Invitation/The New Rumors/The Newly Nearly Confirmed/New Bets

And here's the last "Hello" from the Oklahoma Panhandle before the 38th Telluride Film Festival gets underway.  The Chief Executive and I will be departing for 9,000 feet in about 4 hours.  I'm watching the clock....

Telluride Daily Planet photo of film cans ready to go up the mountain

1 DAY  and then it begins...and hold onto your hats, it's going to be an insane festival.

We've reached that point that we reach every year when the internet has gone crazy with rumor, counter-rumor, claims, denials...and even when we see the actual lineup later today (and I'll be tweeting [@Gort2] and posting flash updates while I'm on the road!) and even then we won't know the full story because, of course, Luddy, Meyer and Huntsinger will some stuff back and sneak it as the weekend unfolds.  All that  being said, let's try to sort the wheat from the chaff! (hey, I'm an Oklahoma Panhandle boy).

First though, this reminder...

YOUR ENGRAVED INVITATION WOULD LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THIS:

Come and join me for the first ever Michael's Telluride Film Blog get together ( I thought about calling it a "Hootenanny" but I think that legally obligates you to sing folk songs and Union dirges) called: "The Guide to the Ride; The Flow of the SHOW" on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in The River Club in Telluride. Larry and Mitzi Mallard of the Club will be our hosts and I am told that refreshments will be provided. The River Club is located at 550 Depot in Telluride. That's 4 blocks west of the Gondola station. Come by and say hello and we'll talk a little film.


THE NEW RUMORS (AND THEY'RE JUST RUMORS!)

I am always back and forth about passing on blatant hearsay.  I'd much rather be able to cite a source or more than one, or at least if I can't attribute the story, then I want to be on pretty good terms with the source I can't name.  However...sometimes stuff seems like it's just too good to pass up passing on...so, forgive me...

TwitchFilm's posts that they're "hearing" (are you sitting down) both "Carnage" and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" at Telluride this weekend.  The story also says the Herzog doc "Into the Abyss", but if you read this blog regularly, you've been onto the Herzog "news" for a good long while.

Now, I'll be honest, I don't know the reliability of TwitchFilm to save my soul.  It hasn't been a blog that I have visited terribly often in this summer's run-up to the fall festivals...and you know that this space has all but written off the chances for both of these films...

But what if I'm wrong and they're right?  The inclusion of the Polanski play adaptation and the Alfredson thriller would make Telluride's slate stratospherically vital.

Look at the story as it was posted Wednesday afternoon on the TwitchFilm website here:
http://twitchfilm.com/news/2011/08/herzog-polanski-and-alfredson-headed-to-telluride.php

And in another "rumor" fueled bit of intrigue, unnamed sources on the ground in Telluride have mentioned a certain "Pirate-y" actor purportedly has been sighted.  Now, there's absolutely no confirmation from any published source as of this morning of the veracity of the claim...but...one could envision the appearance of said actor in conjunction with, say a film that reminded us all of a certain "Gonzo" journalist.  It might involve the consumption of rum...

There, I've said it without saying anything and if you forced me to wager actual money, at this point I'd still be inclined to bet against any of these three films  being on the SHOW's lineup...but it's fun to dream!

And speaking of rumors...independent of TFF #38...who will be in town for the Lauren/Bush wedding?

THE NEWLY NEARLY CONFIRMED

Two BIG lockdowns yesterday...First...

George Clooney WILL BE IN TOWN and is a tributee.  Expect to see him in both "The Descendants" and his own directorial effort "The Ides of March" which opened the Venice Fest yesterday as well.

A blog reader by the name of Mo was kind enough to point me this New York Post story which ran yesterday and seems to remove all doubt:
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/clooney_rolls_with_his_pals_cNHop2Y03Ie9UvnfqBZy3M?utm_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha

Later in the day The Denver Post got on the bandwagon and confirmed in this story (thanks to @EzeeE1983 for dropping that to me):
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_18797394

Clooney's "Ides" seems to be garnering generally good to great reviews after hits bow at Venice.  I've included links to a sample of the critical response:
Dave Karger at Entertainment Weekly:
http://insidemovies.ew.com/2011/08/31/george-clooney-the-ides-of-march-best-picture-oscar/

Guy Lodge at Incontention.com:
http://incontention.com/2011/08/31/review-the-ides-of-march/

Oliver Lyttleton at The Playlist via IndieWire:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/venice_11_review_the_ides_of_march/#

And a sampling from Hollywood News:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/08/31/the-ides-of-march-reviews-from-venice-awards-alley/

The Ides of March IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/

The Descendants IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033575/

Mr. Clooney's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000123/

The other BIG LOCKDOWN (that I had already become pretty certain of in the last 72 hours...) "A Dangerous Method."  David Cronenberg's Freud vs. Jung period piece WILL PLAY IN THE SHOW! 

How do we know.  Word was around yesterday that there was a new domestic trailer for the film. Friend of this blog Eugene Novikov at FilmBlather.com took a look...and then dropped me a tweet.  (Thanks, Eugene.  Looking forward to shaking your hand tomorrow!)

Right at the beginning of the trailer the "Official Selection of The Telluride Film Festival" comes up...so pretty compelling evidence I think and a thrilling addition to the slate.  Check it for yourself via this link to the story and trailer from Rope of Silicon:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/watch-domestic-trailer-cronenbergs-a-dangerous-method

Method's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1571222/


NEW BETS

In light of today's developments I have put together a revise "Ten Bets" list and expanded it to "Twenty Bets."  Here it is (in order of greatest likelihood of being in the SHOW):
1) The Descendants
2) Into the Abyss
3) We Have to Talk About Kevin
4) The Ides of March
5) A Dangerous Method
6) Shame
7) Goodbye First Love
8) The Skin I Live In
9) The Artist
10) Footnote
11) A Trip to the Moon
12) The Birds Upstairs
13) Prohibition
14) Le Havre
15) The Lady
16) Dark Horse
17) Butter
18) Miss Bala
19) Drive
20) Martha Marcy May Marlene

I'm still greedy enough to pull for "Coriolanus," "The Kid with a Bike," "Wuthering Heights"  "W.E." and the Georgre Harrison Doc directed by Martin Scorsese.

