4 Gala Presentations, 22 Special Presentations added to Festival lineup
The Toronto International Film Festival has unveiled its second batch of titles premiering in the Gala and Special Presentations programs in September. Four Gala Presentations and 22 Special Presentations have been added to the selection of titles already announced. Outlaw King and Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy have been named Opening and Closing Night films, respectively.
“We’re rounding out the lineup of Galas and Special Presentations with some of the most exciting films of the year,” said Cameron Bailey, artistic director of TIFF. “Audiences won’t want to miss these premieres from a mix of newcomers and global heavyweights.”
This second announcement brings the total for Galas and Special Presentations to 44 World Premieres, 9 International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres and 11 Canadian Premieres.
Outlaw King, director David Mackenzie’s anticipated period drama chronicling the rise of 14th-century Scottish hero Robert the Bruce, will be the Opening Night on Thursday, September 6, at Roy Thomson Hall. This epic David-versus-Goliath tale reunites Mackenzie (Starred Up, Young Adam) with his Hell or High Water actor Chris Pine, who takes on the starring role of the legendary Scottish king who leads a band of outlaws to reclaim the throne from the clutches of the English crown and its army. The film also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, and Billy Howle.
Meanwhile, director Justin Kelly’s Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy will close this year’s Festival. Adapted from the memoir "Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT LeRoy" by Savannah Knoop, the film delves into one of the most famous literary gambits in American history. Laura Albert (Laura Dern) is an author who writes under a fictionalized persona, a disenfranchised young queer man named JT LeRoy. When her debut novel becomes a bestseller and JT becomes the darling of the literary world, she comes up with a unique solution to preserve her anonymity while giving life to her nom-de-plume. Enter her boyfriend’s androgynous sister, Savannah Knoop (Kristen Stewart), who connects with Laura’s punk, feminist, outsider universe and agrees to be JT in the public eye. Together, they embark on a wild ride of double lives, infiltrating the Hollywood and literary elite — and discovering who they are in the process.
The 43rd Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 6-16, 2018.
GALAS 2018
Green Book Peter Farrelly | USA
World Premiere
*Closing Night Film*
Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy Justin Kelly | Canada/USA/United Kingdom
World Premiere
The Lie Veena Sud | Canada
World Premiere
*Opening Night Film*
Outlaw King David Mackenzie | USA/United Kingdom
World Premiere
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2018
22 July Paul Greengrass | Norway/Iceland
North American Premiere
American Woman Jake Scott | USA
World Premiere
Baby (Bao Bei Er) Liu Jie | China
World Premiere
Boy Erased Joel Edgerton | USA
International Premiere
Driven Nick Hamm | Puerto Rico/United Kingdom/USA
North American Premiere
Duelles (Mothers’ Instinct) Olivier Masset-Depasse | Belgium/France
World Premiere
A Faithful Man (L’homme fidèle) Louis Garrel | France
World Premiere
Gloria Bell Sebastián Lelio | USA/Chile
World Premiere
Hold the Dark Jeremy Saulnier | USA
World Premiere
Kursk Thomas Vinterberg | Belgium/Luxembourg
World Premiere
Legend of the Demon Cat – Director’s Cut Chen Kaige | China/Japan
World Premiere
Mid90s Jonah Hill | USA
World Premiere
A Million Little Pieces Sam Taylor-Johnson | USA
World Premiere
Never Look Away (Werk ohne Autor) Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Germany
North American Premiere
The Quietude ( La Quietud) Pablo Trapero | Argentina
North American Premiere
Skin Guy Nattiv | USA
World Premiere
Teen Spirit Max Minghella | USA
World Premiere
Tell It To The Bees Annabel Jankel | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Viper Club Maryam Keshavarz | USA
World Premiere
Vision Naomi Kawase | Japan/France
International Premiere
Vita & Virginia Chanya Button | United Kingdom/Ireland
World Premiere
Wild Rose Tom Harper | United Kingdom
World Premiere
Rom-Com Mainstay Hugh Grant Shifts To The Dark Side and He’s Never Been Happier
After some difficulties connecting to a Zoom, Hugh Grant eventually opts to just phone instead.
"Sorry about that," he apologizes. "Tech hell." Grant is no lover of technology. Smart phones, for example, he calls the "devil's tinderbox."
"I think they're killing us. I hate them," he says. "I go on long holidays from them, three or four days at at time. Marvelous."
Hell, and our proximity to it, is a not unrelated topic to Grant's new film, "Heretic." In it, two young Mormon missionaries (Chloe East, Sophie Thatcher) come knocking on a door they'll soon regret visiting. They're welcomed in by Mr. Reed (Grant), an initially charming man who tests their faith in theological debate, and then, in much worse things.
After decades in romantic comedies, Grant has spent the last few years playing narcissists, weirdos and murders, often to the greatest acclaim of his career. But in "Heretic," a horror thriller from A24, Grant's turn to the dark side reaches a new extreme. The actor who once charmingly stammered in "Four Weddings and a Funeral" and who danced to the Pointer Sisters in "Love Actually" is now doing heinous things to young people in a basement.
"It was a challenge," Grant says. "I think human beings need challenges. It makes your beer taste better in the evening if you've climbed a mountain. He was just so wonderfully (expletive)-up."
"Heretic," which opens in theaters Friday, is directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, co-writers of "A Quiet Place." In Grant's hands, Mr. Reed is a divinely good baddie — a scholarly creep whose wry monologues pull from a wide range of references, including, fittingly, Radiohead's "Creep."
In an interview, Grant spoke about these and other facets of his character, his journey... Read More