Obsessing about the Telluride Film Festival and the film awards season since 2008!
"The best blog out there for predicting what will be going to Telluride."-Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
"The Nostradamus of Telluride"
-Tim Appelo, Movies for Grownups
Good Monday from Kansas City, KS. and the National Speech and Debate Tournament...I'm here all week...literally.
BOY AND THE WORLD
Picture via HitFix
The Brazilian animated feature "Boy and the World" made a splash at last week's Annecy Animation Fest after also performing well at earlier fests. GKIDS has the distribution and I think it has become a serious possibility for the Telluride 2014 lineup. HitFix reports on the film:
VIEWS OF GILLIAM'S LATEST (AND NEWS OF DON QUIXOTE)
A new trailer is out for Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" which we had marked down as a TFF #40 possibility. It's appearance at Austin's Fantastic Fest last fall has all been ended the chances that we'll see it at T-ride this year. Nevertheless, a new trailer was dropped this weekend and The Playlist had that story:
The post also says that Gilliam's long time project "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote" will not begin shooting until 2015.
TEN TFF FILMS NOT SEEN AT TFF
I'm doing a quick little project in this week's posts. I'm taking a quick look at ten great films that played at Telluride that I didn't actually didn't see there. I didn't start going until 2006 so all of those films that they screened from the beginning fit the bill. Then, of course, there are the films that I COULD have seen from '06 on, but for one reason or another, didn't until later. This list is a mix of both.
In chronological order, here are the first two of ten great TFF films that I didn't see at TFF:
1986- David Lynch's "Blue Velvet". Lynch's best film that both adheres to and parodies the "small town with big secrets" film. Dennis Hopper was never better and the film laid the groundwork for Lynch's television masterpiece "Twin Peaks".
1994-"Ed Wood". Tim Burton's best film with Johnny Depp in great form as the title character (creator of what are universally regarded as some of the worst films ever made) and Martin Landau delivery of a master class level performance as Bela Lugosi.
Two more from this list coming in tomorrow's post...
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Good Thursday Everybody...Heaven opens for business in ONE WEEK...TFF #40!
THE INVITATIONS
With a week left to go I am wanting to make sure that everyone within the sound of this blog...so to speak...knows that I am issuing a number of invitations and reminders:
1) "THE GUIDE"-Come and visit, talk a little film, have a beverage and a nosh at The 3rd "Guide to the Ride". It's an opportunity for us all to get together before the serious business of watching film until our heads spin. "The Guide" will be hosted by Mitzi and Larry Mallard at The River Club in Telluride (550 Depot) at 5:00 pm on Thursday, Aug. 29.
Seriously, come and join us...it'll be fun.
2) RATE THE FILMS- For the second year MTFB is calling on you readers to share your impressions of the films you chose to watch during Labor Day weekend. I call it "The People's Telluride". Rate what you see on a 0-5 scale and send those ratings to me. Email, DM, Facebook...whatever. I'll collect and collate and report to everyone the week after the Festival concludes. Also don't forget to check out "The Critic's Telluride". Some very kind and generous people have agreed to rate the films they see as well:
Alex Billington/First Showing
Scott Feinberg/The Hollywood Reporter
Scott Foundas/Variety
Eric Kohn/IndieWire
Eugene Novikov/Film Blather
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kristopher Tapley/HitFix/InContention
I have feelers out and would like to snag a couple of more of the "pros". We'll see.
3) Bebop over to Screencraft.org (www.screencraft.org) during the fest. I'll be posting there as well. A daily summary of what is going on, impressions of the films I see and the buzz about the weekend.
MYSTERY DATE
Telluride.com tweeted out a link last night to a "Schedule of Special Events" for TFF #40. Most of the items on that schedule are fairly routine for every festival but the first item listed...not so much.
A "Special Anniversary Celebration" is listed for Wednesday evening (Aug. 28) from 5:00pm to 6:30 at the Town Park Stage. What is it? We don't know...though I have heard some interesting rumblings. If I can nail it down I'll be sure to post details.
The Motion Picture Association of America ratings bulletin for this week includes an NC-17 rsing for Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color". The word is that Sundance Selects, which is hadling the film here in the states, has determined that they won't appeal nor will they ask direcotr Abdellatif Kechiche to alter the film.
I am 90% convinced that "Blue" will be a part of the TFF #40 lineup when it is unveiled next Wednesday.
Links to the ratings stories below are from HitFix and The Hollywood Reporter:
We have a trailer for Peter Landesman's "Parkland", a film that I've been intrigued by and that has a smal shot of being on next week's playbill. "Parkland" focuses on the events surrounding JFK's assassination 50 years ago using the hospital where the wounded President was taken after the deadly shots were fired.
The cast is stellar featuring Billy Bob Thornton, Marcia Gay Harden, Paul Giamatti, Zac Efron and more.
