New "Foxcatcher" Poster-Carell!/Oregonian Says "Wild" at T-ride/Another Stab at the Lineup/Remember to Rate

Good Day on a Tuesday.  72 hours from now I'm standing in line for the trip to the Patron brunch.   Counting it down...


NEW "FOXCATCHER" POSTER

Yesterday we saw the release of another character poster from Bennett Miller's "Foxcatcher" focusing on Steve Carell's John DuPont character.  Here's the new poster:

"Foxcatcher" poster from Entertainment Weekly

Looks good and creepy.  I have also linked a number of the stories that were posted yesterday with the release of the poster.

http://insidemovies.ew.com/2014/08/25/steve-carell-foxcatcher-poster

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/bennett-miller-originally-considered-ryan-gosling-heath-ledger-and-bill-nighy-for-foxcatcher-20140825

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/seven-years-later-foxcatcher-finally-makes-big-screen/

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2014/08/new-creepy-poster-for-foxcatcher/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2014/steve-carell-praise-take-center-stage-on-new-foxcatcher-poster/

Currently, "Foxcatcher" sits at #2 on my personal list of top five films I want to see this weekend in Telluride.  My top five list:

5) Leviathan

4) Rosewater

3) Birdman

2) Foxcatcher

1) The Imitation Game

Of course, my list could change depending on what is actually in the lineup.  What's your "Top Five" wish list for Telluride this weekend?


OREGONIAN SAYS "WILD" AT TELLURIDE

The Oregonian posted yesterday that Jean Marc Vallee's "Wild" starring Reese Witherspoon will world premiere at Telluride this weekend.  "Wild" is the true story of Oregon native Cheryl Strayed and her 1,000 mike hike in the American West.  The Oregonian story is here:

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2014/08/wild_and_the_boxtrolls_open_at.html



ANOTHER STAB AT THE LINEUP

The Dallas News website, late last night, posted its own guesses at the Telluride lineup.  The early part of the article seems pretty spot on.  The latter part seems to fly off the rails.  For example, the writer, James Tisch, claims that Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" could play and we know that won't happen per producer Cassian Elwes.  Other end-of-article claims are for "Fury" and "Unbroken", both of which were reported as not playing ANY fall fests last week in the New York Times.

Still there's a lot there worth taking a look at including the persistent notion that Damien Chazelle's Sundance favorite, "Whiplash", could screen.

The post is here:

http://movies.mxdwn.com/news/what-may-pop-up-at-the-2014-telluride-film-festival/


REMEMBER TO RATE

Now that we're down to Telluride week, here's your reminder...Don't forget to join in on "The People's Telluride".  Rate the films you see this week on a 0-5 scale ( 0 being just abysmal and 5 being a masterpiece).  You can rate each day or do them all at the end of the fest.  Send film ratings to me via Twitter (@Gort2) or email me at michael_speech@hotmail.com or in the comments section of this blog.

I'll collect all of that data and post the collective ratings from we, The People.

More tomorrow...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

New for Saturday: The Playlist's 20 Fall Film List/ScreenTalk with Thompson and Kohn/Best of the Week: Ten Bets #9; Toronto; Leviathan; Variety; Rosewater

Welcome to the last weekend before TFF #41 takes flight.  We leave on Wednesday afternoon and cover about two thirds of the distance and then will finish on Thursday morning.  Planning to be in Telluride around noon in time to lunch with our generous hosts Mitzi and Larry Mallard.  Then pre-fest errands, and dinner with fest friends.  Can't wait.


NEW FOR SATURDAY


THE PLAYLIST'S 20 FALL FILM LIST

The Playlist has posted the 20 films that they're looking forward to for this fall.  The list includes seven films that seem like relatively good Telluride possibilities: "Birdman", "Rosewater", "Foxcatcher", "The Imitation Game", "Wild", "Mr. Turner" and "Leviathan".  See the entire post and list of 20 films here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/fall-film-preview-20-of-our-most-anticipated-films-20140821


SCREENTALK WITH THOMPSON AND KOHN

Anne Thompson (Thompson on Hollywood) and Eric Kohn (IndieWire) posted their latest episode of Screen Talk yesterday and it's almost exclusively Telluride-oriented.  The two (who will be rating films at T-ride for MTFB) mention eleven films that they feel are likely Telluride-bound.  (and three that aren't).

The films they name in order are:
"Wild"
"Rosewater"
"The Imitation Game"
"The Homesman"
"Leviathan"
"Whiplash"
"Mr. Turner"
"Foxcatcher"
"Wild Tales"
"99 Homes"
"Birdman"

Two notes...I've been back and forth on whether "The Homesman" will actually play...they seem to think it will.  Also, yet here's yet another suggestion that Sundance hit (and Cannes film as well) "Whiplash" plays TFF #41.  Interesting.

Check out the nearly 18 min. podcast here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/screen-talk-telluride-film-festival-predictions-and-preview-20140822

Anne and Eric say their next cast will be from Telluride as the fest is going...so look for that too.

