Oscar Update: Best Actor / TFF #47 Films Score at Montclair / Concrete Cowboy Rides to Netflix / Odds and Ends: Chicago 7 and Midnight Sky

 OSCAR UPDATE: BEST ACTOR

Here are my latest Oscar nomination predictions for Best Actor updated since I last posted this category on  Sept. 24th.  A performer's past position is indicated to the right in parentheses.  TFF #47 performers are indicated in Bold.

1) Anthony Hopkins/The Father (1)

2) Chadwick Boseman/Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (-)

3) Gary Oldman/Mank (2)

4) Delroy Lindo/Da 5 Bloods (4)

5) Tom Hanks/News of the World (3)

6) Riz Ahmed/The Sound of Metal (-)

7) Steven Yeun/Minari (-)

8) Ben Affleck/The Way Back (8)

9) Joaquin Phoenix/C'mon C'mon (7)

10) Colin Firth/Supernova (-)

Others: Bill Murray/On the Rocks, Daniel Kaluuya or LaKeith Stanfield/Judas and the Black Messiah.

TFF #47 FILMS SCORE AT MONTCLAIR

Chloe Zhao'e Nomadland and Mohammad Rasoulof's  There Is No Evil were awarded major prizes at the conclusion of the Montclair Film Festival.  The winners were announced Mnday at the conclusion of the ninth annual event.

Nomadland was named winner of the audience award for a fiction feature and There Is No Evil won the jury award for non-fiction feature.

Complete coverage of all of the winners from the Montclair fest can be found linked here from Variety.

CONCRETE COWBOY RIDES TO NETFLIX

Ricky Staub's Concrete Cowboy, a selection of the "would have been" 47th Telluride Film Festival, has been acquired by Netflix.  Concrete Cowboy stars Idris Elba and was screened as a part of the Toronto International Film Festival.

Variety reports that the film will be released by Netflix at some point in 2021.

The IMDb description of the film is as follows:

"A teenager discovers the world of urban horseback riding when he moves in with his estranged father in North Philadelphia."

The Variety story about the acquisition is linked here.

ODDS AND ENDS

Here are a few other tidbits that I found interesting...

1)The Hollywood Reporter reports that the entire cast of Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 will be campaigned as Supporting Actors:  The link to the THR story is here.

For my money look at Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Strong, Mark Rylance and Frank Langella.

2) ShowBiz 411 reports that MGM has re-dated Leisl Tommy's Respect, which stars Jennifer Hudson as Aretha Franklin, for August 13, 2021 which means two things.  First, the move bumps the film and Hudson out of this year's Oscar race and second...the August date guarantees that the film will NOT be a part of a TFF #48 (if that's what it's referenced as) lineup.  I had Hudson at #3 in the Best Actress predictions in last Monday's post.

Here's the ShowBiz 411 story.

3) Trailer drops for George Clooney's Midnight Sky from Netflix.  Here it is via YouTube:

The film is scheduled for release on Netflix on Dec. 23rd.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Oscar Overview from Variety / Netflix Oscar Players' Release Dates

 OSCAR OVERVIEW FROM VARIETY

I took a long look at the comprehensive Oscar predictions from Clayton Davis at Variety this week and am filing this report about what looks to be the major players.  TFF #47 films in Bold.

Here are the leading contenders based on Davis' current predictions with the list of what he says they'll earn nominations for:

Mank-10 nominations: Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Production Design, Cinematography, Costumes, Film Editing, Makeup/Hair.

The Trial of the Chicago 7-8 nominations: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound, Score.

One Night in Miami-8 nominations: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay,  Cinematography, Costumes, Film Editing, Song.

Nomadland-7 nominations: Picture, Director, Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Film Editing.

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom- 6 nominations: Picture, Actress, Supporting Actor, Adapted Screenplay Production Design, Costume.

The Father- 5 nominations: Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay.

News of the World- 5 nominations: Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Score, Cinematography, Production Design.

Judas and the Black Messiah- 4 nominations: Picture, Actor, Original Screenplay, Film Editing.

Da 5 Bloods- 3 nominations: Picture, Actor, Score.

Minari- 3 nominations: Picture, Actor, Original Screenplay.

Check out all of Clayton's current predictions for Variety here.

NETFLIX OSCAR PLAYERS' RELEASE DATES

Indiewire posted a very useful article regrading what is known regarding Netflix's plans for releasing the huge body of film that is perceived as Oscar-y material.  I've parsed the article for release dates on the streaming platform (with Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods and Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things already there):

The Trial of the Chicago 7-Oct. 16

Rebecca-Oct. 21

The Life Ahead-Nov. 13

Mank-Dec. 4

The Prom-Dec. 11

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom-Dec. 18

Still undated: The Midnight Sky, The White Tiger and Pieces of a Woman. 

Hillbilly Elegy doesn't have a date listed in the Indiewire article BUT Netflix dropped a trailer for the film this week.  P.R. materials for the trailer say that it will release on the platform on Nov. 24.