We were treated to a trailer for the film yesterday:
I think it definitely looks interesting. I have linked other stories that were posted about the trailer and the film from FirstShowing, Rope of Silicon and Thompson on Hollywood:
Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" remains just on the threshold of possibility for Telluride. It is certainly set for Venice and consequently we saw yesterday afternoon the release of a poster and a director's statement from Gilliam about the film which stars Christoph Waltz.
I'd love for this to play...and I know that anumber of followers of this blog feel the smae way...still could happen. Gilliam could play both T-ride and Venice. There will be other films that do both this year. "The Unknown Known" and "The Armstrong Lie" come to mind.
Keep a good thought.
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More on Friday including my latest "Ten (+) Bets" List...
I'm having a hard time believing we still don't know the Guest Director for this year's Telluride Film Festival. I've offered up a couple of theories over these past few months. Initially I thought it might be "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner who was reportedly a guest at TFF's Hollywood party back in June. (Check out my June 12th post). No announcement came, however.
Then I got it into my head that the Fest might be holding off to make a BIG announcement during the week of Venice/Toronto festival lineup announcements. Along with that, I suggested the notion that the Guest Director might be someone that has an immense popular profile. I confess, I was thinking crazy BIG names and I also suggested that the person might come from music or politics. Names like Jagger and Clinton were in my head.
Didn't happen.
Now, I'm completely mystified.
And if you're having trouble with the Guest Director spot TFF, I have further suggestions:
1) Werner Herzog...you know he'll be there. He's got a new theater named in his honor.
2) Have 6 of them...I'll bet you have at least 6 past Guest Directors in attendance. Have each of them select one film from the list they originally programmed. Or cross-pollinate them...have an Alexander Payne program one film from Errol Morris' original list.
Here's the last of all past directors:
1988- Donald Richie
1989- Errol Morris
1990- Bertrand Tavernier
1991- Laurie Anderson
1992- G. Cabrera Infante
1993- John Boorman
1994- John Simon
1995- Phillip Lopate
1996- B. Ruby Rich
1997- Peter Von Bagh
1998- Peter Bogdanovich
1999- Peter Sellars
2000- Edgardo Coranzinsky
2001- Salman Rushdie
2002- Alberto Barbera
2003- Stephen Sondheim
2004- Buck Henry
2005- Don Delillo
2006- J. P. Gorin
2007- Edith Kramer
2008- Slavoj Zizek
2009- Alexander Payne
2010- Michael Ondaatje
2011- Cataneo Veloso
2012- Geoff Dyer
I have to believe that Morris, Tavernier, Sellars, Rushdie, Payne and maybe Bogdanovich, Henry and Boorman will be in town.
Idea #3- Pick me, I'll do it. Nobody will see that coming.
HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE ADDS FUEL TO THE FIRE
Overnight, Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere posted his musings on three films that appear to be avoiding the Toronto International Film Festival but that he says are all but certain Telluride fare. The films: Alexander Payne's "Nebraska", The Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" and J.C. Chandor's "All is Lost".
On its face the post is an interesting look a what Wells thinks may be going in vis-a-vis film programming and Toronto. For my purposes, it just adds fuel to the fire that the three films play Telluride.
"Nebraska" isn't a surprise. I've had it at #1 on the "Ten Bets" list all summer.
For "Inside Llewyn Davis" it's another validation of its place on the "Ten Bets" list. As a matter of fact, it might be solid enough now to move up the list a bit this week.
As for "All is Lost", you know if you've been following this space this last couple of weeks that it has been gaining some steam as a possible/probable Telluride selection. I wouldn't be surprised if it appears somewhere on this week's "Ten Bets" list.
HitFix/InContention posted an interesting story yesterday that took a look at 15 films that are still looking for distribution but are playing a major fest and are also thought to have some awards potential. The article also points at some of the 15 that they feel might make the Telluride lineup. Those films are:
Attila Marcel (dir. Sylvain Chomet)
Joe (dir. David Gordon Green)
The Railway Man (dir. Jonathan Teplitzky)
Serena (dir. Susanne Bier)
There are three other films among the 15 that they don’t tag with the “maybe Telluride” label that I would continue to include as outside possibilities:
Terry Gilliam’s “The Zero Theorem”
Kelly Reichardt’s “Night Moves” and
Matthew Weiner’s “You Are Here”.
We'll almost certainly see some film(s) from The Weinstein Company in three or so weeks. Leading the pack, my guess is, James Gray's "The Immigrant" starring Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix.
TWC, however, has a bunch of other possible films that are floating about that are both Telluride possibles and awards-possibles as well:
"August: Osage County"
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
"Philomena"
"Grace of Monaco"
"Snowpiercer"
"One Chance"
"Salinger"
"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet"
Then there are films that aren't T-ride possibles from TWC that might figure into the awards mix as well, such as Sundance favorite "Fruitvale Station" and next week's release "Lee Daniels: The Butler".
There's lot of product there. The Hollywood Reporter's Gregg Kilday took a look at all the TWC slate as we approach fall festival season:
We're between Toronto and Venice Film Fest announcements...heady stuff this week.
