Toronto Announces Today/ Distributor Monday #7: Focus Features / Venice Set to Announce-Many Possibilities / No Battle After Another / Eleanor Has a Date

TORONTO ANNOUNCES TODAY

We expect to see a bunch of titles announced by the Toronto International Film Festival this morning and them clues as to what films will have been selected for Telluride.  Stay tuned to MTFB social Media for those revelations.  

On X: @Gort2 and/or @TheMTFB on Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

Of course I'll have a full re-cap on Thursday when I post next.  That will also include the news from Venice (coming tomorrow) and a new Ten Bets list.

DISTRIBUTOR MONDAY #6: FOCUS FEATURES

While I have been running through the major distribution players based on recent appearances at the Telluride Film Festival I'm sure that many of you have noticed that in some instances the pickings seem lean.  That's not the case with Focus Features.  I count six films that Focus Features has that could possibly be playing Telluride.

Over the last nine fests, Focus has landed a film at T-ride in seven of those years.  They missed in 2016 and 2019.  They would have had at least one film in the Covid cancelled 2020 fest. Overall 10 Focus films have screened at Telluride since 2015 (11 if you count the 2020 TFF).  Additionally, the Focus presence has increased recently with 7 of these titles playing with the last four years.

Here's their track record at Telluride since 2015:

2015: Suffragette

2017: Darkest Hour

2018: Boy Erased

2020: TFF #47 would have screened The Way I See It

2021: Belfast, The Card Counter

2022: Armageddon Time

2023: The Holdovers, The Bikeriders

2024: Conclave, Piece by Piece

So it's been a pretty solid run and I expect that Focus will have a robust presence at TFF #52.  The six films that might make the lineup: Hamnet-which we think is locked as they have been announced as Canadian Premiere for Toronto-, Bugonia, The History of Sound, Anemone, Pressure and Song Sung Blue.  Here's some info on each.  Participants who have been to TFF previously are indicated with *. The films presented in alphabetical order:

Anemone.  Dir. Ronan Day-Lewis.  Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis*, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton.  Release date: Oct. 10th.  IMDb description:

Family bonds between fathers, sons, and brothers are explored as complex relationships unfold through personal journeys and generational conflicts.

Three rime Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of retirement as both acts and co-wrote the script.  Of course, Day-Lewis was one of the tributees at TFF in 2007.  Brad Pitt is one of two listed producers on the film.  If you're not excited to see what this film is...well...

Bugonia. Dir. Yorgos Lanthimos*.  Stars: Emma Stone*, Jesse Plemons*, Alicia Silverstone.  Release date: Oct. 31st.  IMDB description:

Two conspiracy-obsessed young men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.

After having screened The Favourite and Poor Things at Telluride both starring Emma Stone you have to think the chances are good that Bugonia will follow the same path from a Venice premiere to a Telluride play.  A couple of notes, though.  Lanthimos' Kinds of Kindness did not go that direction in 2024 having played Sundance and then Cannes.  Also, all three of those films were distributed by Searchlight so what path Focus might desire.

Hamnet. Dir. Chloe Zhao*.  Stars: Jesse Buckley*, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson*, Joe Alwyn.  Release date: Dec. 12th.  IMDb description:

The story of Agnes - the wife of William Shakespeare - as she struggles to come to terms with the loss of her only son, Hamnet. A human and heart-stopping story as the backdrop to the creation of Shakespeare's most famous play, Hamlet.

As mentioned above, this film seems to be lock for Telluride based on the Toronto Fest announcing it as a Canadian Premiere this past week.

The History of Sound. Dir. Oliver Hermanus*.  Stars: Paul Mescal, Chris Cooper, Josh O'Connell.  Release date: Sept. 12th..  IMDb description:

Two young men during World War I set out to record the lives, voices and music of their American countrymen.

Mescal and O'Connor are two of the hottest tickets around right now.  I had been pretty high on its chances of a Telluride play what with the distributor and Oliver Hermanus having previously hacing Living at TFF #49,  but the announced Sept. 12th release date is awfully soon after T-ride.  Also, the lukewarm critical reception at Cannes also made me less bullish.  Of late, I'm thinking it's still possible.  A quick note: Mubi is also listed by IMDb as a domestic distributor of the film.

Pressure.  Dir. Anthony Maras.  Stars: Andrew Scott, Kerry Condon, Brendan Frasier, Damian Lewis, Chris Messina.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

A ticking clock thriller based on the extraordinary true story of the 72 hours leading up to D-Day.

The more detailed plot summary reads:

In the seventy two hours leading up to D-Day, all the pieces are in place except for one key element--the British weather. Britain's chief meteorological officer James Stagg (Scott) is called upon to deliver the most consequential forecast in history, locking him into a tense standoff with the entire Allied leadership. The wrong conditions could devastate the largest ever seaborne invasion, while any delay risks German intelligence catching on. With only his trusted aide Captain Kay Summersby to confide in, and haunted by a catastrophic D-Day rehearsal, the final decision rests with Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower. With only hours to go, the fate of the war and the lives of millions hang in the balance.

To be honest, this is more a "wish for" than an expectation.  Its lack of an announced release date makes it questionable but I am very intrigued by the premise and it's Andrew Scott.

