My instincts were correct. This morning, I was told that Steve McQueen’s “Blitz” has not been submitted to Venice or Telluride. A notable festival director is saying “something weird is going on” with the film, and they’re looking into what the problem might be.
When it comes to Venice, the deadline for “late submissions” is this week, June 13. Of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if they extend this deadline just for McQueen, it’s happened before, but until I hear anything different, it looks like “Blitz” might not premiere on the Lido. Same with Telluride, which is said to still be in hot pursuit of the film.
If “Blitz” does in fact end up skipping both of those important fall stops, then the other options could either be TIFF, London/BFI or no festival presence whatsoever. If I were Apple, I’d release something, anything — preferably an image, or, if we’re lucky, a trailer. We just want to know that the film actually exists.