Sunday Extra to The FAC

Good Morning...down to under 48 hours until Oscar nominations are announced by The Academy.


CEASE THAT CORONATION!

This morning I have two pieces that suggest that there is still a reasonable level of suspense about what will ultimately win the Oscar next month (Feb. 26) for Best Picture.

First from The Playlist's Oli Lyttleton: 5 Reasons The Artist might not win best picture (in fairness, he strains to get to 5):
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/the-amazing-race-its-not-over-yet-five-reasons-the-artist-might-not-win-best-picture

And also from Sasha Stone at Awards Daily a rumination on the possibility that The Descendants could pull off the upset:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2012/01/the-descendants-poised-to-upset-in-best-picture/

MY TOP TEN FOR 2011

Well, after much weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, here is my Top Ten list for the films that I saw in 2012 (somewhere north of 50...not "critic" type numbers...but a lot of films)...But admittedly, I haven't seen everything.  Haven't caught War Horse or Extremely Loud yet.  Nor critical darlings like Melancholia, Take Shelter or Martha Marcy Mae Marlene.  Someday, I'll get 'em in.

#10 HUGO (dir. by Martin Scorsese)... Scorsese steps into a completely different filmic milieu and succeeds very well.  It's a beautiful film to look at.  The 3D isn't a bother (as it so often is in most 3D films) and sounds one of the biggest themes from serious films this year...the nostalgic reverence for the history of film and its place in our lives.  (my runner -up #11 picture...Girl with the Dragon Tattoo).
Hugo's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0970179/

#9 ALBERT NOBBS (dir. by Rodrigo Garcia)  Glenn Close's passion project that took decades to get made was largely dismissed by most critics, but I contend that her performance as a woman masquerading as a mild mannered MAN and Janet McTeer's supporting performance are enough to put it on my list.  I think that a number of critics just didn't get how difficult it is to do what Close does in this film.  Probably headed to 3-4 Oscar nominations.
Albert Nobbs' IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1602098/
Check out my actually published Albert Nobbs review from Telluirde for The Playlist:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/telluride_11_review_albert_nobbs_glenn_close_mia_wasikowska

#8 RANGO (dir. Gore Verbinski)  I'm also a bit surprised that this hasn't gotten more critical love at the end of the year.  It also hasn't benefited from what has been a yearly "Will The Academy nominate an animated film for Best Picture?" push.  This despite the fact that it is a clear front runner to win the Oscar for Animated Feature.  Nonetheless, it's funny, quirky, and inventive.
Rango's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192628/

#7 BEGINNERS (dir. Mike Mills)  Christopher Plummer is headed to an Oscar nomination (and probable win) as Supporting Actor as a widower who finally comes out in his 70's and Ewan MacGregor plays the son dealing with the new circumstances.  It's a beautiful, touching funny and very human film from Mills.  It would be nice to see him get an Original Screenplay nomination as well and it could happen; it's not very likely, though.
Beginners' IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1532503/

#6 MONEYBALL (dir. Bennett Miller)  A top flight job from all involved.  Steve Zallian and Aaron Sorkin's adaptation is brilliantly done.  Miller directs with confidence (I am fast getting to the point where I'll go see a film just because he's the director) and Brad Pitt is more than fine as Billy Beane.  And the surprise is how good Jonah Hill is.  Probable Oscar nods to Zallian, Sorkin, Pitt and Hill.  Miller's odds for a directing nomination are fairly long, though.
Moneyball's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1210166/

#5  A SEPARATION (dir. Asghar Farhadi)  A miracle of a film from Iran.  I contend that this is the best written film of any type this year.  Almost certain to be a Best Foreign Language Film nominee (and the likely winner), I've been advocating n Original Screenplay nomination for months...not likely, but it's also not impossible.  And here's the thing...it's Iranian...I saw it with subtitles and it still translated to great writing...do you have any idea how difficult that is?  Steady direction and great committed performances also.  Talk about your films that transcend boundaries...
A Separation's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832382/

