MTFB Oscar Take: After Short Lists: Cinematography, Editing, Score and Song / Oscar Shortlist and TFF / London Film Critics and TFF

MTFB OSCAR TAKE AFTER SHORT LISTS:  CINEMATOGRAPHY, EDITING, SCORE AND SONG

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

1) Sinners (3)

2) One Battle after Another (2)

3) Hamnet (1)

4) Frankenstein (4)

5) Train Dreams (5)

Others: F1, Marty Supreme and Nouvelle Vague.

BEST EDITING

1) One Battle After Another (1)

2) Sinners (2)

3) F1 (4)

4) Marty Supreme (5)

5) Hamnet (3)

Others: Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident and Sentimental Value.

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

1) Sinners (1)

2) One Battle After Another (2)

3) Hamnet (3)

4) Frankenstein (4)

5) Train Dreams (NR)

Others: F1, Marty Supreme and Bugonia.

ORIGINAL SONG

1) Golden/K Pop Demon Hunters (1)

2) I Lied to You/Sinners (2)

3) Dear Me/Diane Warren: Relentless (3)

4) The Girl in the Bubble/Wicked: For Good (4)

5) Train Dreams/Train Dreams (NR)

Others: Last Time (I Seen the Sun)/Sinners, No Place Like Home/Wicked: For Good and Drive/F1. 

OSCAR SHORTLISTS AND TFF

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its Shortlists for 12 different categories as Academy members get ready to cast their votes to nominate films and individuals for the 2026 Oscars. At this point a film can only be nominated in any of the 12 categories if they have been shortlisted.

Among the films from TFF #52 Frankenstein lead the way with six mentions.  Overall TFF #52 were mentioned 27 times across a broad array of the ten categories.  Here' where TFF films landed:

Frankenstein (6): Best Casting, Cinematography, Makeup/Hair, Score, Sound and Visual Effects.

Hamnet (3): Casting, Cinematography and Score.

Sentimental Value (3): Casting, Cinematography and International Feature.

The Secret Agent (2): Best International Feature and Casting.

Bugonia (2): Best Cinematography and Score.

TFF #52* feature films with Single mentions:

The Ballad of a Small Player: Cinematography.

Nouvelle Vague: Cinematography.

Cover-Up: Documentary.

Apocalypse in the Tropics: Documentary (*TFF #51)

It was Just an Accident: International Feature.

Jay Kelly: Score.

Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere" Sound.

TFF #52 Short Films:

All the Empty Rooms: Doc Short.

All the Walls Come Down: Doc Short.

Last Days on Lake Trinity: Doc Short.

Extremist: Live Action Short.

The complete list of all Oscar Short Lists can be found here.

LONDON FILM CRITICS AND TFF

The London Film Critics Circle has named their nominees for film excellence.  Here's how TFF #52 faired:

Hamnet (8): Film of the Year, British/Irish Film of the Year, Director of the Year, Screenwriter of the Year, Actress of the Year, British/Irish Performer of the Year, Young British/Irish Performer of the Year (X 2).

The Mastermind (4): Film of the Year, Actor of the Year, British/Irish Performer of the Year, Technical Achievement: Music.

Sentimental Value (4): Film of the Year, Foreign Film of the Year, Actress of the Year, Supporting Actress of the Year.

Pillion (3): British/Irish Film of the Year, Supporting Actor of the Year, Breakthrough Filmmaker.

The Secret Agent (2): Foreign Film of the Year, Actor of the Year.

Urchin (2): Breakthrough Performer of the Year, Breakthrough Filmmaker.

Single nominations for:

It was Just an Accident: Foreign Film of the Year.

Cover-Up: Documentary of the Year.

One to One: John and Yoko: Documentary of the Year (*TFF 51)

Riefenstahl: Documentary of the Year (*TFF 51)

Bugonia: British/Irish Film of the Year

Blue Moon: Actor of the Year.

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Actress of the Year.

Frankenstein: Supporting actor of the Year.