Song Sung Blue.  Dir. Craig Brewer.  Stars: Hugh Jackman*, Kate Hudson, Fisher Stephens*.  Release date: Dec. 25th.  IMDb description:

Lightning and Thunder, a Milwaukee husband and wife Neil Diamond tribute act, experience soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together.

Look, this is doubtful as a TFF play but it sounds interesting.  the Dec. 25th release date signals that Focus has some confidence that it will play well with audiences.  So, you now...maybe.

Overall, could this be the first year that Focus lands more than two films at TFF?  That's possible.  Hamnet's in.  Bugonia seems likely and maybe History of Sound.  I'd love, love, love for Anemone to show up at T-ride as well as Pressure but they're chances are much more tenuous.

Chances:

Hamnet 95%

Bugonia 60%

The History of Sound 40%

Anemone 25%

Pressure 20%

Song Sung Blue 20%

VENICE SET TO ANNOUNCE-MANY POSSIBILITIES

The Venice Film Fest will announce the bulk of its lineup tomorrow.  As close observers know, over the years there has usually been a substantial overlap between films that play Venice and then Telluride.  So the information we get on what Venice will screen this year will, by itself neither rule in or rule out a T-ride play.  Of more import to our Telluride calculus is Venice's schedule which will be announced in about three weeks.  Films that screen in the first 2-4 days have a shot at also getting set up to play TFF.

Still what they choose is a nice piece of info to know.

World of Reel's Jordan Ruimy posted his most recent list of Venice possibilities last Friday.

This what he has with what I think are Telluride possibles indicated with ***

MAIN COMPETITION CONTENDERS

After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)***

A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)***

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)***

Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)***

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)***

The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)

Father Mother Brother Sister (Jim Jarmusch) 

The Ballad of a Small Player (Edward Berger)***

No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)

La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino)***

The Wizard of the Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)***

In the Hands of Dante (Julian Schnabel)***

Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold) 

Hamnet (Chloe Zhao)*** 

Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)*** 

Untitled/Gaza (Kaouther Ben Hania)

One Year of School (Laura Samani)

Mother Bhumi (Chong Keat Aun) 

Below the Clouds (Gianfranco Rosi)

Duse (Pietro Marcello)

I Wanted to Kill Her (Leonardo Di Costanzo)

The Stranger (Francois Ozon)*** 

À pied d’œuvre (Valérie Donzelli)

Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel) 

OTHER POSSIBILITIES

The Fence (Claire Denis)

Wake of Umbra (Carlos Reygadas)

Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)

At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)

Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky)

Deux Pianos (Arnaud Desplechin)

Anemone (Ronan Day-Lewis)***

Tre Ciotole (Isabel Coixet)

El Ser Querido (Rodrigo Sorogoyen)

The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)***

Switzerland (Anton Corbijn)

Deliver Me From Nowhere (Scott Cooper)***

Redoubt (John Skoo)

& Sons (Pablo Trapero)

Occupation (Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi)

Dao (Alain Gomis)

Rosebush Pruning (Karim Ainouz)

Une Illusion (Naomi Kawase)

The Dreamed Adventure (Valeska Grisebach)

Yellow Letters (Ilker Çatak)

Unidentified (Haifaa al-Mansour)***

Silent Friend (Ildiko Enyedi)

Rose (Markus Schleinzer)

Untitled (Abu Bakr Shawky)

Calle Malaga (Maryam Touzani)

Musk (Alex Gibney)***

NO BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Frequent readers will know that I have flirted in recent posts about the outside possibility that Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another might end up screening at Telluride.  Well...

World of Reel put that notion to rest Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Ruimy writes:

"A source close to the situation tells me that Warner Bros. has made the decision to skip all the major fall festivals for “One Battle After Another,” including Venice, Telluride, and TIFF."

The complete WOR post is here.

Unless this is great cover for a TFF "sneak" it looks like to PTA at TFF.

ELEANOR HAS A DATE

Sony Pictures Classics has dated the release of Scarlett Johannsson's directorial debut, Eleanor the Great.  The film will be released nationwide on Sept. 26th which feels right for a potential TFF play OR a TFF/TIFF combo OR Toronto only.  That's according to Deadline.  The film stars 95year old actress June Squibb who might find herself in the Oscar race for Best Actress for this film.

The film screened at Cannes as a part of  the Un Certain Regard section.  It earned a reasonable 6.64/10 composite rating from Cannes-Ratings.org.

The description from IMDb:

After a devastating loss, witty and proudly troublesome Eleanor Morgenstein, 94, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own.

Here's a clip from the film via YouTube:

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Distributor Monday #5 Searchlight / Venice Announces Opening Film...Does It Play Telluride?

 DISTRIBUTOR MONDAY #5: SEARCHLIGHT

Today's look at film distributors that have a fairly impressive track record at screening things at Telluride continues with Searchlight Films (formerly Fox Searchlight).  Over the nine years I looked back (and leaving out the Covid year of 2020) Searchlight has landed at least one at Telluride every year except 2016.

