Michael's Telluride Film Blog : The Monuments Men

Showing posts with label The Monuments Men. Show all posts

Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Film Awards Clearinghouse #2/Monuments Moves/Backlash Happens/Coming Attractions: MacBeth

Good Thursday All...

THE FILM AWARDS CLEARINGHOUSE #2

We start with a snapshot of where four of the Big Eight Oscar categories appear to be at the end of October and one month after our first look.

There have been some serious developments over the past few weeks that have had a serious impact on where the various races are. The New York Film Festival came and went. We got word that "Foxcatcher" and "The Monuments Men" among others will be pushed to 2014 and that Martin Scorsese's "The Wolf of Wall Street" which was looking kind of iffy for 2013 will, in fact, open in late December, so it stays in the 2013 hunt. Of course, we still haven't seen "American Hustle", Out of the Furnace", "Lone Survivor" or "Wolf".

I use the publicly posted predictions of these Oscar experts:

Sasha Stone/Awards Daily

Kris Tapley/HitFix-InContention

Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

Peter Knegt/IndieWire

Alex Carlson/Film Misery

Nathaniel Rogers/Film Experience

Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter

Clayton Davis/Awards Circuit

Brad Brevet/Rope of Silicon

The films position on the first FAC is in parenthesis. Telluride #40 films are Bold.

BEST PICTURE

1) 12 Years a Slave (1)
2) Gravity (2)
3) Captain Phillips (4)
4) American Hustle (3)
5) Nebraska (10)
6) Inside Llewyn Davis (7)
7) Saving Mr. Banks (5)
8) Lee Daniels's The Butler (8)
9) All is Lost (12)
10) The Wolf of Wall Street (6)
11) Blue Jasmine (14)
12) August: Osage County (13)
13) Her (-)
14) Dallas Buyers Club (-)
15) Fruitvale Station (-)

Dropping Out: Foxcatcher, The Monuments Men, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

Big Movers: Nebraska, All is Lost, Blue Jasmine

BEST DIRECTOR

1) Alfonso Cuaron/Gravity (2- TIE)
1) Steve McQueen/12 Years (1)
3) Paul Greengrass/Capt. Phillips (4)
4) David O. Russell/American Hustle (3)
5) Alexander Payne/Nebraska (6)
6) Joel and Ethan Coen/Inside Llewyn Davis (-)
7) Martin Scorsese/Wolf of Wall Street (5)
8) J.C. Chandor/All is Lost (-)
9) John Lee Hancock/Saving Mr. Banks (-)
10) Lee Daniels/The Butler (8)

No drop outs.

Big Movers: The Coens, Chandor and Hancock.

BEST ACTRESS

1) Cate Blanchett/Blue Jasmine (1)
2) Sandra Bullock/Gravity (3)
3) Meryl Streep/August: Osage County (2)
4) Judi Dench/Philomena (4)
5) Emma Thompson/Saving Mr. Banks (5)
6) Amy Adams/American Hustle (6)
7) Adele Excharopoulos/Blue (-)
8) Kate Winslet/Labor Day (-)
9) Berenice Bejo/The Past (7)
10) Julie Delpy/Before Midnight (-)

No drop outs here either.

Big Movers: Excharopoulos, Winslet

BEST ACTOR

1) Chiwetel Ejiofor/12 Years (1)
2) Robert Redford/All is Lost (2)
3) Matthew McConnaughey/Dallas Buyers Club (3)
4) Tom Hanks/Capt. Phillips (7)
5) Bruce Dern/Nebraska (4)
6) Forest Whitaker/LD's The Butler (5)
7) Leonardo DiCaprio/Wolf of Wall Street (6)
8) Christian Bale/American Hustle (-)
9) Joaquin Phoenix/Her (-)
10) Michael B. Jordan/Fruitvale Station (-)

No drops.

Big Movers; Hanks, Bale, Phoenix

Monday's post will include the Supporting categories as well as Screenplays and a breakdown of the Telluride films.

IN OTHER NEWS...

MONUMENTS MOVES

As I alluded above, George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" will be moving to 2014. The production team says it won't be ready for a December release. That opens some room for T-ride films such as "Nebraska", "Inside Llewyn Davis" and "All is Lost". Rope of Silicon reports:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/george-clooneys-monuments-men-delayed-2014/

