about Telluride.
Here's last week's Ten Bets:
1) Nebraska
2) The Invisible Woman
3) The Story of Children and Film
4) The Past
5) The Unknown Known
6) Daughter of the Dawn
7) Aguirre: The Wrath of God
8) The Immigrant
9) Labor Day
10) The Lunchbox
This week's Ten Bets:
1) Nebraska
2) The Invisible Woman
3) The Unknown Known
4) The Story of Children and Film
5) The Past
6) The Immigrant
7) Daughter of the Dawn
8) Labor Day
9) Blue is the Warmest Color
10) Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Just below the "Ten": "The Lunchbox", "Like Father Like Son", "Life Itself", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "12 Years a Slave", "Quai d'Orsay", "Heli", "Philomena" and "The Selfish Giant".
Also be looking out for SPC additions (reportedly) "Foxcatcher" and "Jodorowsky's Dune" as possibles.
WELLS SPECULATES...MIND BLOWN
Jeff Wells/ Hollywood Elsewhere tweeted enigmatically the link to this bit of Telluride #40 speculation:
"All is Lost"
"Inside Llewyn Davis"
"Blue is the Warmest Color" and
"Captain Phillips"
A new domestic trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" is making the rounds. I have stories linked here through The Playlist, FirstShowing and Rope of Silicon:
It will be interesting to see where this film lands next week when Venice and Toronto begin announcing their lineups.
NEW RUSH TRAILER
There has been a bit of media speculation that the new Ron Howard film "Rush" could make an appearance as a part of this year's Telluride program. Frankly, I'm less convinced, but a) you never know and b) I have to tell you that over the last six weeks I've heard some pretty interesting/strange T-ride possibilities...so maybe it could pop up.
"Rush" trailer via movieCLIPS and YouTube
The film stars Daniel Bruhl and Chris Hemsworth and focuses on the true life competition between two Formula One racers (Niki Lauda and James Hunt) that happened back in the '70's.
Word this week that Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the documentary "Jodorowsky's Dune". That makes it a film to consider for Labor Day weekend. The doc explores the failed attempt by film maker Alejandro Jodorowsky to produce an adaptation of Frank Herbert's classic SciFi novel.
Today is the deadline for film submissions for the Telluride Film Festival. I have been told on occasion that some of the "higher-ups" in the TFF hierarchy actually take a look at this space from time to time. I'm not sure I believe that but I'd like to. So, in that spirit, here's my list of 20 films that I'd sure like the Telluride Film Festival to consider programming. some of these I'm very sure will play. Others don't have a snowball's chance of being in San Miguel County on Labor Day but it's a "wish list" (most with some kind of clip or trailer)of sorts so...
And to those film makers out there that are responsible for the films on this list...come on...apply...(of course, I fully realize that there are sometimes "late additions" to the Telluride lineup...that's OK too).
In alphabetical order they are:
"12 Years a Slave"- Steve McQueen's third feature following "Hunger" and "Shame" tells the true story of a free black man taken slammed into slavery and his struggle to regain that freedom. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender lead a massive and talent-laden cast. Rumors are strong that it will play the Venice fest.
"All is Lost"- J.C. Chandor's follow-up to "Margin Call" features Robert Redford, a boat and the ocean...and not much dialogue. It played at Cannes out of competition and was rapturously received. Lot of buzz for Redford vis-a-vis awards season.
"American Hustle" -David O. Russell is on a hot streak. "Silver Linings Playbook" last year and "The Fighter" in 2010. "AH" is a true story of political corruption that features a phenomenal cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro from "SLP" and Christian Bale and Amy Adams from "Fighter" plus throw in Jeremy Renner.
"August: Osage County"-Meryl Streep leads the all star cast in this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family. Other cast mates: Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Shepard.
"Captain Phillips"- Tom Hanks plays the real life Captain of the U.S. ship hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Paul Greengrass directs.
