Ten Bets (Plus)#10 for TFF #52 / Mystery Doc to Play Telluride / Cleaning Up Some Weirdness / Who Could Be at TFF #52? / Awards Watch Pod is All T-ride This Week / Trailers: Ballad of a Small Player and The History of Sound / the 13th People's Telluride

TEN BETS (PLUS) FOR TFF #52

We really are getting down to it.  Eight more days and the 52nd Telluride Film Festival opens.  So here's the penultimate set of "Bets" for what may play at TFF #52.  First, a recap of last week's "Bets":

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach 

11) Bugonia/Lanthimos

12) The Mastermind/Reichardt

13) Cover-Up/Poitras

14) Ghost Elephants/Herzog

15) Hamlet/Karia

16) Pillion

17) La Grazia

18) Resurrection

19) Nuestra Tierra

20) Blue Moon

Other possibilities: A Private Life, The Young Mother's Home, The Drama, Die My Love, At the Sea, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Bucking Fastard, Megadoc, Train Dreams.

This week' Ten Bets (Plus):

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Bugonia/Lanthimos

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach 

11) Tuner/Roher

12) The Mastermind/Reichardt

13) Cover-Up/Poitras

14) Ghost Elephants/Herzog

15) Hamlet/Karia

16) Pillion/Lighton

17) La Grazia/Sorrentino

18) Resurrection/Bi Gan

19) Blue Moon/Linklater

20) A Private Life/Zlotowski

Other possibilities: Secret Documentary with Oscar Isaac, Barrio Triste, The Young Mother's Home, The Drama, Die My Love, At the Sea, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Bucking Fastard, Megadoc, Train Dreams.

The Final Bets will be published next Wednesday in a Special Post!!!

MYSTERY DOC TO PLAY TELLURIDE

I've certainly been bemoaning the fact that Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein isn't indicated for Telluride.  Toronto has it listed as a North American premiere.  But it seems that at least one of members of that cast will make the trek from its Venetian World premiere to Telluride and that is none other than Dr. Frankenstein himself, Oscar Isaac.

How do we know this?  Variety had a huge, splashy piece on Frankenstein up yesterday with .  The piece includes interview responses from Del Toro, Isaac and Jacob Elordi who plays the monster.  Included in the story is this nugget:

"After the Venice gala, Isaac will fly to Telluride to screen a secret documentary that involves him. Then he travels back to Venice for the debut of “In the Hand of Dante,” a mob drama directed by Julian Schnabel."

A secret documentary?  Yes, it is.  I can't find a peep about it and I spent some time digging.

So, as you'll see above in the Ten Bets section, I've added that to the list of "Possibilities" and I'm very interested to find out what the story is here.

The complete Variety piece is linked here.

CLEANING UP SOME WEIRDNESS

In my last post I had a section describing some disconnects between  premiere designations between Toronto and New York.  Some of that has been explained.

A friendly reader pointed me toward the Camden International Film Festival which runs the weekend after Telluride so that also means before New York (Sept. 26-Oct. 13) and its lineup explains what seems to be the contradiction between the two film fest's designation. Three films in question will be playing Camden: Nuestra Tierra (Landmarks), With Hasan in Gaza and Evidence.  Camden lists Nuestra Tierra and With Hasan in Gaza as U.S. premieres and Evidence as a North American premiere.  That clears up what looked like a disconnect between  the Toronto and New York designations and means none of those films are likely playing at Telluride.

Meanwhile Sirat, another film with a TIFF/NYFF contradiction has been announced by Fantastic Fest (Sept. 18-25) as a U.S. premiere so the same logic applies and it looks like Sirat is definitively off the TFF#52 list.

That leaves Blue Moon, A Private Life and Barrio Triste as still unexplained TIFF/NYFF contradictory designations.  Of the three it feels to me like Blue Moon is the most likely to play Telluride then A Private Life and lastly, Barrio Triste.

WHO COULD BE AT TFF #52?

Hamnet: Chloe Zhao, Paul Mescal, Jesse Buckley, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn

Sentimental Value: Joachim Trier, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Reinsve, Elle Fanning

The Ballad of a Small Player: Edward Berger, Colin Farrell, Tilda Swinton

Nouvelle Vague: Richard Linklater, Zoe Deutch

Tuner: Daniel Roher, Dustin Hoffman

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere: Scott Cooper, Jeremy Allen White, Paul Walter Hauser, Jeremy Strong, Stephen Graham (and in a perfect world, the Boss himself)

The History of Sound: Oliver Hermanus, Paul Mescal, Josh O'Connor, Chis Cooper

Jay Kelly: Noah Baumbach, George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Greta Gerwig

Bugonia: Yorgos Lanthimos, Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons

The Mastermind: Kelly Reichardt, John Magaro, Josh O'Connor, Bill Camp, Hope Davis, Gaby Hoffman

Hamlet: Riz Ahmed, Joe Alwyn, Timothy Spall

Pillion: Henry Lighton, Alexander Skarsgard, Henry Melling

Blue Moon: Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley, Bobby Canavalle

Secret Documentary: Oscar Isaac

Others from among the "Possibles" list:

Jodie Foster

Jennifer Lawrence

Robert Pattinson

Zendaya

Amy Adams

Anne Hathaway

Kate Mara

Rooney Mara

Orlando Bloom

Joel Edgerton

Felicity Jones

AWARDS WATCH PODCAST IS ALL T-RIDE THIS WEEK

Awards Watch gathered about half a dozen folks who will all be attending TFF for their podcast this week so the focus is all about predicting films and potential Tribute recipients.  It's interesting.  They've got a title or two that I don't currently have and a slew of guesses about Silver Medallions.    Take a listen if you're so inclined:

This links to the podcast.

TRAILERS: 

THE BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER

THE HISTORY OF SOUND

THE PEOPLE'S TELLURIDE-13TH EDITION

For the 13th year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Report your ratings to: mpgort@gmail.com 

The deadline for this year to turn in your ratings will by Sept. 15th.

I'll compile all of your responses and post those a few days after the festival.

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Late Breaking: Springsteen Added to New York / Die My Love Still in Play? / Gold Derby Oscar Ratings for What We Think Is Headed to TFF #52

LATE BREAKING: NEW YORK ADDS SPRINGSTEEN

Just announced this morning after the blog's post time, the New York Film Festival has added Scott Cooper's Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere to its lineup as a Spotlight Gala.  Noteworthy is that the language of the press release refers to it as a premiere but does NOT indicate what level of premiere.

I have also been told that the original release may have suggested that it was a World premiere but that has been scrubbed for the current language.

All of this tends to support the notion that the film will, in fact bow initially at Telluride.

Here's the link to the NYFF announcement in its current form:

https://www.filmlinc.org/nyff/daily/scott-coopers-springsteen-deliver-me-from-nowhere-announced-as-nyff63-spotlight-gala/

DIE, MY LOVE STILL IN PLAY?

We haven't heard much about Lynne Ramsay and Die, My Love since Cannes.  But now, over the weekend, Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel sourcing from Screen Daily suggests that Ramsay has been re-editing the film since Cannes.  Ruimy also reminds us that the same scenario occurred when Ramsay screened We Need to Talk About Kevin at Cannes in 2011 and then worked on further editing it afterwards.  Of course that film went on to screen at Telluride.

Ruimy even suggests that a repeat of that scenario is not completely out of the question writing:

"IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast seems to now be hinting that Ramsay went back to the editing room after Cannes to further shape “Die, My Love,” which might potentially explain its absence at the fall fests — although I still wouldn’t rule out a Telluride appearance."

The WOR story is linked here.

GOLD DERBY OSCAR RANKINGS FOR WHAT WE THINK IS HEADED TO TFF #52 

As many of you readers know, when the fest concludes on Sept. 1st and this space will then become focused on the awards season fortunes of the films that make up the TFF #52 lineup.  So I took a look at how the experts at Gold Derby had rated some of the films that we think may play T-ride in a few weeks.  Here's where they sit:

#3 Sentimental Value

#4 Jay Kelly

#7 Bugonia

#8 Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

#13 It Was Just an Accident

#15 Hamnet

#21 The Ballad of Small Player

#35 The History of Sound

#39 The Mastermind

#47 The Secret Agent

#48 Nouvelle Vague

If the Gold Derby experts are correct TFF #52 would have four films get Oscar nominated for Best Picture.

Here's the link to the latest Gold Derby line.

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Ten Bets (Plus) #8 for TFF #52 / Venice Schedule Is Up / Jay Kelly Has a Teaser and Posters / First Looks at Nouvelle Vague

TEN BETS (PLUS) #8 FOR TFF #52

Lots of information flying around earlier this week from Toronto and New York allows us to clean up the Ten Bets as well as "possibilities".  By way of review, here's last week's Ten Bets:

This week's new Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach

Other possibilities: Bugonia, Blue Moon, The Young Mother's Home, The Love That Remains, The Drama, Pillion, Left-Handed Girl, Die My Love, Anemone, At the Sea, Late Fame, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, Orphan, Hand of Dante, Cover-Up, Megadoc, No Other Choice, The Wizard of the Kremlin, Train Dreams.