We'll know more later today!

More from the road!!!



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@Gort2

The Invite/Late Breaking/Miss Bala with a Bullet and Some Butter/Drive Posters/Eye on Ides/And a Teaser

Hello to everyone dropping into MTFB to scan the Telluride possibilities for 2011.  Jeez, I hope I'm close to right on some of this...

2 DAYS! Come on!

THE INVITE

Come and join me for the first ever Michael's Telluride Film Blog wing-ding called: "The Guide to the Ride; The Flow of the SHOW" on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in The River Club in Telluride. Larry and Mitzi Mallard of the Club will be our hosts and I am told that refreshments will be provided. The River Club is located at 550 Depot in Telluride. That's 4 blocks west of the Gondola station. Come by and say hello and we'll talk a little film.

LATE BREAKING

The New York Post reporting on George Clooney in Venice for "The Ides of March" claim sources have said that Clooney will be "honored" at Telluride and that "Ides" will lay in the festival.

See here:
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/clooney_rolls_with_his_pals_cNHop2Y03Ie9UvnfqBZy3M?utm_campaign=Post10&utm_source=Post10Alpha

AND...

Eugene Novikov at FilmBlather.com reports that the newly released trailer for "A Dangerous Method" says it is a Telluride selection.  Thanks, Mr. Novikov!


MISS BALA AND BUTTER

Late late Monday night came some evidence that the competitive butter carving comedy (you read that right) "Butter" would play in Telluride.  The film stars Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman and Olivia Wilde.  That info came via a randomly culled tweet from what would appear to be a legit crew member...so, I slipped it into yesterday's blog post at the last minute.  "Butter" has been a film that I have mentioned in this space before as one of those that intuitively seemed like it would be a Telluride possibility.  So it was easy to buy into the notion that it might make the list (I added it to this week's "Bets" at #19).
Butter's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349451/

Then this morning Shadow and Act, a blog that makes its home at IndieWire made the claim that Mexican thriller "Miss Bala" would be playing Telluride as well.  No attribution, but it is IndieWire and the story was unequivocal...so...slap it on the list at #20.
You can see the Shadow and Act story and link to the "Miss Bala" trailer here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/archives/2011/08/30/watch_trailer_for_thriller_about_kinapped_mexican_beauty_queen_miss_bala_mi/#

You can also catch the trailer at FirstShowing.net as well:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/must-watch-first-trailer-for-cannes-fave-mexican-thriller-miss-bala/

Miss Bala's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1911600/

Recapping this week's revise Ten (plus) Bets list:
1) The Descendants (dir. Alexander Payne, Stars: George Clooney)
2) Into the Abyss (dir. Werner Herzog)
3) The Artist (dir. Michael Hazanavicius, Stars: Jean Dujardin)
4) A Trip to the Moon (compiled by Serge Bromberg)
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin (dir. Lynne Ramsay, Stars: Tilda Swinton)
6) Le Havre (Dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
7) Shame (dir. Steve McQueen, Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan)
8) Goodbye First Love (dir. Mia Hansen-Love)
9) The Skin I Live In (dir. Pedro Almodovar, Stars: Antonio Banderas
10) Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar)
11) A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg, Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley)
12) Prohibition (dir. Ken Burns & Lynn Novick)
13) The Birds Upstairs (short/dir. Christopher Jarvis)
14) Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan)
15) Dark Horse (dir. Todd Solondz, Stars: Christopher Walken, Selma Blair)
16) The Kid with a Bike (dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes)
17) The Lady (dir. Luc Beeson, Stars: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis)
18) Martha Marcy May Marlene (dir. Sean Durkin, Stars: Elizabeth Olsen)
19) Butter (dir. Jim Field Smith, Stars: Jennifer Garner, High Jackman, Olivia Wilde)
20) Miss Bala (dir. Gerardo Naranjo, Star: Stephanie Stigman)

And let me just say...I'm getting hinky about: Kid with a Bike, Dark Horse, Drive and Le Havre...no buzz, no murmur...I'm feeling awful lonely on these four pictures right now....

SPEAKING OF DRIVE...

Want it to be there (and Ides of March and Coriolanus).  Still crossing my fingers.  That said, the fine folks at Rope of Silicon put up a nifty post with multiple character posters for the Nicolas Winding Refn film that stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Albert Brooks.  They're interesting and may have to suffice in lieu of the actual film if it's not playing in the San Juans this weekend...at least for a while...

Here's the link to that post:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/posters-drive-spoil-film-9
Drive's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

EYE ON IDES

In a similar vein, I'd really love to see George Clooney's "Ides of March" show up.  I think the only way that happens is if Clooney also appears to take part in the presentation of "The Descendants." and happens to also bring along his own film.  Yesterday's blog mentioned that the appearance of "Michael Clayton" as the Thursday night pre-SHOW presentation might portend his appearance as a tributee.  I had a good deal of traffic today that suggested that could also just as easily pre-sage a tribute to Tilda Swinton as she won her Supporting Actress for that film...point well taken! (and I'm fairly confident that her "We Need to Talk About Kevin" is going to play in the fest).

All that to say this...there's a new clip out and about from "The Ides of March" and you can take a look at it here via a link from Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood at IndieWire:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/30/ides_of_march_clip_evan_rachel_wood_outsmarts_the_charms_of_ryan_gosling#

AND A TEASER

Late day rumors as I was going to bed last night had it that Glenn Close would be in T-ride which would mean "Albert Nobbs"!  But remember... IT"S A RUMOR!

Also, we haven't touched on the whole Lauren/Bush nuptials that are taking place there in Telluride this weekend as well...former Presidents (plural) in town???  Of both parties??? Again, IT'S JUST A RUMOR! Well, not the wedding, that's real...but some high profile attendees are certainly likely!  Maybe they politicos and fashionistas will join us film geeks on Colorado Ave.

More on the Morrow...and then on to Telluride!

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Trailers, Trailers, Trailers/Posters Too/And Pictures

Good Morning Starshine...the Earth says, "Hello."  with apologies to Rado, Ragni and MacDermot.

Telluride #38 in TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY.

I'm heading for Telluride later today (the 9 1/2 hour drive won't be complete until after midnight).  I'm going to see my daughter in the Telluride Rep's Shakespeare in the Park production of "As You Like It." 

I'll also be putting together the details of MTFB's meet and greet for Friday, Sept. 2 in Telluride called "The Guide to the Ride, the Flow of the Show."  I should have details in Monday's post.  See you in the park Saturday night???

TRAILERS (FOR SALE OR RENT?)

Clooney and Payne on the set of "The Descendants"

A veritable barrage of posts from a variety of sources yesterday with trailers (some seen previously and others not) of films that could make an appearance at TFF#38.

Starting with a big post from Anne Thompson/Thompson On Hollywood(IndieWire) that includes multiple links to trailer including Telluride possibles "The Descendants," The Skin I Live In," "The Ides of March, " and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."  Other links are provided to:"Hysteria" and "Anonymous."

That post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/18/trailer_watch_new_york_toronto_and_venice_film_festivals

Another Thompson post reveals that Telluride possible (and Sundance success) "Martha Marcy May Marlene" has two trailers that will be out today for those that can find them.  Kind of a trailer treasure hunt it would appear.  Check Anne's other story for the down low about how that's supposed to work here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/18/join_the_hunt_for_martha_marcy_may_marlene_trailer

Another late coming title to Telluride consideration is Michael Winterbottoms' "Tess of the D'Ubervilles" adaptation "Trishna" starring Frieda Pinto.  It has a trailer out as well this morning as we found out from The Playlist (IndieWire).  The link to that trailer and The Playlist post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_beautiful_deeply_romantic_trailer_for_michael_winterbottoms_trishna_w

And finally, Kris Tapley at Incontention.com has the "Machine Gun Preacher" trailer up on his site.  "Preacher" features Gerard Butler in a "true story" film about a man who changes his life to help others.  It is directed by Marc Forster (Finding Neverland)The link to that is here:

http://incontention.com/2011/08/18/machine-gun-preacher-trailer/


Warm up for a fortnight from now by taking a peek at some or all of these trailers.

POSTERS TOO

The Playlist also posted a story that included the "Coriolanus" poster that we passed along yesterday.  Their article does include the new "Contagion" poster pictured above as well as a new poster for "Safe."
You'll find the story and all 3 posters at:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/coriolanus_contagion_jason_stathams_safe_get_posters/


NEW ZOO PICS

I am a bit wary to even include Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo" as T-ride possible.  Not much buzz in that direction and additionally, like a lot of the planet, I was not fond of his last effort "Elizabethtown."  Nevertheless, Rope of Silicon has a post up with 5-6 new stills from the production including the one I have added above.

See the ROS story and other pics at:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/images-cameron-crowes-we-bought-zoo

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More on the morrow...from Telluride!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures/50/50 Trailer/Gosling Speaks

Good Morning All,

What if they really did make me an offer I couldn't refuse?

PICTURES...

A good number of films that are on my Telluride watch list have released stills in the last day or two and so I thought I'd pass some along and link to some others today.

One film with its first official still out this week that has a good deal of Oscar buzz (but realistically much less Telluride buzz) is Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" based on the best selling novel by Jonathan Safran Foer.  It stars Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock and is scheduled for limited release on  Christmas Day.

 Here's the single official photo thanks to SlashFilm:

Here's the kink to the SlashFilm post:
http://www.slashfilm.com/tom-hanks-thomas-horn-extremely-loud-incredibly-close/

And Extremely Loud's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0477302/

How about pix from 3 other Telluride possibilities?  The Playlist at IndieWire is up with posts focused on a number of T-ride possibilities.  For example Fernando Mierelles "360" starring the very busy Rachel Weisz, Jude Law, Ben Foster and Anthony Hopkins.  Speaking of Mr. Hopkins, a still of him from the film:

A number of other stills and the article about "360" can be found here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/new_looks_at_rachel_weisz_jude_law_anthony_hopkins_ben_foster_in_fernando_m/


Another Playlist article about photos from a film that I think has some shot at bowing at Telluride is the Jennifer Garner, Olivia Wilde, Hugh Jackman starrer "Butter."  I get a real "Juno" like vibe for this film.  Here's a teaser of the photos:

A good number of other stills are with The Playlist story here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/first_look_at_jennifer_garner_in_butter/

Butter's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1349451/

Finally, The Playlist has posted a number of stills for Michael Winterbottom's adaptation and re-imagining of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Ubervilles."  It's entitled "Trishna" and starts Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire, Miral).  Again, I think there is at least some chance that it could be programmed at Telluride.

Here's a look:

 Again, access to the other stills and The Playlist story is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/first_look_at_freida_pinto_in_michael_winterbottoms_trishna/

Trishna's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1836987/


50/50 TRAILER

I have been back and forth about mentioning "50/50" starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen as a Telluride possible. The distributor is Summit Entertainment which has had, at best, a limited relationship with Telluride in the recent past.  And I'm just not a Seth Rogen fan...

Despite these misgivings, I have to admit that it's a least a tenuous possibility and so I have included this week's link to its new trailer from a post from FirstShowing.net:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/must-watch-second-trailer-for-5050-with-joseph-gordon-levitt/

50/50's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1306980/


GOSLING SPEAKS

Actor Ryan Gosling is a busy dude.  "Crazy, Stupid Love" is in theaters now.  "Drive" and "The Ides of March" are due during the next few months as we head into awards season and both films might make an
appearance at Telluride's SHOW.

Despite his hectic schedule, Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood (IndieWire) has passed along his interview with Esquire magazine.  Thompson excerpts that and provides the link to the full interview here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/11/ryan_gosling_is_cooler_than_you_and_too_cool_to_answer_esquires_questions

Drive's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780504/

Ides' IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124035/


More tomorrow, mi compadres!

MCN Weighs In/Polley's Waltz/Clooney Time/"The Master" News

Waiting...But not for much longer.

MOVIE CITY NEWS WEIGHS IN

TTSS Cast

As we approach Telluride (and Venice, Toronto and New York) the peeps that do Oscar predicting as a serious business are, not surprisingly, starting to get serious.  Last week saw the first predictions from Incontention.com's Guy Lodge.  Now add to that the first speculative piece from David Poland at Movie City News (home of The "Gurus of Gold").  As you might expect, a number of films that I have in the discussion about what we might see in four weeks are included in Poland's initial stab at divining what might happen in the awards season.

You can find the article here.  It includes a link to Poland's first comprehensive chart as well:
http://moviecitynews.com/2011/08/29-weeks-to-oscar-pre-toronto/

Telluride possibles included in Poland's piece are:
360
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
The Descendants
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
The Ides of March
A Dangerous Method
The Artist
Coriolanus
W.E.
The Lady
Shame
Albert Nobbs
The Rum Diary

POLLEY'S WALTZ

Sarah Polley"s follow up to "Away from Her" has landed a spot in Toronto and also has had some Telluride speculation as well.  The film stars Seth Rogen and the uber busy Michelle Williams as a young married couple facing challenges.The Playlist at Indie Wire has the first three clips form the film and are very positive about their look.

Here's the link to that post and the clips:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_3_clips_from_sarah_polleys_take_the_waltz_with_michelle_williams_seth/


CLOONEY TIME

I'm about as certain as someone can be without actually being one of the Telluride programmers that Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" with George Clooney starring will be at this year's festival.  Every sign points to that happening.  I actually got a DM from a film blogging colleague earlier this week that he had received an email from the Fox Searchlight people that made him believe that even more.

So it won't be a surprise to me.  The other Clooney vehicle this fall film fest season is the one that Clooney has directed, "The Ides of March."  I am much less sanguine about its chances of being in the San Juans on Labor Day.  It's already tipped to open the Venice fest and is scheduled for a "gala" presentation at Toronto.  But at the same time I'm not completely ruling it out for T-ride. 

I can see a scenario in which Clooney arrives in Telluride after the Venice opening to support "The Descendants" and brings a copy of his film along with him.  Probable?  No.  Possible: Yes.

Again, remember that "Black Swan" opened Venice last year and was a Toronto gala as well and still managed to set Telluride on fire.

At any rate, it may be the best chance for Telluride Clooney fans to see him as the next couple of projects that he has lined up don't sound particularly Telluride-friendly.  Take a look at what Mr. Clooney has in store in this article from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/george-clooney-whats-coming-up-219874

THE MASTER RUMOR

I've already been sort of semi-psychotically obsessing about Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix.  The film focuses on the aftermath of WWII and a man's (Hoffman) development of his own "belief system".  It's wildly believed to be a fictional accounting of the development of Scientology.

Anderson has been reportedly filming in California and Hawaii.  Now comes word from The PT Anderson fan site Cigarettes and Red Vines that principle photography may be close to complete.

The tweet to that effect is here:
Cigarettes&RedVines (@cigsandredvines)


8/5/11 7:58 PM

"We received a tip from a source close to production that principal photography is wrapping up soon on "The Master." #dobirdsbark"
 
You can find the Cigarettes and Red Vines website here:
http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/


Have a great weekend, everyone...The wait stops Monday one way or another...

TTSS One Sheet/Pix of Ides/Mirren into Spector/Twixt...

Good Morning Starshine...the Earth says, "Hello"

TINKER, TAILOR...

Tomas Alfredson's adaptation of the John LeCarre spy novel "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" has a one sheet out and online...as you can see above.  Thanks to The Playlist at Indiewire for the story and link to the picture. 
Interestingly, for the second time we have a story that mentions Telluride as a possible destination for this film this fall (in the context of the Telluride, Venice, Toronto triumvirate).
You can find that post here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/tinker_tailor_poster_spy_one-sheet_arrives_for_eagerly_anticipated_spy_flic/#.TiWE3GB83R8.email

IDES OF RYAN

Also up yesterday, via Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon, a picture of Ryan Gosling at work on the set of the George Clooney political thriller "The Ides of March."  "Ides" has been tapped to open the Venice Festival.  I'm hoping that it follows the same path that "Black Swan" did last year and opens Venice and then is included as a sneak (or a tribute) on Telluride's schedule.  It would also get Clooney in town to support the anticipated presence of his star turn in Alexander Payne's "The Descendants."

The link to that story at ROS is here:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/ryan-gosling-the-ides-march

MIRREN INTO SPECTOR

Helen Mirren who won the 2006 Best Actress Oscar  for "The Queen" and who was in  Telluride in 2009 with "The Last Station" ad Oscar nominated for that, has been a busy woman since.  Now comes the news from The Wrap that she has been tapped to replace Bette Middler in the David Mamet directed Phil Spector biopic starring Al Pacino as the creator of "The Wall of Sound."

Mirren will play a defense attorney for Spector in the film.  As we look ahead to TFFs 39 or 40, this project will probably be on our Telluride film watch list.

The Wrap's story is here:
http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/helen-mirren-replacing-bette-midler-hbos-phil-spector-biopic-29208


TWIXT...FROM COPPOLA

Also news last night that SlashFilm had the first look at Francis Ford Coppola's "Twixt" (the title of which has been "Twixt Now and Sunrise").  The post features a really interesting picture from the set of Coppola and Elle Fanning.  See...

"Twixt" is described as a "sort of" gothic thriller.  Coppola has been a part of Telluride's film fest in the past so I have thought that there has been a possibility that we could see this film in the San Juans over Labor Day weekend...but I wouldn't hold my breath for very long...as the Slashfilm story reports "Twixt" will be previewed at Comic Con this coming weekend...so that almost certainly nukes it for Telluride.

SlashFilm's story is here:
http://www.slashfilm.com/francis-ford-coppolas-twixt/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+slashfilm+(/Film)&utm_content=Twitter

More Ralph/More Busy Peeps/Ten Bets/The Perfect Storm

The weekend has come and gone...Carmageddon, we hardly knew ye...

MORE RALPH

Ralph Fiennes directs himself in Coriolanus

One of the films that I have been tracking sporadically and that has appeared on my "Ten Bets" list for Telluride is Ralph Fiennes film directing debut as he translates one of the Bard's lesser known works to the screen. 

