Festival Thread: Venice and Toronto

[Sabin]

The Holdovers was apparently picked up by Focus Features and they're doing a release in 2023.

[Big Magilla]

There have been five films in which gay characters have prominent roles that have won the New York Film Critics award - The Lion in Winter, Far from Heaven, Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and Carol. Far from Heaven, Milk, and Carol failed to even get Best Picture nominations for the Oscars although they figured prominently in other categories.

Milk was nominated for Best Picture.

Thanks for the catch. Corrected below.

[Greg]

There have been five films in which gay characters have prominent roles that have won the New York Film Critics award - The Lion in Winter, Far from Heaven, Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and Carol. Far from Heaven, Milk, and Carol failed to even get Best Picture nominations for the Oscars although they figured prominently in other categories.

Milk was nominated for Best Picture.

[Sonic Youth]

Big Magilla wrote
Meaning?

He likes it okay but he felt a distance from it and doesn’t see it having the stuff of a Best Picture winner.

In the preview, the film looks like it does a beautiful job caturing a bygone era, ie the 1980s. Because this looks like one of those 1980s films about the 1950s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

IOW... Oof, this looks stodgy.

[Big Magilla]

That makes sense.

I don't think there is anything this year would fit the conventional "best picture winner".

The best reviewed film of the year so far is TÁR which doesn't fit the scenario either. It's more likely one of those probable critics' winners that the Academy won't vote for.

There have been five films in which gay characters have prominent roles that have won the New York Film Critics award - The Lion in Winter, Far from Heaven, Brokeback Mountain, Milk, and Carol. Far from Heaven and Carol failed to even get Best Picture nominations for the Oscars although they figured prominently in other categories as were the others. The Lion in Winter and Brokeback Moutain were not only nominated for Best Picture but expected to win in their years but lost. Last year's The Power of the Dog was the presumptive favorite but was bypassed by New York as well as the Academy.

TÁR will almost certainly be a Best Picture nominee as will some of the other films that have received good notices at the festivals but none of them seem like conventional best picture winners either. If you're looking for conventional winners, look to the acting categories where Cate Blanchett seems to have no challengers to becoming the fourth three-time acting winner in little over a decade following Meryl Streep, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Frances McDormand. For Best Actor, we can see longtime favorite Hugh Jackman, long overlooked Colin Farrell, and long dismissed Brendan Fraser in the most competitive race in that category in years.

As for Best Picture, if a lightweight such as CODA could win last year, anything is possible this year. I wouldn't rule out The Fabelmans any more than I would rule out The Banshees of Inisherin or The Whale at this point.

[Sabin]

Big Magilla wrote
Meaning?

He likes it okay but he felt a distance from it and doesn’t see it having the stuff of a Best Picture winner.

[jack]

The Variety review for The Fableman’s is very positive.

https://variety.com/2022/awards/awards/ ... 235368098/

[Big Magilla]

I have a (perceptive) critic friend who just saw The Fabelmans. Sounds like Tee’s assumptions are correct.

Meaning?

[Sabin]

I have a (perceptive) critic friend who just saw The Fabelmans. Sounds like Tee’s assumptions are correct.

[Sabin]

Something new to look forward to: The Holdovers, the new Alexander Payne film, to possibly have a special screening at TIFF.

https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2022/9 ... 91eb21ravn

[Mister Tee]

Just to remind everyone: Venice kicks off on Wednesday. So, after many months of nothingness, we'll be flooded with info about potential award-contending films. I'd thought maybe this year would get us closer to "normal" in terms of release schedule (more big-name/potential wide-appeal titles), but recent cancellations (Fincher's The Killer, likely Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon) have thinned the field to where I'm not so sure (and, of course, theatre reception for adult-skewing films remains exceedingly iffy). In any case, a good percentage of what we will get will appear over these next few weeks, so it's time to start paying attention.

In the past decade, Venice has front-loaded its better films -- those that appear in the first few days tend to be the ones that end up nominated for or winning best picture (Birdman, Spotlight, Moonlight, La La Land, Shape of Water, Three Billboards, Roma, The Favourite, Joker), with lesser hopefuls bringing up the rear. This would seem to be good news for films like Baumbach's White Noise (Wednesday), Field's TAR and Inarritu's Bardo (Friday). It's possible this year is different -- rumors are, Venice usually leads with their bigger titles to get the jump on Telluride, but a number of later films (The Son, Blonde, The Whale) are skipping Telluride, so they may be better than their placement suggests.

Initial buzz suggests TAR, at least, is apt to be a critics' favorite, another strong vehicle for Blanchett. But it, and other major hopefuls, also seem 1) less than audience-friendly and 2) quite long. A number of movies -- TAR, White Noise, Bardo, the later-opening Babylon -- run apparently close to the 3-hour mark, and seem to skew arty. Not sure if that's what ABC wants for next March's show; we can no doubt expect big pushes for Maverick, Avatar 2 and Wakanda Forever as ratings saviors.

[mlrg]

The Venice line up looks really strong. At least on paper.

[Mister Tee]

Toronto Line-up:

GALA PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced

Alice, Darling, Mary Nighy | Canada, USA

Black Ice, Hubert Davis | Canada

The Greatest Beer Run Ever, Peter Farrelly | USA
World Premiere

Butcher’s Crossing, Gabe Polsky | USA
World Premiere

The Hummingbird, Francesca Archibugi | Italy, France
World Premiere

Hunt, Lee Jung-jae | South Korea
North American Premiere

A Jazzman’s Blues, Tyler Perry | USA
World Premiere

Kacchey Limbu, Shubham Yogi | India
World Premiere

Moving On, Paul Weitz | USA
World Premiere

Paris Memories, Alice Winocour | France
North American Premiere

Prisoner’s Daughter, Catherine Hardwicke | USA
World Premiere

Raymond & Ray, Rodrigo García | USA
World Premiere

Roost, Amy Redford | USA
World Premiere

Sidney, Reginald Hudlin | USA
World Premiere

The Son, Florian Zeller | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

Opening Night Film
*The Swimmers, Sally El Hosaini | United Kingdom
World Premiere

What’s Love Got to Do With It?, Shekhar Kapur | United Kingdom
World Premiere

*The Woman King, Gina Prince-Bythewood | USA
World Premiere

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2022
*Previously announced

Allelujah, Sir Richard Eyre | United Kingdom
World Premiere

All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger | Germany
World Premiere

The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh | United Kingdom, Ireland, USA
North American Premiere

Blueback, Robert Connolly | Australia
World Premiere

The Blue Caftan, Maryam Touzani | Morocco, France, Belgium, Denmark
North American Premiere

Broker, Hirokazu Kore-eda | South Korea
Canadian Premiere

*Brother, Clement Virgo | Canada
World Premiere

*Bros, Nicholas Stoller | USA
World Premiere

*Catherine Called Birdy, Lena Dunham | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Causeway, Lila Neugebauer | USA
World Premiere

Chevalier, Stephen Williams | USA
World Premiere

Corsage, Marie Kreutzer | Austria, France, Germany
North American Premiere

Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook | South Korea
North American Premiere

Devotion, JD Dillard | USA
World Premiere

Driving, Madeleine Christian Carion | France
International Premiere

El Suplente, Diego Lerman | Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Spain, France
World Premiere

Empire of Light, Sam Mendes | United Kingdom, USA
Canadian Premiere

The Eternal Daughter, Joanna Hogg | United Kingdom
North American Premiere

*The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg | USA
World Premiere

*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Rian Johnson | USA
World Premiere

Good Night Oppy, Ryan White | USA
International Premiere

The Good Nurse, Tobias Lindholm | USA
World Premiere

Holy Spider, Ali Abbasi | Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France
Canadian Premiere

Joyland, Saim Sadiq | Pakistan
North American Premiere

The King’s Horseman, Biyi Bandele | Nigeria
World Premiere

The Lost King, Stephen Frears | United Kingdom
World Premiere

A Man of Reason, Jung Woo-sung | South Korea
World Premiere

The Menu, Mark Mylod | USA
World Premiere

*On the Come Up, Sanaa Lathan | USA
World Premiere

One Fine Morning, Mia Hansen-Løve | France
Canadian Premiere

Other People’s Children, Rebecca Zlotowski | France
North American Premiere

Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgan | USA
North American Premiere

*My Policeman, Michael Grandage | United Kingdom
World Premiere

Nanny, Nikyatu Jusu | USA
International Premiere

No Bears, Jafar Panahi | Iran
North American Premiere

The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile, Kathlyn Horan | USA
International Premiere

Saint Omer, Alice Diop | France
North American Premiere

Sanctuary, Zachary Wigon | USA
World Premiere

Stories Not to Be Told, Cesc Gay | Spain
World Premiere

Triangle of Sadness, Ruben Östlund | Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Greece North American Premiere

Walk Up, Hong Sang-soo | South Korea
World Premiere

Wendell & Wild, Henry Selick | USA
World Premiere

Women Talking, Sarah Polley | USA
International Premiere

The Whale, Darren Aronofsky | USA
North American Premiere

The Wonder, Sebastián Lelio | United Kingdom, Ireland
Canadian Premiere

[anonymous1980]

Venice Lineup.

Opening Night
“White Noise,” Noah Baumbach (in competition)

Competition/Venezia 79
“Il Signore delle Formiche,” Gianni Amelio
“The Whale,” Darren Aronofsky
“L’Immensita,” Emanuele Crialese
“Saint Omer,” Alice Diop
“Blonde,” Andrew Dominik
“Tár,” Todd Field
“Love Life,” Koji Fukada
“Bardo,” Alejandro González Iñárritu
“Athena,” Romain Gavras
“Bones and All,” Luca Guadagnino
“The Eternal Daughter,” Joanna Hogg
“Beyond the Wall,” Vahid Jalilvand
“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Martin McDonagh
“Argentina, 1985,” Santiago Mitre
“Chiara,” Susanna Nicchiarelli
“Monica,” Andrea Pallaoro
“No Bears,” Jafar Panahi
“All the Beauty and the Bloodshed,” Laura Poitras
“A Couple,” Frederick Wiseman
“The Son,” Florian Zeller
“Our Ties,” Roschdy Zem
“Other People’s Children,” Rebecca Zlotowski


Out of Competition (Fiction)
Closing Film: “The Hanging Sun,” Francesco Carrozzini
“When the Waves Are Gone,” Lav Diaz
“Living,” Oliver Hermanus
“Dead for a Dollar,” Walter Hill
“Call of God,” Kim Ki-duk
“Dreamin’ Wild,” Bill Pohlad
“Master Gardener,” Paul Schrader
“Siccita,” Paolo Virzi
“Pearl,” Ti West
“Don’t Worry Darling,” Olivia Wilde

Out of Competition (Non Fiction)
“Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” Evgeny Afineevsky
“The Matchmaker,” Benedetta Argentieri
“Gli Ultima Giorni Dell’Umanita,” Enrico Ghezzi, Alessandro Gagliardo
“A Compassionate Spy,” Steve James
“Music for Black Pigeons,” Jorgen Leth and Andreas Koefoed
“The Kiev Trial,” Sergei Loznitsa
“In Viaggio,” Gianfranco Rosi
“Bobby White Ghetto President,” Christopher Sharp and Moses Bwayo
“Nuclear,” Oliver Stone

Out of Competition (Series)
“The Kingdom Exodus,” Lars von Trier
“Copenhagen Cowboy,” Nicolas Winding Refn

Horizons/Orizzonti
“Princess,” Roberto de Paolis
“Victim,” Michal Blanko
“On the Fringe,” Juan Diego Botto
“Trenque Lauquen,” Laura Citarella
“Vera,” Tizza Covi, Rainer Frimmel
“Innocence,” Guy Davidi
“Blanquita,” Fernando Guzzoni
“Pour La France (For My Country,” Rachid Hami
“A Man,” Kei Ishikawa
“Bread and Salt,” Damian Kocur
“Luxembourg, Luxembourg,” Antonio Lukich
“Ti Mangio IL Cuore,” Pippo Mezzapesa
“To the North,” Mihai Mincan
“Autobiography,” Makbul Mubarak
“La Syndicaliste (The Sitting Duck),” Jean-Paul Salomé
“World War III,” Houman Seyedi
“The Happiest Man in the World,” Teona Strugar Mitevska
“The Bride,” Sérgio Tréfaut

Horizons/Orizzonti Extra
“Origin of Evil,” Sébastien Marnier
“Hanging Gardens,” Ahmed Yassin Al Daradji
“Amanda,” Carolina Cavalli
“Red Shoes,” Carlos Eichelmann Kaiser
“Nezouh,” Soudade Kaadan
“Notte Fantasma,” Fulvio Risuleo
“Without Her,” Arian Vazirdaftari
“Valeria Is Getting Married,” Michal Vinik
“Goliath,” Adilkhan Yerzhanov

[Okri]

* Spielberg is premiering The Fablemans at Toronto

* The line-up for Venice hasn't been announced yet, but some films seem "locked" to get slots

• Don't Worry Darling (dir: Olivia Wilde)
• Tar (dir: Todd Field)
• Blonde (dir: Andrew Dominik)
• Bones and All (dir: Luca Guadagnino)
• Monica (dir: Andrea Pallaoro
• No Bears (dir: Jafar Panahi)