First Signs of Beale Street / The Usual Suspects -Part One 2018 / The Favourite Teaser Appears

Welcome to Tuesday, July 10, 2018...


THE FIRST SIGNS OF BEALE STREET

Stefan James, Kiki Layne, Regina King and Barry Jenkins at Essence Fest

One of the most hotly anticipated titles of the fall has to be Oscar winner Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk.  The film is the writer/director's follow up to the thrice Oscar winning Moonlight.  It's an adaptation of the James Baldwin novel of the same name.

That alone would be enough to pique the interest of Telluriders but adding fuel to the fire has been the relative quiet surrounding the film.

There is a good deal of speculation that it will play Venice and I have had it at the number one spot on this summer's first Ten Bets lists for TFF #45.  We also know that its one of the films that Annapuna Pictures is distributing this fall...as Megan Ellison's production company adds distribution to its list of services.  Other films in their lineup include: Backseat, The Sisters Brothers and Destroyer.

All that to get to the story that Jenkins and some of the actors in the film: Regina King, Stephan James and Kiki Layne, were featured in a Q+A about the film at New Orleans' Essence Fest this past weekend.

Here's the 14 minute interview from YouTube:

I found the interview via a story from Awards Watch and that story is linked here.

More coverage is here from BlackFilm.com and also from Hollywood Elsewhere.

If Beale Street Could Talk is not yet scheduled for release in the United States.

THE USUAL SUSPECTS-PART ONE 2018

If Beale Street Could Talk director and TFF Usual Suspect Barry Jenkins

There are a number of people that have, over the years have become frequent players at Telluride.They're folks that may not always be there and even if they are there, they don't always have a project that screens at the fest but often times you can predict some of the choices for the fest based on The Usual Suspects and what they do have to offer.

For example...Barry Jenkins...who has been a part of the fest in a variety of ways for a decade and a half.  That's why his If Beale Street Could Talk is at the top of the Ten Bets list.

Steve McQueen-His Hunger, Shame and Oscar winner 12 Years a Slave all screened at Telluride which leads one to think that Widows is a good bet.  I've been holding back on putting it in the Ten Bets because the film's description seems less Telluride-y than McQueen's previous efforts.  Still, it wouldn't surprise if it were to screen at T-ride.

Jacques Audiard-Audiard has been represented thrice at TFF 1996- A Self Made Hero, 2009-A Prophet and 2012-Rust and Bone.  However his Palme D'or winning Dheepan wasn't at The SHOW in 2015.  His The Sisters Brothers could get him back to the San Juans.

Alejandro Inarritu is a great example of a "usual suspect" who attends even when he doesn't have a project.  That happened last year when he was in town to support his amigo Guillermo Del Toro's The Shape of Water.  I suspect that could happen again this year for Alfonso Cuaron's Roma.  Cuaron, himself would become a "usual suspect" this year if Roma plays.  I think that could happen.

Jason Reitman- At one point Reitman was a sure TFF bet as he ran off a series of SHOW entrants: Juno (07), Up in the Air (09) and Labor Day (13) but Young Adult and Men, Women and Children which might have played The SHOW did not.  Reitman could return this year with The Frontrunner.  There's a decent chance that could happen.

I'll look at more of  "The Usual Suspects on Thursday.

THE FAVOURITE TEASER APPEARS

Yorgos Lanthimos has made a big splash on the art house circuit over the past few years with The Lobster and The Killing of a Sacred Deer including an Oscar nomination for writing The Lobster.

This year he has directed the historically based The Favourite set during the reign of Queen Anne in Britain in the 1700's.  Olivia Colman, Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone star and the film is reportedly more "accessible" than either Lobster or Scared Deer.  As it is from Fox Searchlight, this might be the year that a Lanthimos film makes the TFF lineup.

All of that reminder material is to get to the fact that the film had a teaser/trailer release on Monday.  Here it is from YouTube:

The Favourite is scheduled for release on Nov. 23rd.

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


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The Distributors 2018: Not so Much / And Some Overlooked Distribution Notes / Trailers Looming: On the Basis of Sex and Mary Queen of Scots / First Venice Speculation

Welcome back from your weekend to MTFB.


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: NOT SO MUCH

Today's final look at distributors that seem to have films in play for the 45th Telluride Film Festival is actually a look at films that seem like they could be players that do not have distribution deals in place for the U.S.

That could still change in the next eight weeks and we'll be keeping a close eye on that as an acquisition of any of these titles could signal an increase or decrease in the chances that a film would potentially be TFF bound.

