Invitation/Wells Says/Ten More That Could Play

Good Thursday to Everybody...8 Days...(7 til the bus leaves the Oklahoma Panhandle!)...

INVITATION

Please consider yourself officially invited to a brief "meet and greet and discussion of film" as The River Club kindly presents my "Second Annual(?) Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW".  Refreshments, re-acquaintances, new acquaintances all at 5:00 pm at The River Club at 550 Depot in Telluride.  Should be fun.



WELLS SAYS...

I make no secret that I'm an amateur when it comes to this whole film blog universe and am not in the same league as a good number of other folks who really do play the game in a serious fashion.  One of those is Jeffrey Wells of Hollywood Elsewhere.  Mr. Wells will be attending Telluride and usually does and clearly he has sources...so when he drops some T-ride info...best pay attention.  And he did yesterday as I was kindly alerted by Film Blather's Eugene Novikov, Mr. Wells seems to nail down some of the Telluride lineup.  He says, cryptically, that we'll see Ben Affleck's "Argo", Roger Michell's "Hyde Park on Hudson", Noah Baumbach's "Frances Ha", Ken Burns "Central Park Five" and Jacques Audiard's "Rust and Bone".  He implies we're also likely to see Terrence Malick's "To the Wonder".  And he mentions Robert Lorenz's "Trouble with the Curve" in such a way that I can't tell if he's debunking the thought that it will be there...or implying that it will obviously be there.  Mr. Novikov thinks it's likely the former...

Check the whole entry here:
http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/08/loose_talk_1.php

"Rust", "Hyde Park" and "Central Park Five" are on this week's "Ten Bets".  The rest have been or will be on this week's progressive "Thirty That Could Play" list that concludes with the final 10 today.  See below...

Frankly, the big surprise, to me anyway, would be the Malick...but it would be on my short list of films to catch at the festival if Wells is right.

Also, I have to admit that I had become pretty convinced that "Trouble with the Curve" was happening...but as I said, Wells sentence structure and emphasis make me uncertain as to what he's really saying...


TEN (OF THIRTY) THAT COULD PLAY

I've spent the week outlining 30 films in addition to this week's "Ten Bets" that could find their way onto screens in Telluride next week and assigning a percentage of chance to each one.  In all honesty, the Wells blurb yesterday has altered how I have written this final installment.  Here are 10 more that could play:

"The Impossible" trailer

"The Impossible" from Juan Antonio Bayona...the film focuses on the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami in southeast Asia and the true story of one family.  Ewna MacGregor and Naomi Watts star and attention to it has risen very rapidly over the last 2-3 weeks.  Chances-50%

"To the Wonder" from Terrence Malick.  The master has turned around a film just months after "The Tree of Life" which for Malick is historically unprecedented.  It's reportedly a love story set in part in Europe and Oklahoma...and shot to some extent here in the Sooner State.  To be truthful, I have been low balling any chance that it would be in Telluride...until the Wells post yesterday (and credit where due, InContention/HitFix's Kris Tapley said he thought it was a "possible"..so...Chances-60%.

"Yellow" from Nick Cassavettes...also shot partly in Oklahoma, I've thought it might be Telluride material from the first moment I heard about it...still think it could be.  Chances-50%

"Frances Ha" from Noah Baumbach.  Baumbach has played Telluride before and though I recently put this film on my radar, still thought its chances were small...again, the Wells post makes me reconsider.  Chances-60%.

Trailer for "Quartet"

"Quartet" from first time director Dustin Hoffman...mostly on my radar as it's from The Weinstein Company...Hoffman directing an adaptation of a Roland Harwood play...Chances-25%

"At Any Price" from Ramin Bahrani and starring Dennis Quaid, Zac Efron and Heather Graham in an agricultural family drama.  Decent buzz and Tapley's inclusion as a "probable" makes it one to consider.  Chances-40%.

