Mea Culpa/Invitation/Playlist Gig/Well, Have You Heard???/And What's REALLY Playing/Final Note

MEA CULPA

First, my apologies.  For not posting/tweeting nearly enough yesterday.  Meant to.  Intended to. Was committed to it.  DROVE 560 miles!  I have to figure out a better way to handle this Thursday before the Festival starts in the future.  Anyway, I am really sorry that I wasn't better in the loop yesterday...sincerely.

A FINAL INVITATION...

I am very pleased to invite all blog readers to an intimate and reflective moment or two this afternoon at 5:00PM at The River Club at 550 Depot St. in Telluride.  My hosts, Larry and Mitzi Mallard are being generous enough to provide me with a forum to do a little meeting and greeting and they're throwing in a nosh and a drink or two.  So come by, say hi, and we'll talk a little film before the ball really gets rolling...

PLAYLIST GIG

You may have seen a quick tweet and/or post yesterday afternoon concerning me, The Playlist and film reviews.  Yes.  It's true.  I'm going to attempt to provide a review here and there this weekend for The Playlist.  It's a very real and impressive cinema blog hosted by IndieWire.com and regular readers of this blog know that I reference them constantly.  They're very good.

Soooo, maybe I get published, maybe not, but a BIG thank you to The Playlist for giving me a shot...

WELL, HAVE YOU HEARD???

I arrived in Telluride at about 9:00 PM local time after about 10 hours on the road...and through the entire journey and even after arrival, I was constantly monitoring Rumor Central...because, let's be real...rumors fly around like untethered kites in the 72 hours before the Telluride Film Festival actually kicks off.

Here's what I think is really real at this point:

1) GEORGE CLOONEY IS IN TOWN AND WILL BE TRIBUTED.  "The Descendants" will play but the best info right now is the "Ides of March" will not.
2) THe RUMOR is that Johnny Depp IS IN TOWN....possibly for a sneak of "The Rum Diary."  Now, I haven't actually seen Mr. Depp...a lot of sources say it's true...BUT, you know...IT'S A RUMOR.
Of course he could be here for the Lauren/Bush wedding...which leads me to
3) 2 former Presidents (Clinton and GW Bush) will be within 10 square miles of me before the weekend is over.  Purportedly Clinton is already here in Mountain Village. Both for the aforementioned wedding.  Oh, and Oprah too...

4) Glenn Close has been reported. in town....nice...

5) Tilda Swinton is here...another Tributee ( a side note...TFF...very sneaky on the playing of "Michael Clayton" in Elks Park Thursday night...so cagey.  I love it!
6) Eugene Hernandez of IndieWire cryptically tweets that there will be 2 and only 2 "Sneaks" and that one will be a comedy and one is a film set for the New York Film Fest...and that these clues could be about the same film or not...thanks, Mr. Hernandez!  My guess is that "Butter" is the comedy...after that...the NYFF presentation could be: "My Week with Marilyn," "Carnage," "The Skin I Live In," "Miss Bala," "Martha, Marcy May Marlene," or "4:44: Last Day on Earth"...or something else entirely.

[My "no guts, no glory" prediction is "Butter" and "Miss Bala"]

7) Keira Knightley rumored in town in support of "A Dangerous Game."  Just a RUMOR!

I will live tweet and blog from the Patron Brunch later this morning...that should settle some things...

AND NOW FOR THE REAL DEAL:

Here's the official announced lineup for the 38th Telluride Film Festival:

38^TH TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2011 FESTIVAL LINEUP

George Clooney, Pierre Étaix and Tilda Swinton to receive Silver Medallion Awards

Over twenty-five new features plus revival programs and unique programming from Guest Director Caetano Veloso will be presented as part of the 2011 exhibition

Telluride, CO (September 1, 2011) – Telluride Film Festival (September 2-5, 2011), presented by the National Film Preserve, announces its program for the 38^th Telluride Film Festival. Featuring diverse programming from around the globe, TFF once again sets the stage for some of the year’s most highly anticipated films.