#4 THE DESCENDANTS (dir. Alexander Payne)  A nice return from Mr. Payne who had been away from directing for 7 years.  George Clooney stars as a man with family issues.  He's probably going to win his second Oscar for this and perhaps he should, it's one of his best turns on screen.  Good support up and down the cast as well with relative newcomer Shailene Woodley a very possible nominee for Supporting Actress.  This will probably net 4-7 nominations Tuesday morning.  Check my Playlist review from Telluride for further details here: http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/alexander_payne_george_clooney_riff_on_family_love_loss_death_and_the_choic#
The Descendants IMDb page is here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1033575/

#3 THE TREE OF LIFE (dir.Terrence Malick)  No one tried anything bigger, bolder and more adventurous this year than Terrence Malick.  So many people have said, "what's it about?"...best answer  "Life" sort as the title implies.  Malick juxtaposes macro and micro versions of "life" with each illuminating the other.  Brad Pitt is very good as a domineering 50's era father.  it also helps that the film is incredibly beautifully shot and that Malick (clearly drawing from his own experiences as a young boy in Texas and Oklahoma) gets the look and tone of the place and time of the micro story just right.  This film and my #1 are the two films that I saw this year that kept returning to me mind to turn over again and again.
The Tree of Life's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478304/

#2 THE ARTIST (dir. Michel Hazanavicius)  I was intrigued from the moment I heard the premise and started to hear the reactions and descriptions out of Cannes.  Firstly, how bold do you have to be to pitch a black and white silent film in the 2000's???  Pretty bold.  And then the execution!  And it works so so well.  Hazanavicius' vision is beautifully realized especially from Jean Dujardin in the lead.  To my mind, 75 years removed from the days when this was the ONLY way films were done, this was like re-inventing the form from scratch.  Remarkably well done.  The Artist will likely be in double digit nominations (and it may be the only film to get there this year, though Hugo has a real chance as well) on Tuesday morning and deservedly so.
The Artist's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1655442/

#1 SHAME (dir. Steve McQueen).  Yeah, I know.  It's NC-17.  And a lot of people do NOT like it, love it, care for it.  Many actively hate it.  It was certainly not universally embraced at Telluride.  But, I'm telling you, this film stuck with me all fall.  Shattering, searing, unflinching.  And the performances from Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan are phenomenal.  Fassy will probably get the only nomination here and he'd be winning the Best Actor Oscar if I had a ballot.  Mulligan would also be at the top of my Supporting Actress ballot, but she appears to have only a marginal chance of being one of the five nominees on Tuesday.  I'd also include McQueen and Abi Morgan for screenplay.  Perhaps McQueen for direction and likely cinematography as well.
Shame's IMDb page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723811/

What are your Ten Best of 2011??

Coming tomorrow...Michael's Telluride Film Blog and The Film Award Clearinghouse predicts the Oscar nominations!

Follow me on Twitter  @Gort2

Ten (or more) Bets/Tree of Life Musings/Deep Blue for You/W.E. Pic

Good Morning...

11 days...

I was in Telluride this past weekend for about 8 seconds.  I can report that they're already in the process of setting up for this year's festival.  We're getting closer...

And I can confidently announce that there will be a Michael's Telluride Film Blog shindig 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.  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.

TEN (OR MORE) BETS...

Last week's Bets:

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 Kid with a Bike

Here's the "+"
11) Dark Horse
12) The Birds Upstairs
13) The Skin I Live In
14) The Lady
15) W.E.
16) The Ides of March
17) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
18) Albert Nobbs
19) Coriolanus
20) A Dangerous Method

This week's Bets:

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

"A Dangerous Method" drops because of its addition to the New York Film Festival.  "Albert Nobbs" drops because it was announced as a "World" premiere for Toronto last week.  "The Ides of March" drops as I haven't seen any traction for the notion that it will play Telluride anywhere else.  All of them still COULD make TFF38...I'm just saying that their chances seem to me to be less than they were a week ago.

SEAN VS. TERRY

It seems that Sean Penn doesn't have a great deal of warmth toward "The Tree of Life."  Penn is reported to have been less than complimentary about the film over the weekend. 

"Tree" won this year's "Golden Palm" at Cannes and has some support as a possible Best Picture nominee for the Oscars.  And of course, I stalked the film mercilessly for a couple of years in this space.

You can access the Penn commentary from Kris Tapley at Incontention.com here:
http://incontention.com/2011/08/21/sean-penn-bitch-slaps-tree-of-life/

And also from The New Yorker via Thompson on Hollywood here:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2011/08/sean-penn-vs-terrence-malick.html

DEEP BLUE SEA

Rachel Weisz is a busy girl this fall.  One of her projects that we could see in 11 days is "The Deep Blue Sea" directed by Terence Davies.  The film is based on a Terence Rattigan play and also features Tom Hiddleston.

The Guardian has a substantial look at the film via The Daily Mubi here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/aug/21/deep-blue-sea-terence-rattigan?CMP=twt_fd

Deep Blue Sea's IMDb page is here:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700844/



W.E. PIC

And finally,
3 weeks ago, Kris Tapley at Incontention.com put up his first stab at sussing out the T-ride lineup.  Included as a very real possibility on that list was Madonna's sophomore directing effort "W.E."  I have been less inclined to believe that it and she will be in the San Juans...however...

I am reminded of how the festival played Bennett Miller's "Capote" in 2005 and then turned around and featured Douglas McGrath's "Infamous" the next year.  Two films that focused on much the same subject matter one year apart.

How does that relate?  Think of "W.E." as the counterpart to last year's "The King's Speech."  A lot of the story and characters are the same just like the "Capote/Infamous" situation from 2005-06.  So maybe...

Sasha Stone at AwardsDaily posted a new still from "W.E." this weekend.  Access it here:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=544674&l=82ba03f8fc&id=191614247571901

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


More on the morrow...

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
@Gort2

Dangerous Method/More Reitman News/Tree of LOOOOOONG Life/Another Coen's Musical

Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin...The Cast of "Labor Day"? 

Maybe I spoke too soon...

"A DANGEROUS METHOD" RECONSIDERED

Earlier this week, I all but wrote off the chances that we'd see David Cronenberg's study of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung starring Viggo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender as a part of the program at Telluride this year.  My thinking: Cronenberg's film is in place for a Venice unveiling and, acknowledging Cronenberg's Canadian roots, I expect that the film will be front and center at Toronto.  That, I assumed would probably be enough as far as the fall fests are concerned. 
Until yesterday, that is...
Multiple sources reported a Sony Pictures Classics release saying that the specialty film house has nabbed the U.S. rights for the film.  I have included the link to the Kris Tapley/Incontention.com version of the story here:
http://incontention.com/2011/06/16/sony-classics-picks-up-cronenbergs-dangerous-method/#more-39932
That, alone, would have made me pause to reconsider my thinking as SPC has had a very good relationship with the Telluride Film Festival.  but there was more...
Tapley tweeted just a little while after posting the story the following:

Kristopher Tapley (@kristapley)
Can't wait to see Dangerous Method at Telluride. Surely it'll play peek-a-boo there (but maybe @guylodge will get a look in Venice first).

Well...
Now, I'm not saying that Tapley already has some inside dope, but...his guess is always going to be better than mine because he's wired in...so...put "A Dangerous Method" back on the list of possibles..
And, parenthetically, I'm really glad too, because this film is high on my list of Oscar contenders to see this year.

JASON REITMAN: BUSY DUDE.

Yesterday we had the story that Jason Reitman was positioning himself to direct "Labor Day" and was in pursuit of Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin to star (with various sources reporting the two stars participation at varying levels of certitude...[Weiner reference]).  A higher level of certitude came from Brad Brevet at Rope of Silicon this morning that Winslet and Brolin are on board, but (like me) less certitude that we'll actually see "Young Adult" at Telluride.  The link to the Brevet article is here:
 http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/winslet-brolin-join-jason-reitmans-labor-day
Now comes this nugget, again from a number of sources, that Reitman is about to become a script doctor.  He's expected to take a stab at working on the script for Steve Carell's "magician" film project tentatively titled "Burt Wonderstone."  I've included the link to the Hollywoodnews.com version of that story here:
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2011/06/17/jason-reitman-hired-to-polish-steve-carell-comedy/
So sounds like Reitman will be very, very busy in what's left of 2011.

THE TREE OF LIIIIIIIIFFFFFE...
News from The Playlist this morning that Terrence Malick is STILL not done tinkering with "The Tree of Life."  The film, which we were talking about in terms of release and Oscar potential 2 years ago was the Cannes Palme D'Or winner last month and officially went into release on May 27th with the nationwide rollout continuing through June.  The Playlist post this morning says Malick wants to do a 6 hour version of the film.  Check the story at:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/too_much_of_a_good_thing_terrence_malick_preparing_6_hour_cut_of_the_tree/

AND TODAY'S COEN BROTHER'S MUSICAL: NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN: THE MUSICAL
Featuring the hit showtunes: "Call It, Friendo!" "The Ultimate Badass," "Agua!" and "Hard to Take Its Measure."

Parsing the Cannes Prizes

Will "The Source" be in Telluride?

The 64th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is in the books.  Now we look at the outcome and see if we can read the tea leaves and divine any conclusions for the Telluride Film Festival 3 months from now.

One conclusion...for the second consecutive year the Palme D'Or winner will NOT be on Telluride's list.  Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" begins its roll out in the U.S. on May 27th and will continue on a 5 week schedule to add theaters nationally.  You can find that schedule on the Fox Searchlight website at:
http://content.foxsearchlight.com/inside/node/4851
(I'll always say that "The Tree of Life" played at Tff#37 because that's where the deal was made for Fox Searchlight to pick it up after an incredibly small special screening occurred there).

Here is the list of winners from this afternoon's announcement (and from all categories in addition to the main competition) from Cannes:

In Competition :


Feature films

Palme d'Or

THE TREE OF LIFE directed by Terrence MALICK

Grand Prix Ex-aequo

BIR ZAMANLAR ANADOLU'DA (ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA) directed by Nuri Bilge CEYLAN

LE GAMIN AU VÉLO (THE KID WITH A BIKE) directed by Jean-Pierre et Luc DARDENNE

Award for Best Director

Nicolas WINDING REFN for DRIVE

Award for Best Screenplay

Joseph CEDAR for HEARAT SHULAYIM (Footnote)

Award for Best Actress

Kirsten DUNST in MELANCHOLIA directed by Lars VON TRIER

Award for Best Actor

Jean DUJARDIN in THE ARTIST directed by Michel HAZANAVICIUS

Jury Prize

POLISSE (POLISS) directed by MAÏWENN

Short Films

Palme d'Or - Short Film

CROSS (CROSS - COUNTRY) directed by Maryna VRODA

Jury Prize - Short Film

BADPAKJE 46 (SWIMSUIT 46) directed by Wannes DESTOOP

Un Certain Regard :

Prize of Un Certain Regard Ex-aequo

ARIRANG directed by KIM Ki-Duk

HALT AUF FREIER STRECKE (STOPPED ON TRACK) directed by Andreas DRESEN

Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize

ELENA directed by Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV

Directing Prize of Un Certain Regard

BÉ OMID É DIDAR directed by Mohammad RASOULOF

Cinefondation :

1st Prize Cinéfondation

DER BRIEF (THE LETTER) directed by Doroteya DROUMEVA

2nd Prize - Cinéfondation

DRARI directed by Kamal LAZRAQ

3rd Prize Cinéfondation

YA-GAN-BI-HANG (FLY BY NIGHT) directed by SON Tae-gyum

Golden Camera :

Caméra d'or

LAS ACACIAS directed by Pablo GIORGELLI





From this list I'd venture to guess that the Dardennes "The Kid with a Bike" still stands an awfully good chance to be at TFF #38.  I'm also betting on "The Artist."  Other "in competition titles that I still think have a good shot at being in T-ride despite not winning a prize include: Lynne Ramsey's "We Need to Talk About Kevin," Aki Kaurismaki"s "Le Havre."
 
I am less inclined to think we'll Almodovar's "The Skin I Live In (or Inhabit...depending on how you want to translate it) or Winding Refn's "Drive" (despite the fact that it stars Carrie Mulligan).
 
I also continue to think the Lars Von Trier probably closed the book on his chances to have "Melancholia" play at Telluride with his press conference antics concerning Nazism from earlier this week.
 
In the "It wouldn't surprise me" category: "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" and "The Source."
 
And let's not forget that over the years Telluride programmers have not limited their Cannes selections to the main competition category.  Telluride films have also been culled from Un Certain Regard and Special Screenings as well.   Among those from this year that might be part of the Telluride program are Gus Van Sant's "Restless" and don't forget Serge Bromberg's restoration project of "A Trip to the Moon" that we reported about earlier this week.

Attention now turns to upcoming announcements about what will play at other fests especially Toronto, Venice and New York as those announcements can sometimes provide insight into whether a particular film may be in the San Juans on Labor Day.  Meanwhile, congratulations to Terrence Malick and "The Tree of Life."

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 Bits and Pieces

Ryan Gosling takes a "Drive" at Cannes

Among the news and notes from the Cannes Film Festival this morning is the story about the first film that we can predict with a high degree of certainty that will play at Telluride's 38th Film Fest...from 1902..."A Trip to the Moon."  Kenneth Turan in the LA Times is telling the world today about Serge Bromberg's presentation of the restored motion picture at Cannes and his desire to unspool it at Telluride in the fall.  I'll bet it happens.

Check Turan's story here:
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-cannes-moon-20110520,0,6411082.story

Meanwhile, as Cannes gallops towards its conclusion this weekend, 3 big name films have played since my last post and we are beginning to gather reaction to them. 

Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit" starring Antonio Banderas has taken the top spot in Ioncinema.com's collective critical response to the 20 films in competition.  You can find the latest chart here:
http://www.ioncinema.com/images/cannes2011/day10part1.pdf

The chart is indicating this morning Nicolas Winding Refn's "Drive" starring Ryan Gosling and Carrie Mulligan is faring moderately well.

You can also see that early reaction to Sean Penn in Paolo Sorentino's "This Must Be the Place" is less than enthusiastic.

With just a couple of films left to unspool in the competition, here are the top 5 from Ioncinema's collective critical chart as of this morning:

1) "The Skin I Inhabit"/Almodovar
2) "The Kid with a Bike"/Dardennes
3) "La Harve"/Kaurismaki
4 (tie) "The Tree of Life"/Malick and "Melancholia"/Von Trier

Right below those 5 are: "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "The Artist."

Additionally, spec pieces are beginning to appear about which films have the best shot at the Palme D'Or.  And it's all over the place.  Almodovar?  Malick?  The Dardennes? Ramsay?  Hazanavicius?  Kaurismaki? Others?  Lots of possibles and no strong consensus among those reporting from France.
But keep in mind that last year the critics loved Mike Leigh's "Another Year" and it was rewarded with bupkas...

We'll know soon.

One Less Film to Contemplate...

Still from Pedro Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit"

In light of the Lars Von Trier "Nazi" commentary and the Cannes Film Festival's determination to declare him "persona non grata" you can almost certainly scratch "Melancholia" off the list for TFF #38 consideration.  Von Trier, perhaps trying too hard to be glib or entertaining or controversial or all three (which would be right down his alley) seems to have taken it a step too far and the film world has responded.  And although the Festival board has said that it isn't removing the film from the competition, I think its chances of winning any major award have taken a giant nuking.

"Melancholia" was a serious possibility for Telluride film inclusion considering that Von Trier has had a relationship with the festival in the past and also considering that this film was being viewed as a step back from the relentless controversy that surrounded his "Antichrist" a couple of years ago.  Now...well, I don't plan to see him in Telluride in September.

Read MSNBC's coverage here:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43090358/ns/today-entertainment/

Meanwhile, the Ioncinema.com folks continue to collate critical reaction to the films in competition.  As of this morning the top 5 films in terms of their board of critics are:
1) The Kid with a Bike-Dardennes Brothers
2) La Harve-Aki Kaurismaki
3) The Tree of Life-Terrence Malick
4) (tie) We Need to Talk About Kevin-Lynne Ramsey and The Artist-Michel Hazanavicius

Still to come from Cannes...reaction to (among others) Almodovar's "The Skin I Inhabit," Rfen's "Drive," and Sorrentino's "This Must Be The Place."

You can find the most recent Ioncinema cumulative critical reaction here:
http://www.ioncinema.com/images/cannes2011/day8part1.pdf

TFF #37 and Our Crystal Ball

We started this year's countdown and prognostications for TFF #37 back during the week of Mar. 16-23. At that time we listed a couple of dozen possibilities and really focused on 16 of those. Of those initial lists 5 ended up at Telluride: "127 Hours'" "Biutiful'" "Black Swan," "Never Let Me Go," and "Another Year". Some of them got bumped to 2011..."The Descendants," "The Tree of Life," "The Eagle (of the Ninth)." Some were released during the summer: "Chloe," and "Love Ranch." But we're feeling pretty good that we had 5 of Telluride's 24 features on our very first list of possibles.

