‘Outlaw King’ Starring Chris Pine To Open TIFF 2018, ‘Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy’ Starring Laura Dern And Kristen Stewart To Close
The opening and closing night films at TIFF have been announced. David Mackenzie’sOutlaw King, starring Chris Pine, will open the fest, while Justin Kelly,Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, starringLaura DernandKristen Stewart, will close. More info on these titles, and what else to look forward to at TIFF below.
The TIFF titles keep on coming. Today, the festival announced the big opening and closing night films.Outlaw Kingreunites theHell or High Waterteam of Chris Pine and David Mackenzie to tell the story of Robert the Bruce – someone you might remember fromBraveheart. Here’s the synopsis:
Outlaw King follows the untold, true story of Robert the Bruce, who transforms from defeated nobleman to outlaw hero during the oppressive occupation of medieval Scotland by Edward I of England. Despite grave consequences, Robert seizes the Scottish crown and rallies an impassioned group of men to fight back against the mighty army of the tyrannical King and his volatile son, the Prince of Wales.
I like Pine as an actor, but I’m curious to see if he’s going to be able to perform the accent required for this part.Outlaw Kingwill play on September 6.
The closing night film will beJeremiah Terminator LeRoy, starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart. This is the true story of author J.T. Leroy, who didn’t actually exist. Instead, author Laura Albert created J.T. Leroy as a pen name of sorts, and was then forced to concoct an elaborate, lengthy hoax after the books of “J.T. Leroy” because literature sensations. This material was covered in the excellent documentaryAuthor: The JT LeRoy Story, and while I’m usually against the idea of remaking documentaries as feature films, the casting of Dern and Stewart is too exciting to ignore. Here’s the synopsis:
This captivating true story goes beyond the headlines to reveal the most compelling literary hoax of our generation. 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.
I’ll be on the ground at TIFF this year representing /Film (watch for my reviews!), and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The lineup this year is truly stellar, and there are still more titles to be announced. First, some highlights.
A Star Is Born
Perhaps the most high-profile film at TIFF this year isBradley Cooper’sA Star Is Bornremake. This film has had Oscar buzz for months, and only a handful of people have seen it so far. Cooper retells the classic tale withLady Gagain the lead as a woman with a killer singing voice and very little confidence. Cooper’s washed-up musician character helps nurture Ms. Gaga into a star (the titular star, you could say). Thetrailerfor this flick was almost shockingly great, and while I hate getting caught up in awards season buzz before December, I have to admit I’m pretty damn excited for this.
Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut tells the story of a seasoned musician who discovers — and falls in love with — a struggling artist, but, even as her career takes off, he fights an ongoing battle with his own internal demons.
La La LanddirectorDamien Chazellereunites withRyan GoslingforFirst Man, a biopic about Neil Armstrong. Even though Armstrong is one of the most famous men in American history, there has somehow never been a big screen biopic devoted to his life. Chazelle is going to change that, and based on what we’ve seen so far, the film looks promising – if a bit derivative ofThe Right Stuff. I know Chazelle got a lot of blowback duringLa La Land’s awards season run, but I think he’s an incredibly gifted filmmaker, and I thinkFirst Manis going to deliver.
12 Years a SlavedirectorSteve McQueenhas assembled one of the best casts of all time –Viola Davis,Michelle Rodriguez,Elizabeth Debicki,Cynthia Erivo,Colin Farrell,Brian Tyree Henry,Daniel Kaluuya,Garret Dillahunt,Carrie Coon,Jacki Weaver,Jon Bernthal,Manuel Garcia-RulfowithRobert DuvallandLiam Neeson– for this slick-looking heist flick. Davis leads a team of widows (hey, that’s the title!) who have to come together to finish the heist their husbands died starting. This looks both pulpyandsmart.
If Beale Street Could Talk
MoonlightdirectorBarry Jenkinsis back withIf Beale Street Could Talk, an adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel of the same name.Moonlightwas phenomenal – one of the best films of the 21st century. Which means I’m all-in on pretty much everything Jenkins does from here on out. The story focuses on a woman trying to free her falsely accused husband from prison. Jenkinssaidadapting the novel to the screen “was about trying to coalesce the thoughts and ideas in the book into something that felt like cinema and not like literature.”
