Can't say there are many surprises with today's list, we discussed possible spots for Jacques Rivette, Michael Moore, Werner Herzog, Michele Placido, Todd Solondz, Jaco van Dormael, Patrice Chereau, Fatih Akin, Claire Denis and John Hillcoat's The Road (yes, there is a Santa Clause) beforehand.
HBO will be pretty much competing against itself in all categories related to made for TV Movie for this year's 61st Primetime Emmys. Ross Katz (who is currently prepping The Amateur American) showed off Taking Chance during the Sundance Film Festival, while Michael Sucsy struggled for five years to get Grey Gardens off the ground
If films such as Hungry's Delta from Kornél Mundruczó, Bosnia's Snow from Aida Begic and the slew of Romanian offerings are any indication – better infrastructure is equal to burgeoning new cinema trends from Central and Eastern Europe.
With only nine chosen titles, Cannes Short Films competition is probably the most exclusive competitive event at the festival. I can only imagine what the ratio was from submitted pictures to the lucky nine selected.
So how does Yojiro Takita's Departures (Okuribito) beat out heavy favorites Israel's Waltz With Bashir and France's The Class? Smart pick ups and adequate marketing plans just don't cut it when it comes to promoting titles for Oscar campaigns and Sony Pictures Classics seemed to have botched, undersold both titles the moment the final five titles were announced.