The Patterson Train leaves for Telluride Tuesday afternoon...Counting the hours...
BEST OF THE WEEK
We start Saturday with our review of the best material from this past week...
TEN (+) BETS
This week's "Ten (+) Bets":
1) Nebraska
2) Labor Day
3) Inside Llewyn Davis
4) All is Lost
5) The Unknown Known
6) The Past
7) The Invisible Woman
8) Gravity
9) 12 Years a Slave
10) Blue is the Warmest Color
11) The Immigrant
12) Palo Alto
13) The Story of Children and Film
14) Daughter of the Dawn
15) Prisoners
Other Films with very real chances to play: "The Lunchbox", "Enough Said", "How I Live Now", "Le Weekend", "Burning Bush", "The Armstrong Lie", "Jodorowsky's Dune", "Tim's Vermeer", "Life Itself", "Aguirre: The Wrath of God", "Gloria", "Child's Pose", "You Are Here", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "For No Good Reason" "The Selfish Giant", "The Wind Rises", "Unforgiven", "Quai d'Orsay", "Young and Beautiful", and "Philomena".
CONNECTING SOME DOTS
I'm at that place I get to every year. Pretty convinced I've got a solid hook on many of the films that will play. There is stuff I know and have been able to share. There is stuff that I know that I can't and maybe won't be able to share. There is stuff that I'm guessing at...but they're pretty good guesses and then there are some guesses that are really just that...a stab in the dark.
Then there are still the things that I'd like to have happen and I'm fairly confident will not: "Zero Theorem", "Counselor", "Fifth Estate", "Foxcatcher". But I can't complain in the least. First of all, if I get even half of this right the 40th Telluride Film Fest is going to be EPIC! The kicker is, I'm feeling good about having more than half of it right.
Then there's this:
I passed along yesterday that Telluride.com had posted a"Special Events" calendar for the Fest and that it included a 5:00pm Wed. (Aug. 28) evening "Special Anniversary Event" at the Town Park Stage.
Yesterday the Telluride Planet tweeted:
I'm at that place I get to every year. Pretty convinced I've got a solid hook on many of the films that will play. There is stuff I know and have been able to share. There is stuff that I know that I can't and maybe won't be able to share. There is stuff that I'm guessing at...but they're pretty good guesses and then there are some guesses that are really just that...a stab in the dark.
Then there are still the things that I'd like to have happen and I'm fairly confident will not: "Zero Theorem", "Counselor", "Fifth Estate", "Foxcatcher". But I can't complain in the least. First of all, if I get even half of this right the 40th Telluride Film Fest is going to be EPIC! The kicker is, I'm feeling good about having more than half of it right.
Then there's this:
I passed along yesterday that Telluride.com had posted a"Special Events" calendar for the Fest and that it included a 5:00pm Wed. (Aug. 28) evening "Special Anniversary Event" at the Town Park Stage.
Yesterday the Telluride Planet tweeted:
"@TellurideFilm presents The Punch Brothers Wednesday at 5 p.m. in Town Park to open 40th Annual TFF"
Now, that information by itself is fascinating. But what if reminded you that The Punch Brothers will be heard on a certain soundtrack soon to be forthcoming? A soundtrack focused on the folk music scene of the early 60's. Would you be more interested. I know I am.
Of course I'm referencing the soundtrack to the Coen Brothers upcoming "Inside Llewyn Davis" (#3 on this week's "Ten (+) Bets").
Add to all of this the earlier in the week announcement that T-Bone Burnett and a bunch of the artists making up the soundtrack will be doing an NYC concert on Sept. 29th which will include cast members from the film...well..
When I let my imagination run wild, I picture a show on Wednesday night that includes more than The Punch Brothers... The New York Concert lineup is listed on the poster above. Look at the names...
It's a head spinning possibility.
Maybe it is The Punch Brothers alone...and that would be very, very cool...but you have to wonder...
INVITATIONS
I really hope you all will join me for the following:
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.
Seriously, come and join us...it'll be fun.