That trailer is here:

Here's the link to the entire Indiewire story.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Oscar 2021 First Attempt-Best Actress / TIFF Critics' Survey and TFF #47 / Talking Truffles / And Finally...The Chicago 7? / Late Breaking

 OSCAR 2021-FIRST ATTEMPT-BEST ACTRESS

MTFB continues its first pass at predicting Oscar nominees for 2020-21 in various major categories.  Today we're looking at Best Actress with, as always, a focus on those performances that were a part of the list of 29 films that TFF released that would have been screened as a part of TFF #47.  Performers designated with *** are in films that may not be released prior to the Feb, 28, 2021 Oscar eligibility deadline.   TFF#47 performers are in Bold:

1) Frances McDormand/Nomadland

2) Viola Davis/Ma Rainey's Black Bottom***

3) Kate Winslet/Ammonite

4) Vanessa Kirby/Pieces of a Woman

5) Michelle Pfeiffer/French Exit

6) Amy Adams/Hillbilly Elegy***

7) Jennifer Hudson/Respect***

8) Carrie Mulligan/Promising Young Woman

9) Renee Zegler/West Side Story***

10) Angela Day/The U.S. vs. Billie Holiday

11) Jessica Chastain/The Eyes of Tammy Faye***

12) Rashida Jones/On the Rocks

TIFF CRITICS SURVEY AND TFF #47

As has been the habit of Indiewire for many year, that organization polled critics that "attended" the just concluded  Toronto International Film Festival and those results reflect some very nice notice of films that are a part of the TFF 2020 announced lineup.

Chloe Zhao's Nomadland...coming off of winning Toronto's People's Choice Award and the Golden Lion at Venice was named the best film by the poll.

The Best Documentary category saw plaudits for two TFF #47 selections as Michael Dweck and Greg Kershaw's The Truffle Hunters (see linked interview below) was named second best doc and Sam Pollard's MLK/FBI  was named third best doc.  76 Days, the on-the-ground report from Wuhan, China that focuses on the emergence of Covid-19.

Zhao was named Best Director by the survey and Nimadland also was chosen as third best screenplay.  FRances McDormand was runner-up in the Best Performance category.

All in all, a very good representation of TFF #47 films among the Indiewire accolades.

The complete Indiewire Critics' Survey results article is linked here.

TALKING TRUFFLES

One of the most talked about festival docs this season is undoubtedly The Truffle Hunters from directors Michael Dweck and Greg Kershaw.  The pair were recently (Sept. 19) highlighted by Point of View Magazine (POV).

That interview is linked here.

One other quick note (and humblebrag), through the kindness of an anonymous reader of the blog, I was fortunate enough to get a screener link to see The Truffle Hunters last weekend.  It's delightful, joyous, funny, poignant and beautiful to behold.  

AND FINALLY...THE CHICAGO 7?

Honestly, I wouldn't normally be writing about Aaron Sorkin's The Trail of the Chicago 7 much except in the context of the Oscar race since all Netflix films eschewed all of the festival circuit this time around.  But...

1) Early reactions from those who have seen an advanced screening seem to be over the moon and suggest that the film WILL BE a significant Oscar player.

2) World of Reel's Jordan Ruimy reports that the film is getting a theatrical release of some sort THIS WEEKEND...here's the link to Jordan's story.  And...

3) I have a good, reliable source telling me that had Telluride proceeded normally, that the film would have been a part of the The SHOW's lineup.

Cool, cool, cool.

LATE BREAKING

As I have been thinking for quite some time, Steven Spielberg's West Side Story will no longer be a  part of this year's Oscar conversation.   As The Hollywood Reporter published yesterday evening,  Warners has moved West Side Story all the way to Dec. 21, 2021.  Disney has also decided to move Black Widow to May of 2021.

The move means that WSS will not be eligible for this year's Oscars and could open the way for other remaining big films to move their release strategies as well.  

Other films that could follow West Side Story include:  News of the World, Stillwater, The French Dispatch, Dune, Hillbilly Elegy and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom among others.

The THR story is linked here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If It Had Happened-The Tributes? / Sniffing Out Another Possible / What Might Have Been-Chicago 7 Looks

IF IT HAD HAPPENED-THE TRIBUTES?

Because my mind works the way it does (or doesn't?), after TFF announced that TFF #47 was not to be but that they had a list of 20 or so films that would have been programmed and that all of the tribute recipients were planning to attend, I got to wondering who those folks might be.

Then with Indiewire's story about some of the titles they thought might make the lineup when it is ultimately revealed, I put together a third new list of films that are my "Bets" to make the TFF list.  And from that I began to speculate and extrapolate tribute possibilities.

If you remember last Monday's 3rd Ten Bets:

10) Fireball
9) John Prine: Hello In There
8) There Is No Evil
7) Soul
6) The French Dispatch
5) Lover's Rock (Small Axe)
4) Mangrove (Small Axe)
3) Notturno
2) Nomadland
1) Ammonite

Other possibilities: Undine, Forgotten We'll Be, Untitled Garbus/Cortes Voting Rights Documentary,  The Secrets We Keep, American Utopia (probably not now as it has been named Toronto's opening night film) and French Exit.

Soooo...let's look at some of more intriguing possibilities:

From #1 Ammonite:  You could see either Kate Winslet or Saoirse Ronan getting named.  Rumors have it that Ronan might well have been a possible tributee in 2017 with Lady Bird.  Winslet was in T-ride with the cast of Steve Jobs in 2015.

From #2 Nomadland:  Two time Oscar winner Frances McDormand (Fargo/Three Billboards, three other nominations) is a no brainer possibility.

From #4 #5 Small Axe films Mangrove and Lover's Rock: Director Steve McQueen.  McQueen's feature list isn't lengthy but is impressive including 12 Years a Slave (for which he won an Oscar as a producer of the Best Picture winner), Widows, Hunger, Shame.  He's a definite consideration.

From #6 The French Dispatch:  Writer/Director Wes Anderson is the most obvious choice.  A lengthy  and well-loved resume' (including The Royal Tenenbaums, Moonrise Kingdom and The Grand Budapest Hotel) and seven time Oscar nominee makes that apparent.  But the cast is so large and diverse...you'd have a cornucopia of actor type possibilities: Saoirse Ronan (again), Frances McDormand (again), Elizabeth Moss, Edward Norton, Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe, Benicio Del Toro, Henry Winkler and, of course, Bill Murray (could he double up with the addition of Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks being programmed as well?)

From #7:  I think Pixar's Pete Docter (Up, Inside Out, Monster's Inc.) might be a possibility.  MTFB friend Christopher Schiller has suggested perhaps Pixar as an entity gets a tribute.  That sounds like a real possibility as well.

From the rest of the "Bets" and the other possibilities:

Undine director/writer Christian Petzold
Documentary producer/director Liz Garbus
Actress Michelle Pfeiffer from French Exit




SNIFFING OUT ANOTHER POSSIBLE

Poster for Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw's The Truffle Hunters (from IMDb)

As we await word from TFF organizers what the official TFF #47 lineup is/was I may have sniffed out another possibility.  Without going into details, because I can't, I respectfully offer the documentary The Truffle Hunters. 

Had some things happen the last day or so that makes me think if could be on the TFF #47 list when it gets announced.  Yes, I know, it bowed at Sundance back in late January which is usually means a clear "no" for TFF as it wouldn't be a North American premiere.  But...that's a less stringent truth when it comes to docs as, over the years, TFF has programmed docs that had previously screened in the U.S. before screening at Telluride. 

Working for the film's possible inclusion is that its distributor is Sony Pictures Classics which often has a substantial TFF profile.

The Truffle Hunters focuses on three elderly Italian men who, wait for it-hunt truffles.

The Truffle Hunters IMDb page is linked here.

The film won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance for World Cinema-Documentary.


WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN-CHICAGO 7 LOOKS

(from Vanity Fair)

Vanity Fair had a knockout exclusive first look at stills from Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7. 

Included in the accompanying article by David Ansen is the revelation that the film will drop on Netflix on Oct. 16th.  I've had this film circled as a TFF possibility since learning that it was going forward (first mention in MTFB that I can find is Dec. 2018).  The Oct. 16th date feels like what, in the olden times-like last year- would have been a plan to drop the film after completing a run tha could have included TFF, TIFF, Venice and/or NYFF.

Nevertheless, despite Netflix's determination that they wouldn't be festing at all this season, this is one of three films that I'm really, really looking forward to (in addition are Mank and The French Dispatch).

Glad I have that Netflix subscription.

The complete story and many other photos are here at Vanity Fair.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Two Years Running / Blues and Brews Bows Out of 2020 / Add to Amazon / Nomadland Is Imminent / The Distribs: Bleecker Street / Netflix Adds the Chicago 7

TWO YEARS RUNNING

For the second consecutive year Michael's Telluride Film Blog has been denied press accreditation for the actual fest itself.  Here's a screenshot of the email informing me yesterday afternoon:

So again, after having been granted that status from 2011-2018, TFF has said no. 

When I was denied last year, I asked at the time if there was a specific reason (I've sent that question again this year) and also if there was an appeal process.  I never got an answer.

As I said last year, I fully grasp that the fest can chose who to accredit who not to accredit.  I get that.

Further, I understand that I have published articles that have not been well received within the fest's hierarchy. This past year I have tried to be circumspect with regard to the stories I post and have, on a number of occasions, self-edited as I determined that a particular  thought or story might land badly.  That doesn't seem to have curried any favor.

And, of course, I'm aware that the very point of the blog (sussing out what might play at the fest) is antithetical to the fest's goal of keeping the lineup under wraps.

Still, after having been granted the status for eight years and then being denied for these last two, I am curious as to whether MTFB will ever be accredited again. 


BLUES AND BREWS BOWS OUT FOR 2020

The Telluride Daily Planet reported yesterday that the Telluride Blues and Brews Fest has been canceled for this year.  That leaves TFF as the only fest left standing for Telluride this year.  Blues and Brews was scheduled for Sept. 18-20-two weeks after The SHOW.

Festival director Steve Gumble is quoted in the paper with this:

“We held on to each day and each update and watched our hopes of holding Blues & Brews fade as each day passed.  Having said that, it is with tremendous sadness that I sit here forced to write what I thought I would never have to write — the 27th Telluride Blues & Brews Festival will be canceled for 2020. This is the toughest decision I have made, but without a doubt, it is the right thing to do.”

The complete story is here.


ADD TO AMAZON

Last Monday I took a look at the films that I thought might be possible TFF #47 players from Amazon Studios.  Since then, Amazon Prime Video has acquired a new foreign film title that probably should enter in our consideration

Variety reported on Monday that the streaming service had snagged Chilean hit Jailbreak.  The film is based on the true story escape that occurred in 1990.  Variety reports that the film is Chile's biggest hit in the past few years.

My guestimate at the chances of Jailbreak making a stop in Telluride are 25%.

