Tapley's Take/Connecting Some Dots/Skin Is Showing/Eyeing Tilda/Oscar, Oscar, Oscar

Good Morning everyone.  Excitement is building!

3 Days...and it's getting closer...

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED

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



TAPLEY'S TAKE

Film blogger Kristopher Tapley at Incontention.com had his latest fall festival preview post up yesterday and it focused specifically on 25 films that will be a big part of the conversation over the next three weeks as we move from Venice (opens tomorrow), Telluride (come on, baby!) and Toronto opening Sept. 8.  He tackles his best stab at what he thinks, feels, intuits or plays heads and tails with as far as the Telluride lineup is concerned.

You can read the complete (and it is fairly comprehensive) article here:
http://incontention.com/2011/08/29/off-the-carpet-fall-fests-look-to-boost-early-oscar-hopes/#more-41266

Breaking down the specific references to T-ride, here's a thumbnail of the films he references in regard to our 38th fest and what he has to say:

Albert Nobbs- "The film could stop off in Telluride..."

The Artist- "I think The Weinstein Company will bring it to Telluride..."
Carnage- "The high profile New York berth means IT'S OUT for Telluride..." (my emphasis added)
Coriolanus- TWC "picked it up and might stop it off in Telluride..."
A Dangerous Method- "Cronenberg's latest looks to drop early at Telluride, I'm hearing..."
The Descendants- "The most sense for a Telluride bow (and I'm hearing that it will show up there)"
The Ides of March- "Fingers crossed for this to show up in Telluride, though it seems doubtful..."
The Lady- "Telluride is looking like a possibility..."

Shame- "It looks to be Fassbender's second film at Telluride this year."
Take This Waltz- Paraphrasing here...Tapley wonders if the lack of a big gala for this film means that it "was due to Telluride scheduling."
Tinker, Tailor...-"...doesn't look like this...will be making the Telluride trip..."
W.E.- "I don't think Telluride is in the cards, but maybe it'll surprise."
We Need to Talk About Kevin- "Telluride looks like a definite possibility..."
Wuthering Heights- "Arnold really dug Telluride...so maybe we'll get first dibs there."

So of the 25 Tapley mentions in the post, he references Telluride in respect to 14 of them.  By my estimation Tapley feels pretty confident about:
The Artist, A Dangerous Method, The Descendants, Shame, and We Need to Talk About Kevin (#3, #11, #1, #7, #5 respectively on this week's MTFB Ten Bets list)

Those that seem to be in his 50/50 club:
Albert Nobbs, Coriolanus, The Lady, Take This Waltz, and Wuthering Heights.
(All of these have been in my Telluride conversation at various times since spring.  Currently The Lady is at #17 on my list...the other three have floated in and out and around the Ten Bets).

Those that seem unlikely but that Tapley hasn't completely ruled out:
The Ides of March, W.E.

And the two that he shoots through the heart (as I pretty much have as well):
Carnage and Tinker, Tailor...

My take away is optimism that we still have a decent shot at Albert Nobbs and Coriolanus and that Tapley still thinks that their is a sliver of hope for both Ides and W.E.

Check out Tapley's post for the other 11 films he lists (and which he doesn't rule in or out for Telluride...so, you know...those could be possibles as well).  None of them are currently on the Ten Bets list, but all have been at least a part of the conversation up to this point.

CONNECTING SOME DOTS

So, as I was working last night on this morning's post I came across an entry from Telluride Inside and Out concerning how to do the festival on a shoestring (relatively speaking).  I thought, "that would be a useful article to link to for my readers."  So I pull it up and peruse it.

"Hey," I say to myself, "they got some pre-SHOW film info.  Cool.  Then I get to this line:
"Thursday's film is "Michael Clayton," starring George Clooney..."

My interior monologue goes: "Hmmm, that's interest....wait a minute..."

I flash back to last year's Thursday night pre-SHOW film..."Once Upon a Time in America" which featured Claudia Cardinale...one of the three TFF TRIBUTEES last year...so does this mean???

Could George Clooney BE one of the three Tributees this year?

Food for thought, isn't it?  Of course, I could be completely wrong, too...