Now, in light of the week's info...the new Ten Bets (Plus):

This week's new Ten Bets (Plus):

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach 

11) Bugonia/Lanthimos

12) The Mastermind/Reichardt

13) Cover-Up/Poitras

14) Ghost Elephants/Herzog

15) Hamlet/Karia

Other possibilities: Resurrection, Nuestra Tierra, The Young Mother's Home, The Drama, Pillion, Die My Love, Anemone, At the Sea, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, Megadoc, Train Dreams.

I was shocked that Blue Moon was announced by Toronto as a North American Premiere.  I would have bet actual money that it was going to be at Telluride.  I was almost as certain that The Love That Remains would also make it to TFF#52 but it was also announced as a TIFF North American premiere.

Here's the list of films that I had been T-ride watching which got nuked for TFF#52 by announcements earlier this week:

Blue Moon

The Love That Remains

Late Fame

Magellan

Mirrors #3

No Other Choice

Two Prosecutors

The President's Cake

Unidentified

Left-Handed Girl

Orphan

Orwell 2+2=5

Films that moved up the Ten Bets based on this week's information:

The Mastermind

Cover-Up

Hamlet

Resurrection

Landmarks (Nuestra Tierra) is up in the air.  New York says it's a NY Premiere.  Toronto says it has the North American premiere.  If New York is correct means probably Telluride.  If Toronto is correct...no Telluride.

VENICE SCHEDULE IS UP

Early this morning the official public schedule for the Venice Film Festival was posted.  The schedule appears to confirm that theses films are screening early enough to make it to Colorado:

La Grazia (Opening night film)

From 8/28

Ghost Elephants

Orphan

Bugonia

Jay Kelly

Megadoc

From 8/29

Cover-Up

After the Hunt

From earlier announcements from other fests we believe that Orphan and After the Hunt are off the table for Telluride.  

We're  also pretty sure that this helps signal that Bugonia, Jay Kelly and Cover-Up are headed to Telluride.

Ghost Elephants...that's Werner Herzog...making me think that it's in the bag for Telluride.  Megadoc?  I'm not so sure.  Also that could be complicated Francis Ford Coppola's health situation.

You can take a look at the full Venice schedule here.

JAY KELLY HAS A TEASER AND POSTERS

Maybe the hottest buzz for now is coming from Jay Kelly which we feel very confident is going to TFF #52.  Here's the teaser via YouTube:

and posters of George Clooney and Adam Sandler:

Ans some stills from a Vanity Fair "First Looks" article:

Jay Kelly opens on Nov. 14th.

FIRST LOOKS AT NOUVELLE VAGUE

Three stills from Rotten Tomatoes:

 

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Ten Bets #7 for TFF #52 / Is This Thing Off ? / Blue Moon Has a Trailer / The Secret Agent and Left-Handed Girl Get Dates

TEN BETS #7 FOR TFF #52

Four weeks from today we'll see the actual lineup for TFF #52.  Until then it's all speculation.  So, let's speculate.  But first, a recap of last week's Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Bugonia/Lanthimos

9) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

10) The History of Sound/Hermanus

Other possibilities: Blue Moon, The Young Mother's Home, The Love That Remains, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Die My Love, Anemone, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, A House of Dynamite, Orphan, Hand of Dante, Cover-Up.

With some new information over the last week, the new Ten Bets are so:

This week's new Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) Jay Kelly/Baumbach

Other possibilities: Bugonia, Blue Moon, The Young Mother's Home, The Love That Remains, The Drama, Pillion, Left-Handed Girl, Die My Love, Anemone, At the Sea, Late Fame, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, Orphan, Hand of Dante, Cover-Up, Megadoc, No Other Choice, The Wizard of the Kremlin, Train Dreams.

Jay Kelly moves into the Ten Bets on the strength of some reporting earlier in the week.  It bumps Bugonia.  New additions to the "Possibles" include: Pillion, The Drama, At the sea, Late Fame, A Magnificent Life, Mother Mary, Megadoc, No Other Choice, The wizard of the Kremlin and Train Dreams ( I know it played Sundance but maybe it'll be an exception like The Outrun last year).

IS THIS THING OFF?

It sure seems that way as the New York Film Festival announced yesterday that Bradley Cooper's Is This On? was announced as that fest's Closing Night film and will be a World Premiere which means it will not play Telluride or Toronto either for that matter.

It has been a film that I have had high hopes for vis-a-vis TFF #52 but, alas, Nope!

BLUE MOON HAS A TRAILER

Listed currently as a "Possibility" for TFF #52, Richard Linklater's Blue Moon is set for release  on Oct. 24th.  I've had Blue Moon in earlier iterations of the Ten Bets and still feel pretty good about its chances of making the lineup.

Anyway, Sony Pictures Classics released a trailer for the film on Tuesday.  here it is from YouTube:

I liked it.