Prior to Cannes in May, we further underlined "Biutiful" and"Another Year" and we added "Tamara Drewe" and "The Princess of Montpensier." Of course we also highlighted: "On Tour," "Fair Game," "You, My Joy," "Uncle Boonmee," "Blue Valentine," Godard's "Socialism," "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," and Aurora." And we overlooked "Poetry," Of Gods and Men" and "Inside Job."

Post Cannes we got "Poetry" and "Of Gods and Men" into the conversation. And despite its non-inclusion at Cannes, we continued to speculate the Julian Schnabel"s "Miral" would be part of the Telluride lineup.

Late July we got "The Way Back" and "The King's Speech on our first speculative list and we began making the transition from speculation to reportage as we tracked down tidbits from various media...including the first hints beyond our own speculation that we might see "Never Let Me Go."

And by the time we got to the middle of August, with Jay A. Fernandez's Hollywood Reporter story, we were getting a really good bead on the TFF #37 playlist.

All in all we feel pretty smug about the quality of our guesswork and information gathering for this year. Of course, we didn't get it all exactly right...we missed some that we might have gotten and included things that never showed....Really, I'd like to know the behind the scenes story on Schnabel's "Miral" because I was 100% convinced we would see it.

Now, as we have for the past couple of years, we will morph this into a clearinghouse for Oscar info and speculation centered on the films that played at Telluride. We'll be up with our first real look at that sometime in the next ten days or so as the dust settles following Toronto's fest. But just as a quick overview...Telluride may have its largest Oscar presence ever this year..."The King's Speech," "Black Swan," "127 Hours," "Inside Job," and others could swell Telluride connected film Oscar nominations past a cumulative total of 30...which would be impressive indeed.

Thanks to those who actually read the blog in the run-up to T-ride this year. If the counts can be believed, the numbers were surprisingly large this year and it looks as if THIS BLOG IS NOW THE MOST REFERENCED BLOG CONCERNING THE TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL...which blows my mind. And that scares me a little.

Hope you continue to drop in over the next few months and then after the Oscars...next spring...we'll start it all up again (actually we've already begun speculation for TFF #38..."The Tree of Life" and Jason Reitman's Diablo Cody penned, "Young Adult").

Malick's "The Tree of Life" DID PLAY TELLURIDE...Sort of

So, it turns out that the most elusive film of the last year and a half DID PLAY in Telluride last week...to an incredibly limited audience.

Anne Thompson of Thompson On Hollywood at Indiewire reports this morning that there were two separate screenings of the Terrence Malick film that features Brad Pitt and Sean Penn. Here is the link to her story from this morning:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/09/13/waiting_for_malick_which_film_fest_will_debut_tree_of_life/#more

The screenings were apparently done separately for Sony Picture Classics and Fox Searchlight. As we reported last week, Fox bought the film from Apparition.

As we have mentioned, we sat with the Apparition folks at the Patron Brunch on Friday (Sept. 3) and they were very tight-lipped. We even suggested that they seemed sort of uptight...now we probably have a pretty good idea why.

So, what's it all mean? In the wake of the sale to Fox Search last week, there has already been a ton of speculation about the path "Tree" will take, but we'd estimate that 99% of it says its release will be in 2011...somewhere, somehow. I've seen mention of Sundance, Cannes and All the way to the fall fests and Venice next September. Or could it boomerang back to Telluride for TFF #38? We shall see.

Tree of Life

Quick note...The Hollywood Reporter and Awards Daily are reporting that Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life" with Brad Pitt and Sean Penn has been "acquired" by Fox Searchlight. Wonder if that deal was going down in Telluride last weekend...bet it was since all the players were there.

5 Hours and the Craziness Has Begun!

Telluride Today/Telluride News tweeting that Brad Pitt is in town for the festival...meaning one of three things:

1) Crazy internet rumor

2) He's just a fan like I am and wants to watch great film and is just there for that...or...

3) TFF #37 is pulling off the greatest coup in filmdom and will sneak Terrrence Malick's "The Tree of Life"

Even money on any of these three being correct!