Here's the link to the complete TIO article:

http://www.tellurideinside.com/2011/08/this-festival-the-telluride-film-festival-is-characterized-by-its-small-size-and-friendly-atmosphere-if-there-were-a-few-k-1.html


SKIN IS SHOWING

Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In" (#9 on the List this week) is close to a lock as far as I can tell.  It stars Antonio Banderas and showed at Cannes in  May.  You can take a look at the new trailer for the film at Yahoo Movies and also a The Playlist (at IndieWire)
Yahoo here:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810221069/trailer#26453309
Playlist here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_antonio_banderas_strange_contribution_to_human_progress_in_new_the_sk/

Incidentally, The American Film Institute has announced that Almodovar will betheir guest director for their fest in November.  Busy fall for Pedro!
Check that here from Deadline Hollywood's Pete Hammond:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/pedro-almodovar-to-be-guest-artistic-director-at-afi-fest/



EYEING TILDA

An Oscar winner and potential Oscar nominee who could (and I stress "could")  be in Telluride this weekend in support of her film is Tilda Swinton (Kevin).  Hollywood News is  profiling films and stars that will be playing Toronto and these are, of course, also films we could see this weekend at 9000 feet.  Check their entry for:
We Need to Talk About Kevin:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/08/29/tilda-swinton-in-we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-tiff-2011/

OSCAR, OSCAR, OSCAR

Man, everybody and their dog is doing "fall previews' and "Oscar watch" articles and as you might expect, they are loaded with Telluride possibilities.  Take a look at some of these overviews of the coming fall crop of films:

The Atlantic Monthly highlights 12 films including: Moneyball, The Ides of March, Martha Marcy May Marlene, The Descendants, A Dangerous Method, The Artist, W.E., Albert Nobbs and Rampart. 
It's here:
http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2011/08/fall-movies-preview-12-oscar-contenders-to-watch-for/244246/#slide1

IndieWire has a really interesting article up entitled: "For Your Consideration: 10 Things the Fall Fests Can Tell Us About Award Season".  Read it here:
http://www.indiewire.com/article/2011/08/29/for_your_consideration_10_things_the_fall_fests_might_tell_us_about_award_s 

And Pete Hammond at Deadline Hollywood asks," Can Indies Steal Oscars Again?" as he breaks down the pre-Oscar field studio by studio.  You can find that here:
http://www.deadline.com/2011/08/hammond-big-names-in-small-films-can-indies-steal-the-oscars-again/

And in an interesting bit of counter coverage, The Playlist posts an article concerning the wisdom of NOT playing the festival circuit.  Interesting stuff here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/2011/08/29/the_amazing_race_is_hiding_your_films_til_dec_anti-_film_festival_circuit_b/


AND FINALLY...

On the basis of a random tweet I mined late last night, put "Butter" (dir. Jim Field Smith, Stars: Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman and Olivia Wilde) on the Ten Bets list at #19...I think it may be in Telluride...


More on the morrow, boys and girls...


FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER
@Gort2

Invitation/Ten (and more) Bets/More Shame/Process/Echo Chamber

Hello everybody! Busy weekend...getting ready.  The Patterson bus leaves the Panhandle of Oklahoma on Thursday to head for Southwestern Colorado.  It's about a ten hour drive...yeesh!

4 Days...

AN INVITATION FOR YOU

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


TEN (AND MORE) BETS

Last Week's Ten (and more):

The Descendants

1) The Descendants
2) Into the Abyss
3) The Artist
4) A Trip to the Moon
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin
6) Le Havre
7) Prohibition
8) Shame
9) Drive
10) The Birds Upstairs

Here's the "or more"
11) Goodbye First Love
12) Dark Horse
13) The Skin I Live In
14) The Kid with a Bike
15) The Lady
16) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
17) W.E.
18) Coriolanus

This week's Ten (and more) Bets (in order of likelihood):

The Artist

1) The Descendants (dir. Alexander Payne, Stars: George Clooney)
2) Into the Abyss (dir. Werner Herzog)
3) The Artist (dir. Michael Hazanavicius, Stars: Jean Dujardin)
4) A Trip to the Moon (compiled by Serge Bromberg)
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin (dir. Lynne Ramsay, Stars: Tilda Swinton)
6) Le Havre (Dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
7) Shame (dir. Steve McQueen, Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan)
8) Goodbye First Love (dir. Mia Hansen-Love)
9) The Skin I Live In (dir. Pedro Almodovar, Stars: Antonio Banderas
10) Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar)

And the "And More"

A Dangerous Method

11) A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg, Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley)
12) Prohibition (dir. Ken Burns & Lynn Novick)
13) The Birds Upstairs (short/dir. Christopher Jarvis)
14) Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan)
15) Dark Horse (dir. Todd Solondz, Stars: Christopher Walken, Selma Blair)
16) The Kid with a Bike (dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes)
17) The Lady (dir. Luc Beeson, Stars: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis)
18) Martha Marcy May Marlene (dir. Sean Durkin, Stars: Elizabeth Olsen)

Films still possible that would make my list to see (but for which there's no good intell about RE; Telluride):
W.E.
The Ides of March
Coriolanus

Notes:
Descendants...I have thought it would be at T-ride for more than a year.  Payne on record as submitting it.  Everybody thinks it will be there.