"Passion" from Brian DePalma.  A lot of people think this is going to make the cut and play at Telluride next week so I have to take it seriously, but I have to say I've been dubious about its chances all summer.  Chances-40%

Trailer for "The Sessions"

"The Sessions" from Ben Lewin starring John Hawkes and Helen Hunt.  This Sundance hit is one of two films that really hit a nerve from that festival (the other being "Beasts of the Southern Wild" and "Beasts is in release).  I've been campaigning in my own tiny way for its inclusion at Telluride despite the fact that it preemed in Utah.  Its distributor, Fox Searchlight reportedly wanted it to play Telluride, so my hope is that sentiment (and a lean Fox Search cupboard) makes that a reality.  Chances-45%

"Great Expectations"  Mike Newell with the latest adaptation of the Dickens classic with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter.  Tapley says its a "maybe".  I'm not that optimistic.  Chances-30%

"Ernest and Celestine"  It's French...it's animated...I'll bet it plays.  Chances-55%
 

And beyond these 40 films there are still others that could (and will) play...for example: "The Company You Keep", "A Late Quartet", "Arthur Newman", "Dangerous Liaisons", "Caesar Must Die" (look out for this one), "Everybody Has a Plan", "The Gatekeepers" (also this), "In the Fog", "Laurence Anyways", "Love is All You Need", "Much Ado About Nothing", "The Place Beyond the Pines", "Populaire", "Post Tenebras Lux", "Room 237", "Seven Psychopaths" and "The We and the I".

THE SESSIONS

Hollywood News makes noise about the Sundance hit and my wish list #2 film for Telluride as it preps to go to Toronto. 
http://www.hollywoodnews.com/2012/08/22/the-sessions-gets-an-official-poster-toronto-2012/


BEYOND THE HILLS

Christian Munigu's follow up to his Cannes Palme D'or winning "4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days" is sitting at #10 on this week's "Ten Bets".  The writer/director recently talked to Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood about the Telluride possible film:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/cannes-interview-cristian-mungiu-talks-beyond-the-hills

More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook

Invite/New York Slate/Master Tease/Yellow/Coming Attractions

Good Friday to Everybody!


INVITE

Consider this your pass to join me for the Second Annual (?) "Guide to the 'Ride; Flow of the SHOW".  We'll be gathering at The River Club on Friday, Aug. 31 at 5:00 pm and we'll talk film, the festival and what to expect...and there will be refreshments.  Come along...bring a friend!

NEW YORK SLATE

Right on time (it was Aug. 17th last year, I think) the New York Film Festival which had already announced its opener, centerpiece and closer has announced the rest of their lineup and if the recent past is any guide we can expect that 8-12 of those titles will have played at Telluride...


HitFix says it thinks that Brian DePalma's "Passion" is a potential Telluride choice but otherwise none of the other blog posts I have accessed about New York's lineup explicitly mention TFF #39.  Nevertheless, looking at the announced group of films there seem to be several that have a good chance to have played T-ride.

Here's the NYFF lineup per Thompson on Hollywood:

Opening Night Gala Selection
LIFE OF PI
Director: Ang Lee

Centerpiece Gala Selection
NOT FADE AWAY
Director: David Chase

Closing Night Gala Selection
FLIGHT
Director: Robert Zemeckis

AMOUR
Director: Michael Haneke

ARAF – SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
Director: Yeşim Ustaoğlu

BARBARA
Director: Christian Petzold

BEYOND THE HILLS (După dealuri)
Director: Cristian Mungiu

BWAKAW
Director: Jun Robles Lana

CAESAR MUST DIE (Cesare deve morire)
Directors: Paolo and Vittorio Taviani

CAMILLE REWINDS (Camille redouble)
Director: Noémie Lvovsky

THE DEAD MAN AND BEING HAPPY (El muerto y ser feliz)
Director: Javier Rebello

FILL THE VOID (Lemale et ha'halal)
Director: Rama Burshtein

FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED
Director: Alan Berliner

FRANCES HA
Director: Noah Baumbach

THE GATEKEEPERS (Shomerei Ha’saf)
Director: Dror Moreh

GINGER AND ROSA
Director: Sally Potter

HERE AND THERE (Aquí y Allá)
Director: Antonio Mendez Esparza

HOLY MOTORS
Director: Leos Carax

HYDE PARK ON HUDSON
Director: Roger Michell

KINSHASA KIDS
Director: Marc-Henri Wajnberg

THE LAST TIME I SAW MACAO (A Última Vez Que Vi Macau)
Director: João Pedro Rodrigues

