Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
"But it's our job." - Anne Thompson, Indiewire
Good Wednesday to All...2 days...1 day...if you've been reading...you know.
WELCOME
And by that I mean that you are welcome to attend the Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW" at 5:00pm Friday at The River Club, 550 Depot in Telluride for a conversation about this year's festival lineup, the blog...and whatever else might come up. Hosts Mitzi and Larry Mallard will open The River Club's doors and provide some drinks and snacks...come by...say hello!
LEANING TOWARDS...
Coming down the stretch this week and there seems fairly strong buzz/indications that we almost certainly can count on Ben Affleck's "Argo", Brian DePalma's "Passion" and Walter Salles "On the Road". All three have been on the MTFB radar and "Argo" was listed Monday on the "Additional Ten Bets" List at #11. These three join "Rust and Bone", "Hyde Park on Hudson", "The Central Park Five", "Frances Ha', "Ginger and Rosa" and "Midnight's Children" as virtual certainties for this weekend.
What this means is that I will, in fact, do a final "Ten Bets" tomorrow and post it before I get in the car and head to the mountains.
VENICE FILMS???
The Venice Film Festival opens today with Mira Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" and if the past is any guide , somewhere between 2-4 films will cross over from Venice to southwest Colorado. The most likely possibilities are:
Among competition films: "At Any Price", "Something in the Air", "Passion".
"To the Wonder" and "The Master" now are unlikely Telluride candidates.
Among the out of competition films: "Love is All You Need", "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", "The Company You Keep", "The Iceman".
And if I were forced to chose I'd rank the five most likely as: "Passion", "At Any Price", "The Iceman", "Something in the Air" and "The Company You Keep".
CENTRAL PARK FIVE
I don't think it's much of a secret that I've had this Ken Burns and Co. documentary on the "Ten Bets" list all summer. It's going to play, I say.
A new clip from Sundance hit and one of my personal hopes for this weekend "The Sessions" emerged yesterday. Here it is:
NATIVE SILENCE
And put this down in your notebook for Telluride #40...a restored silent film starring Native Americans discovered and restored here in my home state of Oklahoma. The article says that it's headed to Telluride which would have to mean 2013 and has the support of the above-mentioned Mr. Burns. It's sounds fascinating!
Here's the link to the article from IndianCountryTodaymedianetwork.com:
HitFix has a very nice pictorial up of 20 films it isolates as the films it most anticipates this fall. A number of probable/possible Telluride titles make their list including: "Passion", "Argo", "Frances Ha", "Something in the Air", "The Iceman" and "At Any Price". And some less likely T-ride possibilities such as: "Cloud Atlas", "Anna Karenina", "Great Expectations", "Much Ado About Nothing", "Quartet", "The Place Beyond the Pines", "Seven Psychopaths" and "The Impossible".
Good Monday to Everyone...It's Telluride #39 week! First film in 4 more days...Transport leaves the dock in 3!
REMINDER
If you're reading this blog remember that you're invited to a blog-centric wing ding on Friday at 5:00 pm at The River Club at 550 Depot in Telluride. We'll get together and talk a little, visit, schmooze...have a little vino and maybe a nibble...It's the Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW so we might also mention this film festival that's about to happen.
TEN BETS
Some changes this week...because I think I've tuned into some pretty reliable information...
Last week's "Ten Bets":
This week's "Ten Bets":
1) Rust and Bone
2) Hyde Park on Hudson
3) Midnight's Children
4) Amour
5) No
6) The Iceman
7) The Central Park Five
8) Bromberg's Chaplin
9) On the Road
10) Beyond the Hills
This week's "Ten Bets" (and maybe my last "Ten Bets" post before the festival kicks off on Friday...though I might do updates as this week progresses...depends what I turn up).
1) Rust and Bone
2) Hyde Park on Hudson
3) Midnight's Children
4) The Central Park Five
5) Frances Ha
6) Ginger and Rosa
7) No
8) The Iceman
9) Bromberg's Chaplin
10) Amour
"On the Road" and "Beyond the Hills" fall off the "Ten Bets" into the 30+ that could play category. They'd be in the "Ten More Bets section...which..OK...here it is (though I told myself I wasn't going to do "Ten More Bets" this year)
Ten More Bets
11) Argo
12) Rainy Day Tales
13) Something in the Air
14) The Sapphires
15) Beyond the Hills
16) Song for Marion
17) Ernest and Celestine
18) To the Wonder (I know I'm crazy to put the Malick here...but some smart peeps think it's possible)
19) The Hunt
20) Hannah Arendt
You all know that this is my "Great white whale" for this year's "serious" movie season and if you read this blog much, you also know that I've been hoping that it would somehow make an appearance this week in the San Juans. Further, you know that I don't really think that there's much of a chance that is likely to happen. Nevertheless, hope springs...