BEST OF THE WEEK


TEN BETS #9

Last week's "Ten Bets" was actually 15...here that list is:

15) The Homesman
14) Life May Be
13) Merchants of Doubt
12) 99 Homes
11) Red Army
10) Two Days, One Night
9) The Look of Silence
8) Rosewater
7) Wild Tales
6) Leviathan
5) Wild
4) The Imitation Game
3) Birdman
2) Mr. Turner
1) Foxcatcher

This week...the "Ten Bets" look like this:

15) Mommy
14) '71
13) 99 Homes
12) Red Army
11) Merchants of Doubt
10) The Look of Silence
9) Leviathan
8) Two Days, One Night
7) Rosewater
6) Wild Tales
5) Foxcatcher
4) Wild
3) The Imitation Game
2) Birdman
1) Mr. Turner

NEW TORONTO TITLES


The Toronto International Film Festival announced its final titles this yesterday and there, again, are conclusions that we can reach.  We can't guarantee that these conclusions are 100% correct but we're probably pretty close.  Takeaways:

The announcement of " '71" and "The New York Review of Books: The 50 Year Argument" as Canadian Premieres is a good indication that both of those titles are headed to Telluride.  We've been thinking that was probably the case the last couple of weeks.  I'm particularly excited about " '71" which has a trailer that was associated with its play at the Berlin Film Fest back in February.  Here's that trailer:

" '71" trailer via YouTube

Here's the story that The Playlist ran yesterday with the release of the trailer:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-berlin-sensation-71-led-by-rising-star-jack-oconnell-20140819

We also found that three films that we had continued to think might be Telluride possibilities will NOT be as they are either World or North American premieres.  As reported earlier, "St. Vincent" starring Bill Murray is a World premiere and so will not be in T-ride.  TIFF has announced that Sept. 5th will be Bill Murray Day.

Announced as North American premieres were the Cannes Palme d'Or winner "Winter Sleep" and another Cannes standout, "The Tribe".  That means neither of those will play in the San Juans.  Too bad, especially about "The Tribe" which I have been really intrigued by.

Finally, four titles were announced as International premieres that we may need to consider for Telluride. There is limited screening history information about each of the four which, at least at the moment, leaves them as theoretical Telluride possibilities.

The most intriguing is the filmed version of Julie Taymor's stage production of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

Also in play: "Life in a Fishbowl", "The Little Death" and "Senza Nessuna Pieta".

Here's the Variety report on yesterday's Toronto announcement:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/toronto-film-festival-completes-lineup-1201285802/

TALE OF TORONTO AND LEVIATHAN PART TWO

Over the weekend, I mentioned that a reader had alertly noticed that the TIFF website had listed "Leviathan" as a North American premiere and was asking if that meant no Telluride play.  It was a reasonable question. I did some research and source work and couldn't find any explanation for why a film that I was pretty sure had been announced as a Canadian premiere was listed as North American.

I contacted an acquaintance or two that have a way better knowledge of Toronto's workings than I do and they suggested that the "Canadian" designation was probably correct.

Yesterday, I checked back in to the TIFF.net website and someone had changed the designation.  So, suffice to say that "Leviathan" IS a Canadian premiere for Toronto and a very likely film for Telluride.

Check this link to "Leviathan's" TIFF page:

http://www.tiff.net/festivals/thefestival/programmes/masters/leviathan-1


NEW YORK TIMES POST KILLS BIG TITLES FOR TFF

The New York Times put up a lengthy post yesterday that dissected the Telluride/Toronto situation.  In the course of the story, the Times nukes the notion of three major films making their appearance at Telluride:

David  Ayers' "Fury"
Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" and
Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar"

The Times story says that the three films are, "sitting out the season's opening festivals, according to people briefed on the films, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of confidentiality rules."

The Times says the reasons range from not being ready to differing marketing and awards season strategies.

Makes me sad to mark them off the prospective list though "Fury" was really gone already and I was always dubious about "Interstellar".

That leaves "Big Eyes" and "Exodus: Gods and Kings" as the biggest fish out there without an announced festival.

Here's the story from the Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/20/movies/in-the-race-for-oscars-toronto-puts-up-a-hurdle.html

CHANG AND VARIETY DISSECT TELLURIDE AND TORONTO (AND VENICE TOO)

Variety's Justin Chang was up yesterday with a lengthy piece that goes to great lengths to outline the current skirmish between film festivals.  The article/story/post zinged around the Internet with great velocity so there's a good chance you've already seen it.  If not it's linked here:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/new-toronto-fest-strategy-puts-telluride-on-the-defensive-in-awards-buzz-films-battle-1201286444

Makes for an interesting read.

NOT SO FAST "FOXCATCHER"

"Foxcatcher" trailer from YouTube and Coming Soon

Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere was commenting at his site on the same Justin Chang/Variety story reference above.  In a piece called "Close Tabs" he says that he's heard " 'Foxcatcher' wasn't going to Telluride".

Now, that flies in the face of most of what we've been seeing/hearing for a long while.  "Foxcatcher" has been at or near the top of this summer's "Ten Bets" but, remember, this enterprise is still mostly guesswork and deduction...so you never know.

That said, I still feel pretty good about our chances to see the Bennett Miller film next week.  It was just last week that we inferred from a Deadline.com post that it was likely to make the trip to the San Juans.

Still, you can expect that "Foxcatcher" may not be in the #1 spot on tomorrow's "Ten Bets".

Here's the complete Jeff Wells story:

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2014/08/53721/


NEW PICS OF STEWART'S "ROSEWATER"

Director Jon Stewart on the set of "Rosewater" via The Playlist

A much anticipated potential Telluride title is this directorial debut from comedian and Daily Show host Jon Stewart.  "Rosewater" tells the true story of Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari and his detention in Iran in 2009. The Playlist had a couple of new photos from the film yesterday.  I have reposted them above and below.

Stewart also reveals that he picked the brains of Ron Howard and J.J. Abrams in his preparation for the film. Check The Playlist story here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/new-pics-from-rosewater-jon-stewart-says-he-got-input-on-the-script-from-jj-abrams-and-ron-howard-20140820

More on Monday...have a great weekend!

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

New News on a Saturday: Awards Daily Talks Telluride's Power/Hints at a Guest/"Whiplash" Poster/Best of the Week Including Ten (Plus) Bets and The NY Film Fest

Hello to the world on a Saturday...

Under two weeks left until Nirvana returns to southwest Colorado as the 41st Telluride Film Festival.