Into the Abyss: Herzog is a regular, Ioncinema says it's in.

The Artist: Weinstein Co., Cannes hit, Ioncinema says it's in, everyone thinks it's playing.

A Trip to the Moon: Bromberg is a regular, he's said he wants it there, fits the fests bill of unusual and restorations

We Have to Talk About Kevin: Cannes, Ioncinema and now Jeffrey Wells all but confirming it.

Le Havre: Cannes fave, Jarvis Films has the distribution and a history with Telluride

Shame: Daily Mail says it's in, director Steve McQueen also...see below

Goodbye First Love: Ioncinema says it's in.

The Skin I Live In: Tapley thinks it, Almodovar has history with TFF, IMDb lists it's US premiere as Sept. 3 at TFF

Footnote: (new to the Ten Bets, but I've had it on the Telluride radar since it won the screenplay award at Cannes) Comment on Jeff Wells Hollywood Elsewhere is the source (see below)...I believe it.

A Dangerous Method: Tapley's vibe is what has this back on my "bets"

Prohibition: I have a difficult time believing that Burns has a new doc ready and at least part of it doesn't show at The SHOW.

The Birds Upstairs: A short animated film that I include due to a tweet from the film maker that he's got something in this year's fest.

Drive

Drive: This drops this week because no one is talking like it could be in Telluride.  My original insight came from Ioncinema.  But I have had people remind me that this screened at Comic Con...soooo...it drops down.
But, man, I really want to see it and living in the Oklahoma Panhandle, it could be a really long time before it gets anywhere close to where I get a chance....come on Tom, Gary and Julie!

Dark Horse: Solondz has been a Telluride mainstay in the past.

The Kid with a Bike: The Dardennes Brothers have a good Telluride history and this film was well received at Cannes.

The Lady: I've intuitively felt like this was a Telluride possibility for a while now.  And over the weekend the Jeffrey Wells column and comments for it that you can access below has me wondering if this is the film he references toward the end of his post.  from what I can dig up "The Lady" would fit his description:

"I'm told that at least one movie that currently has no firm 2011 release date but is a semi-likely 2011 awards contender will play Telluride. The movie being referred to, by the way, is not Albert Nobbs, even though it hasn't yet landed a U.S. distributor."
 

Further research indicates that the film could also be: "Wuthering Heights," "360," "The Deep Blue Sea," or "The Eye of the Storm."  There are most likely others that fit Wells' description.


Martha Marcy...Tapley seems pretty confident.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is off the list...too many people, including Tapley are just flat saying it will NOT be in Telluride...too bad.

As to W.E., Ides and Coriolanus...I'm crossing my fingers for all three but, realistically, even one of them would be cool.

"Ten Bets" could be jumpy this week depending on what we find and what, if anything leaks out...I'll post as warranted, perhaps more than once a day...stay tuned!

MORE SHAME

Shame

I think we've reached the point that we can be confident that this film will be showing this weekend in Telluride.  As I pointed out on Friday, The Daily Mail Online says it's playing.  Over the weekend director Steve McQueen removed any doubt with a "statement" posted to IndieWire's "Shadow and Act" for the "Telluride screening."  Pretty much says it all.

Here's the link to McQueen's Statement:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/archives/director_steve_mcqueen_releases_directors_statement_for_shame_screening_at_/#


PROCESS STORIES

Have you ever wondered?

Well, if you have, take a look at these two stories.  The first is from The Telluride Daily Planet as they interview TFF co-directors Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger about how it all works.  I found it fascinating.  Maybe you will too.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2011/08/28/news/doc4e59b2e53d875839155214.txt

Also an interesting story in Variety this weekend about the dance that film festivals, directors and production companies go through to program for the fall film fest season.  The article was a little difficult to get to, but this should get you there if you're interested:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041874?refCatId=13


ECHO CHAMBER

You know cliches are cliches for a reason...and the one about it being a small world...well...
Above I have referenced Jeffrey Wells Hollywood Elsewhere post about his first trip to Telluride this week.  You can take a look at it yourself at this link:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/08/fair_warning_1.php

It's interesting, fun to read...informative (as you can see today, I have referenced material from him for today's edition of my blog, properly attributed).  What's weird is if you click on the linkage "  summary of a recent "Telluride Best Bets" tweet " it will take you to Friday's edition of Michaels' Telluride Film Blog.  


Kind of makes me dizzy...




FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
@Gort2

Invitation/Moving Up, Down or Out/Artist Back Story

Sorry for the blog difficulty and tardiness this morning!

Having a good weekend? Thoughts are on and with friends and family all along the east coast this morning.

6 days...hurry...hurry...hurry.

HERE'S YOUR INVITATION!