THE SECRET AGENT AND LEFT-HANDED GIRL GET DATES

Kleber Mendonça Filho's The Secret Agent has been dated for U.S. release.  Neon has set a New York roll out for Nov. 26th followed by release in L.A. on Dec. 5th.  The Secret Agent was a big winner at Cannes gaining awards for Best Director and Best Actor among the films in competition for the Palme d'Or.  

Its description at IMDb is as follows:

In 1977, a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown of Recife in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.

Meanwhile...

Netflix announced yesterday that Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl has been dated for a Nov. 14th theatrical release allowing it to meet Academy Awards requirements for Oscar consideration should it be submitted.  The film played as a part of Cannes Critics Week and had a healthy Cannes-ratings.org average of 7.74 (8th best overall of all films that played in various sections of Cannes).  The film also picked up the Semaine Distribution Prize.

The film was produced, co-written and edited by Oscar winner Sean Baker (who won Oscars for each of those jobs for Anora last year).

Its IMDb description:

A single mother and her two daughters relocate to Taipei to open a night market stall, each navigating the challenges of adapting to their new environment while striving to maintain family unity.

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Distributor Monday #8: Mubi / World of Reel Confirms and Reveals Titles for TFF #52 / Another Television Possibility?

DISTRIBUTION MONDAY #8: MUBI

Unlike the previous seven weeks, Mubi comes to Telluride with a much shorter resume only having initially screened a film at the fest in 2021.  Overall Mubi has screened five films in the last four fests.

2021: Unclenching the Fists

2022: No film

2023: Fallen Leaves, High and Low-John Galliano, Tehachapi

2024: Bird

This year Mubi is loaded with potential TFF film after having gone on a buying spree at Cannes.

To start off, let's note that the Jim Jarmusch film, Mother, Father, Sister, Brother is not Telluride bound.  This Mubi distributed film is going to North American Premiere as the Centerpiece of the New York Film Festival...so no T-ride play.  But here's the rundown of those Mubi films that could play TFF #52 with an * indicating when a participant has previously attended Telluride.

The first of which we covered last Monday as Focus Features also has a piece of its U.S. distribution.  Here that info is again:

The History of Sound. Dir. Oliver Hermanus*.  Stars: Paul Mescal, Chris Cooper, Josh O'Connell.  Release date: Sept. 12th..  IMDb description:

Two young men during World War I set out to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen.

Mescal and O'Connor are two of the hottest tickets around right now.  I had been pretty high on its chances of a Telluride play what with the distributor and Oliver Hermanus having previously having Living at TFF #49.

La Grazia (Grace).  Dir. Paolo Sorrentino*.  Stars: Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description: 

A love story set in Italy.

Seriously, that's the description.

La Grazia is opening the Venice Festival on Aug. 27th giving it plenty of time to make the jump to Colorado.

The Mastermind.  Dir. Kelly Reichardt.*  Stars: Josh O'Connor, John Magaro*, Bill Camp. The Mastermind played at Cannes in the Plame competition. The film had a fair critical average from Cannes-Ratings.org with a 6.29 our of 10 average.  Release date: Oct.17th.  IMDb description:

In 1970, Mooney and two cohorts wander into a museum in broad daylight and steal four paintings. When holding onto the art proves more difficult than stealing them, Mooney is relegated to a life on the run.

Reichardt was last at Telluride in 2019 with First Cow.

Die, My Love.  Dir, Lynne Ramsay*.  Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek*.  Also played in competition at Cannes and had a critical rating just above that of The Mastermind with a 6.53.  Release date: Nov. 7th.  IMDb description:

In a remote forgotten rural area, a mother struggles to maintain her sanity as she battles with psychosis.

Lynne Ramsay was last in Telluride with We Need to Talk Abut Kevin in 2011.

My Father's Shadow.  Dir: Ankinola Davies.  Stars: Sope Dirisu, Godwin Egbo.  This film was in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes where critics responded strongly giving it a 7.47 average, the 12th best of all the films that were included in the composite ratings.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

Two young brothers explore Lagos with their estranged father during the 1993 Nigerian election crisis, witnessing both the city's magnitude and their father's daily struggles as political unrest threatens their journey home.

I have to believe that Mubi lands at least one of these titles. Probably more than one.  The two "name" directors, Ramsay and Reichardt are the familiar possibilities but My Father's Shadow and Sound of Falling were more of the critical darlings at Cannes.  As to La Grazia, I'm still skeptical it opens Venice and then travels.

Chances:

My Father's Shadow 45%

Die, My Love 40%

The Mastermind 40%

La Grazia 30%

WORLD OF REEL CONFIRMS AND REVEAL TITLES FOR TFF #52

Over the weekend World of Reel's Jordan Ruimy posted some updated Telluride news.  The big reveals in the post were the seeming confirmations for Scott Cooper's Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere starring Jeremy Allen White and Jeremy Strong, Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern and The History of Sound starring Josh O'Connor and Paul Mescal.

Ruimy also confirms films we were already pretty sure locks: Hamnet, The Ballad of a Small Player, Tuner, It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value and Nouvelle Vague.

Ruimy also confirms films that will NOT play Telluride including: The House of Dynamite, The Smashing Machine, Frankenstein, Mother Father Sister Brother and Marty Supreme.

And finally he's uncertain about whether Bugonia will or won't go the Telluride after Venice.  I'm still cautiously optimistic.

Here's the link to the complete story.

And, here from YouTube, is the trailer for The History of Sound:

 

ANOTHER TELEVISION POSSIBILTY?

Last Thursday I posted a speculation about Apple TV+ returning to Telluride this year with The Savant starring Jessica Chastain.  It seemed to me that after Disclaimer last year, that kind of situation might be repeated.

Then over the weekend I found out that Vince Gilligan's new series is set to be released by Apple TV+ on November 7th.  The series is titled Pluribus and stars Rhea Seehorn, who, of course, was Kim Wexler for Gilligan for six seasons on Better Call Saul.  

IMDb describes the series this way:

Follows the most miserable person on Earth and the one who must save the world from happiness.

So maybe this might be a candidate if TFF decides they want to partner up with Apple TV+ again this year.

PS...TIDBIT...Focus Features has dated Ronan Day-Lewis's Anemone for Oct. 3rd.  So...maybe?

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Ten Bets #6 for TFF #52 / This Year's Barbera "Mystery" / The History of Sound Poster / Maybe Some TV?

TEN BETS #6 FOR TFF #52

Well, here we are.  We probably know some things with a reasonable degree of certainty at this poinmt after reveals from Toronto, Venice and New York.

After Toronto's Monday announcement we think this is true:

These seven films appear locked into Telluride:

Hamnet

Ballad of a Small Player

It Was Just an Accident

Nouvelle Vague

Sentimental Value

The Secret Agent

Tuner

These are film's from Venice that feel like they might play there and then come over for TFF #52:

La Grazia

Jay Kelly

The Wizard of the Kremlin

House of Dynamite

Bugoina

Orphan

Hand of Dante

Ghost Elephants

Cover-Up

I had After the Hunt on this list right up until yesterday when New York announced it as its Opening Night film as a North American Premiere...so  no Telluride.

Other films that seem gone from Telluride consideration:

Sirat

Frankenstein

Eleanor the Great

Other films that could still play Telluride:

Bugonia

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

Blue Moon

The Young Mothers' Home

The History of Sound

The Love That Remains

Left-Handed Girl

Pressure

Die, My Love

The Mastermind

The American Revolution

Bucking Fastard

Last week's Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Bugonia/Lanthimos

5) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper

6) Blue Moon/Linklater

7) Sirat/Laxe

8) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardenne Brothers

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

Other possibilities: The Ballad of a Small Player, The Love That Remains, The Secret Agent, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great,  Pressure, Die My Love, The Mastermind, The American Revolution.

This week's new Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

5) The Secret Agent/Filho

6) Nouvelle Vague/Linklater

7) Tuner/Roher

8) Bugonia/Lanthimos

9) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

10) The History of Sound/Hermanus

Other possibilities: Blue Moon, The Young Mother's Home, The Love That Remains, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Die My Love, Anemone, Pressure, The American Revolution, Ghost Elephants, Bucking Fastard, La Grazia, A House of Dynamite, Orphan, Hand of Dante, Cover-Up.

Information that will further illuminate what could be at TFF #52:

*Waiting to hear from Toronto as they likely have other titles to add over the next few weeks.

*Waiting to see Venice's schedule.

*Waiting for the rest of New York's lineup.

All in all, I'm feeling pretty good about where this week's "Bets" are.

THIS YEAR'S BARBERA "MYSTERY"

Over the last couple of years Venice Film Fest chief Alberto Barbera has, unwittingly or not, let slip bits and pieces of information that have given away a couple of Telluride titles.  Tuesday as he was introducing the Venice lineup we referenced Josh Safdies' Marty Supreme saying that (it) "will screen in the autumn".

Now, we know that Marty Supreme is set for a Dec. 25th release which isn't "autumn".   Does that mean Barbera has, again revealed a Telluride play?  My guess is no.  I think New York seems more likely.  I;m not saying that the reference precludes Telluride but NYFF makes more sense as the film is set primarily in NYC and the "autumn" reference matches up with New York's Sept. 26-Oct. 13 time frame better than TFF just two days after the Venetian kickoff.

Here's a link to a video of Barbera's comment.

