Roma Announced for NY...Venice Names First Man as Opener...Reading the Signs / Malick's Radegund at Fests / New Trailers for Boy Erased and Marwen / Announcements Coming Soon

Good Thursday friends...Yesterday was a busy day for film news...and that's an understatement!



ROMA ANNOUNCED FOR NY...VENICE NAMES FIRST MAN AS OPENER...READING THE SIGNS

The New York Film Fest announced yesterday that its centerpiece film will be Alfonso Cuaron's much anticipated Roma.

The film was listed in announcements, however , as its "New York premiere" which tells you a few things...

It won't be the film's world premiere...that could be at Venice.  It also means, because it isn't the film's North American premiere, that the film will have played prior to its NY October date somewhere in North America and likely, because its named a New York preem, that it will have played somewhere in the U.S.  That probably means Telluride or Los Angeles.  Telluride is the more likely due to Cuaron's presentation of Gravity there in 2013 and also, probably because his buddies Alejandro Inarritu and Guillermo Del Toro have had great success there.

Does it guarantee a T-ride play...No.  But it does make it much more likely.

I had Roma listed last week on the Ten Bets listed in the #9 spot.  Don't be surprised if it's higher on the new Ten Bets coming tomorrow.

Linked coverage of the NYFF announcement is here from:

NYFF

Variety

Indiewire

The Playlist

Entertainment Weekly

Both The Playlist and Entertainment Weekly specifically mention Telluride as a destination for the film.

Roma is being handled by Netflix...Who just hired Awards Consultant Lisa Taback yesterday.  Those who follow Oscar season will recognize Taback's name.  The hire means that Netflix is planning to play hard this awards season.


Meanwhile...in Venice news...

Venice has announced that its opening night film will be Damien Chazelle's First Man starring Ryan Gosling as Neil Armstrong.

The designation that First Man will open Venice absolutely does not preclude a shot at TFF #45.  As matter of fact, Chazelle's La La Land opened Venice in 2016 and followed that with a Telluride presentation.  Alexander Payne's Downsizing did the same thing last year and Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water also played both places.  Past Telluride films that also opened Venice include Birdman, Gravity and Black Swan.

The Playlist suggests that a Telluride play is likely.

Meanwhile, tweets from Toronto Star critic Peter Howell and Awards Daily's Sasha Stone also suggest Telluride is a good possibility for First Man:

Howell:

Stone:

Here's additional linked coverage of the Venice announcement from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Deadline

Venice will announce the bulk of its lineup on July 25th.


MALICK'S RADEGUND AT FESTS

An interview with actor Matthias Schoenaerts appears to confirm that the latest film from auteur Terrence Malick is likely to appear at fall festivals and have a fall release date.  In an interview with The Independent, Schoenaerts says that Radegund, a film based on actual incidents from World War II in which a German conscientious objector is persecuted for his beliefs, is going to premiere at a fall festival or festivals.  Most speculation about which focuses on Venice and Toronto but a Telluride play is not completely outside the realm of possibility.

I have to tell you that this is the first Malick film that I have been excited about since The Tree of Life.

Radegund currently has no distribution or release date set.

Coverage of the interview is here from The Independent.

Also from The Playlist and World of Reel.



NEW TRAILERS FOR BOY ERASED AND MARWEN

The last couple of days were very busy in terms of new trailers appearing.  Of note, in as far as Telluride observers might be concerned were the first for Joel Edgerton's gay conversion therapy drama Boy Erased starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe and Edgerton.

Here it is from YouTube:

Boy Erased is distributed by Focus Features and is scheduled for release on Nov. 2nd.

Linked coverage is here for the trailer's release from:

Variety

Indiewire

The Wrap

The Playlist

Meanwhile, Universal has released a new trailer for Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen was released yesterday by Universal.  The film's first trailer apparently did not strike the chord that Uni wanted when it was released a month ago.  To that end, another has dropped.  Again for YouTube:

Linked coverage is here for the Marwen trailer release from The Playlist and SlashFilm.


ANNOUNCEMENTS COMING SOON

New York kicked it off yesterday with its announcement about Roma as its Centerpiece.  Venice added to the fun by announcing its opening night film.  Now, prepare for an onslaught of film fest announcements to come next week from Toronto and Venice and all of the clues that will result.

By Friday of next week, we should know a lot more about what films  are playing which fests and by inference, many films that will play at TFF #45.

It will be one of the more exciting weeks of the year for Telluride watchers and you can get all of the best guess analysis about what it all means right here at Michael's Telluride Film Blog.

That's all for today...come back tomorrow for more including the 4th edition of MTFB's Ten Best for TFF 2018.



EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Distributors 2018: Big Dogs / Don Quixote Legal Woes Won't Stop It / Moore's New Doc at TFF? / For Your Consideration

Thursday...July 5, 2018


Welcome back to MTFB...

THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: BIG DOGS

There are, each year, a number of films that feel like they could have some Telluride potential that are distributed by one of the big studios that often have a limited profile in as far as T-ride is concerned.  This year is no different.

For example, Steve McQueen's Widows is set up at 20th Century Fox and Damien Chazelle's First Man is set to come from Universal.

Because of the two directors, and their pasts with TFF, I have to consider them as possibles for TFF #45 despite the fact that 20th Century Fox and Universal have very limited histories at the fest.

Also included in the calculation are Robert Zemeckis' Welcome to Marwen and Bryan Singer's Bohemian Rhapsody.

I might also mention that Columbia has Jason Reitman's take on Gary Hart's 1988 presidential run in The Front Runner and the Matthew McConaughey starrer White Boy Rick directed by Yann Dannage (who, like Chazelle and McQueen has been to Telluride before).  It also falls into this category of films.

Of the six films listed here, my feel is that the most likely to make Telluride is Reitman's The FrontRunner.  Reitman used to be a regular at Telluride and this could be his ticket back to The SHOW.  Give it a 40% chance.

Widows is next in line simply because the Steve McQueen connection has been tight.  He screened Hunger, Shame and 12 Years a Slave at T-ride.  Give it a 35% chance to play.

Chazelle's First Man is next at 30%.

I give Welcome to Marwen a 25% shot, White Boy Rick a 20% chance and Bohemian Rhapsody seems the least likely at 10%.

Tomorrow I'll look at films that feel like they have a decent shot at Telluride from occasional specialty houses that make TFF appearances.

DON QUIXOTE'S LEGAL WOES WON'T STOP IT

After so much back and forth legally regarding Terry Gilliam's long awaited passion project, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, it now appears that the film is going to be around quite a lot in the next few months.

The Hollywood Reporter's Nick Holdsworth writes that the film (having just screened at the Karlovy Vary Film Fest) will screen in competition at the Munich Film Fest and Gilliam says it will open wide in Holland and Belgium soon.

This series of events seems to indicate that the film is fully possible to screen in the U.S. at any and all of the fall fests.

It should be noted that the film was, at one point, set to be distributed by Amazon Studios but that they dropped out when legal issues endangered its planned screening at Cannes.

The complete THR story is here.


MOORE'S NEW DOC AT TFF?

Michael Moore has made it clear that he's going to pushing his new Donald Trump documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 hard for the next few months insisting that he wants it seen by as many people as possible prior to November's midterm elections.

One has to suspect that will include some presence on the fall festival circuit and that could include seeing it pop up at Telluride.

Moore has been at Telluride by my count four times-1989, 1992, 2002 and as a guest in 2013 for the fest's 40th anniversary.  So, especially with how much Telluride's profile has increased over the last decade, you have to consider it a possibility.

Here's the Indiewire article from Michael Nordine reporting on Moore's recent appearance on Bill Maher.



FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Recent articles at both The Playlist and World of Reel highlight what seem to be a larger than normal pool of films that might have legitimate aspirations for Oscar glory and that seems to be opening a wide door for those films and where they could land for their premieres.

Both article authors (Jordan Ruimy-World of Reel and Greg Ellwood-The Playlist) mention Telluride in this context.


Interesting tidbits from the Ruimy piece:

Alfonso Cuaron's Roma has hot buzz.
Mike Leigh's Peterloo was submitted for Cannes but was not chosen
Test screening response for Damien Chazelle's First Man has been okay but not through the roof
He describes Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk as "artsy".

Meanwhile, Ellwood's article poses a number of questions about Oscar quirks for 2018.

Check the articles out.

World of Reel

The Playlist

That's today's MTFB.  Come back tomorrow for the week's NEW TEN BETS...


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Distributors 2018: The Cohen Media Group / Beautiful Boy Trailer and Poster Land / Marwen Moved

It;s Thursday and MTFB is back with more speculation and reportage regarding the Telluride Film Festival...

THE DISTRIBUTORS 2108: THE COHEN MEDIA GROUP

Over the years the Cohen Media Group has had a modestly robust presence at the Telluride Film Festival.  Here's the history of the organization at TFF since 2012:

2017: The Insult, Face Places
2016: Journey Through French Cinema
2015: Hitchcock/Truffaut, Marguerite, Rams
2014: Magician
2013: No Show
2012: The Attack

But this year, at least at this moment, CMG's larder is almost bare.  According to IMDb it seems as of the only film that they have that could be in play for TFF is Julien Landais' The Aspern Papers based on the Henry James novel and starring Joely Richardson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Vanessa Redgrave.

The period romance has reportedly been in post-production since last August.

Put The Aspern Papers at 30% and also keep an eye peeled for other Cohen Media acquisitions as we go through the next few weeks.  Should that happen, it might change the calculus for CMG's TFF profile.

BEAUTIFUL BOY TRAILER AND POSTER LAND

 As advertised, the trailer for Felix Von Groeningen's Beautiful Boy starring Steve Carell and Timothee Chalamet popped yesterday.  It's good.  Here its is from YouTube:

The film tells the true story of father and son Nic and David Sheff and the challenges to their lives and relationships due to the son's drug addiction.  The screenplay is based on the memoirs of both; father David's Beautiful Boy and son Nic's Tweak.

The film is distributed by Amazon Studios and is scheduled for release on Oct. 12th.

Here's coverage of the release of the trailer from:

Entertainment Weekly

The Playlist

Awards Daily

The Film Stage

Indiewire

ShowBiz411

Deadline

Variety

A couple of these outlets mention that the film is expected to play the fall film circuit.  ShowBiz411 specifically mention Telluride and Toronto as possibilities.

Yes please.



MARWEN MOVED

I was very excited and responsive to the trailer that was released a week ago but in these intervening seven days came news that Universal has decided to move the film's release from its original November date to Dec. 21.  The U dated Green Room for the Nov. date in Welcome to Marwen's place.

Here are details from Variety and Awards Circuit.

My initial impression is that the move to December could signal that the film won't be ready in time for Telluride/Venice/Toronto.  It might also indicate a New York Film Fest premiere and/or and AFI Fest slot as well.

It almost certainly signals less of a chance that the film will make it to Telluride.


That's today's MTFB.  Come back tomorrow for the first Ten Bets for TFF #45!

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Distributors 2018: Amazon Studios / The Front Runner Looks at Awards Season / Welcome to Marwen Trailer Arrives / And Maybe The Don Is Back On

Thursday marks the return of MTFB for this week with an assessment of the chances of five films that are being distributed by Amazon Studios.

THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: AMAZON STUDIOS

Amazon had Oscar nominee/winner Manchester by the Sea play in 2016.

Wonderstruck in 2017.

This year could see multiple entrants from Amazon Studios including Mike Leigh's Peterloo, Ritesh Batra's Photograph, Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War. All of these directors have some TFF history, especially Leigh.  In addition, we have to consider Felix Van Groeningen's Beautiful Boy and Dan Fogelman's Life Itself.

Chances in order of likelihood for TFF #45:

Peterloo- 75%
Cold War- 50%
Beautiful Boy 40%
Photograph- 30%
Life Itself- 20%


As a matter of fact, Peterloo will almost certainly be on the opening Top Ten List coming out in a week or two.  Cold War could make that list as well.

I'll look at Netflix tomorrow.


THE FRONT RUNNER LOOKS AT AWARD SEASON

Sony has dated Jason Reitman's The Front Runner with a Nov. 7th limited release date putting it smack in the middle of the awards season.  A wider release will occur the following week on Nov. 14th.

The Front Runner re-visits the real story of Gary Hart's ill-fated 1988 presidential run.  Hugh Jackman stars as Hart.

Deadline reported the story on Wednesday.  Also reporting the dates was Clayton Davis's Awards Circuit.  Both sources suggest that Telluride is a real possibility for Reitman's film despite the fact that Sony/Columbia have a meager TFF profile. 



WELCOME TO MARWEN TRAILER ARRIVES

We passed along Trailer Track's Anton Volkov's news earlier this week that a trailer would be released for Robert Zemeckis's Welcome to Marwen and that trailer dropped yesterday.  Here it is via YouTube:

Further reporting on the film and its trailer release can be found at:

FirstShowing

SlashFilm

The Playlist

Trailer Track


AND MAYBE THE DON IS BACK ON

Reporting from the Czech Republic suggests that Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote will play at the Karlovy Vary Film Fest.  The news was reported by both The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline.

