Ten Bets #3 for TFF #48 / Thinking Val is a Possible / Teasers and Trailers from Cannes

 TEN BETS FOR TFF #48

Another week closer and a few alterations to this week's Ten Bets,  Here's where I was last week:

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) The Story of Looking/Cousins

4) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

5) The Card Counter/Schrader

6) The Storms of Jeremy Thomas/Cousins

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

10) Cow/Arnold

Other Possibles: Dune, Julia, Mothering Sunday, Petite Maman, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde and Bergman Island.

After this last week, here's the look at my latest Ten Bets:

1) The Power of the Dog/Campion

2) Muhammad Ali/Burns. Burns and McMahon

3) Something(s) from Mark Cousins***

4) Madres Paralelas (Parallel Mothers)/Almodovar

5) The Card Counter/Schrader

6) The Velvet Underground/Haynes

7) Nightmare Alley/Del Toro

8) A Hero/Farhadi

9) Val/Poo, Scott

10) Mothering Sunday/Husson

Other Possibles: Dune, Julia,  Petite Maman, Where Is Anne Frank?, Paris 13th District and The Eyes of Tammy Faye, Blonde, Cow, House of Gucci, The Last Duel and Bergman Island.

***With what appears now to be three separate projects that could play at Telluride, you have to think Cousins is there with something and maybe all things:

The Story of Looking

The Storms of Jeremy Thomas

The Story of Film: The Next Generation

Will update again next Thursday.

THINKING VAL IS POSSIBLE

A flurry of positive responses out of Cannes and the combo of A24 and Amazon Studios is making me think a TFF bid for the documentary Val-about actor Val Kilmer- could be in the offing.  You can see above how serious I am as I included the film as one of this week's Ten Bets at #9.

The doc reportedly makes use of hundreds of hours of footage shot by Kilmer himself.

Here's the Cannes trailer from YouTube:

TEASERS AND TYRAILERS FROM CANNES

In addition to the Val trailer, here's a sampling of other teasers and trailers out as a result of Cannes' kickoff that could also play Telluride.  All clips via YouTube:

WHERE IS ANNE FRANK

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

DECEPTION

LAMB

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Ned Beatty 1937-2021 / Cannes Update / One of Those Random Things / The Power of the Dog Goes to Venice

 NED BEATTY 1937-2021

Actor Ned Beatty died yesterday.  I can't recall a Telluride connection off the top of my head.  He was just a great actor and I wanted to take  moment and say that in print.  Incredible in Deliverance and the deliverer of one of the finest movie monologues in the history of cinema in Network.

CANNES UPDATE

Since we last touched base about the Cannes' lineup the Director's Fortnight and Critic's Week films have been announced.  A few other films have been announced to various sections as well but it seems to me that the only one announced in the latest batch that has some TFF traction is Ari Folman's Where Is Anne Frank which was announced as a late addition to the Palme d'Or competition.

Here's a link to the latest adds from Awards Watch.

ONE OF THOSE RANDOM THINGS

So a bit of a buzz in the second half of last week that involved a tip from a friend and an IMDb listing.

I'm not going to get into details yet because I need to be more certain that it wasn't a giant error or someone pulling  a prank.  But, should the bare bones of the info pan out, TFF will have a major title that I have mentioned in passing but haven't really thought would be a film with a significant likelihood of playing in Telluride.

I will say that for a period of time late last week, the film was listed at IMDb as playing Telluride and then that was scrubbed before the end of the day that it appeared.  I have more work to do and will get back to you soon.

THE POWER OF THE THE DOG GOES TO VENICE

Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog will be at Venice this year and could possibly make the move to Telluride as a number of Venetian bowing films do.  Campion's last feature film, Bright Star, played T-ride in 2009 as did her Oscar winning The Piano in 1993.  The film is distributed by Netflix and has no announced release date as yet.

Here's coverage from Variety concerning the film's selection by Venice.

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TFF #48- A Big Return? / New Digs for TFF in Telluride / Trailers, Teasers, Posters and Pics of TFF Possibilities

 TFF #48- A BIG RETURN?

We already know that TFF #48 will be bigger than usual with a five day fest rather than the typical four day event.  We also know, officially this week as reported by news outlets in Telluride as well as nationally by Awards Watch and Indiewire that the fest has purchased the Nugget Theater building with plans to establish a substantial continuing presence in Telluride.

But in addition to all that, there are whispers in the ether that Telluride might be a larger than usual locus for films launching at the fall fests.

Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson writing for Indiewire yesterday had some interesting observations in that direction:

(Telluride) "which chose to cancel its VIP mountain gathering last year when it could not stage a live event, is prepping a substantial comeback. The Labor Day gathering has ambitious plans, with an extra day of programming and a slate of expected Oscar hopefuls that may include both Wes Anderson’s Cannes entry “The French Dispatch” and the animated Sundance documentary breakout “Flee.” Telluride is returning strong with its recent acquisition of frequent screening site the Nugget Building, where it intends to create a year-round “cultural center devoted to film, filmmakers, and film culture.” Meanwhile, awards consultants are eager to return to in-person campaign events with a Telluride awards launch."

The momentum about thinking that The French Dispatch could be a  TFF selection has been building a bit over the past few weeks, so Indiewire's speculation adds some fuel to that fire.  Interesting, as well, is the mention of Flee, which has been earning good buzz since its debut at Sundance.  Because Flee is a documentary, it's debut at Sundance doesn't diminish its chances at playing TFF as much as if it were a feature film.  Also, its acquisition by NEON doesn't hurt either.

The concluding sentence from this paragraph also intrigues.  

There have also been a couple of other allusions from other film journos that Telluride could well be in the "sweet spot" this year for a fall film fest and domestic film makers with Covid restrictions and uncertainties regarding European Fests and Toronto. 

Another interesting note here is the reveal that TFF has bought the Nugget Theater building.  That news had been bubbling for a bit and has now been reported by local Telluride media as well Erik Anderson's Awards Watch.  See the news release from the fest about the purchase below.

Not to brag, but I have been sitting on the news for a couple of months.

The complete Indiewire article is linked here.

Stand by!

NEW DIGS FOR TFF IN TELLURIDE

From the TFF Press Office and Shannon Mitchell:

Telluride Film Festival (September 2 – 6, 2021) and the National Film Preserve LTD, a Colorado nonprofit corporation, today announced its acquisition of the Nugget Building in the town of Telluride, Colorado. The Festival’s intent is to maintain and further create a cultural center devoted to film, filmmakers and film culture. 

The building, an iconic piece of Old West history located in the town’s center near the New Sheridan Hotel, will provide a permanent hub for the Festival focused on a fully remodeled Nugget Theater; a regional jewel that will be upgraded to the country’s highest presentation standards. In addition, the Festival intends to construct a rooftop gathering space that will be a site for major Festival events and a year-round venue for education and community programming. Plans also involve the construction of an adjacent filmmaker residency building. A capital campaign, Nugget Project: The SHOW at 50, is underway to raise the necessary funds for the purchase, construction and vital endowments towards future programming.

“The Telluride Film Festival believes that film is best experienced together, in a beautiful cinema, talking afterwards in a communal space with the artists who create these magical stories in the first place,” said Executive Director Julie Huntsinger. “We hope to make the picturesque Nugget Building a beacon for our global society of cinephiles to experience the art form at its best.”

The Nugget Building has been restored by its past owners, and Telluride Film Festival intends to build on their work. 

“The Telluride Film Festival wishes to deeply thank Katrine and Bill Formby for their twenty-year preservation efforts in bringing the Nugget Building back to its former glory, and for generously donating to the Nugget Project: The SHOW at 50 capital campaign that helped us to acquire the building,” said Huntsinger. “We are committed to preserving its history.”

“When we purchased the crumbling, partially blue-stained Nugget Building in 1999, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into,” said former building owners Katrine and William Formby. “Twenty years later, we are now somewhat experts on historical preservation. We are extremely proud of what we have been able to accomplish in bringing this 129-year-old building back to its former glory. All of our decisions have been made with the following in mind: ‘What is the best for the Nugget Building and for Telluride?’ Selling the Nugget Building to the Telluride Film Festival sounds like a happy and appropriate ending to our time as stewards of the building.”

 For more information about Telluride Film Festival’s Capital Campaign or to make a donation, please visit www.telluridefilmfestival.org.

 

TRAILERS OF TFF POSSIBILITIES

With Cannes upcoming and other films getting into the game, we have had a run of teasers and trailers recently for films that could be contenders for TFF inclusion.  Beginning with yesterday's release from Searchlight for Michael Showalter's The Eyes of Tammy Faye:

Petrov's Flu

Bergman Island:

The Year of the Everlasting Storm:

Where Is Anne Frank poster:

Photo from Audiard's 13th District Paris:

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Word on the Street / 25 Films for Cannes? / Inarritu's Return?

WORD ON THE STREET

As best as I can tell, we got our first word about the status of the 47th Telluride Film Festival from a story posted on The Denver Post's "The Know" website.  That story was posted Tuesday.  The post focused on any number of film related activities in Colorado for the rest of 2020 and their status at this point in relation to the Covid-19 health crisis.