"The Counselor"- Ridley Scott (?) directs an original Cormac McCarthy script abut a lawyer who gets in over his head when dealing with the illicit drug trade. The cast is intriguing: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.
"Dallas Buyers Club"- Matthew McConnaughey looks to continue his current acting winning streak with this true story of a homophobic Texan who contracted AIDS in 1986 and his attempts to find ways to treat it. Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) directs.Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner also star.
"The Fifth Estate"- Director Bill Condon's take on Julian Assange and the development of WikiLeaks. Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl and Laura Linney star.
"Foxcatcher"- Bennett Miller has directed two straight winners: "Capote" and "Moneyball". I'm hopeful that "Foxcatcher" will give him a hat trick. "Foxcatcher" is another true story (notice that there are a lot of those on this list?). This focuses on millionaire John DuPont and his murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum star.
"Gravity"-Alfonso Curaon is back. The director finally follows up his 2006 gem "Children of Men" with another sci-fi piece. Now, I really liked "Children of Men" but Frankly was just lukewarm about this "lost in space" story starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...most Bullock I understand. That is until I saw the teaser...now, I'm kind of hot to see the film.
"Her" Spike Jonze directs, Joaquin Phoenix acts in a story about a men in love with his computer's operating system. Yes. Plus a lot of beautiful talented women: Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. The combo of Jonze and Phoenix is a enough for me.
"The Immigrant" James Gray's story of a young women trapped in a bad life in 19th century America with Marion Cotillard Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. I've been hot to see it since they teased it last year at TFF#39.
"Inside Llewyn Davis"-The Coen Brothers ode to music (folk music specifically) was roundly applauded at Cannes. The buzz is very, very good. Oscar Issac stars as the title character who appears to be a struggling New York folk musician in the early 60's. Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake co-star. This might be the #1 film on this fall's "must see" list.
"Labor Day"- I sure hope that Jason Reitman returns to Telluride. I enjoyed "Juno" and "Up in the Air" and a brief conversation with Reitman both times. This project sounds intriguing. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star. Brolin's on the run from the law whose path crosses with Winslet's character.
"The Monuments Men"- George Clooney and company save art from Nazis. Clooney directs, stars and co-wrote the film which also features Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Jean Dujardin. Come on back to Telluride George!
"Nebraska"- Alexander Payne's story of a father-son road trip to claim a potential fortune. Bruce Dern and Will Forte star (see story below).
"Out of the Furnace"- Scott Cooper follows "Crazy Heart" with this hard scrabble film about a man looking for justice for his brother. Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson and Zoe Saldana star.
"The Past"-Berenice Bejo won Best Actress at Cannes in May in this film from "A Separation's" Asgahr Farhadi. "A Separation" was one of the best films of 2011. If this story of domestic difficulties is remotely in the same ball park, it should be worth our time.
"The Wolf of Wall Street"-Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up yet again for this true story of high finance, crime and corruption. McConnaughey and Dujardin are both in this as well in addition to Jonah Hill and Jon Favreau.
"The Zero Theorem"-Terry Gilliam playing at satirizing our world with Christoph Waltz in the lead...yes please...in Telluride please.
There you have it. The deadline is tonight at midnight. Get that paperwork filled out.
ONLY IN TELLURIDE
I ran across a story this past weekend that underlines the uniqueness of the Telluride Film Festival. The L.A. Times was reporting on the resurgence in the use of black and white film making and isolated a story about Noah Baumbach ("Frances Ha") and Alexander Payne (the forthcoming and above mentioned "Nebraska meeting at Telluride last year and spending substantial time together. Payne was yet to begin shooting "Nebraska" and wanted to get pointers from Baumbach who had completed "Frances".
I'm not sure that kind of organic (and reportedly lengthy) meet up happens any way else.
Good Saturday to everyone. Here's a look at the best material I posted this past week on MTFB:
BEST OF THE WEEK
TEN BETS #1
For the third straight year here is the first stab at guessing ten films that will play at Telluride this year.