TFF opens its 38^th year with over twenty-five new feature films plus special artist tributes, Guest Director programs selected by Caetano Veloso, Backlot programs, classics and restorations, shorts, student films, seminars and conversations, each introduced or proceeded with a Q&A by its filmmaker, actors, writer or producer. Telluride Film Festival opens Friday, September 2 and runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 5.

THE ‘SHOW’

38^th Telluride Film Festival is proud to present the following new feature films to play in its main program, the ‘SHOW’:

·       ALBERT NOBBS (d. Rodrigo Garcia, U.S., 2011)

·       THE ARTIST (d. Michel Hazanavicius, France, 2011)

·       BECOMING BERT STERN (d. Shannah Laumeister, U.S., 2011)

·       BITTER SEEDS (d. Micha X. Peled, U.S., 2011)

·       BONSÁI (d. Cristián Jiménez, Chile, 2011)

·       A DANGEROUS METHOD (d. David Cronenberg, U.K.-Switzerland-U.S.-Canada, 2011)

·       THE DESCENDANTS (d. Alexander Payne, U.S., 2011)

·       DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL (d. Lisa Immordino-Vreeland, U.S., 2011)

·       FOOTNOTE (d. Joseph Cedar, Israel, 2011)

·       THE FORGIVENESS OF BLOOD (d. Joshua Marston, U.S.-Albania-Denmark-Italy, 2011)

·       GOODBYE FIRST LOVE (d. Mia Hansen-Løve, France, 2011)

·       LE HAVRE (d. Aki Kaurismäki, Finland, 2011)

·       HOLLYWOOD DON’T SURF (d. Greg Macgillivray, Sam George, U.S., 2011)

·       IN DARKNESS (d. Agnieszka Holland, Poland, 2011)

·       INTO THE ABYSS: A TALE OF DEATH, A TALE OF LIFE (d. Werner Herzog, U.S., 2011)

·       THE ISLAND PRESIDENT (d. Jon Shenk, U.S., 2011)

·       THE KID WITH A BIKE (d. Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Belgium, 2011)

·       LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD (d. Martin Scorsese, U.S., 2011)

·       PASSERBY (d. Eryk Rocha, Brazil, 2011)

·       PERDIDA (d. Viviana García Besné, Mexico, 2011)

·       PINA (d. Wim Wenders, Germany, 2011)

·       A SEPARATION (d. Asghar Farhadi, Iran, 2011)

·       SHAME (d. Steve McQueen, U.K., 2011)

·       THE STORY OF FILM: AN ODYSSEY (d. Mark Cousins, U.K., 2011)

·       TARGET (d. Alexander Zeldovich, Russia, 2011)

·       THE TURIN HORSE (d. Béla Tarr, Hungary, 2011)

·       THE WAY HOME (d. Dr. Biju, India, 2010)

·        WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (d. Lynne Ramsey, U.K., 2011)

Here's the "Twenty Bets" that MTFB made last night with confirmed plays indicated with 3 asterisks ***

1) The Descendants***
2) Into the Abyss***
3) We Have to Talk About Kevin***
4) The Ides of March (I look silly...)
5) A Dangerous Method***
6) Shame***
7) Goodbye First Love***
8) The Skin I Live In (still could be a "sneak")
9) The Artist***
10) Footnote***
11) A Trip to the Moon***
12) The Birds Upstairs
13) Prohibition
14) Le Havre***
15) The Lady
16) Dark Horse
17) Butter
18) Miss Bala
19) Drive
20) Martha Marcy May Marlene

I'm still greedy enough to pull for "Coriolanus," "The Kid with a Bike,"*** "Wuthering Heights"  "W.E." and the Georgre Harrison Doc*** directed by Martin Scorsese.

Additionally, I think MTFB could fairly claim to have been at least marginally aware that "Albert Nobbs" could play as well as "A Separation."