The Variety story is linked here.


NOMADLAND IS IMMINENT

Chloe Zhao's Nomadland seems to be done...complete...wrapped and locked.  Next Best Picture's Will Mavity tweeted the info yesterday that Nomadland has received its MPAA rating.  It's R by-the-by.

Here's Will's Tweet:

In the comments following Will's Tweet are a couple of references to its possible inclusion for Telluride.

Many readers know that I had Nomadland on my list for a good long while last year as a TFF #46 potential title.  I even still listed as a "possible" choice outside the final 25 "Bets" posted the day before Telluride announced its lineup.

Nomadland stars Frances McDormand.  Its IMDb listing is linked here.



THE DISTRIBS: BLEECKER STREET

Bleecker Street Media is the definition of a specialty house/film distribution company.  Their presence at Telluride over the years has been spotty but not invisible.  Last year they were represented at Telluride with Kitty Green's The Assistant which has gotten very good reviews since its theatrical release in late January.  Some have included it in their Ten Best lists for the first half of 2020.

The Bleecker Street T-ride profile looks like this:

2019- The Assisstant
2015- Beasts of No Nation (partnered with Netflix)


As we look to TFF for 2020 Bleecker could have a couple of films that we should consider:

The Secrets We Keep from director Yuval Adler whose Bethlehem was included by TFF in 2013.  The Secrets We Keep is a post-World War II story of Holocaust survivors trying to make their way in New York.

The other project is John Patrick Shanley's Wild Mountain Thyme.  Shanley is an Oscar, Pulitzer and Tony award winning writer.  He previously directed Doubt (Based on his own stage play) and Joe Versus the Volcano.  Wild Mountain Thyme stars Emily Blunt, Jon Hamm and Jamie Dornan.  IMdB's description of the film reads:


"A pair of star-crossed lovers in Ireland get caught up in their family's land dispute."

My guestimate:

The Secrets We Keep 45%
Wild Mountain Thyme 20%


NETFLIX ADDS THE CHICAGO 7

After weeks of teasing that a deal was probably coming and reported hangups regarding international rights, Netflix has acquired Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7 from Paramount for $56 million.  In a normal year that would shoot the film right to the top of my Telluride chart but because Netflix has announced that they're not taking any of their films to any of the festivals that won't be happening.

Now, just for fun, close readers of this space have noticed that I have picked up on a couple hints here and there that the Netflix decision may not be as ironclad as it seems.  I have wondered if we might see some Netflix titles as a "surprise" in Telluride.  Those aforementioned hints, Netflix's presence at the fest over the last half decade, Netflix saying that they will continue sponsoring fests- they sponsored the Chuck Jones Theater last year and the Labor Day Picnic in 2018 and I believe they'll be a sponsor of some sort again this year- all make me think that there's at least a glimmer of a chance that some of their projects could end up in the San Juans over Labor Day weekend.

Now that list of projects includes Sorkin's Chicago 7 film.

Variety has the acquisition story here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Mank in October and an Interesting Note / Netflix and the Chicago 7 / The Distribs: A24

MANK IN OCTOBER AND AN INTERESTING NOTE

Mank Photo montage via World of Reel 

Multiple outlets reported recently that Eric Roth, one of the producers on David Fincher's upcoming Netflix film Mank, has said that the film will premiere at some point in October.

Roth made the statement on the Pardon My Take podcast.

If it's true it suggests that the film might have been ready in time for some of the fall fest run.  As we know, however, Netflix has announced that none of their projects will be fall festing this year.

There are a couple of cracks in that armor, however.  You may recall that I wrote the following in my June 1 post:

"Further, Hammond (Deadline) opens the door slightly to there being the possibility that Netflix's announcement that it would be doing any fall fests might not be 100% carved in stone:
"Netflix, which has been a key presence in the last couple of years is sitting this one out, at least at this point."
The key sentence there being the "At least at this point".

And, as an aside...due to Telluride's secretive nature, you kind of have to wonder that if Netflix was ONLY going to screen at Telluride that they might suggest they weren't going anywhere.
Personally, I take Netflix at its word that they won't screen anywhere...but it's fun to speculate."

Now, in the Zack Sharf/Indiewire article about the possible October release for Mank, there's this sentence:

"While Netflix has not confirmed the “Mank” release date, a fall debut around October or November has been widely expected considering the title is one of the streaming giant’s big Oscar contenders. Similar to last year’s “The Irishman” and “Marriage Story,” Netflix is expected to world premiere “Mank” at one of the fall film festivals."

The Playlist's Charles Barfield seemed to second the motion writing in a story posted on Friday:

"that would give the film ample time to premiere at one of the upcoming fall festivals, which have been welcoming to Netflix films in years past, especially ones with well-known filmmakers and possible awards recognition. So, maybe we’ll see “Mank” 

In fairness, Barfield mentions Venice and Toronto as possible destinations...but still...

The Playlist story is here

So, clearly, something is off-kilter here somewhere.

It's worth keeping an eye and an ear open on this topic.

The entire Sharf/Indiewire post is here.



NETFLIX AND THE CHICAGO 7


I saw reporting over the weekend that Netflix is nearing a deal with Paramount to acquire domestic distribution for Aaron Sorkin;s The Trial of the Chicago 7.  Variety reported over the weekend that negotiations were ongoing.

