• Tom O’Neil responds to the “Milk” trailer. [Gold Derby]

• So does Seth Abramowitz. [Defamer]

• “Appaloosa” director Ed Harris will receive the 3rd annual Kirk Douglas Award at this year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival. [Variety]

• Peter Sciretta wonders whether “Slumdog Millionaire” stole “Happy-Go-Lucky”‘s thunder at Telluride this year. [/Film]

• James Rocchi begins his sure-to-be-insightful Toronto coverage. [Cinematical]

• John Horn looks at acquisition hopefuls in Toronto this year. [Los Angeles Times]

• Sam Adams profiles “Waltz with Bashir” helmer Ari Folman. [The Envelope]

• Susan Wloszczyna seems to think Toronto isn’t its Oscar-forecasting self this year. [USA Today]

• Similarly, in addition to contending that “award-winning contenders appear to be fewer and far between this year,” Anthony Kaufman indicates that “recent market forces” could dampen the buying and selling of films at this year’s fest. [Wall Street Journal]