Here's the list of films:

The Other Side of the Wind-Netflix is listed as having the TV distribution for this but pointedly is not listed as being the theatrical distributor.  Producer Frank Marshall is on record as saying that the film will be screened in theaters...sooo???

At Eternity's Gate-Julian Schnabel's Vincent Van Gogh pic.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan- Xavier Dolan...been floating around for a long time.

Sunset-Laszlo Nemes' follow-up to his brilliant Son of Saul (IMDb currently lists Playtime as having world wide rights for all media)

And a slew of Cannes films that garnered good critical buzz in May: Long Days Journey Into Night, The Wild Pear Tree, Ash Is the Purest White and Dogman.

Additionally add Karlovy Vary top prize winner I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians.

From this list I feel that The Other Side of the Wind and Sunset are the most likely for Telluride (The Other Side of the Wind has been at the #2 spot on my first two Ten Bets of this summer).  All of the others would be credible entrants for TFF #45 (and I do have a vibe for Matteo Garrone's Dogman).


AND SOME OVERLOOKED DISTRIBUTION NOTES

As I was going over my notes for films that lack distribution, I ran across three films that have a serious shot at Telluride that DO have U.S. distribution but which I left off of previous posts.  Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War is with Amazon and Cannes entrants Happy as Lazzaro and Girl are both under the wing of Netflix.

Also add in Karyn Kusawa's Destroyer starring Nicole Kidman.  It's being distributed by Annapurna Pictures.




TRAILERS LOOMING: ON THE BASIS OF SEX AND MARY, QUEEN OF SCOTS

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track site notified subscribers over the weekend that we could expect to see trailers from Focus Features for both Mimi Leder's On the Basis of Sex which features Felicity Jones as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg and also for Josie Rourke's Mary, Queen of Scots featuring Saorise Ronan and Margot Robbie.

Here are links to Volkov's posts flagging the expected arrival for both trailers soon:

Mary, Queen of Scots

On the Basis of Sex



FIRST VENICE SPECULATION

I ran across a serious speculative piece about films that might make the Venice lineup from an Italian website over the weekend: Ilsussidiario.net.  There are several films listed there that could certainly make the Venice/Telluride double play.

That Venice to Telluride (or in some instances the other way...Telluride to Venice) has become a stronger connection over the past few years.

Last year saw Oscar Best Picture winner The Shape of Water make that connection as well as Downsizing, First Reformed, Foxtrot, Human Flow, The Insult, Lean on Pete and Wormwood screen in both places.

Among the films listed in the post that I have been talking about for Telluride are:

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan
First Man
The Favourite
Roma
The Sisters Brothers
If Beale Street Could Talk
Radegund
Sunset
Beautiful Boy
A Star Is Born
Non-Fiction
Boy Erased

The Google translated version of the piece is linked here.


That's your Monday version of MTFB.  More to come tomorrow including a start on this year's look at "The Usual Suspects".

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Ten Bets #2 for TFF #45 / History Project: The Third Telluride Film Festival / The Distributors 2018: Specialty Houses

Welcome to Friday...


TEN BETS #2 FOR TFF #45

Time for the second installment of MTFB's Ten Bets for this year's Telluride Film Festival.  These are the ten films that I believe, for this moment, to be the most likely to make the lineup for the 45th edition of The SHOW.

Last week's Ten Bets was:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Peterloo
4) Capernaum
5) Cold War
6) The Old Man and the Gun
7) Sunset
8) Burning
9) The Front Runner
10) Beautiful Boy


Here's this week's Ten Bets:

1) If Beale Street Could Talk
2) The Other Side of the Wind
3) Cold War
4) Capernaum
5) Beautiful Boy
6) Burning
7) Boy Erased
8) Peterloo
9) The Old Man and the Gun
10) The Front Runner

Other films in the hunt:

Sunset, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, First Man, Widows,  A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), Roma, At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows.


HISTORY PROJECT: THE THIRD TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL

I'm closing in on the conclusion of my project to expand the history section of this site as I cast an eye back to the third Telluride Film Festival that ran from Sept. 3-6, 1976.

