 |
| Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain in A Most Violent Year |
One question was probably on the minds of most future
TIFF-goers as yesterday’s programming announcement ended: What could that open
night selection be? This omission is
the only real blip in an otherwise strong announcement. (There are so many appealing
titles from yesterday's picks that it’s hard to do a top five, although Wild, Ned Rifle, Maps to the Stars, The New Girlfriend, and The Riot Club are immediate standouts.) I
thought that The Riot Club seemed
like a good bet for opening night, for Lone Scherfig’s film opens in the UK
just a week after the festival. The factors of an attractive period drama, a
cast of popular young leads (who also appeal to the older ‘Downton Abbey’ fans
in the crowd), and a Danish director let The
Riot Club check all the boxes for Oscar potential, commercial appeal, and
world cinema. Opening with a film by a female director is also a great way for
the festival to tell the industry, “We’re listening.” The Riot Club, though, doesn’t have US distribution at the moment and
that seems to have been a decent factor in getting high profile titles such as Looper and The Fifth Estate for opening night in previous years. Other TIFFers
pegged Wild, The Good Lie, and This is Where I Leave You as possible
gets—all good ideas, but incorrect guesses. One can presume that it’s some sort
of technicality that’s holding up the decision/announcement, like logistics,
release dates/distribution, or maybe even final cuts.
If TIFF wants to open with something CanCon-ish, Wim Wenders’
Everything Will Be Fine might be a decent
get, but it’s reportedly in 3D and Roy Thomson Hall, as far as I know, isn’t
equipped for that. Nothing else on the Canadian front seems big enough to open, unless a surprise gem like, say, Molly
Parker’s directorial debut The Ballad of Maura Mackenzie has finished. Throw in some arbitrary reasons why other completely viable titles--Interstellar (Christopher Nolan), Unbroken (December release)--might not work, and it's hard to pick a winner. What, then, could that darn opening night
film be? Here are some possible guesses from potential films. (TIFF still has
over 200 or so films to go, so fret not even if your pick doesn’t land that
opening slot.)
St. Vincent
Dir: Theodore Melfi (feature debut). Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Bill
Murray, Chris O’Dowd
Synopsis: A young boy whose parents just divorced finds an
unlikely friend and mentor in the misanthropic, bawdy, hedonistic, war veteran
who lives next door.
Release: October 24 from The Weinstein Company (USA) and
eOne Films (Canada)
Why it could open:
It looks the most festival-friendly of the films opening in relative proximity
to the festival. (Compare it with the other potential October release Kill the Messenger,
for example, and it looks like a smarter get.) St. Vincent looks funny and crowd-pleasing, but it also seems to
have crossover appeal for serious indie-seeking audiences. It could have the
mix of art house cred and commercial appeal that the festival seems to curate
in its programming and TIFF might want to start by putting audiences in a good
mood after the sombre Fifth Estate
got the fest off to a so-so start last year. Plus, BILL MURRAY!
Why it might Not open:
The Weinstein Company on opening night? That seems unlikely, especially after
the fiasco with Grace of Monaco where
TWC dumped the film just weeks before it was set to open Cannes. TWC knows the
festival circuit well, as it did the Telluride-Toronto one-two punch with The King’s Speech and The Artist and won the Oscar back to
back. It then skipped Colorado altogether with the Toronto-friendly Silver Linings Playbook and made a
splash of winning by adding to the success of The King’s Speech and winning the People’s Choice Award two out of
three years in a row, and Philomena came second last year. St. Vincent
will probably play TIFF, but the track records of previous years probably mean
that it’ll be elsewhere in the festival where it can get a boom of audience
enthusiasm to complement—or drown out—the critical response. The film also
marks the feature debut of Theodore Melfi, and opening with an unproven talent
is a move that could go either way.
