“La La Land”
This one’s slightly less of a ‘wish’ element of the wish-list, because we know for certain that it’s going to be hitting at least one: it was announced a couple of weeks ago than Damien Chazelle’s “Whiplash” follow-up would be opening Venice. Given that “Gravity” and “Birdman” nabbed the opening slot in recent years, that puts some high expectations on the original musical, which stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone. But it’s not a guarantee of success either: last year’s “Everest,” and “The Reluctant Fundamentalist” from a few years before both underwhelmed. Anyway, Venice is confirmed, we imagine Telluride and TIFF should happen, unless competition clauses prevent it.
“Lion”
With “The Founder” opening in August, it looks like the under-the-radar “Lion” could be the Weinstein Company’s big Oscar hope this year — the film’s been given the Thanksgiving release date that did “The King’s Speech” so well. The true story of how a young man (Dev Patel) found his long-lost family thanks to Google Earth (Rooney Mara and Nicole Kidman also star), it’s directed by “Top Of The Lake” co-helmer Garth Davis, and footage we saw in Cannes 2015 looked promising. Telluride and TIFF seem very likely.
“Live By Night”
This one’s a longer shot than some, given that it only just got moved up to January 2017 from the fall of next year, and still isn’t confirmed to be ready for any kind of qualifying run. Indeed, as a hard-boiled crime movie that’s more “Gone Baby Gone” than “Argo,” a qualifying run for Ben Affleck’s latest might not happen at all. But stranger things have happened, and if Affleck can carve out enough time to finish the picture while shooting “Justice League,” this could be ready for AFI Fest, a full thirteen months after production got underway (or perhaps even sooner?…).
“The Lost City Of Z”
We have to say, after a sales trailer leaked earlier in the year, we were expecting to see James Gray’s “The Lost City Of Z” at Cannes, given that he’s such a favorite there. But word is it wasn’t ready, which would appear to make a Venice debut for the director for his period adventure, starring Robert Pattinson, Tom Holland and (*resigned sigh*) Charlie Hunnam, more likely. Gray’s stuck to Cannes since “The Yards” sixteen years ago but “Little Odessa” won the Silver Lion on the Lido, and the stage would seem to be set for a return in that direction. Going straight to TIFF could be possible too, but Venice seems very likely to us.
“A Monster Calls”
We’re hearing very good, awards-y buzz on “A Monster Calls,” J.A. Bayona’s adaptation of the novel by Patrick Ness, in which a child whose mother (Felicity Jones) has terminal cancer is visited by a tree monster (Liam Neeson). It’s an odd beast that needs the right launch, and while Bayona’s previous film “The Impossible” was a TIFF premiere, we think Focus will aim this for Telluride or Venice in order to stand out from the crowd a little more.
“Moonlight”
It’s now eight years since Barry Jenkins’ “Medicine For Melancholy,” a debut feature of rare smarts and assuredness, a sort of riff on the “Before Sunrise” but that used it to tackle issues around racial identity and gentrification. His second feature, an adaptation of Tarell Alvin McCraney’s book “In The Moonlight All The Black Boys Look Blue,” seems like it should be worth the wait: it’s the first film that A24 have distributed, in association with Brad Pitt’s Plan B, and has a killer cast including Naomie Harris, Andre Holland, Mahershala Ali and Janelle Monae. This just got an October release date — it could turn up almost anywhere, though TIFF is the only real certainty.
“Nocturnal Animals”
There’s still a lot of mystery around Tom Ford’s second feature, the fashion designer’s belated follow-up to 2009’s gorgeous “A Single Man.” It’s based on a rather obscure novel by Austin Wright, has a meta-fictional aspect to it, and stars Amy Adams, Jake Gyllenhaal, Armie Hammer, Michael Shannon, Isla Fisher and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. We know it’s landing in the fall, but beyond that, exact festival plans haven’t been revealed. Since “A Single Man” premiered in Venice, most are expecting Ford to pop up there again.
“On The Milky Road”
There was some controversy over Emir Kusturica’s long delayed new film: the director originally claimed that his film had been rejected by Cannes because of his support of Vladimir Putin, then took it back and said that actually Cannes did want it, but that the film wasn’t finished yet. Either way, it means that a major European director needs someone to premiere his latest, which stars Monica Bellucci. Venice is the obvious home, unless Kusturica pisses off the festival brass there too, in which case TIFF, Locarno, Rome or San Sebastian might end up hosting it.
“The Oppenheimer Strategies”
Director Joseph Cedar has become one of the best-known filmmakers in Israel thanks to “Beaufort” and the more recent “Footnote.” His latest, “Oppenheimer Strategies,” about a man who sees a young man he befriended suddenly become a powerful leader, marks his English-language debut, and shot early last year with a highly impressive cast — Richard Gere, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Dan Stevens, Michael Sheen and Steve Buscemi. TIFF seems like the most likely home for the film at this point, though after acclaim at Berlin and Cannes, Venice could also be in the cards.
“Passengers”
In all honesty, from what we know about “Passengers,” the long-gestating sci-fi film that finally got behind cameras thanks to “Imitation Game” director Morten Tyldum, and with A-listers Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence (as two passengers on a decades-long space journey who are accidentally woken up), we feel like it’s mostly a commercial play rather than an artsy festival pic. And it isn’t due out until nearly Christmas. But then, we would have said that about “The Martian” too, so this may well yet appear at TIFF, NYFF or AFI Fest if Sony decide to go that route.