I've had this Sorkin project on my TFF #47 radar since October of 2018.  The film's TFF chances for a TFF berth seemed to be 50/50.  Then with the stoppage of work in post-production because of the pandemic I had begun to think that it wouldn't be ready in time.  Now, also working against it's Telluride chances, assuming the deal gets done, is Netflix announcing that it won't be taking any of their films to film fests.

The Variety article suggests that the film might still be aimed for release prior to election day in November.

Given the Netflix weirdness detailed in the first section of this post above, I can't definitively say that Chicago 7 won't be a TFF selection.  The door is still open just a wee bit.




THE DISTRIBS: A24

A24's presence at Telluride has been a hit and miss affair since the company's first appearance at the fest in 2012 but their level of success when they have had films there has been impressive with three of the ten films they've screened at Telluride earning Best Picture nominations and, of course, having Moonlight's win after premiering at TFF in 2016.

Here's A24's past at the Telluride Film Festival":

2019: First Cow, Uncut Gems, Waves
2018: No SHOW
2017: Lean on Pete, First Reformed, Lady Bird
2016: Moonlight
2015: Room
2014:  No SHOW
2013: Under the Skin
2012: Ginger and Rosa

Ten films in eight years.  But, as I said...it's been hit or miss with No SHOW's in 2014 and 2018 but three films apiece in 2017 and 2019.

A24 has several films that could be in for a TFF play:

Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks.  Coppola re-teams with Bill Murray for the first time since her debut film, Lost in Translation, which screened at Telluride in 2003.  She hasn't returned to TFF since.  Murray was in town in 2012 in support of Hyde Park on Hudson.  Rashida Jones also stars.  also in its favor-It went into post-production last July.  I was surprised that the film wasn't on the list of films that Cannes "selected".  That makes me think that it may be headed to Venice.  With the uncertainty about how the pandemic will impact fests, films and fest-goers decision making, my sense is that we may see less Telluride/Venice crossover than in recent years.

Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon starring recent Best Actor Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix.  Mills has never been to Telluride but he hasn't been averse to playing the fest circuit with his past films:
Thumbsucker: Sundance, Berlin, Toronto
Beginners: Toronto
20th Century Women: New York, AFI
The film went into post in December which may suggest that it hasn't had enough time to be completed.

Stephen Karam's adaptation of his Tony Award winning play The Humans.  Richard Jenkins, Amy Schumer and Beanie Feldstein star in the story of a family gathering at Thanksgiving.  It's Karam's first gig as director but he has a scripted adaptations of his own play, Speech and Debate as well as Chekhov's The Seagull.  The film went into post in October so is possibly ready.

Three other A24 titles that seem to be less likely TFF participants are False Positive, After Yang, The  and the Untitled Lila Neugebauer Project.

I appears that the Joel Coen MacBeth project starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand has been moved to 2021.

Chances:

On the Rocks 30%
C'mon C'mon 30%
The Humans 30%

All other A24 properties: 10%.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

L.A. Times Looks at Films That Could Still Be in Play / Annecy Proceeds Online

L.A. TIMES LOOKS AT FILMS THAT COULD STILL BE IN PLAY

Frances McDormand in Nomadland (via Indiewire)

Earlier this week The Los Angeles Times' Glenn Whipp assessed the field of films that he thinks could still be in the sites of FIlm Fests and in Oscar play.  Whipp essentially comes down to three pieces of information about each of the 29 films that make it into his story: Distributor, production status and whether the film currently has a scheduled release date.

So, let's take a look at Whipp's list and talk about what titles based on his information and assessments might be festival bound...and, more specifically, Telluride-possible.

First...films that don't seem probable for Telluride:

Two Sundance films on the list meaning, if tradition holds, that no Telluride play would be in the cards: Florian Zeller's The Father starring Anthony Hopkins and Lee Issac Chung's Minari.

Then there are a dozen films from the Whipp list that have never really felt like Telluride films.  They're films that I don't feel as if they ever planned a fall film fest appearance.

Spike Lee's Da 5 Bloods (Netflex/locked/unscheduled)

Denis Villeneuve's Dune (Warner Bors./post-prod/Dec. 18)

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch (Searchlight/locked/Oct. 16)***

Ridley Scott's The Last Duel (20th Century/production suspended)

George C. Wolfe's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Netflix/post-prod/unscheduled)

Paul Greengrass' News of the World (Universal/post-prod/Dec. 25)

Ryan Murphy's The Prom (Netflix/post-prod/unscheduled)

Liesl Tommy's Respect (MGM, post-prod/Dec. 25)

Docter and Powers' Soul (Disney/post-prod/Nov. 20)

Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir: Part II (A24/post-prod/unscheduled)

Christopher Nolan's Tenet (Warner Bros./locked/July 17)

Steven Spielberg's West Side Story (20th Century/post-prod/Dec. 18)

That said...within an unclear pandemic universe...who knows?  Maybe some of these films end up playing at a festival.