So here's a nifty analytical piece from Move City News' David Poland..who makes a good point...a lot has been written, but not very much actual critique...aversion to spoilers, perhaps? read Poland's piece...see what you think:
#2 on my list of films that I have been hoping would be programmed is Ben Lewin's "The Sessions". It also isn't a likely pick as it premiered at Sundance. But, you know, maybe...
It stars John Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy...all of whom have gotten some Oscar buzz. It's distributor Fox Searchlight started to turn up the heat for it this last week in prep for its announced screening in Toronto. Look at these posts from Fox Searchlight and Thompson on Hollywood:
As I get down to the last couple of weeks before the SHOW each year, I start to wonder about whether to include films that have cropped up on my radar and in my research that aren't "name" films. I have 2-3 right now that I'm suspicious about but are also the result of some pretty big deductive leaps on my part. For now, I'm keeping quiet...but I also have the temptation to spill titles because if they do end up being announced on Thursday afternoon...I'd look really, really brilliant or equally stupid.
So, I'm keeping my piehole closed here. I will say Irish for one and indie horror short for the other. I'll let you know...after the SHOW.
Good Thursday to Everybody...8 Days...(7 til the bus leaves the Oklahoma Panhandle!)...
INVITATION
Please consider yourself officially invited to a brief "meet and greet and discussion of film" as The River Club kindly presents my "Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW". Refreshments, re-acquaintances, new acquaintances all at 5:00 pm at The River Club at 550 Depot in Telluride. Should be fun.
WELLS SAYS...
I make no secret that I'm an amateur when it comes to this whole film blog universe and am not in the same league as a good number of other folks who really do play the game in a serious fashion. One of those is Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere. Mr. Wells will be attending Telluride and usually does and clearly he has sources...so when he drops some T-ride info...best pay attention. And he did yesterday as I was kindly alerted by Film Blather's Eugene Novikov, Mr. Wells seems to nail down some of the Telluride lineup. He says, cryptically, that we'll see Ben Affleck's "Argo", Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson", Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha", Ken Burns "Central Park Five" and Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone". He implies we're also likely to see Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder". And he mentions Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with the Curve" in such a way that I can't tell if he's debunking the thought that it will be there...or implying that it will obviously be there. Mr. Novikov thinks it's likely the former...
"Rust", "Hyde Park" and "Central Park Five" are on this week's "Ten Bets". The rest have been or will be on this week's progressive "Thirty That Could Play" list that concludes with the final 10 today. See below...
Frankly, the big surprise, to me anyway, would be the Malick...but it would be on my short list of films to catch at the festival if Wells is right.
Also, I have to admit that I had become pretty convinced that "Trouble with the Curve" was happening...but as I said, Wells sentence structure and emphasis make me uncertain as to what he's really saying...
TEN (OF THIRTY) THAT COULD PLAY
I've spent the week outlining 30 films in addition to this week's "Ten Bets" that could find their way onto screens in Telluride next week and assigning a percentage of chance to each one. In all honesty, the Wells blurb yesterday has altered how I have written this final installment. Here are 10 more that could play:
"The Impossible" trailer
"The Impossible" from Juan Antonio Bayona...the film focuses on the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia and the true story of one family. Ewna MacGregor and Naomi Watts star and attention to it has risen very rapidly over the last 2-3 weeks. Chances-50%
"To the Wonder" from Terrence Malick. The master has turned around a film just months after "The Tree of Life" which for Malick is historically unprecedented. It's reportedly a love story set in part in Europe and Oklahoma...and shot to some extent here in the Sooner State. To be truthful, I have been low balling any chance that it would be in Telluride...until the Wells post yesterday (and credit where due, InContention/HitFix's Kris Tapley said he thought it was a "possible"..so...Chances-60%.
"Yellow" from Nick Cassavettes...also shot partly in Oklahoma, I've thought it might be Telluride material from the first moment I heard about it...still think it could be. Chances-50%
"Frances Ha" from Noah Baumbach. Baumbach has played Telluride before and though I recently put this film on my radar, still thought its chances were small...again, the Wells post makes me reconsider. Chances-60%.
Trailer for "Quartet"
"Quartet" from first time director Dustin Hoffman...mostly on my radar as it's from The Weinstein Company...Hoffman directing an adaptation of a Roland Harwood play...Chances-25%
"At Any Price" from Ramin Bahrani and starring Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Heather Graham in an agricultural family drama. Decent buzz and Tapley's inclusion as a "probable" makes it one to consider. Chances-40%.
"Passion" from Brian DePalma. A lot of people think this is going to make the cut and play at Telluride next week so I have to take it seriously, but I have to say I've been dubious about its chances all summer. Chances-40%
Trailer for "The Sessions"
"The Sessions" from Ben Lewin starring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt. This Sundance hit is one of two films that really hit a nerve from that festival (the other being "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Beasts is in release). I've been campaigning in my own tiny way for its inclusion at Telluride despite the fact that it preemed in Utah. Its distributor, Fox Searchlight reportedly wanted it to play Telluride, so my hope is that sentiment (and a lean Fox Search cupboard) makes that a reality. Chances-45%
"Great Expectations" Mike Newell with the latest adaptation of the Dickens classic with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter. Tapley says its a "maybe". I'm not that optimistic. Chances-30%
"Ernest and Celestine" It's French...it's animated...I'll bet it plays. Chances-55%
And beyond these 40 films there are still others that could (and will) play...for example: "The Company You Keep", "A Late Quartet", "Arthur Newman", "Dangerous Liaisons", "Caesar Must Die" (look out for this one), "Everybody Has a Plan", "The Gatekeepers" (also this), "In the Fog", "Laurence Anyways", "Love is All You Need", "Much Ado About Nothing", "The Place Beyond the Pines", "Populaire", "Post Tenebras Lux", "Room 237", "Seven Psychopaths" and "The We and the I".
Christian Munigu's follow up to his Cannes Palme D'or winning "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days" is sitting at #10 on this week's "Ten Bets". The writer/director recently talked to Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood about the Telluride possible film:
I continue to hold out some hope that Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" appears as a part of this year's festival. Part of that hope has continued because of the fact that Telluride has done the 70 mm presentation of films occasionally in the past. Friend of this blog Christopher Schiller, who has a longer history of attendance at the festival than I do, has been invaluable at recalling those past instances and pointed me to this story that ran in 2002:
For those of you reading along that have been as obsessed as I have, you know that "The Master" screened this week in Chicago purportedly as an "unfinished" film. It seems it doesn't have end credits yet. Further, there is some buzz now that it's going to pop up somewhere on the west coast in a "surprise" screening as well. Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere addresses that issue and some of the reactions to the Chicago screening here: http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/08/uh-oh_1.php
So Wells implies that it's not L.A. which makes sense since PTA has already shown the film in Santa Monica two weeks ago.
So, two weeks out and still fingers crossed...
SESSIONS PLUG
I've been pounding the drum for the festival programmers to chose Ben Lewin's "The Sessions" despite that fact that it has premiered in the U.S. at Sundance. If you've read this space very often, you know that circumstance would be highly unusual, but not unprecedented. You also know that I have reported earlier that we've heard that Fox Searchlight wanted/wants to play it at Telluride which at least seems to make it possible.
Here's your reminder to come along to the party...The Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW" is set for Friday, Aug. 31 at 5:00 pm at The River Club in Telluride (550 Depot). Come for a rocking good time!
BEST OF THE WEEK
This week's "Ten Bets" were:
1) Rust and Bone
2) Hyde Park on Hudson
3) Midnight's Children
4) Amour
5) No
6) The Central Park Five
7) Bromberg's Chaplin
8) Pixar's "Rainy Day Tales"
9) On the Road
10) Beyond the Hills
New "Ten Bets" on Monday.
THE ICEMAN WILL THAW IN T-RIDE
It's one of those quirky rabbit hole trails that I went down on the internet yesterday and lo and behold, it looks to have paid off. I can say with some level of confidence that Ariel Vromen's "The Iceman" will be playing at Telluride in 2 1/2 weeks. "The Iceman" is a true crime/mob story featuring Michael Shannon, James Franco, Chris Evans, Winona Ryder and Ray Liotta. Vromen directed and co-wrote with Morgan Land.
That post correctly reports that "The Iceman" is programmed at Toronto and Venice which lends a good deal of credence to the Telluride claim. Could it be that Mafia Today has broken Telluride's own "Omerta/Code of Silence"? Looks like it.
Yesterday I reported that a website called MafiaToday.com had let drop that Ariel Vromen's "The Iceman" would play at Telluride. It seemed legit as it also referenced confirmed slots for the film at both Toronto and Venice. Then, late in the day, I was informed via comment on yesterday's post that MafiaToday.com was either down or didn't exist...
So I took a look and sure enough...no mafiatoday.com.
So, all in all, I still feel pretty good about "The Iceman" in the Telluride lineup.
MORE FROM TORONTO
The Toronto International Film Festival looks to have completed their lineup with another huge announcement of films yesterday including the word that their fest will close with "Song for Marion" which has been very high on my Telluride possibles list all summer long. It's inclusion as the TIFF closer doesn't absolutely nuke it from Telluride consideration...but it also doesn't help. I've had "Song" as a "Ten Bets" film for a good portion of the run up to T-ride but have let it slide off the list of late...maybe for good reason now.
Among the films added that are Telluride possibles (at least according to me):
"Song for Marion" (still going to say that there is a chance)
"Love is All You Need"
"On the Road"
"Passion"
"Therese Desqueyroux"
"Yellow"
"In the Fog"
NEW YORK SLATE
Right on time (it was Aug. 17th last year, I think) the New York Film Festival which had already announced its opener, centerpiece and closer has announced the rest of their lineup and if the recent past is any guide we can expect that 8-12 of those titles will have played at Telluride...
HitFix says it thinks that Brian DePalma's "Passion" is a potential Telluride choice but otherwise none of the other blog posts I have accessed about New York's lineup explicitly mention TFF #39. Nevertheless, looking at the announced group of films there seem to be several that have a good chance to have played T-ride.
Here's the NYFF lineup per Thompson on Hollywood:
Opening Night Gala Selection LIFE OF PI Director: Ang Lee
Centerpiece Gala Selection NOT FADE AWAY Director: David Chase
Closing Night Gala Selection FLIGHT Director: Robert Zemeckis
AMOUR Director: Michael Haneke
ARAF – SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN Director: Yeşim Ustaoğlu
BARBARA Director: Christian Petzold
BEYOND THE HILLS (După dealuri) Director: Cristian Mungiu
BWAKAW Director: Jun Robles Lana
CAESAR MUST DIE (Cesare deve morire) Directors: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
THE DEAD MAN AND BEING HAPPY (El muerto y ser feliz) Director: Javier Rebello
FILL THE VOID (Lemale et ha'halal) Director: Rama Burshtein
FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED Director: Alan Berliner
FRANCES HA Director: Noah Baumbach
THE GATEKEEPERS (Shomerei Ha’saf) Director: Dror Moreh
GINGER AND ROSA Director: Sally Potter
HERE AND THERE (Aquí y Allá) Director: Antonio Mendez Esparza
HOLY MOTORS Director: Leos Carax
HYDE PARK ON HUDSON Director: Roger Michell
KINSHASA KIDS Director: Marc-Henri Wajnberg
THE LAST TIME I SAW MACAO (A Última Vez Que Vi Macau) Director: João Pedro Rodrigues
LEVIATHAN Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE Director: Abbas Kiarostami
LINES OF WELLINGTON (Linhas de Wellington) Director: Valeria Sarmiento
MEMORIES LOOK AT ME (Ji Yi Wang Zhe Wo) Director: Song Fang
NIGHT ACROSS THE STREET (La Noche de enfrente) Director: Raul Ruiz
NO Director: Pablo Larrain
OUR CHILDREN (À perdre la raison) Director: Joachim Lafosse
PASSION Director: Brian De Palma
SOMETHING IN THE AIR (Après Mai) Director: Olivier Assayas
TABU Director: Miguel Gomes
YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET (Vous n'avez encore rien vu) Director: Alain Resnais
Among these titles the most Telluride-esque are probably:
Amour, Beyond the Hills, Caesar Must Die, Frances Ha, The Gatekeepers, Holy Motors, Hyde Park on Hudson, Like Someone in Love, No, Passion, Something in the Air and You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.
I have linked a load of posts concerning the NYFF selections here:
Well, you know just when I thought I was out they pull me back in...