FINAL NOTE (before the fest takes flight...)

I am HOT to see:

"The Descendants"
The Artist"
"Le Havre"
"Living in the Material World"
"A Dangerous Method"
"Shame"
"Albert Nobbs"
"The Kid with a Bike"
"We Need to Talk About Kevin"
"A Separation"
"The Turin Horse"

And whatever the "sneaks" are...

It makes me sad that...
Clooney is a Tributee but no "Ides of March" (Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood @ IndieWire is adamant that Ides is not playing...

No "Tinker, Tailor....I'm too tired to finish the title...

No "Drive"....man, I am really bummed..."Drive" lost traction after its Comic Con screening but I was hoping...

Kind of sad about no "The Lady" or "Dark Horse"

Still and all...no real complaints.  I think TFF #38 looks like a colossal win from the start!


More later today...from the Patron Brunch!

Invitation/Ten (and more) Bets/More Shame/Process/Echo Chamber

Hello everybody! Busy weekend...getting ready.  The Patterson bus leaves the Panhandle of Oklahoma on Thursday to head for Southwestern Colorado.  It's about a ten hour drive...yeesh!

4 Days...

AN INVITATION FOR YOU

Come and join me for a Michael's Telluride Film Blog soiree called: "The Guide to the Ride; The Flow of the SHOW" on Friday, Sept. 2 from 5:00 to 5:30 PM in The River Club in Telluride. Larry and Mitzi Mallard of the Club will be our hosts and I am told that refreshments will be provided. The River Club is located at 550 Depot in Telluride. That's 4 blocks west of the Gondola station. Come by and say hello and we'll talk a little film.


TEN (AND MORE) BETS

Last Week's Ten (and more):

The Descendants

1) The Descendants
2) Into the Abyss
3) The Artist
4) A Trip to the Moon
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin
6) Le Havre
7) Prohibition
8) Shame
9) Drive
10) The Birds Upstairs

Here's the "or more"
11) Goodbye First Love
12) Dark Horse
13) The Skin I Live In
14) The Kid with a Bike
15) The Lady
16) Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
17) W.E.
18) Coriolanus

This week's Ten (and more) Bets (in order of likelihood):

The Artist

1) The Descendants (dir. Alexander Payne, Stars: George Clooney)
2) Into the Abyss (dir. Werner Herzog)
3) The Artist (dir. Michael Hazanavicius, Stars: Jean Dujardin)
4) A Trip to the Moon (compiled by Serge Bromberg)
5) We Have to Talk About Kevin (dir. Lynne Ramsay, Stars: Tilda Swinton)
6) Le Havre (Dir. Aki Kaurismaki)
7) Shame (dir. Steve McQueen, Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan)
8) Goodbye First Love (dir. Mia Hansen-Love)
9) The Skin I Live In (dir. Pedro Almodovar, Stars: Antonio Banderas
10) Footnote (dir. Joseph Cedar)

And the "And More"

A Dangerous Method

11) A Dangerous Method (dir. David Cronenberg, Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, Keira Knightley)
12) Prohibition (dir. Ken Burns & Lynn Novick)
13) The Birds Upstairs (short/dir. Christopher Jarvis)
14) Drive (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn, Stars: Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan)
15) Dark Horse (dir. Todd Solondz, Stars: Christopher Walken, Selma Blair)
16) The Kid with a Bike (dir. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes)
17) The Lady (dir. Luc Beeson, Stars: Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis)
18) Martha Marcy May Marlene (dir. Sean Durkin, Stars: Elizabeth Olsen)

Films still possible that would make my list to see (but for which there's no good intell about RE; Telluride):
W.E.
The Ides of March
Coriolanus

Notes:
Descendants...I have thought it would be at T-ride for more than a year.  Payne on record as submitting it.  Everybody thinks it will be there.

Into the Abyss: Herzog is a regular, Ioncinema says it's in.

The Artist: Weinstein Co., Cannes hit, Ioncinema says it's in, everyone thinks it's playing.