I've re-posted yesterday's Toronto announcement. I've added some more analysis.
TORONTO ANNOUNCES (SOME OF ) ITS LINEUP
The Toronto International Film Festival announced about a fourth of its lineup this morning. The Toronto lineup is always vast, usually over 300 titles in all after they're all announced. As I have noted, the average overlap between Telluride and Toronto is about 70%. Meaning that, in an average year, 70% of the Telluride lineup will go on to play later at Toronto. So as a general rule, most of the films announced this morning are still "in play" as far as Telluride is concerned. Another note is that Toronto's designation of "World Premiere" or North American Premiere" rarely is reflective of whether or not we might find that film at Telluride.
All that being said, here's the lineup of films that Toronto announced yesterday (via IndieWire):
GALAS
American Dreams in China (NAP)
The Art of the Steal (WP)
August: Osage County (WP)
Cold Eyes (NAP)
The Fifth Estate (WP/Opener)
The Grand Seduction (WP)
Kill Your Darlings (IP)
Life of Crime (WP/Closer)
The Love Punch (WP)
The Lunchbox (NAP)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (WP)
Parkland (NAP)
The Railway Man (WP)
The Right Kind of Wrong (WP)
Rush (IP)
Shuddh Desi Romance (CP)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (WP)
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:
12 Years a Slave (WP)
All is by my Side (WP)
Attila Marcel (WP)
Bad Words (WP)
Blue is the Warmest Color (NAP)
Burning Bush (NAP)
Can a Song Save Your Life (WP)
Cannibal (WP)
Dallas Buyers Club (WP)
Devil’s Knot (WP)
The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby His and Hers (?)
Dom Hemingway (WP)
Don Jon (CP)
The Double (WP)
Enough Said (WP)
Exit Marrakech (IP)
Felony (WP)
For Those Who Can Tell No Tales (WP)
Gloria (NAP)
Going Away II (WP)
Gravity (NAP)
The Great Beauty (NAP)
Half of a Yellow Sun (WP)
Hateship Loveship (WP)
Ida (WP)
L’intrepido (NAP)
The Invisible Woman (WP)
Joe (NAP)
Labor Day (WP)
Like Father Like Son (NAP)
Man of Tai Chi (NAP)
Mary Queen of Scots (NAP)
Night Moves (NAP)
Omar (NAP)
One Chance (WP)
Only Lovers Left Alive (NAP)
The Past (NAP)
Philomena (NAP)
Pioneer (IP)
Prisoners (WP)
Quay d’Orsay (WP)
Real (NAP)
Starred Up (WP)
Third Person (WP)
Those Happy Years (WP)
Tracks (NAP)
Under the Skin (NAP)
Violette (WP)
Visitors (WP)
Walesa: Man of Hope (NAP)
We Are the Best (NAP)
Le Weekend (WP)
You Are Here (WP)
Young and Beautiful (NAP)
(WP) = World Premiere
(IP) = International Premiere
(NAP) = North American Premiere
(CP) = Canadian Premiere
(?) = No premiere information listed
Notes:
With the exception of "The Fifth Estate" (because its Toronto's opening night film) the rest of these films still have Telluride potential and I'm still NOT going to completely write it off because of the Laura Linney/Telluride connection...but it is very unlikely now.
Films that intrigue me that are on Toronto's list in terms of Telluride potential:
"12 Years a Slave". Listed as a Toronto World Premiere meaning no Venice showing and that actually makes it MORE likely to make the trip to Telluride.
also...
I'm a little surprised to see "August: Osage County" on Toronto's list. I had all but considered it a non-fest film almost all the way...maybe New York. Now, it may have some Telluride life after all.
A few other "Galas" intrigue me: Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom", "The Lunchbox", "Parkland", "The Railway Man" and "Rush". Of these, I still feel that "The Lunchbox" is the best T-ride bet.
Among the "Special Presentations" that still breathe the fumes of Telluride potential:
The aforementioned "12 Years a Slave"
"Attila Marcel"
"Blue is the Warmest Color"
"Burning Bush"
"Dallas Buyers Club"
"Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby"
"Gloria"
"Gravity"
"The Great Beauty"
"The Invisible Woman"
"Labor Day"
"Like Father Like Son"
"Night Moves"
"Only Lovers Left Alive"
"The Past"
"Philomena"
"Prisoners"
"Quay d'Orsay"
"Under the Skin"
"Le Weekend"
"You Are Here"
"Young and Beautiful"
On my "Ten Bets" NOT announced this morning:
"Nebraska", "Life Itself", "Daughter of the Dawn", "The Unknown Known", "The Story of Children and Film", "The Immigrant" and "Aguirre:The Wrath of God".
Also, another quirk...of the "World Premieres" you can expect about 6-7 to actually show up in Telluride first.