LEVIATHAN
Directors: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel

LIKE SOMEONE IN LOVE
Director: Abbas Kiarostami

LINES OF WELLINGTON (Linhas de Wellington)
Director: Valeria Sarmiento

MEMORIES LOOK AT ME (Ji Yi Wang Zhe Wo)
Director: Song Fang

NIGHT ACROSS THE STREET (La Noche de enfrente)
Director: Raul Ruiz

NO
Director: Pablo Larrain

OUR CHILDREN (À perdre la raison)
Director: Joachim Lafosse

PASSION
Director: Brian De Palma

SOMETHING IN THE AIR (Après Mai)
Director: Olivier Assayas

TABU
Director: Miguel Gomes

YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHIN’ YET (Vous n'avez encore rien vu)
Director: Alain Resnais

Among these titles the most Telluride-esque are probably:

Amour, Beyond the Hills, Caesar Must Die, Frances Ha, The Gatekeepers, Holy Motors, Hyde Park on Hudson, Like Someone in Love, No, Passion, Something in the Air and You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.

I have linked a load of posts concerning the NYFF selections here:


http://www.hitfix.com/in-contention/amour-hyde-park-on-hudson-and-more-set-for-ny-fest

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/nyff-announces-33-new-titles

http://moviecitynews.com/2012/08/the-film-society-of-lincoln-center-announces-main-slate-of-selections-for-the-2012-new-york-film-festival/

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/amour-something-in-the-air-beyond-the-hills-more-added-to-new-york-film-festival-slate-20120816

http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/cannes-winner-amour-joins-new-york-film-fest-lineup-52361



MASTER TEASE

Well, you know just when I thought I was out they pull me back in...

Cinema Blend, among a billion other websites (including this one) was all about hooking readers up to the second full trailer for "The Master" the last couple of days.  The difference...they're still thinking it's a T-ride possibility.  Here's the text from the post:


"Anderson’s screening the film in select cities ahead of its pre-destined screenings at the prominent fall film festivals (Venice, Toronto and possibly Telluride)."

Here's the link to the full post from Cinema Blend:
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Master-Clip-She-Wrote-Me-Letter-32514.html

Oh, and then there's this comment to MTFB concerning yesterday's post:

Anonymous said...

"I think "The Master" shows up at TFF if they can do it on 70mm... that's still a pretty special opportunity a lot of people won't have had yet (if ever)."

 

Now that just makes me a little dizzy and kind of crazy.  We know from friends of the blog that have reached out to us that Telluride HAS done 70mm in the past.  We know that Jeff Wells has heard that there might be some 70 mm prep going on in T-ride as we speak...though I couldn't get a whiff of it when I was there this past weekend...

So...keep the flame alight...maybe "The Master" still has a shot.


YELLOW

Some months back I indicated that if it was ready that Nick Cassavettes new film "Yellow" might find its way to Telluride...which would be cool since I have a former student who did some extra work on the filming here in Oklahoma (though she now thinks she may well have been edited into non-existence).  Nevertheless, with the announcement this week that it will be a part of the lineup for Toronto we know that it is, in fact, ready.  So maybe it shows at THE SHOW.  The Playlist has a set of new photos from the film here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/first-images-from-nick-cassavetes-drug-drama-yellow-with-sienna-miller-20120814


Yellow's IMDb entry: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588898/


COMING ATTRACTIONS

The last time Sean Penn directed a film was 2007 and it was "Into the Wild" which appeared at Telluride #34.  Now news that he has signed on to direct again and since reports were that he enjoyed the experience in 2007 you have to believe that there's  a chance we see it for TFF #40 or 41.

The project is titled "Crazy for the Storm" and is detailed here by The Wrap:
http://www.thewrap.com/movies/column-post/sean-penn-talks-direct-first-film-wild-51491


More later...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

"Like" Michael's Telluride Film Blog on Facebook

Cannes in a Week/Rust & Bone Trailer

 A belated good morning!  Oklahoma State Speech Tournament got underway this morning...so it's been busy...