NEW NEWS ON A SATURDAY...

AWARDS DAILY TALKS TELLURIDE'S POWER

Much has been made about the last six years of Oscar and Telluride's place in that sphere of film.  Since 2008, the Oscar Best Picture winner has played Telluride in each year except 2009 when :The Hurt Locker" won.  Perhaps that's a coincidence.  My thinking is probably not.  Maybe if it was two out of three years but five of the last six seems more than coincidental.

Sasha Stone of Awards Daily posted a history of this recent phenomena yesterday on that website:

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2014/08/a-brief-recent-history-telluride-and-how-its-become-so-influential-in-the-oscar-race/

"Slumdog", "King's Speech", "The Artist", "Argo", "12 Years a Slave"...What might it be this year?  Could T-ride make it six of seven?


HINTS AT A GUEST...

So, I'm monkeying around the interweb, like I do, mining for any nugget of Telluride news I can come across and exploit...er...report and ran across an interesting search find tag from Deadline.com.  The text seems to tell us two things: 1) That "Foxcatcher" will be playing...and that's not earthshaking...we've been pretty sure about that for awhile...and 2) That at least one of its stars will be in T-ride in support.

The search line from Deadline implies that Channing Tatum will be in town.  That's cool.  Even when you think you're pretty sure about what films are going to play, it's almost impossible to guess (beyond a film's director) who else, if anyone, will be in town as part of the film's crew.

Here's the text of the Deadline search line ("It's" refers to "Foxcatcher")

"It's going to both Telluride and Toronto, and Tatum is attending both"


What's really interesting is that the body of the story doesn't say that at all.  It's much more ambiguous.  That leads me to be believe that someone at Deadline realized at some point that they were giving away more that they were supposed to and re-wrote the story so as to avoid revealing both "Foxcatcher's" and Tatum's appearance...or it was all an error.

My money's on the former and I think that Mr. Tatum will be in the San Juans in less than two weeks.

Here's the link to the entire Deadline story:

http://deadline.com/2014/08/hollywood-foreign-press-association-donates-millions-as-golden-globe-hopefuls-help-the-cause-819932/

"WHIPLASH" POSTER

There continue to be a steady chorus of people who think that Telluride will overlook its debut at Sundance and will program Damien Chazelle's "Whiplash".  I'm still dubious...but it's happened rarely before and so could happen again.

Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons star.  There's been some Supporting Actor Oscar buzz around Simmons since Sundance.  Honestly, I'd love it if the film plays and J.K. comes to town.  I'm a huge fan of the character actor and would love to see him in the thick of the Oscar race for the next few months.

At any rat, the film dropped its official poster yesterday as you can see above.  I've also linked a couple of stories about that here:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/first-poster-festival-favorite-whiplash/

https://twitter.com/TheFilmStage/status/499909495024533504/photo/1


BEST OF THE WEEK:

TEN (PLUS) BETS #8

The "Ten Bets" got a bit of an overhaul this week especially with the news that we were not going to see Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert".  Suddenly, a film that had been on every Ten Bets list from the start of them this summer goes away...

Last week's Ten (Plus) Bets were:

15) 99 Homes

14) Life May Be

13) The Homesman

12) Two Days, One Night

11) Red Army

10) The Look of Silence

9) Wild Tales

8) Rosewater

7) Leviathan

6) Queen of the Desert

5) Wild

4) The Imitation Game

3) Birdman

2) Mr. Turner

1) Foxcatcher


This week's Ten (Plus) Bets:


15) The Homesman
14) Life May be 
13) Merchants of Doubt
12) 99 Homes
11) Red Army
10) Two Days, One Night
9) The Look of Silence
8) Rosewater
7) Wild Tales
6) Leviathan
5) Wild
4) The Imitation Game
3) Birdman
2) Mr. Turner
1) Foxcatcher

Other films simmering below these 15:

"She's Funny That Way"
Ken Burns' "The Roosevelts"
Serge Bromberg's Restored Film/Brinton Collection
"The Price of Fame"
"Winter Sleep"
"Mommy"
"Whiplash"
"Bird People"

Leaving our Telluride consideration this week: 
"Clouds of Sils Maria"
"The Wonders"
"The Blue Room"
"Jauja"

Still in play for T-ride...

"Slow West"
"Suffragette"
"Kill the Messenger"
"A Most Violent Year"
"'71"

BIG films still hanging:

"Unbroken"
"Interstellar"
"Fury"
"Big Eyes"
"Exodus: Gods and Kings"

Of these five, "Unbroken" and "Big Eyes" now seem like the best shot at a Telluride play...and that shot isn't that great.

"RUDDERLESS" TRAILER MAKES LANDFALL

"Rudderless" trailer via YouTube and Coming Soon

We've been waiting for awhile for this to happen and it did late yesterday afternoon.  William H. Macy's "Rudderless", which opens in limited fashion on Oct. 17th has a trailer.  I have linked you to multiple platforms that covered the release yesterday:

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/rudderless/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/watch-william-h-macy-directs-billy-crudup-as-a-boozing-broken-musician-in-rudderless-trailer-20140814

http://www.thewrap.com/selena-gomez-weeps-for-billy-crudups-dead-son-in-first-rudderless-trailer-video/

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/watch-rudderless-trailer-william-h-macy-1201283218/

http://www.indiewire.com/article/watch-billy-crudup-anton-yelchin-make-music-that-moves-the-soul-in-rudderless-trailer-20140814

Congratulations to Oklahoma screenwriters Casey Twneter and Jeff Robison.

One parenthetical note...I have been waiting to see if "Rudderless" was announced as a Toronto selection.  Not so far but there is one more set of announcements coming on Aug. 19.