Notable Films not in TIFF's announcement:
"Inside Llewyn Davis", "Captain Phillips", "Saving Mr. Banks", "The Wolf of Wall Street", "All is Lost", "The Monuments Men", "The Counselor", "Grace of Monaco", "Diana", "Out of the Furnace""The Zero Theorem", The Immigrant", "The Congress" and "Foxcatcher".
"Llewyn", "All is Lost", "The Immigrant" and "The Congress" all played Cannes and their exclusion today by the TIFF announcement lends some credence to the notion that they could play T-ride.
Some films that may have a greater Telluride chance because of their inclusion today are: "The Lunchbox", "Le Weekend", "Quay d"Orsay", "Attila Marcel" and "Gloria".
Notable films listed by Toronto as "World Premieres" that translates to: "Won't be playing Venice":
"12 Years a Slave", "August: Osage County", "The Fifth Estate", "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom", "The Railway Man", "Dallas Buyers Club", "The Devil's Knot", "Dom Hemingway", "The Invisible Woman", "Labor Day", "Prisoners", "Le Weekend", and "You Are Here".
Keep in mind that Toronto still has a ton of titles to announce and traditionally anywhere from 1/3 to 1/2 of the crossover titles between Telluride and Toronto come from such categories as Docs, Masters and Contemporary World Cinema.
Here's is complete analysis of Toronto's announcement from
Tomorrow comes the announcement from Venice as to its lineup and that may tell us a little more.
DEADLINE TALKS TORONTO/TELLURIDE
Pete Hammond at Deadline.com posted his Toronto analysis piece yesterday and it includes almost as much about his suspicions about Telluride as it does about Toronto.
Hammond seems pretty confident about "Inside Llewyn Davis", "Nebraska" and "All is Lost". Other films that he suggests have Telluride potential after reading the post-Toronto announcement tea leaves are:
"The Immigrant", "Labor Day" and "12 Years a Slave". If you've been following this space for the past few months you know that I have all of these on my Telluride radar (and I'd be really pumped if they were all to pan out). One film that Hammond also mentions that absolutly has NOT been on my T-ride screen is "The Good Lie" directed Philippe Falardeau and starring Reese Witherspoon and Corey Stoll. Hammond says he's heard "rumblings" about this recently wrapped film.
In honor of the expected announcement that Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" will play at Venice I have attached some pics that emerged last weekend during Comic Con form the film:
Today is the deadline for film submissions for the Telluride Film Festival. I have been told on occasion that some of the "higher-ups" in the TFF hierarchy actually take a look at this space from time to time. I'm not sure I believe that but I'd like to. So, in that spirit, here's my list of 20 films that I'd sure like the Telluride Film Festival to consider programming. some of these I'm very sure will play. Others don't have a snowball's chance of being in San Miguel County on Labor Day but it's a "wish list" (most with some kind of clip or trailer)of sorts so...
And to those film makers out there that are responsible for the films on this list...come on...apply...(of course, I fully realize that there are sometimes "late additions" to the Telluride lineup...that's OK too).
In alphabetical order they are:
"12 Years a Slave"- Steve McQueen's third feature following "Hunger" and "Shame" tells the true story of a free black man taken slammed into slavery and his struggle to regain that freedom. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Michael Fassbender lead a massive and talent-laden cast. Rumors are strong that it will play the Venice fest.
"All is Lost"- J.C. Chandor's follow-up to "Margin Call" features Robert Redford, a boat and the ocean...and not much dialogue. It played at Cannes out of competition and was rapturously received. Lot of buzz for Redford vis-a-vis awards season.
"American Hustle" -David O. Russell is on a hot streak. "Silver Linings Playbook" last year and "The Fighter" in 2010. "AH" is a true story of political corruption that features a phenomenal cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro from "SLP" and Christian Bale and Amy Adams from "Fighter" plus throw in Jeremy Renner.
"August: Osage County"-Meryl Streep leads the all star cast in this adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize winning play about a dysfunctional Oklahoma family. Other cast mates: Julia Roberts, Ewan MacGregor, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch and Sam Shepard.
"Captain Phillips"- Tom Hanks plays the real life Captain of the U.S. ship hijacked by Somali pirates in 2009. Paul Greengrass directs.
"The Counselor"- Ridley Scott (?) directs an original Cormac McCarthy script abut a lawyer who gets in over his head when dealing with the illicit drug trade. The cast is intriguing: Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt, Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Cameron Diaz.
"Dallas Buyers Club"- Matthew McConnaughey looks to continue his current acting winning streak with this true story of a homophobic Texan who contracted AIDS in 1986 and his attempts to find ways to treat it. Jean-Marc Vallee (The Young Victoria) directs.Jared Leto and Jennifer Garner also star.
"The Fifth Estate"- Director Bill Condon's take on Julian Assange and the development of WikiLeaks. Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Bruhl and Laura Linney star.
"Foxcatcher"- Bennett Miller has directed two straight winners: "Capote" and "Moneyball". I'm hopeful that "Foxcatcher" will give him a hat trick. "Foxcatcher" is another true story (notice that there are a lot of those on this list?). This focuses on millionaire John DuPont and his murder of Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz. Mark Ruffalo, Steve Carell and Channing Tatum star.
"Gravity"-Alfonso Curaon is back. The director finally follows up his 2006 gem "Children of Men" with another sci-fi piece. Now, I really liked "Children of Men" but Frankly was just lukewarm about this "lost in space" story starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney...most Bullock I understand. That is until I saw the teaser...now, I'm kind of hot to see the film.
"Her" Spike Jonze directs, Joaquin Phoenix acts in a story about a men in love with his computer's operating system. Yes. Plus a lot of beautiful talented women: Amy Adams, Scarlett Johansson, Rooney Mara and Olivia Wilde. The combo of Jonze and Phoenix is a enough for me.
"The Immigrant" James Gray's story of a young women trapped in a bad life in 19th century America with Marion Cotillard Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. I've been hot to see it since they teased it last year at TFF#39.
"Inside Llewyn Davis"-The Coen Brothers ode to music (folk music specifically) was roundly applauded at Cannes. The buzz is very, very good. Oscar Issac stars as the title character who appears to be a struggling New York folk musician in the early 60's. Carey Mulligan, John Goodman, F. Murray Abraham and Justin Timberlake co-star. This might be the #1 film on this fall's "must see" list.
"Labor Day"- I sure hope that Jason Reitman returns to Telluride. I enjoyed "Juno" and "Up in the Air" and a brief conversation with Reitman both times. This project sounds intriguing. Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin star. Brolin's on the run from the law whose path crosses with Winslet's character.
"The Monuments Men"- George Clooney and company save art from Nazis. Clooney directs, stars and co-wrote the film which also features Matt Damon, Cate Blanchett, John Goodman, Bill Murray and Jean Dujardin. Come on back to Telluride George!
"Nebraska"- Alexander Payne's story of a father-son road trip to claim a potential fortune. Bruce Dern and Will Forte star (see story below).
"Out of the Furnace"- Scott Cooper follows "Crazy Heart" with this hard scrabble film about a man looking for justice for his brother. Christian Bale, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson and Zoe Saldana star.
"The Past"-Berenice Bejo won Best Actress at Cannes in May in this film from "A Separation's" Asgahr Farhadi. "A Separation" was one of the best films of 2011. If this story of domestic difficulties is remotely in the same ball park, it should be worth our time.
"The Wolf of Wall Street"-Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio team up yet again for this true story of high finance, crime and corruption. McConnaughey and Dujardin are both in this as well in addition to Jonah Hill and Jon Favreau.
"The Zero Theorem"-Terry Gilliam playing at satirizing our world with Christoph Waltz in the lead...yes please...in Telluride please.
There you have it. The deadline is tonight at midnight. Get that paperwork filled out.
ONLY IN TELLURIDE
I ran across a story this past weekend that underlines the uniqueness of the Telluride Film Festival. The L.A. Times was reporting on the resurgence in the use of black and white film making and isolated a story about Noah Baumbach ("Frances Ha") and Alexander Payne (the forthcoming and above mentioned "Nebraska meeting at Telluride last year and spending substantial time together. Payne was yet to begin shooting "Nebraska" and wanted to get pointers from Baumbach who had completed "Frances".
I'm not sure that kind of organic (and reportedly lengthy) meet up happens any way else.
Good Saturday to everyone. Here's a look at the best material I posted this past week on MTFB:
BEST OF THE WEEK
TEN BETS #1
For the third straight year here is the first stab at guessing ten films that will play at Telluride this year.
Last year's initial "Ten Bets" had 5 films that actually made the grade: "Amour", "Rust and Bone", "No", "Midnight's Children" and "Hyde Park on Hudson". The 2011 list was actually much better with 8 of that initial list showing at the SHOW: "The Descendants:, "The Artist", "The Kid with a Bike", "Le Havre", Restored : "A Trip to the Moon", "Into the Abyss", "We Have to Talk About Kevin" and "Shame".
So, with hope that I can return to my 2011 form, here are "Ten Bets":
1) "Nebraska": Alexander Payne's road dramedy with Bruce Dern and Will Forte. Payne's "Descendants" was the #1 bet to start 2011's "Ten Bets" and his follow up starts in the same position for 2013.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1821549/?ref_=sr_1
2) "The Past": My bet is that Asghar Farhadi (and SPC) return to Telluride with this relationship drama follow-up to his brilliant "A Separation". Berenice Bejo stars...and could be a Best Actress contender. Perhaps she'll come to T-ride as her husband Michel Hazanavicius did with "The Artist" 2 years ago.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2404461/?ref_=sr_1
4) "Aguirre: The Wrath of God": Friend of the blog Christopher Schiller mentioned this as a possibility and it makes too much sense. The new restoration of the 1972 film played at Cannes and, of course, was directed by Telluride legend Werner Herzog. Additionally, Herzog will have the new 650 seat theater (hockey pavilion converted to cinema) named in his honor as part of this year's 40th wing ding. What do you bet that "The Zog" (my name for the new theater) opens with this as its first film? Sounds about right to me.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068182/?ref_=sr_1
5) "The Immigrant": James Gray directs and co-wrote the script. It stars Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Renner and Joaquin Phoenix. TFF #39 attendees saw a few minutes of this last year as part of the tribute to Cotillard with Mr. Gray in attendance. My bet is that they had this year's fest slot settled on at that point. Further evidence? Gray's presence at Telluride's Hollywood soiree a few weeks back.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1951181/?ref_=sr_1
7) "The Invisible Woman": Earlier this week as I was analyzing Sony Pictures Classics slate of potential films I mentioned Ralph Fiennes "The Invisible Women" was iffy since its announced release date is Feb. 2014 in Britain. My speculation was that seemed like a long time after TFF...but I did conclude by saying that I hadn't completely ruled it out. Good for me as you will see below. For this spot in the blog...let's just say, the film that focuses on Charles Dickens and his secret lover looks likely now
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1700845/?ref_=sr_1
8) "Labor Day": I'm betting that Jason Reitman returns. After "Juno" and "Up in the Air" both played here, Reitman's last film "Young Adult" did not. I'm guessing that Reitman returns to the San Juans with this latest film that stars Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1967545/?ref_=sr_1
9) "12 Years a Slave": I admit, my guess here is based purely on the fact that Steve McQueen's previous efforts, "Hunger" and "Shame" both appeared at Telluride. It's also in the Fox Searchlight wheelhouse. A lot of smart people think it will play Venice and I haven't found anyone, besides myself, who has it going to Telluride. But remember, "Shame" played both Venice and T-ride. So put it at #8 and hope.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2024544/
10) "Like Father, Like Son": Well received at Cannes and under the Sundance Selects umbrella. The film focuses on the choice one man must make when it is discovered that his son was accidentally switched at birth and that another boy is actually his own.
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2331143/?ref_=ttco_co_tt
On the edge: Sundance Selects other Cannes films including Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color", "The Selfish Giant" and "Young and Beautiful". SPC's "Only Lovers Left Alive", "The Lunchbox" and "For No Good Reason". Bertrand Tavernier's new film "Quai d'Orsay", Errol Morris's Donald Rumsfeld documentary "The Unkonwn Known". TWC's "One Chance", "Philomena" and "Salinger". Also, don't forget "Mad Men" creator Matthew Weiner's film directing debut "You Are Here".
Let's see how it plays out over the next couple of months.
FOX SEARCHLIGHT AT TELLURIDE
Fox Searchlight has a hit and miss history with the Telluride Film Festival over the past decade. It's been a substantial player some years and has been absent in others. Here's the FS presence at T-ride for the past ten years:
2003:
2004: Kinsey
2005: Bee Season
2006: The Last King of Scotland, The Namesake
2007: Juno, The Savages
2008: Slumdog Millionaire
2009:
2010: Never Let Me Go, 127 Hours, Black Swan, Millions
2011: Shame, The Descendants
2012:
13 films in ten years. The highwater mark coming in 2010 with 4 films on the SHOW list but '03, '09 and '12 with no films at all. Looking at their current lineup of films purportedly ready:
"12 Years a Slave"
"Black Nativity"
and "Baggage Claim"
Of them, only "12 Years" seems like a solid Telluride pick what with director Steve McQueen's past with the festival. I think "Baggage Claim" is really unlikely. "Black Nativity" is really an intriguing possibility. It's described as a "contemporary adaptation of Langston Hughes celebrated play" and is adapted and directed by Kasi Lemmons whose previous directing crdits include "Talk to Me", "The Caveman's Valentine" and "Eve's Bayou". I could see this being on the TFF list. Notice also, that Fox Searchlight hasn't gone two straight years without some presence at the SHOW.
No distributor has historically had a stronger presence at the Telluride Film Festival than Sony Pictures Classics. Fest hondos usually tell people that they program between 24 and 30 feature films each year. For the last ten years, SPC has averaged 4.6 films per festival...or somewhere in the neighborhood of 18% of the T-ride slate each year comes from the SPC stable.
Here's what SPC has shown in Telluride in the last decade:
2012:The Gatekeepers, At Any Price, Rust and Bone, No, Wadjda, Amour
2011: A Dangerous Method, In Darkness, Footnote, A Separation
2010: Incendies, Of Gods and Men, Tamara Drewe, Another Year, The Illusionist, Inside Job
2009: The Last Station, The White Ribbon, Coco Before Chanel, A Prophet, An Education
2008: Waltz with Bashir, I've Loved You So Long, O'Horten
2007: Brick Lane, When Did You Last See Your Father, Persepolis, The Band's Visit, The Counterfeiters
2006: Jindabyne, The Lives of Others, Volver, The Italian
2005: Breakfast on Pluto, Capote, Cache, The Child
2004: Being Julia, House of Flying Daggers, Bad Education, Merchant of Venice, Up and Down, Yes
2003: The Fog of War, My Life Without Me, The Triplets of Belleville, Young Adam
So we can look at this as a template and know that unless something has drastically changed, SPC will be at TFF #40 and likely in a big way. So what is in the SPC house right now?
According to IMDb, this is the 2013 (and slightly beyond) list of SPC films:
The Invisible Woman
Turner
The Raid 2
Blue Jasmine
For No Good Reason
Only Lovers Left Alive
The Lunchbox
The Past
I'm So Excited
Before Midnight
Austenland
Kill Your Darlings
The Patience Stone
First, eliminate the films already in release: "Before Midnight",
Next, films that have played U.S. fests already or have a set release date prior to Telluride: "The Patience Stone", "Kill Your Darlings", "Austenland", "I'm So Excited",and "Blue Jasmine".
That leaves 7 films. Mike Leigh's "Turner" is reportedly still filming and I don't think "The Raid 2" is likely Telluride fare.
That leaves us with 5 films:
Ralph Fiennes' "The Invisible Woman"
Asghar Farhadi's Cannes competition Best Actress winning (Berenice Bejo) "The Past".
Jim Jarmusch's Tilda Swinton starring "Only Lovers Left Alive"...also a Cannes film.
The Ralph Steadman documentary "For No Good Reason" and
Recent SPC acquisition "The Lunchbox".
I think they could all play at Telluride. At this point, I'd be surprised if "The Past" WASN'T there and Friday, The London Daily Mail/Mail Online let slip that "The Invisible Woman" would be playing Telluride.
I have some reservations about "Only Lovers" and "For No Good Reason". I actually feel pretty confident about "The Lunchbox".
"Only Lovers" has some other things going for it to suggest that it's a potential Telluride selection...it was a Cannes film, Tilda Swinton stars and is said to have really enjoyed her tribute year in 2011. Reportedly she'd like to come back. Director/writer Jim Jarmusch has been a T-ride player before...albeit a long time ago ("Stranger Than Paradise" in 1984 and "Mystery Train" in 1989). All of that suggests that I should be putting it on the "Ten Bets" list Friday...but it's about vampires...which I find a little strange for Telluride #40. Still, it has a lot going for it.
My reluctance concerning "For No Good Reason" stems from no other Telluride connection.
"The Lunchbox" seems right in a T-ride sweet spot. Indian, Cannes (Critic's week section) and its description of a lunchbox delivery gone awry and the consequences that spring from that sound Telluride-friendly as well.
T-ride chances for these four?
"The Invisible Women" 95%
"The Past" 90%
"The Lunchbox" 80%
"For No Good Reason" 50%
"Only Lovers Left Alive" 50%
SUNDANCE SELECTS AND TELLURIDE
Only a player in distribution for just a few years, Sundance Selects has been present at the Telluride Film Festival for the last three fests at various levels of involvement.
2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Tabloid
2011: The Forgiveness of Blood, The Kid with a Bike, Goodbye First Love and Into the Abyss
2012: The Central Park Five
At this point, the possible Sundance Selects offerings amount to 5 films that played at Cannes:
Palme d'Or winner "Blue is the Warmest Color", Jury Prize winner "Like Father, Like Son", Francois Ozon's "Young and Beautiful", Clio Bernard's "The Selfish Giant" and Roman Polanski's "Venus in Fur".
My feeling is that "Like Father..." and "The Selfish Giant" might be the more likely T-ride choices...though "Blue" and "Young and Beautiful" seem very possible as well.
Polanski's film seems like the least likely of the five from Cannes.
Sundance Selects also has a documentary entitled "The Summit" which has played in 2 film fests in England and Ireland...that could be a possibility.
Chances:
"Like Father, Like Son" 70%
"The Selfish Giant" 70%
"Blue is the Warmest Color" 60%
"Young and Beautiful" 50%
"Venus in Fur" 20%
""The Summit" 20%
IFC FILMS AND TELLURIDE
IFC films has been a fairly substantial presence at Telluride over the past several years. The firms highlight year probably was 2008 (the writer's strike year) when it was represented by 5 films. IFC Films sometimes partners with Sundance Selects.
Here's the film record for IFC Films at Telluride for the past ten years:
2003: Touching the Void, Intermission
2004: Nobody Knows
2005: Three Times
2006: Deep Water, Indigenes
2007: Secret Sunshine, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Jar City
2008: Hunger, Gomorrah, Flame and Citron, Everlasting Moments, The Good, the Bad and the Weird
2009: Fish Tank, Red Riding Trilogy, Life During Wartime, Vincere
2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Carlos
2011: Into the Abyss, Pina
2012: Frances Ha
IFC Films averages 2.3 films per year at the Telluride Film Festival over the last decade. So what do they have in the pipeline that looks Telluride-y?
IMDb lists the following as IFC Films distribution vehicles that haven't or will not have opened or played at a North American film festival:
Cannes entry "Young and Beautiful" (with Sundance Selects)
Mountain climbing documentary "The Summit" (also with Sundance Selects)
"The Face of Love" starring Robin Williams and Ed Harris
Three...that's all...three.
My money's on "Young and Beautiful" at this point. I rated it's chances yesterday at 50%...I'm bumping that up to 60% today. "The Summit" stays at 20% and "Face of Love"...I'm putting at 10%.
WEINSTEIN'S AT TELLURIDE
Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob have had a fairly common presence at the Telluride Film Festival over the years. Their current incarnation is as The Weinstein Company. Previously they were Miramax. Tracking both companies as distributors at Telluride for the past decade shows us that they've been a part of The SHOW for a good long while. Here's their Telluride slate as Miramax or The Weinstein Company since 2005:
2003: The Barbarian Invasions, Best of Youth, I'm Not Scared
2004:
2005:
2006: Venus
2007: The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, My Enemy's Enemy, I'm Not There
2008: Happy-Go-Lucky
2009: The Road
2010: The King's Speech
2011: The Artist, Butter
2012: The Sapphires (also was represented during the Marion Cotillard tribute by James Gray and 5 min. of The Immigrant)
So over 10 years...13 films. 1.3 per year and TWC has been repped at TFF consistently each year since 2006. So expect one or two TWC films on the TFF #40 slate. What's possible?
According to IMDb this is what TWC has in its wheelhouse for the fall (that, as usual, hasn't already appeared in the U.S. or won't open here until after The SHOW):
You can probably discount "Leo the Lion" "The Trick or Treaters" and "Man of Tai Chi".
"The Immigrant"
"August: Osage County"
"Snowpiercer"
"Salinger"
"The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet"
"One Chance"
"Philomena"
"Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom"
"Grace of Monaco"
So there are probably these 9 that are legit possibles. If you've read the blog, you already know that I'm high on "The Immigrant" being at T-ride in its full form. If that's true and TWC's past performance (particularly the last 7 years) we might see one other film from the TWC shingle, two at most.
So...which?
I think your best shots are: "Salinger", "One Chance" and "Philomena" with "Spivet" as an outside shot.
"August", "Mandela" and "Grace" are probably off the table. I'd not be surprised that "August" doesn't do ANY festival in the fall. Maybe New York.
My guess is that "Grace" and "Mandela" will do some combination of Toronto and NY and that "Snowpiercer" is Toronto all he way.
I don't have a lot of feel that Ridley Scott's drama starring Brad Pitt and Michael Fassbender has a realistic shot at being in the Telluride field. But I'd like it to be (note: some of things that I haven't thought had a prayer might actually be a part of the 40th festivities...rumors...whispers...can't say anything).
Nonetheless, a teaser trailer dropped for the eagerly anticipated film yesterday. Check it and the attached stories here:
Yesterday was the trailer for Ridley Scott's "The Counselor". Today, from The Playlist, a look at some stills from the film. The post also includes a segment of the screenplay by Cormac McCarthy.
No sooner had I started a tiny bit of speculation that Terry Gilliam's "The Zero Theorem" had an outside shot at making it to Telluride than some footage shows up on the interweb.
Rope of Silicon, The Playlist and Hit Fix all have stories but you won't be surprised to learn that the "trailer" has been taken down at all three websites.
I looked at it last night and it is very interesting, fun and Gilliam-esque. Many have already commented that it seems to be thematically in the "Brazil" mode.
Gilliam has been a past Telluride participant...so, if it's ready...maybe this could be in the San Juan's in 9 weeks or so.
Here are the links to the previously referenced stories:
It's no secret that I'm a Coen Brothers fan. It's no secret that I've been hot for their new film "Inside Llewyn Davis" since we found out about it. It inspired some whimsy here a few months ago about turning all of the Coen Brothers canon of films into musicals.
And I'd love for ILD to be among the films that make the SHOW list...but that's soooo unlikely. No Coen history with TFF...which I find hard to believe. For a long time, I was convinced that "Blood Simple" had played The SHOW back in '84...and I was wrong.
Nevertheless, HitFix posted yesterday the news of the track list and artists on the "Inside Llewyn Davis" soundtrack. It's cool. No surprises that Oscar Issac is on it. No real surprise that co-stars Justin Timberlake and Carey Mulligan are on it. A little surprise that Mulligan's hubby Marcus Mumford is on it....again, cool.
Also cool, the tune "The Last Thing on My Mind" appears on the soundtrack. It was written by Tom Paxton, who I got to meet last fall at the Tumbleweed Festival in Garden City, KS. Feels like I can almost touch the actual record!
Oh...were Llewyn to be in T-ride...I might actually have to "I'm not worthy" the Coen Brothers on Colorado Ave. But the chances are virtually non-existent. Just gonna have to make do with the soundtrack download.
Have a good weekend.
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