Friday, August 7, 2015

Ten Bets #7 / "Steve Jobs" To Close London Fest / "Miles Ahead" Picked Up by SPC-Does This Change Anything? / ""By the Sea" Has a Trailer But No Fest...Yet/"About Ray" Trailer Too

And finally, Friday...


TEN BETS #7



Last week's "Ten Bets"

10 ) "Truth"
9) "I Saw the Light" 
8) "Suffragette"
7) "He Named Me Malala"
6) "Carol"
5) "Anomalisa"
4) "Room"
3) "Beasts of No Nation"
2) "Black Mass"
1) "Son of Saul"


This week's "Ten Bets"

Not much changing this week from last week's "Ten Bets" for Telluride.  A minor tweak or two and a change at the very bottom spot are the only differences this week.

This week's "Ten Bets":

10) "Steve Jobs"
9) "He Named Me Malala"
8) "I Saw the Light"
7) "Carol"
6) "Suffragette"
5) "Room"
4) "Anomalisa"
3) "Beasts of No Nation"
2) "Black Mass"
1) "Son of Saul"

"Steve Jobs" moves onto the "Ten Bets".  Just too much smoke for me not to believe that there's some fire there.  Maybe it plays Toronto as well but I'm beginning to feel relatively confident that "Jobs" is coming to T-ride.  "Truth" drops off this week's list but is still hovering right beneath these "Ten Bets".  Also hovering just below the "Ten": Werner Herzog's "Queen of the Desert" and/or "Salt and Fire", Mark Cousins "I Am Belfast" and/or "Atomic", "13 Minutes", "45 Years", "Macbeth", "Our Brand is Crisis", "The Measure of a Man" and "Our Little Sister".


"STEVE JOBS" TO CLOSE LONDON FEST


"Steve Jobs" trailer via YouTube


Universal and the British Film Institute announced yesterday that Danny Boyle's "Steve Jobs" starring Michael Fassbender and written by Aaron Sorkin will close the London Film Festival.  The fest closes Oct. 18th and the screening is billed as the film's "European" premiere.

We already knew that the film had been named the centerpiece film for the New York Film Festival earlier in October but it was not announced as a world premiere.  That's led to speculation (including mine) that the film is probably going to screen in Telluride.

The LFF announcement doesn't directly provide us an inkling either way about the film's T-ride prospects but perhaps it does indirectly.

The LFF choice seems to point to Danny Boyle as a creature of habit as both "Slumdog Millionaire" and "127 Hours" also closed the London Fest in 2008 and 2010 respectively.  These two films, of course, played at Telluride first.  So, if Boyle is a creature of habit, one might infer that the LFF announcement also signals the potential of a Telluride play for the film.

That's what led me to put "Steve Jobs" on the #10 spot in this week's "Ten Bets".

Here's coverage of yesterday's BFI/LFF announcement:



http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/european-premiere-steve-jobs-close-59th-bfi-london-film-festival

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/steve-jobs-to-close-london-film-festival-1201557912/

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/london-film-festival-steve-jobs-813494


"MILES AHEAD" PICKED UP BY SPC-DOES THIS CHANGE ANYTHING?



Back a couple of weeks ago, the Film Society of Lincoln Center announced that Don Cheadle's "Miles Ahead", which focuses on the life of legendary jazzman Miles Davis would World Premiere as the closing night film for the New York Film Festival.

I wrote at the time that the "World Premiere" designation took it off the table for Telluride.

Yesterday Sony Pictures Classics revealed that it had picked up worldwide rights for the film.  A number of links are below to stories covering that announcement.

What interests me is the notion that the SPC acquisition could change things a bit.  Let me explain.

I am wondering if NYFF may be adhering (at least this year and with this film) to the "premiere status" regime that reigned two years ago, prior to Toronto's crusade/ultimatum to film makers about whether, if and how films might or might not play Telluride before TIFF.  In that configuration two years ago, fests and film makers worked within the Telluride notion that TFF doesn't label any film's premiere status when it plays in the San Juans.

Admittedly, my logic here kind of runs counter to the logic about NYFF withholding calling "Steve Jobs" a world premiere being a clue that it could be headed to Telluride.

So, could the SPC pickup of the film signal a possible Telluride play for Cheadle's film?

My answer is "probably not"...but...

Even the L.A. Times reporting the story yesterday suggested that a Telluride play was a possibility:

http://www..com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-don-cheadle-miles-ahead-movie-20150805-story.html

Here's the rest of the coverage:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/don-cheadles-miles-davis-film-813379

http://www.indiewire.com/article/sony-pictures-classics-acquires-don-cheadles-oscar-contender-miles-ahead-20150805

http://www.hollywood-elsewhere.com/2015/08/mixed-blessing/


"BY THE SEA" HAS A TRAILER BUT NO FEST...YET




It was ridiculously difficult to avoid seeing that Angelina Jolie Pitt's (that's how she's billed in the credits in the trailer) "By the Sea" had a trailer arrive yesterday as the interweb was rife with the info. I was as guilty as any as I tweeted the link to the video as well.  The trailer release comes a day after People released pics from the film.

Of course, to the best of my knowledge, the drama which co-stars Ms. Jolie-Pitt's hubby Brad, has no announced festival plans but you have to wonder if that's about to change in the next few days with the arrival of the stills and the teaser.

Or maybe the PR push is unrelated to any fest news anywhere.  Here's the trailer via YouTube:





Here's coverage:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/06/by-the-sea-trailer-angelina-jolie-pitt?hootPostID=c8e82a3786e17a50fe7d4fe50e9303e7

http://www.esquire.com/entertainment/movies/videos/a36973/angelina-jolie-by-the-sea-trailer/

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/by-the-sea-trailer-brad-pitt-angelina-jolie-watch-1201558181/

http://www.firstshowing.net/2015/teaser-trailer-for-angelina-jolie-pitts-by-the-sea-starring-brad-pitt/



"ABOUT RAY" TRAILER TOO


"About Ray" trailer via YouTube


 Droppping late yesterday was a trailer for "About Ray" previously titled "Three Generations" that stars Elle Fanning, Susan Sarandon and Naomi Watts.  The film is directed by Gaby Dellal.  It focuses in a teen transitioning form female to male and the effects of that decision on his family according to IMDb.  The film has distribution from The Weinstein Company and a Sept. 18 release date.

It's a film that has been lurking on the periphery of thinking about Telluride and could pop up on the program.

I have linked coverage here:

http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/watch-first-trailer-for-transgender-family-drama-about-ray-starring-naomi-watts-elle-fanning-susan-sarandon-20150806

http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/08/about-ray-trailer-elle-fanning

http://www.awardsdaily.com/blog/2015/08/best-actress-watch-elle-fanning-in-about-ray/


That's a wrap for this week.  Come back Monday for more...

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