Over the years Searchlight has had a good deal of success when playing films at Telluride.  Since 2008 five (Fox) Searchlight films have played TFF and subsequently won the Academy Award for Best Picture:

2009: Slumdog Millionaire

2014: 12 Years a Slave

2015: Birdman

2018: The Shape of Water

2021: Nomadland (would have played TFF had the fest happened.  TFF did sponsor a screening or two)

Searchlight has also had a number of other films that were Best Picture nominated.  Some of those were TFF films, some not.  Since 2015:

2016: Brooklyn

2018: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

2019: The Favourite

2020: Jojo Rabbit

2022: Nightmare Alley

2023: The Banshees of Inisherin

2024: Poor Things

2025: A Complete Unknown

Looking at the possibilities from Searchlight we discover that there aren't many.  Three to be precise.  Here's the rundown for each listed in alphabetical order.  Participants in these films that have attended TFF previously are indicated with *.

In the Blink of an Eye.  Director: Andrew Stanton. Stars: Rashida Jones, Kate McKinnon, Daveed Diggs.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

Three storylines, spanning thousands of years, intersect and reflect on hope, connection and the circle of life.

Frankly, I'd be surprised if this turns up.

Is This Thing On?  Director: Bradley Cooper.  Stars: Bradley Cooper, Laura Dern*, Will Arnett, Ciaran Hinds.  Release date: TBD.  IMDB description:

As their marriage unravels, Alex faces middle age and divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while wife Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family-forcing them to navigate co-parenting and identity.

I'm actually pretty excited about this film.  I am wary that it will be ready in time.  IMDb reports that it went into post-production in April...so...  Laura Dern's participation doesn't hurt its chances of making a TFF appearance as she has been a TFF regular for some time now.

Rental Family.  Director: Hikari.  Stars: Brendan Fraser, Takehiro Hira.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

Japanese rental company hires struggling American actor in Tokyo. He plays various roles in clients' lives, embarking on an introspective journey through these unlikely experiences.

I actually think that Rental Family might be the most likely TFF entrant of the three.

Chances:

Rental Family 40%

Is This Thing On? 20%

In the Blink of an Eye 20%

Next week a look at Amazon/MGM.

VENICE ANNOUNCES OPENING FILM...DOES IT PLAY TELLURIDE?

The 82nd Venice Film Festival will open with Paolo Sorrentino's La Grazia (Grace).  Does that make it likely to also play at TFF #52?  That answer isn't clear at all.  Although I have frequently mentioned that the positioning of a film in the Venice schedule is crucial for any film that a distributor wants in both fests.  To make this double play a film has to be scheduled in Venice first two to three days.  Fourth day tops.  So you would think that Venice's opening night film would be a solid choice to make the way.  But...hold on...no so fast.  

I went back to 2010 and checked that scenario.  Here's what has opened Venice for each year since then with films that went on to cross the Atlantic to screen at T-ride indicated with a *.

2010: Black Swan*

2011: The Ides of March

2012: The Reluctant Fundamentalist

2013: Gravity*

2014: Birdman*

2015: Everest

2016: La La Land*

2017: Downsizing*

2018: First Man*

2019: The Truth

2020: The Ties

2021: Parallel Mothers

2022: White Noise

2023: Comandante

2024: Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

As you can see, the Venice-Telluride scenario was very common from 2010-2018 with the Venice opener going west six times but beginning with 2019 the trend has not happened.

I can recall thinking that The Truth (19), Parallel Mothers (21) and White Noise (22) all had a pretty good shot at going to TFF and being wrong about them.

Muddying the predictive waters are the fact that director Paolo Sorrentino has recently been an invitee to Telluride.  In 2021 his The Hand of God did the Venice-Telluride thing with it playing Venice on Sept. 2 and then screening in Telluride the next day.

Additionally, La Grazia is being distributed in the U.S. by Mubi which has been a TFF player the last four years or so.

I'm inclined to think that the recent drought of Venice openers coming to Telluride isn't an accident.  It feels like the outcome of a deliberate choice to avoid that.  I have no real evidence other than the fact that the circumstance hasn't occurred for six straight years.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Distributor Monday #3: Neon / SPC and Nuremburg / World of Reel Venice Update / Springsteen on White...Oh, And the Trailer Again

 DISTRIBUTOR MONDAY: NEON

Neon has come on strong over the last decade as a Telluride staple.  Their first appearance at TFF came in 2016 as the distributor of Errol Morris's The B-Side.  In the years since then Neon has placed 18 other films at TFF for an impressive average of 2.4 films per year.  In that time some other notable titles under the Neon banner that have appeared at TFF include: Last year's Best Picture winner Anora, 2020 Oscar Best Picture winner Parasite, Anatomy of a Fall and Flee.

This year, Neon made the biggest splash at Cannes acquiring a bunch of properties.  Consequently they have a deep roster of films that could play at TFF.  I have at least six films (all of which were Cannes selections in various categories) that could come from Neon to Telluride.  Here's what we know about each of them.  They're arranged  from what I feel is most likely to least likely.  Films that are on my most recent "Ten Bets" list are indicated with +.  Individuals that have been past attendees of TFF are indicated with *.

It Was Just an Accident+.  Director Jafar Panahi* (strictly speaking Panahi didn't attend with his film Taxi).  Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari. Won this year's Palme d'Or at Cannes.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

A small mishap triggers a chain reaction of ever-growing problems.

I believe that should It Was Just a Simple Accident play Telluride it would be the first time in the festival's history to program the Palme d'Or winner for three years running.