"Coriolanus" is schedule to roll out this fall and has already been glimpsed at the Berlin Film Festival to good reviews especially for Vanessa Redgrave.  Already some Supporting Actress Oscar buzz swirling around her performance in the film.

Now comes word that Fiennes has picked up his second directing assignment.  The Playlist at Indiewire reports this morning that Fiennes will direct a Charles Dickens biopic entitled "The Invisible Woman."  It's based on the book by Claire Tomalin and scripted by Abi Morgan (The Iron Lady, Shame...both on this year's Telluride watch list). 

Past Telluride attendee Carey Mulligan (An Education, Never Let Me Go) is said to be on Fiennes list of possible actresses for the title role.  Also said to be on his list is Abbie Cornish (Bright Star). 

Two names mentioned as possibles for Dickens: Ben Whishaw (Bright Star) and Daniel Day-Lewis (2007 Tributee/There Will Be Blood).

Fiennes has a number of obligations to attend to before he will be able to get to this job, so put down "The Invisible Woman" as a potential film for Telluride in 2013.

The Playlist story is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/ralph_fiennes_directing_charles_dickens_biopic_the_invisible_woman/#.TiRF4gHVPvQ.email

MORE BUSY PEEPS

We started a list a couple of weeks ago of actors that were potentially going to be very busy this fall between the festival circuit and awards season.  Add three more names to the earlier list:

Philip Seymour Hoffman; The Ides of March, Moneyball

Jude Law: Contagion, Hugo

Matt Damon: Contagion, We Bought a Zoo

TEN BETS FOR THIS WEEK

Last week's "Ten Bets" list for this year's Telluride Film Festival looked like this:

1) The Descendants
2) A Trip to the Moon
3) Young Adult
4) Gazing Into the Abyss
5) The Artist
6) Dark Horse
7) The Kid with a Bike
8) Shame
9) Le Havre
10) Coriolanus

This week's list is as follows:

1) The Descendants
2) A Trip to The Moon
3) Gazing Into the Abyss
4) Young Adult
5) The Artist
6) Dark Horse
7) Shame
8) The Kid with a Bike
9) Coriolanus
10) Le Havre

THE PERFECT STORM

I started last week to put together a list of the "dream Team" of people that I think it would be fun to have a conversation with that at least have some minuscule chance of being at this year's festival.  The list wasn't completed last week, but as I have been mulling it over, I was reminded this weekend that I had contemplated a "Perfect Storm" of possibilities back in the spring.  And "Perfect Storm" is a pretty good filmic place to begin the discussion because George Clooney is one of the possibles that helps to connect a lot of this.  Clooney with Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" is a possible attendee. 
His "Ides of March" opens the Venice Festival  on Aug. 31...so he could make an appearance on Colorado Ave.  And, if he does, that opens the door to some of that cast...like Philip Seymour Hoffman. 
And maybe it becomes an "Oceans 11-12-13"  reunion and Clooney's buddy and Hoffman's Moneyball co-star Brad Pitt comes to town with "Moneyball." 
Since Brad's decided to make the trip, maybe his significant other, Angelina Jolie comes to town as well with her directorial debut "In the Land of Blood and Honey." 
Since we've decided the Ocean's gang is meeting up for Labor Day hi-jinks in the San Juans...why not Matt Damon in support of "Contagion."  It makes some sense since "Contagion" is directed by Stephen Soderbergh who is often a producing partner with Clooney. 
And if "Contagion's" playing...why not bring co-star Kate Winslet along...she can double dip as she can also be there in support of "Carnage" with Jodie Foster in tow as well.

And since Matt's there...how about double dipping as well with Cameron Crowe's "We Bought a Zoo"?

So lets' see, that means we see the following films: The Descendants, The Ides of March, Moneyball, In the Land of Blood and Honey, Contagion, Carnage and We Bought a Zoo.

And in person: Clooney, Hoffman, Pitt, Jolie, Damon, Winslet, Foster.

Yes, please.

Tintin Trailer/Fassbender's Jump/Dreaming/Tree of Life

Good Morning Everyone from New Mexico!

We took down Kris' one woman exhibition yesterday in Taos, NM at the fantastic Trading Post Cafe and Gallery.  Eat there.  It's terrific and tell Kimberly hello.  Sounds like Kris will have the opportunity to return with another show in the future so she was very happy after to be invited back after having the series of food still lifes hanging there for 6 weeks.  Good day.

TINTIN TRAILER

This morning The Playlist posted a link to the teaser/trailer to the "other" Steven Spielberg film coming out later this year.  The unwieldy title is :"The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" which sounds kind of goofy.  The film uses motion capture animation and Peter (Lord of the Rings) Jackson is a producer.  The trailer looks very cool, however.  The link to the story and trailer is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_new_tintin_trailer_looks_like_the_indiana_jones_sequel_we_should_have/

The Tintin IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/media/rm2977741056/tt0983193

Now, I don't really think that there's any chance that this will play in Telluride's 38th edition of the SHOW...but it has dominated a lot of discussion about whether it meets the AMPAS standards for being an "animated" film. 

And it looked cooler than I though it would...

FASSBENDER IS FAST

I passed along the information last week that Michael Fassbender (who has a couple of films on the list that could play T-ride this year: "A Dangerous Method" and "Shame) had exited Danny Boyle's 2013 film project "Trance" and that Boyle was looking to snag last year's Telluride tributee and Best Actor Oscar winner Colin Firth for that role.  Now comes word, also via The Playlist, that Fassbender has moved into another commitment.  He's now expected to be in Brandon Gleeson's directorial debut entitled "At Swim-Two-Birds."  You gotta love the title.

The Playlist story is linked here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/michael_fassbender_joins_brendon_gleesons_at-swim-two-birds/

DREAM SLATE

So what films that DO have a chance at playing Telluride this year would make my "dream" slate of films?  What am I just really hoping will be there?

Three films that have excellent prospects to be a part of the fest that I am definitely looking forward to and that would be on that "dream list" are Alexander Payne's "The Descendants," Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" and Michael Hazanavicius' "The Artist".