BACKLASH FOR T-RIDE FAVES

It's inevitable. After the huge splash that "12 Years a Slave" and "Gravity" made at Telluride, you'd expect there to be push back and that's happened. Steve Pond from The Wrap posted this week about the bounce and the burn:

http://www.thewrap.com/gravity-12-years-slave-battle-backlash-film-fest-raves/

COMING ATTRACTIONS

I'm already massively intrigued by the notion of Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard leading a film version of Macbeth and the word came yesterday that the project now has the backing of The Weinstein Company. TWC is often a player at Telluride, although their level of play has been hit and miss over the years. Here's my plea...Harvey, "Macbeth"...T-ride 2014... Here's the story of the TWC acquisition from Awards Circuit:
http://www.awardscircuit.com/2013/10/23/weinstein-company-acquires-macbeth-w-michael-fassbender-and-marion-cotillard/

Friday, August 16, 2013

Screencraft.org and Me/Ten (+) Bets/Foxcatcher Flies to SPC/Peeps That Could Show at the SHOW/Invitation/Another Invitation/Monuments and Oscar

Good Friday All...Less than two weeks until lift off!

SCREENCRAFT.ORG AND ME

I can tell everyone now. In addition to posts here on the Blog I will be writing a series of reports from Telluride during the Festival for Screencraft.org. (http://www.screencraft.org/) Screencraft.org is an organization devoted to the development of screenwriters and getting their work in front of the right people. My thanks to John Rhodes who really put this together. Hope I can do them a good job.

TEN (+) BETS #8

Here's my weekly evaluation of the Ten (actually more) films that I think have the best chance to be a part of the 40th Telluride Film festival.

Last week's Ten Bets were:

1) Nebraska

2) Inside Llewyn Davis

3) Labor Day

4) The Invisible Woman

5) The Unknown Known

6) The Past

7) The Immigrant

8) All is Lost

9) Gravity

10) The Story of Children and Film

This week's Ten (+) Bets:

1) Nebraska
2) Labor Day
3) The Invisible Woman
4) Inside Llewyn Davis
5) All is Lost
6) The Unknown Known
7) Gravity
8) The Past
9) The Immigrant
10) The Story of Children and Film
11) 12 Years a Slave
12) Blue is the Warmest Color
13) The Lunchbox
14) Daughter of the Dawn
15) Enough Said

Just below the "Ten Bets"; "Life Itself", "Philomena", "Aguirre; The Wrath of God", "Quay d'Orsay", "Heli", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Child's Pose","You Are Here", "LeWeekend" and "Gloria".

FOXCATCHER FLIES TO SPC

I've been pretty certain that this news was coming for weeks...Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" will now be distributed by Sony Pictures Classics. That news finally erupted into the light last night. It immediately increases "Foxcatcher's" Telluride chances. Perhaps, had the news come earlier last night, I might have included it on the list of titles bubbling just below the top 15. As it is, we could see it pop into the "Bets" by next week depending what scuttlebutt pops up.

I will say this: the only other time Miller's film was handled by SPC it was "Capote" and that played Telluride. Also, Kristopher Tapley of InContention/HitFix tweeted last night that he was "expecting "Foxcatcher to be a sweet Telluride exclusive a la "The Way Back" a few years ago".

I've linked numerous posts with the "Foxcatcher/SPC news below from InContention, The Hollywood Reporter, Rope of Silicon, The Playlist, The Wrap, Movie City News and Thompson on Hollywood:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/sony-classics-brings-foxcatcher-into-the-oscar-season

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/foxcatcher-jumps-sony-pictures-classics-602726

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/sony-classics-acquires-bennett-millers-foxcatcher-and-sets-december-2013-release/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/adjust-your-oscar-predictions-bennett-millers-foxcatcher-starring-steve-carell-channing-tatum-gets-awards-season-date-20130815

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sony-pictures-classics-release-bennett-millers-foxcatcher-111221

http://moviecitynews.com/2013/08/sony-pictures-classics-pins-annapurnas-foxcatcher/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/sony-pictures-classics-takes-over-release-of-bennett-millers-foxcatcher

In addition to Tapley, Brad Brevet of ROS explicitly muses on its Telluride possibilities as does Keith Jagernauth of The Playlist.

I'm holding my breath that the speculation is correct because I'd like this film to play. If you read yesterday's post you know that "Foxcatcher" is just outside my Top Ten "Wish List" films. Fingers crossed.

PEEPS THAT COULD ATTEND THE SHOW

So, if the Ten (+) Bets are correct...who might be in town for this year's fest? The list is enticing. First, Think directors: Payne, Farhadi, Cuaron, The Coen Brothers, Reitman, Fiennes, Gray, McQueen, Holofcener and Chandor among others.

Then you have to think about the talent:

Bruce Dern, Oscar Issac, Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Felicity Jones, Robert Redford, Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Berenice Bejo, Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Of course not all of these people will attend...but some of them will and isn't that tantalizing?

INVITATION

We're official...This year's Michael's Telluride Film Blog "guide to the Ride' is set for 5pm Thursday, Aug. 29th at The River Club in Telluride at 550 Depot St. in Telluride. Come and join me for a brief discussion of what we might expect for the weekend as well as a glass (or two) of beverage and a nosh as well. It'll be fun and YOU ARE INVITED...