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


MOVING UP, DOWN, OUT

The last 24 hours I have tumbled across claims for three films that they definitely will not be part of this year's Festival.

Variety had a story up that says that Walter Salles is still working on post production for "On the Road." There was some of Twitter traffic that suggested that was true and to scratch OTR from the Telluride possibles list. Will do.

I saw some where yesterday that "We Bought a Zoo" would not be doing any fest presentation this fall. Since we haven't seen it announced for Toronto, Venice or New York, about the only BIG possibility left had been Telluride...so...let's lower it's chances (which I had already set pretty low anyway).

And...

Kristopher Tapley from Incontention.com was a-tweeting up a storm last night with Sasha Stone of Awards Daily about his best view of what will and won't play at Telluride. Kris is a good barometer as he is a full time journalist covering film and their awards season play. Further, Mr. Tapley will be in Telluride next week for the festival (as will Ms. Stone). And while Tapley isn't telling us that he knows the lineup...you can bet he has a pretty good notion of what will and won't show at The SHOW. As you might expect...good news and bad news (and in some cases no news), depending on what you're hoping to see next weekend and the credibility you want to put in this.

First...what I think is the worst of the bad news. Tapley says flat out that "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"...not going to play next week. The tweet doesn't provide any reason...just says NO. That tweet also says "Iron Lady"...nope. Tapley says it's not ready.
Here's the tweet quoted directly:

"Out: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Iron Lady (not finished)... And who knows what else could pop up, but probably no "Way Back" surprise."


Grrrr. I was really high on the chance that TTTS would be in play. The "Iron Lady" news comes as no surprise.


But let's turn the table to the sunnier side of the street. Tapley says he has 6 films labeled as "Best Bets." I take that to mean that Mr. T is relatively certain that they will play. There's some joy to be had here if he's correct. Here's that Tweet quoted directly:


"Best bets for Telluride: Descendants, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Shame, Dangerous Method, Skin I Live In, Artist..."

I've got 4 of the 6 on the on this week's "Ten Bets" list (Descendants at #1, Artist at #3, Shame at #8 and Skin at #13). Further, I said earlier this week that if a Sundance film makes the Telluride list it would likely be "Martha Marcy"...


The real unexpected joy in that list for me would be David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method." Most of the way this summer I have just felt that Cronenberg would do Venice and Toronto...maybe New York, but that Telluride would be more that he was willing to put on his plate. Hope I'm wrong. Hope Mr. Tapley is right. Want to see it!


The there's Tapley's "wish list." What looks to be a series of films that he'd like to be there but has no real inside dope on. That's my interpretation of this list of 7 films. It's a good list. I second his motion. Here's that tweet quoted directly:


"Hoping for: Killer Joe, Ides of March, We Need To Talk About Kevin, George Harrison, Albert Nobbs, Carnage, The Lady..."

Of that list, and if you've been keeping up with this blog the last few months, you know that I feel pretty strongly about "Kevin" (#5 on my "Bets"). I've also expressed some sense that there's at least some chance for Scorsese's George Harrison" doc and Luc Beeson's "The Lady." Mostly that's been intuitive rather than information based.


I had been very high on the chances for "Albert Nobbs" until the news last week that Toronto was making its presentation there a bigger deal. So, though "Albert" isn't off my list of possibles, it's gone way, way down. I think "Carnage" is a no go since the announcement that it was opening the New York fest. William Friedken's "Killer Joe"...don't have a clue. No info, no feeling for it one way or the other.


I'd love, love, love for "The Ides of March" to show up in Telluride but my gut says that's not going to happen.


And finally, there are some films I've been tracking that Tapley doesn't mention at all. The Herzog doc, "Into the Abyss." Refn's "Drive" that Ioncinema was pretty certain would be at T-ride just like "Goodbye First Love." Tapley doesn't touch on "The Kid with a Bike," "Le Havre," "Dark Horse" or "Coriolanus." Nor does he mention The Weinstein's production of Madonna's "W.E." which he had on his "probable list" back on July 28.


Still, though, you look at all of the above and if we somehow manage to get half of them in the San Juans next week...it'll be an outstanding festival.

Keeping my fingers crossed...








THE ARTIST BACK STORY

An intriguing tweet from Movie City News earlier this week about the "back story" for "The Artist." That's a film that I think we'll see next weekend. It's a film I want to see badly. I think to myself:
I can find out some dope about how the film came to be..."


So I click on the link and go to the..."Story"...not really a story, but very cool nonetheless. I won't spoil it. Kind of fun if you know that the film is set in Hollywood's silent film days...take a look here:


http://moviecitynews.com/2011/08/the-backstory-of-the-artist/

Two Trailers/Anne's Interviews/Gurus/Red Riding???Carlos???And???

