MUMBAI: The 35th Toronto International Film Festival, the ten-day event gets going today.
During this period, several dozen movies of which many boasting marquee names in unexpected roles -- will be screened.
Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart will combat death of a child in John Cameron Mitchell‘s Rabbit Hole. The Conspirator - directed by Robert Redford will present James McAvoy as a reluctant attorney defending a woman (Robin Wright) accused of involvement in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the other hand Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black makes his directorial debut with What‘s Wrong About Virginia that has Jennifer Connelly portraying a mentally-ill mother.
Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor will share the screen as father and son in Mike Mills‘ Beginners -- the surprise being that Plummer‘s character, rather late in life, comes out in the open. Then there is Will Ferrell, in Dan Rush‘s Everything Must Go playing a man who resorts to staging a yard sale as his life falls apart around him.
Fox Searchlight will be showing off a fall lineup that includes Darren Aronofsky‘s Black Swan, Danny Boyle‘s survival story 127 Hours and the Hilary Swank starrer Conviction directed by Tony Goldwyn.
Focus will be showing off the psycho-ward comedy It‘s Kind of a Funny Story directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck that stars Emma Roberts and Zach Galifianakis.
Buyers expect Focus and Searchlight to be very selective about any purchases. SPC, though, is likely to be a much more active buyer, along with IFC Films and Magnolia Pictures, all of which left Cannes with multiple films.
The Weinstein Co., that entered into a restructuring agreement with its lenders during the summer, will bemaking an impact with Tom Hooper‘s The King‘s Speech which has been getting rave reviews for Colin Firth‘s performance as King George VI.
Sellers are waiting to watch whether Relativity Media, that acquired several assets from Overture in July and tapped Peter Adee as president of marketing and distribution, will emerge as a serious buyer at this year‘s fest.
