Latest Toronto Announcements / New Trailers and Teaser: A Hidden Life, Little Women, Ad Astra, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Parasite

Thursday...Two weeks and one day...


LATEST TORONTO ANNOUNCEMENTS

First of all, take all of this with a grain of salt as the announcements from Toronto on Tuesday seemed to be off a bit in terms of premiere designations.  Most of the confusion fell on Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life that was reported at least by one outlet as a North American premiere but which TIFF's own website now labels as a Canadian premiere thereby affirming its likelihood for Telluride. 

However, both The Truth and Beanpole, which I had concluded were probably playing Telluride because of the New York film fest labeling both films New York premieres rather than U.S. premieres, were announced by TIFF as North American preems which would indicate no Telluride play.

After some back and forth behind the scenes, I think that there is still a chance that one or both of those films might still make a Telluride appearance.

Films that were otherwise confirmed for Telluride by their designations as Canadian premieres by TIFF included:

The Aeronauts
The Climb
Verdict
and after some hubbub...A Hidden Life

International premiere status points to the possibility of:

Dan Freidkin's Lyrebird...a post WWII story of an investigation into art theft and more.
Trey Edward Shults' Waves...about the vagaries of young love starring Lucas Hedges.

Appearing to drop out of the Telluride possibles list: Noah Hawley's Lucy in the Sky (slated as a World Premiere for TIFF), and Benedict Andrews' Seberg (billed as a North American premiere).  Also, Ken Loach's Sorry We Missed You, Haifaa Al-Mansour's The Perfect Candidate and Ladj Ly's Les Miserables.

Toronto has one more set of films to announce and will do so next Tuesday.



NEW TRAILERS AND TEASERS

A HIDDEN LIFE


A trailer for Terrence Malick's A Hidden Life (which I think IS going to Telluride) was revealed Tuesday from the Fox Searchlight folks.  Here it is from YouTube:

The trailer's great and I have hopes that Malick is back in Tree of Life/Thin Red Line territory.


LITTLE WOMEN

Here's the first trailer for Greta Gerwig's Little Women...which with the absence of its inclusion by Toronto in their Tuesday announcement, means it's still a minuscule Telluride possibility...and remember, I still have it in my fevered brain as a potential surprise sneak peek...

Here is that trailer, also from YouTube:

Yes please...

AD ASTRA

Unlikely but not eliminated...

PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE

Back to a film I'm almost dead certain will play in a couple of weeks...Celine Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire.   Thanks be to YouTube:

PARASITE

Also a lock for Labor Day...

CURRENT TEN BETS AND BONUS BETS

With a new Ten Bets coming tomorrow!

10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) A Hidden Life
Bonus 5) The Report
Bonus 6) Beanpole
Bonus 7) The Kingmaker


DON'T FORGET TO PLAN TO RATE!

For the eighth consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".


Report your ratings with any of the following contact methods:


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Does Mill Valley Suggest Sorry We Missed You at Telluride? / Final Trailer for Pain and Glory / Little Women Gets a Trailer

Tuesday...Two Weeks. Three Days...


DOES MILL VALLEY SUGGEST SORRY WE MISSED YOU AT TELLURIDE?

Ken Loach was, once again, a part of Cannes' Palme d'Or competition this year with Sorry We Missed You.  The film has been one that I have kept an eye despite it having remained under the radar since its Cannes debut.  I had it on my 75 Films That Could Play Telluride post from July 22nd.  (That list currently has 15 films that I think are very much Telluride bound.  It also has 22 films that appear to have been eliminated from TFF consideration.)

The film has played a handful of other international film fests but still has no U.S. distributor and hasn't shown up in any announcement from Toronto (yet).

But Loach was a 1993 Telluride tribute recipient and Raining Stones screened.  Ladybird, Ladybird was programmed at TFF #21 the following year so there's a bit of history there.

And this weekend I happen to casually be perusing the early announced films for the Mill Valley Film Fest and happened across Sorry to Miss You announced as a West Coast premiere.  The only other film among the titles Mill Valley included that also has that designation is Agnes Varda's Varda by Agnes, which most of you readers know I have been thinking that it will be a Telluride screening  all summer long.

Consequently, it seems to me from this evidence that Loach's film suddenly looks like a real possibility for TFF #46.  It might even make the updated Ten/Bonus Bets on Friday.

Here's the list from Mill Valley.



FINAL TRAILER FOR PAIN AND GLORY

Indiewire

The Playlist


LITTLE WOMEN GETS A TRAILER

Anton Volkov's Trailer Track and several other outlets revealed yesterday that we should see a trailer for Little Women sometime today.

The Greta Gerwig film is currently not announced for any film fest and the scuttlebutt the last couple of weeks has been that the film could well bypass all the fests.  That seems to be the most likely scenario but I'm still holding onto a shred of hope that it magically makes an appearance at TFF #46 in a couple of weeks.

Word is that the trailer is to drop sometime this morning.

Here's the link to the Trailer Track story.


THE CURRENT TEN BETS AND BONUS BETS:

10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) A Hidden Life
Bonus 5) The Report
Bonus 6) Beanpole
Bonus 7) The Kingmaker


DON'T FORGET TO PLAN TO RATE!

For the eighth consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".


Report your ratings with any of the following contact methods:


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

Venice Scheduling Clues / Let's Talk Tributes / Indiewire's 30 Oscar Contenders (Fall Film Fests)

Monday...Two weeks, four days...


VENICE SCHEDULING CLUES

I have re-posted here the "Late-Breaking" post from Friday about the scheduling of films for Venice with some additional material added over the weekend...

Those of you that have followed this space for a few years know that a fairly strong overlap has developed over time between the Telluride and Venice fests.  Last year no less than nine different films played both festivals including: First Man, Roma, The Favourite and The Front Runner.  In 2017 they shared eight films including: The Shape of Water and Downsizing.


Venice opening night films that have moved on to play at Telluride in recent years have included:

2018- First Man
2017- Downsizing
2016- La La Land
2014- Birdman
2013- Gravity
2010- Black Swan

Over the past three years 23 films have played the Venice/Telluride connection and of them 19 were scheduled in the first four days of the Venice festival.

So, as you can see...there is a substantial connection.

And key to our ability to read the Venice tea leaves is scheduling.  In order to make both Venice and Telluride films have to be either front loaded or back loaded at Venice in order to have time to make it to southwest Colorado.  Further, the most sought after titles are front loaded as Venice will desire to world premiere them.  That's why today's release of the screening schedule for Venice is interesting.

We think we know, for example, that Hirokazu Kore-eda's The Truth will be in Telluride and we also know that it is this year's opener for Venice on Aug. 28.  That works.  Other films that more or less confirm the theory are Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story which we think is playing Telluride and which Venice has scheduled for Aug. 29th.  Laura Greenfield's documentary about Imelda Marcos is another film we think makes it to T-ride and its Venice screening date of Aug. 30th makes it possible.

All of that to get to this...there are four Venice films that aren't currently claimed by Toronto or New York that fit the profile:

James Gray's Ad Astra (Aug. 29)
Benedict Andrews' Seberg (Aug. 30)
Roman Polanski's J'accuse (Aug. 30)
Haifa al-Mansour's The Perfect Candidate (Aug. 29)

The theory of schedule dates indicate at least some chance of  the Venice/Telluride double play is further under-girded by the screenings of Pablo Larrain's Ema and Todd Phillips' Joker on Aug. 31.  Since we think we know from Toronto news that those two films will not play Telluride, it looks like Aug. 30th is our Venice cut off date this year.

So...

It feels to me like The Perfect Candidate and Seberg are the better bets for Telluride inclusion.  You may remember that a couple of weeks back  Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere said that he had been told that Ad Astra was NOT playing Telluride.  So, despite its Telluride-friendly date at Venice...it's still "iffy" at best.

And, frankly, I'd be surprised if Polanski's film screens.

Three other Venice films that could conceivably make the grade are: No One Left Behind, Balloon and Madre.

Other nuggets...looks like we can scratch David Michod's The King from Telluride speculation as it is scheduled to screen initially in Venice on Sept. 2nd.

Here's the link to the Venice schedule.


LET'S TALK TRIBUTES

Just for fun...who, among the 17 films I have listed above as a Ten Bets film or a Bonus Bet...might be ripe for a Telluride Tribute in three weeks?  Not every film has a great candidate for the honor.  Some have more than one.

Ten Bets possibles...

Parasite-maybe director Joon-ho Bong
Portrait of a Lady on Fire- No one leaps out
Marriage Story- director Noah Baumbach, actress Scarlett Johansson, actress Laura Dern, actor Alan Alda
Motherless Brooklyn- director/writer/actor Edward Norton, actor Bruce Willis, actor Willem Dafoe, actor Alec Baldwin
Judy- actress Renee Zellweger
Uncut Gems- actor Adam Sandler
Pain and Glory- director/writer Pedro Almodovar was a Tribute recipient in 1988 but actor Antonio Banderas is eligible
The Two Popes- director Fernando Meirelles, actor Anthony Hopkins, actor Jonathan Pryce
Ford v. Ferrari- actor Christian Bale was a tribute recipient in 2017.  Director James Mangold is a possibility as well as Bale's co-star Matt Damon...outside shot...writer/actor Tracy Letts
The Aeronauts-no one leaps out here

Bonus Bet possibles...

The Truth- director Hirokazu Kore-eda, actress Juliette Binoche, actor Ethan Hawke. Catherine Deneuve was tributed in 1999
Varda by Agnes- Varda was feted at Telluride in 1977
First Cow-director Kelly Reichardt
A Hidden Life- director/writer Terrence Malick, actor Matthias Schoenarts, actor Jurgen Prochnow.
The Report-outside shot-actress Annette Bening
Both Beanpole and The Kingmaker seem to lack candidates.

Now, I'll be honest.  I have three pretty hot leads as to the tribute recipients.  Only one of which is actually listed above and is, I think, a lock.

One of them is NOT listed above largely because it's a person that if I named, would seem, I think, odd enough to give it away and I'm not ready to do that yet.

The third is not a director or actor and of the three, the most "iffy" about at the moment.

Who would you like to see get the tribute?  Who do you think will?


INDIEWIRE'S 30 OSCAR CONTENDERS (FALL FILM FESTS)

Indiewire's Zach Sharf posted an article last week called 30 Oscar Contenders at You Need to Know Going Into the Fall Film Festivals.  Let's rundown what films are mentioned and if they will/could play at Telluride.

Start with the films Sharf says are likely TFF #46 titles.  In the article he names:

Marriage Story
Ford v. Ferrari
First Cow
The Two Popes
Uncut Gems
A Hidden Life

Among the other films that Sharf does not specify for Telluride but that I feel are very probable are:

Pain and Glory
Motherless Brooklyn
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
The Report
The Truth
Varda by Agnes

Only two films listed still are in limbo regarding whether they play Telluride from this list of 30 and they are Ad Astra and Seberg...see Venice notes above.

The remaining 15 films all look as if they will not be playing Telluride: The Irishman, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Clemency, Joker, Just Mercy, The Goldfinch, Frankie. Dolemite Is My Name, Jojo Rabbit, The Laundromat, The Lighthouse, The Personal History of David Copperfield, The King, Wasp Network and Ema.

The complete story from Indiewire is linked here.


CURRENT TEN BETS AND BONUS BETS:

10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) A Hidden Life
Bonus 5) The Report
Bonus 6) Beanpole
Bonus 7) The Kingmaker



DON'T FORGET TO PLAY...

For the eighth consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".


Report your ratings with any of the following contact methods:


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

LATE BREAKING: VENICE SCHEDULING CLUES

LATE BREAKING: VENICE SCHEDULING CLUES

Those of you that have followed this space for a few years know that a fairly strong overlap has developed over time between the Telluride and Venice fests.  Last year no less than nine different films played both festivals including: First Man, Roma, The Favourite and The Front Runner.  In 2017 they shared eight films including: The Shape of Water and Downsizing.


Venice opening night films that have moved on to play at Telluride in recent years have included:

2018- First Man
2017- Downsizing
2016- La La Land
2014- Birdman
2013- Gravity
2010- Black Swan

So, as you can see...there is a substantial connection.

And key to our ability to read the Venice tea leaves is scheduling.  In order to make both Venice and Telluride films have to be either front loaded or back loaded at Venice in order to have time to make it to southwest Colorado.  Further, the most sought after titles are front loaded as Venice will desire to world premiere them.  That's why today's release of the screening schedule for Venice is interesting.

We think we know, for example, that Hirokazu Kore-eda's The Truth will be in Telluride and we also know that it is this year's opener for Venice on Aug. 28.  That works.  Other films that more or less confirm the theory are Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story which we think i splaying Telluride and which Venice has scheduled for Aug. 29th.  Laura Greenfield's documentary about Imelda Marcos is another film we think makes it to T-ride and its Venice screening date of Aug. 30th makes it possible.

All of that to get to this...there are four Venice films that aren't currently claimed by Toronto or New York that fit the profile:

James Gray's Ad Astra (Aug. 29)
Benedict Andrews' Seberg (Aug. 30)
Roman Polanski's J'accuse (Aug. 30)
Haifa al-Mansour's The Perfect Candidate (Aug. 29)

The theory of schedule dates indicate at least some chance of  the Venice/Telluride double play is further under-girded by the screenings of Pablo Larrain's Ema and Todd Phillips' Joker on Aug. 31.  Since we think we know from Toronto news that those two films will not play Telluride, it looks like Aug. 30th is our Venice cut off date this year.

So...

It feels to me like The Perfect Candidate and Seberg are the better bets for Telluride inclusion.  You may remember that a couple of weeks back  Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere said that he had been told that Ad Astra was NOT playing Telluride.  So, despite its Telluride-friendly date at Venice...it's still "iffy" at best.

And, frankly, I'd be surprised if Polanski's film screens.

Other nuggets...looks like we can scratch David Michod's The King from Telluride speculation as it is scheduled to screen initially in Venice on Sept. 2nd.

Here's the link to the Venice schedule.


Have a good weekend...

2019 Ten Bets #7 (Plus Bonus Bets) / More from Toronto / Lucy in the Sky Has a Date for Lift Off / The People's Telluride: It's Time to Plan Your Participation

Friday...Three Weeks...



2019 TEN BETS #7 (PLUS BONUS BETS)

Time for the weekly update of MTFB's Ten Bets for the 46th Telluride Film Festival (plus some Bonus Bets).

Here were your Ten Bets and Bonuses from last week along with "Other Possibilities":


10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite


This week, I add some "Bonus Bets":

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) Family Romance LLC
Bonus 5) Country Music

Other possibilities (in no particular order):

The Climb, Little Women, The Good Liar, Untitled Todd Haynes Project (Dry Run?), Atlantics, Nomadland, Synonyms, Ad Astra, Molly, Lucy in the Sky, Seberg, Wasp Network, The King, A Hidden Life, Matthias and Maxime, 1917.


Now, after this week's digging and sleuthing...your new Ten Bets and Bonus Bets:

10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) A Hidden Life
Bonus 5) The Report
Bonus 6) Beanpole
Bonus 7) The Kingmaker

Gone from the list of "Other Possibilities"- Wasp Network, Atlantics, Synonyms.  Also gone that I had given some serious thought to: The Traitor, Bacurau and Young Ahmed.

Still on the list of Other Possibilities:

Family Romance LLC, Country Music, The Climb, Little Women, The Good Liar, Untitled Todd Haynes Project (Dry Run/Dark Water), Nomadland, Ad Astra, Molly, Lucy in the Sky, Seberg, The King, Matthias and Maxime, 1917.


MORE FROM TORONTO

The Toronto International Film Festival announced a slew more of films for their soiree that traditionally takes off the weekend after Telluride.  They added films for their Discovery, Midnight Madness and Docs sections.  Here's what those new announcements tell us for Labor Day weekend:

It looks as if Laura Greenfield's documentary about former Philippine First Lady Imelda Marcos is probable for Telluride as TIFF lists it as a Canadian Premiere and I can't find a trace of it having screened anywhere else.

And that seems like the only TFF addition we make from yesterday's TIFF news.  All other films added to the three sections are listed as either World Premieres, North American Premieres, International Premieres-none of which are listed as American films -and the only other Canadian Premiere listed is such because it screened earlier this year at the Tribeca Film Fest.

Among notable docs that are listed as World Premiere's that I thought might have been a Telluride consideration:

Alex Gibney's Citizen K
Bryce Dallas Howard's Dads
Gabe Polsky's Red Penguins
Ellen Page's There's Something in the Water
Mark Cousins' Women Make Film
Fisher Stevens' And We Go Green

Toronto still has more to reveal over the next couple of weeks.

Here's the complete list of films announced yesterday from Variety.


LUCY IN THE SKY HAS A DATE FOR LIFTOFF

Multiple sources revealed that Fox Searchlight's Lucy in the Sky starring Natalie Portman has been dated for release in a limited fashion on Oct. 4th. 

That means that we could still see it added to lineups for NYFF or TIFF.  Even Venice.  And it certainly remains a TFF #46 potential title.

The Noah Hawley film is loosely based on the true story of an astronaut's return from space and her personal difficulties upon that return.

Some news outlets suggest that a fall film presence is still possible and perhaps likely.

Here's coverage from

The Playlist

Indiewire

Entertainment Weekly 

The Wrap



IT'S TIME TO PLAN YOUR PARTICIPATION

Yes indeed.

For the eighth consecutive year MTFB is soliciting your input for The People's Telluride.  All you have to do is watch films during the fest and then, when it's all over, report to me your assessment of each film on a 1-5 scale with 1 being "UGH!" and 5 being "GREAT".

Each year the level of participation has grown and I'd like to keep that increasing.

Here are the top three People's results from each year we've done it:

2012:

1) Stories We Tell (4.80)
2) Argo  (4.75)
3) The Attack (4.70)

2013:

1) Tim's Vermeer (4.67)
2) 12 Years a Slave (4.55)
3) Gravity (4.40)

2014:

1) The Imitation Game (4.73)
2) Birdman (4.46)
3) Wild Tales (4.23)

2015:

1) Room (4.47)
2) Spotlight (4.45)
3) Beasts of No Nation (4.35)

2016:

1) Moonlight (4.37)
2) La La Land (4.33)
3) Maudie (4.29)

2017:

1) Lady Bird (4.38)
2) The Shape of Water (4.22)
3) Darkest Hour (4.04)


2018:

1) Roma (4.47)
2) First Man (4.34)
3) Shoplifters (4.29)


The all time People's Top Ten going into the 2019 Telluride Film Festival are:

1) Stories We Tell (4.80) (12)
2) Argo (4.75) (12)
3) The Imitation Game (4.73) (14)
4) The Attack (4.70) (12)
5) Tim's Vermeer (4.67) (13)
6) 12 Years a Slave (4.55) (13)
7) Roma (tie-4.47) (18)
7) Room (tie-4.47) (15)
9) Birdman (4.46) (14)
10) Spotlight (4.45) (15)


When the time comes, you can send those ratings to me in any of the following ways listed as contact info for me listed below.


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

News from New York and Toronto / World of Reel and Hollywood Elsewhere Add to the Stack / And One More Thing...

Thursday...Three weeks and a day...



NEWS FROM NEW YORK AND TORONTO

New York announced its Main Slate lineup on Tuesday and I had the ramifications up on Twitter fairly quickly and a Late Breaking post here on the blog by late Tuesday afternoon.  By way of reminder, here's what I had Tuesday afternoon from NYFF:

New York Film Fest announcement seems to confirm or point to these films as Telluride players:

Marriage Story
Motherless Brooklyn
Beanpole
First Cow
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Woman on Fire
Varda by Agnes


Via Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture:

Not going to Telluride...

Atlantics
Bacurau
Fire Will Come
A Girl Missing
I Was at Home, But
Liberté
Martin Eden
Moneychanger
Oh Mercy!
Saturday Fiction
Sibyl
Synonyms
To the Ends of the Earth
The Traitor
Vitalina Varela
Wasp Network
Wild Goose Lake
Young Ahmed
Zombi Child

And it seems the only NYFF World Premiere is The Irishman.

Full disclosure...my tweet on Tuesday regarding Telluride films suggested or confirmed included The Whistlers.  On Twitter it was pointed out to me by @BobertHarris that The Whistlers will U.S. Premiere will be at Fantastic Fest.  That would explain the lack of premiere designation in the NYFF announcement.  My apologies.

The above list reflects that realization.

The biggest info regarding films that now appear likely for Telluride were the inclusion of  Varda by Agnes, First Cow and Beanpole.

Films that had been seriously on my TFF #46 radar that now seem certain to not be at Telluride are: Atlantics, Synonyms, Bacurau, The Traitor, Wasp Network and Young Ahmed.  So...three up and six down.

Meanwhile, Toronto announced its ten film platform lineup with nine of the ten films listed as World Premieres thus ruling them all out.  Martin Eden, the only film listed as an International Premiere underlines the NYFF announcement which had ruled it out for Telluride.

Honestly, the only Platform film that TIFF announced that I had thought might show at The SHOW was Sarah Gavron's Rocks.


So, that's what we learned on Tuesday from other fest announcements.

Here's the official lineup announcement from the Film Society of New York.

Additionally, from Indiewire, this is the Toronto Platform section news.



WORLD OF REEL AND HOLLYWOOD ELSEWHERE ADD TO THE STACK

Between Jordan Ruimy's latest Telluride spec post (yesterday) and Jeff Welles posting about it yesterday as well, it looks like we can probably add Terrence Malick's latest film, A Hidden Life to our list of Telluride probables.  Wells says that he "was in fact told that it will screen at Telluride".  That's a big get as far as I'm concerned. 

Additionally, both Ruimy and Wells suggest that Scott Burns The Report is a real possibility.  I'm thinking it's likely. 

I can reveal that The Report was the film I was referencing in my post last Tuesday under the heading "Trafficking in Rumor".

I recall suggesting this Sundance title as my preferred film form that fest for T-ride to make an exception for in as far as its previous play in Utah.  You can find that suggestion from me in my post from Jan. 31st.


Honestly, between the New York, Toronto announcements and Wells and Ruimy...the last couple of days have been a gold mine of useful information.  Seems like the next thing we should hear is the actual schedule from Venice which I expect any day now.

Here's the link to the Hollywood Elsewhere post.

And to the World of Reel post, which graciously shouts out MTFB...thanks Jordan!



AND ONE MORE THING...

In addition to the detective work the last couple of days it has been a hell of a good time having responses from people guessing what the "Trafficking in Rumor" film might be. 

Several readers dropped me a note in a variety of ways...Twitter, email note to Facebook with questions and guesses.  Far and away the leading guess was Little Women.

Noop.

The clues that actually pointed to The Report were that it's "curiously related" to a film that we're "very sure" is playing the fest...which is, ironically Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story...as Adam Driver stars in both films.  The other clue was that I had mentioned the film earlier...see the note above about my Sundance suggestion back on Jan. 31st.

Again, the buzz is that Little Women is not likely to play any fest prior to its Dec. 25th premiere date.  That said, if you'd like to re-visit my fantasy scenario for the Greta Gerwig film, that was in my post from last Monday.


Here's the current Ten Bets with Bonus Bets:


10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

"Bonus Bets":

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) Family Romance LLC
Bonus 5) Country Music


Got a new Ten Bets plus Bonus Bets coming tomorrow!



EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

TWITTER @Gort2 (and follow me there as well)

FACEBOOK Message me on FB MTFB's Facebook Page

COMMENT TO THE BLOG

LATE BREAKING: NEW YORK ANNOUNCEMENT AND TELLURIDE

New York Film Fest announcement seems to confirm or point to these films as Telluride players:

Marriage Story
Motherless Brooklyn
Beanpole
First Cow
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Woman on Fire
Varda by Agnes


Via Matt Neglia of Next Best Picture:

Not going to Telluride...

Atlantics
Bacurau
Fire Will Come
A Girl Missing
I Was at Home, But
Liberté
Martin Eden
Moneychanger
Oh Mercy!
Saturday Fiction
Sibyl
Synonyms
To the Ends of the Earth
The Traitor
Vitalina Varela
Wasp Network
Wild Goose Lake
Young Ahmed
Zombi Child

And it seems the only NYFF World Premiere is The Irishman.

More on Thursday...

Not an Official Journalist but Still a Guru / Trafficking in Rumor / TFF Is in Men's Journal's Top Ten / Quick Notes

Tuesday.

NOT AN OFFICIAL JOURNALIST BUT STILL A GURU

As many of you know, I was denied "journalist" status for this year's festival.  That happened over three weeks ago.

But, I have been asked back by Movie City News to participate again this year as one their Gurus of Gold.  I'll be tasked with making "educated" predictions for this year's Oscar season.  MCN Guru guru Ray Pride emailed me, as well as other past Gurus, last Thursday.

As you might expect, I accepted the invitation.

I'm not sure yet when the Guru-ing will commence but you can be sure I'll be letting you know here when I do know.

Incidentally, it's also likely that I'll be writing an occasional Oscar-centric article or two for another film-centric web outfit but I'm going to keep that under cover until that's more assured.

TRAFFICKING IN RUMOR

Sooo...I'm relatively certain that I have a line on another film that will be playing the 46th iteration of the Telluride Film Festival.  This is one of those "All the President's Men" things.  I have two independent sources telling me that a film that is currently NOT an expected title, is currently NOT on my latest Ten Bets or Bonus Bets list but IS a film that I mentioned before.

I can also tell you that this mystery film is curiously related to a film that we are very sure will play the fest.

I'm hesitant to name the film without one more piece of corroboration and I'm spooking around for that.

Should the film pan out, it could well be an Oscar player (at least a couple of Oscar prediction sites have the film in their early predictions list).

More as it develops...if it develops.

TFF IS IN MEN'S JOURNAL'S TOP TEN

Men's Journal recently published an article entitled "The 10 Best Summer Festivals in America" and making the list is the one and only Telluride Film Festival.

The article names TFF as "one of the most prestigious" film festivals.

The article also includes the following fests:

Summerfest-Milwaukee, WI.

Taste of Chicago-Chicago, IL.

Vermont Brewers Festival, Burlington, VT.

The Great Taste of the Midwest, Madison, WI.

Made in America Music Festival, Philadelphia, PA.

Feast Portland, Portland, OR.

Wanderlust Festival, Chicago, IL.

Beer, Bourbon and BBQ-Multiple Locations

Newport Folk Festival, Newport, VA.

The complete article with links to all of the festivals is linked here.

QUICK NOTES

***The New York Film Fest is supposed to announce the rest of their main slate films today at noon eastern time.  I'll likely post an update here with the ramifications of that announcement as soon as possible.

***Jordan Ruimy wrote at World of Reel yesterday that Agnes Varda's swan song-Varda by Agnes-will play Telluride as well as Toronto and New York.  The NYFF announcement later today may provide a confirmation.  We'll see.

***Deadline reports that Gavin O'Connor's The Way Back (formerly Torrance) starring Ben Affleck has been moved by Warners to March, 2020.  That likely means we can take it off the list of possible films for TFF consideration.


Here's the current Ten Bets with Bonus Bets:


10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

"Bonus Bets":

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) Family Romance LLC
Bonus 5) Country Music


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D.A. Pennebaker in 2002 / Motherless Closes New York / Coming Soon: A Trailer for Little Women

It's Monday...


D.A. PENNEBAKER IN 2002

D.A. Pennebaker 1925-2019

(photo via HuffPo)

Legendary documentary film maker D.A. Pennebaker died this past Thursday.  He was 94.  Pennebaker was a 2002 Telluride Film Festival Tribute recipient.  He was also a 1994 Oscar nominee for The War Room, an up close look at the effort to elect Bill Clinton to the presidency, and an honorary Oscar winner for lifetime achievement in 2013.

He was perhaps best known for his 1967 Bob Dylan documentary Don't Look Back which featured this iconic presentation of Dylan's Subterranean Homesick Blues (from YouTube):

Here's the program cover and the entry for Pennebaker's tribute from 2002:

                                  

Pennebaker's career spanned more than six decades with his first credit on IMDb listed as 1953.

I have linked stories about his life and passing here from Indiewire and The Los Angeles Times.  Pennebaker's IMDb entry is linked here.


MOTHERLESS CLOSES NEW YORK

The New York Film Festival (which we expect to announce the majority of its lineup tomorrow) announced that Edward Norton's Motherless Brooklyn will close their fest on Oct. 11th.  The film is listed as a New York premiere which cements what we already thought as a result of the film's International Premiere status for Toronto signaling that it would be screening in Telluride.

In the process of reporting the announcement over the weekend a few  news outlets included the claim that the film would be or would likely be playing Telluride first including: Screen International, Entertainment Weekly.

Here's the actual announcement from The Film Society of New York.



COMING SOON: TRAILER FOR LITTLE WOMEN...AND A WILD THEORY

Anton Volkov of Trailer Track revealed over the weekend that we should soon see a trailer of some sort for Greta Gerwig's Little Women.

Volkov says it's likely in the next couple of weeks; perhaps even this week.  That's linked here from his Trailer Track site.

Most of the scuttlebutt about the film is that it will not play Telluride and perhaps won't play any festival dates at all.  The film is scheduled for release in the U.S. on Dec. 25th.

But...and I am fully admitting that this has NO BASIS IN CLUES OR EVIDENCE...but...

I am morally certain that Gerwig's partner, Noah Baumbach will be screening his Marriage Story at TFF #46.  What if Greta tags along?  What of she just happened to haul a copy of Little Women with her?  It's been test screened.  Linked here is a Jordan Ruimy/World of Reel story from yesterday with anonymous responses to Little Women test screenings.

Wait...wait...there's more.

One of the things I've been asked every year (since anybody thought I kind of knew what I was talking about) was if there were to be any "sneak previews".  My answer for that last five years has been no.  With the decision by Toronto (and other fests since) to adopt their policy for revealing "Honest" premiere statuses, that seemed impossible.  And it hasn't happened since Escobar: Paradise Lost in 2014.

And the comment I have heard the most since then has been pass holders lamenting the loss of that tradition.

So...what if you had a highly anticipated film that was completed (IMDb says Little Women has been in post-production since November of 2018 and there are those test screenings).  What if that film was not going to play any fest...meaning that it would have no premiere designation?

What if the director had had a seemingly glorious relationship with the festival in that past?  Like with a Frances Ha and a Lady Bird?

Little Women as a Sneak?

Look...I think the real chance of the above described scenario is at about 2% but not completely outside the realm of possibility.


And with that reckless speculation/theory...that's your MTFB for the start of this week.

Here's the current Ten Bets with Bonus Bets:


10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

"Bonus Bets":

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) Family Romance LLC
Bonus 5) Country Music


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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Ten Bets (with Bonus Bets) # 6 / More on the Dolan / 1917 Trailer...Too Late for Telluride?

Welcome to today's MTFB...



TEN BETS #6

Here's the sixth iteration of my "Ten Bets" about films to possibly play at the 46th Telluride Film Festival.


Last week's Ten Bets and Other Possibilities looked like this:

10) The Truth
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite


Other Possibilities:


Varda by Agnes, Family Romance LLC, Country Music/Ryman Concert, The Climb, Little Women, The Good Liar, Untitled Todd Haynes Project (Dry Run?), Atlantics, Nomadland, Synonyms, Ad Astra, Molly, Lucy in the Sky, Seberg, Wasp Network, The King, The Aeronauts, First Cow, A Hidden Life.


This week's Ten Bets:


10) The Aeronauts
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite


This week, I add some "Bonus Bets":

Bonus 1) The Truth
Bonus 2) Varda by Agnes
Bonus 3) First Cow
Bonus 4) Family Romance LLC
Bonus 5) Country Music

Other possibilities (in no particular order):

The Climb, Little Women, The Good Liar, Untitled Todd Haynes Project (Dry Run?), Atlantics, Nomadland, Synonyms, Ad Astra, Molly, Lucy in the Sky, Seberg, Wasp Network, The King, A Hidden Life, Matthias and Maxime, 1917.


MORE ON THE DOLAN

I mentioned in yesterday's post as a part of looking at the Canadian film lineup announced by Toronto the -what seemed to me to be unusual omission- of Xavier Dolan's Matthias and Maxime.  As it turns out, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

A Tweet from Tom Linay put me onto a story from The Globe and Mail about the TIFF announcement that included this passage about the Dolan film:

"One highly anticipated Canadian film that wasn’t announced on Wednesday, though, was Matthias et Maxime, the eighth film by Xavier Dolan that premiered at Cannes this spring.

Last year, TIFF waited until its splashy Canadian programming news conference to reveal that it had secured the world premiere of Dolan’s The Death and Life of John F. Donovan – a surprise to the assembled media, who were not informed of the move when presented with TIFF’s initial Canadian slate the day before. Gravestock, however, assures that there will be no such Dolan twist this year.

"I don't think there are going to be any surprises, not that I know of," he says. "There will be a whole slew of announcements over the next couple weeks, but no [on the Dolan]. There are lots of films that are not available to us, and that's just the way programming is."

So we can take from this that the film will NOT be announced for TIFF in future news releases.  We can also parse from the last sentence that the film...for whatever reason...is not "available" to TIFF.  We also know that it screened at Cannes back in May and that it is also set to screen today as a part of of the Melbourne Film Fest...so it's obviously ready.

Does it make a TFF #46 appearance? 

Here's the link to the complete Globe and Mail story.



1917 TRAILER...TOO LATE FOR TELLURIDE?

A first look trailer for Sam Mendes' 1917 landed yesterday.  Looks good, intriguing...a little reminded of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk from a couple of years back.

The trailer says "December" at the end suggesting an as yet unannounced U.S. premiere date for that month which doesn't mean that it's necessarily too late Telluride to be part of Universal's strategy for its release and awards campaign.  We also learned, though, that the film's English debut is late January which may indicate that Telluride and even Toronto may be out of the picture.  Maybe any fest play at all including New York, AFI and London.


Here's the video from YouTube:

Here's a sampling of the stories that accompanied the trailer drop yesterday:

Deadline

Indiewire

Variety


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Toronto's Canadian Titles / Queen and Slim Trailer / New York's Centerpiece Is Baumbach

How's your August so far...

TORONTO'S CANADIAN TITLES

The Toronto International Film Festival made its second announcement of films for that fest and as is their custom, they named the full slate of Canadian based films that will be included across the many programming sections they include.  In all another 26 films were added to the list of Galas and Special Presentations that were announced last week

Usually the "Canadian Week" announcements have little bearing on illuminating the Telluride lineup is and yesterday's list of 2019 films for TIFF lived up to that history.  From my analysis not a single one of the 26 films named yesterday will play at Telluride.

As a matter of fact, the only film listed with the often telltale "Canadian Premiere" designation was the previously announced American Woman and, as we said last week, it earns its "Canadian Premiere" designation as a result of having screened at the Tribeca Film Fest back in April.

There was one interesting note, however.  Kind of one of those "dog that doesn't bark" things.  Not announced was Xavier Dolan's Cannes film Matthias and Maxime.  IMDb says the film has Canada as its nation of origin and news reports indicate that yesterday's TIFF announcement was the complete list of Canadian films that have been chosen.

So, maybe this lack of sign from TIFF is actually a hint that the Dolan film plays in Colorado.  Dolan has been in T-ride before with Mommy in 2014.  Worth a thought.

Here's the complete list of films added for Toronto from Indiewire.

QUEEN AND SLIM TRAILER

We got a trailer yesterday for Melina Matsoukas' Queen and Slim.  The film is out Nov. 27th from Universal.  I'd classify it as an outside-outside shot for TFF.

Here's the trailer via YouTube:

Here's coverage of the trailer drop and the film from The Film Stage and Trailer Track.

NEW YORK'S CENTERPIECE IS BAUMBACH

The New York Film Fest announced that Noah Baumbach's Marriage Story will be its centerpiece film this year and have labeled it a New York premiere which adds fuel to the flame of its Telluride appearance after it plays at Venice.

As a matter of fact, Marriage Story is, at this point, the only film that will likely play Telluride, Venice, Toronto and New York.  Very impressive.

Marriage Story is said to be semi-autobiographical and stars Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and Alan Alda among others.

I have linked coverage of its New York selection here from the festival itself as well as:

Indiewire

The Playlist

The Wrap

And speaking of the wrap...that's today's.

CURRENT TEN BETS...

10) The Truth
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

More tomorrow...including an updated and most likely expanded Ten Bets.


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Scorsese News / Norton Talks Motherless Brooklyn / Burns Country Blitz Continues

Tuesday...means I'm leaving the Big Apple and headed back to the real world...



SCORSESE NEWS

We had a couple of interesting nodes of Scorsese news in the past 24 hours.  The first, and most immediate in terms of TFF was the word yesterday that Scorsese's The Irishman will world premiere as the opening film for the New York Film Festival.  That happens three weeks after Telluride.  The world premiere designation means that the film will not have played at TFF #46.

The news isn't a shock and was what I expected to happen assuming the film was finished with the de-aging effects that were reported to be the thing slowing it down.

The Irishman is planned for a theatrical release and then is scheduled to begin streaming on Netflix, which produced the film.

Here are a couple of stories with the news of The New York selection from:

Indiewire

Awards Daily

In other Scorsese news I saw where he is in my home state of Oklahoma scouting locations for his upcoming adaptation of David Grann's Killers of the Flower Moon.  Flower Moon news in the last day or two also included the revelation that Robert DeNiro will be joining Leonardo DiCaprio in the cast of the film.
.
Here's news of the casting announcement from Indiewire and also news of Scorsese beginning to scout from The Playlist


NORTON TALKS MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN

Edward Norton recently spoke with Rolling Stone about his upcoming directorial, acting and writing effort for expected TFF #46 film Motherless Brooklyn.  The Rolling Stone article focuses on the use of  a new song from Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

Norton stars as a detective who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and who is tasked with solving the mystery of the murder of his mentor in 1950's New York.

The interview with Norton from The Stone is linked here.



BURNS COUNTRY BLITZ CONTINUES

Documentarian Ken Burns continues to plow the ground to prepare the way for his PBS doc, Country Music.  The latest is a Variety story that was posted yesterday.

That Variety story is linked here.

Burns was a part of a panel discussing the film that also included Roseanne Cash, Marty Stuart and Dwight Yoakam.

The film is set to bow on PBS on Sept. 15th.


That's the truncated MTFB for this Tuesday... I'm expecting Toronto to announce Canadian titles for their fest tomorrow but the likely impact of that announcement in as far as divining Telluride films is minuscule.

https://variety.com/2019/tv/news/ken-burns-country-music-1203284222/


CURRENT TEN BETS...

10) The Truth
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

That's the Monday MTFB.  More tomorrow...


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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Ups and Downs / Revelation from Venice / The Show

Welcome back from your last July weekend for 2019...


UPS AND DOWNS

Jeff Wells at Hollywood Elsewhere tells us that James Gray's As Astra is NOT going to be playing Telluride.  The information is not attributed but Jeff knows way more people than I do.

Wells also reported the same thing I had at the bottom of my post on Friday.  That Andreas Wiseman had written for Deadline that Tom Harper's The Aeronauts is likely headed to the San Juans for Labor Day weekend.

Jeff also links a Pamela McClintock piece from The Hollywood Reporter that makes that same claim.  That THR post is linked here.

And, for good measure, the Wells post from this weekend is linked here.

So, to re-cap, it seems that The Aeronauts is up and Ad Astra is down.



REVELATION FROM VENICE

Venice Film Festival head Alberto Barbera seems to have the "cow" out of the bag.  Barbera claimed in an interview with Screen Daily that was published Friday that the only film that he wanted to program but could not was Kelly Reichardt's First Cow (I'm considering an online petition to change the title of this film) and that A24 had decided to screen the film only in America as it has not found an international distributor as yet.  He also is flat quoted as saying that, as a consequence, the film is headed to Telluride.

First Cow also does not appear to have a U.S. release date.

Here's the Screen Daily linked.



THE SHOW

Just a bit of a rumination here.

When I began this thing in 2008 nobody else was messing around with trying to peg the films for Telluride.  Sure, there were the occasional pieces that would pop up.  One shot guesses that you'd find online but not a lot.  And certainly nothing in any official way from big time media.

As the years have gone on, and especially with the decision from the Toronto Fest to require that they know what a film's actual status is regarding which fests it's going to play and then their further decision to publicly reveal that status in their programming announcements, it seems increasingly that the reticence from media to deduce the films that will play Telluride has begun to fade.

Last week Screen Daily, for instance, included an assessment that did exactly what I do and have done for several seasons, which is to sort of reverse engineer the announcement from TIFF to make claims about what goes to Telluride.

World of Reel and Hollywood Elsewhere have been all over essentially the same list that I've put together as has BBC News, The Wrap and a couple of hints from Pete Hammond at Deadline.com,

It's generally pretty accurate unless Toronto mis-labels a film's status (which has happened rarely) or, sometimes with regard to International premieres because that designation can get a little murky.

Nevertheless, it feels to me that more outlets are willing to do the same process and publish the results.

Not sure how I feel about that...

Here's the July 23rd Screen Daily article that does what I'm talking about.


CURRENT TEN BETS...

10) The Truth
9) Ford v. Ferrari
8) The Two Popes
7) Pain and Glory
6) Uncut Gems
5) Judy
4) Motherless Brooklyn
3) Marriage Story
2) Portrait of a Lady on Fire
1) Parasite

That's the Monday MTFB.  More tomorrow...


EMAIL:  mpgort@gmail.com OR michael_speech@hotmail.com

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