Film Society of Lincoln Center went standing room only style this week with not one but two all-star retrospectives. The first was the man currently sitting in the seat of best American filmmaker period, Darren Aronofsky. The second was legend of atmospheric storytelling Peter Weir.
Tons of high-profile film items for sale with star casts are, as I predicted, making the cut this year in the Premieres section. If I'm not mistaken, Fox Searchlight will use the fest to not only go shopping, but they'll be using Park City to launch Cedar Rapids and Win Win. With yesterday's Comp titles announcement, there appears to be a breakout commentary of an anti-church and anti-religion statement. We have Higher Ground, Martha Marcy May Marlene and we could add George Ratliff's Salvation Boulevard and Kevin Smith's Red State to the same discourse.
At the beginning of every month, IONCINEMA.com's "Tracking Shot" features a handful of projects that we feel are worth signaling out and that are moments away from lensing. This October we find the very last batch of titles that could be potentially ready for next May (I see a pair of films mentioned below that are possible Cannes birth qualifiers) and we find our usual mix of items: from mid-range indie budget flicks (4 million to 8 million range) to the pricey popcorn films.
Legend filmmaker returns to the ring - old school formula of young girls trying to escape Psychiatric Hospital. Huge fan base already in place for horror maste, plus All the Boys Love Mandy Lane's Amber Heard toplines.
We'll find out exactly at the beginning of next month, what Telluride manages to steal from the world premiere mentions below, but regardless of world preem status, TIFF this year is BIG. In the award season contention list, TIFF have stole the thunder from NYFF by adding Clint Eastwood's Hereafter and the always welcomed helmer Danny Boyle is bringing 127 Hours - this one is Telluride bound you can smell it.