The next categorization are films that are locked that feel like they could be Telluride and/or other fall film fest entrants:

Francis Lee's Ammonite (Neon/unscheduled)

Charlie Kaufman's I'm Thinking of Ending Things (Netflix/unscheduled)

Edoardo Ponti's The Life Ahead (Netflix/unscheduled)

Chloe Zhao's Nomadland (Searchlight/unscheduled- a note here, the article actually says its production status is uncertain...my feeling is that it's likely complete)

Then there are the films listed as being in post-production that, should they be completed in time, seem like Telluride and fall film fest possibles (included here is the post-production start date according to IMDb):

Leos Carax's Annette (Amazon/post-11-22-19/unscheduled)

Michael Showalter's The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Searchlight/post 12-23-19/unscheduled)

Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy (Netflix/post-IMDb says the film is complete/unscheduled)

David Fincher's Mank (Netflix/post-2-3-20/unscheduled)***

Apichatpong Weerasethakul's Memoria (Neon/post-10-13-19/unscheduled)

George Clooney's The Midnight Sky (Netflix/post-1-2-20/unscheduled)

Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks (A24/post-7-4-19)

Glen Keane's Over the Moon (Netflix/post-1-2-20/unscheduled)

Tom McCarthy's Stillwater (Focus Features/post-1-2-20/unscheduled)

Aaron Sorkin's Trail of the Chicago 7 (Paramount/post-12-17-19/unscheduled)***

Joe Wright's The Woman in the Window (20th Century/post-10-29-18/unscheduled...though it has been dated for release a couple of times)

***I have read somewhere that both Mank and Trial of Chicago 7 will likely not be ready for any of the fall fests.

Additionally, you'd have to expect that films that went into post after the start of 2020 are suspect simply because those films would only have been in post for a few weeks before the shutdown happened: The Midnight Sky, Over the Moon, Stillwater.  

Even The Eyes of Tammy Faye with a Dec. 2019 post-production start date seem iffy to me.

Finally, for fun, let's factor in in directors who have been to Telluride in some capacity (director, writer or star) from these last two groups: Kaufman, Zhao, Fincher, Clooney, Coppola, McCarthy, Sorkin, Wright and I'll take a stab at five of these films making a Telluride lineup for 2020:

1) Nomadland

2) I'm Thinking of Ending Things

3) On the Rocks

4) Hillbilly Elegy

5) Ammonite

Whipp's complete article with his commentary is linked here.

ANNECY PROCEEDS ONLINE

The Annecy Animation Film Fest, the largest animated film festival on the planet announced a few weeks back that this year's event had been cancelled but the fest will move forward with a completely online version of the event.  The online fest will run June 15-20.

The details were reported by John Hopewell and Jamie Lang for Variety last Thursday.

Over the years, several films that have played the Annecy Fest have gone onto to play over the Labor Day weekend in Telluride.  Examples that come to mind include: Loving Vincent and Chico and Rita.

The Variety story includes claims by the fest organizers that many of its customary players will be back for the virtual event.

May 18th is the date for the fest to announce its competition lineup.

The full story is here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

TFF #47 - LONGER / France's Decision Makes Cannes Less Likely / Fremaux Interview Provides Some Insight / Cannes Sidebars Decide No-Go in 2020 / THR Asks the Question: Where Would Films Go?

TFF #47 WILL BE LONGER

The Telluride Daily Planet Reports that the Telluride Town Council agreed last night (with stipulations) to add an extra day to TFF #47.  This year's fest is now planned to take off on Thursday, Sept. 3.

From Suzanne Cheavens/ The Watch/Daily Planet:

"Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is trying to envision its world-renowned gathering of cinephiles in a world post-COVID-19, and in doing so, wants to create more space. Film fest representative Brandt Garber requested one additional day to tack on to its Labor Day weekend festival, which takes place in numerous venues around town. Telluride Town Council agreed unanimously to the extra day.

Originally scheduled from Sept. 2-7, the event, which attracts an international crowd of nearly 3,000 film-lovers, film industry heavyweights and a fleet of crew and volunteers, will now begin Sept. 1. Garber explained the reasoning behind wanting an additional day added.
The article says Sept. 1 but I believe they mean Sept. 3rd which is the actual date for the Thursday prior to Labor Day."

The last time the fest was a five day affair was in 2013 when a day was added as a part of the film festival celebrating its 40th iteration.

Perhaps most importantly...this signals that the fest is still strongly committed to occurring.

The complete article is linked here.


FRANCE'S DECISION MAKES CANNES LESS LIKELY

Multiple reports over the past few days have revealed that French President Macron has extended that country's restrictions regarding Covid-19 deeper into the year.  The order also included bans on "festival" style events until mid-July.  That's a nail in the coffin of the suspected dates that Cannes had reportedly circled for a belated attempt to mount the fest (June 23-July 4 per Deadline).  Deadline quoting a Cannes press release:

"Following the French President’ statement, on Monday, April 13th, we acknowledged that the postponement of the 73rd International Cannes Film Festival, initially considered for the end of June to the beginning of July, is no longer an option."

However, Indewire published this statement released by the film fest:

“It is clearly difficult to assume that the Festival de Cannes could be held this year in its original form.  Nevertheless, since yesterday evening we have started many discussions with professionals, in France and abroad. They agree that the Festival de Cannes, an essential pillar for the film industry, must explore all contingencies allowing to support the year of Cinema by making Cannes 2020 real, in a way or another.”

So, clearly, Thierry Fremaux and his crew haven't thrown in the towel as yet but it's also growing increasingly clear that the options for Cannes are winnowing to very few.

