New York Reveals Full Slate / "The Hateful Eight" Has a Trailer / Looking at Hank Williams/Tom Hiddleston / A Look at "Our Brand is Crisis"

Thursday, Thursday, Thursday...


A very busy 24 hours since my last post vi-s-a-vis The 42nd Telluride Film Festival with new information and also views of some films that could play at T-ride that we haven't seen much of anything from...yet.  Let's start with new info from...

NEW YORK REVEALS FULL SLATE (AND TELLS US SOME THINGS ABOUT TELLURIDE)

The New York Film Festival dropped the rest of their film lineup (barring any surprise screenings...and NYFF has certainly done some of that in the past) out of the blue yesterday.  Last year the NYFF program was revealed on Aug. 14 so we knew it was likely very soon.

Here's what we can discern/glean:

Announcements of Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" (which we knew from its earlier announcement as NYFF's centerpiece) is still label less in terms of premiere status.  That's a pretty strong indication that it's Telluride bound.

Todd Haynes "Carol" was also in the announcement yesterday with no premiere status indicated which tells me Telluride.

The ONLY other film that fits the "no premiere" status condition is Corneliu Porumbiou's "The Treasure".  It played Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section.  Critics loved, loved, loved it.  Looks like it's going to make the trip to the San Juans.

"The Treasure's"  IMDb page is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4515684/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1


We are also able to deduce that some films are now off the Telluride radar owing to their NYFF posted premiere status (barring mistakes or weirdness).  Off the T-ride table would appear to be:

Steven Spielberg's "Bridge of Spies"
"Arabian Nights"
"Les Cowboys"
"The Measure of a Man"
"Mia Madre"
"Microbe and Gasoline"


There are also others off the Telluride grid but we either already knew that or never thought they were likely for Telluride to begin with.

Want some weirdness?  Seems like only three films will crossover this year between Telluride and New York.  Last year it was 11 films that played both fests.  Not sure why but that's a dramatic difference.

Finally, for those keeping score, films that we still haven't seen on any of the three major fall fest lists (TIFF, Venice, NYFF) are:

"Suffragette"
"I Saw the Light"
"Our Brand is Crisis"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"By the Sea"
"Truth"
"Manchester-by-the-Sea"
"Secret in Their Eyes"
"Queen of the Desert"
"Salt and Fire"
"45 Years"
"13 Minutes"
"Macbeth"
"Adam Jones/Burnt"
"Snowden"
"Joy"

"The Light Between Oceans"

"Crimson Peak"

"The 33"

"The Last Face"

Of these, I feel that the best added Telluride shots are:

"Suffragette"

"I Saw the Light" (see below)

"Our Brand is Crisis"

"Truth"

"Secret in Their Eyes"

"Queen of the Desert"

"45 Years"

"13 Minutes"

"Macbeth"

Here are links to a slew of NYFF coverage:

http://www.filmlinc.org/nyff2015/daily/the-new-york-film-festival-sets-26-films-for-the-2015-main-slate/

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/12/spielberg-coens-drama-bridge-of-spies-gets-new-york-film-festival-premiere/

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/new-york-film-festival-lineup-2015-bridge-of-spies

http://www.indiewire.com/article/53rd-new-york-film-festival-announces-main-slate-offerings-brooklyn-carol-and-bridge-of-spies-top-list-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/what-did-the-new-york-film-festival-get-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-york-film-festival-adds-world-premiere-of-steven-spielbergs-bridge-of-spies-to-main-slate-and-more-20150812

We should have more insight next week with the next wave of major announcements from Toronto.

"THE HATEFUL EIGHT" HAS A TRAILER

Well, let's all say it together: "The Hateful Eight" will not be ready in time to screen at TFF #42.

There's the disclaimer.

But I will say again that I do think we could see some footage of some kind.  I don't think that's stretch.  Maybe clips.  Maybe and extended scene or two.  Maybe a Quentin Tarantino tribute?

All possible.  

Yesterday's trailer release is reportedly what was shown at Cannes in May.  Check it here via YouTube:

And, as you might expect, I have linked a number of stories that accompanied the trailer release:


http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hateful-eight-trailer-quentin-tarantino-1201568499/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/first-trailer-quentin-tarantinos-hateful-814804

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/08/hateful-eight-trailer-gives-season-much-needed-shot-in-the-arm/

http://thefilmstage.com/trailer/quentin-tarantino-returns-to-the-western-in-first-trailer-for-the-hateful-eight/

http://www.slashfilm.com/hateful-eight-trailer/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-quentin-tarantino-returns-to-the-western-with-a-gun-slinging-hateful-eight-teaser-20150812

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-bloody-blazing-trailer-for-quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-20150812


LOOKING AT HANK WILLIAMS/TOM HIDDLESTON IN "I SAW THE LIGHT"

We got our first official glimpse yesterday of Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in the Marc Abraham film "I Saw the Light" as you can see above.