A Trip to the Moon: Bromberg is a regular, he's said he wants it there, fits the fests bill of unusual and restorations

We Have to Talk About Kevin: Cannes, Ioncinema and now Jeffrey Wells all but confirming it.

Le Havre: Cannes fave, Jarvis Films has the distribution and a history with Telluride

Shame: Daily Mail says it's in, director Steve McQueen also...see below

Goodbye First Love: Ioncinema says it's in.

The Skin I Live In: Tapley thinks it, Almodovar has history with TFF, IMDb lists it's US premiere as Sept. 3 at TFF

Footnote: (new to the Ten Bets, but I've had it on the Telluride radar since it won the screenplay award at Cannes) Comment on Jeff Wells Hollywood Elsewhere is the source (see below)...I believe it.

A Dangerous Method: Tapley's vibe is what has this back on my "bets"

Prohibition: I have a difficult time believing that Burns has a new doc ready and at least part of it doesn't show at The SHOW.

The Birds Upstairs: A short animated film that I include due to a tweet from the film maker that he's got something in this year's fest.

Drive

Drive: This drops this week because no one is talking like it could be in Telluride.  My original insight came from Ioncinema.  But I have had people remind me that this screened at Comic Con...soooo...it drops down.
But, man, I really want to see it and living in the Oklahoma Panhandle, it could be a really long time before it gets anywhere close to where I get a chance....come on Tom, Gary and Julie!

Dark Horse: Solondz has been a Telluride mainstay in the past.

The Kid with a Bike: The Dardennes Brothers have a good Telluride history and this film was well received at Cannes.

The Lady: I've intuitively felt like this was a Telluride possibility for a while now.  And over the weekend the Jeffrey Wells column and comments for it that you can access below has me wondering if this is the film he references toward the end of his post.  from what I can dig up "The Lady" would fit his description:

"I'm told that at least one movie that currently has no firm 2011 release date but is a semi-likely 2011 awards contender will play Telluride. The movie being referred to, by the way, is not Albert Nobbs, even though it hasn't yet landed a U.S. distributor."
 

Further research indicates that the film could also be: "Wuthering Heights," "360," "The Deep Blue Sea," or "The Eye of the Storm."  There are most likely others that fit Wells' description.


Martha Marcy...Tapley seems pretty confident.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is off the list...too many people, including Tapley are just flat saying it will NOT be in Telluride...too bad.

As to W.E., Ides and Coriolanus...I'm crossing my fingers for all three but, realistically, even one of them would be cool.

"Ten Bets" could be jumpy this week depending on what we find and what, if anything leaks out...I'll post as warranted, perhaps more than once a day...stay tuned!

MORE SHAME

Shame

I think we've reached the point that we can be confident that this film will be showing this weekend in Telluride.  As I pointed out on Friday, The Daily Mail Online says it's playing.  Over the weekend director Steve McQueen removed any doubt with a "statement" posted to IndieWire's "Shadow and Act" for the "Telluride screening."  Pretty much says it all.

Here's the link to McQueen's Statement:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/shadowandact/archives/director_steve_mcqueen_releases_directors_statement_for_shame_screening_at_/#


PROCESS STORIES

Have you ever wondered?

Well, if you have, take a look at these two stories.  The first is from The Telluride Daily Planet as they interview TFF co-directors Tom Luddy, Gary Meyer and Julie Huntsinger about how it all works.  I found it fascinating.  Maybe you will too.
http://www.telluridenews.com/articles/2011/08/28/news/doc4e59b2e53d875839155214.txt

Also an interesting story in Variety this weekend about the dance that film festivals, directors and production companies go through to program for the fall film fest season.  The article was a little difficult to get to, but this should get you there if you're interested:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118041874?refCatId=13


ECHO CHAMBER

You know cliches are cliches for a reason...and the one about it being a small world...well...
Above I have referenced Jeffrey Wells Hollywood Elsewhere post about his first trip to Telluride this week.  You can take a look at it yourself at this link:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2011/08/fair_warning_1.php

It's interesting, fun to read...informative (as you can see today, I have referenced material from him for today's edition of my blog, properly attributed).  What's weird is if you click on the linkage "  summary of a recent "Telluride Best Bets" tweet " it will take you to Friday's edition of Michaels' Telluride Film Blog.  


Kind of makes me dizzy...




FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER:
@Gort2

First Look at Iron Lady/What Oscars New Rules Could Have Changed/Rinko Gets a Job/Film Companies and T-ride

Good Morning Peeps!

FIRST PEEK AT "THE IRON LADY"

One of the possible films for Telluride with a considerable amount of buzz already is "The Iron Lady" starring Meryl Streep as British PM Margaret Thatcher.  Buzz because a lot of Oscar handicappers think that this might be the role that earns Streep her third Oscar.  I've detailed in this space reasons that it could be in the TFF#38 lineup (it's a Weinstein project, Oscar buzz, Streep is a past TFF Tributee) .  Now comes the first teaser/trailer of the film at FirstShowing.net.  It's modestly entertaining. Here's the link:

http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/must-watch-first-teaser-trailer-for-the-iron-lady-with-meryl-streep/

OSCARS NEW RULES-WHAT THEY MIGHT HAVE CHANGED

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced new rules for Best Picture nominations on June 15.  Now the folks at HitFix have done some detective work to make some retro-predictions about what would have happened if those rules had been in place from 2001-2008 (2009 and 2010 had 10 nominations under what are now superseded rules).  HitFix starts their analysis with the revelation from the Oscar accountants, Price Waterhouse, that had the new rules been in effect during those years that no year would have produced 10 Best Picture nominations but that years with 5,6,7,8 and 9 nominations would have happened.

It's fascinating stuff if you're an Oscar watcher, which this blog becomes once the Telluride Film Festival  (and Venice and Toronto) concludes.

That article is here:
http://www.hitfix.com/galleries/new-oscar-rules-who-would-have-been-nominated-for-best-picture-2001-2008

REMEMBER HER IN BABEL

The very first film I ever saw at a Telluride Film Festival was in 2006 when I stood in line at the Chuck and got into see "Babel."  We had no idea at the time what we were in for in as far as the festival or the film was concerned.  Kris and I stood in line with a young guy who was part of the underwriting company for the film.  He thought he might be in the credits.  We were so impressed.  Then we go in and the MC introduces Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu, himself, and he introduces the film.  Kris and I looked at each other, realizing at that moment that we had been allowed to be a part of something very, very special.

Two acting Oscar noms came out of that film both for Supporting Actress: Adrianna Barraza (who, whimsically, Kris was mistaken for on the Gondola ride back to Telluride) and Rinko Kikuchi (pictured above) who, for my money should have won the Oscar that year (Jennifer Hudson won for Dreamgirls).

Now comes word that Kikuchi has been cast in the lead for the big budget Guerillmo Del Toro's "Pacific Rim."  Kikuchi has been virtually undetectable to American audiences since Babel.  This new role will likely change that.  "pacific rim" is set to be released in July of 2013.

The link to The Playlist story announcing the casting is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/babel_oscar-nominee_rinko_kikuchi_bags_female_lead_in_guillermo_del_toros_p/

ANOTHER BRITISH FILM COMPANY AND TELLURIDE

Recently I've been back tracking the slate of films from the past 4-5 years of Telluride Film Festivals in an effort to correlate to whatever degree possible past  participation from film companies and if it tells us anything about what we might expect to see this year.  Today I'm looking at BBC Films which has had a substantial presence in that time period...well, really, the last couple of years.

2009: An Education, Fish Tank, Bright Star
2010: Tamara Drewe, The First Grader

2011 possibles: We Need to Talk About Kevin and My Week with Marilyn.  Both of these could be on the Telluride film lineup.  Both Tilda Swinton (Kevin) and Michelle Williams (Marilyn) will likely be in the Best Actress conversation this year.  I'd place a higher likelihood on seeing "Kevin" at T-ride.

Have a great Thursday everybody!

Ten Bets/Diablo's Dream Deferred/War Horse???/12,000 Views

Any chance we'll see this at Telluride?

TEN BETS

The Telluride Film Festival's 38th edition starts in just a hair over 2 months (Sept. 2 to be exact) and I thought I'd take a whack today at a list of the ten films that I think have the most likelihood of playing as a part of the festival.  Then, over the next 8 weeks I'll try to update it each week and see how close we can actually get to the films that show at The SHOW.  In order of greatest likelihood (at least according to me):

1) The Descendants
2) The Artist
3) The Kid with a Bike
4) Young Adult
5) Le Havre
6) A Trip to the Moon
7) Gazing Into the Abyss
8) Dark Horse
9) We Have to Talk About Kevin
10) Shame

Check back next Monday and see if there are any changes.

DIABLO'S DREAM DEFERRED

Last week (June 20) I passed on the information that Oscar winning writer Diablo Cody dreamed of penning a screenplay based on the life of Beach Boy Brian Wilson.  Now, it seems she's been beaten to the punch.  News this week that River Road in the person of Bill Pohlad in addition to John Wells were going forward with the same idea with Oren Moverman  (The Messenger) to do the script.  You can find that story from The Wrap here:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/river-road-make-brian-wilson-biopic-28538

Telluride chances for #39 or #40 would be pretty good as Pohlad has been a prime supporter of the Festival over the years. 

WAR HORSE AT TELLURIDE???

Made you look.  Seriously, I don't really think it's a likely candidate to show during Labor Day Weekend, but if I had to I could make a case for considering the possibility and here it is:
1) Wants to be Oscar Bait
2) But has no "names"  in the cast to speak of (biggest "name" is probably Emily Watson)...
3) Based on a play...with big horse puppets...no puppets in the movie, so it's dicey...
4) The Kennedy/Marshal Company is involved (no surprise, they often are involved in Spielberg's projects)
5) Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall are big supporters of the Telluride Film Festival
6) No other Festival buzz that I've tripped to...So...

Still, I'd be stunned if it's playing at The Chuck...


"MISSING PIECES"

Watched Kenton Bartlett's very personal film last night and am still mulling it over.  Review to come shortly...

12,000 VIEWS

Over the weekend this blog passed it's 12,000th view.  You can tell that TFF #38 is getting closer because my traffic is picking up...

Among items in tomorrow's blog...a focus on two companies and what they may have for The SHOW this year.

Parsing the Cannes Prizes

Will "The Source" be in Telluride?

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

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

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

In Competition :


Feature films

Palme d'Or

THE TREE OF LIFE directed by Terrence MALICK

Grand Prix Ex-aequo

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

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

Award for Best Director

Nicolas WINDING REFN for DRIVE

Award for Best Screenplay

Joseph CEDAR for HEARAT SHULAYIM (Footnote)

Award for Best Actress

Kirsten DUNST in MELANCHOLIA directed by Lars VON TRIER

Award for Best Actor

Jean DUJARDIN in THE ARTIST directed by Michel HAZANAVICIUS

Jury Prize

POLISSE (POLISS) directed by MAÏWENN

Short Films

Palme d'Or - Short Film

CROSS (CROSS - COUNTRY) directed by Maryna VRODA

Jury Prize - Short Film

BADPAKJE 46 (SWIMSUIT 46) directed by Wannes DESTOOP

Un Certain Regard :

Prize of Un Certain Regard Ex-aequo

ARIRANG directed by KIM Ki-Duk

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

Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize

ELENA directed by Andrey ZVYAGINTSEV

Directing Prize of Un Certain Regard

BÉ OMID É DIDAR directed by Mohammad RASOULOF

Cinefondation :

1st Prize Cinéfondation

DER BRIEF (THE LETTER) directed by Doroteya DROUMEVA

2nd Prize - Cinéfondation

DRARI directed by Kamal LAZRAQ

3rd Prize Cinéfondation

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

Golden Camera :

Caméra d'or

LAS ACACIAS directed by Pablo GIORGELLI





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

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

Counting Down to the Palme

Does Terrence Malick win the Palme D'or today???

With just hours left before we find out the jury's decision ab out which films receive what awards at the 64th Cannes Film Festival I can confidently say that there is absolutely no consensus about where this jury, headed by Robert DeNiro, is going to land.  Every one of the films that Cannes regulars seem to think have a chance also has some serious baggage to overcome.  Added to that is the fact that predicting a jury's decision when the members are new each year is a fool's game.  Nevertheless, no one ever said I wasn't a fool, so here's some speculation...

The big prize, of course, is the Plame D'Or.  Films thought o have the best chance are "The Skin I Inhabit" from Pedro Almodovar, "The Tree of Life" from  Terrence Malick, "Melancholia" from Lars Von Trier, "The Artist" from Michel Hazanavicius, "The Kid with a Bike" from The Dardennes Brothers, "Drive" from Nicolas Winding Refn, "La Havre" from Aki Kaurismaki and "We Have to Talk About Kevin" from Lynne Ramsay. 

Late entries for which there has been little time for critical response were "Once Upon a Time in Anatolia" from Nuri Bilge Ceylan and "The Source" from Radu Mihaileanu.  I mention these despite not having their critical reaction in total because of late Cannes has made something of a habit of awarding the Plame to a late showing film and because the limited critical reception to both pf these late films has had at least some high praise...

I think it's a fair bet that almost all (if not all) of the major awards will come from the above list.  But as mentioned.  These "heavy hitters' also have some issues.  Different ones for different films...but issues nonetheless.  To wit:

"Skin" and "Drive" have both been well received critically ("Skin" is at #1 on Ioncinema's compiled critical chart: http://www.ioncinema.com/images/cannes2011/day10part2.pdf) but both films are regarded as "genre" pictures and lacking as much "art" as Cannes is used to rewarding.

"The Artist" and "La Havre" are also critically well received but the knock on them "too light."  Crowd pleasers for sure, so the thinking goes in some corners, but not enough heft to merit the top honor.

"Melancholia"  In light of Von Trier's "Nazi week" and his status now as a Cannes "persona non grata," I'd be stunned that this jury decided to award it the Plame.  The jury's makeup doesn't say to me "we will buck the negative reaction to reward the cinematic art of Von Trier."  I don't see them separating the Von Trier's meanderings from the top award.  Additionally, it's not like "Melancholia" was a cinch to win the Palme before Lars put his foot in his mouth.

"The Kid with a Bike" suffers from the fact that The Dardennes have won twice previously.  Would this jury make them the first 3 time Palme winner in the history of the festival for this film? 

"We Have to Talk About Kevin" from Lynne Ramsay.  Early presentation may doom it.  It was the first film to be presented in competition after the opening from Woody Allen.  Also, if Tilda Swinton wins Best Actress (and many think she will) then that lessens the films chance at the Plame.  Cannes does have a history of "spreading the wealth" between many films 

And finally Malick's "The Tree of Life."  A lot of people think its going to win.  A lot of people don't.  Again, I'm not sure that the makeup of this year's jury does Malick any favors.  (the jury this year consists of: DeNiro, Uma Thurman, Jude Law, Olivier Assayas, Martina Gusman, Linn Ullmann, Johnnie To, Nansun Shi, and Mahamet-Saleh Haroun).

As I write rumors have begun floating that Tilda Swinton has won Best Actress and that Jean Dujardin has won Best Actor for "The Artist."  We'll know soon.

In addition to the Palme, there's the Grand Prix (sort of like a second place) the jury prize, actor, actress, director and screenplay.  The announcement is scheduled tentatively for about 2 hours from now.