Complete coverage of these details is linked here from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline

The Playlist



FREMAUX INTERVIEW PROVIDES SOME INSIGHT

In an interview with Variety posted yesterday, Cannes Director Thierry Fremaux talks candidly about where the Cannes Fest with regard to whether some version of the fest goes forward in 2020.

Highlights include the lack of an absolute decision to cancel the festival outright and the possibility of teaming up with one or more European fall film fests in some capacity.

No North American film fest is mentioned by Fremaux -Telluride, Toronto or New York-suggesting that keeping a version of the fest or labeling a film or part of some other fest as a Cannes 2020 presentation would likely remain Eurocentric.

Read the interview from Variety here.



CANNES SIDEBARS DECIDE NO-GO IN 2020

After all of the above went down on Tuesday, Cannes Sidebar sections, Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week and ACID announced Wednesday that those sections would not be held in Cannes this year.

Variety, among others, had the statement from them:

“The Directors’ Fortnight, La Semaine de la Critique and ACID regret to announce the cancellation of their 2020 editions in Cannes.  The health crisis we are all presently facing makes it impossible to anticipate the practical course of events."

Multiple reports suggested, however, that en effort would be made to aid films that were already scheduled for those sections to find homes at other film fests still on the schedule for later this year.

The cancellation of the three sidebar programs is yet another indication that the main event at Cannes is closer to being cancelled in its traditional state and possibly altogether in any form.

Coverage of the Sidebar announcement is linked here from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline



THR ASKS THE QUESTION: WHERE WOULD FILMS GO?

In light of the continuing developments regarding the Cannes Film Fest and the increasing chances that it just doesn't happen, The Hollywood Reporter writers Alex Ritman and Scott Roxborough posted a piece on Tuesday asking the question: "What Happens to Cannes-Bound Films Now?

That's a reasonable question.

Roxborough and Ritman lay out speculation for 13 films that were hinted at as Cannes possibilities and assess their possible fall film fest fate.  They work on the assumption that Telluride, Venice and Toronto will happen.

The only film that gets a mention with Telluride as a specific possible landing spot is Joe Wright's The Woman in the Window which has been batted around quite bit regarding its release date.

Other films on the THR story's list are:

The French Dispatch
Benedetta
Soul
Top Gun: Maverick
Memoria
Tre Piani
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Flag Day
Tenet
Last Night in Soho
Penninsula
Summer of '85

From this list, my "best bets" for Telluride inclusion would be: The Trial of the Chicago 7, The French Dispatch, Summer of '85, Tre Piani and Flag Day.

The complete THR story is linked here.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Oscar Predix in a Time of Uncertainty / Cannes Deadlines Extended / R-e-s-p-e-c-t M-o-v-e-s

OSCAR PREDIX IN A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY

Erik Anderson who runs Oscar predicting website Awards Watch came out this week with predictions for Best Picture, Directing and all four acting categories.

He did so with full disclaimers about not really knowing what the film world might look like for the rest of 2020.

So I played with Anderson's guesses in as far as potential Telluride players.  The 10 films he predicts as Best Picture players are:

Ammonite
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Next Goal Wins
Nomadland
On the Rocks
The Trial of the Chicago 7
West Side Story

So, I thought I'd rank these 10 films in order of their TFF #47 chances.  Remember that over the past few years Telluride has averaged nearly three films that end up as Best Picture nominees.

1) Nomadland
2) On the Rocks
3) Mank
4) Ammonite
5) Next Goal Wins
6) The Trial of the Chicago 7
7) Minari
8) Da 5 Bloods
9) News of the World
10) West Side Story

Interestingly, Anderson lists another 15 films as he makes his predictions in the other five categories in his post.  When you look at those you'll see some things jump out. 

For example, Netflix is just represented in his list of 10 Best Pic predictions by Da 5 Bloods and Mank but he has an additional six Netflix films scattered throughout these five categories: Hillbilly Elegy, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Midnight Sky, Blonde, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Life Ahead and The Prom.

Netflix's robust presence over the past five years and especially the past two suggests that looking at Netflix's lineup should tell us to expect around 4-5 titles as Telluride possibilities.

Long time Telluride presence Sony Pictures Classics has a couple of films in this list of 15 additional films.  One is The Father which bowed at Sundance and as such is an unlikely to play TFF.  The other is French Exit starring Michelle Pfeiffer.  So that's something to consider.

The complete post from Anderson is linked here.


CANNES DEADLINES EXTENDED

As we await word about the ultimate fate about the Cannes Festival-postponement to June/July.. postponement to an even later date in 2020...or perhaps even cancellation for 2020...and then what that domino falls, how it will affect the other film fest dominoes on the calendar... we got word this week that the organizers had extended deadlines for submissions as a way of dealing with the rupture that has occurred in the film industry as a result of Covid-19.

Details of those extensions are here from Variety and The Wrap.

Meanwhile, a Cannes Film Fest focal point, the Palais de Festival has been transformed into a homeless shelter to provide shelter during France's Covid-19 lockdown.

Indiewire has that story linked here.


R-E-S-P-E-C-T  M-O-V-E-S

Photo of Jennifer Hudson and Aretha Franklin via Vanity Fair

The Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson hasn't been on my TFF radar as its release date was set for some time to be for August.  However, this past week that date was moved to Christmas Day.  So suddenly, assuming that date holds, maybe we have to think about the film as a possibility.