As I was monitoring the internet traffic as the image was being reported I noted an exchange highlighted between @PennJK and the official Toronto Film Festival Twitter account.  TIFF tweeted the image themselves:

https://twitter.com/TIFF_NET/status/631573216054525952/photo/1

 In the exchange @PennJK asks if the tweet means that "I Saw the Light" will play in Toronto to which the TIFF account replies:

"No plans as of now.  Just a savory slice of film industry news."

Which strikes me as an non denial denial.  It seems to me to be too convenient a pic for the TIFF account to tweet if it weren't going to go to TIFF.  Kind of makes me think that it WILL play TIFF and I'd bet if it does that it plays Telluride first.  Perhaps we'll find out next week.

Your links to stories with the "I Saw the Light" image from yesterday.  The Anne Thompson post suggests the possibility of Telluride:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/i-saw-the-light-first-look-tom-hiddleston-as-country-star-hank-williams-20150812

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/tom-hiddleston-hank-williams-i-saw-light-first-lo

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-look-tom-hiddleston-as-hank-williams-in-i-saw-the-light-20150812

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-picture-of-tom-hiddleston-as-hank-williams-in-i-saw-the-light/

ALSO A LOOK AT "OUR BRAND IS CRISIS"

Just about the same time all the Hateful trailer stories and Hiddleston as Hank stories were blowing up, the folks behind the P.R. for David Gordon Green's "Our Brand is Crisis" were busy with the first official look of Sandra Bullock from that film (above).

Could this film play Telluride?  It's still on my list of possibilities.   Coverage is here from Entertainment Weekly:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/12/sandra-bullock-our-brand-crisis-first-look


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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Post TIFF #3 Backtracks and Corrections / Some "Hateful" Footage Coming Your Way

Welcome to Wednesday World...


POST TIFF #3 ANNOUNCEMENT BACKTRACKS AND CORRECTIONS

I guess you know you've made it when enough people read what you write and care enough about it that they want to help you get it right.  That was at least part of my experience yesterday as the Toronto International Film Festival added several new films to their lineups with a focus on their documentaries, Midnight Madness, classics and Vanguard segments.  Here is what we learned after yesterday's announcement and posts here at MTFB:


My hope that the mysterious film alluded to by Showbiz411 might be some version of Orson Welles "The Other Side of the Wind" will go unfulfilled.  Instead that appears to be Sidney Pollack film, "Amazing Grace", a recording of an Aretha Franklin live performance from the early 70's that was announced by TIFF yesterday as an International Premiere.  That combined with a Showbiz411 post from yesterday as well led to my claim that it would play Telluride.

Here's the link to the TIFF press release with "Amazing Grace" listed as an International Premiere:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/presscontent.tiff.net/docs/lOEK36_TIFF_Docs_Festival2015_8771503_1439318999.pdf

And the Showbiz411 story in which the producer claims that it will play Telluride:

http://www.showbiz411.com/2015/08/11/exclusive-rare-aretha-franklin-performance-film-directed-by-sydney-pollack-may-screen-in-toronto

But an astute reader commented that the L.A. Times was reporting that the Toronto screening would be the film's "first ever" screening.  That article is here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-toronto-film-festival-sydney-pollack-aretha-franklin-documentaries-20150811-story.html#page=1


At bottom, I am cautiously thinking that I have this one right and that "Amazing Grace" is a pretty good bet for Telluride.

I got some interesting feedback concerning all of this from a couple of places yesterday.  Loyal reader and good friend Christopher Schiller sent along a very interesting read about the unlikelihood of any of us seeing any version of Welles' "Wind" any time soon.  That's here:

http://www.wellesnet.com/is-oja-kodar-holding-up-the-other-side-of-the-wind/

So, all in all...a humbling experience and not the only one.

I also got really excited that Jafhar Panahi's "Taxi" was listed as a Canadian Premiere in the TIFF announcement yesterday.  This, I said, indicates a Telluride play...woo-hoo!

Fortunately for accuracy's sake, "metalmeatwad" (@MichaelNotCera) messaged me on Twitter to tell me, quite rightly, that "Taxi" had bowed at a film festival in Mexico last April which would qualify as its North American premiere.  That information means, that unless Telluride violates its own "North American" premiere policy, that the exact opposite is the case and that "Taxi" will NOT be a Telluride play.

"metalmeatwad" also passed along that Charlie Kaufman's Venice presentation of "Anomalisa"  is actually occurring after Telluride is over.  Assuming that it IS playing Telluride, and I think it will, that reverses what has been the common practice of a film playing Venice and then flying to Telluride.  Examples this year...we're pretty sure include "Black Mass" and "Beasts of No Nation" and maybe one other film...which leads me to this...

I give...I surrender.  Too many people with way better access to inside film information have said that Tom McCarthy's Spotlight" will run through Telluride after Venice and before Toronto.  I have been resisting that conclusion as TIFF had some confusion in their labeling of the film's premiere status but...I'm relenting finally because I seem to be the only one that is very skeptical at this point.  I'm not saying that I'm 100% sure that "Spotlight" will play (though I'd prefer that it does) at Telluride but am now saying that it could be possible.

Luckily for my fragile ego, it seems very, very likely that the Davis Guggenheim doc "He Named Me Malala" is set to be a part of The SHOW as it was listed as an International Premiere and has yet to play anywhere else in the world...as far as I can tell.

In as far as other news coming from the TIFF announcement yesterday...

It looks relatively likely that "Hitchcock/Truffaut" will play at Telluride and quite probably Laurie Anderson's "Heart of a Dog".

We also can eliminate four films from our Telluride deliberations as they are listed as World or North American Premieres for TIFF:

"Our Little Sister"
"The Assassin"
"Every Thing Will Be Fine" and
"Cemetery of Splendor"

Toronto should have at least one more major set of announcements coming next week.  As of today, there are still a lot of films that have had no fall film fest claim them:

"Suffragette"
"I Saw the Light"
"Our Brand is Crisis"
"In the Heart of the Sea"
"By the Sea"
"Truth"
"Steve Jobs"
"Manchester-by-the-Sea"
"Secret in Their Eyes"
"Bridge of Spies"
"Queen of the Desert"
"Salt and Fire"
"45 Years"
"13 Minutes"
"Carol"
"Macbeth"
"Adam Jones/Burnt"
"Snowden"
"Joy"

"The Light Between Oceans"
"Crimson Peak"
"The 33"
"The Last Face"

SOME "HATEFUL" FOOTAGE COMING YOUR WAY

Various sources reported yesterday that an actual trailer for Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" will be showing up in theaters this weekend.  That's some exciting news and I'll be very curious to see what that looks like.

The news that "H8" has a trailer fans the flames for those of us who are hoping that there is some kind of presence for that film over Labor Day weekend.

Ina perfect and magical world, we'd get to see the complete film as well as a surprise screening of the just finished Inarritu film "The Revenant".  What a double bill...eh?  Won't happen, but a guy can dream.


That's all for Wednesday...more tomorrow...


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

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First Looks at "Burnt" / New "Hateful" Poster / Added Views from "Macbeth" / Toronto Part Three Later

Good Tuesday everyone

It's all about films from The Weinstein Company today as the TWC machine got working in a big way yesterday apparently.


FIRST LOOKS AT "BURNT"

This film stars Bradley Cooper and was originally titled "Adam Jones".  The film is directed by John Wells ("August, Osage County) and is set for domestic release on Oct. 23.

A number of outlets reported yesterday the film had a new poster (above)  as well as a first teaser via The Today Show.  Find the trailer in the stories linked here:


http://www.today.com/video/first-look-at-bradley-coopers-next-film-burnt-501431875698

http://theplaylistfilm.tumblr.com/post/126358877126/watch-bradley-cooper-in-the-first-brief-teaser-for

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/bradley-cooper-is-burnt-in-first-trailer-and-poster/


Of the three TWC films I'm talking about today, I suspect that this is in the middle spot in terms of Telluride possibility.


ADDED VIEWS FROM "MACBETH"

The film from today's post that probably is the most likely to show at The SHOW is Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth".  The film stars Michael Fassbender as the Scottish King and Marion Cotillard as Lady Macbeth.  I've had this on my Telluride watch list for more than a year and were it not for "Carol" I'd probably think it was a lock to play Telluride.

Fassbender and Cotillard have been receiving some potential awards attention for their performances since the film debuted in Cannes back in May.

Take a look at a couple of new stills from the film from this article from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fassbender-tv-spot-for-steve-jobs-with-new-footage-plus-pics-from-macbeth-trespass-against-us-20150807


NEW "HATEFUL" POSTER

We also have a new poster that appeared from Qunetin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" (above).  The film isn't due until Christmas so the probability of a complete version playing Telluride seems incredibly remote.

Still, I wouldn't be completely surprised if it showed up in some uncompleted form over the Labor Day weekend.  A number of my fellow journo types have suggested the possibility of a Tarantino tribute with clips or an extended scene as a part of that.

That seems a reasonable possibility to me.  Fingers crossed.

Coverage for the poster release is here:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/10/hateful-8-poster-exclusive

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-poster-for-quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-promises-ultra-panavision-70-picture-20150810


TORONTO PART THREE

The Toronto International Film Festival is set to drop more titles today.  Expected are their non-Canadian films in the Documentary program and their Midnight Madness program.  There have also been some hints that we might see/hear films that will be in their Vanguard program and further galas or special presentations.

I'll publish a special TIFF News post later today if the information we glean warrants.


More later...and for sure tomorrow...


Please feel free to leave a comment or question here at the blog.

Email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or mpgort@gmail.com

Tweet/Follow at me @Gort2 on Twitter

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"Youth" Wins Audience Award/Distribution: Focus Features and Telluride/"Hateful" Happens at Comic Con

And we're back...from the weekend.  Hope yours was good.

"YOUTH" WINS AT KARLOVY VARY

Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth" stuck another feather in its it metaphorical hat with an audience award win this weekend at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.  The film continues to gain steam and attention as one of Fox Searchlight's most likely awards friendly films.

I've felt for some time that it has an excellent chance to play Telluride in September.  It's currently sitting at #3 on the most current MTFB "Ten Bets" list.

I have linked the Karlovy Vary story from The Wrap as well as a link to Variety's coverage of the Harvey Keitel interview that was conducted there as a part of the film's festival presentation:

http://www.thewrap.com/karlovy-vary-film-festival-gives-top-prizes-to-bob-and-the-trees-youth/


http://variety.com/2015/film/festivals/harvey-keitel-on-brilliant-auteurs-and-the-importance-of-independents-1201538358/



FOCUS FEATURES AND TELLURIDE

Focus Features films at Telluride since 2003:

2003: Lost in Translation
2004: The Motorcycle Diaries
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2006: Catch a Fire
2012: Hyde Park on Hudson

Focus Features has had a spotty track record at Telluride with 5 films over the past 12 years so chances aren't great, you'd think anyway.  However, a couple of their films have some potential.  Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" and Tom Hooper's "The Danish Girl".  Both directors have been to Telluride previously.  Gavron in 2006 with "Brick Lane" and Hooper in 2010 with the Oscar Best Picture winner "The King's Speech".  So both could actually be in play.  My assessment is that "Suffragette" is the most likely of the two at 60% (and I have actually had it on and near the "Ten Bets" list so far this summer).  Meanwhile, "Eddie Redmayne's starring role in "The Danish Girl" has people talking that he could be in the running for a second straight Oscar nomination for Best Actor. I put "Danish Girl's" chances of playing Telluride at 35%.

Tomorrow I'll take a look at Strand Releasing and maybe a couple of others...



"HATEFUL" HAPPENS AT COMIC CON

Yes.  Quentin Tarantino and a huge chunk of the cast from his upcoming "The Hateful Eight" made a splashy presentation at Comic Con in San Diego over the weekend.  The presentation included a seven minute reel from the film that QT cut just last week for the event.

Additionally, the film has a new poster and Tarantino dropped the news that Ennio Morricone will be scoring the film.  Perfect!

The presentation renewed speculation among some professional movie blogger types that the film might still be a special sneak at TFF in a few weeks.  That'd be cool but it would still be cutting it mighty close.  Fingers crossed, though.

Here's coverage from Rope of silicon and HitFix:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/new-the-hateful-eight-poster-ennio-morricone-providing-original-score/

http://www.hitfix.com/awards-campaign/five-takeaways-from-quentin-tarantino-and-the-hateful-eight-comic-con-panel


That's it for Monday, come back again tomorrow...

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Distribution: The Weinstein Company/Fassbender Takes on The Dude/First International Trailer for "The Club"

It's Wednesday people...getting marginally closer to Labor Day weekend.


We continue our look at film distributors with Telluride track records...



DISTRIBUTION: FREQUENT DISTRIBS AT TELLURIDE: THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY

Tracking the Weinsteins 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 or Radius-TWC since 2006:


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)
2013: The Unknown Known, Salinger, Tracks
2014: The Imitation Game", "Escobar: Paradise Lost"

15 films in nine years.  That's an average of 1.7 films per year with at least one film every year of the nine.  Also, they had a great back-to-back Telluride run in 2010 and 2011 with ultimate Oscar Best Picture winners "The King's Speech" and "The Artist" playing in Telluride.  Last year's "The Imitation Game" was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won for Graham Moore's adapted screenplay.

So, what might we see from TWC in eight weeks time?

They have Todd Haynes "Carol" which wowed at Cannes as well as Justin Kurzel's "Macbeth" which also played in competition at Cannes and received excellent notices for stars Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender.  Additionally, Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight", "John Wells' "Adam Jones".

Radius-TWC doesn't currently list any project on IMDb that would be Telluride ready.

So where does that leave us?

I think "Carol" is a pretty solid guess for Telluride.  "Macbeth" is also a real possibility.  Everything is else is less so.  "Hateful" is not likely to be ready.  "Adam Jones" doesn't seem, to me anyway, to have the gravitas for T-ride.

Chances with current "Ten Bets" status listed in parenthesis where applicable:

"Carol" 75% (#3)
"Macbeth" 55%
"The Hateful Eight" 25%
"Adam Jones" 25%

Tomorrow a look at Sundance Selects/IFC FIlms.


FASSBENDER TAKES ON THE DUDE

For a while now, Telluride favorite Jason Reitman has staged live reads of various films.  He's mostly done it in L.A. but has occasionally ventured to other places.  In the past few days we have learned that he will stage a live read of the Coen Brothers' "The Big Lebowski" in Montreal for a comedy festival there on July 24th.

And we know now who will be reading "the Dude", none other than Oscar nominee Michael Fassbender.  Patton Oswalt has also been announced as Walter Sobchak, the John Goodman role with other roles/actors to be announced.

Also, we learned via The Playlist (story below) that Fassbender was up for and auditioned for the title role in the Coen's 2013 Telluride-selected "Inside Llewyn Davis".  That would have been interesting, though, as bog a fan as I am of Fassbender's work, and I am a huge fan, I can't imagine the role in any other hands but those of Oscar Isaac.


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/michael-fassbender-will-play-the-dude-in-jason-reitmans-live-read-of-the-big-lebowski-20150707

FIRST INTERNATIONAL TRAILER FOR "THE CLUB"

Pablo Larrain's "The Club" won the Silver Bear at Berlin in February and that combined with Larrain's play at Telluride in 2012 with "No" (he was also a producer for 2013's "Gloria") makes me think we should consider it as a potential lineup choice for TFF #42.

Additionally, U.S. distribution is in the hands of Music Box Films which has a small but notable Telluride resume including Oscar winner for Best Foreign Language Film "Ida" and "Fifi Howls from Happiness" in 2013 and "The Story of Film" in 2011.

"The Club" deals with secrets in the Catholic Church in South America.

The Playlist covered the release of the film's international trailer yesterday and the story and the trailer are here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-international-trailer-for-pablo-larrains-berlin-film-festival-award-winning-the-club-20150707


That's all for today...more on Thursday...

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Distribution: Frequent Distribs at Telluride: Sony Pictures Classics/Trailer for "The Assassins"/"Hateful Eight" News

Good Monday Everyone...I hope you had an excellent Independence Day weekend.

We start our series today that looks at Film distribution companies that have a history with Telluride and what their current lineup might tell us about this year's possible lineup.

DISTRIBUTION: FREQUENT DISTRIBS AT TELLURIDE: SONY PICTURES CLASSIC (SPC)

SPC is the "Big Dog" of Indie distributors at Telluride.  No other company has as long and consistent track record of having film's selected for The SHOW program as Sony Pictures Classics.

Here's what SPC has shown in Telluride in the last 12 years :

2014: Foxcatcher, Leviathan, Red Army, Mr. Turner, Wild Tales, Salt of the Earth and Merchants of Doubt (7)
2013: The Invisible Woman, The Lunchbox, The Past, Tim's Vermeer and Jodorowsky's Dune (5)
2012: The Gatekeepers, At Any Price, Rust and Bone, No, Wadjda, Amour (6)
2011: A Dangerous Method, In Darkness, Footnote, A Separation (4)
2010: Incendies, Of Gods and Men, Tamara Drewe, Another Year, The Illusionist, Inside Job (6)
2009: The Last Station, The White Ribbon, Coco Before Chanel, A Prophet, An Education (5)
2008: Waltz with Bashir, I've Loved You So Long, O'Horten (3)
2007: Brick Lane, When Did You Last See Your Father, Persepolis, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters (5)
2006: Jindabyne, The Lives of Others, Volver, The Italian (4)
2005: Breakfast on Pluto, Capote, Cache, The Child (4)
2004: Being Julia, House of Flying Daggers, Bad Education, Merchant of Venice, Up and Down, Yes (6)
2003: The Fog of War, My Life Without Me, The Triplets of Belleville, Young Adam (4)

SPC averages 5.3 films per year at Telluride with seven last year, the most they've had at any TFF in the last dozen years.

This year's possible crop from Sony Pictures Classics (according to today's IMDb listing) includes:

"I Saw the Light"
"Son of Saul"
"Our Little Sister"
"13 Minutes" ("Elser")
"Truth"


Other SPC films that would seem to be disqualified: "Grandma", "Dark Horse" and "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" as they played at Sundance.

Of the six left as SPC possibles, we 'd be wise to remember that SPC usually doesn't get every film available into the fest.  Last year's "Coming Home" is a good example.  So, it's unlikely that all six of these films play.

Four of the five have already appeared on at least one of my two "Ten Bets" lists this last couple of weeks.  A really good case can be made for five of them.

"Truth" looks like a fairly substantial play for Awards recognition as does "I Saw the Light" which also has Marc Abraham directing who previously brought "Flash of Genius" to Telluride in 2008.

"13 Minutes"made some noise at Berlin.

"Our Little Sister" and "Son of Saul" both played at Cannes and "Son if Saul" particularly well winning the Grand Prix prize.

Chances (with current "Ten Bets" postions in parenthesis where applicable) :

"Son of Saul" 90%  (#2)
"I Saw the Light" 80% (#6)
"13 Minutes" 75% (#7)
"Truth" 65%
"Our Little Sister" 50%
"Testament of Youth" 10%


Tomorrow's distributor to look at: Fox Searchlight.

TRAILER FOR "THE ASSASSIN"

"The Assassin" teaser/trailer via YouTube

We saw our first trailer released this weekend for Cannes Best Director winner Hou Hsaio-Hsein's "The Assassin".  Its reception at Cannes makes the film one that we need to keep in mind as a possible choice for Telluride programming.  One note, however, the film's U.S. distribution is with Well Go Entertainment, for which I can find only the barest of connections to T-ride...they distributed the video for TFF 2010 selection "Oka! Amerikee".

Both The Playlist and FirstShowing posted coverage of the trailer release this weekend:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-hou-hsiao-hsiens-cannes-award-winning-the-assassin-20150704

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/watch-teaser-trailer-for-hou-hsiao-hsiens-cannes-hit-the-assassin/



"HATEFUL EIGHT" NEWS

First, we found out  that Tarantino will be bringing a presentation about the film to Comic Con which starts in San Diego next week.  "The Hateful Eight" panel is scheduled for July 11th.  Here's coverage from Variety, The Wrap and Thompson on Hollywood:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight-headed-to-comic-con-1201529411/

http://www.thewrap.com/quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-to-attend-san-diego-comic-con/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/tarantino-takes-hateful-eight-footage-to-comic-con-20150626


Additionally, we tumbled across an Entertainment Weekly story in which Tarantino calls the film the "funniest snow western ever made" which seems to me to be a pretty limited category.  Here's The Entertainment Weekly story:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/02/hateful-eight-exclusive-image-kurt-russell

The bottom line here is that the Comic Con presentation of footage means that QT is making progress on the edit of the film and with just under two months still left before Telluride, you have to wonder if he might just make it under the wire for Labor Day despite the fact that the film isn't getting a release until Dec. 25.

We'll see.


That's all for Monday...tune in again tomorrow...


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"Hateful" Release Date and Strategy Revealed/First Look at "Freeheld"/Trailering the "Queen"

Welcome back from the weekend...It's Monday!


"HATEFUL" RELEASE DATE AND STRATEGY REVEALED

Last week, I reported that Quentin Tarantino had committed to retro-fitting 50 screens across the nation to be able to screen "The Hateful Eight" in 70mm.  News emerged over the weekend that revealed the release date and strategy for the film that was shot near Telluride last winter.

The film will be released on Christmas Day in 70mm and then go wide two weeks later digitally.  Over the weekend a number of the Telluride Film Fest faithful and I engaged in a fairly involved Twitter convo about the chances that we might still see "Hateful" at TFF #42.

My feeling is that time doesn't favor that approach but that we might see a sequence or a selection of clips.  It would be a thrill to get Tarantino in Telluride during Labor Day weekend.  We'll see...

Here's coverage of the "Hateful" release story from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Indiewire, The Playlist, Rope of Silicon and The Wrap:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/quentin-tarantino-hateful-eight-christmas-release-1201518619/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight-gets-802117

http://www.indiewire.com/article/quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-to-be-widest-70mm-release-in-over-20-years-20150612

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-hateful-eight-sets-christmas-day-release-2-week-70mm-roadshow-to-be-followed-by-digital-wide-release-20150612

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight-gets-70mm-digital-release-dates/

http://www.thewrap.com/quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight-to-hit-theaters-in-70mm-on-christmas-day/


FIRST LOOK AT "FREEHELD"

Julianne Moore and Ellen Page in "Freeheld" via Entertainment Weekly

Lionsgate has the distribution for the Julianne Moore, Ellen Page, Steve Carell starrer "Freeheld" based on the true life experience of policewoman Laurel Hester (Moore) who fought the power when she was faced with dying and wanted her survivor benefits to go to her same sex partner (Page).

The Lionsgate as distributor might seem to be a TFF disqualifier (listed as a distrib for "all is Lost" in 2013...and that's all) but the Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions (also "All is Lost" as well as "Mommy", "The Homesman", "'71") /Saban ( "The Homesman") connections make it a possibility.  "Freeheld" is directed by Peter Sollett ( "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist").

Entertainment Weekly had the image (above) and the story:


http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/11/ellen-page-julianne-freeheld-first-look


TRAILERING THE "QUEEN"

Lots of new pics last week from Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and over the weekend, an international trailer for the film which you can see in any of the below linked stories from The Playlist, First Showing and Rope of Silicon:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-international-trailer-for-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-with-nicole-kidman-robert-pattinson-and-more-20150613

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/watch-werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-international-trailer/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/nicole-kidman-is-the-queen-of-the-desert-in-first-trailer-poster/



More on Tuesday...

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"Hateful Eight" is a Dish Served Cold...Really Cold and Other "Hateful" News/"Black Mass" Poster and Pics/"Suffragette" Musings

Hoo-dee-hoo on a Tuesday...


"HATEFUL EIGHT" IS A DISH SERVED COLD...REALLY COLD AND OTHER "HATEFUL" NEWS

Samuel L. Jackson told the world last week that Quentin Tarantino kept his "Hateful Eight" set chill...very chill.  Jackson was quoted as saying that the set was refrigerated to create and keep the reality of the freezing, snowy conditions.  Check the story here from Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/samuel-l-jackson-reveals-hateful-eight-shot-refrigerated-set/

We still wish that we'd see it on Labor Day weekend...but doubt that will happen.

In other "Hateful" news, Rope of silicon was reporting yesterday that Tarantino is going to aid in the retro-fitting of up to 50 screens nationwide to be able to screen the new film in the 70mm format that he's shot it in.  I'd also point out that T-ride has the capability to screen in 70 mm.

Here's the story from ROS:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/tarantino-rumored-to-be-retrofitting-50-theaters-with-70mm-projection-for-hateful-eight-release/



"BLACK MASS" POSTER AND PICS

"Black Mass" poster

Scott Cooper's "Black Mass", the story of gangster Whitey Bulger played by Johnny Depp remains one of four films from Warners that are on my watch list for T-ride '15.  The others: "In the Heart of the Sea", "Our Brand is Crisis" and "Midnight Special".  

The film dropped what was described by The Playlist as a teaser poster, which you see above.

Take a look at the new pics from the film that are also included as a part of The Playlist's post from yesterday:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-johnny-depp-turns-cold-blooded-mob-boss-in-the-new-trailer-for-crime-drama-black-mass-20150522

"SUFFRAGETTE" MUSINGS

"Suffragette" trailer via YouTube

I keep coming back to the London Film Festival announcement form last week that Sarah Gavron's "Suffragette" will open the BFI LFF in early October and their listing of the film as its "European" premiere. (MTFB-June 4)

As Anne Thompson mentioned in her "Screen Talk" podcast that I linked here yesterday...the "European" designation means that the film will have played somewhere in North America before LFF.  As others noted in the analysis of the original announcement, that also means that it will not have played Venice.

I think the key to parsing this out is whether or not the LFF announcement and its designating the film as an "European" premiere means that it is NOT the film's "International" premiere.  If LFF is designating it as "European" as opposed to "International" because they wish to be specific in terms of that designation, then I believe the chances that "Suffragette" plays Telluride go way up. If the choice to designate as "European" makes this distinction, then it likely means that the film will have played Toronto and either New York or T-ride (or both).  In the scenario of choosing one over the other, Telluride may have the upper hand.

If, on the other hand,  it is NOT an LFF distinction of any real consequence, then the odds for "Suffragette" in the San Juans remain moderate at best.  Of course, there's no way (at least that I have found yet) to determine whether LFF officials made this calculation when they announced the film as a "European" premiere last week,

Something to think about, though...


More on Wednesday...


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Looking Back We Find Something That Sounds Familiar/Toronto Sun Article Hits Closer to the Mark/Anne and Eric Look Ahead

Good Monday All!

LOOKING BACK WE FIND SOMETHING THAT SOUNDS FAMILIAR

I spent some time this weekend looking back at last summer's Toronto/Telluride drama.  I wanted to remind myself how that had played out in a number of ways.

One of the things that I remembered and re-visited was the reaction from Sony Pictures Classics Tom Bernard and his characterization that the policy TIFF adopted last year was "imperialistic". Interestingly, as I was reviewing some of my posts and the posts of others that I linked, I discovered that Bernard may well have provided the template for this year's "adjustment".  Bernard is credited in the Toronto Star (and subsequently in The Hollywood Reporter) as suggesting:

"Bernard suggested a compromise to the premiere tussle.

TIFF could create special evening premiere slots for the first Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the festival at major venues such as Roy Thomson Hall and the Princess of Wales and Elgin theatres. That would give TIFF some exclusive premieres, while also allowing Telluride and other fests first dibs on showing other movies."

Sounds familiar doesn't it?  It's not exactly the newly announced "adjustment"...but there's a good deal of similarity.

The posts from both The Star and THR from last summer are re-linked below:

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2014/06/26/tiff_vs_telluride_tussle_turns_movie_premieres_into_a_battle_of_wills_peter_howell_column.html


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/toronto-film-festivals-anti-telluride-720646


TORONTO SUN ARTICLE HITS CLOSER TO THE MARK

Bruce Kirkland writing Friday afternoon in the Toronto Sun explains last week's change in film policy from the Toronto International Film Festival in terms more closely in line with my take.  We're not 100% compatible but he does make some of the same points that I have.   Kirkland writes that "...TIFF did change the rules of combat-but the tension continues.  And TIFF is still positioned as the bully..."

Take a look at the complete post here:

http://www.torontosun.com/2015/06/05/kirkland-tiff-premiere-feud-with-telluride-isnt-over#



ANNE AND ERIC LOOK AHEAD

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood and Eric Kohn/IndieWire, both of whom have been kind enough to participate in my "Professionals of Telluride" film ratings, have posted their latest installment of their podcast: Screen Talk in which they spend a good chunk of time discussing the Fall Film Fest season.  In fact, the podcast is titled: "Why We're Excited for Fall 2015".

Anne and Eric get to the Toronto "adjustment" at about the 6:40 mark in the cast. 

Take a listen here:

http://www.indiewire.com/article/why-were-excited-for-the-fall-2015-movie-season-podcast-20150605



More on Tuesday....


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Cannes Catches Up to Tellluride: Honoring Agnes Varda/"Hateful Eight" Photos/New "Youth" Trailer/Views from "The Sea of Trees"/More "Inferno" News/Tales of "Tales of Tales"

God Monday to All.  Hope you had a great Mother's Day weekend...



CANNES CATCHES UP TO TELLURIDE: HONORING AGNES VARDA

Telluride honored film maker Agnes Varda back in 1977.  It was the fourth edition of the Telluride Film Festival meaning that Varda was one of the fests earliest tribute recipients.  Also honored that year were Michael Powell and Ben Carre.

Varda was feted and several of her films were screened over the course of that weekend.

Now comes word that the Cannes Film Fest will catch up with Telluride some 38 years later as Varda will be awarded an honorary Palme d'Or this year.  I've included the link to the festival's official announcement as well as Varda's IMDb page:

http://www.festival-cannes.fr/en/article/61348.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0889513/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1



"HATEFUL EIGHT"  PHOTOS

It looks increasingly less likely that we will have the chance to see Quentin Tarantino's "The Hateful Eight" in Telluride over Labor Day.  Some journos have flat out said that it won't be ready in time for fall fests.

I've said all along that it was a long shot for TFF #42 anyway as Tarantino's festival resume is very small.  "Reservoir Dogs" played many fests including Sundance, Cannes and Toronto,  but Tarantino was an unknown commodity.  "Pulp Fiction" played Cannes, Lorcano, New York and a few others. Certainly fewer than "Pulp Fiction" did.

"Jackie Brown" played Berlin.  "Kill Bill 1",  "Kill Bill 2" played a couple of smaller fests.  "Death Proof" had Tarantino back at Cannes in 2007.  "Inglorious Basterds" played Cannes and Berlin and "Django" played no fest schedule.

So, the notion that "Hateful" would play Telluride was really based on two things alone: the fact that the movie was made in/near Telluride and that The Weinstein Company is distributing.

The film is still set for a late 2015 release in Israel.  IMDb currently has no set date for the film anywhere else.  I can actually see a scenario in which the film is finished and held for Cannes next year and then a late 2016 release.  No one has said that, in as far as I'm aware, but I wouldn't be terribly surprised.

Nonetheless, Entertainment Weekly had a slew of photos from the film that then spread like wildfire throughout the internet over the weekend.  Check the numerous links below:

Via The Film Stage

From Entertainment Weekly:

http://www.thewrap.com/hateful-eight-first-look-at-samuel-l-jackson-kurt-russell-and-jennifer-jason-leigh-in-character-photo/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-look-at-quentin-tarantinos-hateful-eight/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/more-first-look-photos-for-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight-uncovered/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/quentin-tarantino-hateful-eight-images

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/15-pictures-from-quentin-tarantinos-the-hateful-eight/


NEW "YOUTH" TRAILER

Paolo Sorrentino's "Youth" stars Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel and has already generated a good deal of pre-Cannes Palme d'Or buzz.  Palme winners have about a 50/50 chance of landing in Telluride  over the last decade or so.

Palme winners of late that played Telluride:


2003: "Elephant"
2005: "The Child"
2007: "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days"
2009: "The White Ribbon"
2012: "Amour"
2013: "Blue is the Warmest Color"

Last year's Palme went to "Winter Sleep" which didn't play at The SHOW so this year's winner might be more likely.

"Youth" has a new trailer that you can catch here via The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-michael-caine-and-harvey-keitel-have-a-bromance-in-new-trailer-for-paolo-sorrentinos-cannes-bound-youth-20150507


VIEWS FROM "THE SEA OF TREES"

Speaking of the Palme and past winners (as I did above)  Gus Van Sant's "The Sea of Trees" which is in competition this week at Cannes released some new images as well this past weekend.  Take a look:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-new-photos-of-matthew-mcconaughey-naomi-watts-ken-watanabe-in-gus-van-sants-sea-of-trees-20150507



MORE "INFERNO" NEWS

I reported in my last post that Werner Herzog's next project would be shopped at Cannes to pick up financing,  That happened between my Thursday post and today as the film has drawn backing.

Check the story from The Dissolve:


http://thedissolve.com/news/5641-cannes-deal-roundup-distributors-snap-up-snazzy-so/


TALES OF "TALES OF TALES"

And. as has been the pattern over the last few days...

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/cannes-2-tv-spots-and-lots-of-new-images-for-matteo-garrones-the-tale-of-tales-with-salma-hayek-20150508



That's all for now...more on Thursday after the Cannes Festival is under way!