Will the Weinsteins still push Madonna's W.E. for Oscar consideration after it bombed in Venice?

Deadline has the news:

The signs are always the same when any studio knows it has a bomb. Executives won’t commit any opinion to email. Instead, phone calls from them pledging to “explain everything” are promised but never come. The suits deny up and down any truth to the inevitable leaks about a troubled shoot or creative friction or bad buzz. But when the studio is financially on-the-fence The Weinstein Co, and the film is Madonna’s first feature-length directorial effort W.E. about Walllis Simpson, and its debut is at the unforgiving Venice Film festival which has panned far bigger and more influential big names in filmdom, then not even the PR maestro Harvey Weinstein can downplay crushingly lousy reaction and reviews.

Fact is that the international press and its U.S. counterparts are having a field day killing Madonna’s movie in what can only be seen as the latest “Death In Venice”. Or maybe the more accurate way of saying this is “Death By Venice”. The Times of London claimed madonna had made an inadvertent comedy “screamingly, inadverdently funny in parts [that] had ‘em rolling in the aisles at Venice” The Guardian review was truly vicious under the headline, “Madonna’s jaw-dropping take on the story of Wallis Simpson is a primped and simpering folly, preening and fatally mishandled”. Only the Daily Mail gave it a thumbs-up. But my guess that probably has more to do with that newspaper’s long and troubled history with Madonna who in 2009 won a multimillion dollar lawsuit again the Daily Mail and whose legal reps have been threatening the paper repeatedly of more to come because of its nearly always negative coverage of her.

The 38th Annual Telluride Film Festival announces its lineup...

...and you can read all about it in this press release:

Telluride, CO (September 1, 2011) – Telluride Film Festival (September 2-5, 2011), presented by the National Film Preserve, announces its program for the 38^th Telluride Film Festival. Featuring diverse programming from around the globe, TFF once again sets the stage for some of the year’s most highly anticipated films.

TFF opens its 38^th year with over twenty-five new feature films plus special artist tributes, Guest Director programs selected by Caetano Veloso, Backlot programs, classics and restorations, shorts, student films, seminars and conversations, each introduced or proceeded with a Q&A by its filmmaker, actors, writer or producer. Telluride Film Festival opens Friday, September 2 and runs through Labor Day, Monday, September 5.

The slate is after the cut...

Margaret gets a Poster and a Trailer!

Hit the jump for the Trailer...

Want to see Kevin Smith's Red State early? Now's your chance!

Indeed, the controversial filmmaker is bringing his latest work to the On Demand spectrum for a limited run following its Oscar qualifying run recently in L.A., all in advance of its slightly more standard theatrical debut and DVD/Blu-Ray release in October. It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of this movie, and it's not everyday that you can essentially watch a film before it hits theaters. Check it out and join in on the conversation about one of my very favorite pieces of cinema in 2011!

-Thoughts on the film if/when you see it?

Christian Bale could be back in the Oscar race again this year?

Maybe so, according to The Film Stage:

After a few rumored titles, we can now officially call it Heroes of Nanking, as Hero and House of Flying Daggers director Yimou Zhang has made “the most expensive movie ever made in China” with this epic. The drama, costing $94 million, stars Christian Bale as an American priest named John who takes refuge in a church with 13 prostitutes and a group of innocent schoolgirls during the fighting between Chinese and Japanese troops in 1937.
Variety now reports when we can expect the film in theaters here stateside, after it bows on December 16th in China. Zhang tells us that he will “make a decision at the Toronto Film Festival about the North American distribution,” after studios have already drummed up interest, including Universal and Fox. The director hopes it will see a Christmas release here in the US, which would make it eligible for awards consideration.

The very first word on The Ides of March has begun trickling in today....

...and the general (if limited) consensus is rather positive, though neither are raves. The Playlist and Guy Lodge have been the first on the scene with their takes. You can find the former here and the latter here, though it might also be wise to wait until a few more people have seen it. That shouldn't be long, considering the festival season is officially underway, but do what you think is best.

-Thoughts?

A Dangerous Method gets a new Trailer!

Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: I'm still not sold, but it does look interesting...thoughts?

The Ides of March gets a new Poster!

It's not nearly as good as the first one that debuted, but I still like it...thoughts?

Is it really such a good thing that the Telluride Film Festival keeps its lineup a secret?

The Hollywood Reporter says yes:

The guessing game is on as to what will be shown during the 38th edition of the Telluride Film Festival, the only major such event in the world that doesn't announce its lineup ahead of time. Such is the confidence in the Labor Day Weekend event that Tom Luddy — now in league with Gary Meyer after years of running the Show with Bill Pence — has built up over the years that audiences trust him implicitly to deliver a program that is more than worth the effort to get to the remote Colorado mountain town to spend three-and-a-half days in the dark when it's usually so gorgeous outside.