Speculation was that the date change was only partially due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Roger Friedman's Showbiz 911 suggests that Hudson is getting a lot of Oscar buzz and that could have also been a factor in the decision.

The Showbiz 911 story is kinked here.


And here's the early teaser for the film via YouTube:

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Gone, Gone, Gone / Gold Derby Looks at Oscar 2021...

GONE, GONE, GONE

Indiewire's Ryan Lattanzio wrote a piece that went up on Sunday afternoon...after passes went on sale for TFF #47.  Of most import to MTFB readers was the inclusion of some title speculation for this year's iteration of TFF.  Some of those titles you've seen consistently in this space.  Some are new...

Among the films mentioned in the article:

Mank
Nomadland
Hillbilly Elegy
Dune
Minari
Passing

I was able to purchase mine after a tense few minutes and a couple of hiccups.  That means that my wife and I will be attending our 15th consecutive fest.

The entire Lattanzio post is linked here.


You may notice that friend of MTFB Chris Schiller's tweet about the pass sale made the article.


GOLD DERBY LOOKS AT OSCAR 2021...

I've been dipping into the early Oscar speculation for the coming year as a way of gathering clues fro films that could also be on the lineup announcement for TFF #47 six months from now.  Gold Derby's look is among the most thorough around and provides us with a multiplicity of candidates to consider.

Their 2021 preview provides release date info, director and distributor.  All of those items can help as we try to sniff out some Telluride potentials.

So, what can we find that seems like it's worth contemplating for TFF from the Gold Derby list.  Among their "Leading Contenders:

The Father/Zeller/Sony Pictures Classics/Fall
Hillbilly Elegy/Howard/Netflix/Fall
MacBeth/Coen/A24/Fall
Mank/Fincher/Netflix/Fall
News of the World/Greengrass/Universal/Dec. 25
Next Goal Wins/Waititi/Searchlight/Fall
Nightmare Alley/Del Toro/Searchlight/Fall
Trial of the Chicago 7/Sorkin/Paramount/Sept. 25

Among their "Strong Contenders":

Ammonite/Lee/Neon/Fall
Dune/Villeneuve/Warner Bros./Dec. 18
Good Morning, Midnight/Clooney/Netflix/Fall
Ironbark/Cooke/Lionsgate/Fall
On the Rocks/S. Coppola/A24/Fall
Prisoner 760/Macdonald/BBC/Fall
Stillwater/McCarthy/Focus/Nov. 6


And from their "Possible Contenders":

Annette/Carax/Amazon/Fall
Blonde/Dominik/Netflix/Fall
The Eyes of Tammy Faye/Showalter/Searchlight/Fall
French Exit/Jacobs/Sony Picture Classics/Fall
Nomadland/Zhao/Searchlight/Fall
Red, White and Water/Neugebauer/A24/Fall

The complete Gold Derby post is linked here.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Anticipation / Oscar 2021 Thoughts / Sale Time / And Now: Berlin...

ANTICIPATION

The Hollywood Reporter has put together their list of 77 "most anticipated" films for 2020 and it continues the trend begun at the end of the 2019 to offer some films that one would think will be under consideration and/or will be offered as a possible choice for TFF #47.

THR has organized their list chronologically, at least to the extent possible.  Some highly anticipated films are not yet dated for release and are either listed as TBD's or not listed at all.

Soooo...TFF #47 options?  In chronological order:

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (10/7)

Stillwater (11/6)

Dune 12/18

News of the World (12/25)

Mank (TBD)

Hillbilly Elegy (TBD)

On the Rocks (TBD)

Half tempted to include Ridley Scott's The Last Duel and Ben Wheatley's Rebecca remake.

The complete THR list is here.

OSCAR 2021 THOUGHTS

Variety's Brent Lang and Mark Malkin got into the early Oscar prediction sweepstakes this week with an article posted on Tuesday.  They peer into their crystal ball to contemplate which films might be in serious contention for Academy Award glory a year from now.

Consequently, here's a look at their list of films through the prism of what seems the most likely Telluride players in the order presented in the article:

Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy

Sofia Coppola's On the Rocks

Joel Coen's MacBeth

Aaron Sorkin's The Trial of the Chicago 7

Francis Lee's Ammonite

Kimberly Pierce's This Is Jane

David Fincher's Mank

The complete Variety post is linked here.

SALE TIME

As a public service, this reminder that TFF #47 passes go on sale on Sunday, March 1.  Here's the reminder directly from the TFF #47 website:

AND NOW:  BERLIN...

The 70th Berlin International Film Festival is opening tonight and will run through Mar. 1st.  And if past os prologue, you can expect that a film or two that will premiere there will probably end up in southwest Colorado in early September.  

Last year it was Varda by Agnes.  In 2018 it was Dovlatov.  In 2017: Hostages and The Other Side of Hope.  2016: Fire at Sea and Things to Come.

The 2020 edition hs a number of films that offer tantalizing possibilities for Telluride programmers.

Indiewire posted a list of 15 films that will play the Berlinale that they say are Their most anticipated.  Among that list, I can point to a few that could be TFF #47 potentials:

Agnieszka Holland's Charlatan

Rithy Pahn's Irradiated

Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio

Phillipe Garrel's The Salt of Tears

Abel Ferrara's Siberia

Christian Petzold's Undine

You can check out all of Indiewire's Berlin Most Anticipated by clicking here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays.