TFF #47 - LONGER / France's Decision Makes Cannes Less Likely / Fremaux Interview Provides Some Insight / Cannes Sidebars Decide No-Go in 2020 / THR Asks the Question: Where Would Films Go?

TFF #47 WILL BE LONGER

The Telluride Daily Planet Reports that the Telluride Town Council agreed last night (with stipulations) to add an extra day to TFF #47.  This year's fest is now planned to take off on Thursday, Sept. 3.

From Suzanne Cheavens/ The Watch/Daily Planet:

"Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is trying to envision its world-renowned gathering of cinephiles in a world post-COVID-19, and in doing so, wants to create more space. Film fest representative Brandt Garber requested one additional day to tack on to its Labor Day weekend festival, which takes place in numerous venues around town. Telluride Town Council agreed unanimously to the extra day.

Originally scheduled from Sept. 2-7, the event, which attracts an international crowd of nearly 3,000 film-lovers, film industry heavyweights and a fleet of crew and volunteers, will now begin Sept. 1. Garber explained the reasoning behind wanting an additional day added.
The article says Sept. 1 but I believe they mean Sept. 3rd which is the actual date for the Thursday prior to Labor Day."

The last time the fest was a five day affair was in 2013 when a day was added as a part of the film festival celebrating its 40th iteration.

Perhaps most importantly...this signals that the fest is still strongly committed to occurring.

The complete article is linked here.


FRANCE'S DECISION MAKES CANNES LESS LIKELY

Multiple reports over the past few days have revealed that French President Macron has extended that country's restrictions regarding Covid-19 deeper into the year.  The order also included bans on "festival" style events until mid-July.  That's a nail in the coffin of the suspected dates that Cannes had reportedly circled for a belated attempt to mount the fest (June 23-July 4 per Deadline).  Deadline quoting a Cannes press release:

"Following the French President’ statement, on Monday, April 13th, we acknowledged that the postponement of the 73rd International Cannes Film Festival, initially considered for the end of June to the beginning of July, is no longer an option."

However, Indewire published this statement released by the film fest:

“It is clearly difficult to assume that the Festival de Cannes could be held this year in its original form.  Nevertheless, since yesterday evening we have started many discussions with professionals, in France and abroad. They agree that the Festival de Cannes, an essential pillar for the film industry, must explore all contingencies allowing to support the year of Cinema by making Cannes 2020 real, in a way or another.”

So, clearly, Thierry Fremaux and his crew haven't thrown in the towel as yet but it's also growing increasingly clear that the options for Cannes are winnowing to very few.

Complete coverage of these details is linked here from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline

The Playlist



FREMAUX INTERVIEW PROVIDES SOME INSIGHT

In an interview with Variety posted yesterday, Cannes Director Thierry Fremaux talks candidly about where the Cannes Fest with regard to whether some version of the fest goes forward in 2020.

Highlights include the lack of an absolute decision to cancel the festival outright and the possibility of teaming up with one or more European fall film fests in some capacity.

No North American film fest is mentioned by Fremaux -Telluride, Toronto or New York-suggesting that keeping a version of the fest or labeling a film or part of some other fest as a Cannes 2020 presentation would likely remain Eurocentric.

Read the interview from Variety here.



CANNES SIDEBARS DECIDE NO-GO IN 2020

After all of the above went down on Tuesday, Cannes Sidebar sections, Directors' Fortnight, Critics' Week and ACID announced Wednesday that those sections would not be held in Cannes this year.

Variety, among others, had the statement from them:

“The Directors’ Fortnight, La Semaine de la Critique and ACID regret to announce the cancellation of their 2020 editions in Cannes.  The health crisis we are all presently facing makes it impossible to anticipate the practical course of events."

Multiple reports suggested, however, that en effort would be made to aid films that were already scheduled for those sections to find homes at other film fests still on the schedule for later this year.

The cancellation of the three sidebar programs is yet another indication that the main event at Cannes is closer to being cancelled in its traditional state and possibly altogether in any form.

Coverage of the Sidebar announcement is linked here from:

Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

Indiewire

Deadline



THR ASKS THE QUESTION: WHERE WOULD FILMS GO?

In light of the continuing developments regarding the Cannes Film Fest and the increasing chances that it just doesn't happen, The Hollywood Reporter writers Alex Ritman and Scott Roxborough posted a piece on Tuesday asking the question: "What Happens to Cannes-Bound Films Now?

That's a reasonable question.

Roxborough and Ritman lay out speculation for 13 films that were hinted at as Cannes possibilities and assess their possible fall film fest fate.  They work on the assumption that Telluride, Venice and Toronto will happen.

The only film that gets a mention with Telluride as a specific possible landing spot is Joe Wright's The Woman in the Window which has been batted around quite bit regarding its release date.

Other films on the THR story's list are:

The French Dispatch
Benedetta
Soul
Top Gun: Maverick
Memoria
Tre Piani
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Flag Day
Tenet
Last Night in Soho
Penninsula
Summer of '85

From this list, my "best bets" for Telluride inclusion would be: The Trial of the Chicago 7, The French Dispatch, Summer of '85, Tre Piani and Flag Day.

The complete THR story is linked here.


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No Bluegrass in 2020 / Rasoulof's There Is No Evil Lands at Kino Lorber / Cannes Locked-In?

NO BLUEGRASS IN 2020

As we keep track of major events that might affect TFF #47 or could act as harbingers for what might be to come, I noted that organizers for Telluride's Bluegrass Festival (mentioned here back on Apr. 2nd) have decided to cancel the 2020 edition.

Bluegrass reportedly is the most attended of T-ride's summer fests and had approached the Telluride Town Council about moving its dates from its originally scheduled June 18-21 to Aug. 27-30.  The council did not make any decision regarding Bluegrass at that time.

Several locals reportedly had expressed the difficulty that the new date would have caused as it would have been a matter of a week prior to TFF #47.

Bluegrass organizer Craig Ferguson was quoted this week in The Telluride Daily Planet about the near inevitability of the decision:

“Oh, I think all of us have known for quite awhile (that Bluegrass would be canceled), we just gave ourselves ample opportunity to talk each other out of it and no one could.  I think we learned that Bluegrass doesn’t really get postponed from solstice, then it becomes something else.  When gatherings are legal again, we’d love nothing more than to produce more shows in the greatest venue on Earth.”

The decision takes some pressure off the community and allows the pre-fest work for TFF #47 to occur without having Bluegrass going on simultaneously.

Here's the story from The Telluride Daily Planet.



RASOULOF'S THERE IS NO EVIL LANDS AT KINO LORBER

Variety reported this week that Mohammad Rsoulof's Berlin Golden Bear winner, There Is No Evil, has been acquired for distribution by Kino Lorber. 

Normally that combination of facts would suggest a very real possible TFF #47 slot for the film.  Rasoulof is a former TFF Tribute recipient (2013) and Kino Lorber has a significant history with films landing at TFF: Ixcanul, Sembene!, Taxi, Fire at Sea, Film Worker and Beanpole over the past five years.  

However,the uncertainty swirling currently because of the Covid-19 global pandemic makes handicapping films that might be Telluride bound especially difficult.

Still, I'll be keeping an eye open about this film.

Variety has the story on the acquisition here.


CANNES LOCKED-IN?

Deadline reported this week that Cannes is specifically eye-balling the dates of June 23-July 4.  Deadline also suggests those dates are now expected to be Cannes only option for a live/physical film fest.

Deadline also reports rumors that some of the other sidebar sections of Cannes could play out at other dates but that the Palme d"or competition would not.

The story suggests that the festival wouldn't likely make a hard decision until the beginning of May.  April 16th was the date originally scheduled for the announcement of the fest's lineup and Deadline says that some films have been and continue to be invited as of their story dated last Thursday.

As I have sadi here before, irrespective of Cannes ultimate decision, it will have some ramifications for Telluride as well as other fall film fests.



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Annecy Animation, Munich and Melbourne Fests Cancelled / Cannes and Venice Say No to Full Online Fest / Hollywood Elsewhere Talks Fall Film Fests

ANNECY ANIMATION, MUNICH AND MELBOURNE FESTS CANCELLED

The Covid-19 pandemic claimed more film festivals for 2020 over the past few days as organizers for France's Annecy Animation Festival, the Munich Film Fest and the Melbourne Film Fest all announced cancellations of their 2020 editions in the days since my last blog post.

Annecy was scheduled to run June-15-20 and has, on occasion, been the launch pad for animated films that would then make a stop at Telluride.  Story here from The Hollywood Reporter.

Munich was scheduled to run from June 25-July 4 (which has been the general window that Cannes has purportedly looked at as a re-scheduling window).  Story here from Deadline.

Melbourne had been scheduled August 6-23.  That's uncomfortably close to the start dates for the Telluride/Venice/Toronto window.  Story here from Deadline.

Telluride's dates: Sept. 4-7

Venice dates: Sept. 2-12

Toronto's dates: Sept. 10-20

Re: Venice...see below


CANNES AND VENICE SAY NO TO FULL ONLINE FEST

Alberto Barbera, the Venice Film Fest head is reported to have ruled a completely digital version of that fest.  The Variety story reports that some "technology for some initiatives" hasn't been ruled out but he's also quoted as having said that Venice "cannot be replaced bu an online event".

As I have previously written, the Toronto Fest has begun preparations for some digital/online presentations as a possible part of TIFF.

The Venice story originated with this exclusive linked from Nick Vivarelli at Variety.


Meanwhile, on Tuesday, media reports were all over the news that Cannes director Thierry Fremaux has also ruled out replacing the Cannes' physical experience with an online experience.  Fremaux is quoted in Variety:

“(For) Cannes, its soul, its history, its efficiency, it’s a model that wouldn’t work. What is a digital festival? A digital competition? We should start by asking rights holders if they agree."

Fremaux is further cited saying:

“Directors of ‘films’ are driven by the idea of showing their movies on a big screen and sharing them with others at events like festivals, not for their works to end up on an iPhone,"

“If all the festivals are canceled, we will have to think of a way to showcase films, to avoid wasting a year, but I don’t think a precarious and improvised alternative of Cannes or Venice — no sooner done than forgotten — would be the solution.”

The complete Variety article is linked here.


HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE TALKS FALL FILM FESTS

Jeff Wells/Hollywood Elsewhere put up an interesting piece on Sunday called "Which Fall Film Fests, If Any" in which he assesses where he thinks each of the four major film fests (TFF, TIFF, NYFF, Venice) are in as far as what they might look like.

Among them, he seems the most bullish on Telluride and less so on both Venice and New York.  Toronto seems to be somewhere in the middle.

Here's Wells specifically talking Telluride:

"The smaller, eternally cooler Telluride Film Festival might work out, at least theoretically. Especially if Tom Luddy and Julie Huntsinger are extra careful about not allowing each and every seat to be occupied and are perhaps even open to staging the festival a week or two later than usual, especially if the coronavirus fade doesn’t begin until July or, God forbid, early August".

The complete post is linked here.

Additionally, here's Anne Thompson's Indiewire story about Oscar contenders, the pandemic and the film fest trail that Wells references in his piece.



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The Shifting Sands of Fall Film Fests / The French Dispatch Moves / Uncut Gems to Netflix

THE SHIFTING SANDS OF FALL FILM FESTS

The uncertainty of what lies ahead for the film industry in terms of both film festivals and theatrical releases is evolving almost everyday in this pandemic plagued world.

Already we have seen South by Southwest cancelled and then resurrected in some fashion this past week as an online fest hosted by Amazon.  Cannes is postponed.  Tribeca is postponed.  Others as well.

All of which leads to the natural question as to the fate and composition of Telluride's Film Fest as well as the other two legs of the opening fall film fest triad: Toronto and Venice (conceivably Cannes could become a fourth leg if that fest opts to move to a date later than the previously suggested late-June/July time period).

I shared Mar. 26th that The Denver Post was sourcing a "spokeswoman" for TFF that the fest was "scheduled to go on".

TIFF and Venice are, to my knowledge, in that same boat.  However, sources have reported at the end of last week that Toronto may be shifting what their festival might look like.  They're apparently looking at two major alterations.  First might be TIFF as a "festival of festivals" incorporating films from some of the other fests that have cancelled or been postponed.  The other is a shift to an online presentation of films.

The story is addressed further here with links from:

The Playlist

World of Reel

More to follow...

THE FRENCH DISPATCH MOVES

Searchlight has officially announced that Wes Anderson's The French Dispatch has a new theatrical date for bowing.  The new date is Oct. 16th.  The film was originally scheduled to bow July 24th and was widely believed to have been a probable feature of the Cannes Film Fest.

The new date doesn't necessarily preclude a Cannes appearance depending on what decisions are made regarding that fest but it does open the door for screening it at Telluride,Toronto, Venice and/or New York should those fests occur as currently planned.

The Hollywood Reporter had the date switching info.

UNCUT GEMS TO NETFLIX

The Safdie Brothers made quite a splash at last year's fest with their film Uncut Gems.  It seemed to me that over the course of the weekend that it was the single most divisive film of the Labor Day weekend.  At least it seemed that way anecdotally as I was standing in line.

Now that film has been acquired for streaming by Netflix which announced the acquisition and also a premiere date.

Entertainment Weekly reported on Wednesday that the Adam Sandler vehicle will drop on May 25th.  The film also stars Andre Holland, Julia Fox, Eric Bogosian and Kevin Garnett.

TFF was the first place to screen the film last Aug. 30th.

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Calendar Juggling in the "Ride / Gary Meyer Talks Covid-19 and the Film Industry

CALENDAR JUGGLING IN THE 'RIDE

The Telluride Daily Planet reports that shifting dates for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival is under consideration by the Telluride Town Council.  That story was posted from Suzanne Cheavens on  Tuesday.  Bluegrass, which the article notes is the largest Festival that occurs in Telluride-about 12,000 attend, was, and for the moment  still is, scheduled for the weekend of June 18-21.

Organizers had offered to move the dates to Aug. 27-30.  And that's why this story matters to friends and fans of TFF.  That's the weekend before TFF #47 is scheduled to happen.

The article quotes Brandt Garber as a representative (he is listed in the TFF #46 program as the fest's Production Manager) of the fest saying:

“It’s not realistic to think I can pull off our event with Bluegrass happening the weekend before.  I want us both to the thrive and succeed.”

The article noted some of the issues that would be created should the Bluegrass date change be accepted with Cheavens writing:

"Issues such as setup and breakdown schedules in shared places like Elks Park, and backstage catering drew concern, as did housing issues. Both festivals soak up much of town’s available housing, as artists, staff and festival attendees swell town ranks."

The Telluride Town Council made no determination at the conclusion of their meeting with Telluride Mayor DeLanie Young saying:

“There is no certainty.  There is no answer.”

Here's the link to Cheavens entire post.

I'll keep my eye on this going forward.



GARY MEYER TALKS COVID-19 AND THE FILM INDUSTRY


Former TFF Co-Director Gary Meyer showed up on the Oakland (CA.) News Now Commentary Vlog on YouTube at the end of last weekend.  Meyer guested along with Alan Michaan of the Grand Lake Theater in Oakland.

Meyer provides his take on the magnitude of the pandemic on the industry, the mechanics of its effects and the future of film post-pandemic.

Here's the YouTube video:

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Oscar Predix in a Time of Uncertainty / Cannes Deadlines Extended / R-e-s-p-e-c-t M-o-v-e-s

OSCAR PREDIX IN A TIME OF UNCERTAINTY

Erik Anderson who runs Oscar predicting website Awards Watch came out this week with predictions for Best Picture, Directing and all four acting categories.

He did so with full disclaimers about not really knowing what the film world might look like for the rest of 2020.

So I played with Anderson's guesses in as far as potential Telluride players.  The 10 films he predicts as Best Picture players are:

Ammonite
Da 5 Bloods
Mank
Minari
News of the World
Next Goal Wins
Nomadland
On the Rocks
The Trial of the Chicago 7
West Side Story

So, I thought I'd rank these 10 films in order of their TFF #47 chances.  Remember that over the past few years Telluride has averaged nearly three films that end up as Best Picture nominees.

1) Nomadland
2) On the Rocks
3) Mank
4) Ammonite
5) Next Goal Wins
6) The Trial of the Chicago 7
7) Minari
8) Da 5 Bloods
9) News of the World
10) West Side Story

Interestingly, Anderson lists another 15 films as he makes his predictions in the other five categories in his post.  When you look at those you'll see some things jump out. 

For example, Netflix is just represented in his list of 10 Best Pic predictions by Da 5 Bloods and Mank but he has an additional six Netflix films scattered throughout these five categories: Hillbilly Elegy, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Midnight Sky, Blonde, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Life Ahead and The Prom.

Netflix's robust presence over the past five years and especially the past two suggests that looking at Netflix's lineup should tell us to expect around 4-5 titles as Telluride possibilities.

Long time Telluride presence Sony Pictures Classics has a couple of films in this list of 15 additional films.  One is The Father which bowed at Sundance and as such is an unlikely to play TFF.  The other is French Exit starring Michelle Pfeiffer.  So that's something to consider.

The complete post from Anderson is linked here.


CANNES DEADLINES EXTENDED

As we await word about the ultimate fate about the Cannes Festival-postponement to June/July.. postponement to an even later date in 2020...or perhaps even cancellation for 2020...and then what that domino falls, how it will affect the other film fest dominoes on the calendar... we got word this week that the organizers had extended deadlines for submissions as a way of dealing with the rupture that has occurred in the film industry as a result of Covid-19.

Details of those extensions are here from Variety and The Wrap.

Meanwhile, a Cannes Film Fest focal point, the Palais de Festival has been transformed into a homeless shelter to provide shelter during France's Covid-19 lockdown.

Indiewire has that story linked here.


R-E-S-P-E-C-T  M-O-V-E-S

Photo of Jennifer Hudson and Aretha Franklin via Vanity Fair

The Aretha Franklin biopic starring Jennifer Hudson hasn't been on my TFF radar as its release date was set for some time to be for August.  However, this past week that date was moved to Christmas Day.  So suddenly, assuming that date holds, maybe we have to think about the film as a possibility.

Speculation was that the date change was only partially due to the Coronavirus pandemic.  Roger Friedman's Showbiz 911 suggests that Hudson is getting a lot of Oscar buzz and that could have also been a factor in the decision.

The Showbiz 911 story is kinked here.


And here's the early teaser for the film via YouTube:

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

WORD ON THE STREET

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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


25 FILMS FOR CANNES

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

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

Here's what I found as TFF possibles:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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



INARRITU'S RETURN?

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

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

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

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

Here's the link to The Film Stage story.



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The Cannes Postponement / Spike in Looks

THE CANNES POSTPONEMENT

Not long after I posted last Thursday morning we got the news that Cannes Film Festival organizers had announced that the Festival is postponed for the time being.  Various reports indicate that the current desire is to attempt to mount the fest in late June or early July.

That plan apparently envisions a physical presentation of film the would mirror as best as possible the "normal" Cannes experience in terms of film presentation, awards etc.

Whether that happens at that time and in that fashion is an open question.

Most of the analysis that I have seen coming from the film press covering Cannes for the last few days has focused primarily on the disruption in the film sales market that has already resulted from the outbreak of Covid-19 as well as the continued disruption vis-a-vis film sales which is a huge component of the Cannes experience each year.

From this blog's perspective, this news is viewed through the lense of TFF.  Does Cannes' decision to postpone alter what screens at T-ride?  If so, how and to what extent?  Should Cannes take place in some virtual form rather than the traditional screenings...does that change Telluride?  If Cannes organizers ultimately conclude the French fest isn't going to happen in 2020...

I don't pretend to know any of the answers nor do I have any predictions or prescriptions.

It is worth noting that there is some reporting that suggests that a no-Cannes summer could result in more first time screenings at fall fests including Telluride.  That comes from both this Deadline story.  The Deadline story also specifically mentions a few films that most insiders believe to have been already headed to Cannes that would be looking for a different place to land should Cannes not be able to go forward including The French Dispatch (which, as far as I know, is still scheduled to open in July), Annette, Tre Piani and Memoria.


Additionally, this Variety story says that a spokesman for the Venice Film Fest says that "nobody is questioning the fate of Toronto and Telluride".

I have linked other news concerning Cannes from the last few days below:

Screen International from last Thursday's Cannes postponement announcement.

Variety's coverage of Thursday's announcement.

Screen International from this morning.



SPIKE IN LOOKS

I'm not sure why but MTFB has had a substantial spike in views over the past few days.  In this "off-season" for the Blog, it's a good day of there are over 100 hits/day.  This past 10 days the blog has been hit over 2,000 times with 1,200 of that coming on Mar. 13th, 16th and 20th-the last three publication dates.

Reasons?  Maybe an increased interest in this time period because of the uncertain status of Cannes.  Maybe people using a few minutes of their self-isolation to catch up on Telluride.  I'm not sure but it's certainly noticeable.

I'll be watching to see if the trend continues with today's post.



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Cannes Questions Linger as Film Market Could Go Virtual / History Completed / New Twitter

CANNES QUESTIONS LINGER AS FILM MARKET COULD GO VIRTUAL

Photo of Cannes flag via The Playlist

Covid-19 continues to re-shape all elements of the world including how the film industry works.  Normally, the Cannes Film Festival, in addition to its flashy festival,  serves as a hub of film sales for global markets.  Now, both Variety's Nick Vivarelli and The Playlist's Charles Barfield are reporting that there is movement to potentially creating a virtual film market in the event that Cannes does not happen in May.

Vivarelli reports that a couple of possible virtual markets are at least in the talking stage.

The last official line from the fest itself is that a determination about whether it will go forward or not will be made prior to Apr. 15th.  That's the day before Cannes has said it would announce the lineup for its 73rd edition.

Of course, our focus in this space on the situation with Cannes stems from the fact that Telluride often programs a number of titles from various of the Cannes platforms to screen at TFF each year.  The average is around 7-8 films that play both Cannes and TFF.

The effect of a year where Cannes does not happen is uncertain.

Here are the links to the two stories mentioned above:

Vivarelli in Variety

Barfield in The Playlist


HISTORY COMPLETED

If you read last Monday's post you know that a disaster befell "The Expanded Telluride Film Festival History Part 2: 1996-Present" page over the weekend and that, at one point I had lost the the whole thing.

However, after some nifty Google hoop-jumping that saved about half of it and the use of a big chunk of Spring Break time, that History is back and more.  Today's post serves to announce that the full on three project to provide a semi-detailed look at each festival's SHOWs, Guests, Tribute recipients, Guest Directors and Special Medallion recipients has been completed to the extent possible through TFF #46.

I'm keeping the "Selected TFF History" page alive for the time being for those who don't necessarily feel compelled to jump that deeply into TFF's past.

Here's the direct link to the newly completed history page.

Enjoy!


NEW TWITTER

Well, I'm adding a new Twitter account linked to the blog.  For years @Gort2 has been my Twitter handle and I'm not giving it up, but I am adding a Twitter account that will be more exclusively TFF and fim related that has a handle that seems more intuitively connected to the blog itself...so follow if you want..or don't.  It's an experiment and I could change my mind about its utility.

Nevertheless, the new/added Twitter account is @TheMTFB. 



EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @TheMTFB OR @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Cannes and Covid-19 / Sometimes History Disappears

CANNES AND COVID-19

Speculation and responses to that speculation continue in France regarding the status of the Cannes Film Festival as the Covid-19 pandemic continues.

Some outlets in France have claimed that the decision has already been made and that the 73rd edition of the festival will not go on.  Pushback from fest organizers has been adamant that no decision has been made and ultimately won't be made until April 15th.  That's the day before the official announcement of the slate of films is scheduled to occur.

I have linked three stories regarding the Cannes/Covid-19 situation here:

Reportage from Deadline

The story from Variety

The Hollywood Reporter

The Playlist on Cannes decision happening on April 15th.

Stay tuned...


SOMETIMES HISTORY DISAPPEARS

If you've been reading along recently, you know that I have been closing in on finishing the expanded history of the Telluride Film Festival.  As of my last post I was down to the last four years of the fest to be added and thus completing what has been a nearly three year project (I was back tracking old posts the other day and discovered the first entry of the expanded history for TFF #32 was posted on April 10, 2017).

So, there I was, typing away this past week.  I had gotten TFF #43 and #44 added and had just begun the work to get TFF #45 onto the Expended History page and...I don't know what buttons I pushed...but something happened and the entire Expanded History Part Two since 1996 was gone.  And I mean gone.

Fortunately, after some Google search work and using Google's Cache function, I was able to retrieve all of the text that had been on the History thru TFF #37.  With some work, I was able to resurrect the poster photos for each of the fests from TFF #23 (1996) to TFF #37.

That then  was re-published and should you look at the Expended History this morning you'll see that I have also re-added the work past TFF #37 to include the full entries for TFF #38 through TFF #40.

I'm currently on Spring Break and hermiting it up so I'm going to see if I can finish the project by the end of this week.  And I'll try not to mistakenly repeat the sequence of keystrokes that made the original posts of each TFF magically disappear.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

RIP Max Von Sydow / The History Continues #41 and #42

RIP MAX VON SYDOW

Photo from the BBC

Legendary Swedish actor Max Von Sydow died on Sunday, March 8th.  He was 90.  The venerable star was nominated for an Oscar twice.  Once for Best ACtor for Pelle the Conqueror in 1988 and for Best Supporting Actor in 2012 for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Among hs numerous film credits were:


The Seventh Seal
Wild Strawberries
The Emigrants
The Exorcist
Three Days of the Condor
Pelle the Conqueror***
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Shutter Island
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close***
Echoes of the Past

Of course, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly played TFF in 2007.

Von Sydow's last film is Echoes of the Past which IMDb lists as being in post-production.


THE HISTORY CONTINUES

My project to complete the Expanded History section of this blog has continued with my recent additions of information for TFFs 41 and 42 (2014 and 2015).

Among the films that were screened at T-ride in 2014 were: Apocalypse Now (the film was a tribute recipient), Birdman, California Split, Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, Leviathan, The Look of Silence, Two Days One Night, Wild and Wild Tales.


Guests included: Steve Carrel, Francis Ford Coppola, Laura Dern, Alejandro Inarritu, Tommy Lee Jones, Jon Stewart, Channing Tatum, Reese Witherspoon and tributee Hilary Swank.

2015 films included: 45 Years, Anomalisa, Beats of No Nation, Black Mass, Carol, He Named Me Malala, Room, Son of Saul, Spotlight, Steve Jobs and Suffragette.

Guests included: Laurie Anderson, Idris Elba, Cari Fukunaga, Todd Haynes, Michael Keaton, Brie Larson, Rachel McAdams, Seth Rogen, Aaron Sorkin, Meryl Streep and Kaye Winslet.

The new segments are on The Expanded Telluride Film Festival History Part Two: 1996-Present page of this blog.

Four more years to add...

EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays

Opening Some Cannes / Philip Kaufman Honored

OPENING SOME CANNES

Indiewire's Eric Kohn wrote Friday about the possible effects of the worldwide outbreak of Coronavirus on the upcoming Cannes Festival.

Kohn's article spends some time addressing the ripple effect that could occur should festival organizers alter or even postpone or cancel the fest altogether.  Included in that assessment is mention of  of the fall festivals, including Telluride, as possible landing places for films that might have been included in the Cannes lineup.

With the cancellation of South by Southwest announced over this past weekend, the discussion about what happens with the films that were going to bow there has begun.

Of particular note is the fact that TFF has been, for some time, a common landing spot for North American first screenings for films that originally premiere at Cannes.  As I have noted here many times, in an average year, Cannes and TFF will share 7-8 films.  Last year's Palme d'Or winner, Parasite, played at Telluride as its first U.S. among a number of other U.S. film fests on its way to the Best Picture Oscar.

Adding to the Cannes discussion is the official reveal that Cannes will announce its lineup on April 16th.

It seems likely, to me at least, that Covid-19 is probably going to create some wrinkles to this year's film festival plans and what those wrinkles might be are difficult to predict. 

I have linked the Indiewire post about Cannes here.

Also the Cannes announcement regarding when they reveal their lineup is linked here.


PHILIP KAUFMAN HONORED

Photo via The Hollywood Reporter

You'll recall that director/writer Philip Kaufman was feted last year in as a tribute recipient of TFF #46.  Now comes news that the 83 year old is being honored again by the Cinematheque Francaise.  The Hollywood Reporter provided that information that Kaufman was receiving a Lifetime Tribute from that organization.

Kaufman's career has included such films as The Right Stuff, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and Quills.  Kaufman  is also an Oscar nominee for the screenplay of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, a 1988 release.  That film was screened last Labor Day at Telluride as a part of the TFF Tribute.

Kaufman is also giving a master class in France following a screening of The Wanderers.

The THR story is linked here.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 

MTFB's Facebook Page

MTFB is published on Mondays and Thursdays