CANNES IN A WEEK

The official announcement from Cannes comes one week from today and the speculation is heating up about what could play in the south of France in May and consequently will also likely provide 6-10 titles for TFF #39.

Ioncinema has a post up this morning with 70 potential titles...
See that post here:
http://www.ioncinema.com/film-commentary/2012-cannes-film-festival-predictions-70

And again, a bunch of what I suspect are TFF possibles make their list including:

Amour
Beyond the Hills
Big House
Cosmopolis
On the Road
Rust and Bone
Something in the Air

I also have a "vibe" for Pablo Trapero's "White Elephant"  and Nick Cassavetes "Yellow".  Although the "yellow" vibe may simply be wishful thinking is it was partly shot in Oklahoma and I have a former student playing a cameo and that would be cool to see in Telluride in September.

Other Cannes possibles that are intriguing and that would make interesting Telluride choices, but are less likely to make the trip to the San Juans are Malick's "Funeral/Burial" and P.T. Anderson's "The Master".


RUST AND BONE TRAILER

I have thought for a good long time that Jacques Audiard's follow up to "A Prophet" has an excellent chance to duplicate that film's TFF appearance.  After looking at the trailer for "Rust and Bone" that was posted everywhere yesterday, I'm even more convinced that it"s a very good possibility.

Here's a description via The Playlist:

“Starring Marion Cotillard and "Bullhead" star Matthias Schoenaerts, the film, adapted from short stories by Canadian author Craig Davidson, follows the relationship between a homeless man (Schoenaerts) and a trainer of killer whales in a sea park (Cotillard) who loses her legs in a horrific accident.”

Additionally here are multiple links to posts that include the trailer:

The Playlist:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-stunning-first-french-language-trailer-for-jacques-audiards-rust-bone-starring-marion-cotillard-20120411

Thompson on Hiollywood:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/first-look-jacques-audiards-rust-bone-international-trailer-starring-marion-cotillard-and-matthias-schoenaerts

Rope of Silicon:

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/rust-and-bone-trailer-french-marion-cotillard/

Looks intriguing...

Follow me on Twitter @Gort2

Later...

Peter Falk/Small World/Danny Boyle!/More Beatty

RIP Peter Falk (1927-2011)..."As you wish..."


Sorry for the late post today...busy, busy!

IT'S A SMALL WORLD

You know, I've always heard the cliche that Hollywood is a small town and everybody knows everybody in the "Biz" but I've always kind of thought that that statement was probably more apocryphal than real.  However, in the last month I've started to thunk there's more truth to the claim than I thought possible.  Allow me to explicate...(and all of this revolves around my good fortune to get to play at the Telluride Film Festival for the past five years).

1) Made a friend  (Casey Twenter..."Hi Casey, if you're reading this") who is an aspiring screenwriter after he reached out to me following TFF #36.  You've read about his project in this space the last couple of weeks.  "Rudderless" is the screenplay currently set to be the directorial debut for Oscar nominated actor William H. Macy (remember this for later).  Casey has been kind enough to keep me in the loop and correspond over the past 2 years as this project has been moving forward.  It's been fun.  This week, we were catching up and as a part of that conversation, he asked me if I had seen or heard anything about a film called "Girlfriend".

2) Last year at TFF #37 I sat next to and struck up a friendly conversation with a fellow named Seth Chatfield (Hi Seth, if you're reading this).  I asked Seth the normal..."What do you do?  Why you here?" type questions.  Seth said he's there as part of a group that's the producing team for a film that's going to debut  a week or so later at Toronto.  The film..."Girlfriend".  So, as you might imagine, when Casey asked me about it yesterday, I was stunned..."What are the chances?"  I thought.  Seth and I have also kept up something of a correspondence the last ten months.  "Girlfriend" was well received at Toronto and has its premiere in NYC on July 15.  But wait, there's more...