Films whose prospects are sketchy that I would love to see on the SHOW list are: Ralph Fiennes' directorial debut of Shakespeare's rarely performed "Coriolanus," George Clooney's sophomore directing gig "The Ides of March"  and David Cronnenberg's "A Dangerous Method."

Then there are four big Oscar baity type films that have almost 0% chance to be in Telluride, but it would be cool if any of them made a bow there:

Leo DiCaprio on the set of "J. Edgar"

Eastwood's "J. Edgar"

Spielberg's "War Horse"
Scorsese's "Hugo"
and Stephen Daldry's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

What about you?  What films are YOU looking forward to as we rush headlong into awards season?

TREE OF LIFE

Finally saw Terrence Malick's  Palme D'Or winner last night.  Still processing it.  My initial impression is that the Cannes jury was probably right.

Have a great Monday everyone!

Dangerous Trailer/Venice Confirms/The Master at 65/Missing Pieces

Fassbender and Knightley in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" (via movieweb.com)

An interesting peek at the latest Cronenberg/Mortensen collaboration leads us off today...

"A DANGEROUS METHOD" HAS A TRAILER

The Internet was rife with links yesterday to the trailer for David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" starring Viggo Mortensen (as Sigmund Freud), Michael Fassbender ( as Carl Jung) and Keira Knightley (as neither Freud or Jung, but a patient of Jung's).  I think the conventional wisdom remains that this film plays at Venice and then Toronto, but as I pointed out last week, there is at least some sentiment that it could additionally play Telluride (or T-ride rather than Venice).  Nevertheless, it looks fantastic.  If you haven't sen it, here's the link to one of the trailer's YouTube incarnations: (thanks to VisoTrailers and Twitter)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=664eq7BXQcM&feature=youtube_gdata&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

VENICE: CITY OF BEAUTY AND THE OBVIOUS

Yesterday, the web was also lousy with the news that George Clooney's "The Ides of March," would open that festival.  Today, the Venice Film Festival made it official.  Their online announcement is here:

http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/news/clooney.html

Eric Lavellee at Ioncinema seems relatively certain that "Ides" will then go to Toronto and tacitly implies that it's likely that the other Clooney awards bait, Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" will go Telluride then Toronto pitting the Oscar winning actor against himself.  The Ioncinema story is here:
http://ioncinema.com/news/id/6445/clooneys-ides-of-march-opens-venice-followed-by-tiff

For what it's worth, at this point, my guess is that is exactly what happens.

And again, as I said yesterday, it doesn't absolutely take "Ides" off the Telluride list of possibles, but it probably reduces the chances that we see it there.  The previous 5 years the Venice openers were: "Baaria," "Burn After Reading," "Atonement," "Black Dahlia," and "Seven Swords."  So, as you can see...it doesn't happen often.

"THE MASTER" VIA KUBRICK?

I've already gotten obsessive about Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix (it's on the Telluride film 2012 wish list).  It reportedly is shooting as I write in Central and Northern California.  News the last day or so that Anderson is shooting (perhaps exclusively) in 65 mm and that he's using the same camera for that that Stanley Kubrick used for 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1967-68.  If true, that would make "The Master" a potential feast of cinematic eye candy.  Think about Anderson's cinematographic sensibility from "There Will Be Blood" with the use of that kind of equipment.  Check the report from the PT Anderson fan site Cigarettes and Red Vines:

http://cigsandredvines.blogspot.com/2011/06/master-shooting-entirely-in-65mm.html

"MISSING PIECES"

I've only dabbled at film criticism in this space (and the obligatory "reviews" I put on Rotten Tomatoes at the end of each Telluride fest) but, through a series of e-communication, I've agreed to give it a whirl.  Director/writer Kenton Bartlett's "Missing Pieces" will get the full "review" treatment (whatever that turns out to be) in this space sometime in the next few days.
"How do you justify this in a blog that purports to be about the Telluride Film Festival?" you ask.  Turns out that Bartlett and company have submitted it to Telluride for consideration for inclusion at TFF#38.  So, who knows, maybe readers of this space will get a jump on a film that unspools in the San Juans this Labor Day.

Looking forward to it.  Hope you are as well...

The Ides In August/Dark Horse/Warren's New Movie/Full Herzog/Fall Fest Wish List

George Clooney and Ryan Gosling on the set of "The Ides of March" (thanks to: mentalfloss.com)

A lot of focus on the Venice Film Festival in the last 24 hours

"THE IDES OF MARCH" TO OPEN VENICE

Multiple sources have reported that George Clooney's "The Ides of March" will open the Venice Film Festival on Aug. 31.  I have included links to couple of those posts:

Incontention.com http://incontention.com/2011/06/20/clooneys-ides-of-march-to-open-venice-fest/#more-39996
and the Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/george_clooneys_ides_of_march_will_open_venice_film_festival/

So what does this mean?  Well, it doesn't take "Ides" out of the Telluride conversation.  Last Year the Venice Fest was opened by a little film called "Black Swan" that ended up sneaking in Telluride with Darren Aronofsky present.  So, it's not a killer.  BUT it does reduce the odds of other films that are likely to be at Venice also being at Telluride.  As we have noted, the overlap between these two festivals is usually pretty small.  Other films that are on my Telluride watch list that have been getting a lot of heat as probable Venice entrants are: "Carnage," "A Dangerous Method," "Wuthering Heights," "Shame," "Faust," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," and "The Descendants" (though I'm still really confident that "Descendants" will be a part of the Telluride program).  The Playlist also put together their list of films that they think are Venice-likely last month.  Here's the link to that:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/polanskis_carnage_cronenbergs_a_dangerous_method_set_for_premieres_at_venic/

Included on their list is the first mention I have seen of Todd Solondz's new film "Dark Horse" featuring Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Donna Murphy, Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow.  Solondz goes on our Telluride watch list as a result.  He has had a significant presence at Telluride for a number of years including a presentation of "Life During Wartime" in 2009 that skipped from Venice to Telluride without Solondz accompanying the film.  It was one of my favorites of that festival.

WARREN BACK IN THE GAME...
Warren Beatty is ready to get back into the director's chair (and writing and producing and starring).  And almost nothing is known about the project.  It wasn't but a few weeks ago that there was some buzz that Beatty was contemplating a "Dick Tracy" sequel but I haven't found anyone who thinks that this is that.  The Playlist speculates that it is an original comedy.
 http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/the_wanderer_returns_warren_beatty_planning_new_comedy_for_paramount/

Jeffrey Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere thinks it may focus on Howard Hughes:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/06/mulholland_proj.php

Guess we'll wait and see...

WERNER HERZOG'S FULL TITLE IS...

I mentioned the last day or two that I think that it's a good possibility that we'll see some of Herzog's Death Row documentary at Telluride.  IMDB still had its title listed as "Death Row."  But we know that the title has been undergoing a change.  The Playlist at Indiewire now says we have a complete title. It is: "Gazing Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life."  Thats' a mouthful.  The post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/werner_herzogs_prison_doc_now_titled_gazing_into_the_abyss_a_tale_of_death/

FALL FESTIVAL WISH LIST

Indiewire has a list of 50 films that they'd like to see/think will be at one, two or three of the triumvirate of film festivals that includes Telluride (and Venice and Toronto).  You can view it here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/fall_festival_wish_list_50_films_to_hope_for_in_toronto_venice_and_tellurid/

Usual suspects on their list (not already listed above in the Clooney portion of this post) are: "Albert Nobbs," "Chicken with Plums," "The Congress," "Gazing Into the Abyss," "The Iron Lady," "Moneyball," "My Week with Marilyn," "Shame," and "Young Adult."

Interestingly the article includes occasional predix for both specific films for either Venice or Toronto..but not once does it venture to guess a film for Telluride save for one mention (and hold onto your hats), Madonna's directorial debut "W.E."   Variety has reported that it has been submitted to Venice.  Hey, It's a Weinstein Company deal, Abbie Cornish is in it ("Bright Star in Telluride in 2009) so, you know, it's not impossible. 

I'm not sure how I feel about the notion of running into The Material Girl at The New Sheridan...  

"W.E's" IMDB page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1536048/

Final note:  How weird is it that I have a post that includes Warren Beatty and Madonna???

How Many Nominations?/Moneyball/Rudderless/COENS MUSICAL #4

George Clooney and Ryan Gosling on the set of "The Ides of March" (thanks to thehollywoodstory.com)

A busy 24 hours in terms of news and such that may or does have a bearing on the Telluride Film Festival. 

I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY BEST PICTURES THERE ARE!
First, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS...the Oscar people) announced in the middle of last night that beginning this year there will be between 5 and 10 Best Picture nominees.  For most of its existence the Academy had nominated 5 films each year.  Then the last two years, they have nominated 10 (they used to nominate more than 5 way back in the beginning days of Oscar as well). 

Well, now, this year if will be at least 5, not more than 10 and could be any number of films in between.  So in a "down" year...(like 2008) maybe only 5 get nominated.  In a good year (like last year) maybe 7 or 8 or 9.  In a great year you might get 10.  Apparently it will all hinge of the percentage of first place votes a picture gets during the nominating process.  The threshold is going to be 5% if I'm reading their press release correctly.  You can read that release here:
http://www.oscars.org/press/pressreleases/2011/20110614a.html

Most critical reaction this morning seems generally positive, but it will make prognostication a bit trickier...

ANOTHER EARLY, EARLY OSCAR PREDICTION!
Next, The LA Times is out today with its list of 15 films it says are possible Oscar contenders.  That list and descriptions of the films are here:
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/awards/2011/06/oscars-preview-15-front-runners-for-best-picture.html
TFF#38 suspects on The Envelope's list are: "The Artist," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," "Carnage," "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Ides of March," "The Iron Lady," and "Young Adult."
Also on their list that I don't realistically think will be at Telluride (and why):
"War Horse"-Spielberg doesn't need to festival and hasn't "Tellurided" (though his compadres Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are both members of the festival's Board of Advisors and are frequently in Telluride for it).
"The Tree of Life"-Terrence Malick's film was released May 27.
"Like Crazy"-a Sundance Festival hit...which almost totally precludes it (though not 100%- "An Education" played both Sundance then Telluride, but it's unlikely).
"J. Edgar"-Clint Eastwood's biopic about the former FBI director starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It's been a long time since Clint has been to Telluride and he doesn't need to "festival" for people to pay attention to this film.
"Hugo Cabret"-Martin Scorsese also doesn't need the T-ride exposure..and it's in 3D...which I'm guessing is not something that Telluirde has prepared technically to project.
"The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"-Despite the fact that director David Fincher was a tributee in 2008, I have to doubt that he'll return with this American adaptation of the Swedish phenomena..if he didn't pop "The Social Network" at Telluride, I have a difficult time believing he'd bring "Tattoo" to the San Juans.
"A Dangerous Method"-David Cronenberg's film about Freud and Jung starring Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender.  I believe Cronenberg will play Venice and Toronto and be happy with that (despite Viggo being a Tributee in 2009).

MONEYBALL!
One film NOT on the LA Times Envelope list today is Bennett Miller's "Moneyball."  I think it has a shot to play at Telluride because it IS Bennett Miller's first feature since "Capote" which was at Telluride in 2005.  The Playlist has a nice story about its trails and tribulations and a set of clips shown on last night's Entertainment Tonight...here that is:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_first_brief_clips_from_moneyball_starring_brad_pitt_jonah_hill/

RUDDERLESS!
Yesterday we teased our minuscule connection to the film "Rudderless."  We already know that William H. Macy is set to direct, but perusing the IMDB entry we also find that casting director and music supervisor (and the music is crucial to the film) are signed on as well.  Casting is in the hands of Ronnie Yeskel whose previous credits include: "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" among others.  The music supervisor is Debra Baum who has been involved with the music for "The Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood," "A Walk to Remember," and "3000 Miles to Graceland' again among others.

COENS BROTHERS MUSICALS CONTINUE...
Despite the fact that I'm pretty sure most of you are tired of the joke...it's till making me laugh, so, with apologies...as you are now  aware the next Coen Brothers film may be a musical.  I've had some fun this week with suggesting that we go back over the Coen canon and re-make all their films as musicals...today's example: "Burn After Reading: The Musical" featuring such hit tunes as: "Intelligence is Relative,"  "Raw Data," "Osborne Cox:Secret Agent Man" and "I Did Not See That Coming."