Sentimental Value+.  Director: Joachim Trier.  Stars: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgard*, Elle Fanning.  Won this year's Grand Prize at Cannes.  Release date: Nov. 7th.  IMDb description:

An intimate exploration of family, memories, and the reconciliatory power of art.

Sentimental Value finished Cannes with the second best critical rating of any film playing that fest with an 8.04 cumulative rating (out of 10) from Cannes-Ratings.org.  In contrast Plame d'Or winner It Was Just a Simple Accident was 7th best with a cumulative of 7.76.

The Secret Agent+.  Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho.  Stars: Wagner Moura (won Best Actor at Cannes), Maria Fernanda Cândido.  The film won the FIPRESCI Prize at Cannes.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

In 1977, a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown of Recife in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.

The Secret Agent was also well regarded critically at Cannes with a cumulative rating of 7.00 which was the 30th best among all films that played at that Fest.

Sirat.  Director: Oliver Laxe.  Stars: Sergi López, Bruno Núñez Arjona.  The film won the Jury Prize at Cannes.  Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

A father, accompanied by his son, goes looking for his missing daughter in North Africa.

This is another film with a great critical reception at Cannes.  It had a 7.87 cumulative rating which was the 5th best of the entire fest.  It could well move onto next Thursday's second iteration of MTFB's Ten Bets for TFF #52.

Orwell: 2+2+5.  Director: Raoul Peck. Release date: TBD.  IMDb description:

The ultimate and comprehensive documentary film about the exceptional writer George Orwell.

Orwell: 2+2=5 had the 22nd best critical rating from Cannes ratings.org at 7.13.

Alpha.  Director: Julia Ducournau.  Stars: Tahar Rahim*, Emma Mackey.  The film played in Palme d'Or competition at Cannes.  Release date: Sometime in October.  IMDb description:

Alpha, 13, is a troubled teenager who lives alone with her mother. Their world comes crashing down the day she comes home from school with a tattoo on her arm.

Alpha's critical reception at Cannes was tough.  A 47 on Metacritic and a 50 on Rotten Tomatoes.

The assessment of chances for TFF #52:

It Was Just an Accident 70%

Sentimental Value 60%

The Secret Agent 50%

Sirat 50%

Orwell 2+2=5 45%

Alpha 20%

SPC AND NUREMBURG

Sony Pictures Classics might not be done for TFF #52 yet.  SPC announced on Wednesday last week that they had acquired the James Vanderbilt's Nuremburg and plan to release the film on Nov. 7th.  The film stars Russell Crowe as Herman Goring and Rami Malek as the U.S. psychiatrist charged with determining if the Nazi's are mentally competent to stand trial.  Michael Shannon also stars.  In addition to directing Vanderbilt also adapted the screenplay from the book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist.

.m not sold on that 

According to the SPC press release the timing of the release coincides with 80th anniversary of the post-war trials held in Nuremburg, Germany,  It also just happens to be in the Awards season sweet spot.

So, retrofit the SPC speculation from last week and add Nuremburg to the list of TFF possibilities.  I'm not sold on the notion that it does play Telluride but I also don't think it's impossible.  Mark at at a current 35% chance to make the TFF cut.

Here's the link to the full SPC PR release.

WORLD OF REEL AND VENICE

Jordan Ruimy has updated his Venice speculation list as of last Thursday.  Of note is his addition of Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein and Agnieszka Holland's Franz to the list.  Both could also be potentials for T-ride although Ruimy also writes that:

"I’m also hearing that Guillermo del Toro’s long-awaited “Frankenstein” has locked its TIFF premiere..."

Notice that Ruimy doesn't mention what that premiere status is for Toronto but...

Here's Jordan's updated list with what I think has Telluride potential indicated with ***.

After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)***

One Battle After Another (PT Anderson)

A House of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)***

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)***

The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)

Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)***

The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)

No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)

Father Mother Brother Sister (Jim Jarmusch)

The Ballad of A Small Player (Edward Berger)***

The Cry of the Guards (Claire Denis)***

Chocobar (Lucrecia Martel)

Sacrifice (Romain Gavras)***

In the Hands of Dante (Julian Schnabel)***

Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)

Bucking Fastard (Werner Herzog)***

La Grazia (Paolo Sorrentino)***

An Affair (Arnaud Desplechin)

Orphan (Laszlo Nemes)***

The Wizard of Kremlin (Olivier Assayas)***

Franz (Agnieszka Holland)***

Below the Clouds (Gianfranco Rosi)***

Duse (Pietro Marcello)

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)***

Couture (Alice Wincour)***

The entirety of Ruimy's post with its extensive analysis is linked here.

 

BTW...add Kathryn Bigelow's A House of Dynamite to the Netflix list from a couple of weeks back.  I'm putting its TFF chances at 30%.

SPRINGSTEEN ON WHITE...OH, AND THE TRAILER AGAIN

I have high hopes that Searchlight brings the Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me from Nowhere to TFF #52.  Right now it and Del Toro's Frankenstein are my two big "hope fors". 

That said, we know director Scott Cooper has been at Telluride a number of times both with and without projects.  We know that the film is being distributed by frequent TFF player Searchlight and we know that the film has a fest friendly release date of Oct. 24th.  So, I got that going for me.