Last year's initial "Ten Bets" had 5 films that actually made the grade: "Amour", "Rust and Bone", "No", "Midnight's Children" and "Hyde Park on Hudson". The 2011 list was actually much better with 8 of that initial list showing at the SHOW: "The Descendants:, "The Artist", "The Kid with a Bike", "Le Havre", Restored : "A Trip to the Moon", "Into the Abyss", "We Have to Talk About Kevin" and "Shame".
So, with hope that I can return to my 2011 form, here are "Ten Bets":
1) "Nebraska": Alexander Payne's road dramedy with Bruce Dern and Will Forte. Payne's "Descendants" was the #1 bet to start 2011's "Ten Bets" and his follow up starts in the same position for 2013.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821549/?ref_=sr_1
2) "The Past": My bet is that Asghar Farhadi (and SPC) return to Telluride with this relationship drama follow-up to his brilliant "A Separation". Berenice Bejo stars...and could be a Best Actress contender. Perhaps she'll come to T-ride as her husband Michel Hazanavicius did with "The Artist" 2 years ago.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404461/?ref_=sr_1
4) "Aguirre: The Wrath of God": Friend of the blog Christopher Schiller mentioned this as a possibility and it makes too much sense. The new restoration of the 1972 film played at Cannes and, of course, was directed by Telluride legend Werner Herzog. Additionally, Herzog will have the new 650 seat theater (hockey pavilion converted to cinema) named in his honor as part of this year's 40th wing ding. What do you bet that "The Zog" (my name for the new theater) opens with this as its first film? Sounds about right to me.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068182/?ref_=sr_1
5) "The Immigrant": James Gray directs and co-wrote the script. It stars Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. TFF #39 attendees saw a few minutes of this last year as part of the tribute to Cotillard with Mr. Gray in attendance. My bet is that they had this year's fest slot settled on at that point. Further evidence? Gray's presence at Telluride's Hollywood soiree a few weeks back.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951181/?ref_=sr_1
7) "The Invisible Woman": Earlier this week as I was analyzing Sony Pictures Classics slate of potential films I mentioned Ralph Fiennes "The Invisible Women" was iffy since its announced release date is Feb. 2014 in Britain. My speculation was that seemed like a long time after TFF...but I did conclude by saying that I hadn't completely ruled it out. Good for me as you will see below. For this spot in the blog...let's just say, the film that focuses on Charles Dickens and his secret lover looks likely now
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700845/?ref_=sr_1
8) "Labor Day": I'm betting that Jason Reitman returns. After "Juno" and "Up in the Air" both played here, Reitman's last film "Young Adult" did not. I'm guessing that Reitman returns to the San Juans with this latest film that stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1967545/?ref_=sr_1
9) "12 Years a Slave": I admit, my guess here is based purely on the fact that Steve McQueen's previous efforts, "Hunger" and "Shame" both appeared at Telluride. It's also in the Fox Searchlight wheelhouse. A lot of smart people think it will play Venice and I haven't found anyone, besides myself, who has it going to Telluride. But remember, "Shame" played both Venice and T-ride. So put it at #8 and hope.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/
10) "Like Father, Like Son": Well received at Cannes and under the Sundance Selects umbrella. The film focuses on the choice one man must make when it is discovered that his son was accidentally switched at birth and that another boy is actually his own.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331143/?ref_=ttco_co_tt
On the edge: Sundance Selects other Cannes films including Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color", "The Selfish Giant" and "Young and Beautiful". SPC's "Only Lovers Left Alive", "The Lunchbox" and "For No Good Reason". Bertrand Tavernier's new film "Quai d'Orsay", Errol Morris's Donald Rumsfeld documentary "The Unkonwn Known". TWC's "One Chance", "Philomena" and "Salinger". Also, don't forget "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's film directing debut "You Are Here".
Let's see how it plays out over the next couple of months.
FOX SEARCHLIGHT AT TELLURIDE
Fox Searchlight has a hit and miss history with the Telluride Film Festival over the past decade. It's been a substantial player some years and has been absent in others. Here's the FS presence at T-ride for the past ten years:
2003:
2004: Kinsey
2005: Bee Season
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake
2007: Juno, The Savages
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009:
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan, Millions
2011: Shame, The Descendants
2012:
13 films in ten years. The highwater mark coming in 2010 with 4 films on the SHOW list but '03, '09 and '12 with no films at all. Looking at their current lineup of films purportedly ready:
"12 Years a Slave"
"Black Nativity"
and "Baggage Claim"
Of them, only "12 Years" seems like a solid Telluride pick what with director Steve McQueen's past with the festival. I think "Baggage Claim" is really unlikely. "Black Nativity" is really an intriguing possibility. It's described as a "contemporary adaptation of Langston Hughes celebrated play" and is adapted and directed by Kasi Lemmons whose previous directing crdits include "Talk to Me", "The Caveman's Valentine" and "Eve's Bayou". I could see this being on the TFF list. Notice also, that Fox Searchlight hasn't gone two straight years without some presence at the SHOW.
No distributor has historically had a stronger presence at the Telluride Film Festival than Sony Pictures Classics. Fest hondos usually tell people that they program between 24 and 30 feature films each year. For the last ten years, SPC has averaged 4.6 films per festival...or somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% of the T-ride slate each year comes from the SPC stable.
Here's what SPC has shown in Telluride in the last decade:
2012:The Gatekeepers, At Any Price, Rust and Bone, No, Wadjda, Amour
2011: A Dangerous Method, In Darkness, Footnote, A Separation
2010: Incendies, Of Gods and Men, Tamara Drewe, Another Year, The Illusionist, Inside Job
2009: The Last Station, The White Ribbon, Coco Before Chanel, A Prophet, An Education
2008: Waltz with Bashir, I've Loved You So Long, O'Horten
2007: Brick Lane, When Did You Last See Your Father, Persepolis, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters
2006: Jindabyne, The Lives of Others, Volver, The Italian
2005: Breakfast on Pluto, Capote, Cache, The Child
2004: Being Julia, House of Flying Daggers, Bad Education, Merchant of Venice, Up and Down, Yes
2003: The Fog of War, My Life Without Me, The Triplets of Belleville, Young Adam
So we can look at this as a template and know that unless something has drastically changed, SPC will be at TFF #40 and likely in a big way. So what is in the SPC house right now?
According to IMDb, this is the 2013 (and slightly beyond) list of SPC films:
The Invisible Woman
Turner
The Raid 2
Blue Jasmine
For No Good Reason
Only Lovers Left Alive
The Lunchbox
The Past
I'm So Excited
Before Midnight
Austenland
Kill Your Darlings
The Patience Stone
First, eliminate the films already in release: "Before Midnight",
Next, films that have played U.S. fests already or have a set release date prior to Telluride: "The Patience Stone", "Kill Your Darlings", "Austenland", "I'm So Excited",and "Blue Jasmine".
That leaves 7 films. Mike Leigh's "Turner" is reportedly still filming and I don't think "The Raid 2" is likely Telluride fare.
That leaves us with 5 films:
Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman"
Asghar Farhadi's Cannes competition Best Actress winning (Berenice Bejo) "The Past".
Jim Jarmusch's Tilda Swinton starring "Only Lovers Left Alive"...also a Cannes film.
The Ralph Steadman documentary "For No Good Reason" and
Recent SPC acquisition "The Lunchbox".
I think they could all play at Telluride. At this point, I'd be surprised if "The Past" WASN'T there and Friday, The London Daily Mail/Mail Online let slip that "The Invisible Woman" would be playing Telluride.
I have some reservations about "Only Lovers" and "For No Good Reason". I actually feel pretty confident about "The Lunchbox".
"Only Lovers" has some other things going for it to suggest that it's a potential Telluride selection...it was a Cannes film, Tilda Swinton stars and is said to have really enjoyed her tribute year in 2011. Reportedly she'd like to come back. Director/writer Jim Jarmusch has been a T-ride player before...albeit a long time ago ("Stranger Than Paradise" in 1984 and "Mystery Train" in 1989). All of that suggests that I should be putting it on the "Ten Bets" list Friday...but it's about vampires...which I find a little strange for Telluride #40. Still, it has a lot going for it.
My reluctance concerning "For No Good Reason" stems from no other Telluride connection.
"The Lunchbox" seems right in a T-ride sweet spot. Indian, Cannes (Critic's week section) and its description of a lunchbox delivery gone awry and the consequences that spring from that sound Telluride-friendly as well.
T-ride chances for these four?
"The Invisible Women" 95%
"The Past" 90%
"The Lunchbox" 80%
"For No Good Reason" 50%
"Only Lovers Left Alive" 50%
SUNDANCE SELECTS AND TELLURIDE
Only a player in distribution for just a few years, Sundance Selects has been present at the Telluride Film Festival for the last three fests at various levels of involvement.
2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Tabloid
2011: The Forgiveness of Blood, The Kid with a Bike, Goodbye First Love and Into the Abyss
2012: The Central Park Five
At this point, the possible Sundance Selects offerings amount to 5 films that played at Cannes:
Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color", Jury Prize winner "Like Father, Like Son", Francois Ozon's "Young and Beautiful", Clio Bernard's "The Selfish Giant" and Roman Polanski's "Venus in Fur".
My feeling is that "Like Father..." and "The Selfish Giant" might be the more likely T-ride choices...though "Blue" and "Young and Beautiful" seem very possible as well.
Polanski's film seems like the least likely of the five from Cannes.
Sundance Selects also has a documentary entitled "The Summit" which has played in 2 film fests in England and Ireland...that could be a possibility.
Chances:
"Like Father, Like Son" 70%
"The Selfish Giant" 70%
"Blue is the Warmest Color" 60%
"Young and Beautiful" 50%
"Venus in Fur" 20%
""The Summit" 20%
IFC FILMS AND TELLURIDE
IFC films has been a fairly substantial presence at Telluride over the past several years. The firms highlight year probably was 2008 (the writer's strike year) when it was represented by 5 films. IFC Films sometimes partners with Sundance Selects.
Here's the film record for IFC Films at Telluride for the past ten years:
2003: Touching the Void, Intermission
2004: Nobody Knows
2005: Three Times
2006: Deep Water, Indigenes
2007: Secret Sunshine, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Jar City
2008: Hunger, Gomorrah, Flame and Citron, Everlasting Moments, The Good, the Bad and the Weird
2009: Fish Tank, Red Riding Trilogy, Life During Wartime, Vincere
2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Carlos
2011: Into the Abyss, Pina
2012: Frances Ha
IFC Films averages 2.3 films per year at the Telluride Film Festival over the last decade. So what do they have in the pipeline that looks Telluride-y?
IMDb lists the following as IFC Films distribution vehicles that haven't or will not have opened or played at a North American film festival:
Cannes entry "Young and Beautiful" (with Sundance Selects)
Mountain climbing documentary "The Summit" (also with Sundance Selects)
"The Face of Love" starring Robin Williams and Ed Harris
Three...that's all...three.
My money's on "Young and Beautiful" at this point. I rated it's chances yesterday at 50%...I'm bumping that up to 60% today. "The Summit" stays at 20% and "Face of Love"...I'm putting at 10%.
WEINSTEIN'S AT TELLURIDE
Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob have had a fairly common presence at the Telluride Film Festival over the years. Their current incarnation is as The Weinstein Company. Previously they were Miramax. Tracking both companies as distributors at Telluride for the past decade shows us that they've been a part of The SHOW for a good long while. Here's their Telluride slate as Miramax or The Weinstein Company since 2005:
2003: The Barbarian Invasions, Best of Youth, I'm Not Scared
2004:
2005:
2006: Venus
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Enemy's Enemy, I'm Not There
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2009: The Road
2010: The King's Speech
2011: The Artist, Butter
2012: The Sapphires (also was represented during the Marion Cotillard tribute by James Gray and 5 min. of The Immigrant)
So over 10 years...13 films. 1.3 per year and TWC has been repped at TFF consistently each year since 2006. So expect one or two TWC films on the TFF #40 slate. What's possible?
According to IMDb this is what TWC has in its wheelhouse for the fall (that, as usual, hasn't already appeared in the U.S. or won't open here until after The SHOW):
You can probably discount "Leo the Lion" "The Trick or Treaters" and "Man of Tai Chi".
"The Immigrant"
"August: Osage County"
"Snowpiercer"
"Salinger"
"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet"
"One Chance"
"Philomena"
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
"Grace of Monaco"
So there are probably these 9 that are legit possibles. If you've read the blog, you already know that I'm high on "The Immigrant" being at T-ride in its full form. If that's true and TWC's past performance (particularly the last 7 years) we might see one other film from the TWC shingle, two at most.
So...which?
I think your best shots are: "Salinger", "One Chance" and "Philomena" with "Spivet" as an outside shot.
"August", "Mandela" and "Grace" are probably off the table. I'd not be surprised that "August" doesn't do ANY festival in the fall. Maybe New York.
My guess is that "Grace" and "Mandela" will do some combination of Toronto and NY and that "Snowpiercer" is Toronto all he way.
I don't have a lot of feel that Ridley Scott's drama starring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender has a realistic shot at being in the Telluride field. But I'd like it to be (note: some of things that I haven't thought had a prayer might actually be a part of the 40th festivities...rumors...whispers...can't say anything).
Nonetheless, a teaser trailer dropped for the eagerly anticipated film yesterday. Check it and the attached stories here:
Yesterday was the trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Counselor". Today, from The Playlist, a look at some stills from the film. The post also includes a segment of the screenplay by Cormac McCarthy.
No sooner had I started a tiny bit of speculation that Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" had an outside shot at making it to Telluride than some footage shows up on the interweb.
Rope of Silicon, The Playlist and Hit Fix all have stories but you won't be surprised to learn that the "trailer" has been taken down at all three websites.
I looked at it last night and it is very interesting, fun and Gilliam-esque. Many have already commented that it seems to be thematically in the "Brazil" mode.
Gilliam has been a past Telluride participant...so, if it's ready...maybe this could be in the San Juan's in 9 weeks or so.
Here are the links to the previously referenced stories:
It's no secret that I'm a Coen Brothers fan. It's no secret that I've been hot for their new film "Inside Llewyn Davis" since we found out about it. It inspired some whimsy here a few months ago about turning all of the Coen Brothers canon of films into musicals.
And I'd love for ILD to be among the films that make the SHOW list...but that's soooo unlikely. No Coen history with TFF...which I find hard to believe. For a long time, I was convinced that "Blood Simple" had played The SHOW back in '84...and I was wrong.
Nevertheless, HitFix posted yesterday the news of the track list and artists on the "Inside Llewyn Davis" soundtrack. It's cool. No surprises that Oscar Issac is on it. No real surprise that co-stars Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan are on it. A little surprise that Mulligan's hubby Marcus Mumford is on it....again, cool.
Also cool, the tune "The Last Thing on My Mind" appears on the soundtrack. It was written by Tom Paxton, who I got to meet last fall at the Tumbleweed Festival in Garden City, KS. Feels like I can almost touch the actual record!
Oh...were Llewyn to be in T-ride...I might actually have to "I'm not worthy" the Coen Brothers on Colorado Ave. But the chances are virtually non-existent. Just gonna have to make do with the soundtrack download.
Have a good weekend.
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