NEW YORK ANNOUNCES MAIN SLATE: WHAT OT TELLS US

The New York Film Festival announced its main slate of films yesterday and we can read their choices and the designations of their premiere status and come to some conclusions...most of which we had already come to.  "New York Premiere" status seems to be the key designation and it essentially confirms "Birdman", "Foxcatcher" (after a brief bit of confusion yesterday about the way the NYFF folks listed its premiere status-the email that was sent to the media listed it as a NY Premiere but for a few minutes, the fest's website listed it as a U.S. premiere.  That was corrected quickly.), "Mr. Turner" and "Two Days, One Night".

There were a couple of "New York premieres" that still seem doubtful for Telluride: "Listen Up Phillip" played Sundance, so that explains its status.  Alian Resnais "Life of Reilly" is also listed as a NY Premiere but is closing the Montreal fest on Sept. 1...seems like a close shave...but also a possible Telluride play.

Another "NY Premiere" that seems to now have Telluride potential is "71" starring Jack O'Connell (who will also be starring this Oscar season in Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" and who was in last year's TFF selection "Starred Up".  I had mentioned the possibility of "71" a couple of times.  I said on July 8th that "I could see it popping up as a part of the TFF #41 program".  I also mentioned it way back in February as I was evaluating what had transpired at the Berlin Festival.


Finally, there's Jean Luc Godard's "Goodbye to Language 3D" that New York chose today (it played at Cannes) and is listed as a "NY Premiere".  Seems like it could be headed to Telluride as well.


Here's the complete main slate from the NYFF email today:

The 52nd New York Film Festival Main Slate

Opening Night Gala Selection
GONE GIRL
Director: David Fincher

Centerpiece Gala Selection
INHERENT VICE
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Closing Night Gala Selection
BIRDMAN OR THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE 
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

BELOVED SISTERS (Die geliebten Schwestern)
Director: Dominik Graf

THE BLUE ROOM (La chambre bleue)
Director: Mathieu Amalric

CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA
Director: Olivier Assayas

EDEN
Director: Mia Hansen-Løve

FOXCATCHER
Director: Bennett Miller

GOODBYE TO LANGUAGE (Adieu au langage)
Director: Jean-Luc Godard

HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT
Directors: Josh & Benny Safdie

HILL OF FREEDOM (Jayuui Eondeok)
Director: Hong Sang-soo

HORSE MONEY (Cavalo Dinheiro)
Director: Pedro Costa

JAUJA
Director: Lisandro Alonso

LIFE OF RILEY (Aimer, boire et chanter)
Director: Alain Resnais

LISTEN UP PHILIP
Director: Alex Ross Perry

MAPS TO THE STARS
Director: David Cronenberg

MISUNDERSTOOD (Incompresa)
Director: Asia Argento

MR. TURNER
Director: Mike Leigh

PASOLINI
Director: Abel Ferrara

THE PRINCESS OF FRANCE (La Princesa de Francia)
Director: Matías Piñeiro

SAINT LAURENT
Director: Bertrand Bonello

LA SAPIENZA
Director: Eugène Green

’71
Director: Yann Demange

TALES OF THE GRIM SLEEPER
Director: Nick Broomfield

TIMBUKTU
Director: Abderrahmane Sissako

TIME OUT OF MIND
Director: Oren Moverman

TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (Deux jours, une nuit)
Directors: Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne

TWO SHOTS FIRED (Dos Disparos)
Director: Martín Rejtman

WHIPLASH
Director: Damien Chazelle

THE WONDERS (Le meraviglie)
Director: Alice Rohrwacher

Finally, notice the absence of the absent.  By that I mean that the entirety of the list that I published  Tuesday as being MIA from Toronto are also MIA for New York.  That list again is:

"Unbroken"
"Big Eyes"
"Fury"
"Interstellar"
"Trash"
"Slow West"
"Suffragette"
"Kill the Messenger"
"St. Vincent"
"Winter Sleep"

Meanwhile, in Anne Thompson's story about the NYFF announcement, she adds fuel to the notion that "The Homesman" could also play Telluride.  Check her story here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/new-york-film-festival-slate-of-30-cherry-picks-world-fests-20140813

New York also tells us that some things that we have thought might be potential Telluride choices will not be. For example, Mathieu Amalric's "The Blue Room", Alice's Rohrwacher's "The Wonders" and Bertrand Bonello's "Saint Laurent".

Finally, there are still nascent whisperings that Sony Pictures Classics Sundance presentation "Whiplash" has a chance to play Telluride.  Would be cool with me.

HIT FIX'S 25 FALL FEST FILMS

Yesterday the HitFix crew put up a story called "Our Top 25 Most Anticipated Fall Festival Films".  They list the 25 and indicate where they're going to go Fest-wise.  For Telluride films, they list them as "expected" as no one can be 100% sure.  Nevertheless, HitFix lists 7 of their 25 as Telluride (expected/possible).  They are:

#22 "Leviathan"
#18 "While We're Young"***
#17 "Wild"
#10 The Imitation Game
#6 "Foxcatcher"
#4 "Rosewater"
#2 "Birdman"

***There are a couple of anomalies.  First, Noah Baumbach's "While We're Young" is listed as a "World Premiere" by Toronto which those of us who try to figure this stuff out have concluded means that it WILL NOT play Telluride.  Additionally,  Ramin Bahrani's "99 Homes" is not listed by HitFix as being expected for Telluride despite the fact that Toronto lists it as a Canadian premiere.   Again, many of us believe that a "Canadian" premiere for films that didn't play Sundance ("Whiplash", for example) means that we'll probably see it at Telluride.

You can see the entire group of 25 films here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/gone-girl-and-birdman-top-our-25-most-anticipated-fall-festival-films-2


TORONTO'S TUESDAY ANNOUNCEMENT TELLS VERY LITTLE

Marion Cotillard in "Two Days One Night"

The Toronto International Film Festival announced its next wave of films (over 75 titles added) and here are the primary takeaways as far as Telluride is concerned:

"Tow Days, One Night" from the Dardnnes Brothers seems a lock for T-ride now as Toronto lists it as a Canadian premiere.  Meanwhile, Olivier Assasyas "Clouds of Sils Maria" is a North American premiere so won't be playing Telluride.

Other films that I have had an occasional Telluride vibe for that will not play after all are:

"Girlhood"
"Charlie's Country"
"Bird People"
"Pride"
"The Search"
"Juaja"
"Maidan"

Still no inclusion at Toronto for:

Unbroken

"Unbroken"
"Big Eyes"
"Fury"
"Interstellar"
"Trash"
"Slow West"
"Suffragette"
"Kill the Messenger"


And nothing about Bill Murray's "St. Vincent"...hmmm...

I had reported last week that the buzz was that "St. Vincent" was on the verge of being announced as a Big Gala that would fete Murray in the process.  That could still happen next week but it's a little weird that we didn't hear about it this morning.

Meanwhile...


GOODBYE TO "FURY"?

Brad Pitt in "Fury"

Sony announced that David Ayers "Fury" has moved up its release date yesterday from November to Oct. 17th, which, I knew, meant that the AFI Fest became a non-issue for that film.  In my research about that announcement, I ran across Kris Tapley's article about it and he says no "Fury" at Telluride.

However, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety imply that a festival play could still be in the cards:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitts-world-war-ii-724942

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/brad-pitt-wwii-drama-fury-moves-to-october-1201281186/


After having watched the trailer and not seeing it announced for TIFF I was thinking that we might well see it in T-ride.

Still, Tapley says that "Telluride and Toronto were never in the cards".  Tapley is really good at this stuff...so for all practical purposes...probably check "Fury" off your Telluride wish list.

Here's the link to the HitFix/InContention post:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/brad-pitt-wwii-drama-fury-moves-to-october


SHRINKING TRIBUTE POOL

Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank in "The Homesman"

News in the last couple of days about the unreadiness of Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and the announcement that Olivier Assayas' "Clouds of Sils Maria" will World Premiere at Toronto means that at least two names that I have speculated might be potential tribute candidates are off that list.  Nicole Kidman and Juliette Binoche both seemed like very good candidates to me but absent "Queen" and "Clouds" those options seem to be off the table.

Personally, at this point, I'm thinking the best shots are Tommy Lee Jones, Reese Witherspoon and Peter Bogdanovich with a reminder about the story I ran on Monday that suggested Italian film preservationist Gian Luca Farinelli might be in that mix as well.

DOWN THE TWITTER RABBIT HOLE

Gian Luca Farinelli via Zimbio.com

I spent a good amount of time over the last 24 hours or so following the trail of a small mention in the Twitterverse about a specific film maker and T-ride.  It's a slim reed at best and difficult to determine exactly what was meant.

Here's the text of the tweet:

"Dear Alberto, I'm writing a piece on Gian Luca Farinelli for Telluride. May i get a quote from you please "


The "Alberto" at the beginning is Alberto Barbera...the head of the Venice Film Fest and past Telluride Guest director.  Gina Luca Farinelli is the Director of the Bologna Film Archive.  The author (who I have excised for privacy concerns) does have some connection to a frequent Telluride guest and contributor.

Speculation?

Farinelli is in line for a Tribute...or Special Medallion.

Farinelli is also listed as a producer of and appears in Jonathan Nossiter's documentary "Natural Resistance" (which appears to be a sequel to his previous documentary "Mondovino").  It's about wine and wine makers.

The doc appeared at the Berlin Film Fest (and Telluride usually programs three or four Berlin films) but it has also been announced as a North American Premiere for Toronto which should mean that it won't play Telluride.

So, the "tweet" if genuine, probably indicates the 'tribute/medallion" possibility more strongly than the "Natural Resistance" route...but, as you may have read here, I wouldn't be surprised if some film doesn't try to test the Toronto edict.

I have included the IMDb page for "Natural Resistance" here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3524578/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

NO "QUEEN" FOR TFF #41

In what I thought was a stunning piece of news, producer Cassian Elwes announced via Twitter yesterday that Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" starring Nicole Kidman, Robert Pattinson and James Franco will NOT be ready for presentation at either Telluride or Toronto.

The Elwes tweet went like this:

"We've had technical issues in the finishing of queen and it's not ready for tiff or telluride. We don't want to show a work in progress"


So, no new Werner this year and a film that I've been including in every "Ten Bets" list this summer (all seven of them) comes off the charts.

Kristopher Tapley at HitFix/InContention posted this story about the announcement:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/queen-of-the-desert-with-nicole-kidman-and-robert-pattinson-wont-play-telluride-toronto

Also this from Kevin Jagarnauth at The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/werner-herzogs-queen-of-the-desert-wont-be-ready-for-telluride-or-tiff-20140811

Needless to say, that also more or less nukes the chance of a Nicole Kidman tribute.

ALSO MAYBE SOME MARTY

Martin Scorsese via BAFTA and RealScreen.com

RealScreen.com reported yesterday that Toronto will announce the Marin Scorsese and David Tedeschi directed documentary, "The New York Review of Books: A 50 Year Argument" will play TIFF as a "Canadian" premiere.  Following the logic of earlier TIFF announcements and knowing that the film played Berlin as a "work in progress" and then at Sheffield and Melbourne;  it seems likely that a berth at Telluride is a good possibility.

I first mentioned "A 50 Year Argument" back on July 2nd.

The RealScreen.com story is here:

http://realscreen.com/2014/08/11/exclusive-scorseses-50-year-argument-set-for-tiff/

The IMDb page for "A 50 Year Argument" is here:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3510820/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt


WE'LL BE RATING FILMS AGAIN

For the third consecutive year Michael's Telluride Film Blog will be compiling ratings for the films that play at TFF.  It'll be on two tracks again this year with the "Pros": film bloggers, critics and industry types,  Thus far the following have agreed to participate:

Alex Billington/FirstShowing
Greg Ellwood/HitFix
Eric Kohn/IndieWire
Tomris Laffly/Film Journal
Eugene Novikov/Film Blather
Sasha Stone/Awards Daily
Kristopher Tapley/HitFix-InContention
Anne Thompson/Thompson on Hollywood

I still have some feelers out for a few more members of the "pros" to join the party.

And, of course: "The People's Telluride" where I ask you to rate the films you see on a 0 to 5 scale with "0" meaning that it's truly awful to a "5" meaning "masterpiece".  I'll compile and publish here a week or so after the fest is complete.  I hope you'll add your voice to this project.

Finally, those of us of a certain and age musical prediliction might remember  Loudon Wainwaright III song from back in the day: "Hard Day on the Planet".  I was reminded of it more than once this week with the loss of Robin Williams (I'm still tearing up) and Lauren Bacall and all the strife in Ferguson, MO. Not to mention Ukraine and Iraq and Ebola.

Here's Loudon singing the song from YouTube:

Here are the lyrics from songmeanings.com:

The dollar went down and the President said
"Who's in charge, now?" I don't know, take your pick.
A new disease every day and the old ones are coming back
Things are looking kind of gray, like they're going to black

Don't turn on the TV, don't show me the paper
(I) don't want to know he got kidnapped or why they all raped her
I want to go on vacation till the pressure lets up
But they keep hijacking airplanes and blowing them up

[Chorus]
It's been a hard day on the planet
How much is it all worth?
It's getting harder to understand it
Things are tough all over on earth.

It's hot in December and cold in July
When it rains it pours out of a poisonous sky
In California the body counts keep getting higher
It's evil out there, man that state is always on fire.

Everyone has a system, but they can't seem to win
Even Bob Geldof looks alarmingly thin
I got to get on that shuttle get me out of this place
But there's gonna be warfare up there in outer space

[Chorus]

I've got clothes on my back and shoes on my feet
A roof over my head and something to eat
My kids are all healthy and my folks are alive
You know, it's amazing but sometimes I think I'll survive

I've got all of my fingers and all of my toes
I'm pretty well off I guess, I suppose
So how come I feel bad so much of the time?
A man ain't an island John Dunn wasn't lying

[Chorus]

It's business as usual; some things never change
It's unfair, it's tough, unkind and it's strange
We don't seem to learn; we can't seem to stop
Maybe some explosions would close up the shop

You know, maybe that would be fine: we would be off the hook
We resolved all our problems, never mind what it took
And it all would be over, finito, the end
Until the survivors started up all over again

Tapley Muses/A Look at What Was "Squirrel"/Don't Forget "The Tribe"

Good Tuesday All...I'm in Santa Fe, NM on the way back to the home place after a great weekend in Crested Butte, CO.

TAPLEY MUSES

"Fury" trailer via YouTube

HitFix/InContention's Kristopher Tapley posted a fairly extensive look at the awards season last night that also included his thoughts about what is/might be/is unlikely to be Telluride bound.  As you might expect, he comes to a number of the same conclusions that you've already read here.

He does mention a few things that are of specific interest...some intriguing...some a little disappointing.  Tapley suggests that David Ayer's "Fury" might have a reasonable shot at playing T-ride but that Angelina Jolie's "Unbroken" is unlikely/unprepared for fests.

Tapley mentions a couple of films that I haven't had on my Telluride radar at all.  Tom McCarthy's Adam Sandler starer "The Cobbler" and William Monahan's "Mojave" starring Mark Wahlberg.  Additionally, he suggests a Telluride screening of "Whiplash" as he includes it on a list of Sony Pictures Classics "possibles/probables".

Tapley also says that J.C. Chandor is still editing "A Most Violent Year" which doesn't mean that the film is completely off the Telluride table...but it sure isn't encouraging.

Check the entire story here:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/off-the-carpet-will-it-be-brad-pitt-vs-angelina-jolie-this-oscar-season


A LOOK AT WHAT WAS "SQUIRREL"

Jennifer Aniston and Peter Bogdanovich via The Playlist

Last week Venice Film Fest officials said that they knew that they had five films scheduled that would roll on to Telluride.  One of those could be Peter Bogdanovich's "She's Funny That Way" which for a good long while was titled "Squirrels to the Nuts".  The comedy stars Owen Wilson, Imogen Poots, Jennifer Aniston and more.  Bogdo has often been a part of past Telluride fests and it wouldn't surprise me greatly if this was included on the program this year.

The Playlist dropped a number of photos of the film late yesterday one of which is posted above.

Check the story and the other photos:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/venice-first-look-owen-wilson-imogen-poots-jennifer-aniston-in-peter-bogdanovichs-shes-funny-that-way-20140804


DON'T FORGET "THE TRIBE"

One of the more intriguing films that played at Cannes (Critic's Week section and won prizes) in May was the all-signed "The Tribe".  No speaking...all sign language.  The film is directed by Myroslav Sloboshpytskiy.  The film also won the top prize this week at the Motovun Film Festival.

I thought in May that it could be an interesting choice for Labor Day in The Rockies.

I did a little looking and the film's U.S. distributor is Drafthouse films which repped Joshua Oppenheimer's "The Act of Killing" in 2012...so perhaps it makes an appearance in just over three weeks.