The complete list of all London Critics nominees is linked here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

MTFB Oscar Predictions: Screenplays / TFF #52 Has 24 Gotham Award Nominations / New Trailer for Sentimental Value / Visitations: Bugonia and Ballad of a Small Player

 MTFB OSCAR PREDICTIONS: SCREENPLAYS

Today I am concluding my first wave of Oscar predictions for this year with the focus on the Screenplay categories.  All contenders from TFF #52 films are listed in Bold.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

1) Sinners

2) Sentimental Value

3) Marty Supreme

4) Jay Kelly

5) It Was Just an Accident

Others: A House of Dynamite, The Secret Agent and Weapons.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

1) One Battle After Another

2) Hamnet

3) Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

4) Bugonia

5) Train Dreams

Others: No Other Choice, Frankenstein and Song Sung Blue.

Currently, if all of MTFB's current predictions came true in the Big Eight categories, 10 TFF #52 films would receive 21 nominations with another 12 nominations possible.  Here's that breakdown by film:

Sentimental Value (6): Best Picture, Direction, Actress (Reinsve), Supporting Actress (Fanning), Supporting Actress (Lilleaas), Original Screenplay.

Hamnet (5): Best Picture, Direction, Actress (Buckley), Supporting Actor (Mescal) and Adapted Screenplay.

Jay Kelley (3): Best Picture, Supporting Actor (Sandler) and Original Screenplay.  Three other possibilities: Direction, Actor (Clooney), Supporting Actor (Crudup).

It Was Just an Accident (3): Best Picture, Direction, Original Screenplay.

The Secret Agent (2): Best Picture, Best Actor (Moura).  Two other possibilities: Best Picture and Original Screenplay.

Bugonia (1): Adapted Screenplay.  Two other possibilities: Best Picture and Actor (Plemons)

Springsteen: Deliver me from Nowhere (1): Best Actor (White).  Two other possibilities: Best Picture and Supporting Actor (Strong).

Other films with Oscar possibilities:

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Best Actress (Byrne).

Blue Moon: Best Actor (Hawke).

Frankenstein: Adapted Screenplay.

I'll start the first round of updating predictions with next Monday's post.

TFF #52 HAS 24 GOTHAM AWARDS NOMINATIONS

Here's how Gotham Awards nominations went for TFF #52 films.  The big surprise was that If I Had Legs I'd Kick You had the biggest footprint among all 13 TFF #52 films to get a nomination.  TFF #52 films had a combines 24 nominations:

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (4): Best Feature, Direction, Outstanding Lead Performance (Byrne), Original Screenplay.

It was Just an Accident (3): Best International Feature, Direction, Original Screenplay.

Hamnet (2): Best Feature, Outstanding Lead Performance (Buckley).

Sentimental Value (2): Outstanding Supporting Performance (Lilleaas), Outstanding Supporting Performance (Skarsgard).

The Mastermind (2): Best Direction, Outstanding Lead Performance (O'Connor).

Blue Moon (2): Outstanding Lead Performance (Hawke), Outstanding Supporting Performance (Scott).

The Secret Agent (2): Outstanding Lead Performance (Moura), Original Screenplay.

Pillion (2): Outstanding Supporting Performance (Skarsgard), Adapted Screenplay.

Bugonia (1): Best Feature

Nouvelle Vague (1): Best International Feature.

Frankenstein (1): Outstanding Supporting Performance (Elordi).

Jay Kelly (1): Outstanding Supporting Performance (Sandler).

Urchin (1): Breakthrough Direction.

NEW TRAILER FOR SENTIMENTAL VALUE

VISITATIONS: BUGONIA AND BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER

Bugonia: Writer Will Tracy on Bugonia from Awards Radar: 

https://awardsradar.com/2025/10/29/interview-writer-will-tracy-chats-about-working-with-yorgos-lanthimos-and-adapting-bugonia/

Battle of a Small Player:

Colin Farrell and Fila Chen for Ballad of a Small Player from Next Best Picture:

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4f4b0HAG9Q&t=2s

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Checking with Oscar Experts: Variety / New Trailer for Jay Kelly / Visitations: Ballad of a Small Player and The Mastermind