TRIBUTES:

Chuck Jones, King Vidor and King Kong


SHOWS:

The Big Parade
Billy the Kid
Blue Jeans
Chulas Fronteras
The Crowd
Dersu Uzala
The Fire Within
Greaser's Palace
Heart of Glass
King Kong
La Marquise D'o
The Lost World
Lumiere
Maitresse
Most Dangerous Game
Music and People of the Northeast
Pastoral Hide and Seek
Phantom Tollbooth
Signs of Life
Spirit of the Beehive
Stories from the Jungle Book
Street Scene
The Thief
Two Tons of Turquoise to Taos Tonight
The Wedding March
A Well Spent Life
Wild Horse Mesa
Wild Oranges


GUESTS:

Robert Downey
Werner Herzog
Ed Lachman
Louis Malle
Barbet Schroeder
Fay Wray


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: SPECIAL HOUSES

I'm taking a quick look at specialty distribution companies that have had some Telluride successes over the past few years each of which has a film that stands a shot at making the Telluride lineup:

Magnolia

2006- Severance
2007- Terror's Advocate, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, Redacted
2012- The Hunt, A Royal Affair
2015- Viva

Oscilloscope

2008- Kisses
2011- We Need to Talk About Kevin
2016- Lost in Paris

Strand Releasing

2010- Cameraman
2011- Bonsai
2012- Paradise: Love
2013- The Missing Picture
2014- Dancing Arabs
2016- Mifune: The Last Samurai

Here's what they have:

Magnolia has Cannes Palme D'or winner and critical success Shoplifters.  I actually think this film has a good chance to make TFF #45.  So much so that if I had a #11 on today's Ten Bets, Shoplifters would be there.

Oscilloscope has Margarethe Von Trotter's Searching for Ingmar Bergman which also seems like a good fit for TFF.  It also played at Cannes.

Strand Releasing's best shot appears to be Cannes entry Sorry Angel.  Of the three films I'm looking at, it seems like the least likely but it's not an impossibility.

Chances:

Shoplifters- 45%
Searching for Ingmar Bergman- 40%
Sorry Angel- 20%

Monday, a look at films that seem like Telluride possibles that still lack a U.S. distributor.


Have a good weekend!


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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

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Quick Note / The Distributors 2018: Warner Brothers / Boy Erased and On the Basis of Sex Move / It's Nice to Have Friends

It's Tuesday and after an unexpected hiccup. MTFB has returned!

QUICK NOTE

As you may have noticed, there was no Monday post yesterday.  My apologies for that.  I was in Southern Colorado and caught up by the outage of Verizon, Comcast and Spectrum and had no real Internet connectivity from Friday until last night.

That kept me from getting MTFB's normal Monday post up.  I'm back today...

THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: WARNER BROTHERS

Here's today's take on film distributors and their Telluride history which could give insight into films that might play at TFF #45.

I'm looking today at a major studio which used to have an independent arm that was a  serious presence at Telluride (Warner Independent) and who has, on occasion since the demise of that arm, still made the field of TFFs.

Warner Bros recent history:

2012: Argo
2013: Gravity, Prisoners
2014:
2015: Black Mass
2016: Sully

Warner Independent played Telluride in 2006 with Infamous and 2007 with Rails and Ties.

If Warners is to return to Telluride this year it would almost certainly be with Bradley Cooper's remake of A Star Is Born starring Cooper and Lady Gaga in the story that has been filmed four times now by Hollywood.  A Star Is Born has a ton of buzz and is set for releases on Oct. 5th.

WB had great success in '12 and '13 with Argo winning Best Picture and Gravity just being edged by 12 Years a Slave (but winning Best Direction and six other Oscars) but both Black Mass and Sully failed to generate that same success.

Ultimately, I regard A Star Is Born as a 1 in 3 shot at making the TFF lineup.  Maybe I should have it with slightly better odds.  If Warners really thinks it is a serious Oscar player (and considering Telluride's recent track record regarding Oscar winners) you'd have to think that they'll push to get it in the lineup.

Here's the trailer for A Star Is Born from YouTube:

BOY ERASED AND ON THE BASIS OF SEX MOVE

Focus Features announced yesterday that they were shifting release dates for two of their fall releases.  Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased has moved from its original Sept. 28th release to a prime Nov. 2nd and On the Basis of Sex has moved from Nov. 9th to Dec. 26th.

A number of outlets reported on the change suggesting that the moves were made to better position both for awards consideration.

Especially intriguing is the new spot for Boy Erased which moves into a release spot that would allow it to play any or all of the fall fests including New York.

Alan French at Awards Circuit says the changes increase the "traction" potential for Boy Erased and does not mean that On the Basis of Sex won't be a part of the Festival scene.

Anne Thompson at Indiewire says that Boy Erased is "Expected to debut at the fall festivals".