"Howdy" is what we say in Oklahoma...not the musical, the place...well...OK, the musical too!

8 Days and ...tick...tick...tick...counting...

Come and join me for a Michael's Telluride Film Blog meet and greet called: "The Guide to the Ride; The Flow of the SHOW" on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in The River Club in Telluride. Larry and Mitzi Mallard of the Club will be our hosts and I am told that refreshments will be provided. The River Club is located at 550 Depot in Telluride. That's 4 blocks west of the Gondola station. Come by and say hello or "howdy" if you prefer.

TWO TRAILERS

New versions of trailers for two films that are on the "Ten (plus) Bets list this week.  "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" and "Drive."

I must say I want both of these films to be in Southwest Colorado next week.  "TTTS" stars Gary Oldman. Colin Firth, John Hurt (one of my favorite under-used actors), Ciaran Hinds (another favorite), Toby Jones, Tom Hardy and Mark Strong in the John LeCarre spy story.  Tomas Alfredson directs.  The new trailer is up from First Showing.net here:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/another-great-international-trailer-for-tinker-tailor-solider-spy/

Meanwhile, The Playlist (IndieWire) has a new trailer up for the Nicolas Winding Refn noirish, existential thriller "Drive."  It features Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and comedian Albert Brooks in a performance that is generating Oscar buzz.  The Playlist folks say that the new trailer might be "spoilerish" so I have chosen to avoid looking at it.  You can, though, if you want to here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/watch_another_great_though_potentially_spoiler-ish_trailer_for_drive/#

TTTS IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1340800/

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

ANNE'S INTERVIEWS

Anne Thompson (Thompson on Hollywood/IndieWire) gets to talk to interesting people and lately interesting people that may well have film(s) involved in the 38th Telluride Film Festival.  For example, recently she spoke with Antonio Banderas who stars in Telluride possible and Pedro Alomdovar film "The Skin I Live In."  Take a look at what Banderas has to say here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/24/banderas_talks_almodovar_reunion_betrayal

Skin's IMDb page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/

Also up on Anne's site is an interview with the red hot Jessica Chastain.  Chastain has had a crazy, meteoric rise this year.  She's already been seen in Malick's "The Tree of Life" and "The Help."  She could potentially be seen on the streets of Telluride in support of "Take Shelter," "Coriolanus," "The Wettest County," and/or "Texas Killing Fields."

Jessica Chastain with "Coriolanus" co-star and director Ralph Fiennes

Chastain's interview with Thompson can be found here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/23/jessica_chastain_talks_tree_of_life_the_help_the_debt_coriolanus/#

IMDb pages for:
Coriolanus: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1372686/
The Wettest County: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1212450/
Texas Killing Fields: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1389127/
Take Shelter: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675192/

GURUS!

Movie City News has its first "Gurus of Gold" chart up for the 2011 Oscar campaign.  MCN canvases a group of Oscar predictors and then collates their responses.  As you might expect a good number of Telluride possibles/probables are on the initial pre-fall film festival list.  If you're inclined the results are here via Sasha Stone at Awards Daily:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2011/08/the-gurus-of-gold-pre-toronto-check/

On the Gurus top fifteen  are TFF#38 possibles: "The Ides of March," "The Artist," "The Descendants," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy," "We Bought a Zoo," and "Moneyball."  (and at #15 Jason Reitman's festival shunner "Young Adult"...though there's still a part of my that thinks it might still actually "sneak" at T-ride).

Anne Thompson's picks are missing from this chart but she has posted hers at her site:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/24/oscar_watch_war_horse_ides_of_march_the_artist_lead_early_gurus_o_gold_top_


AND WHAT DO YOU DO AFTER "RED RIDING" AND "CARLOS"?

New friend and fellow Telluride-bound journalist Eugene Novikov of FilmBlather.com asked me yesterday if I thought that German three part film "Dreileben" might be programmed for TFF #38 in the same fashion that "Red Riding" was in 2009 and "Carlos" was in 2010.

After some consideration, my response is a definite "maybe."  Certainly T-ride has established that pattern the last two years and this fits the bill...so it wouldn't surprise me all that much.  Maybe Eugene is prescient or maybe he has some inside dope.  Or (like me) he may just be guessing.

The Hollywood Reporter had this review up for the three parter after its run in Berlin:
 http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/dreileben-film-review-167356

We'll find out next week.
Dreileben's three IMDb pages are here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1718775/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1718776/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1718777/

More on the morrow...

Trailers, Trailers, Trailers/Posters Too/And Pictures

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

Telluride #38 in TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY.

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

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

TRAILERS (FOR SALE OR RENT?)

Clooney and Payne on the set of "The Descendants"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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

POSTERS TOO

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


NEW ZOO PICS

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

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

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@Gort2

More on the morrow...from Telluride!