ANOTHER INVITATION

Also, don't forget that you're also invited to take part in the Second "People's Telluride"...I'm asking you to rank the films that you see on a 0-5 scale and email those to me at the end of the fest. As I did last year, I will crunch the numbers and we'll see what our collective view was.

I'll also be doing this with a select group of industry pros who have been kind enough to agree to rate the films they see as well.

Should be fun and informative...

MONUMENTS AND OSCAR

Competing stories were out yesterday about the Oscar campaigning probabilities for George Clooney's "The Monuments Men". Tom O'Neil at Gold Derby saying it wasn't going to happen and then Sony Pictures pushing back. I have included links to posts from Gold Derby and The Wrap:

http://www.goldderby.com/news/4660/monuments-men-george-clooney-entertainment-news-381493726.html

https://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/sony-denies-report-george-clooneys-monuments-men-wont-get-oscar-push-110866

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More to come on Saturday including Best of the Week...

Thursday, August 15, 2013

The Wish List/Japan Rising?/Zero Pics/Guide to the Ride/Judging Telluride

Good Thursday Everyone...

THE WISH LIST...

We're two weeks away from the opening of the 40th Telluride Film Festival and as I now comes the time to categorize the films that are/could be/might have been T-ride selections.

Here are my categories:

Films (in no particular order) that I'm fairly confident will play. This claim is based on any number of factors...not the least of which has been a claim from some quarters, in print or publicly stated, by film bloggers, reporters etc.:

“Inside Llewyn Davis”
“Labor Day”
“All is Lost”
“Gravity”
“The Past”
“The Immigrant”
“Nebraska”
“The Invisible Woman”
“The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld”
“Life Itself”
“Daughter of the Dawn”

Films that I feel have at least a 50/50 chance to play Telluride:

“12 Years a Slave”
“Blue is the Warmest Color”
“Heli”
“Gloria”
“Child’s Pose”
“Philomena”
“The Lunchbox”
“Only Lovers Left Alive’
“Enough Said”
“You Are Here”
“Quay d’ Orsay”
“The Selfish Giant”
“Aguirre: The Wrath of God”

Possible films that I feel have a less than 30% chance...but wouldn't be a complete surprise:

“August: Osage County”
“The Counselor”
“The Fifth Estate”
“The Dallas Buyers Club”
“Foxcatcher”
“Eleanor Rigby: His/Hers”
“A Most Wanted Man”
“Night Moves”
“Parkland”
“The Railway Man”
“The Rover”
“T.S. Spivet’
“The Zero Theorem”
"Unforgiven:
"The Wind Rises"
"Le Weekend"

Films that look unlikely to play Telluride for any number of reasons...

“American Hustle”
“Out of the Furnace”
“Her”
“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”
“The Book Thief”
“Oldboy”
“Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom”
“Rush”
“The Monuments Men”
“The Wolf of Wall Street”
“Captain Phillips”
“Grand Budapest Hotel”
“Knight of Cups”
“Saving Mr. Banks”
“The Hobbit/Smaug”
“Grace of Monaco”
“Diana”

In a perfect world...these films would play in order of preference but regardless of likelihood:

1) "Inside Llewyn Davis"
2) "12 Years a Slave"
3) "The Monuments Men"
4) "Gravity"
5) "The Dallas Buyers Club"
6) "The Counselor"
7) "All is Lost"
8) "Labor Day"
9) "The Past"
10) "Nebraska"
11) "Foxcatcher"
12) "The Fifth Estate"
13) "American Hustle"
14) "Her"
15) "Out of the Furnace"
16) "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty"
17) "Captain Phillips"
18) "August: Osage County"
19) "The Wolf of Wall Street"
20) "Blue is the Warmest Color"/"The Zero Theorem" (tie)

A couple of observations...

It looks to me like a terrific fall film slate...a lot of quality films to choose from. Also, assuming that I'm anywhere close to right...this year's Telluride lineup is going to be incredible.

JAPAN RISING

I noted yesterday that I had a "feeling' about Hayao Miyazaki's "The Wind Rises". No real hard evidence...just a tickle. It and Lee Sang-il's "Unforgiven" remake that transfers the Eastwood classic to 1800's Japan were both announced as additions to Toronto earlier this week and both could make a stop in Telluride first.