THE HISTORY OF SOUND POSTER

From distributor Mubi yesterday, a poster for Oliver Hermanus' The History of Sound, currently sitting at #10 on this week's Ten Bets. Word is that a trailer is coming today. I'll try to add that to this post before the end of the day should it be forthcoming. Here's the poster:

MAYBE SOME TV?

@Movielo10274449 posted on X yesterday the notion that Matthew Heineman's The Savant could play Telluride and it makes some sense.

Last year the fest programmed Apple TV+'s and Alfonso Cuaron's Disclaimer starring Cate Blanchett (currently Emmy nommed for the role) and Kevin Kline. The fest ran all seven of the series episodes.

Could this happen again this year with The Savant which is also from Apple+?

Maybe Jessica Chastain who stars in the series will be in town? Please...

You bet your buns! Heineman, as @Movielo10274449 points out has screened his last two projects at T-ride. 2022's Retrograde and 2023's fantastic American Symphony.

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Toronto Announces Today/ Distributor Monday #7: Focus Features / Venice Set to Announce-Many Possibilities / No Battle After Another / Eleanor Has a Date

TORONTO ANNOUNCES TODAY

We expect to see a bunch of titles announced by the Toronto International Film Festival this morning and them clues as to what films will have been selected for Telluride.  Stay tuned to MTFB social Media for those revelations.  

On X: @Gort2 and/or @TheMTFB on Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

Of course I'll have a full re-cap on Thursday when I post next.  That will also include the news from Venice (coming tomorrow) and a new Ten Bets list.

DISTRIBUTOR MONDAY #6: FOCUS FEATURES

While I have been running through the major distribution players based on recent appearances at the Telluride Film Festival I'm sure that many of you have noticed that in some instances the pickings seem lean.  That's not the case with Focus Features.  I count six films that Focus Features has that could possibly be playing Telluride.

Over the last nine fests, Focus has landed a film at T-ride in seven of those years.  They missed in 2016 and 2019.  They would have had at least one film in the Covid cancelled 2020 fest. Overall 10 Focus films have screened at Telluride since 2015 (11 if you count the 2020 TFF).  Additionally, the Focus presence has increased recently with 7 of these titles playing with the last four years.

Here's their track record at Telluride since 2015:

2015: Suffragette

2017: Darkest Hour

2018: Boy Erased

2020: TFF #47 would have screened The Way I See It

2021: Belfast, The Card Counter

2022: Armageddon Time

2023: The Holdovers, The Bikeriders

2024: Conclave, Piece by Piece

So it's been a pretty solid run and I expect that Focus will have a robust presence at TFF #52.  The six films that might make the lineup: Hamnet-which we think is locked as they have been announced as Canadian Premiere for Toronto-, Bugonia, The History of Sound, Anemone, Pressure and Song Sung Blue.  Here's some info on each.  Participants who have been to TFF previously are indicated with *. The films presented in alphabetical order:

Anemone.  Dir. Ronan Day-Lewis.  Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis*, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton.  Release date: Oct. 10th.  IMDb description:

Family bonds between fathers, sons, and brothers are explored as complex relationships unfold through personal journeys and generational conflicts.

Three rime Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of retirement as both acts and co-wrote the script.  Of course, Day-Lewis was one of the tributees at TFF in 2007.  Brad Pitt is one of two listed producers on the film.  If you're not excited to see what this film is...well...

Bugonia. Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos*.  Stars: Emma Stone*, Jesse Plemons*, Alicia Silverstone.  Release date: Oct. 31st.  IMDB description:

Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

After having screened The Favourite and Poor Things at Telluride both starring Emma Stone you have to think the chances are good that Bugonia will follow the same path from a Venice premiere to a Telluride play.  A couple of notes, though.  Lanthimos' Kinds of Kindness did not go that direction in 2024 having played Sundance and then Cannes.  Also, all three of those films were distributed by Searchlight so what path Focus might desire.

Hamnet. Dir. Chloe Zhao*.  Stars: Jesse Buckley*, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson*, Joe Alwyn.  Release date: Dec. 12th.  IMDb description:

The story of Agnes - the wife of William Shakespeare - as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. A human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet.

As mentioned above, this film seems to be lock for Telluride based on the Toronto Fest announcing it as a Canadian Premiere this past week.

The History of Sound. Dir. Oliver Hermanus*.  Stars: Paul Mescal, Chris Cooper, Josh O'Connell.  Release date: Sept. 12th..  IMDb description:

Two young men during World War I set out to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen.

Mescal and O'Connor are two of the hottest tickets around right now.  I had been pretty high on its chances of a Telluride play what with the distributor and Oliver Hermanus having previously hacing Living at TFF #49,  but the announced Sept. 12th release date is awfully soon after T-ride.  Also, the lukewarm critical reception at Cannes also made me less bullish.  Of late, I'm thinking it's still possible.  A quick note: Mubi is also listed by IMDb as a domestic distributor of the film.