That comes after the news reported here Monday that Gilliam had suffered a legal set back with a French court finding in favor of producer Paolo Blanco. 

I wondered  if that decision might nix the chances of Quixote playing T-ride. 

Now, with this latest news that TMWKDQ will screen at Karlovy Vary despite the court ruling, I am again considering that the Gilliam passion project might still have a shot at the San Juans in a couple of months.



That's all for today.  More tomorrow.

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

The Distributors 2018: Sundance Selects and IFC Films / The 4th Telluride Film Festival Re-visited /Marwen Trailer Looming?

Welcome to Tuesday...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: SUNDANCE SELECTS AND IFC FILMS

The series of analyzing the films that specific distribution companies have in the pipeline and their chance at playing TFF #45 continues today looking at the partnered firms of Sundance Selects and IFC Films.

Here's the recent history of Sundance Selects and IFC Films with TFF:

Looking for a probable film from these outfits this year is a difficult proposition.  This again is likely a result of the growth of Amazon and Netflix within the film industry as well as the expansion of entities like A24, Neon and Annapurna.

My best prediction for a film from this combo is Roger Michell's documentary There's Nothing Like a Dame. 

The doc focuses on the lives and careers of four legendary British actresses: Eileen Atkins, Joan Plowright, Judi Dench and Maggie Smith.

Another reason to think that it might make a TFF play is Roger Michell's history with the fest.  Past Michell films at T-ride include Venus and Hyde Park on Hudson.

The film has no known release date at this time per IMDb all of which suggests that it could make the Labor Day lineup.

Chances: 30%.

2003: Touching the Void, Intermission

2004: Nobody Knows

2005: Three Times

2006: Deep Water, Indigenes, Day Night Day Night

2007: Secret Sunshine, 4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, Jar City

2008: Hunger, Gomorrah, Flame and Citron, Everlasting Moments, The Good, the Bad and the Weird

2009: Fish Tank, Red Riding Trilogy, Life During Wartime, Vincere

2010: The Princess of Montpensier, Carlos, Tabloid

2011: Into the Abyss, Pina, The Forgiveness of Blood, The Kid with a Bike, Goodbye First Love

2012: Frances Ha, The Central Park Five, Everyday

2013: Blue is the Warmest Color

2014: Two Days, One Night, Seymour: An Introduction

2015: 45 Years

2016: Things to Come, Graduation, Wakefield
2017: Eating Animals

THE 4TH TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL RE-VISITED

Counting down the last few beginning TFFs now as we look back to the fourth fest that was held Sept. 2-5, 1977.

Tributes: Michael Powell, Agnes Varda, Ben Carre

SHOWS:

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
The Ascent
Black Narcissus
The Bluebird
Cleo from 5 to 7
Coup de Grace
Dagguerotypes
The Devil's Playground
A Geisha
I Know Where I'm Going
It Happened Here
La Pointe Courte
La Roi des Champs Elysees
Le Bonheur
The Light in the Dark
Lion's Love
The Magician
A Matter of Life and Death
Nine Months
Old San Francisco
Picture Show Man
Primary
Queen of Apollo
The Red Dance
Rudd Family Goes to Town
Scaramouche
The Spy in Black
The Squatter's Daughter
The Volunteer
Voyage to the Grand Tartary
Wake and Fright
Winstanley
A Woman's Face


GUESTS:

Werner Herzog
Ed Lachman
Martin Scorsese


MARWEN TRAILER LOOMING

Steve Carell on the set of Welcome to Marwen

Steve Carell has a couple of projects that could end up in front of Telluride audiences by the time we get to Labor Day weekend.  The more likely is Beautiful Boy co-starring actor of the moment Timothee Chalamet. 

The other is, like Beautiful Boy, based on a true story of a man finding a novel way of healing himself in the aftermath of a harsh attack.

Robert Zemeckis directs Welcome to Marwen.  Word from Anton Volkov/Trailer Track that a Marwen trailer drop is imminent.

Here's the story from Trailer Track.

I'll pass the trailer along as soon as possible.


That's your MTFB for this Tuesday.  More to come on Thursday.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT to the BLOG