Cinema Blend, among a billion other websites (including this one) was all about hooking readers up to the second full trailer for "The Master" the last couple of days. The difference...they're still thinking it's a T-ride possibility. Here's the text from the post:
"Anderson’s screening the film in select cities ahead of its pre-destined screenings at the prominent fall film festivals (Venice, Toronto and possibly Telluride)."
Oh, and then there's this comment to MTFB concerning yesterday's post:
Anonymous said...
"I think "The Master" shows up at TFF if they can do it on 70mm... that's still a pretty special opportunity a lot of people won't have had yet (if ever)."
Now that just makes me a little dizzy and kind of crazy. We know from friends of the blog that have reached out to us that Telluride HAS done 70mm in the past. We know that Jeff Wells has heard that there might be some 70 mm prep going on in T-ride as we speak...though I couldn't get a whiff of it when I was there this past weekend...
So...keep the flame alight...maybe "The Master" still has a shot.
The Venice Film Festival announced its lineup early today. Here it is via The Playlist:
Opening Film (Out Of Competition) "The Reluctant Fundamentalist," Mira Nair (U.S.,Qatar)
Competition "To The Wonder," Terrence Malick (U.S.) "Something in the Air," Olivier Assayas (France) "Outrage:Beyond," Takeshi Kitano (Japan) "Fill The Void," Rama Bursztyn and Yigal Bursztyn (Israel) "Pieta," Kim Ki-duk (South Korea) "Dormant Beauty," Marco Bellocchio (Italy) "E' stato il figlio," Daniele Cipri (Italy) "At Any Price," Ramin Bahrani (US, UK) "La Cinquieme Saison," Peter Brosens, Jessica Woodworth (Belgium, Netherlands, France) "Un Giorno Speciale, " Francesca Comencini (Italy) "Passion," Brian De Palma (France, Germany) "Superstar, " Xavier Giannoli (France, Belgium) "Spring Breakers," Harmony Korine (US) "Thy Womb," Brillante Mendoza (Philippines) "Linhas de Wellington," Valeria Sarmiento (Portugal, France) "Paradise: Faith," Ulrich Seidl (Austria, France, Germany) "Betrayal," Kirill Serebrennikov (Russia)
Out Of Competition "L’homme qui rit," Jean-Pierre Ameris (France-Czech Republic) "Love Is All You Need," Susanne Bier (Denmark-Sweden) "Cherchez Hortense", Pascal Bonitzer (France) "Sur un fil…," Simon Brook (France-Italy) "Enzo Avitabile Music Life," Jonathan Demme (Italy-US) "Tai Chi 0," Stephen Fung (China) "Lullaby To My Father," Amos Gitai (Israel-France-Switzerland) "Penance" (Shokuzai), Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Japan) "Bad 25," Spike Lee (US) "O Gebo e a Sombra," Manoel de Oliveira (Portugal-France) "The Company You Keep," Robert Redford (US) "Shark (Bait 3D)," Kimble Rendall (Australia-Singapore-China) "Disconnect," Henry-Alex Rubin (US) "The Iceman," Ariel Vromen (US)
Out Of Competition: Special Events "Anton’s Right Here" dir Lyubov Arkus (Russia) "It Was Better Tomorrow" dir Hinde Boujemaa (Tunisia) "Clarisse," Liliana Cavani (Italy) "Sfiorando il muro," Silvia Giralucci and Luca Ricciardi (Italy) "Carmel," Amos Gitai (Israel-France-Italy) "El impenetrable," Daniele Incalcaterra and Fausta Quattrini (Argentina-France) "Witness: Libya," Michael Mann (US) "Medici con l’Africa," Carlo Mazzacurati (Italy) "La nave dolce," Daniele Vicari (Italy-Albania)
Orrizonti (Horizons) "Wadjda," Haifaa Al Mansour (Saudi Arabia-Germany) "The Paternal House," Kianoosh Ayari (Iran) "I Also Want It", Alexey Balabanov (Russia) "Gli Equilibristi," Ivano De Matteo (Italy-France) "L’intervallo," Leonardo Di Costanzo (Italy-Switzerland-Germany) "Winter of Discontent," Ibrahim El Batout (Egypt) "Tango Libre," Frederic Fonteyne (Belgium-France-Luxembourg) "The Cutoff Man", dir Idan Hubel (Israel) "Fly With The Crane," Li Ruijun (China) "A Hijacking," Tobias Lindholm (Denmark) "Leones," Jazmin Lopez (Argentina-France-Netherlands) "Bellas Mariposas," Salvatore Mereu (Italy) "Low Tide," Roberto Minervini (US-Italy-Belgium) "Boxing Day," Bernard Rose (UK-US) "Yema," Djamila Sahraoui (Algeria-France) "Araf - Somewhere In Between," Yesim Ustaoglu (Turkey-France-Germany) "The Millennial Rapture," Koji Wakamatsu (Japan) "Three Sisters," Wang Bing (France-Hong Kong-China)
If past history is any guide, you can expect about 3 of these titles to also appear at Telluride and your best bets would likely be : Mire Nair's "The Reluctant Fundamentalist", andOlivier Assassyas' "Something in the Air". Perhaps Susanne Bier's "Love is All You Need".