Pressure.  Dir. Anthony Maras.  Stars: Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon, Brendan Frasier, Damian Lewis, Chris Messina.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

A ticking clock thriller based on the extraordinary true story of the 72 hours leading up to D-Day.

The more detailed plot summary reads:

In the seventy two hours leading up to D-Day, all the pieces are in place except for one key element--the British weather. Britain's chief meteorological officer James Stagg (Scott) is called upon to deliver the most consequential forecast in history, locking him into a tense standoff with the entire Allied leadership. The wrong conditions could devastate the largest ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on. With only his trusted aide Captain Kay Summersby to confide in, and haunted by a catastrophic D-Day rehearsal, the final decision rests with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. With only hours to go, the fate of the war and the lives of millions hang in the balance.

To be honest, this is more a "wish for" than an expectation.  Its lack of an announced release date makes it questionable but I am very intrigued by the premise and it's Andrew Scott.

Song Sung Blue.  Dir. Craig Brewer.  Stars: Hugh Jackman*, Kate Hudson, Fisher Stephens*.  Release date: Dec. 25th.  IMDb description:

Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together.

Look, this is doubtful as a TFF play but it sounds interesting.  the Dec. 25th release date signals that Focus has some confidence that it will play well with audiences.  So, you now...maybe.

Overall, could this be the first year that Focus lands more than two films at TFF?  That's possible.  Hamnet's in.  Bugonia seems likely and maybe History of Sound.  I'd love, love, love for Anemone to show up at T-ride as well as Pressure but they're chances are much more tenuous.

Chances:

Hamnet 95%

Bugonia 60%

The History of Sound 40%

Anemone 25%

Pressure 20%

Song Sung Blue 20%

VENICE SET TO ANNOUNCE-MANY POSSIBILITIES

The Venice Film Fest will announce the bulk of its lineup tomorrow.  As close observers know, over the years there has usually been a substantial overlap between films that play Venice and then Telluride.  So the information we get on what Venice will screen this year will, by itself neither rule in or rule out a T-ride play.  Of more import to our Telluride calculus is Venice's schedule which will be announced in about three weeks.  Films that screen in the first 2-4 days have a shot at also getting set up to play TFF.

Still what they choose is a nice piece of info to know.

World of Reel's Jordan Ruimy posted his most recent list of Venice possibilities last Friday.

This what he has with what I think are Telluride possibles indicated with ***

MAIN COMPETITION CONTENDERS

After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)***

A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)***

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)***

Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)***

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)***

The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)

Father Mother Brother Sister (Jim Jarmusch) 

The Ballad of a Small Player (Edward Berger)***

No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)

La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino)***

The Wizard of the Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)***

In the Hands of Dante (Julian Schnabel)***

Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold) 

Hamnet (Chloe Zhao)*** 

Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)*** 

Untitled/Gaza (Kaouther Ben Hania)

One Year of School (Laura Samani)

Mother Bhumi (Chong Keat Aun) 

Below the Clouds (Gianfranco Rosi)

Duse (Pietro Marcello)

I Wanted to Kill Her (Leonardo Di Costanzo)

The Stranger (Francois Ozon)*** 

À pied d’œuvre (Valérie Donzelli)

Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel) 

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

The Fence (Claire Denis)

Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)

Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)

At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)

Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky)

Deux Pianos (Arnaud Desplechin)

Anemone (Ronan Day-Lewis)***

Tre Ciotole (Isabel Coixet)

El Ser Querido (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)***

Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)

Deliver Me From Nowhere (Scott Cooper)***

Redoubt (John Skoo)

& Sons (Pablo Trapero)

Occupation (Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi)

Dao (Alain Gomis)

Rosebush Pruning (Karim Ainouz)

Une Illusion (Naomi Kawase)

The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)

Yellow Letters (Ilker Çatak)

Unidentified (Haifaa al-Mansour)***

Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)

Rose (Markus Schleinzer)

Untitled (Abu Bakr Shawky)

Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)

Musk (Alex Gibney)***

NO BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Frequent readers will know that I have flirted in recent posts about the outside possibility that Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another might end up screening at Telluride.  Well...

World of Reel put that notion to rest Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Ruimy writes:

"A source close to the situation tells me that Warner Bros. has made the decision to skip all the major fall festivals for “One Battle After Another,” including Venice, Telluride, and TIFF."

The complete WOR post is here.

Unless this is great cover for a TFF "sneak" it looks like to PTA at TFF.

ELEANOR HAS A DATE

Sony Pictures Classics has dated the release of Scarlett Johannsson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.  The film will be released nationwide on Sept. 26th which feels right for a potential TFF play OR a TFF/TIFF combo OR Toronto only.  That's according to Deadline.  The film stars 95year old actress June Squibb who might find herself in the Oscar race for Best Actress for this film.