This Past week Springsteen talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the film and the actor Jeremy Allen White who plays The Boss in the film.  Here's that interview. 

And, by the by, we had lots of trouble with linking to the trailer for Deliver Me from Nowhere last week...so here we go again:

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Venice Thoughts / Neglia on Cannes and Telluride / A Look at Del Toro's Frankenstein / Interesting Comment to the Blog

VENICE THOUGHTS

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel posted a list of  "20 hot festival titles this fall" on Saturday.  The context for the list of films is within Ruimy's discussion of the Venice festival and the number of possible American films that could make that lineup.  Many of them are on my TFF #52 "watch list".  

Here's Ruimy's list with what I think are the most serious Telluride possibilities indicated with ***.

After the Hunt (Luca Guadagnino)***

One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson)

Untitled WH Thriller (Kathryn Bigelow)

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)***

Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky)

Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)***

The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)

The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)

Father Mother Brother Sister (Jim Jarmusch)

The Ballad of A Small Player (Edward Berger)***

Hamnet (Chloe Zhao)***

Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro)***

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (Kogonada)

Roofman (Derek Cianfrance)

At the Sea (Kornél Mundruczó)

The Drama (Kristofer Borgli)

The Lost Bus (Paul Greengrass)

Deliver Me From Nowhere (Scott Cooper)***

Huntington (John Patton Ford)

Is This Thing On? (Bradley Cooper)***

Here's the link to Jordan's post.

NEGLIA ON CANNES AND TELLURIDE

Matt Neglia, who heads up Next Best Picture, published via "X" on Friday a list of Cannes films that he thinks could also play Telluride.  It looks like this:

The Chronology Of Water

Die My Love

It Was Just An Accident

Left Handed Girl

The Love That Remains

The Mastermind

My Father’s Shadow

Nouvelle Vague

The Secret Agent

Sentimental Value

Urchin

Young Mothers

 I have frequently mentioned Chronology of Water, Die My Love, It Was Just an Accident (or A Simple Accident), The Love That Remains, The Mastermind, and Young Mothers.  

Post Cannes I have warmed to the notion of Sentimental Value and The Secret Agent for T-ride.

I'm back and forth on Nouvelle Vague.  Linklater has, to the best of my knowledge, never been to The SHOW but with both Nouvelle Vague and Blue Moon...I could see a Linklater double bill and a possible tribute.  

Other films that Matt names, Left Handed Girl, The Father's Shadow and Urchin...we'll see.

I think there could be other Cannes players that make the trip.  Sirat and Eleanor the Great come to mind.  Remember, though, Matt was on the ground in France and probably has a better sense of what's going on as a result.

A LOOK AT DEL TORO'S FRANKENSTEIN

Netflix had what they call TUDUM.  It's their annual sort CinemaCon thing.  Anyway, as a part of that there was a presentation for Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming imagining of Frankenstein.  The film stars Oscar Isaac (as Victor Frankenstein) who was at the TUDUM presentation, as well as Christoph Waltz and Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth.  Netflix dropped a trailer for the film as a part of the event and then very quickly put it up online.  Here it is from YouTube:

I'm thinking Frankenstein could make a visit to TFF owing to Del Toro's success there in 2017 with The Shape of Water and Netflix's usually robust presence at The SHOW.  Del Toro presented The Devil's Backbone at Telluride in 2001.

INTERESTING COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Over the weekend some anonymous person posted a comment to last Thursday's MTFB.  It really caught my attention because it's a poem about me and the blog.  And whoever this is knows their stuff.  I approved the comment and you can find it on the 5/29/25 post.  I've also re-posted it here:

"In Oklahoma classrooms he was once all the rage, A master of drama, debate and stage. Now each Labor Day he ascends to the peak, Where cinephiles gather and the big stars all sneak. With a blog as his weapon, a hunch as his guide, He guesses the films they try hard to hide. Reads gossip like scripture, decodes all the lines.

The SHOW bosses in Berkeley grit teeth in dismay, As his summer "BEST BETS" always steal the day. But Michael just shrugs, lets critics all chatter-- To him it's just the puzzle that truly must matter. So let's raise a toast, with blog posts in hand, To the Teacher who does what few understand."

Thanks to the unknown author.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

The Critics at Cannes (Cont.) / And Now...Venice? / An IMDb Thing

 THE CRTICS AT CANNES (CONT.)

We're past the half way mark at the 78th Cannes Film festival and here's the check-in on the latest critical response to the films screening there.  

Here is a look from regarding 13 films at Cannes that I have my eye on regarding a possible play at Telluride:

From the Palme Competition category (on a 10 point scale):

The Mastermind: 6.16

Die, My Love: 6.52

Young Mothers: 5.75

The History of Sound: 5.09

A Simple Accident: 6.91

From Un Certain Regard:

Eleanor the Great: 5.81

The Chronology of Water: 6.17

Out of Competition:

Splitsville: 6.36

Orwell: 2+2=5: 7.13

The Disappearance of Joseph Mengele: 5.68

The Wave: 5.84

The Love That Remains (Palmason) 7.73

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol 6.22

Looking at the Palme competitors, the top five currently are:

1) Sirat (Laxe) 7.90

2) Nouvelle Vague (Linklater) 7.25

3) The Secret Agent (Filho) 7.02

4) Resurrection (Gan) 7.00

5) Sentimental Value (Trier) 6.94

FROM SCREEN DAILY

Palme Competition top five (on a 4 point scale)

1) Two Prosecutors 3.1 (Tie)

1) It Was Just an Accident ( A Simple Accident) 3.1 (Tie)

3) The Secret Agent 2.8 (Tie)

3) Sound of Falling 2.8 (Tie)

3) Sentimental Value 2.8 (Tie)

FROM IONCINEMA

Palme Competition top five ( on a five point scale):

1) Sirat 3.9

2) The Secret Agent 3.6

3) It Was Just an Accident (A Simple Accident) 3.4

4) Nouvelle Vague 3.3

5) Sound of Falling 3.2

AND NOW...VENICE?

As Cannes gets close to its conclusion, some attention has begun to focus on what films will play Venice.  As frequent readers will recall, inclusion at Venice doesn't necessarily point to a film being selected for Telluride nor does it signal that it won't be.  The key to reading the Venetian tea leaves as they relate to Telluride actually comes when Venice releases its schedule.  Early screenings in Venice leave the door open for a Venice-Telluride double play.  

The point is that paying attention to Venice's choices can still be instructive.  To that end, Screen Daily posted on Monday a piece dedicated to possible Venice choices.  They include (in the order that the film appears in the piece):

The Smashing Machine/B. Safdie

The Ballad of a Small Player/E. Berger

Hamnet/C. Zhao

Bugonia/Y. Lanthimos

After the Hunt/L. Guadagnino

Father, Mother, Sister, Brother/J. Jarmusch

Rosebush Pruning/K. Ainouz

Sacrifice/R. Gavras

Couture/A. Winocour

Orphan/L. Nemes

No Other Choice/P. Chan-wook

Anemone/R. Day-Lewis

Yellow Letters/I. Catak

Call Me Queen/E. Atef

Whitetail/N. Leopold

A Prayer for the Dying/D. Van Dusen

Chocobar/L. Martel

My guess as to the best Telluride possibilities from this list:

The Ballad of a Small Player

Hamnet

Bugoina

After the Hunt

Orphan

What I'd really like to see at Telluride: Anemone

Screen Daily's complete rundown of Venice possibilities is here.

AN IMDB THING

So, I was running down Bradley Cooper's Is This Thing On? on IMDb (the app) a couple of days ago and noticed in the section labeled "Related User Lists" and the first list listed there was labeled "Telluride Possibilities".  Like this:

So naturally, I was intrigued.  I clicked on "pj_withers" list and discovered that MTFB was the reference:

So my next thought was...from this list of 30 films, what others, in addition to Is This Thing On?, does this list come up on?  All of them?

Turns out...no, not all of them.  But it does for 11 of them.

Is This Thing On?

Hamnet

Eleanor the Great

After the Hunt

Anemone

Megadoc

The Love That Remains

It Was Just an Accident

The Magnificent Life of Marcel Pagnol

Bucking Fastard

David Lynch: Hollywood Enigma

I'm not sure why these 11 are linked to this "Related User List" the other 19 are not.  I'm not sure who "pj_withers" is but I think this is kind of cool.

More on Monday including what won the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (Twitter) @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

Bluesky: @gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

If you would like to be added to the MTFB e-mail list send an email to mpgort@gmail.com

Venice Schedule Revealed / Saturday Night Poster and Trailer / Will Cuaron Return to Telluride? / Grand Tour Like Oh Canada? / Will Rasoulof Make It to Telluride?

VENICE SCHDULE REVEALED

The Venice Film Festival revealed its official screening schedule this morning.  That's of note to Telluride watchers as films scheduled early in that fest could potentially be able to cross the Atlantic and get to the Rockies in time for screenings at TFF.  Films scheduled after the first three days of Venice are essentially off the table.

Scheduled early enough to come to Telluride and that seem likely are:

Separated/Morris (8/29)

Disclaimer/Cuaron (8/29)

Maria/Larrain (8/29)

One to One: John and Yoko/Macdoanld and Rice-Edwards (8/30)

Babygirl/Reijn (8/30)

Notable films that look like they're scheduled too late to make T-ride:

The Order/Kurzel

The Brutalist/Corbet

The Room Next Door/Almodovar

Queer/Guadagnino

Joker: Foile A Deux

The complete Venice schedule is linked here.

SATURDAY NIGHT LOOKS TO PLAY TELLURIDE

Matt Belloni writing in his "What I'm Hearing" newsletter for Puck.com dropped this on Friday:

"...today’s trailer for Jason Reitman’s SNL origin story, Saturday Night, got me unexpectedly excited for fall festival movies. It’s playing Telluride, which I don’t attend, and TIFF..."

There's no sourcing on the statement but it seems pretty definitive.  I'm looking for it to be confirmed as soon as Toronto announces its last set of titles this week.

Reitman's catalogue is replete with films that played T-ride starting with Juno in 2007.  Also at Telluride: Up in the Air (2009), Labor Day (2013) and The Front Runner (2018).  

Here's the poster and trailer:

WILL CUARON RETURN TO TELLURIDE?

Last Friday Toronto announced its Primetime Section devoted to television series that they will feature as a part of TIFF 2024.  Among those listed was Alfonso Cuaron's mini-series for Apple+ titled Disclaimer.  Why we note it here is that the show is listed as a Canadian premiere.  That raised some eyebrows.  Could that mean a play of some of the series at TFF #51?

It's possible.  TFF has programmed television/series in the past famously including Twin Peaks in 1989, Red Riding in 2009 and recently (TFF #49) Russia 1985-1999.  So it's not unprecedented that Telluride might be programming it.  Also, Cuaron having screened both Gravity and Roma at past TFFs doesn't hurt its chances.

Here's the description from IMDb:

"Blanchett plays Catherine Ravenscroft, a successful and respected television documentary journalist whose work has been built on revealing the concealed transgressions of long-respected institutions. When an intriguing novel written by a widower, played by Kline, appears on her bedside table, she is horrified to realize she is a key character in a story that she had hoped was long buried in the past. A story that reveals her darkest secret. A secret she thought was hers alone."

Disclaimer is set to debut on Apple TV+ on Oct. 11th.  Here's the teaser from YouTube:

GRAND TOUR LIKE OH, CANADA?

It's another one of those.  Grand Tour was announced by New York without a premiere status leading me and others to believe that it would be a TFF selection.  But then, Toronto announced it as a North  American Premiere which indicates no Telluride play.  Paul Schrader's Oh, Canada is also in that same situation and I'm inclined, at least at this point, to think that both play TIFF and neither plays Telluride.

Of course, I could be wrong.

WILL RASOULOF MAKE IT TO TELLURIDE?

We're pretty sure that Mohammad Rasoulof's The Seed of the Sacred Fig will be playing at TFF #51.  What we don't know is if its writer/director will be present for the screenings.  Variety reporting on Saturday that the Iranian filmmaker who successfully fled Iran isn't sure that he'll be able to travel outside of Europe.

In the interview (linked here) Rasoulof tells Variety reporter Nick Vivarelli:

"I plan to travel to the United States for film screenings. However, since I still don’t have a passport and have to travel with the documents provided with the help of the city of Hamburg, I wonder if I’ll be able to travel outside of Europe."

I'm no expert at international travel protocols but this sounds like a serious impediment.  Nevertheless, I'll be crossing my fingers that he'll be able to find a way to make it .

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Venice Schedule Leak / Davis Details Telluride

VENICE SCHEDULE LEAK

World of Reel reports that at least part of the Venice Film fest has leaked.  As frequent readers of MTFB know, there is often a fairly substantial crossover between films that screen early at Venice (the first three days) and the TFF lineup.

If the partially leaked titles and dates are correct it looks like Pablo Larrain's Maria is positioned to make the leap from Italy to Colorado as WOR says it bows in Venice on Aug. 29th.  The other film that is suggested as a possible Venice-Telluride double play is Halina Reijn's Babygirl (however, see below)  starring Nicole Kidman which is said to screen on Aug. 30th.

The reporting also indicates that, as previously reported, both Queer and The Room Next Door will be scheduled far too late to make an appearance at TFF #52.

I suspect that there will be other films that make the trip but as yet no other films screening schedule seems to have been revealed.

The complete post from World of Reel is here.

DAVIS DETAILS TELLURIDE

Variety's Clayton Davis writing on Tuesday detailed a ton of Telluride lineup info.

Here's what Davis says will be playing:

Conclave

Piece by Piece

Nickel Boys

The End 

Anora

Better Man

The Piano Lesson

Emilia Perez

Maria

The Friend

All We Imagine as Light

Misrecordia

Maybes for Telluride:

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

The Apprentice

Megalopolis

Will NOT play Telluride:

Babygirl

A Complete Unknown

Nightbitch

The Room Next Door

Pedron Paramo

Gladiator II

Here

We Live in Time

The Brutalist

Wolfs

Queer

Joker: Folie a Deux

Davis' complete article is linked here.

For more clues we now await the complete and official Venice schedule and the announcement from New York for its Centerpiece film as well as the rest of its schedule.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

MTFB SPECIAL: News from Toronto, New York and Venice

MTFB SPECIAL: NEWS FROM TORONTO, NEW YORK AND VENICE

TORONTO

Based on premiere designations with the big announcement yesterday of Galas and Special Presentations, I believe we conclude that these films will be screening at TFF #51:

Anora

Conclave

Emilia Perez

The End 

The Piano Lesson

All We Imagine as Light

Miserecordia

Better Man

Don't Let's Go to the Dog's Tonight

Piece by Piece

The Friend

It also looks like these films, which I have had as a "Bet" or a possibility will not be at T-ride:

Bird*

Oh, Canada

Hard Truths

I'm Still Here

* A note here on Bird.  TIFF.net posted on X that it's a Canadian Premiere but its info page at the TIFF website says North American.  I tend to believe the website.  Thanks to an eagled-eyed reader for pointing out the inconsistency.

From X:

From TIFF.net:

            

 

and...

TIFF will still be naming other titles for specific sections this week.

NEW YORK

The New York Fest announced RaMell Ross' Nickel Boys will open their fest on Sept. 27th.  The actual announcement did not include any reference to the premiere status for the film which could indicate that the film could make an appearance at Telluride.  After all, if it were a World Premiere I think that NYFF would be shouting that from the rooftops.

On the other hand, the post on X from NYFF does use the word "premiering":

I don't know that it absolutely guarantees it for TFF #51, but the door is certainly open.

VENICE

As always with Venice, the inclusion of a film among their announced titles doesn't guarantee a Telluride play but also doesn't preclude one. So Venice titles listed here are films that I think have a shot at playing both fests.  

The Room Next Door/Almodovar

Queer/Guadagnino

Maria/Larrain

Babygirl/Reijn

Harvest/Tsangari

Allegorie Citadine/Rohrwacher and JR

Separated/Morris

One on One: John and Yoko/Macdonald and Rice-Edwards

The real hint about what, if any, films play both fests will be when Venice posts their schedule and then we'll see what they have scheduled early enough for a film and some its entourage to get across the Atlantic in time to screen at Telluride.

The complete lists announced this morning are here.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Checking Distributors: NEON / The End and Venice (and Telluride?)

 CHECKING DISTRIBUTORS: NEON

Distributor NEON is a relative newcomer to the TFF scene but their presence over the last few years has been very noticeable.  Here's the NEON lineup from past TFFs:

2023: Anatomy of a Fall (Oscar winner for Best Original Screenplay and nominated for four others including Best Picture), La Chimera, Perfect Days (Oscar nominated for Best International Feature), The Royal Hotel.

2022: Broker, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (Oscar nominated for Best Documentary)

2021: Petite Maman, Spencer (Oscar nominated for Best Actress-Kristen Stewart) , Flee (Oscar nominated for Best Animated Film, Best International Film and Best Documentary), Three Minutes-A Lengthening

2020: Ammonite*** if the fest had happened

2019: Parasite (nominated for six Academy Awards and won four including Best Picture and Director). Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Amazing Grace

2018: Border (Oscar nominated for Best Makeup and Hair), The Biggest Little Farm

2017: None

2016: The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography

For 2024 NEON has four films that might fit the bill for T-ride:

Sean Baker's Palme d'Or winning Anora, Mohammad Rasoulof's The Seed of the Sacred Fig, Joshua Oppenheimer's The End (see below) and Duke Johnson's The Actor.  In each case the director has had work at Telluride previously  In the case of both Rasoulof and Oppenheimer, they've had films at Telluride more than once.

Chances for these four films at TFF #51:

Anora 50%

The Seed of the Sacred Fig 50%

The End 45%

The Actor 25%

THE END AND VENICE (AND TELLURIDE?)

Jordan Ruimy at World of Reel wrote on Saturday that he was hearing that Joshua Oppenheimer's The End will not play at Venice but that Telluride was still a real possibility.

Here's what Ruimy says at the start of his report:

"Hearing shaky things about this one. It might have the same fate as Audrey Diwan’s “Emmanuelle” and not show up at either Cannes or Venice … However, Telluride is a real possibility for a world premiere. Just what I’m hearing."

You can read the entire piece at the link above.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

More Venice Musings / Sundance Theory

MORE MUSINGS ON VENICE

We're still several weeks away from any announcement concerning the films which will be chosen for this year's Venice Film Festival but already there's some serious speculation about what those may be.

In my last post I started to look at that with an overview of World of Reel's first stab at figuring out the Venice lineup.  Today I look at a Variety article by Nick Vivarelli that was posted last Thursday.  among the films Vivarelli predicts there are five that feel like possibilities for TFF #51:

Maria/Pablo Larrain

Queer/Luca Guadagnino

In the Hands of Dante/Julian Schnabel

Hard Truths/Mike Leigh

I'm Still Here/Walter Salles

All five of these directors have had at least one film make a Telluride lineup in the past.  These five films also were included on the WOR list I posted last Thursday.

See the complete article from Variety here.

SUNDANCE THEORY

Seems like I do one of these every year now.  This is the post where I suggest that there might be a Sundance feature film that cracks the TFF lineup.  

Telluride history and commentary suggest that TFF has a standard that films that play Labor Day weekend must be either a World or North American premiere.  But there have been exceptions:

An Education in 2009

Manchester by the Sea in 2016

The Report in 2019

The Father (would have screened had TFF happened) in 2020

Living in 2022

There are others.

In some of these cases a TFF Tribute was involved:  Casey Affleck in 2016, Adam Driver in 2019 and Anthony Hopkins would have been a Tribute recipient in 2020.

Last year I was all over A Little Prayer doing the Sundance/Telluride thing.  As you know that didn't happen.  BUT...I have a candidate for this happening again in 2024!

Readers...I give you Nora Fingscheidt's The Outrun starring Saorise Ronan.

Here's the case.  Ronan was rumored to have been set to get a Tribute in 2017 with Lady Bird's screening put that purportedly fell through.  I have often thought that Telluride would look for a way to make a Ronan tribute happen.  This could be that opportunity especially if the fest invites Blitz, which also features Ronan.  Perhaps Ronan would pull double duty as Driver did in 2019 with both The Report and Marriage Story making the TFF #46 lineup.

How confident am I about this...not that much but, like I said, it's happened before.

For hoots, here's the trailer for The Outrun:

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

X (TWITTER): @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

BLUE SKY: https://bsky.app/profile/gort2.bsky.social

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays