Now That Oscar 2021 Is Over... / Cannes Countdown-Possible Titles / There Is No Evil Trailer and Date / Never Gonna Snow Again Trailer Released

NOW THAT OSCAR 2021 IS OVER...

GoldDerby.com wasted zero time getting  a prospective list of films that could be in the Oscar hunt 10 months from now assuming The Academy doesn't move the probable dates again for Oscar #94.

Looking at their list, a few jump out as possible TFF #48 choices (or are, at least on my wish list and/or radar):

Andrew Dominik's Blonde

Mike Mills' C'mon C'mon

Denis Villenueve's Dune

Will Sharpe's The Electrical Life of Louis Wain

Michael Showalter's The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch

Taika Waititi's Next Goal Wins

Guillermo Del Toro's Nightmare Alley

Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog

The complete Gold Derby list is linked here.

CANNES COUNTDOWN-POSSIBLE TITLES

Variety ran down a number of films that it suggests have a reasonable shot at making the lineup for the Cannes Film Festival now scheduled to take place from July 6-17.  If the fest happens on those dates then the Cannes/Telluride connection that we have seen over the last several years could well be in place to recur.

So here are some of the speculated (and not so speculated) titles that Variety mentions that might make the Cannes/Telluride double play (some of which are mentioned in the Oscar  segment above):

Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch

Sean Penn's Flag Day

Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog

Paul Schrader's The Card Counter

Jacques Audiard's Paris 13th District

Asghar Farhadi's A Hero

Mia Hansen-Love's Bergman Island

Ari Folman's Where Is Anne Frank

Cannes will announce its lineup on May 27th.

THERE IS NO EVIL TRAILER AND DATE

Mohammad Rasoulof would have had another film play at Telluride in 2020 had the festival taken place.  His Berlin Golden Bear winning There Is No Evil was an official selection of TFF #47.  Rasoulof previously screened Manuscripts Don't Burn and A Man of Integrity at TFF.

Now word comes from distributor Kino Lorber that the film will be released on May 14th.  To underscore that announcement, Kino Lorber released a trailer for the film this week.  Here it is thanks to YouTube:

Here's the story from Indiewire.

 

NEVER GONNA SNOW AGAIN  TRAILER RELEASED

Ahead of its New York premiere this weekend, Kino Lorber has released a trailer for Poland's official nominee for the just past Oscar for Best International Feature, Malgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert's Never Gonna Snow Again.  The film was an official selection of TFF #47.

The description of the film from IMDb says:

"Zhenia, a Russian-speaking immigrant from the East works as a masseur in Poland and becomes a guru-like figure in a wealthy gated community of his clients."

Indiewire reports that the film will be released in July.

Here's the trailer from YouTube:

And the story from Indiewire is linked here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

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

Who Has What / TIFF Honors Mirror Telluride / AFI Goes Virtual

WHO HAS WHAT

Perhaps it's because Telluride announced its slate of intended films earlier than it normally does.  Maybe it's because the Cannes fest didn't happen.  It could be a matter of a diminished number of films available or the uncertainty over when and how those films might be released.  It might be because of distributor's decisions to hold back several titles because of the date changes for the Academy Awards.  And then there is the absence of any Netflix titles due to their decision to skip all of the festivals.  It's possibly a combination of these factors. Or it might be something else entirely but the number of films among the 29 titles on TFF's list for its 47th edition that do not yet have domestic distribution is significant. 

As I write this post this morning I can point to eight films with distributors for the U.S. lined up:

Sony Pictures Classics: The Father, The Truffle Hunters

Searchlight: Nomadland

Focus Features: The Way I See It

Amazon: All In: The Fight for Democracy

Neon: Ammonite

Kino Lorber: There Is No Evil

Apple+: Fireball 

That's a smallish eight of 29 titles.  You have to expect that will change over the next couple of months, but still...the weirdness of 2020 continues.

All of the above with the exception of Apple+ have been common players at Telluride (it's Apple+'s first time with a film that would have been part of TFF's lineup).

No A24 (which in recent years has been at T-ride a bunch).  No Roadside Attractions.  No Lionsgate.  No Bleecker Street or Cohen Media. No IFC/Sundance Selects.  And, as you can see above, a limited presence of  the distributors that are represented on the TFF #47 list with SPC being the only house with more than a single film among the 29.

Stay tuned.  I'll try to keep up with acquisitions as they occur.

TI FF HONORS MIRROR TELLURIDE

When Telluride organizers announced what would have been the lineup for the 47th edition of the festival they included the news that the three tributes would have been for Anthony Hopkins, Kate Winslet and Chloe Zhao.

We found out just in the last few days that the Toronto International Film Fest  will recognize both Hopkins (the TIFF Tribute Actor Award), and Zhao (the Ebert Director Award).  They join Winslet who had previously been announced as the recipient of a TIFF Tribute Actor Award.  Joining the threesome who would have been feted in the San Juans is an award from TIFF to director Mira Nair.  She will receive the Jeff Skoll Award in Media Impact.  

Details are here in this story from Variety.

AFI FEST GOES VIRTUAL

The American Film Institute has announced that their 34th iteration on Oct. 15-22 will be an all virtual affair.  The AFI Fest is usually the last large U.S. film fest in the calendar year with bearing on the Oscar race.  AFI organizers, however, moved their event to an earlier date for this year.  Normally the fest is a November affair.

AFI will likely be smaller than its normal size this year according to reporting from Variety.  That story is linked here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

No Bluegrass in 2020 / Rasoulof's There Is No Evil Lands at Kino Lorber / Cannes Locked-In?

NO BLUEGRASS IN 2020

As we keep track of major events that might affect TFF #47 or could act as harbingers for what might be to come, I noted that organizers for Telluride's Bluegrass Festival (mentioned here back on Apr. 2nd) have decided to cancel the 2020 edition.

Bluegrass reportedly is the most attended of T-ride's summer fests and had approached the Telluride Town Council about moving its dates from its originally scheduled June 18-21 to Aug. 27-30.  The council did not make any decision regarding Bluegrass at that time.

Several locals reportedly had expressed the difficulty that the new date would have caused as it would have been a matter of a week prior to TFF #47.

Bluegrass organizer Craig Ferguson was quoted this week in The Telluride Daily Planet about the near inevitability of the decision:

“Oh, I think all of us have known for quite awhile (that Bluegrass would be canceled), we just gave ourselves ample opportunity to talk each other out of it and no one could.  I think we learned that Bluegrass doesn’t really get postponed from solstice, then it becomes something else.  When gatherings are legal again, we’d love nothing more than to produce more shows in the greatest venue on Earth.”

The decision takes some pressure off the community and allows the pre-fest work for TFF #47 to occur without having Bluegrass going on simultaneously.

Here's the story from The Telluride Daily Planet.



RASOULOF'S THERE IS NO EVIL LANDS AT KINO LORBER

Variety reported this week that Mohammad Rsoulof's Berlin Golden Bear winner, There Is No Evil, has been acquired for distribution by Kino Lorber. 

Normally that combination of facts would suggest a very real possible TFF #47 slot for the film.  Rasoulof is a former TFF Tribute recipient (2013) and Kino Lorber has a significant history with films landing at TFF: Ixcanul, Sembene!, Taxi, Fire at Sea, Film Worker and Beanpole over the past five years.  

However,the uncertainty swirling currently because of the Covid-19 global pandemic makes handicapping films that might be Telluride bound especially difficult.

Still, I'll be keeping an eye open about this film.

Variety has the story on the acquisition here.


CANNES LOCKED-IN?

Deadline reported this week that Cannes is specifically eye-balling the dates of June 23-July 4.  Deadline also suggests those dates are now expected to be Cannes only option for a live/physical film fest.

Deadline also reports rumors that some of the other sidebar sections of Cannes could play out at other dates but that the Palme d"or competition would not.

The story suggests that the festival wouldn't likely make a hard decision until the beginning of May.  April 16th was the date originally scheduled for the announcement of the fest's lineup and Deadline says that some films have been and continue to be invited as of their story dated last Thursday.

As I have sadi here before, irrespective of Cannes ultimate decision, it will have some ramifications for Telluride as well as other fall film fests.



EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

And the Golden Bear Goes to... / The Critics Berlin / More Additions to TFF History

AND THE GOLDEN BEAR GOES TO...

Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No Evil took the top prize. the Golden Bear, from the just concluded Berlin International Films Festival.  The award came from the Jury led this year by Jeremy Irons.

Rasoulof was a recipient of a tribute from the Telluride Film Festival in 2013 during TFF #40.  That included a screening of Manuscripts Don't Burn.  Rasoulof was back in Telluride in 2017 with A Man of Integrity.

Rasoulof was not allowed to attend the Berlin Fest by the Iranian government.

The Golden Bear win doesn't guarantee that There Is No Evil ends up at Telluride but it also likely doesn't harm its potential.  The last Golden Bear winner to play TFF was Fire at Sea in 2016.  Other recent Golden Bear winners that went on to play TFF include Asghar Farhadi's A Separation and Jafar Panahi's Taxi.


THE CRITICS BERLIN

Returning to the massive database of critical response to the films screened at Berlin that is compiled by Reini Urban; here is the final look at films that I have highlighted as possible considerations for TFF #47  (on a 10 point scale)

Pinocchio 7.39
The Woman Who Ran 7.17
Undine 6.89
There Is No Evil 6.76
Charlatan 6.20
The Salt of Tears 5.49
Irradiated 5.43
Siberia 4.95

The complete rundown is here.

Metacritic also had a critical compilation post over the weekend for Berlin films and among the films they mentioned from the above list were (on a 100 point scale):

There Is No Evil 79
The Woman Who Ran 81
Charlatan 65
Undine 69
The Salt of Tears 57

Metacritic's article is linked here.


And finally, Indiewire's Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson talk about the Berlinale in this week's episode of their podcast Screen Talk.  Both Pinocchio and Undine are specifically mentioned.

The link to Screen Talk is here.

Thompson, Kohn and David Ehrlich collaborated to also publish an article detailing the films that they thought were the 10 best of Berlin.  That list included: Charlatan, Last and First Men, Pinocchio, There Is No Evil and The Woman Who Ran.

I have linked that article here.

Last word on Berlin, for now...look out for Johann Johannsson's Last and First Men.  The late Icelandic composer's first attempt at directing a feature film.  Johannsson was Oscar nominated for the scores for Sicario and The Theory of Everything.  Just got a feeling.


MORE ADDITIONS TO TFF HISTORY

I added the 2011, 2012 and 2013 Telluride Film Festivals to the Extended Telluride History Part Two: 1996-Present page. 

2011 notable films included: Albert Nobbs, The Artist, A Dangerous Method, Into the Abyss, A Separation, Shame and We Need to Talk About Kevin.

2012: Notable films included:The Act of Killing, Amour, Argo, The Central Park Five, Frances Ha, No, Rust and Bone and Stories We Tell.

2013 notable films included: 12 Years a Slave, All Is Lost, Blue Is the Warmest Color, Gloris. Gravity, Ida, Inside Llewyn Davis, Manuscripts Don't Burn, The Missing Picture, Nebraska, The Past, Prisoners and Under the Skin.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

The Critics Weigh In on Berlin / The History Continues

THE CRITICS WEIGH IN ON BERLIN

The Berlin International Film Festival continues apace toward its Sunday conclusion and the announcement of award winners in various categories including the announcement of this year's winner of the Golden Bear award to the Best Film in the competition section. 

As BIFF has passed its half way point, here's a look at the critical consensus for some of the titles playing there that, at least initially, have some TFF #47 potential:

Matteo Garrone's Pinocchio 7.32 (on a 10 point scale)
Hong Sang-soo's The Woman Who Ran 7.24
Agnieszka Holland's Charlatan 7.00
Christian Petzold's Undine 6.79
Philippe Garrel's The Salt of Tears 5.45
Abel Ferrara's Siberia 5.09


Still not charting with Reni Urban's critics collective:

Rithy Panh's Irradiated
Mohammad Rasoulof's There Is No Evil


The complete list is linked here.


THE HISTORY CONTINUES

Since Monday's post I have added the text for the 37th Telluride Film Festival Extended History entry on.  2010's festival boasted such titles as:

127 Hours
Another Year
Black Swan
The King's Speech
Tabloid

Guests at YFF #37 included:

Danny Boyle
Colin Firth
James Franco
Andrew Garfield
Ed Harris
Laura Linney
Carey Mulligan
Alexander Payne
Geoffrey Rush

Check out 2010 as well as the other recently added years (2006-2009) on the Expanded History Page 1996-Present.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays