The Toronto
International Film Festival (September 8-17) unveiled nearly
a dozen world premieres Tuesday, including the latest from
returning directors Michael Winterbottom and Neil
Jordan. Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto has been booked
for a world premiere in the Masters program after
being bypassed by Cannes. The Crying Game director
returns to familiar turf with a drama set in 1970s
Ireland which stars Cillian Murphy as a deceptively
young transvestite. Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea also star.
Sony Pictures Classics has already locked up key world
rights ahead of a fall theatrical release in the
United States. Winterbottom's latest work, Tristam
Shandy: a Cock and Bull Story, will receive a world premiere as a special
presentation in Toronto.
In addition, a
world premiere gala screening at Roy Thomson Hall has been
set for Niki Caro's North Country, the Charlize Theron drama about a single
mother rallying her female coworkers to fight against
sexual harassment at a local mining company. Frances
McDormand, Sissy Spacek, and Woody Harrelson round out the
cast of the Warner Bros. film. Also lending dramatic
depth to Toronto is a gala for Mrs. Harris, HBO Films' recreation of the murder of
Scarsdale diet creator Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley)
by Jean Harris, played by Annette Bening. Phyllis Nagy marks
her directorial debut with Mrs. Harris, which also stars Ellen Burstyn, Frances
Fisher, and Chloe Sevigny. In addition, there's a
world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall for John Gatin's
Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story. The DreamWorks picture stars Kurt Russell and
Dakota Fanning as father and daughter attempting to
nurse an injured horse back to health so it can
compete in the Breeders' Cup.
Toronto is also
welcoming back Cameron Crowe as he brings
Elizabethtown to Roy Thomson Hall for a North
American premiere only days after the film bows at the
Venice festival. The film, to be released in North
America by Paramount, stars Orlando Bloom and Kirsten
Dunst in a romantic drama about a disgruntled employee
who returns to his hometown to ensure his dead father's
wishes are met. Also jumping the pond from Venice for
North American premieres are John Turturro's
Romance & Cigarettes, unspooling in the Masters sidebar; Tim
Burton's Corpse Bride and Steven Soderbergh's
Bubble--both part of the Special Presentations
showcase; and Liev Schreiber's Everything Is Illuminated.
Also headed north
is Fox Searchlight's Bee Season, a world premiere from out director Scott McGehee
and his straight filmmaking partner David Siegel. The
film follows a young girl, played by Flora Cross,
whose success in spelling competitions disrupts her
family, including her father (Richard Gere) and mother
(Juliette Binoche). The drama, to screen in the Special
Presentations sidebar, is set for an October 21
theatrical release. Also receiving a world premiere in
the Special Presentations program is The Notorious Bettie Page, U.S. director Mary Harron's biopic about the
famous 1950s pinup girl, played by Gretchen Mol. The
film, which Harron cowrote with lesbian icon Guinevere
Turner, also stars Lili Taylor and David Strathairn.
U.S. director
Shane Black is coming to Toronto with Kiss Kiss, Bang
Bang, the Robert Downey Jr.-starrer that screened
out of competition in Cannes and won Val Kilmer
acclaim for his performance as a gay detective. Another slot
has been reserved for Cinema Seven's Opa! the
romantic comedy from British director Udayan Prasad
about an American archaeologist (Matthew Modine) in
Greece to uncover a lost biblical artifact that his
late father had searched for in vain. As he digs, he
falls in love with a tavern owner, played by Agni Scott.
Modine will also be in Toronto to tout Mary, in which he plays an independent director
casting himself as Jesus Christ in his film. Abel
Ferrara directs the drama that includes Juliette Binoche as
an actress playing Mary Magdalene. The drama will
first bow in Venice before having its North American
premiere in Toronto.
New Zealand
director Roger Donaldson is bringing The World's Fastest
Indian to Toronto for a world premiere in the
Special Presentations sidebar. Anthony Hopkins plays New
Zealander Burt Munro, intent on setting a new speed record
on the Bonneville Salt Flats for the classic Indian
motorcycle he developed. Diane Ladd and Paul Rodriguez
also star. (Etan Vlessing, via Reuters)