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 People'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
AT LEAST ONE COPPOLA?
FiveTwo Film Blog was on it first last night. Actor/Director/Writer...etc. James Franco has apparently let slip via Twitter and Instagram that Gia Coppola's "Palo Alto" will screen at Telluride. The film is co-written by Coppola and Franco and based on Franco's "Palo Alto Stories". Last night Franco (who was at Telluride with Danny Boyle and Aron Ralstin for "127 Hours" in 2010) tweeted, " Palo alto by Gia Coppola- Venice/Tornoto/telluride".
You can see the original tweet here:
https://twitter.com/search?q=james%20franco&src=tyah
The FiveTwo film blog post is here:
http://fivetwofilmblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/james-franco-leaks-telluride-film-on-instagram/
"Palo Alto" is described (on IMDb) as "a dark drama centered on a group of teens with a penchant for finding trouble". Franco appears in the film. Emma Roberts stars. Val Kilmer is also a member of the cast. Gia Coppola is the grand daughter of Francis Ford Coppola.
Does this fan the flames of the FFC as Guest Director rumors? Probably.
AT LEAST ONE COPPOLA?
Emma Roberts star of Gia Coppola's "Palo Alto"
FiveTwo Film Blog was on it first last night. Actor/Director/Writer...etc. James Franco has apparently let slip via Twitter and Instagram that Gia Coppola's "Palo Alto" will screen at Telluride. The film is co-written by Coppola and Franco and based on Franco's "Palo Alto Stories". Last night Franco (who was at Telluride with Danny Boyle and Aron Ralstin for "127 Hours" in 2010) tweeted, " Palo alto by Gia Coppola- Venice/Tornoto/telluride".
You can see the original tweet here:
https://twitter.com/search?q=james%20franco&src=tyah
The FiveTwo film blog post is here:
http://fivetwofilmblog.wordpress.com/2013/08/18/james-franco-leaks-telluride-film-on-instagram/
"Palo Alto" is described (on IMDb) as "a dark drama centered on a group of teens with a penchant for finding trouble". Franco appears in the film. Emma Roberts stars. Val Kilmer is also a member of the cast. Gia Coppola is the grand daughter of Francis Ford Coppola.
Does this fan the flames of the FFC as Guest Director rumors? Probably.
OSCAR TALK AND PRISONERS
Anne Thompson (Thompson on Hollywood) and Kristopher Tapley (InContention/HitFix) have put up their first Oscar Talk podcast for the year. Included in that is a fairly detailed discussion of Telluride and the films that they think are likely; "All is Lost" "Inside Llewyn Davis" "12 Years a Slave" "The Invisible Woman", "The Past", "Gravity", "Labor Day", "Nebraska" and "Blue is the Warmest Color". They also mention "Prisoners" from director Denis Villenueve which I've had on the radar for a while but in recent days seems to be getting bandied about a bit more. Sounds like I might have to re-evaluate it in relation to its position for Friday's "Ten Bets" list...which, again, will actually be more than ten.
Here's the link to OscarTalk from both Tapley and Thompson:
And also, coming out this past weekend, a new television spt for "Prisoners". The Playlist has that here:
Jackman? Gyllenhall? In Telluride? Maybe. Certainly looking more likely that the film is going to play.
NEW YORK ANNOUNCES...WHAT'S IT MEAN?
The New York Film Festival announced its lineup complete yesterday. The NYFF organizers had previously announced their Opening -"Captain Phillips", Closing- "Her" and Special Gala-"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". Yesterday they added 32 films to the lineup.
The NYFF usually has a good deal of overlap with Telluride and I expect that this year that will be no different.
In 2010 the two fests shared: "Another Year", "Carlos", "Inside Job", "Le Quattro Volte", "Of Gods and Men"and "Poetry"(6).
In 2011: "The Descendants", "A Dangerous Method", "A Separation", Footnote", "George Harrison: Living in the Material World", "Goodbye First Love", "Le Havre", "Pina", "Shame", "The Artist", "The Kid with a Bike" and "The Turin Horse" (12).
In 2012: "Amour", "Barbara", ""Frances Ha", "The Gatekeepers", ""Ginger and Rosa", "Hyde Park on Hudson"and "No" (7).
So, as you can see, we could reasonably expect to see anywhere from 6-12 films in Telluride that are on the list that the NYFF announced yesterday. Here's the lineup:
From that list there are films that we're already pretty confident about appearing at TFF #40:
"All is Lost", "Blue is the Warmest Color", "The Immigrant", "Inside Llewyn Davis", "The Invisible Woman", "Nebraska". So six in total that I'm pretty confident about. If there were to be more than six, and I think there will be; what are the other most likely cross-overs between TFF and NYFF?
My best guesses would include:
"At Berkeley", "Burning Bush", "Gloria", "Like Father, Like Son", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Stranger by the Lake", "Le Weekend" and "The Wind Rises".
If I was forced to, my guess is that this year would end up with about 10 crossovers, the six I'm pretty sure about plus 4 more from the secondary list.
Here are a series of links to massive coverage of the announcement from the New York Fest from
The Film Society of Lincoln Center (the NYFF people): http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/nyff-new-york-film-festival-main-slate-announced
The New York Times: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/new-york-film-festival-announces-its-main-slate/
Awards Daily: http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/official-new-york-film-festival-lineup/
HitFix/InContention: http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/2013-new-york-film-festival-line-up-unveiled-inside-llewyn-davis-the-wind-rises-and-more
The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-festival-announces-
608936
Thompson on Hollywood: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/nyff-inside-llewyn-davis-coen-brothers
The Playlist: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-york-film-festival-inside-llewyn-davis-nebraska-the-immigrant-more-round-out-2013-slate-20130819
The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/coen-brothers-alexander-payne-james-gray-coming-new-york-film-fest-111636
Rope of Silicon: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/complete-2013-new-york-film-festival-line-up/
PALO ALTO PICS
I wrote yesterday that James Franco as apparently let slip that Gia Coppola's "Palo Alto" has made the Telluride lineup via Twitter and Instagram yesterday. Now, today, comes a serious look at stills from that film via The Playlist. Take a look at the post which also includes stills from Franco's own directorial effort "Child of God":
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-from-james-francos-child-of-god-adaptation-of-his-book-palo-alto-starring-emma-roberts-20130816
"Palo Alto" is described as a dark drama focused on the lives of a group of teens.
SO LONG ELMORE
Elmore Leonard died this week. 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.
BLUE IS VERY BLUE?
The Motion Picture Association of America ratings bulletin for this week includes an NC-17 rsing for Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color". The word is that Sundance Selects, which is hadling the film here in the states, has determined that they won't appeal nor will they ask direcotr Abdellatif Kechiche to alter the film.
I am 90% convinced that "Blue" will be a part of the TFF #40 lineup when it is unveiled next Wednesday.
Links to the ratings stories below are from HitFix and The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hitfix.com/news/palme-dor-winner-blue-is-the-warmest-color-gets-nc-17-rating
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/blue-is-warmest-color-palme-609966
PRE-FESTIVAL OSCAR THOUGHTS
Movie City News has convened its first gathering of Oscar experts to establish the opening line for the Gurus of Gold. Anticipated/Possible Telluride #40 titles that make the first Gurus list are (and their opening position):
"12 Years a Slave" (Tied #1)
"Inside Llewyn Davis" (tied #4)
"Gravity" (#9)
Other T-ride probables/possibles on the Gurus list:
"Nebraska"
"Labor Day"
"All is Lost"
"Blue is the Warmest Color"
Interesting side note: TFF #39 films "Frances Ha" and "Stories We Tell" also get mentioned.
Other films that are tied for the top spot are: "American Hustle" and "Lee Daniels' 'The Butler''
Check the complete Gurus Pre-Fest Best Picture predictions here:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/
LOOKING TO THE FALL
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Any number of publications, websites and blogs are making their lists previewing the films of the fall. I've included a couple of links here.