3) Another friendship I forged a couple of years back came as a result of being on line for some film with  my mom and dad and as we were waiting we struck up a pleasant conversation with a nice couple from California.  Again, asked them the routine questions.  She says he's an editor and director.  She's an arts advocate.  We smile and nod.  My wife and I teach arts in the public schools.  We have a very nice conversation about that and what films might be "sneaked" later in the weekend.  They seem to know some things.  So, I get back to the room that evening and curiosity forces me to search the IMDB.  He turns out to be the real deal and I feel like an idiot that I had no idea (at the time, I do now).  His name: Mark Helfrich (her name: Alexandra.  "Hi Mark and Alexandra, if you're reading this").  Mark has edited a ton of stuff...BIG TIME STUFF.  Currently he is editing "Tower Heist" the next big thing from director Brett Ratner.  Yes, he edits Ratner's stuff.  All the time.  His other editing credits include: All three "Rush Hour" films, "Red Dragon," "X-Men: The Last Stand," and the original "Scary Movie" among others.  He has directed for television and the feature film "Good Luck Chuck." (remember this for later as well).  Mark and Alexandra and I have also kept in touch over the past two years...

4) Most readers know that I am a speech/debate/drama teacher and have been for a good long time.  I have former student who has just graduated from college and is working to set aside money and head for the west coast in January.  She's interning this summer  in Oklahoma City with a local casting director and as a result has gotten extra work on the Nick Cassavetes film that is lensing in that vicinity.  It's title: "Yellow."  As a part of all that she met the casting director, a fellow named Matthew Barry.  He has along list of credits including casting for...wait for it..."Good Luck Chuck".  Yeah...I know.  Mark confirmed it was the same guy late last week.  Also, "Yellow" features, among others, Sienna Miller.  Sienna just dropped out of the film adaptation of Elmore Leonard's "Freaky Deaky".  Also dropping out...wait for it...William H. Macy.  Again...I know.

5) And finally, I got asked to review a new independent film this week by writer/director Kenton Bartlett. The film is called "Missing Pieces" and features, among others, Melora Walters perhaps best known for roles in two Paul Thomas Anderson films "Boogie Nights" which I like and "Magnolia" which I love.  Both films co-star...William H. Macy.  And as a topper, I sat behind Paul Thomas Anderson at Telluride in 2007 in a screening of Noah Baumbach's "Margot at the Wedding."

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon?  I feel like I'm this close (I'm holding my thumb and index finger on my right hand a half an inch apart) to knowing almost everyone in the film industry.

"Rudderless" IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798243/
"Rudderless" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rudderless-The-Movie/194390831736
"Girlfriend" IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470859/
"Girlfriend" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/GIRLFRIEND/247774270511
"Good Luck Chuck" IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452625/
Mark Helfrich's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0375068/
"Yellow" IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1588898/
"Missing Pieces" IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1579242/
"Missing Pieces" Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kenton-Bartlett-Movie/74342639138?ref=ts
"Missing Pieces" website: http://kentonbartlett.com/
Matthew Barry's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0058089/
William H. Macy's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000513/
Sienna Miller's IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1092227/
Melora Walters IMDB page: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001828/

BOYLE UP A NEW FILM FOR TFF #40?

The word last night was that Danny Boyle's next project will feature actor James McAvoy in a film called "Trance."  It appears to be under the Fox Searchlight banner.  All of these factors make it a film that should be considered likely as a Telluride prospect.  To wit: Boyle has attended the festival with his last two films, "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours," to great success critically.  McAvoy hasn't physically been present to my knowledge but he has had films with high profiles at Telluride recently.  McAvoy's "The Last King of Scotland" (for which Forest Whitaker won the Best Actor Oscar) and "The Last Station" (nominations for Christopher Plummer and Helen Mirren) played at Telluride.  And Fox Searchlight seems to always be represented strongly at the Festival.
Sources indicate that 2013 is the prospective release date.   Of course, Boyle has his hands full currently as he is set to direct London's opening ceremonies for next year's summer Olympics.

Here are posts about  "Trance" from both Rope of Silicon and The Playlist.

http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/mcavoy-caught-boyles-trance-superman-casting-terminator-talk


http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/james_mcavoy_takes_over_for_michael_fassbender_in_danny_boyles_trance/


MORE DETAILS EMERGE ABOUT WARREN AND HIS HOWARD MOVIE

Rope of Silicon also has more details concerning the announced film from Warren Beatty that broke this week.  The picture will be directed, written produced and feature Beatty as Howard Hughes.  And maybe it's a comedy.  Check the story at:


http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/beattyhughes-update


"BLACK SWAN" COLLABORATORS COLLABORATING

Mark Heyman who wrote the screenplay for "Black Swan" is reported to have a new script that he's shopping around and has Darren Aronofsky attached to produce.  The Playlist reports that the film titled "XOXO" is something of a mashup between "Swan" and "The Social Network."  Heyman and Aronofsky are said to be looking for financing and distribution.  Assuming that they find that, you'd have to think that the finished product would also be on a future Telluride watch list.  No word on director (maybe Heyman himself) or cast.  Check The Playlist's story at:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/black_swan_writer_mark_heyman_pens_facebook_thriller_xoxo_darren_aronofsky/

Coming up tomorrow...more detail on the new Oscar voting rules...maybe clarification, maybe more confusion?  And also, more on Casey Twenter's "Rudderless".

New Oscar Rules/Warren for Howard/Macy Not Freaky

Oscars With New Rules

"The truth is, we know so little about life, we don't really know what the good news is and what the bad news is."  -Kurt Vonnegut

NEW OSCAR RULES

Last week The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a big change for the Best Picture category...specifically that there will now be between 5 and 10 nominations in that category each year.  The see-saw over the last three years about number of pictures reportedly reflects a schism in the Academy.  The impulse three years to expand to 10 Best Picture nominees was popularly believed to stem from the fact that Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" was shut out of the Best Picture nomination that many Academy members thought it deserved.  Now, comes this latest tweaking of the rules that appears to be a backlash against the "Winter's Bone" nomination that occurred this past year.  Many Academy members ( at least this is the way the story goes) didn't believe that "Bone" was deserving of a Best Pic nomination.  Count me among their number.  My view was John Hawkes' nomination made a lot of sense and after that...meh.  It's a good film.  Jennifer Lawrence...it's a nice performance, but not earth shaking. 

Interestingly (at least to me) is this story from The Wrap that suggest that the new rules will make a significant number of Oscar Best Picture ballots meaningless.  See it here:
http://www.thewrap.com/awards/column-post/new-best-picture-rules-could-discard-hundreds-ballots-or-more-28412

RECLUSIVE WARREN BEATTY TO PLAY BILLIONAIRE RECLUSE:  METHOD ACTING???

The last few days have seen an announcement from Paramount hat Warren Beatty was going to write, direct, produce, and star in a new project.  Speculation as to its content has been running at a slow boil for a couple of days.  Now comes word from multiple sources that Beatty will play iconic billionaire whack job Howard Hughes.  Not a lot more is known other than it's supposed to be a comedy and a lot of A-listers are rumored to have a potential involvement.  The best take I've run across is from The Playlist yesterday.  Their post is here:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/warren_beattys_new_project_howard_hughes_film_alec_baldwin_jack_nicholson_/

WILLIAM H. MACY WON'T BE FREAKY DEAKY

We mentioned last week that William H. Macy is set for his first gig as a director as he is set to direct a friend's screenplay.  The film title: "Rudderless." 
Now comes word that Macy has dropped out of an announced role in the adaptation of Elmore Leonard's superb novel "Freaky Deaky."  Charles Matthau is set to direct the film which has also had to replace Sienna Miller.

The Playlist has the dope:
http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/archives/warren_beattys_new_project_howard_hughes_film_alec_baldwin_jack_nicholson_/

One or two quick observations: 
1) I'd like to believe that Macy's departure means that my friend's film is one step closer to happening.  No news from my back channel source on that, though.  It does seem, however, that The Playlist doesn't have a real idea as to Macy's reason for leaving the project, so....

2) Sienna Miller has been in Oklahoma lately shooting Nick Cassavetes "Yellow" (which apparently will have a brief cameo from one of my former students).  That might explain Miller's dropping out of the "Freaky" project.  Also, in a weird twist of coincidence, it seems that Cassavetes is also named in the Online Poker lawsuit that currently has Tobey McGuire ensnared.  Here's that story from The Hollywood Reporter:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tobey-maguire-nick-cassavetes-sued-204705

FINALLY, FOR THOSE OF YOU LIVING UNDER A ROCK...
George Clooney's Facebook status: Single.