My feeling here is that the move probably increases the Telluride chances for Telluride audiences to see Boy Erased and lowers them for On the Basis of Sex though it doesn't remove its chances of making The SHOW.

Coverage is linked here from Variety, Indiewire, Deadline and Awards Circuit.


IT'S NICE TO HAVE FRIENDS

I posted the first Ten Bets list of predictions for the Telluride lineup for 2018 last Friday. I always see an uptick in traffic to the blog each summer when I start the Ten Bets lists as people’s interest in the fest increases as we get closer to Labor Day weekend.

Friday’s post got an extra boost, however, thanks to an article written by Sasha Stone and posted to her website Awards Daily. Sasha has been a good friend to me as well as a supporter and booster of MTFB for quite awhile.

Many readers of the blog can’t help but noticing that I’m a big fan of hers as well as I often link to film news, trailers and such at her site. Sasha has also served as one of the industry pros that rate films for me during TFF. I also rely on her Oscar predicting prowess once the fest is over each year and I begin focusing on which films from TFF will be a part of the awards season conversation. You’ve also probably noticed that I added a blurb recently from Sasha to the banner at the top of my posts.

We’re buddies.

Another note from her Friday post...the films she thinks sound like good T-ride bets are: Beautiful Boy, If Beale Street Could Talk and Cold War.

So, my thanks to Sasha and here’s the link to the story at Awards Daily.




That's today's MTFB.  More to come on Thursday as I get back to the regular summer posting schedule.

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The First Ten Bets for TFF #45 / Awards Daily Critics' List / Burning Has a Home

Good Friday all!  Big post today!



THE FIRST TEN BETS FOR TFF #45

Here you have it.  My first official stab at guessing/predicting/projecting/hoping for films that will play at The SHOW in Telluride over Labor Day weekend.

The first set of predictions every June is fraught with uncertainty.  I look at a lot of factors:  Studios. distributors, TFF histories, especially with directors.  The buzz around films we know are coming in the fall and will almost assuredly play some if not all of the Telluride/Venice/Toronto triumvirate.  Oscar hopefuls, Cannes titles and a lot of the time, especially in early July...it's about intuition.

It all factors into my assessments.

Here's the history of success, or lack thereof, for each of the last seven years that I have been using the "Ten Bets" format:

2011: 8/10
2012: 5/10
2013: 6/10
2014: 7/10
2015: 4/10
2016: 3/10
2017: 7/10

As you can tell, last year was a bounce back after low years of 2015 and 2016.

Overall, I manage an average of  5.7 correct guesses with the initial Ten Bets of each season.

So...crossing fingers... here's the first Ten Bets for 2018 (in order of likelihood):

10) Beautiful Boy- I think Amazon Studios will land at Telluride with this, at least and maybe more.

9) The Front Runner- Jason Reitman was once a T-ride favorite.  My guess is that this film gets him back.

8) Burning- this was Cannes' unrewarded critical darling from a director who has played TFF before.   This was actually higher on my list until word broke yesterday that it had been grabbed for U.S. distribution by Well Go USA Entertainment.   See below.

7) Sunset- If its half as good as his first film (Son of Saul), Laszlo Nemes will return.

6) The Old Man and the Gun- This feels like Fox Searchlight's best play for Oscar season and thus its best chance at a Telluride berth...though they do have other possibles.

5) Cold War- Pawel Pawlikowski with a good shot to return to TFF.

4) Capernaum- Cannes Jury Prize winner and SPC's most likely shot for the schedule.

3) Peterloo- Mike Leigh's film about labour strife in Britain.

2) The Other Side of the Wind-Orson Welles "last film".  If this doesn't play Telluride I will be greatly surprised and, for that matter, upset.

1) If Beale Street Could Talk- It would a shock if Barry Jenkins' follow-up to his Oscar winning Moonlight does not make The SHOW's lineup.

Others on my "just under the Ten Bets" list: Boy Erased, The Sisters Brothers, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Eyes of Orson Welles, Dogman, On the Basis of Sex, Girl, Happy as Lazzaro, Shoplifters, He Dreams of Giants, First Man, Widows,  A Star Is Born, Cheney (Backseat), Roma, At Eternity's Gate, Everybody Knows.

What do YOU think?  What films do YOU think might play?  What films do YOU WANT to play?

Drop me a note at any one of the contact methods listed below.

Looking at this list before I punch the button to publish, I'm saying to myself...naw...these can't all happen...but what if they did???

So, there you have it.  Let's see now how many of these films actually make the lineup.



AWARDS DAILY'S CRITICS' LIST

Jordan Ruimy, writing and compiling for Awards Daily has posted a "Best Of" critics assessment for the first half of 2018.

TFF #45 films pop up on the list with some frequency.  Included on the list are:

#31-Loveless
#24-Foxtrot
#13-Lean on Pete
#6-The Rider
#1-First Reformed

Pretty impressive for the films that played last year but weren't released until this year.  The complete list from Awards Daily is here.


BURNING HAS A HOME

As I mentioned above,  Lee Chang-dong's Cannes critical fave Burning has a distributor.  Variety reports that Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired the film and plans a limited release on Oct. 26th in NYC with expansion after that.

The film was right at the top of the critics' polls after its screening at Cannes but had languished without a distributor until yesterday.

As you see above, I still have it listed among my first Ten Bets list, albeit lower than I was thinking earlier this week, despite the fact that Well Go USA has essentially no Telluride history to speak of.

The complete story is linked here from Variety


That's your Friday MTFB.  Come back for more on Monday.


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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

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The Distributors 2018: Netflix / Widows Has a New T.V. Spot / Coming Friday: Ten Bets #1

Hello on this late Tuesday in June...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: NETFLIX

I talked last week about Amazon Studios and how the streaming giant has developed a robust relationship with Telluride over the past few years.  Also making in-roads with Telluride is the other streamer that has changed the face of how film/TV relate and are integrated/ignored vis-a-vis film festivals.  Netflix has made its mark in Telluride over the past few years.  To wit:

2015- Beasts of No Nation, Winter on Fire
2016- The Ivory Game, Into the Inferno
2017- First They Killed My Father, Wormwood

So, a couple of things each year for the last three years.

It will be interesting to see if the Cannes/Netflix dustup from earlier this year has any effect on Netflix's TFF profile.

Netflix certainly has projects that could make a play at T-ride and/or, perhaps Venice since none of their stable played at Cannes.

Here are some of the films that are under the Netflix banner that could make the grade for Labor Day weekend:

Orson Welles' The Other Side of the Wind
Alfonso Curaron's Roma
David Mackenzie's Outlaw King
Alice Rohrwacher's Happy as Lazzaro
Lukas Dhnot's Girl

and a couple of wild cards...

IMDb reports that J.C. Chandor's Triple Frontier has gone into post-production.  Could it be ready for an early September bow?  It's unlikely but not impossible.

And then there is the biggest of Netflix's big fish, Martin Scorsese's The Irishman which is dated for release until 2019 but has reported been in post-production since February.

All of these could make a play at TFF #45 but, as you'd expect, some have a better shot than others.

Probably the most likely is the finished project from Orson Welles.  I am increasingly bullish on its chances of making the fest.

The two Cannes acquisitions, Girl and Happy as Lazzraro, are next in line in terms of TFF probability.

Curaon's Roma also has a decent shot to play as the buzz on it is strong and it's probably Netflix's best shot at breaking into this year's Oscar race.

I get the sense that the Mackenzie film is less likely and, of course, both the Chandor and Scorsese are extremely unlikely.

Netflix almost certainly has a documentary or two that I am overlooking that could/will make the TFF lineup.

This could be the first year Netflix lands more than two films at Telluride-or-because of the rift with Cannes-none.

Chances...

The Other Side of the Wind- 80%
Girl and/or Happy as Lazzaro- 50%
Roma- 40%
Outlaw King- 25%
Triple Frontier- 15%
The Irishman- 5%

Thursday's Distributor d'jour will be the Cohen Media Group.


WIDOWS HAS A NEW T.V. SPOT

Steve McQueen's Widows continues to draw a lot of attention and that interest was stoked once again earlier this week with the release of a new television spot for the film.

Widows tells the story of a group of women (Viola Davis, Carrie Coon and Michelle Rodriguez among them) who face the aftermath of a failed crime that their dead husbands tried to commit.  The film is slated to open Nov. 16th.

Here's the new spot courtesy of YouTube:

COMING FRIDAY: TEN BETS #1

That's right, three days hence comes the first "official" stab at ten films that I think will play at the 45th Telluride Film Festival.  I'll post a new "Ten Bets" each Friday until the fest with a special final "Ten Bets" on Wednesday, August 29th, the day before TFF announces the lineup.

Between this Friday and then we'll gain clarity from announcements about the lineups for Toronto, Venice, New York, London and Fantastic Fest (Austin).

Also, the "Ten Bets" will actually expand as more and more information becomes available.  Last year, the final list before the TFF announcement contained 25 films (24 of which played the festival).