The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com/
Huffington Post: http://m.huffpost.com/us/
NEW YORK ANNOUNCES...WHAT'S IT MEAN?
The New York Film Festival announced its lineup complete yesterday. The NYFF organizers had previously announced their Opening -"Captain Phillips", Closing- "Her" and Special Gala-"The Secret Life of Walter Mitty". Yesterday they added 32 films to the lineup.
The NYFF usually has a good deal of overlap with Telluride and I expect that this year that will be no different.
In 2010 the two fests shared: "Another Year", "Carlos", "Inside Job", "Le Quattro Volte", "Of Gods and Men"and "Poetry"(6).
In 2011: "The Descendants", "A Dangerous Method", "A Separation", Footnote", "George Harrison: Living in the Material World", "Goodbye First Love", "Le Havre", "Pina", "Shame", "The Artist", "The Kid with a Bike" and "The Turin Horse" (12).
In 2012: "Amour", "Barbara", ""Frances Ha", "The Gatekeepers", ""Ginger and Rosa", "Hyde Park on Hudson"and "No" (7).
So, as you can see, we could reasonably expect to see anywhere from 6-12 films in Telluride that are on the list that the NYFF announced yesterday. Here's the lineup:
The complete list of main slate films announced on Monday for the New York Film Festival appears below:
ABOUT TIME
Director: Richard Curtis
Director: Richard Curtis
ABUSE OF WEAKNESS (Abus de Faiblesse)
Director: Catherine Breillat
Director: Catherine Breillat
ALAN PARTRIDGE
Director: Declan Lowney
Director: Declan Lowney
ALL IS LOST
Director: J. C. Chandor
Director: J. C. Chandor
AMERICAN PROMISE
Directors: Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
Directors: Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson
AT BERKELEY
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Director: Frederick Wiseman
BASTARDS (Les Salauds)
Director: Claire Denis
Director: Claire Denis
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR (La Vie d’Adèle)
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
Director: Abdellatif Kechiche
BURNING BUSH (Hořicí Keř)
Director: Agnieszka Holland
Director: Agnieszka Holland
CHILD OF GOD
Director: James Franco
Director: James Franco
GLORIA
Director: Sebastián Lelio
Director: Sebastián Lelio
THE IMMIGRANT
Director: James Gray
Director: James Gray
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
Director: Ralph Fiennes
Director: Ralph Fiennes
JEALOUSY (La Jalousie)
Director: Philippe Garrel
Director: Philippe Garrel
JIMMY P: PSYCHOTHERAPY OF A PLAINS INDIAN
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
Director: Arnaud Desplechin
THE LAST OF THE UNJUST (Le Dernier des Injustes)
Director: Claude Lanzmann
Director: Claude Lanzmann
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (Soshite Chichi ni Naru)
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
THE MISSING PICTURE (L’Image Manquante)
Director: Rithy Panh
Director: Rithy Panh
MY NAME IS HMMM… (Je m’appelle Hmmm…)
Director: agnès B
Director: agnès B
NEBRASKA
Director: Alexander Payne
Director: Alexander Payne
NOBODY’S DAUGHTER HAEWON (Nugu-ui ttal-do anin Haewon)
Director: Hong Sang-soo
Director: Hong Sang-soo
NORTH, THE END OF HISTORY (Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan)
Director: Lav Diaz
Director: Lav Diaz
OMAR
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
Director: Hany Abu-Assad
ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Director: Jim Jarmusch
THE SQUARE
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Director: Jehane Noujaim
STRANGER BY THE LAKE (L’Inconnu du Lac)
Director: Alain Guiraudie
Director: Alain Guiraudie
STRAY DOGS (Jiao You)
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
Director: Tsai Ming-liang
A TOUCH OF SIN (Tian Zhu Ding)
Director: Jia Zhangke
Director: Jia Zhangke
LE WEEK-END
Director: Roger Michell
Director: Roger Michell
WHEN EVENING FALLS ON BUCHAREST OR METABOLISM (Când se Lasa Seara Peste Bucuresti sau Metabolism)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
THE WIND RISES (Kaze Tachinu)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
"All is Lost", "Blue is the Warmest Color", "The Immigrant", "Inside Llewyn Davis", "The Invisible Woman", "Nebraska". So six in total that I'm pretty confident about. If there were to be more than six, and I think there will be; what are the other most likely cross-overs between TFF and NYFF?