Virtually from the beginning, Telluride has performed an exquisite balancing act: Between old and new, foreign and American, the esoteric and the accessible, the expected and the unknown. As at a great restaurant, it's best to just place yourself in the chef's hands and sample what's served up. Some dishes are better than others, of course, but you can rarely say something was bad or a waste of time. Because of its limited duration, Telluride can afford to be picky and discriminating, which only works to the benefit of the viewer.
Because of its maverick, rarified status, Telluride never felt much need to publicize itself. It's never courted press, although a few journalists go every year, and it doesn't crow about world premieres, even though it's had some big ones. However, mostly due to changes in the culture and release schedules, it’s served as a perceived lucky charm for some major films and has, through little will of its own, become the much-sough-after first domestic stop for specialized films with Oscar dreams.

One of the first instances of Telluride playing a crucial role in the Oscar race came way back in 1992, when an completely unheralded British film called The Crying Game played there and in Venice over the same weekend. It has since been documented that Miramax had no clue what to do with this tricky sexual and political thriller until the enormous reaction at Telluride suggested that it held potential gold — monetary and honorary — in its hands.

Behold the US Trailer for The Skin I Live In!

Take a gander:

-Joey's Two Cents: It looks pretty weird, but I'm definitely interested in it...thoughts?

So what exactly did the first part of the year give us in terms of Oscar contenders?

Well, this article from Deadline gives sort of a primer on just that:

OK, I’ll say it: If the Oscars were held today (nearly two-thirds of the way through 2011) Woody Allen could have another Best Picture winner. Of course the 84th Academy Awards aren’t being held yet and we are still four and a half months away from the end of eligibility. But as I embark on the fall season beginning with the Venice + Telluride + Toronto film festivals it’s time to take a look at where things stand and where things are going. First up in this series of posts: Is there anything released so far in 2011 with a realistic chance to ultimately win Best Picture? Or at the very least earn a nomination? Remember, new rules say from 5 to 10 films could benominated, meaning each nominee can’t get there without receiving at least 300 first place votes in the nominating process. Conventional wisdom is that films released in the first 8 months of the year are at a tremendous disadvantage to those coming out in the fall and holiday season. Last year no eventual winner in the top 8 categories was released before October — and 7 of those winners came out on or after Thanksgiving. Then again some recent Best Pic winners like The Hurt Locker (2010) and Crash (2005) came from the first half of their respective years. Other classic Best Pic champs like Patton, The Godfather, The Silence Of The Lambs, Gladiator, Braveheart, and yes, Woody Allen’s first Best Picture, Annie Hall (1977), were all released in the first 5 months of their respective years so it would be foolish to downgrade the chances of movies we’ve already seen this year. Or would it? Indeed 4 of last time’s 10 Best Picture nominees were released in June and July.

But other than animated films like Rango and Rio there were no solid Best Pic possibilities until we hit the Cannes Film Festival in May. Slowly simmering Best Picture talk was sparked by the fest opener, Allen’s rapturously received Midnight In Paris and Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winner The Tree Of Life which both went on to later May domestic releases. The Allen film has become his most financially successful film ever and it will hit the $50 million benchmark this weekend. Its official Academy screening was packed to the rafters (“the best turnout I have seen in years”, according to one member) and was extremely well received. “I liked it but some members I know got mad at me because I didn’t love it,” another voter told me. ”I haven’t seen anything that’s gotten that kind of response.”

In Time gets a new International Trailer!

Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: I think this could be a very entertaining flick...thoughts?

Trailer day continues with a glorious one for The Artist!

Right on the heels of a great look at Drive, we now have this trailer for The Artist:

-Joey's Two Cents: It looks rather beautiful to me. I can't wait to see it...thoughts?

Drive gets an International Trailer

Speaking of Ryan Gosling, Nicholas Winding Refn, and Carey Mulligan, here's the newest look at their buzz-laden upcoming flick:

-Joey's Two Cents: It just looks like a real good time to me, and hopefully even more...thoughts?

The Artist gets a rather elegant new Poster

Thoughts?

My Week with Marilyn gets a Poster

Thoughts?

It's time for the Gurus of Gold to chime in...

Thoughts?

Take a gander at the Trailer for The Way!

Behold:

-Joey's Two Cents: That actually looked pretty great to me...thoughts?

Martha Marcy May Marlene gets a few special Posters

The other is after the jump...

Here are some details on the Toy Story short that will be attached to The Muppets...

...coming to us via Collider:

In February, we reported that Disney and Pixar would be attaching a new Toy Story short to The Muppets. At this weekend’s D23 Expo, the film’s director, Angus MacLane (“BURN-E”), announced that the short will be titled “Small Fry” and like “Toy Story: Hawaiian Vacation”, the whole gang will be back. According to The Pixar Times, “attendees were treated to the short but substantial clip, which gave away a few plot points. Looks like Buzz Lightyear is left behind at a fast-food restaurant and must find his way back home. In doing so he encounters some less popular, happy meal-like toys. One of those toys, a Mermaid of sorts, will be voiced by Glee‘s Jane Lynch.”

Since I skipped Cars 2, I haven’t seen “Hawaiian Vacation”, but it’s tough to go wrong with the Toy Story crew, this premise sounds fun, and “BURN-E” is a quality short. You can check out “Toy Story: Small Fry” when The Muppets opens on November 23rd.

-Joey's Two Cents: As if I needed another reason to want to see some hot Muppet action...thoughts?