Most anticipated of ’07: 10-01

51*. The Devil and Daniel Webster – Alec Baldwin
50. The Meat Trade – Antonia Bird
49. Mister Lonely – Harmony Korine
48. La Vie en Rose – Olivier Dahan
47. Across the Universe – Julie Taymor
46. Youth Without Youth – Francis Ford Coppola
45. Margaret – Kenneth Lonergan
44. The Inner Life of Martin Frost – Paul Auster
43. Hallam Foe – David Mackenzie
42. Death at a Funeral – Frank Oz
41. An American Crime – Tommy O’Haver
40. Smiley Face – Gregg Araki
39. Spring Break in Bosnia – Richard Shepard
38. Stop-Loss – Kimberly Peirce
37. Jindabyne – Ray Lawrence
36. Black Snake Moan – Craig Brewer
35. Reservation Road – Terry George
34. Red Road – Andrea Arnold

33. Rendition – Gavin Hood
32. The Host – Bong Joon-ho
31. Rolling Stones documentary – Martin Scorsese

30. Lust, Caution – Ang Lee
29. The Nanny Diaries – Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
28. Margo at the Wedding – Noah Baumbach
27. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – Andrew Dominik
26. Things We Lost in the Fire – Susanne Bier
25. Charlie Wilson’s War – Mike Nichols
24. The Savages – Tamara Jenkins
23. Be Kind Rewind – Michel Gondry

22. The Kite Runner – Marc Forster
21. Savage Grace – Tom Kalin
20. Into the Wild – Sean Penn
19. Lars And The Real Girl – Craig Gillespie
18. The Fall – Tarsem
17. The Darjeeling Limited – Wes Anderson
16. Grind House – Quentin Tarantino & Robert Rodriguez
15. Marriage – Ira Sachs
14. In Bloom – Vadim Perelman
13. Snow Angels – David Gordon Green
12. Sunshine – Danny Boyle
11. Eastern Promises – David Cronenberg

10. Ballon Rouge
	When: A France release is certain. We’ll be very lucky if it makes it here.
	Who: Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien‘s first film in another language that is not his mother tongue.
What: This is a part of a series of films to celebrate the anniversary of the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Other contributing directors are Olivier Assayas, Raoul Ruiz and Jim Jarmusch. Formerly titled “Orsay”, this is about a little boy and his baby-sitter, a Chinese student, inhabit the same imaginary world and through their adventures they are followed by a strange red balloon. The boy’s mother is played by Juliette Binoche.
Why: Not enough people know who Hou Hsiao-Hsien is. What a shame.

9. No Country for Old Men
	When: Paramount Vantage – Cannes preem likely followed by June 7th release.
	Who: Return to form for Joel (see pic) and Ethan.
What: Based on the Cormac McCarthy’s novel “Old Men,” this noir thriller set in West Texas, tells the blood-soaked tale of a man on the run with a suitcase full of money being pursued by a number of individuals.
Why: Film noir elements and greed spells Blood Simple and Fargo.

8. Control
	When: Surely a Cannes presentation followed by a small indie unit pick-up for the U.S.
	Who: Famed music video filmmaker and photographer Anton Corbijn’s feature film debut.
What: Based on (the widow of Ian Curtis) Deborah Curtis’ Touching From a Distance, this is a biopic of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis. Matt Greenhalgh adapted the screenplay, which covers the last years in Curtis’ life, leading up to his suicide on the eve of what was to have been Joy Division’s first US tour in 1980.
Why: Corbijn is extremely close to the subject matter – a highly personal film.

7. My Blueberry Nights
	When: The Weinstein Company – Cannes premiere followed by a late 07 release?
	Who: Wong Kar-wai’s first English language film.
What: Based on a short film that Wong shot in Hong Kong, this sees a shopkeeper fall for a mysterious female client who eats blueberry pies. Jones stars as a young woman who travels across America to find the true meaning of love, encountering offbeat characters along the way.
Why: Singer Norah Jones is supported by one hell of a talented cast.

6. Funny Games
	When: Warner Independent Pictures – Showcased as a Cannes, Venice or Toronto premiere – followed by a November-like date.
	Who: Michael Haneke makes remake of his own film.
What: The film is about a middle-class family on holiday who are terrorized by two young men.
Why: Cache was the best film of 2005. Expect power performance from Naomi Watts. Hamptons will never be the same.

5. Silk
	When: Picturehouse Films Cannes, Venice or Toronto fest premiere plus a late calendar date.
	Who: A rare, sprawling François Girard outing.
What: Based on the Alessandro Baricco’s novel, this is the story of a married silkworm smuggler, Herve Joncour, in 19th Century France who travels to Japan to collect his clandestine cargo. While there he spots a beautiful European woman, the concubine of a local baron, with whom he becomes obsessed. Without speaking the same language, they communicate through letters until war intervenes. Their unrequited love persists however, and Herve’s wife Helene begins to suspect.
Why: Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould and The Red Violin rank high on my list of favs. Keira Knightley, Alfred Molina, Michael Pitt and Koji Yakusho stars.

4. There Will Be Blood
	When: Miramax Films/Paramount Vantage will preem this most likely at Cannes and push for an Oscar nom friendly date.
	Who: After stint with Altman, Paul Thomas Anderson will deliver.
What: This is based on the 1927 Upton Sinclair novel OIL. The book sees bribery of public officials, class warfare, and international rivalry over oil production. Sinclair’s story of a genial independent oil developer and his son, whose sympathy with the oilfield workers and socialist organizers fuels a running debate with his father. Senators, small investors, oil magnates, a Hollywood film star, and a crusading evangelist are the people that populate the pages of the novel.
Why: 20 bucks says Daniel Day-Lewis gets an Oscar nom.

3. Chaotic Ana (Caótica Ana)
	When: Should get picked up by a subtitle-friendly unit such as SPC of IFC after a Cannes festival date. Released in May in Spain.
	Who: Julio Medem of Sex and Lucia fame.
What: Original screenplay tells the story of Ana, a young girl who used to live on Ibiza with her hippy father but who moves to an artists’ hide-out in Madrid because she is an aspiring painter. It sees her fleeing her own fate after a hypnosis session allows her to glimpse parallel experiences she believes are past lives. The filmmaker describes the narrative as “the story-journey of Ana during four years of her life, from 18 to 22.
Why: Medem is one of Europe’s underrated filmic geniuses. Charlotte Rampling stars.

2. Zodiac
	When: Paramount Pictures – March 2nd – bizarre shift in dates means that perhaps this is not your traditional studio film.
	Who: Fight Club’s David Fincher.
What: Adapted by screenwriter Jamie Vanderbilt from Robert Graysmith’s 1986 “Zodiac” and the sequel, “Zodiac Unmasked: The Identity of American’s Most Elusive Serial Killer Revealed. Graysmith’s books trace the mystery of “Zodiac,” a serial killer who terrorized the San Francisco area from 1966 to 1978. The killer committed at least 37 murders and documented his exploits in taunting letters sent to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Why: Solid cast. Solid filmmaker. Chilling storyline.

And the top pick for 2007 is……

1. I’m not There
	When: Killer Films will find highest bidder most likely after first Cannes screening. Update this now belongs to the Weinstein co. and a end of year release is in the projects.
	Who: Master craftsman Todd Haynes’s most ambitious project.
What: This is a film about the life of Bob Dylan. Each story expresses an aspect of Dylan’s mercurial personality and each story is to be filmed differently, in a style appropriate to its theme: Woody (Franklin) – an 11-year-old black boy, always on the run; Robbie – a womanising performer (Ledger), always on the road; Jude (Blanchett) – the young androgynous rock star; John/Jack (Bale) – a folk idol who reinvents himself as an evangelist; Billy (Gere) – the famous outlaw, miraculously alive but growing old.
Why: Visual and aural treat is based on particularly original concept.