New York Galas/Thompson and Wells on the NYFF/Posters of Possibles

Good Morning All.

I may have further personal developments concerning this year's festival by the end of the week...or maybe not.  We'll see.

NEW YORK GALAS

The New York Film Festival (in October) announced two more gala presentations yesterday afternoon (in addition to "My Week with Marilyn" which had already been announced) and both of the films chosen have been on our Telluride watch list.  Gala presentations were announced for David Cronenberg's Freud vs. Jung duel  "A Dangerous Method" (Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley, Michael Fassbender) and Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In" (Antonio Banderas).

This leaves New York's fest with its closing night film still yet to be named and that is supposed to happen by the end of the week. 

In all likelihood the addition of "Method" and "Skin" to New York's lineup while not eliminating the chance that one or both might play Telluride diminishes the chances that they turn up there. 

THOMPSON AND WELLS ON NEW YORK

Three posts from yesterday afternoon provide some context and in one case, sort of opposing perspectives from two of the best in the business.  I have included two posts from Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood.  The first is a straight up presentation of the two films that have been added to the NYFF slate as Gala Presentations:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/nyff_cronenbergs_dangerous_method_and_almodovars_skin_i_live_in_added_to_ga/

Following that is Anne's discussion in a separate post of the chances that "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy" might be offered the closing night slot at NYFF.  She also mentions "The Iron Lady" as a possible for that spot but it almost seems as if that is a secondary consideration.  Clearly, if TTSS closes New York it is my belief that it will definitely be off the Telluride list.  That second Thompson post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/will_tinker_tailor_soldier_spy_or_iron_lady_land_new_york_film_festival_ber/?utm

However, Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere in his post late yesterday about New York's selections seems to at least imply that TTSS is all but off the table as far as any participation in the New York Festival is concerned.  And Wells suggests in the comments section that he thinks TTSS at Telluride is still a possibility.  The Wells post is linked here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/15/will_tinker_tailor_soldier_spy_or_iron_lady_land_new_york_film_festival_ber/?utm

It will be really interesting to see what comes out later this week as the NYFF actual closer.

So, in review:

Chances for "Method" DOWN
Chances for "Skin" also DOWN (but not down as much as "Method" I think)
Chances for "TTSS":  HOLDING STEADY

NEW POSTERS

A big post from Rope of Silicon with new poster art for a number of films including at least three that I have been including on the TFF #38 watch list.  "Drive," "Carnage" and "Moneyball" (see above).  Of the three, "Drive" may be the most likely to actually be in Colorado in two and a half weeks. Then "Moneyball."  "Carnage" is unlikely as it is the NYFF opener.

Take a look at the new poster art for them plus sevearl other films at this link to ROS:
http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/posters-drive-american-reunion-moneyball-carnage-harold-kumar


Hope you're having a good week...more on the morrow...

Carnage Slipping Away/Cannes Titles Reconsidered/The SPC Film List/What About?/Hammond Dittoed?

Good Morning from Colorado Springs!  Heading home today after a great show from Steve Martin and The Steep Canyon Rangers last night.

CARNAGE SLIPPING AWAY

Word from multiple sources yesterday afternoon that Roman Polanski"s "Carnage" will open the New York Film Festival.  That puts a dagger into its heart for all practical purposes in as far as Telluride is concerned.  NYFF will have required exclusivity for booking it as the opener.  So, Goodbye Jodie!  Goodbye Kate!  Goodbye Christoph and John. 

Can't say that I'm really surprised though.


CANNES RECONSIDERED

With the announcement earlier this week that the Toronto International Film Festival Special Presentation list included "Habemus Papum" (We Have a Pope), it seems we might have to reconsider some of the other titles of films that played at Cannes and that could conceivably be in Telluride in September. 

In addition to "Habemus Papum," ( IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1456472/) I think we might give a slight chance to three other Cannes films:

Polisse (a Police procedural written and directed by one time actress Maiwenn Le Bosco..she was The Diva in "The Fifth Element")  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1661420/

Footnote (dueling father/son Jewish scholars dir. Joseph Cedar) IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1445520/

and, of course, Gus Van Sant's "Restless" featuring Mia Wasikowska.  IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1498569/

 THE SPC SLATE

Sony Pictures Classics most commonly has a significant presence at Telluride.  Last year for example:

Inside Job
The Illusionist
Of Gods and Men
Tamara Drewe
Incendies
Another Year

But this year...maybe not as much.  To wit:

Carnage...at Venice and it would be a surprise to show up anywhere else, much less Telluride.
A Dangerous Method...at Toronto and Venice and I'll bet that's it.
The Skin I Live In...after Cannes, I was dubious.  Now I think it has a 60/40 shot at T-ride
Footnote...lukewarm reception at Cannes, but a thin SPC slate makes it more likely.
Restless...the same note here as for Footnote above.
In Darkness...we know almost nothing...WWII rescue film.
Damsels in Distress...closing film for Venice...so it's off the table.

And I think that's it as far as what SPC has available in its stable right now.  Kind of hard to believe.

AND WHAT ABOUT???

Three really interesting sounding films that aren't on the Toronto list;

Angelina Jolie's directing (and writing) debut "In the Land of Blood and Honey"
John (Shakespeare in Love) Madden's "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"
and John Hillcoat's (The Road/The Proposition) "The Wettest County"

Where are these?  Done?  Undone?  Headed to Telluride?  Somewhere else?  New York's Film Fest perhaps.

I don't know, but I am interested.

HAMMOND DITTOED

I reported earlier this week that Pete Hammond is adamant that Jason Reitman's "Young Adult" starring Charlize Theron will NOT play ANY of the festival circuit, including what I thought was a virtually certain stop in Telluride.

Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere picked up on that report late in the week and repeated it.  But I have to say, Wells seems kind of dubious...a sliver of doubt?

Check the Wells story and see what you think:
 http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/07/adult_surprise.php

Herzog on Death/Moneyball Trailer/Skin/Diablo's Dream/Noah

Charlize Theron starring in "Young Adult"

After a quiet Sunday, a number of items to pass on to you today:

WERNER'S DOC ABOUT DEATH ROW

Variety reported this morning that  German Production company ZDF has signed onto the Werner Herzog documentary "Gazing into the Abyss."  The doc is being produced by The Discovery Channel folks for American television.  But I would not be surprised to see at least some of it on the playbill for TFF #38.  Herzog is a constant on the Telluride Film playlist and the festival likes to have docs on the bill of fare.  As for it being developed for TV rather than theatrical release, well, TFF has peeked at some of Ken Burns TV documentary projects over the years.  So it wouldn't be out of line for Herzog's doc to show there.
The project focuses on interviews with Texas death row inmates.  The IMDB site for the Herzog project (where it's still listed by the title "Death Row') is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843894/

MONEYBALL TRAILER

Last week we saw the first bits of the trailer for "Moneyball," the baseball film from Bennett Miller starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  Here's the full trailer without the Entertainment Tonight stuff:
http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810166670/video/25625800

The "Moneyball" IMDB page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/

SKIN TRAILER

Speaking of trailers, here's the teaser for Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit (or "Live In"...depending)."  Thanks to Anne Thompson:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/06/20/trailer_watch_the_skin_i_live_in_teaser_is_crazy_sexy_scary/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_content=Twitter

Skin's IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1189073/


DIABLO'S DREAM

Oscar winner and former Telluride guest (2007/Juno) Dibalo Cody was a guest on a panel yesterday where she revealed that her dream gig/screenplay would be a Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) biopic.  Cody (who I met in 2007 at the festival thanks to an introduction from Jason Reitman) is set to see the releases of her next film "Young Adult" this fall.  It's another collaboration with Reitman and stars Charlize Theron and Patrick Wilson.  I think there's a reasonable chance that we'll see it in T-ride.  The Playlist has a nice post about the panel:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/diablo_cody_dreams_of_brian_wilson_biopic_teases_her_own_directorial_ambit/

The "Young Adult" IMDB page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1625346/


ARONOFSKY'S "NOAH"

Darren Aronofsky was the toast of last year's festival with his "Black Swan" for which Natalie Portman won the Best Actress Oscar.  Now he says that his NEXT BIG THING  may be his magnum opus...a re-telling of the story of Noah.  The IFC website has some interesting tidbits along those lines here:
http://www.ifc.com/news/2011/06/darren-aronofsky-noahs-ark-christian-bale.php

Counting Down to the Palme

Does Terrence Malick win the Palme D'or today???

With just hours left before we find out the jury's decision ab out which films receive what awards at the 64th Cannes Film Festival I can confidently say that there is absolutely no consensus about where this jury, headed by Robert DeNiro, is going to land.  Every one of the films that Cannes regulars seem to think have a chance also has some serious baggage to overcome.  Added to that is the fact that predicting a jury's decision when the members are new each year is a fool's game.  Nevertheless, no one ever said I wasn't a fool, so here's some speculation...

The big prize, of course, is the Plame D'Or.  Films thought o have the best chance are "The Skin I Inhabit" from Pedro Almodovar, "The Tree of Life" from  Terrence Malick, "Melancholia" from Lars Von Trier, "The Artist" from Michel Hazanavicius, "The Kid with a Bike" from The Dardennes Brothers, "Drive" from Nicolas Winding Refn, "La Havre" from Aki Kaurismaki and "We Have to Talk About Kevin" from Lynne Ramsay. 

Late entries for which there has been little time for critical response were "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" from Nuri Bilge Ceylan and "The Source" from Radu Mihaileanu.  I mention these despite not having their critical reaction in total because of late Cannes has made something of a habit of awarding the Plame to a late showing film and because the limited critical reception to both pf these late films has had at least some high praise...

I think it's a fair bet that almost all (if not all) of the major awards will come from the above list.  But as mentioned.  These "heavy hitters' also have some issues.  Different ones for different films...but issues nonetheless.  To wit:

"Skin" and "Drive" have both been well received critically ("Skin" is at #1 on Ioncinema's compiled critical chart: http://www.ioncinema.com/images/cannes2011/day10part2.pdf) but both films are regarded as "genre" pictures and lacking as much "art" as Cannes is used to rewarding.

"The Artist" and "La Havre" are also critically well received but the knock on them "too light."  Crowd pleasers for sure, so the thinking goes in some corners, but not enough heft to merit the top honor.

"Melancholia"  In light of Von Trier's "Nazi week" and his status now as a Cannes "persona non grata," I'd be stunned that this jury decided to award it the Plame.  The jury's makeup doesn't say to me "we will buck the negative reaction to reward the cinematic art of Von Trier."  I don't see them separating the Von Trier's meanderings from the top award.  Additionally, it's not like "Melancholia" was a cinch to win the Palme before Lars put his foot in his mouth.

"The Kid with a Bike" suffers from the fact that The Dardennes have won twice previously.  Would this jury make them the first 3 time Palme winner in the history of the festival for this film? 

"We Have to Talk About Kevin" from Lynne Ramsay.  Early presentation may doom it.  It was the first film to be presented in competition after the opening from Woody Allen.  Also, if Tilda Swinton wins Best Actress (and many think she will) then that lessens the films chance at the Plame.  Cannes does have a history of "spreading the wealth" between many films 

And finally Malick's "The Tree of Life."  A lot of people think its going to win.  A lot of people don't.  Again, I'm not sure that the makeup of this year's jury does Malick any favors.  (the jury this year consists of: DeNiro, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Olivier Assayas, Martina Gusman, Linn Ullmann, Johnnie To, Nansun Shi, and Mahamet-Saleh Haroun).

As I write rumors have begun floating that Tilda Swinton has won Best Actress and that Jean Dujardin has won Best Actor for "The Artist."  We'll know soon.

In addition to the Palme, there's the Grand Prix (sort of like a second place) the jury prize, actor, actress, director and screenplay.  The announcement is scheduled tentatively for about 2 hours from now.

Cannes Speculation and TFF #38

Viggo Mortensen as Sigmund Freud in David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method"

Cannes will announce its line up in just under three weeks and some spec pieces have begun to appear as to what might be expected to play as part of that festival. This allows us to speculate about the likelihood of those guesses insofar as Telluride's 38th edition is concerned.

I'm specifically looking at articles from Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon (http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/45-potential-titles-rumored-for-the-2011-cannes-film-festival) and Mike Goodridge at Screen Daily (http://www.screendaily.com/festivals/cannes/fremaux-faces-a-list-deluge-in-countdown-to-cannes/5025131.article).

Here's what we know: Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris"is the only confirmed film at this time for Cannes.

Now the rest is guesswork...

Interestingly there is some discord between the two articles about the availability and/or likelihood that Pedro Almodovar's new film "The Skin I Live In" will or won't play Cannes. Brevet seems to think it's a likely prospect. Goodridge claims that Almodovar won't play Cannes this year because of the Spanish premiere date on Sept. 2 and the reported twists in the film that he doesn't want out of the bag in May.

I can see Almodovar preeming it on Sept. 2 and then it being a "sneak" at Telluride.

Alexander Payne's "The Descendants" is pegged as a likely Cannes film and that would just check off another box on the "factors that lead to a Telluride slot" checklist.

Also tipped as likely Cannes films that I have previously speculated to be Telluride-likely: Eran Kolirin's "The Exchange" and Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud's "Chicken with Plums."

A few Cannes guesses that I'm getting a Telluride vibe for are Paolo Sorrentino"s Sean Penn starrer "This Must Be the Place," "Free Men" starring "The Prophet's" Tahir Rahim and Lynne Ramsey's "We Need to Talk About Kevin."

And it seems that everyone is certain the David Cronenberg's "A Dangerous Method" with Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender and Andrea Arnold's "Wuthering Heights" will not be ready for Cannes, but could and probably will be ready for the fall festival triad of Telluride, Toronto and Venice.

We'll know more in the next three weeks!