Additionally, it doesn't appear to me that Venice's choices really undermne anything I've been contemplating as Telluride possibilities.
It may reduce "Something in the Air's" chances a bit...maybe enough for it to change positions on Monday's "Ten Bets" list...
Here is some analysis of this morning's announcement from the Blogosphere:
It's an interesting read...I'm talking about Deadline.com's post dissecting the Oscar potential of the Toronto lineup of Galas and Special Presentations that were announced on Tuesday. Why?
Because of the hints, rumors and such concerning our festival in the Rockies that's now only 5 weeks away.
Now, allow me to spoil the article by relaying the pertinent portions of text...
First, there's the "Cloud Atlas" info:
"It’s also known that Warners screened this for Telluride consideration but we will have to wait and see if it shows up there too."
Three things here...First, I think "Cloud Atlas" doesn't really sound like a Telluride-y film, BUT, I'm pretty hot to see it AND Warner's must think it's very special to make the pitch.
And second, we now have an answer to the question concerning which of the "majors" was exhibiting their wares for Telluride during the L.A. Film Fest...or, at least we can make that guess. It may be wrong, but putting 2 and 2 together and that's what you get...
Third, it makes you wonder if "Cloud Atlas" is the ONLY thing WB pitched...other films in their stable that they might have additionally had some interest in promoting for T-ride include: Ben Affleck's "Argo", Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with The Curve" and Baz Luhrmann's "The Great Gatsby".
Intriguing, isn't it?
Next, there's this nugget from the same story:
"The Sundance hit, The Sessions(formerlyThe Surrogate) should be
a winner for (Fox) Searchlight with strong award-calibre performances from Helen Hunt and John Hawkes. The studio also wanted it to play Telluride but that fest doesn’t like going second to Sundance..."
Now, I've said it before and I'll say it again...T-ride excepted "An Education" from the "No Sundance" rule...so, perhaps, might they again for "The Sessions"?
It's at least a possibility...
And finally, toward the end of the story came this little tidbit:
"Where’s Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master rumored for all three Fall fests? Stay tuned . It’s only the beginning."
Rumored for "ALL THREE FESTS" including Telluride??? That's at least a little ray of sunshine about the possibility.
But we now know from the Venice announcement that "The Master" isn't playing there and Toronto doesn't seem likely to add it after their Galas and SPecial Presentations announcement...so that only leaves Telluride as the last remaining possible of the "three". Fingers still crossed.
All of it making me kind of dizzy...of course it could all be bunk...and not a bit of this makes me think you'll see any of these films added to the "Ten Bets" list next Monday...but wouldn't it be COOL?
Anyway, since this is what we start with today, we'll keep the focus on a couple of films mentioned above...
LATE EDIT: VENICE OFFICIALS SAY THEY HAVE ONE MORE COMPETITION FILM TO ANNOUNCE...
CLOUD ATLAS
This is a BIG film and regardless of it's fate vis-a-vis Telluride, I want to see it badly.
A couple of sources I frequent were up yesterday with first pics from the film and some analysis about the nature of it. Take a look at The Playlist:
Obsessive much? I plead guilty...but I'm clearly not alone.Eric Kohn at IndieWire breaks down the recently released full trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" by focusing on 5 key images. Obsess with me here:
I started looking studio by studio, distributor by distributor this week at those film firms that are often the source for films that play at Telluride. This first week focused on 4 specifically: Focus Features, Fox Searchlight, Sony Pictures Classics and The Weinstein Company. Here's what I had to say:
FOCUS ON FOCUS
Today I begin the breakdown of some of the "usual suspects" in as far as film companies that produce and/or distribute and are, at least sometimes, players at the Telluride Film Festival. This week I'll be focusing on domestic companies and specifically today on Focus Features.
Focus has had what I would term a "modest" Telluride relationship in the recent past. It has been represented there previously and in some years has been fairly prevalent. There have also been some years where Focus has been absent altogether.
Here's the recent Focus films that have been in Telluride's lineup:
As distributor:
2007: Into the Wild
2006: Catch a Fire
2005: Brokeback Mountain
2004: The Motorcycle Diaries, House of Flying Daggers
2003: Lost in Translation
As production company:
2010: Bitiful, Another Year
As you can see. Focus doesn't play every year at T-ride and doesn't play "big" (I define "big" as 3 or more films).
So what does Focus have in store for this year that might tempt the Telluride programmers?
They're distributing Joe Wright's "Anna Karenina" and Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson". They're producing and distributing the Gus Van Sant directed Matt Damon and John Krasinski authored and starrer "Promised Land" which IMDb lists in post-production but which at least film news outlet thinks might be ready for fall festivals and Oscar consideration.
Of the three "Hyde Park on Hudson" is almost a lock I think. It's directed by Roger Michell (TFF's in 1995 for "Persuasion", 2004 for "Enduring Love" and 2006 with "Venus") and stars Laura Linney (tributed at TFF in 2004 (Kinsey and P.S.) and returning to Telluride with films or as a part of their guest list in 2006 (Jindabayne), 2007 (The Savages), 2008, 2009 and 2010).
In all likelihood "Hyde Park" is the lone representative from Focus Features at Telluride this year.
If there is a second, it's probably more likely to be "Promised Land" if it's ready. Director Gus Van Sant has had some Telluride experience in the past...but it's been a good while (1995 To Die For, 2003 Elephant).
"Anna Karenina" is the least likely, though not completely impossible. Joe Wright's career is young enough not to have a long track record of films to have even been considered for Telluride. In AK's favor, I suppose, is the fact that TFF programmers have enjoyed programming films that star Keira Knightley as of late: 2011: "A Dangerous Method" and in 2010: "Never Let Me Go".
FOX SEARCHLIGHT
I'm continuing my look at the "independent" type production/distribution firms that have had a significant presence at the Teluuride Film Festival over the past few years in order to look at their possible offerings for this year's fest. Today's company is Fox Searchlight.
FS has had a number of high profile films over the past several years at T-ride including:
As distributor and/or production company:
2011: Shame, The Descendants
2010: 127 Hours, Never Let Me Go, Black Swan
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2007: Juno, The Savages
2006: The Namesake, The Last King of Scotland
2004: Kinsey
2000: Quills
Take note of three things:
1) FS plays most years (especially since 2006)
2) FS averages 2 films per year when they play
3) FS does NOT always play...ex. 2009
4) When they do have offerings, they're almost always a part of the year end awards conversation.
So what's the takeaway?
Fox Searchlight's slate this year is not particularly large nor Telluride friendly.
Chan-wook Park's "Stoker" has been getting a lot of buzz, but doesn't seem particularly Telluride-like.
Ben Lewin's "Sessions" premiered at Sundance...
Benh Zeitlin's "Beasts of the Southern Wild" opened today in New York and L.A.
Jonathan Dayton and Valeire Faris' "Ruby Sparks" opens July 25.
Nothing else listed at the FS page on IMDb seems likely in terms of content or time frame.
Now, there is "The East" from director Zal Batmanglij that is NOT currently listed with Fox Searchlight on IMDb but is reported as an FS project in the media. "The East" has no announced release date and is listed as being post-production. It was written by (and also stars) indie rising star Batmanglij and Brit Marling who also co-wrote "Sound of My Voice". Marling also penned and starred in 2011 Sundance sensation "Another Earth".
"The East" co-writer/star Brit Marling
"The East" also stars Alexander Skarsgard, Ellen Page, Patricia Clarkson and Julia Ormand
So, ultimately, "The East" becomes Fox Searchlight's best Telluride option by default. That's why I have it listed on this week's (and the summer's first) "Ten Bets" list posted Monday.
I'm still hoping (and nagging) that "Sessions" gets on the Telluride program despite having had its premiere at Sundance.