Included as a part of the story was an assessment concerning film festivals within the state including TFF #47.  The relevant paragraph is here:

"The popular Film on the Rocks program at Red Rocks Amphitheatre is scheduled to go on as planned this summer, pending city restrictions, Erickson said. Separate from Denver Film, so is the 47th Telluride Film Festival, an internationally acclaimed event (scheduled for Sept. 4-7) where many Oscar-winning features make their debut, according to a spokeswoman."

So, the status at the moment for TFF #47 is a go. 

The complete Denver Post/The Know story is linked here.

Complicating matters, as I have been detailing here for the past few weeks, is the decision by organizers of the Cannes Film Festival to postpone that fest.  Reports have been that the Cannes soiree is likely to be re-set for late June or early July.  At least that's the plan for the moment. 

The reality is that what form Cannes will take for 2020, when it will happen or even if it will happen still seem to be relevant questions.  And, again, not to beat the drum too much, but the Cannes/Telluride overlap of  titles from year to year is substantial averaging 7.5 films shared per year which, again on average, means that Cannes titles are somewhere in the neighborhood of nearly 20% of the feature films that screen at TFF. 

The point being that whatever Cannes does will have some ripple effect in as far as TFF #47 os concerned.

More to come, as I will continue monitoring for whatever information I can find for both T-ride and Cannes in the coming days.

Now...speaking of Cannes...again....


25 FILMS FOR CANNES

In the midst of uncertainty regarding the fate and form of the 73rd Cannes Film Fest, Indiewire writers (Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich, Kate Erbland, Ryan Lattanzio and Zack Sharf) posted their 25 film Cannes wish list earlier this week.  Not only is is a "wish list" but it's also a list of films with very high Cannes potential.

So, as is my custom, I took a look at what the Indiewire folks were pointing at and whether some of the films they are signaling might have a shot at screening at The SHOW.

Here's what I found as TFF possibles:

Annette/dir: Leos Carax.  Why? It features one of last year's TFF tribute recipients, Adam Driver as well as TFF #39 tribute recipient Marion Cotillard.  It's from Amazon Studios.  It has no set U.S, release date but IMDb says it is set for a Nov. 27th release in Turkey.

Bergman Island/dir: Mia Hansen Love.  Why?  Hansen-Love has made Telluride appearances before: Goodbye First Love, Things to Come). 

The French Dispatch/dir: Wes Anderson.  "Hold up there Newt"  my mind hears some of you saying..."The French Dispatch is set for release on July 24th".  And, yeah, that's true...for the moment.  I suspect that July 24th date was set with a Cannes bow in mind in May.  Now that the Cannes date has changed, I think a whole different strategy might emerge for the film.  The film is under The Searchlight banner (new since the Disney folks dropped the word "Fox" from in front of Searchlight) and I could see them deciding that a new release date after some fall fest presence might be a smart play even with a Cannes that premiered the film in late June/July.  It's still an unlikely TFF choice but now it's not outside of the realm of possibility.

Summer of '85/dir: Francois Ozon.  Ozon has played TFF before with 2016's Frantz. 

Where Is Anne Frank/dir: Ari Folman.  The director of Waltz with Bashir (TFF #35) returns with this animated meditation on Anne Frank. 

The Woman in the Window/dir: Joe Wright.  A film that was on my TFF #46 watchlist for some time and then got dropped when its release date was changed.  It could be back in the convo for TFF #47 if it does make a Cannes appearance.  Certainly there are plenty of TFF connectives involved: Wright who was at TFF #44.  Stars Amy Adams (TFF #43 tribute), Jennifer Jason Leigh (TFF #20 tribute and back in 2007 with Margot at the Wedding), Gary Oldman (at TFF #44 with Darkest Hour). Writer Tracy Letts (at TFF #44 with Lady Bird).  Who knows?

The complete compilation of 25 films on he Indiewire wish list is linked here .



INARRITU'S RETURN?

News from Mexico is that multiple Oscar winner and frequent Telluride presence, Alejandro Inarritu os prepping his next feature film. 

Inarritu hasn't directed a feature since 2015's The Revenant.  His last film at TFF was 2014's Oscar winner Birdman.  He has also screened Babel and Biutiful at TFF as well as being a frequent guest and attendee of the fest often in support of Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity and Roma) and Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water).

The Film Stage reports that Inarritu has begun very preliminary prep work in Mexico City.

Despite the fact that The Revenant did not make a play at TFF, you still have to believe that, if the timing were right, a new Inarritu would be a very big possibility for a TFF bow.

Here's the link to The Film Stage story.



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