CHECKING WITH OSCAR EXPERTS: VARIETY

We started with last Thursday's post to transition from predicting the films that would play Telluride to focusing on which TFF #52 films might be players in the 2025-26 awards season.  We began with Scott Feinberg of  The Hollywood Reporter and today we look at the Best Picture predictions from Variety's Clayton Davis, senior awards editor.  Here are Davis's current top ten picks to get nominated for best Picture (TFF 352 films are in bold and are listed in order of most likely to less likely:

1) Hamnet

2) One Battle after Another

3) Sinners

4) A House of Dynamite

5) Wicked: For Good

6) Sentimental Value

7) Marty Supreme

8) Frankenstein

9) The Secret Agent 

10) Bugonia

Other TFF #52 films in the Top Twenty are:

13) It Was Just an Accident

15) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

17) Jay Kelly

So in this scenario five TFF #52 films would be Best Picture nominated which would be a first for that to occur.

Davis's current picks are linked here.

NEW TRAILER FOR JAY KELLY

From Netflix this morning, the release of a new trailer for Noah Baumbach's Jay Kelly starring George Clooney, Adam Sandler and Laura Dern.  Jay Kelly is in theaters on Nov.14th.

VISITATIONS

Director Edward Berger on Ballad of a Small Player for The Hollywood Reporter.

Kelly Reichardt, John Magaro, Bill Camp and others for The Mastermind at the New York Film Festival.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Leaving Wednesday / Tribute Clues / The Mastermind Has a Trailer and a Poster / Blue Moon Madness / Documentary Hints / The 13th People's Telluride

LEAVING WEDNESDAY

Yup.  Leaving Wednesday.  I will post MTFB's Final Bets for TFF #52 on  Wednesday morning.  Then, as has been our custom, we'll drive to Salida on Wednesday.  We'll complete the drive to Telluride on Thursday after the official lineup is announced and I've posted it here. 

I have to tell you that this has been one of the more difficult years to crack and I am less than confident about the films that will be on The Final Bets  in a couple of days.

TRIBUTE CLUES

Telluride film fans have known for some time that the films screened at the Abel Gance outdoor theater on the last couple of evenings before the Festival begins are often clues to possible Tribute recipients.  Last year, for example, the free screenings were After Hours and Lady Bird.  They pointed to tributes for Thelma Schoonmaker and Saorise Ronan.  The third tribute last year was for Jacques Audiard...which neither free screening pointed to.

So what does the free screenings for this year portend?

Before Sunshine...Richard Linklater or Ethan Hawke or possibly both.  Linklater almost certainly be in Telluride with Nouvelle Vague and possibly Blue Moon.  Hawke may be in town with Blue Moon and/or with a documentary discussed below.

The Squid and the Whale almost certainly means Noah Baumbach is getting a Silver Medallion as well.  

As to the third tribute?  My best guesses would be Chloe Zhao (who I believe would have been tributes in 2020 had the fest occurred), Stellan Skarsgard, Colin Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler, Jesse Plemons, Scott Cooper or Kelly Reichardt.  It could also be a behind the camera honoree as Schoonmaker was last year.

, 

THE MASTERMIND HAS A TRAILER AND A POSTER

From YouTube, here's the trailer:

And the poster:

I enjoyed the trailer and might be enough for me to put The Mastermind on my list for this weekend.

BLUE MOON MADNESS

It's real and it continues.  After my last post a helpful reader pointed me towards the Calabasas Film Festival which will be screening Blue Moon during its run from Sept. 17-22.  I looked it up...it's true. Here's a pic from the Calabasas Fest's home page:

That would explain the "disconnect" between Toronto and New York premiere designations and mean no Blue Moon at Telluride.  I'll tell you, though, I still think that Blue Moon might make an appearance at TFF #52.  Hope it does.

DOCUMENTARY HINTS

Last post you might have seen the section that mentions Oscar Isaac slipping in a visit to Telluride this weekend between screenings in Venice per Variety.  He's reported to be headed our way to support a mysterious documentary.  Try as I might, I haven't unearthed what it is.  

Since the last post I have also stumbled across a mention on social media of a probable documentary focused on Country and Western music legend Merle Haggard.  After some digging that would likely be a film that, at least as reported by a California TV News program, would be "Merle Haggard: Highway 99" and has been directed by Ethan Hawke.

Don't bother looking for it on IMDb.  It's not there.

I do have the video that ran at station KGET of Bakersfield, CA:

HE 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 be Sept. 15th.

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

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

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.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

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?

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Ten Bets #3 for TFF #52 / Sentimental Value Trailer / The Mastermind Is Dated

TEN BETS #3 FOR TFF #52

We're creeping up on the time frame for rapid discovery of probable Telluride selections based on information as other major fall film festivals begin to announce their lineups.  For Telluride watchers that chiefly means Toronto, Venice and New York.  Fantastic Fest and BFI/London can also provide clues.  

When those announcements happen they can rapidly change the look of the Ten Bets.  It's all about how a fest frames the premiere status for the films that they include.  Designations that are key over the next few weeks are:

"World Premiere" which is exactly what it sounds like...some fest is telling you that they will be hosting the very first public screening of a film anywhere.  So when Toronto tells you they are "World Premiering" a film that means it won't play Telluride which occurs before TIFF.  

Almost all of Venice's titles are World Premieres.  The best info from Venice comes when they announce their actual screening schedule.  As Venice cranks up a couple of days before TFF starts, films that get scheduled the first three or four days of Venice have time to get to the Colorado Rockies for a portion of TFF.

"International Premiere" which means the first screening outside the films country of origin (though "country of origin" can be a slippery term).  This designation can cut both ways in as far as ruling a film in or out of the TFF lineup.  For example, an American film the screens at Telluride and then at Toronto could be designated by TIFF as an "International Premiere".  When TIFF frames their announcement that way it could be a predictor that the film will play T-ride.  On the other hand, if a French film screens at Cannes and  is announced as an International Premiere by Toronto, that means it is skipping Telluride.

"North American Premiere":  A very useful piece of information for announcements from Toronto or New York as it means no previous play at Telluride.

"Canadian" or "New York" premieres.  In each case this kind of  "local" premiere designation almost always means a Telluride play....but NOT 100% of the time.  You have to remember that Sundance, South by Southwest and Fantastic Fest film titles could also result in the "local" designation for either TIFF or NTFF.

Ultimately all of this explains why changes in the early versions of the Ten Bets are glacial and then become quite dynamic when we begin to see announcements from these other major fests. 

All that said, here's a review of last week's Ten Bets for TFF #52:

1) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

2) Blue Moon/Linklater

3) Bugonia/Lanthimos

4) Sentimental Value/Trier

5) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardennes

6) Hamnet/Zhao

7) Sirat/Oliver Laxe

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

9) The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

10) The Love That Remains/Palmason

Other possibilities: Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great, After the Hunt, Family Rental, Pressure, Marty Supreme, Die My Love, The Mastermind.

And now, this week's Ten Bets:

1) It Was Just an Accident/Panahi

2) Sentimental Value/Trier

3) Bugonia/Lanthimos

4) Hamnet/Zhao

5) Blue Moon/Linklater

6) Sirat/Oliver Laxe

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

8) The Young Mothers' Home/Dardenne Brothers

9) The Ballad of a Small Player/Berger

10) After the Hunt/Guadagnino

Other possibilities: The Love That Remains/Palmason, Jay Kelly, Left-Handed Girl, Frankenstein, Eleanor the Great, After the Hunt, The History of Sound, Family Rental, Pressure, Marty Supreme, Die My Love, The Mastermind, The American Revolution.

Comment: Sentimental Value and Hamnet both gain a couple of spots.  Sirat and Deliver Me from Nowhere move up one spot. Blue Moon and Young Mothers' Home lose some ground and, for now, After the Hunt supplants The Love That Remains in the #10 spot.

SENTIMENTAL VALUE TRAILER

Currently sitting at #2 in the Latest Ten Bets is Joachim Trier's Sentimental Value.  The film won the Grand Prix at Cannes in May and is considered a hot property moving through the fall fest season.  Neon is the film's distributor and they're larder is stacked with Cannes projects that they acquired during and after the festival.

Mubi released a trailer a couple of days ago.  Here it is from YouTube:

Sentimental Value is set to open in the United States on Nov. 7th.

THE MASTERMIND IS DATED

Nest Best Picture revealed this week that Mubi will release Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind theatrically in the U.S. on Oct. 17th.

That date means it could line up potential plays at Telluride, Toronto and/or New York.  Reichardt was in Telluride in 2019 with the enigmatic First Cow.  

The Mastermind played the Cannes Fest in the Palme d'Or competition.  It stood somewhere in the middle of the competition group critically with a 6.29 average rating as reported by Cannes-Ratings.org.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

It's All About Who Got What / Down the Stretch...

IT'S ALL ABUT WHO GOT WHAT

We've entered the Post-Cannes/Pre-Venice phase of the countdown to Telluride.  One of the things to look at not that Cannes is over and while we wait for Venice to announce titles and then their schedule is what distributors acquired films that screened at Cannes.  Distributors that have had a substantial relationship with Telluride and that do snag new titles during or post-Cannes can spotlight a film that makes the trip to T-ride.  The biggest players this year were Neon and Mubi, both of which could position any of their newly acquired films as a TFF #52 offering.

Neon picked up seven films in total.  Three of them have been floating around my Telluride radar: A Simple Accident (Palme d'Or winner), Splitsville and Orwell: 2+2+5.  Neon also bought Grand Prix winner Sentimental Value in addition to Sirat (Jury Prize), The Secret Agent (Best Director, Best Actor and Alpha.

At this point I don't think its a matter of whether Neon will have films at Telluride, the question instead is how many will it be?

Mubi was almost as active as they acquired five titles.  Three of those have been on my screen: Die, My Love, The Mastermind and The History of Sound.  In addition to those, Mubi has also picked up Sound of Falling and My Father's Shadow.

Long time Telluride presence Sony Pictures Classics has Eleanor the Great, The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol and The President's Cake.  Any or all of these may be on your TFF #52 menu.

Other acquisitions of note include:

Netflix: Nouvelle Vague

Janus: Ressurection

Apple TV+: Bono: Stories of Surrender

A24: Pillion

DOWN THE STRETCH...

As May comes to a close, MTFB really starts to get cranked up in a serious way regarding the potential TFF lineup.  The run from June to Labor Day will include weekly looks as distributors that often have films at T-ride and I'll try to assess the TFF chances of some of the titles each outfit has.

Additionally, the weekly list of "Ten Bets" will begin in three weeks.  As frequent readers know, I'll start out with 10 guesses and that list will actually expand right up to the day before Telluride announces the TFF #52 lineup (expected Thursday, Aug. 28th.).  We also expect Venice to announce its lineup at the end of July and their schedule a couple of weeks into August.  And, as has become the norm, Toronto's announcements (last year the first big drop of titles came in the third week of July.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

The Critic's Begin to Weigh-in on Cannes / Clip from Die, My Love / Deliver Me from Nowhere Has a Date

THE CRTICS BEGIN TO WEIGH IN ON CANNES

We're not quite a week into Cannes but we do have some critical responses to take a gander at.  Initially, here is a look from Cannes-ratings.org regarding 13 films at Cannes that I have my eye on regarding a possible play at Telluride:

From the Palme Competition category (on a 10 point scale):

The Mastermind: 6.65

Die, My Love: 6.59

Young Mothers: 5.73

The History of Sound: 5.41

A Simple Accident: 6.12

From Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great: 8.83

The Chronology of Water: 6.19

Out of Competition:

Splitsville: 8.67

Orwell: 2+2=5: 7.12

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele: 6.11

The Wave: 5.88

The Love That Remains (Palmason) 7.79

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol 6.16

Looking at the Palme competitors, the top five currently are:

1) Sentimental Value (Trier) 9.00

2) Sirat (Laxe) 7.95

3) Nouvelle Vague (Linklater) 7.27

4) Romeria (Simon) 7.20

5) Fuori (Martone (7.00) and Resurrection (Gan) 7.00 (tie)

The complete list is here.

FROM SCREEN DAILY

Plame Competition top five (on a 4 point scale)

1) Two Prosecutors 3.1

2) The Secret Agent 2.8 (Tie)

2) Sound of Falling 2.8 (Tie)

4) Nouvelle Vague 2.7

5) Sirat, Renoir and Die, My Love 2.5 (Tie) 

The complete grid is here.

FROM IONCINEMA

Palme Competition top five ( on a five point scale):

1) Sirat 3.9

2) Sound of Falling 3.2 (Tie)

2) Nouvelle Vague 3.2 (Tie)

4) Renoir 2.9

5) Dossier 137 2.8

The complete grid is here.

CLIP FROM DIE, MY LOVE

In conjunction with its screening in Palme competition at Cannes, we saw the release of a clip from Lynne Ramsay's Die, My Love. Here that is via YouTube and The Upcoming:

DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE HAS A DATE

Jeremy Allen White as Bruce Springsteen in Deliver Me from Nowhere (via IMDb)

20th Century Studios announced this past week that Scott Cooper's Bruce Springsteen biopic, Deliver Me from Nowhere, has been dated for an Oct. 24th release.  The date is very fall fest friendly leaving the door open for the film to screen at TFF #52 as well as Venice, Toronto and/or New York.  As I have mentioned here, Cooper has had a good relationship with Telluride over the years with Black Mass appearing at T-ride in 2015 and Hostiles in 2017. It also doesn't hurt that Searchlight is involved in the film's distribution.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Cannes Looms / Clip from Eleanor the Great

CANNES LOOMS

The 78th Cannes Film Festival starts up on Tuesday and runs through May 24th.  As MTFB has done over the past few years, I'll continue to take snapshots of the critical reactions to films and pass those along with each post over the next couple of weeks.

One of  the things that can happen during the course of the festival is that I'll notice some films that I haven't really considered for TFF emerge with a strong critical endorsement.  In other words, a film can move onto my TFF list of possible choices with a strong critical endorsement.

Meanwhile, I took a look at a group of four outlets which have recently posted their "Most Anticipated" Cannes films.  I was looking for a couple of things.  First, what films already seem to be sparking heat and second, a look at the level of interest for films that I have already listed as TFF possibilities.

So, I looked at lists from Harper's Bazaar, W, The Film Stage and Screen Rant.  Five films were on all four lists:

Alpha/J. Ducournau/Neon

The History of Sound/O. Hermanus/Focus-Mubi

Eddington/A. Aster/A24

Die, My Love/L. Ramsay/No U.S. Distributor

Sentimental Value/Joachim Trier/Neon

From this list I have already been pointing at The History of Sound and Die, My Love as TFF #52 potentials.  Eddington is set for a July release here in the U.S. so no TFF play there but I may have to start considering both Alpha and Sentimental Value especially as they're both coming from Neon.

Films with three mentions were Wes Anderson's The Phoenician Scheme (opening in the U.S. on June 6th so no T-ride) and Kristen Stewart's The Chronology of Water which I have had on my pre-Cannes watch list.

Films that made two of the lists included Eleanor the Great and The Mastermind.  Both have popped up here as TFF possibilities.  Michael Angel Covino's Splitsville would have made this list save for its August 22nd U.S. release date.

The Film Stage made mention of three other films that have been on my radar: It Was Just an Accident, The Love That Remains and The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol.

The Film Stage also has an "Honorable Mention" section that includes The Chronology of Water and Eleanor the Great.

Here's the link to the Harper's Bazaar list.

Here's the link to the W list.

Here's the link to The Film Stage list.

Here's the link to The Screen Rant list.

CLIP FROM ELEANOR THE GREAT

Deadline dropped an exclusive clip from Scarlett Johansson's directing debut and Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Eleanor the Great starring June Squibb.  The film is being distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.

Take a look at the Deadline post that includes the clip right here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

I'm Back / New Bugonia Date Keeps TFF Possible / And Who Won't Be at TFF #52 / Views from Cannes

I'M BACK

After a week long art show and five days in NYC, MTFB is back...and tired.  Here's the latest after a week away.

NEW BUGONIA DATE KEEPS TFF POSSIBLE

Focus Features announced this past week that they were bumping the release dates for Yorgos Lanthimos' Bugoina up a bit.  Focus now says a limited release will happen on Oct. 24th and then the nationwide rollout will begin a week later.

