(MENAFN- Arab Times) There was plenty of awards buzz at the Toronto International Film Festival, but most of it centered on the performances, rather than the movies themselves. The fest debuted new films with multiple nomination possibilities ("The Martian," "Truth," "Trumbo") and furthered the kudos momentum for "small" films that had premiered at earlier festivals ("Spotlight," "Room," "Brooklyn"). But in terms of best-picture, it's still a wide-open field. "Spotlight" seems one of the few pics guaranteed a best-picture nomination, but it's too early to declare the Tom McCarthy film a front-runner for the win: A lot can happen in five months, and there are some biggies yet to be screened.
At Toronto, reaction was generally positive to "Black Mass," "The Danish Girl" and "Beasts of No Nation," which had all debuted at Venice or Telluride. But things move fast in the 21st century, and the backlash has already started on all of these films. No problem. There will be plenty of ups and downs for all awards hopefuls before the late-February Oscar show.
In recent years, Oscar watchers have bemoaned the lack of roles for women, but that isn't the case this year. Toronto debuted films with strong work by Cate Blanchett in "Truth," Maggie Smith in "The Lady in the Van" and Sandra Bullock in "Our Brand is Crisis."
They join a crowded field that includes Brie Larson, "Room"; Lily Tomlin, "Grandma"; Saoirse Ronan, "Brooklyn"; Charlotte Rampling, "45 Years"; Blanchett again, for "Carol"; Carey Mulligan, "Suffragette"; and Emily Blunt, "Sicario." Some folks are also high on Sarah Silverman in "I Smiled Back," which screened here after debuting in Sundance. And presumably the distributors will push Rooney Mara ("Carol") and Alicia Vikander ("Danish Girl") as supporting.
Performances by actors that were new in Toronto include Ben Foster, a knockout as Lance Armstrong in "The Program"; Tom Hardy, flashy as Britain's gangster Kray twins in "Legend"; Bryan Cranston as the title character in "Trumbo"; Matt Damon in "The Martian"; and Tom Hiddleston as Hank Williams in "I Saw the Light." Interestingly, four actors of the five play real people.
Paramount's purchase of the stop-motion "Anomalisa" for release this year adds a plot twist: Could the best-picture race include two animated films (i.e., this Charlie Kaufman/Duke Johnson-directed film and "Inside Out")? Not everyone loved "Anomalisa," but those who liked it really liked it. And that's all that's needed.
Among the many big films that haven't screened yet in 2015: "Bridge of Spies," "Concussion," "In the Heart of the Sea," "The Revenant," "The Walk" - and "Star Wars."
The Toronto fest, which wraps on Sunday, also premiered two films destined to stir up socio-political conversations: Michael Moore's "Where to Invade Next" and Jonas Cuaron's "Desierto." The question is whether those conversations will occur this year or next; it depends on the distributors. Moore always gets people hot under the collar, though there is much in the film to appeal to both red and blue states. And while Cuaron's film is a tight action-thriller, it centers on Mexico-U.S. border crossings, which should ignite plenty of talk.
STX Entertainment has bought worldwide rights to Ilya Naishuller's science-fiction action movie "Hardcore" for at least $10 million.
It's one of the biggest deals at the Toronto Film Festival, with multiple offers following its Sept 13 world premiere in the Midnight Madness section.
"Hardcore" - shot from the point of view of the protagonist - sparked elevated interest with Universal and Lionsgate in the early stages, with bidding reaching $10 million as of late Thursday.
The deal includes a commitment for at least 1,000 screens in its U.S. release by year-old STX, which has been ramping up its release slate in order to fill in the gap in mid-budget fare.
The film stars Sharlto Copley, Haley Bennett, Danila Kozlovsky, Cyrus Arnold, Ilya Naishuller and Will Stewart. Naishuller's story centers on a super-soldier who tries to save his wife from a psychotic paramilitary psychic bent on world domination.
Producers are Timur Bekmambetov, Ilya Naishuller, Inga Vainshtein Smith and Ekaterina Kononenko. It's the first feature film for Naishuller, best known for directing music videos for his band Biting Elbows. The concept grew out of his music video "Bad".
Focus World has acquired US rights to the Sam Rockwell-Anna Kendrick comedy "Mr Right," the closing night film at this year's Toronto Film Festival.
Focus World did not indicate when it would release "Mr Right," in which Kendrick's character falls in love with a perfect guy who turns out to be an international hitman on the run from the crime cartels who employ him.
The film is directed by Paco Cabezas from a script written by Max Landis. Supporting cast includes Tim Roth, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund and RZA as Shotgun Steve.
Production companies are Amasia Entertainment and Circle of Confusion Production in association with 3311 Productions. OProducesr are Bradley Gallo, Michael Helfant, Lawrence Mattis and Rick Jacobs. Executive producers include William Gallo, Allen Church, Mark Roberts, Jennifer Dana, Ross Jacobson, Sheldon Rabinowitz, Stephen Emery, Max Landis and Avram Butch Kaplan.
Also:
LOS ANGELES: Screenwriter Terrance Mulloy is set to adapt New York Times best-selling author Matthew Reilly's "Contest."
Greg McLean is set to direct with special effects house Animal Logic producing. Richard Stewart, Penny Wall and Richard Sheffield will also produce through their production banner Common Thread Entertainment as well as Simon Hunter through Myth Film Co.
"Contest" is a thriller set in the New York Library, where seven contestants must navigate the labyrinth to outwit and outlast unimaginable dangers. The WME-repped Reilly also has his novel "Great Zoo of China" set up at TriStar.
McLean broke on to the scene with his cult horror thriller "Wolf Creek." The film spawned a handful of sequels, which he also helmed, and is currently being developed as television series. He is currently directing "The Belko Experiment" with Tony Goldwyn and John C. McGinley.
He is repped by by CAA, Mosaic and Nelson Davis.
Mulloy most recently penned the Arclight Films pic "Priority Run." He's repped by UTA, Madhouse Entertainment and Eclipse Law.
Animal Logic is currently in production on Warner Bros.' "Lego" franchise.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.