I am continuing my summer march through film distribution and production companies and their recent past relationship in terms of the Telluride Film Festival as a way of looking at possibilities for what we might see come Labor Day weekend.
Today's focus is on a major player at Telluride: Sony Pictures Classics...what is essentially Sony Pictures Entertainment's indy/foreign wing.
Here's what SPC has shown in Telluride recently:
2011: A Dangerous Method, In Darkness, Footnote, A Separation
2010: Incendies, Of Gods and Men, Tamara Drewe, Another Year, The Illusionist, Inside Job
2009: The Last Station, The White Ribbon, Coco Before Chanel, A Prophet, An Education
2008: Waltz with Bashir, I've Loved You So Long
2007: O'Horten, Brick Lane, When Did You Last See Your Father, Persepolis, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters
2006: Jindabyne, The Lives of Others, Volver,
2005: Breakfast on Pluto, Capote
2004: Being Julia, House of Flying Daggers, Bad Education
So you can see, SPC averages about 4 films per TFF over the last 8 years, tending toward more rather than less as you look at the most recent years.
SPC's IMDb page appears to list 4 films that haven't or will not have been released prior to TFF and which did not bow at Sundance making them all prime possibilities:
Susanne Bier's "Love is All You Need" starring Pierce Brosnan.
Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone" with Marion Cotillard
Pablo Larrain's "No" with Gael Garcia Bernal
and Michael Haneke's Cannes Palme D'Or Winner "Amour"
My bet right now is that "Rust", "No" and "Amour" are all going to make the Telluride cut (see Monday's Ten Bets list) and I'd put the odds at 50% for "Love is All You Need".
One final note: should SPC pick up the North American distribution for other films in the next 6 weeks or so (or if they have them already and they just haven't been announced) then depending on strategy, those late acquisitions could stop in Telluride as well.
THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
Today marks the fourth day to continue our examination of production/distribution film firms that have or may have a Telluride connection in the past and one for 2012. Today's company du jour is The Weinstein Company.
TWC usually plays Telluride, but it often does so with two characteristics being true. First, they don't normally have many films there and second, the films they do have are almost always serious awards contenders by the end of the year and it's very clear that the Weinstein people (meaning head guy Harvey Weinstein) carefully calibrates choices in terms of what they wish to unveil during the Labor Day festival.
Here's the TWC Telluride history as a distributor/producer:
2011: The Artist (Best Pic winner), Butter
2010: The King's Speech (Best Pic winner)
2009: The Road
2007: I'm Not There, My Enemy's Enemy
So, as you can see, one or two films per year with the last two years being part of the path that TWC used on the way to winning the Best Picture Oscar.
So what does TWC bring to Telluride in 2012? Their shelves are stocked full...so many potential Telluride releases. I have a feeling that this is the year that there are more than two TWC films on the TFF #39 program...
Here are the most likely/intriguing possibilities that TWC has slated for a 2012 release that fit Telluride's window:
Dustin Hoffman's "Quartet"
Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained"
Kar Wai Wong's "The Grandmasters"
Regis Roinsard's "Populaire"
David O. Russell's "The Silver Linings Playbook" (see trailer below)
Paul Andrew Williams "Song for Marion"
Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master"
Andrew Dominick's "Killing Them Softly"
Wayne Blair's "The Sapphires"
John Hillcoat's "Lawless" is set for an Aug. 29th release date...so no Telluride for what was once called "The Wettest County in the World".
Currently I only have "Song for Marion" listed on this week's "Ten Bets" list but I think ANY of the films listed above are possible T-ride choices.
If forced to handicap the field I'd suggest that the most likely are "The Sapphires", "The Silver Linings
Playbook" and, yes, I'm going to say it..."The Master".
Mid-level possibilities: "Killing Them Softly" and "Populaire"
Least Likely: "The Grandmasters", "Quartet" and "Django Unchained".
If you're breathlessly awaiting the arrival of Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" then you need to go to this website now: http://ht.ly/bOd27
Links to pictures, logo, trailer and a ton of other stuff on this "Webmasters Toolkit".
There is a lot of stuff here...
And, finally, the year's first "Ten Bets" list was up on Monday. I'll have an new list up in 2 days... Here's this week's:
1) Amour
2) Rust and Bone
3) Beyond the Hills
4) Hyde Park on Hudson
5) Song for Marion
6) No
7) Midnight's Children
8) The East
9) Something in the Air
10) On the Road