Variety reports on the Motovun fest win here:

http://variety.com/2014/film/news/the-tribe-wins-motovun-film-festivals-top-honor-1201275507/


More tomorrow...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Ten Bets #5/Feinberg Weighs In/"Whiplash" Trailer/Rumor Central

Good Friday World...

TEN BETS 2014 #5

A segment each week where I guesstimate the ten films I think are most likely to be in the Telluride lineup when it's announced.

We start off with anew "Ten Bets" that takes into account the information we think we gleaned from the Toronto and Venice announcements earlier this week.

Here are last week's Ten Bets:

10) Wild

9) Red Army

8) Foxcatcher

7) The Look of Silence

6) Leviathan

5) The Roosevelts

4) Two Days, One Night

3) Mr. Turner

2) Queen of the Desert

1) Birdman


Now, here's the new Ten Bets:

10) Leviathan
9) Two Days, One Night
8) Rosewater
7) The Imitation Game
6) Wild Tales
5) Queen of the Desert
4) Wild
3) Birdman
2) Mr. Turner
1) Foxcatcher

Note: I still have a pretty good feel that the films ghat dropped off the Ten Bets this week will likely play (i.e. "The Look of Silence", "The Roosevelts" and "Red Army").  I'm still not convinced that "99 Homes" makes the journey from Venice to Telluride.  Scheduling might give us a clue.


FEINBERG WEIGHS IN

As a number of his colleagues have done since Tuesday's Toronto announcement, The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg has filed a lengthy analysis concerning the efficacy of Toronto's premiere policy.  It makes for some interesting reading for those so inclined.  You can find it here:


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/toronto-film-festivals-anti-telluride-720646

I'll also reference it below in the "Rumor Control" section.


WHIPLASH TRAILER

Let's be clear...I still think that Sundance hit "Whiplash" is a long shot to be programmed at Telluride...not impossible...but unlikely.  Nevertheless, there are still mentions of it as a possibility.  So, in the attempt to be a full service Telluride blog, I have included the new trailer for the film which dropped yesterday:

One other note here...I'd be more than okay if it DID play T-ride.


RUMOR CENTRAL

Addressing a couple of things that I stumbled on yesterday:


1) "Whiplash" rumor still has some spark.  In his HitFix/InContention piece yesterday, Kris Tapley describes the films future fest schedule by writing "we'll probably see it turn up at Telluride and/or Toronto".  So there continues to be belief in some quarters that it could play despite having appeared at Sundance as happened with "An Education" in 2009.

Here's the complete story from Tapley:

http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/jk-simmons-spits-fire-at-miles-teller-in-the-trailer-for-whiplash


Scott Feinberg's Toronto analysis piece (linked above) also tells us some things:

2) "Wild" is confirmed by Feinberg for Telluride for what will be its first public screening on the planet...call it what you will...

3) Feinberg suggests, as I've been saying here that Inarritu's "Birdman" will make the stop in Telluride after its Venice opening.

4) Feinberg also plays with the notion that J.C. Chandor's "A Most Violent Year" is Telluride-possible.

5) Also, Scott calls "Queen of the Desert" from Werner Herzog and starring Nicole Kidman "a pretty safe bet".


Good stuff.

More coming tomorrow including the "Best of the Week" from what has been a crazy, crazy week.

Follow me on Twitter www.twitter.com @Gort2

Venice Announces/MCN and Poland on Toronto's First Wave/Zeitchik's Toronto Analysis/Rumor Central

Welcome to Thursday...

VENICE ANNOUNCES

The Venice Film Festival announced its lineup very, very early this morning (11am in Venice) and here it is:


What can we say about it?  Does it tell us anything?  Last year, I counted six titles that played some portion of the Venice programs and Telluride: "The Wind Rises". "Tracks", "Under the Skin", "The Unknown Known" in competition and "Bethlehem", "Palo Alto" and "Gravity" out of competition.  Prior to last year, the average number of overlapping films between the two festivals was three.Also, going into this morning's announcement we knew that Alejandro G. Inarritu's "Birdman" would open the festival and that Venice had already named its "Venice Days" selection of films (via Film Stage):

COMPETITION

Fatih Akin The Cut

Roy Andersson A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Ramin Bahrani 99 Homes

Rakhshan Bani-Etemad Ghessha (Tales)

Xavier Beauvois La rancon de la gloire

Saverio Costanzo Hungry Hearts

Alix Delaporte Le dernier coup de marteau

Abel Ferrara Pasolini

David Gordon Green Manglehorn

Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu Birdman or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance

Benoit Jacquot 3 Coeurs (Three Hearts)

Andrei Konchalovsky The Postman’s White Nights

Mario Martone Il Giovane Favoloso

Kaan Mujdeci Sivas

Francesco Munzi Anime Nere

Andrew Niccol Good Kill

David Oelhoffen Loin des hommes

Joshua Oppenheimer The Look of Silence

Shinya Tsukamoto Nobi (Fires on the Plain)

Wang Xiaoshuai Red Amnesia

OUT OF COMPETITION 

Emir Kusturica and others Words With Gods (other directors: Guillermo Arriaga, Amos Gitai, Mira Nair, Warwick Thornton, Hector Babenco, Bahman Ghobai, Hideo Nakata, Alex de la Iglesia)