Both films popped up with English subtitled trailers yesterday. Here's "Unforgiven" via YouTube:

And "The Wind Rises" as well:

I have also linked separate posts from The Playlist and The Dissolve:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/now-with-subtitles-tiff-trailers-for-ken-watanabe-starring-unforgiven-remake-hayao-miyazakis-the-wind-rises-20130814

http://thedissolve.com/news/242-miyazaki-controversy/

ZERO PICS

The Playlist also dips into a Terry Gilliam interview with Deadline.com in which he talks "The Zero Theorem" as well as his "Don Quixote" project. The post also includes a couple of new stills of "Zero":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/terry-gilliam-about-ready-to-give-up-on-don-quixote-doesnt-want-to-do-a-marvel-movie-new-pics-from-zero-theorem-20130814

"The Zero Theorem" is scheduled to play the Venice fest on Sept.2...could Gilliam show it in Telluride first? Possible.

GUIDE TO THE RIDE

We're official...This year's Michael's Telluride Film Blog "Guide to the Ride' is set for 5pm Thursday, Aug. 29th at The River Club in Telluride at 550 Depot St. in Telluride. Come and join me for a brief discussion of what we might expect for the weekend as well as a glass (or two) of beverage and a nosh as well. It'll be fun and YOU ARE INVITED...

JUDGING TELLURIDE

Friday, August 9, 2013

Ten Bets/Errol's on the Way/Monuments Trailer/Her to New York/Labor Day Look/Armstrong Lie Look

Good Friday to All...from Salida, CO. and The Riverwalk Art Fair

TEN BETS #7

This week's "Ten Bets" shows some changes as I ran across some (what appears to be) solid information this week...including the next story listed below. Consequently, there is some movement on this week's "Bets".

Further, I've about reached the point that I'm ready to go past ten bets...perhaps next week.

Last week's "Ten Bets" were:

1) Nebraska
2) The Invisible Woman
3) The Past
4) The Immigrant
5) Inside Llewyn Davis
6) Labor Day
7) The Story of Children and Film
8) Blue is the Warmest Color
9) The Unknown Known
10) The Lunchbox

This week:

1) Nebraska

2) Inside Llewyn Davis

3) Labor Day

4) The Invisible Woman

5) The Unknown Known

6) The Past

7) The Immigrant

8) All is Lost

9) Gravity

10) The Story of Children and Film

Just below the "Ten Bets"; "Blue is the Warmest Color", "Life Itself", "Philomena", "The Lunchbox", "12 Years a Slave", "Aguirre; The Wrath of God", "Daughter of the Dawn", ""Quay d'Orsay", "The Good Lie", "Enough Said", "Heli", "Only Lovers Left Alive", "Child's Pose","You Are Here" and "Gloria".

ERROL'S ON THE WAY

As I have been predicting for a good long while, Errol Morris will be in Telluride in two weeks. How do we know? The master documentarian tweeted on Tuesday:

"THE HUMAN YO-YO. Yes, I will be in Telluride, Venice and Toronto. (Looking forward to it.)"

I am assuming he will be bringing a copy of his documentary "The Unknown Known; The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld". This week's #5 on the "Ten Bets" list.

MONUMENTS TRAILER

As expected the trailer for George Clooney's "The Monuments Men" came down the pipeline yesterday. It is intriguing. I have to say that I'd really like for the film to surprisingly show up in Telluride in three weeks. Purportedly the film isn't ready but you know that Telluride has produced more than one surprise over the years. Perhaps 2013 could be another example of that magic.

"HER" TRAILER

The New York Film Festival announced yesterday that its closing film will be Spike Jonze "Her" starring Joaquin Phoenix. That all but certainly takes it out of Telluride consideration which is too bad. The film looks very intriguing.

Check the trailer out here via YouTube:

And here's a link to an accompanying story from The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-spike-jonzes-her-starring-joaquin-phoenix-

20130807

LABOR DAY LOOK

I have been pretty certain that Jason Reitman was likely to return to Telluride with his new film "Labor Day" starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin for months. That intuition has been endorsed by Sasha Stone of Awards Daily who is on record asserting that the film is on the 40th anniversary playlist.

I have to say that it's high on my list of films to catch at TFF #40. The production dropped its first official images yesterday. I have linked posts about the pics from Entertainment Weekly and Rope of Silicon:

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/08/08/labor-day-first-look-kate-winslet-josh-brolin-jason-reitman/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/labor-day-movie-picture-kate-winslet-josh-brolin/

ARMSTRONG LIE LOOK

A first look at a still from the documentary "The Armstrong Lie" which is currently hovering just below my "Ten Bets" list was revealed yesterday from Sony Pictures Classics. Find it here:

https://twitter.com/sonyclassics/status/364823942562709504/photo/1

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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Taking Stock/Counselor Trailer/Views of "Hustle" and "Monuments"

Good Thursday Everyone.

The CEO and I head west this morning for Salida, CO. She's showing art. I'm driving the art. We'll be there until Sunday. It's worth noting that Salida is 2/3 of the way on our normal route to Telluride.

Which is THREE WEEKS AWAY!

TAKING STOCK

The potential film landscape has really shifted a lot in the past couple of weeks with revelations/expectations for some films that were merely thought as outside possibilities coming into focus in that time period.

In the last 15 days or so we have seen the ascendancy of "Inside Llewyn Davis", "All is Lost" and "Gravity" into serious consideration as Telluride possibles. We have seen some of the films essentially confirmed that we have been pretty certain of for some time: "Nebraska", "Labor Day" and "The Invisible Woman".

There are some films that we have been high on that we haven't heard very much about in as far as Telluride is concerned. Nobody is really talking "The Past", "The Unknown Known", "The Immigrant", "Philomena" or "12 Years a Slave"...but I still feel pretty good about all of them.

The New York Fest has claimed "Captain Phillips" and "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" for its opener and centerpiece. They still have a closing night film to announce and the rest of their lineup expected in the next 10 days or so.

And there are films that I'd still like to see show up that could but about which there hasn't been any scuttlebutt, at least that I can suss out: "Foxcatcher", "The Fifth Estate", "The Dallas Buyers Club" and "The Counselor" come to mind.

All in all, you'll see a definite effect on tomorrow's new "Ten Bets" list. It's shaping up to be an incredible 40th anniversary festival.

Meanwhile, from the "A Guy Can Continue to Dream" Dept. Here's this...

COUNSELOR TRAILER

"The Counselor" had its second straight day of high profile P.R. as the Ridley Scott film dropped an official trailer. Would love to see this on the Telluride program.

I have included posts from The Playlist, Rope of Silicon and FirstShowing

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-new-full-length-trailer-for-ridley-scotts-the-counselor-gets-up-to-testify-20130807

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/counselor-trailer-michael-fassbender-brad-pitt/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/must-watch-riveting-new-full-trailer-for-ridley-scotts-the-counselor/

A note here...this two day blitz makes me wonder if "The Counselor" might be in line to be announced as the closing night selection for the New York Film Festival.

VIEWS OF "HUSTLE" AND "MONUMENTS"

A couple of films I'm also not expecting to see in Telluride are David O. Russell's "American Hustle" and George Clooney's "The Monuments Men'. I'd like to see them in T-ride but as I've reported here, "Monuments" is reportedly unready and I just haven't ever thought there was a big chance for "Hustle" Nevertheless, both films have been among my "Coming Attractions" for some time now.

Both of them releases official images yesterday. I have linked Rope of Silicon and The Playlist below:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/american-hustle-picture-adams-bale-cooper/

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-official-picture-from-george-clooneys-monuments-men/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-official-look-at-george-clooneys-monuments-men-plus-new-pics-from-american-hustle-desolation-of-smaug-20130807

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More on Friday!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Deadline Day/Only at TFF

Good Monday Everyone...

Hope it was a fantastic weekend.

DEADLINE DAY

http://www.telluridefilmfestival.org/film_entry

Today is the deadline for film submissions for the Telluride Film Festival. I have been told on occasion that some of the "higher-ups" in the TFF hierarchy actually take a look at this space from time to time. I'm not sure I believe that but I'd like to. So, in that spirit, here's my list of 20 films that I'd sure like the Telluride Film Festival to consider programming. some of these I'm very sure will play. Others don't have a snowball's chance of being in San Miguel County on Labor Day but it's a "wish list" (most with some kind of clip or trailer)of sorts so...

And to those film makers out there that are responsible for the films on this list...come on...apply...(of course, I fully realize that there are sometimes "late additions" to the Telluride lineup...that's OK too).

In alphabetical order they are:

"12 Years a Slave"- Steve McQueen's third feature following "Hunger" and "Shame" tells the true story of a free black man taken slammed into slavery and his struggle to regain that freedom. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender lead a massive and talent-laden cast. Rumors are strong that it will play the Venice fest.

"All is Lost"- J.C. Chandor's follow-up to "Margin Call" features Robert Redford, a boat and the ocean...and not much dialogue. It played at Cannes out of competition and was rapturously received. Lot of buzz for Redford vis-a-vis awards season.

"American Hustle" -David O. Russell is on a hot streak. "Silver Linings Playbook" last year and "The Fighter" in 2010. "AH" is a true story of political corruption that features a phenomenal cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro from "SLP" and Christian Bale and Amy Adams from "Fighter" plus throw in Jeremy Renner.

"August: Osage County"-Meryl Streep leads the all star cast in this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family. Other cast mates: Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Shepard.

"Captain Phillips"- Tom Hanks plays the real life Captain of the U.S. ship hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Paul Greengrass directs.

"The Counselor"- Ridley Scott (?) directs an original Cormac McCarthy script abut a lawyer who gets in over his head when dealing with the illicit drug trade. The cast is intriguing: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.

"Dallas Buyers Club"- Matthew McConnaughey looks to continue his current acting winning streak with this true story of a homophobic Texan who contracted AIDS in 1986 and his attempts to find ways to treat it. Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) directs.Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner also star.

"The Fifth Estate"- Director Bill Condon's take on Julian Assange and the development of WikiLeaks. Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl and Laura Linney star.

"Foxcatcher"- Bennett Miller has directed two straight winners: "Capote" and "Moneyball". I'm hopeful that "Foxcatcher" will give him a hat trick. "Foxcatcher" is another true story (notice that there are a lot of those on this list?). This focuses on millionaire John DuPont and his murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum star.

"Gravity"-Alfonso Curaon is back. The director finally follows up his 2006 gem "Children of Men" with another sci-fi piece. Now, I really liked "Children of Men" but Frankly was just lukewarm about this "lost in space" story starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...most Bullock I understand. That is until I saw the teaser...now, I'm kind of hot to see the film.

"Her" Spike Jonze directs, Joaquin Phoenix acts in a story about a men in love with his computer's operating system. Yes. Plus a lot of beautiful talented women: Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. The combo of Jonze and Phoenix is a enough for me.

"The Immigrant" James Gray's story of a young women trapped in a bad life in 19th century America with Marion Cotillard Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. I've been hot to see it since they teased it last year at TFF#39.

"Inside Llewyn Davis"-The Coen Brothers ode to music (folk music specifically) was roundly applauded at Cannes. The buzz is very, very good. Oscar Issac stars as the title character who appears to be a struggling New York folk musician in the early 60's. Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake co-star. This might be the #1 film on this fall's "must see" list.

"Labor Day"- I sure hope that Jason Reitman returns to Telluride. I enjoyed "Juno" and "Up in the Air" and a brief conversation with Reitman both times. This project sounds intriguing. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star. Brolin's on the run from the law whose path crosses with Winslet's character.

"The Monuments Men"- George Clooney and company save art from Nazis. Clooney directs, stars and co-wrote the film which also features Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Jean Dujardin. Come on back to Telluride George!

"Nebraska"- Alexander Payne's story of a father-son road trip to claim a potential fortune. Bruce Dern and Will Forte star (see story below).

"Out of the Furnace"- Scott Cooper follows "Crazy Heart" with this hard scrabble film about a man looking for justice for his brother. Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson and Zoe Saldana star.

"The Past"-Berenice Bejo won Best Actress at Cannes in May in this film from "A Separation's" Asgahr Farhadi. "A Separation" was one of the best films of 2011. If this story of domestic difficulties is remotely in the same ball park, it should be worth our time.

"The Wolf of Wall Street"-Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up yet again for this true story of high finance, crime and corruption. McConnaughey and Dujardin are both in this as well in addition to Jonah Hill and Jon Favreau.

"The Zero Theorem"-Terry Gilliam playing at satirizing our world with Christoph Waltz in the lead...yes please...in Telluride please.

Late word from this weekend is that director Terry Gilliam has confirmed that "The Zero Theorem" will be playing at the Venice Fest. The Playlist reports:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/terry-gilliam-says-the-zero-theorem-headed-to-venice-film-festival-jessica-chastains-eleanor-rigby-also-rumored-20130714

There you have it. The deadline is tonight at midnight. Get that paperwork filled out.

ONLY IN TELLURIDE

I ran across a story this past weekend that underlines the uniqueness of the Telluride Film Festival. The L.A. Times was reporting on the resurgence in the use of black and white film making and isolated a story about Noah Baumbach ("Frances Ha") and Alexander Payne (the forthcoming and above mentioned "Nebraska meeting at Telluride last year and spending substantial time together. Payne was yet to begin shooting "Nebraska" and wanted to get pointers from Baumbach who had completed "Frances".

I'm not sure that kind of organic (and reportedly lengthy) meet up happens any way else.

Take a look at the story here:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-black-and-white-20130714,0,7580244.story

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More tomorrow...

Thursday, March 28, 2013

"Monuments Views"/Oscar Moves/Cannes Hopes/The Sapphires/Wadaja Festivals On/Paradise Love Trailer

Good Thursday morning,

"MONUMENTS" VIEWS

Just Jared has posted a number of photos from the set of the George Clooney directed, co-written and starring vehicle "The Monuments Men". They feature Clooney and co-star Matt Damon. You can access them here via Awards Daily:

http://www.justjared.com/2013/03/25/george-clooney-monuments-men-set-with-matt-damon/

OSCAR MOVES

The Academy Awards have been moved to March 2 for 2014 to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics. That puts it a week later than it was this year. The Oscars will reportedly move back to the last Sunday in February for 2015. Check the story from The Wrap:

http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/oscars-move-march-2014-82346

CANNES HOPES

Guy Lodge at HitFix/InContention has posted his list of 10 films that he hopes/thinks will be Cannes choices. You can see that post here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/10-films-were-most-hoping-to-see-at-the-cannes-film-festival

Included on Lodge's list that I think have some Telluride potential:

"The Past"
"The Congress"
"Twelve Years a Slave"
"Lowlife"

THE SAPPHIRES

Guy Lodge also continues his look at Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires". Take a look:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/wayne-blair-and-deborah-mailman-on-taking-the-sapphires-from-stage-to-screen

WADJDA GOES FESTIVALING

"Wadjda", which is notable among other things for being a Saudi Arabian film directed by a woman, was highlighted at TFF #39 and now has been selected to open The Gulf Film Festival in Dubai. That news came from Screen Daily:

http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/wadjda-to-open-gulf-film-festival/5053335.article

PARADISE: LOVE

Ulrich Seidl's "Paradise:Love" which played at TFF #39 has a trailer and is reportedly scheduled to open on April 26. Here's that trailer:

Monday, March 4, 2013

The World Hears About TFF #40's Fifth Day (and its new theater)/Oscar Post-Mortems/

Good Monday morning to all of you...

THE WORLD LEARNS WHAT WE'VE KNOWN FOR A GOOD LONG WHILE

The Telluride Film Festival announced this past week that:

A) This year will be their 40th Anniversary.
B) That an extra day has been added to the schedule as a part of the anniversary celebration...it will start on Thursday, Aug. 29th this year. We knew that as the festival head honchos told us at the opening day press gathering last September.
C) That there will be a new 650 seat theater venue...we've known that was in the works for awhile too. It will be a re-modeled Hanley Pavilion in Telluride Town Park and will be named in honor of Telluride advisor-guest-presenter-guru-gadfly Werner Herzog. (I saw one tweet this week suggesting the Theater be nicknamed "Der Werner". I'm suggesting we call it "The Zog!").
D) Passes are now on sale for TFF #40.

The thing is, it was all officially announced this week and the film world took a good deal of notice.

Here's the press release from TFF and VP of Press Relations Shannon Goodwin Mitchell:

TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS

40th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

AND PASS SALE INFORMATION

New 650 Seat Werner Herzog Theatre to be Complete for 2013 Edition

Berkeley, CA – Telluride Film Festival, presented by the National Film Preserve, announces its 40^th Anniversary set to run August 29 – September 2, 2013. An additional day of festivities has been added to the usual four-day Festival, making room for a five-day bounty of special programming and festivities. The National Film Preserve is a not-for-profit arts and educational organization that annually presents the Telluride Film Festival.

Festival passes will be available for purchase beginning tomorrow, March 1, 2013. Festival passes may be purchased at www.telluridefilmfestival.org/passes. Pass levels and descriptions may also be found on the Festival’s website. Pricing will not increase given the additional day in 2013.

Telluride Film Festival, along with the Town of Telluride, is also pleased to announce it is creating a new venue in time for its 40^th Anniversary celebration. The Werner Herzog Theatre will be situated in Telluride’s Town Park Pavilion and become the Festival’s most technologically advanced theatre accommodating 650 pass holders. Telluride Film Festival is committed to present not only the best quality films but in the most state of the art manner. TFF is also committed to maximizing pass holder enjoyment, valuing its intimate, relaxed atmosphere and will not be expanding its 2013 pass holder base.

In keeping with Festival tradition, Telluride Film Festival does not announce its program in advance, though the 40th promises to be a grand reunion highlighting all the elements of the last forty years. During this special edition of the SHOW, the Festival is thrilled it will be able to showcase its technical excellence and provide its pass holders and sponsors the highest level of service while presenting the world’s greatest films and filmmakers.

“The 40th celebration is our chance to thank and honor the founders, filmmakers and audience who have helped us create such a beloved cultural institution,” said Telluride Film Festival Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “We are inspired every day by the cinematic genius that surrounds us and look forward to sharing the best of that on this very special occasion.”

For more information about attending Telluride Film Festival, visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

About Telluride Film Festival

The prestigious Telluride Film Festival ranks among the world’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers and critics. TFF is considered a major launching ground for the fall season’s most talked-about films. Co-founded in 1974 by Tom Luddy, James Card, and Bill and Stella Pence, Telluride Film Festival, presented in the beautiful mountain town of Telluride, Colorado, is a four-day international educational event celebrating the art of film. Telluride Film Festival’s long-standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule, kept secret until Opening Day, consists of over two dozen filmmakers presenting their newest works, special Guest Director programs, three major Tributes to guest artists, special events and remarkable treasures from the past. Telluride Film Festival is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit educational program. Festival headquarters are in Berkeley, CA.

About Our Sponsors

Telluride Film Festival is supported by Land Rover North America, Turner Classic Movies, Ernst & Young, Telluride Mountain Village Owners Association, Audible.com, Universal Studios, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Américas Film Conservancy, Pine Ridge Winery, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, Telluride Alpine Lodging, Meyer Sound, The London Hotel Group, ShopKeep POS, The Hollywood Reporter, Dolby, Crumpler, Boston Light and Sound, among others.

And here's some of the coverage that press release engendered:

Movie City News: http://moviecitynews.com/2013/02/telluride-film-festival-announces-its-40th-anniversary-celebration/

Thompson on Hollywood: http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/telluride-film-festival-announces-40th-edition-august-29-september-2

IndieWire: http://www.indiewire.com/article/telluride-film-festival-40th-anniversary-edition-gets-a-few-changes

Awards Daily: http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2013/02/28/telluride-sets-date-40th-anniversary-celebration/

The Hollywood Reporter: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/telluride-celebrates-40th-birthday-by-425265

Yahoo Movies: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/telluride-film-festival-sets-40th-anniversary-dates-010112248.html

Hollywood News: http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2013/03/01/40th-anniversary-of-the-telluride-film-festival-august-29-september-2-2013/

InContention.com: http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/telluride-announces-40th-anniversary-festival-celebration-and-creation-of-new-venue

OSCAR POST-MORTEMS

Kris Tapley and Anne Thompson dissect last week's Oscars on Oscar Talk:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/oscar-talk-ep-107-wrapping-up-the-85th-annual-academy-awards

Awards Daily's Sasha Stone does the same on her Oscar Podcast:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/oscarpodcast/2013/03/02/oscar-podcast-episode-21/

AND NOW...THE FIRST STAB IN THE DARK

The Hollywood Reporter posted its first spec piece about 2014 Oscar possibilities this week. Yes, The body of the 85th Oscar ceremony was still warm. Nevertheless, that's where I'll start with the speculation, analysis and guesswork for TFF #40. The entire THR story is here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-2014-early-best-picture-422483

But here's a quick rundown of the films that they include:

"August: Osage County"

"Captain Phillips"

"Foxcatcher"

"Fruitvale"

"Inside Llewyn Davis"

"Monuments Men"

"Nebraska"

"Saving Mr. Banks"

"Wolf of Wall Street"

So...what can I say about these 9 prospects?

Count on "Nebraska" being in Telluride. Alexander Payne's new film with Bruce Dern and Will Forte will play. Payne has become a T-ride regular after having guest directed and subsequently debuting "The Descendants" there.

Pic from "August: Osage County"

I suspect that there is at least some chance that we could see either (or both) "Monuments Men" and "August: Osage County". That speculation is based in part on the George Clooney connection to both of those projects (producer on "August" and Producer-writer-director-actor on "Monuments"). Clooney was a tributee in 2011 and cannot have been displeased that "Argo", which he also co-produced, debuted at Telluride and went on to win Best Picture. Additionally, "August" is being distributed by The Weinstein Company which has had a presence at Telluride for some time including "The Sapphires", "Butter", "The Artist" and "The King's Speech".

Count "Foxcatcher" as a weak "Maybe". It's directed by Bennett Miller and co-written by Dan Futterman who had great success with "Capote" at TFF in 2005. So, that gives it a little shine...bur Bennett's last film "Moneyball" didn't play Telluride and "Foxcatcher's" distributor, Columbia, hasn't been a player at there.

Also in the incredibly weak "Maybe" column: "Wolf of Wall Street". The Martin Scorsese directed film could conceivably show up because he's been there before and reportedly will have a Roger Ebert documentary, "Life Itself", that he executive produced playing as a part of the SHOW. Here's that post from December:

http://wegotthiscovered.com/movies/martin-scorseses-roger-ebert-documentary-debut-2013/

Unlikely: Both Tom Hanks projects: "Saving Mr. Banks" and "Captain Phillips" lack any real Telluride connections/characteristics.

Also unlikely is the Coen Brothers new picture "Inside Llewyn Davis". The Coen's are likely to be included in the Cannes lineup and that might be the only festival play for the film. One quick note that does give a tiny ray of hope is that one of the films production companies is Scott Rudin Productions which has had an occasional presence in T-ride including "Frances Ha" last year as well "Margot at the Wedding". Though, admittedly, that's a Noah Baumbach connection more than a Scott Rudin connection.

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