The film screened at Cannes as a part of  the Un Certain Regard section.  It earned a reasonable 6.64/10 composite rating from Cannes-Ratings.org.

The description from IMDb:

After a devastating loss, witty and proudly troublesome Eleanor Morgenstein, 94, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own.

Here's a clip from the film via YouTube:

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Ten Bets #5 for TFF #52 / Toronto Adds 11 More Titles...We Deduce / After the Hunt Has a Trailer

TEN BETS #5 FOR TFF #52

Here's last week's Ten Bets:

1) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

2) Sentimental Value/Trier

3) Bugonia/Lanthimos

4) Hamnet/Zhao

5) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper

6) Sirat/Laxe

7) Blue Moon/Linklater

8) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

9) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardenne Brothers

10) Rental Family/Hikari

Other possibilities: The History of Sound, The Ballad of a Small Player, The Love That Remains, The Secret Agent, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great,  Pressure, Marty Supreme, Die My Love, The Mastermind, The American Revolution.

And now for the updated Ten Bets:

1) Hamnet/Zhao

2) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

3) Sentimental Value/Trier

4) Bugonia/Lanthimos

5) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere/S. Cooper

6) Blue Moon/Linklater

7) Sirat/Laxe

8) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardenne Brothers

9) The History of Sound/Hermanus

10) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

Other possibilities: The Ballad of a Small Player, The Love That Remains, The Secret Agent, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great,  Pressure, Die My Love, The Mastermind, The American Revolution.

Changes in this week's Ten Bets informed by  announcements yesterday from Toronto (see below).  Marty Supreme falls out of "possibilities" amid reports that it will skipping all fall fests.

I'm expecting more announcements coming from other fests next week which should really begin to clear the picture for TFF #52.

TORONTO ADDS 11 MORE TITLES...WE DEDUCE!

Yesterday the Toronto International Film Festival announced 11 more titles for their 2025 edition.  Their premiere designations tell us about films that now seem to be (mostly) ruled out and one that seems to be confirmed for Telluride.  Per Variety here are those films and their designations.

Galas:

The Choral | Nicholas Hytner | UK

World Premiere | Gala Presentation

Homebound | Neeraj Ghaywan | India

North American Premiere | Gala Presentation

Hamnet | Chloé Zhao | UK

Canadian Premiere | Gala Presentation

A Private Life | Rebecca Zlotowski | France

North American Premiere | Gala Presentation

Roofman | Derek Cianfrance | USA

World Premiere | Gala Presentation

She Has No Name | Peter Ho-Sun Chan | China

North American Premiere | Gala Presentation

Special Presentations:

Franz | Agnieszka Holland | Czech Republic/Germany/Poland

World Premiere | Special Presentation

The Lost Bus | Paul Greengrass | USA

World Premiere | Special Presentation

Rental Family | HIKARI | USA/Japan

World Premiere | Special Presentation

Steal Away | Clement Virgo | Canada/Belgium

World Premiere | Special Presentation

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery | Rian Johnson | USA

World Premiere | Special Presentation

Takeaways:  Looks like Chloe Zhao's Hamnet is headed to Telluride.  Looks like Hikari's Rental Family is not.  I've had Hamnet in the Ten Bets from the jump this year.  I just put in Rental Family last week but its World Premiere designation means that it won't be at Telluride.  The question that raises is does that mean that Bradley Cooper's Is This Thing On? a real TFF #52 possibility from Searchlight?  Because it feels like that's Searchlight's best shot now.

Couple of other things:  A Private Life,  Roofman and Franz were films I had sort of considered as possible TFF candidates and aren't now.  

The mystery about Wake Up Dead Man's International Premiere designation for the BFI/London Fest remains...weird.  I've said it before...the International Premiere designation is "squishy".

None of the other films announced by Toronto were on my radar as Telluride candidates.

Here's the Variety story in its entirety.

AFTER THE HUNT HAS A TRAILER

Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt moved  up into this week's Ten Bets.  Mostly because its Amazon-MGM's big shot this year and Rental Family dropped out. Now I'm sort of thinking that it does Venice early and then Telluride.  Maybe a Julia Roberts tribute?

World of Reel wrote about it yesterday saying:

“After the Hunt” is set to hit screens on October 10 via Amazon/MGM. As mentioned, it’ll probably hit Venice in September, and probably have a fall rollout in other fests, maybe Toronto and Telluride."

Also perhaps signaling that the film is soon to be announced for Venice, Amazon-MGM dropped a trailer yesterday.  Here that is from YouTube:

I think it looks intriguing.

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