Beautiful Boy
Call Me By Your NamestarTimothée Chalametis coming for that Oscar nom again, so watch out. Chalamet stars inBeautiful Boyas a young man struggling with a meth addiction.Steve Carellplays his very concerned father trying to get him clean. This looks like it’s going to be an emotional rollercoaster, so bring some tissues and/or handkerchiefs.
Claire Denismakes her English language debut with this sci-fi film starringRobert Pattinson. Much of the film has been kept under-wraps, but Denis is one of the best of the best (seek outTrouble Every Dayimmediately), and Pattinson has grown into a very strong actor. The story focuses on a group of criminals inspace, looking for an alternate form of energy. Denis has been trying to make this movie for years – at one point she wanted Philip Seymour Hoffman to star – but nowHigh Lifeis almost here.
The Sisters Brothers
The Sisters Brotherslooks stylish and strange, and boasts a fine cast to boot.Joaquin PhoenixandJohn C. Reillyplay a pair of outlaw brothers sent to kill a prospector. A team-up of Phoenix and Reilly is too good too ignore.Jacques Audiard, who directedA Prophet,Rust and BoneandDheepan, helms the film, and it looks like he and cinematographer Benoît Debie have conjured up a rich visual style for this neo-Western (watch the trailer here).
Lee Chang-dong’sBurningplayed at Cannes this year, and the reviews wereecstatic. The Village Voice reviewstates: “Lee Chang-dong’s dexterity with the telling minutiae of human interactions ensures that Burning makes for an emotionally gripping film.” IndieWiresays: “Burning keeps twisting back on itself, charting the path of a man waking up to the world, only to find that it won’t stop messing with him.” Voxadds: “It’s gripping and unnerving, a noir-style mystery with no answers that goes in entirely unexpected directions (and harbors a hint of William Faulkner too).” The film focuses on three individuals involved in a mysterious incident.
It’s worth noting that this is not the full lineup: there is always a second round, which will include Midnight Madness titles (fingers crossed forSuspiria). In the meantime, here’s the lineup as of now.
GALAS 2018
“Beautiful Boy,” Felix van Groeningen, USA
“Galveston,” Mélanie Laurent, USA
“Everybody Knows,” Asghar Farhadi, Spain/France/Italy
“First Man,” Damien Chazelle, USA
“The Hate U Give,” George Tillman, Jr., USA
“Hidden Man,” Jiang Wen, China
“High Life,” Claire Denis, Germany/France/Poland/United Kingdom
“Husband Material,” Anurag Kashyap, India
“The Kindergarten Teacher,” Sara Colangelo, USA
“The Land of Steady Habits,” Nicole Holofcener, USA
“Life Itself,” Dan Fogelman, USA
“The Public,” Emilio Estevez, USA
“Red Joan,” Sir Trevor Nunn, United Kingdom
“A Star is Born,” Bradley Cooper, USA
“Shadow,” Zhang Yimou, China
“What They Had,” Elizabeth Chomko, USA
“Widows,” Steve McQueen, United Kingdom/USA
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS 2018
“Ben is Back,” Peter Hedges, USA
“Burning,” Lee Chang-dong, South Korea
“Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Marielle Heller, USA
“Capernaum,” Nadine Labaki, Lebanon
“Cold War,” Pawe? Pawlikowski, Poland/UnitedKingdom/France
“Colette,” Wash Westmoreland, United Kingdom
“Dogman,” Matteo Garrone, Italy/France
“The Front Runner,” Jason Reitman, USA
“Giant Little Ones,” Keith Behrman, Canada
“Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil),” Eva Husson, France
“Hotel Mumbai,” Anthony Maras, Australia
“The Hummingbird Project,” Kim Nguyen, Canada
“If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins, USA
“Maya,” Mia Hansen-Løve, France
“Manto,” Nandita Das, India
“Monsters and Men,” Reinaldo Marcus Green, USA