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel writes that a Venice premiere is likely and the question for us becomes does it follow the same path as did The Favourite and Poor Things both of which did the Venice/Telluride two step.  What could make a difference is that Both The Favourite and Poor Things came from (Fox) Searchlight and Bugonia is being distributed by Focus.  It could be said that Searchlight and Focus have had similar presences at Telluride over the years.  Compare the last five years for each:

(Fox) Searchlight:

2024: A Real Pain

2023: All of Us Strangers, Poor Things

2022: Empire of Light

2021: The French Dispatch

2020: No Fest but...would have screened Nomadland

2019: A Hidden Life

Focus Features:

2024: Conclave, Piece by Piece

2023: The Holdovers

2022: TAR, Armageddon Time

2021: Belfast, The Card Counter

2020: No Fest but... would have screened The Way I See It

2019: No film.

So Searchlight has screened six films and would have had a seventh had Covid not interrupted.  Meanwhile, Focus screened seven and would have had an eighth in 2020.

As an additional side note...Emma Stone.  At Telluride for La La Land in 2016, Battle of the Sexes in 2017 and Tributed in 2018 with The Favourite.  

So, you know, maybe.

AND WHO WON'T BE AT TFF #52

That would be Alexander Payne as he will President of the Golden Lion jury for this year's Venice Film Festival.

Payne has been a frequent visitor to Telluride even in years when he doesn't have a film to screen there. He's been a Guest Director (2009) and attended an additional eight years sometimes with a film sometimes not..  Payne last attended for the 50th Festival in 2023.

The Venice Fest runs from August 27th-Sept. 6th.  TFF #52 runs Aug. 29th- Sept. 1st so Payne's duties as Jury President will mean he can't be in Telluride.

VIEWS FROM CANNES

Images from some of the films playing at Cannes that also seem to have some TFF possibility have been showing up online.  Here are some of those:

TRAILER FOR YOUNG MOTHERS

PHOTO FROM THE HISTORY OF SOUND

PHOTO FROM THE MASTERMIND

More on Thursday...

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Cannes Lineup Revealed / Could These Three Films Play TFF #52?

 CANNES LINEUP REVEALED

Early this morning Thierry Fremaux announced the lineup for this year's Cannes Film Festival.  Here are the films announced for the various sections:

In Competition:

The History of Sound/Hermanus

A Simple Accident/Panahi

The Mastermind/Reichardt

Young Mothers/Dardenne Brothers

Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great/Johansson

Special Screenings:

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol/Chomet

Cannes Premiere:

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele/Serebrennikov

Orwell/Peck

Splitsville/Covino

The Wave/Lelio

As always, we look to Cannes for clues about films that could have their North American Premiere at Telluride on Labor day weekend.  From the above it feels like, sight unseen, that these films have a chance to be at TFF #52:

Meanwhile, some films that had been speculated were not announced this morning including:

After the Hunt/Guadagnino

The Chronology of Water/Stewart

Die, My Love/Ramsay

Hamnet/Zhao

The Love That Remains/Palmason

Orphan/Nemes

The Way of the Wind/Malick

Remember, though, Cannes is notorious for adding films to their schedule after their opening announcement.

Of course what happens at Cannes does affect what may or may not be selected.  I pay close attention to how critics react to films at Cannes, and to some extent the awards results at the end of the fest to calibrate what may come down the pike.

The complete lineup announced this morning is here from Indiwire.

*****Late Breaking...Despite having not been officially announced by Cannes this morning, Spike Lee revealed via social media that his Highest 2 Lowest will premiere there Out of Competition.

COULD THESE THREE FILMS PLAY TFF #52?

(Rooney Mara and Kate Mara filming Bucking Fastard for Werner Herzog)

Could Werner Herzog finish his new film quickly enough for a TFF #52 debut?  World of Reel reports that filming is currently underway in Dublin, Ireland.  Herzog has been known to be able to move quickly in the past.  So, maybe?

World of Reel also reports that Kathryn Bigelow's first feature in eight years is aiming for a fall fest debut.  The article mentions Telluride as a possible landing place.

And finally, I have been hesitant to consider Bennie Safdie's The Smashing Machine as a TFF #52 possibility but The Film Stage reports that the film has an Oct. 3rd release date which would fit in nicely after a TFF screening.  

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com