My best guesses would include:
"At Berkeley", "Burning Bush", "Gloria", "Like Father, Like Son", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Stranger by the Lake", "Le Weekend" and "The Wind Rises".
If I was forced to, my guess is that this year would end up with about 10 crossovers, the six I'm pretty sure about plus 4 more from the secondary list.
Here are a series of links to massive coverage of the announcement from the New York Fest from
The Film Society of Lincoln Center (the NYFF people): http://www.filmlinc.com/daily/entry/nyff-new-york-film-festival-main-slate-announced
The New York Times: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/19/new-york-film-festival-announces-its-main-slate/
Awards Daily: http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/official-new-york-film-festival-lineup/
HitFix/InContention: http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/2013-new-york-film-festival-line-up-unveiled-inside-llewyn-davis-the-wind-rises-and-more
The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/new-york-film-festival-announces-
608936
Thompson on Hollywood: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/nyff-inside-llewyn-davis-coen-brothers
The Playlist: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-york-film-festival-inside-llewyn-davis-nebraska-the-immigrant-more-round-out-2013-slate-20130819
The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/coen-brothers-alexander-payne-james-gray-coming-new-york-film-fest-111636
Rope of Silicon: http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/complete-2013-new-york-film-festival-line-up/
PALO ALTO PICS
I wrote yesterday that James Franco as apparently let slip that Gia Coppola's "Palo Alto" has made the Telluride lineup via Twitter and Instagram yesterday. Now, today, comes a serious look at stills from that film via The Playlist. Take a look at the post which also includes stills from Franco's own directorial effort "Child of God":
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-images-from-james-francos-child-of-god-adaptation-of-his-book-palo-alto-starring-emma-roberts-20130816
"Palo Alto" is described as a dark drama focused on the lives of a group of teens.
SO LONG ELMORE
Elmore Leonard died this week. 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.
BLUE IS VERY BLUE?
The Motion Picture Association of America ratings bulletin for this week includes an NC-17 rsing for Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color". The word is that Sundance Selects, which is hadling the film here in the states, has determined that they won't appeal nor will they ask direcotr Abdellatif Kechiche to alter the film.
I am 90% convinced that "Blue" will be a part of the TFF #40 lineup when it is unveiled next Wednesday.
Links to the ratings stories below are from HitFix and The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hitfix.com/news/palme-dor-winner-blue-is-the-warmest-color-gets-nc-17-rating
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/blue-is-warmest-color-palme-609966
PRE-FESTIVAL OSCAR THOUGHTS
Movie City News has convened its first gathering of Oscar experts to establish the opening line for the Gurus of Gold. Anticipated/Possible Telluride #40 titles that make the first Gurus list are (and their opening position):
"12 Years a Slave" (Tied #1)
"Inside Llewyn Davis" (tied #4)
"Gravity" (#9)
Other T-ride probables/possibles on the Gurus list:
"Nebraska"
"Labor Day"
"All is Lost"
"Blue is the Warmest Color"
Interesting side note: TFF #39 films "Frances Ha" and "Stories We Tell" also get mentioned.
Other films that are tied for the top spot are: "American Hustle" and "Lee Daniels' 'The Butler''
Check the complete Gurus Pre-Fest Best Picture predictions here:
http://moviecitynews.com/2013/
LOOKING TO THE FALL
Any number of publications, websites and blogs are making their lists previewing the films of the fall. I've included a couple of links here.
The Wrap: http://www.thewrap.com/
Huffington Post: http://m.huffpost.com/us/
Follow/Like Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook.
Follow me on Twitter @Gort2.
More on Monday...unless there's "Breaking News"...