Suite Française
Dir. Saul Dibb (The
Duchess). Starring: Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas, Matthias
Schoenaerts
Synopsis: France, 1940. In the first days of occupation,
beautiful Lucile Angellier is trapped in a stifled existence with her
controlling mother-in-law as they both await news of her husband: a prisoner of
war. Parisian refugees start to pour into their small town, soon followed by a
regiment of German soldiers who take up residence in the villagers' own homes.
Lucile initially tries to ignore Bruno von Falk, the handsome and refined
German officer staying with them. But soon, a powerful love draws them together
and leads them into the tragedy of war.
Release: TBA 2014 from The Weinstein Company (USA) and eOne
(Canada)
Why it could open:
If an opening night film encompasses everything the festival embodies, it’s
hard to find a more appropriate choice than Suite
Française. This prestigious literary adaptation is an international
Canadian co-production with a roster of international stars. The source
material itself ensures a healthy dose of pedigree to whoever programmes it,
since the novel’s place in documenting the effects of the Holocaust is
unprecedented. Irène Némirovsky’s death in Auschwitz prior to finishing the
novel grants Suite Française, which
was found and published decades thereafter, a unique and significant sense of
the power that the arts have to bring the past to life. It’s a book to cherish,
and the film, which stars Michelle Williams, Kristin Scott Thomas, Sam Riley,
Margot Robbie, and Matthias Schoenaerts, is bound to garner significant buzz
and attention from sophisticated moviegoers and stargazers alike. Director Saul
Dibb also brought the period pic The
Duchess to TIFF in 2008 and made a relatively strong debut, so it would not
be a stretch to guess that he’ll return unless Venice makes an offer and it
hits Toronto as a North American premiere.
Why it might not open:
Weinsteins. (See above.) Suite
doesn’t have a scheduled release date yet, so it’s unlikely that the film will
bank on opening night buzz if there is no imminent reason to capitalize on it. On
the other hand, TIFF 2011 opener From the
Sky Down had nobody behind it on announcement day, but it faded from memory
almost immediately after the festival, which probably indicates why TIFF has
picked titles that are more viable in recent years. The Canadian connection
might account for the hold-up, since the film was co-produced by Alliance
Films, which has since been acquired by eOne, and there could be some technicality
holding it up, although most of the titles between the two companies have moved
seamlessly including most of the Weinstein Company’s releases. What’s going on
with this film?
 |
| Kristin Scott Thomas in Suite Française |
Fury
Dir. David Ayer, Starring: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan
Lerman, Michael Pena
Synopsis: April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push
in the European Theatre, a battle-hardened army sergeant named Wardaddy
commands a Sherman tank and her five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy
lines. Outnumbered and out-gunned, and with a rookie soldier thrust into their
platoon, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts
to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.
Release: November 14, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Why it could open:
Director David Ayer was a surprise TIFF pick with End of Watch, which arguably received ample street cred at TIFF
2012, and he made a repeat appearance after his directorial debut Harsh Times premiered at the fest in
2005. He might appear again if he feels the festival has played a hand in the
success of his career, and the impressively larger scale of the war epic Fury might need an event such as opening
night to help give it a boost. Brad Pitt is also a regular in Toronto and seems
to play the buzz machine well, while Sony scored a solid hit with Looper in 2012, and did well with NYFF
opener Captain Phillips last year.
Why it might not:
Both Looper and the Cap’n did well, but they opened
theatrically almost immediately after their premieres. The long haul between
TIFF and November 14 might make the studio weary about hype it can’t capitalize
on, piracy, etc. Is November too far away? Is Fury too obviously commercial to risk a poor reception on opening
night?
A Most Violent Year
Dir. J.C. Chandor, Starring: Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain,
David Oyelowo, Albert Brooks, Catalina Sandina Moreno
Synopsis: A thriller set in New York City during the winter
of 1981, statistically one of the most violent years in the city's history, and
centered on a the lives of an immigrant and his family trying to expand their
business and capitalize on opportunities as the rampant violence, decay, and
corruption of the day drag them in and threaten to destroy all they have built.
Release: TBA Fall 2014 from A24 Films for USA and November
14 from Elevation Pictures for Canada
Why it could open: Everyone
wants a piece of J.C. Chandor. The director of Margin Call and All is Lost
is one of the most popular and acclaimed new filmmakers working today. The
chatty Margin Call debuted at Sundance
and earned a Best Original Screenplay Oscar nomination while the near-silent All is Lost opened at Cannes and then
was one of two Oscar hopefuls to skip Toronto in favour of Telluride and then all
but flatline during award season despite significant acclaim. (The other, of
course, is Inside Llewyn Davis.) Chandor,
with his newest film slated for a fall release, seems poised to be courted by Venice
and/or Toronto. This New York-set Jessica Chastain starrer seems better
tailored for a Toronto bow, although it could skip both fests altogether for
the New York Film Festival, but that
seems unlikely since NYFF has already announced its three prime spots with Gone Girl as the opener, Inherent Vice as the centrepiece, and
Venice-opener Birdman as the closing
night film. A Most Violent Year is
also represented by two up-and-coming distributors, A24 and Elevation Pictures,
the latter of which has The Imitation
Game and Nightcrawler going to
TIFF, and the opportunity might be a smart way to join Chandor on the
up-and-up. And then there's the fact that
Why it might not open:
Everyone wants a piece of J.C. Chandor. He’d be smart to do Venice and Toronto
if there’s interest from both festivals—and there probably is—since they’re in
such close proximity and seem to have a friendly relationship. The lack of a
firm release date in the US could be a hitch, although that could just as
easily be a technicality holding up the decision. A Most Violent Year has announced release dates for Canada and the
UK, though, so might that be enough?
 |
| Red carpet ready with some cool shades! |
Trash
Dir. Stephen Daldry, Starring: Rooney Mara, Selton Mello,
Wagner Moura, Martin Sheen.
Synopsis: Set in an unnamed Third World country, three kids
who make a discovery in a garbage dump soon find themselves running from the
cops and trying to right a terrible wrong.
Release: TBA for
North America, Oct. 31 for UK; Universal distributing for USA, no Canadian distrib.
Why it could open: The
ad campaign for this year’s festival advertises TIFF as “The People’s
Festival.” The angle smartly plays in to the increasingly coveted and
influential People’s Choice Award, which is increasingly a hot topic among
festivalgoers in line as they gab about films, compare notes, and feel active
in the festival. If there is any film that attests to the influence of the People’s
Choice Award at TIFF, it is 2008’s Slumdog
Millionaire. The film was set for a direct-to-DVD release before it wowed
Toronto audiences, scored the People’s Choice Award, and went on to sweep the
Oscars. Opening this year’s festival with Trash,
which carries unmistakable similarities to Slumdog,
would situate the kickoff of the festival almost as a choice of “the people.”
Taking ownership of the festival and appealing to the public have been frequent
elements in festival rhetoric this year, so it could be a smart choice. Add to
this factor the pedigree of director Stephen Daldry and the international scope
of the project, and it’s hard to find few choices with as much appeal.
Why it might not:
Although the film has Universal Pictures for American distribution, it doesn’t
have a film North American release date. (It opens in the UK on Halloween.)
Perhaps the question mark is part of the delay in unveiling the opening night
choice if Trash is the contender and
Universal just needs to sort out a release date and Canadian distributor. (eOne
might be a likely choice since they did the Canadian rollout for Rush last year.) Also working against or
for Trash is the heavy anticipation
for Universal’s December 25th release Unbroken, which could cancel the film out if it has any aspirations
for the Oscars. The distributor might want to get a feel for how Trash plays before opening it earlier in
the season, or by opting to open it in direct competition to the Angelina Jolie
film.
What do you think
could be the opener, festival fans?
Update: None of these films is playing Venice (nor is Wim Wenders' Every Thing Will Be Fine), which means they're all still in the running! (See the full Venice line-up here.)