So, mark your calendar you Telluride film fans...Friday is day one as the countdown to Labor Day weekend gets real.



That's a wrap for today's MTFB.  More to come on Thursday.


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This Year's Oscar Crop and TFF Regulars / More on Don Q

Welcome back from your weekend.  Hope you had a good one...


THIS YEAR'S OSCAR CROP AND TFF REGULARS

At the end of last week not one but three major Oscar prediction groups published articles focusing on the films that they see as possible players for awards season glory.  Writers for Awards Daily, Variety and Entertainment Weekly all provided lists.

Taking a look, I noticed, to little surprise, that a number of films appeared on all three lists and a number also will be directed by people with past appearances at Telluride which means they have to be considered among the films that could make the SHOW.  So...here are the films from all three lists that have a TFF legacy director:

Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk
Damien Chazelle's First Man
Steve McQueen's Widows

Making at least two of the lists:

Mike Leigh's Peterloo
Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers
Jason Reitman's The Frontrunner
Alfonso Cuaron's Roma
Yann  Damange's White Boy Rick


And with one mention:

David Mackenzie's Outlaw King
Pawel Pawlikowski's Cold War
Julian Schnabel's At Eternity's Gate

The complete articles can be found here from Entertainment Weekly, Variety and Awards Daily



MORE ON DON Q

In light of last week's news that Terry Gilliam's The Man Who Killed Don Quixote has been programmed to screen at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival despite having lost a court case in France concerning the ownership of the film's rights, came another story at the end of last week from Indiewire's Michael Nordine.

The IW story focuses on the claims of producer Marilea Besuievsky who says  that Paulo Branco, who won the court case, may have over claimed the extent of the court victory.

Besuievsky, being quoted from a Spanish language publication, El Espanol, says that Gilliam has the right to release the film anywhere in the world.

So...back on the TFF watch list it goes...

The Indiewire article is here.


More to come tomorrow.

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The Distributors 2018: Annapurna Pictures / Ivory/Payne Joint?

The week comes to a close on this late Friday in June...


THE DISTRIBUTORS 2018: ANNAPURNA PICTURES

So, here's the thing, Megan Ellison and her Annapurna Pictures have been producing films for awhile.  IMDb suggests that's been true since 2012.  Within the last few months, however, Annapurna  has made the decision to move into film distribution and that could open up some serious fall festival possibilities including Telluride.

Up to this point, the only Annapurna joint to have played Telluride was 2014's Foxcatcher.  I can clearly remember catching sight of Megan Ellison at the Fox Searchlight party in T-ride in 2014.

Now, with the move into distribution, I suspect there's a reasonable chance that Annapurna may well show up at Telluride with more frequency.

For example, Annapurna has the rights to Barry Jenkins' follow-up to the Oscar winning Moonlight in If Beale Street Could Talk and if that film doesn't make the TFF #45 lineup, I'll eat my hat (metaphorically, of course).

But in addition to Beale Street, Annapurna has a number of other films that could also be possible for TFF...

Backstreet...or whatever it will ultimately be called, is director Adam McKay's examination of the life and career of former Vice President Dick Cheney.  The film stars Christian Bale as Cheney, Amy Adams as his wife Lynne and Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld (I kid you not).  It could play TFF.

The other most likely Telluride player in the Annapurna stable id Jacques Audiard's The Sisters Brothers starring Joaquin Phoenix and John C. Reilly in a western of sorts.  Audiard's history at Telluride and with Cannes means we should at least pay attention to it as a potential film for Labor Day in the San Juans.

Chances for each...

If Beale Street-90%
The Sisters Brothers- 50%
Backseat (or whatever)- 45%

Maybe all three make the cut...

And...is it possible that Steve Carell could make a triple play appearance at TFF #45?  Beautiful Boy, Welcome to Marwen and Backseat...



IVORY/PAYNE JOINT

In the middle of March several outlets reported that frequent TFFer Alexander Payne was setting up to direct The Burial.  That may not be his next project as The Film Stage reported this week that Payne may well be team up with recent Oscar winner James Ivory to direct The Judge's Will.

The film, reportedly based on true story from India, would be re-set in Chicago and reveal the tale of a judge who tasks, in his will, that his family be responsible for the care of his mistress.

The Film Stage says that the project will be set up at Fox Searchlight.

Here's the story from The Film Stage.



Sorry for the short Friday post...More on Monday and have a good weekend.



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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.

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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

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