Peter Bogdanovich She’s Funny That Way

Peter Ho-sun Chan Dearest

Lisa Cholodenko Olive Kitteridge

Joe Dante Burying The Ex

Edoardo De Angelis Perez

Davide Ferrario La Zuppa Del Demonio

James Franco The Sound And The Fury

Amos Gitai Tsili

Sabina Guzzanti La Trattativa

Ann Hui The Golden Era

Im Kwontaek Make-Up

Barry Levinson The Humbling

Manoel de Oliveira The Old Man of Belem

Gabriele Salvatores Italy In A Day

Ulrich Seidl In The Basement

Anthony Stacchi, Annable Graham The Boxtrolls

Lars Von Trier Nymphomaniac Volume II (long version) Director’s Cut

HORIZONS

Naji Abu Nowar Theeb

Salome Alexi Line of Credit

Michele Alhaique Senza Nessuna Pieta

Michael Almereyda Cymbeline

Benoit Delepine, Gustave Kervern Near Death Experience

Renato De Maria La Vita Oscena

Quentin Dupieux Realite

Veronika Franz, Severin Fiala I Spy/I Spy

Hong Sangsoo Hill of Freedom

Duane Hopkins Bypass

Mohsen Makhmalbaf The President

Ami Canaan Mann Your Right Mind

Franco Maresco Belluscone Una Storia Siciliana

Elchin Musaoglu Nabat

Josh Safdie, Ben Safdie Heaven Knows What

Ognjen Sviliviv These Are the Rules

Chaitanya Tamhane Court

Venice Days Films:

“One On One”,” Kim Ki-duk (South Korea) Opener out-of-competition

“El 5 De Talleres,” Adrian Biniez (Argentina)

“Return To Ithaca,” Laurent Cantet (France)

“Before I Disappear,” Shawn Christensen (U.S. U.K.)

“The Dinner,” Ivano De Matteo (Italy)

“Les Nuits D’Ete,” Mario Fanfani (France)

“Patria,” Felice Farina (Italy)

“Metamorphoses,” Christophe Honore (France)

“Between 10 And 12,” Peter Hoogendoorn (Belgium, France, The Netherlands)

“The Farewell Party,” (Israel)

“The Goob,” Guy Myhill (U.K.)

“Labor Of Love,” Ritwick Chakraborty (India)

“They Have Escaped,” JP Valkeapaa (Finland, The Netherlands)

“Messi,” Alex De la Iglesia (Spain) Closer Out-Of-Competition

WOMEN’S TALES PROJECT (Shorts) in collaboration with Miu Miu

“Spark And Light,” So Yong Kim (Italy, U.S.)

“Somebody,” Miranda July (Italy, U.S.)

SPECIAL EVENTS

“9 x 10 Novanta,” collective project (Italy)

In Collaboration With Tribeca Film Festival:

“Five Star,” Keith Miller (U.S.)

“The Show Mas Go On,” Ra di Martino (Italy)

“The Lack,” Masbedo (Italy)

 Regular readers know that I am very confident that "Birdman" will make its way to Telluride after its Venetian premiere...after that...the Venice films that I think have the best chance to play at Telluride are : "99 Homes", "The Look of Silence", "The Price of Glory" and  "She's Funny That Way" (Bogdanovich's "Squirrels to the Nuts"?).


ZEITCHIK'S TORONTO ANALYSIS

Also weighing in on the Toronto announcement and its new premiere policy yesterday was The L.A. Times' Steven Zeitchik.  His post is here:

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-toronto-film-festival-lineup-20140723-story.html#

MCN AND POLAND IN TORONTO'S FIRST WAVE

David Poland of Movie City News writes extensively about Toronto's announcement yesterday and its effect on Telluride.  He also writes about the films still possible for both fests (and New York too).  Check it here:

http://moviecitynews.com/2014/07/31-weeks-to-oscar-telluride-toronto-new-york/


RUMOR CENTRAL

So we think we know some things...after yesterday's announcement, this space and others concluded that Telluride is likely showing:

"Foxcatcher"
"The Imitation Game"
"Wild"
"Rosewater"
"Wild Tales"
"Mr. Turner"
and maybe/probably "99 Homes"

We're also relatively confident about "Birdman" and "Queen of the Desert".  But what other notions are still floating out there?  Here's "Rumor Central":

1) "Unbroken" plays.  This just keeps being suggested in various places by various people.  No one flat says it but I'll bet I've seen it as a "possibility" in at least five-six different blogs and movie sites including just yesterday in the IndieWire based blog "Women and Hollywood":

http://blogs.indiewire.com/womenandhollywood/the-big-o-watch-out-toronto-the-great-kate-dame-maggie-and-some-stellar-female-directors-are-coming-your-way-20140723

Now, I'll continue to say it's not likely right up until it's unveiled or confirmed, but, I tell you...there's some smoke there (and, I'll echo a friend of the blog who tweeted yesterday that he didn't think David Ayers' Brad Pitt war film "Fury" would play T-ride but that a Jolie/Pitt couples weekend in T-ride would make some noise).

2) "Manglehorn" plays.  The Al Pacino vehicle was on my radar after Hollywood Elsewhere's Jeff Wells suggested that it was going to be in Telluride last week (and I've heard/seen it in a couple of other places too) but Toronto listed it as a "North American Premiere" in their announcement yesterday which would mean that it's off the table for Telluride...so someone somewhere has really gotten this wrong.

3) "Whiplash" plays...despite the fact that it had a Sundance debut back in January, this notion is still popping up...most recently in Poland's post linked above.

4) "Interstellar" plays...this was a hotter rumor last week, again vis a vis Wells and HE but Wells himself backed it down late Saturday afternoon.  He didn't completely dismiss the original rumor...but it's close.

5) "No opener for Toronto announced is because of Telluride"...I actually believe that this is fairly likely despite the fact that the Toronto honchoes say it's not that at all.  In my imagination what I see is a film that Toronto wants very, very badly that has already committed to Telluride...a couple of the films above would certainly qualify as the BIG film you'd want to open your fest with...it'll be very interesting to see what Toronto ultimately announces and how long that takes.

6) "A Most Violent Year" plays...I think this one is probably right.  I hope so.  I'd love to Chandor and Isaac (and maybe Chastain) in Telluride.


More on Friday...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2