AND FINALLY...
The Playlist has an article about David Lynch and his opening a "Mullholland Drive" based theme night spot in Paris...and what they think would be a better use of Lynch's time.  It's kind of funny.  Here's the link:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/five_things_wed_rather_see_david_lynch_do_then_open_his_mulholland_drive/

More Early Oscar Predix/Le Havre Goes Weinstein/Rudderless/AND ANOTHER COEN MUSICAL!

Poster for Simon Curtis' Telluride possible: "My Week with Marilyn"

Ioncinema is hinting this morning that The Weinstein Company will be picking up "Le Havre."  It was a critically and publicly popular film at Cannes last month and a film that I think has a better than average chance of being at this year's Telluride Film Festival.

Also, The Playlist is reporting that Christian Bale and Darren Aronofsky may be getting together for Aronofsky's "Noah" project.  http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/christian_bale_in_talks_to_star_in_darren_aronofskys_noah/

Film Misery has its first stab at Oscar predictions up this morning.  You can find those here:
http://www.filmmisery.com/?p=7500
On the list there are these TFF#38 possibles: "The Descendants," "The Iron Lady," "The Ides of March," "We Need to Talk About Kevin," and "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy."  Other TFF #38 "maybes" on his list of other possible Best Picture nominations would be: "Drive," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "The Artist," "Moneyball," "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," (John Madden's new film, Fox Searchlight is involved) "Young Adult," "My Week with Marilyn," and "Carnage."

I also discovered that Scott Feinberg had his first attempt up a couple of weeks ago.  You can find that here:
http://scottfeinberg.com/2011projections1
Added films from the Feinberg list of Telluride interest that are not included in Film Misery's list: "Coriolanus" and"The Wettest County in the World."

And now for something completely different (and I feel OK about including this in the blog because it is such a Telluride Film Festival story)...In November 2009 I received an email from someone who actually read this blog in the run-up to TFF#36.  He said he enjoyed it and was an aspiring screenwriter, had some things working, etc. etc.  His name: Casey Twenter.  Would I want to read the script he was currently working on?  Me...I said sure.  Entitled "Rudderless," I read it, liked it and we struck up an email, twitter, facebook friendship.  Got to meet Casey last summer in Kansas City (during the National Speech Tournament).  We had lunch and a really pleasant discussion about film, and the background about how "Rudderless" had come to be up to that point.

Back in 2009, Casey (and his writing partner Jeff Robison) were looking for financing to independently produce the film.  Over the last year and a half, that effort has ebbed and flowed and taken on a number of different forms.  Now, it looks increasingly like the film will get made and not just out of Casey and Jeff's pockets and fund raising.  Some big, BIG names are already on board and there are other names in the mix.  Some of them I can talk about, some not.

The biggest reveal that I am allowed to pass on is that veteran actor/writer/director and Oscar nominee (for Fargo..which fits right in with this week's Coen Brothers musical rant that I've been on) William H. Macy has signed on to direct and produce.  You read that right.  WILLIAM H. MACY!

There are other Oscar nominee/winner types in talks for the male lead and the main female supporting character that I can't get into...yet. But it is all terribly exciting.  As things progress I'll pass it on when I can.

My hope is that "Rudderless" gets made, is great and in a Kharmic full circle ends up at Telluride's 39th Film Festival next year.

You can find the "Rudderless" IMDB page here:   http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798243/
The "Rudderless" facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rudderless-The-Movie/194390831736

Again, as more information becomes available, I'll pass it along in this space.

Now...as you're almost certainly aware, we've had hints the last few days that the Coen Brothers next film might be a musical, which necessarily has caused me to speculate that if it were successful that we should go back and re-imagine their body of work in that light.  I've already made some suggestions for "Raising Arizona:The Musical" and "Fargo:The Musical. 

And now...the next Coen Brothers musical..."O Brother, Where Art Thou?" which is already got some music that you'll just have to include like: "Down to the River to Pray," and "Man of Constant Sorrow."  But because it'll be a big Broadway style musical it will have to include new musical numbers such as: "I'm with you Fellas," "Gopher, Everett?," "I'm a Dapper Dan Man," "Dumber than a Bag of Hammers," and "Damn, We're in a Tight Spot."

More Coen's musicals to come...

The Wettest County???

Shia LaBeouf and extras on the set of "The Wettest County in the World"

A really interesting post from The Hollywood Reporter yesterday about the upcoming Oscar race.  That article necessarily includes a ton of films that I've put on the Telluride film watch list.  Including: "The Artist'" "Young Adult," "The Descendants," "The Ides of March," "The Iron Lady," "Moneyball," "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," "My Week with Marilyn," "Carnage," and new to the discussion in the article is John Hillcoat's ("The Road'" "The Proposition,") "The Wettest County in the World."

 "Wettest County" is listed by IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212450/) as having a 2012 release date but author Greg Kilday apparently thinks there is at least some possibility that it might be in play for a 2011 Oscar qualifying run.  Hillcoat's presence at Telluride in 2009 and The Weinstein Company's participation make it a possibility if it's ready for a run at TFF #38.

You can see all of Kilday's article here:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-2012-why-meryl-streep-197024

Meanwhile, as obsessed as I am becoming with the new Paul Thomas Anderson project, I noticed this post from The Playlist yesterday which hints that the next Coen Brothers project may include a serious music component...a Coen Brothers Musical?  What would that be like?  Here's a link to that article as well:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/the_coen_brothers_say_they_are_working_on_a_new_music-based_film/

Another film to stalk incessantly for the next few months...YES!  And maybe I can compose the score  for some of the Coen's past films.  After all, if this new thing is a success, why not "Raising Arizona:The Musical"  featuring such hits as: "Boy, You Got a Panty on Your Head," "Not Unless Round is Funny,"  "The Huggies Shuffle," and the show stopping closer, "Maybe It Was Utah."

I can see it now...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBVesAXZPzA