TIFF: What's on the menu (THR, TW, LAT, GAM, PL, CIN, IW)

By Nancy Tartaglione

"The Toronto Film Festival can be a launching pad or a graveyard, a marketplace or a fleeting moment in the spotlight," writes The Wrap's Steve Pond. As TIFF kicks off today, following is a round-up of what to expect -- from the most anticipated films to the ones that may never grace the inside of a non-fest moviehouse.

The Globe and Mail notes, it used to be the big hurdle was getting your movie made. Now, the big challenge is landing a distribution deal and getting your movie seen.

Much of the Toronto spotlight is reserved for awards-season launches and domestic acquisitions -- and it's also growing as an international sales market.

High-Profile Fare Up for Grabs

A sampling of the high-profile fare looking for US distribution this year includes John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole" with Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart; Robert Redford's "The Conspirator" with James McAvoy and Robin Wright; Dustin Lance Black's directorial debut, "What's Wrong About Virginia" with Jennifer Connelly; Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor in Mike Mills' "Beginners"; Will Ferrell in Dan Rush's "Everything Must Go" and Mickey Rourke as a down-on-his-luck trumpeter in Mitch Glazer's "Passion Play."

"The US studios aren't green-lighting this kind of movie anymore," TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey told the GAM of adult-oriented dramas with mid-range budgets. "They won't take the risk to make them, but they'll buy them. We position them so they can get seen."

Who Will Buy?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, buying prospects seem more upbeat this year than last but there are still question marks hovering over a number of distribution companies.

The field's bigger already have several films on their dockets. Searchlight will showcase a fall lineup that includes Darren Aronofsky's "Black Swan," Danny Boyle's "127 Hours," Mark Romanek's "Never Let Me Go" and Tony Goldwyn's "Conviction." Focus has the Zach Galifianakis comedy "It's Kind of a Funny Story" and Sony Pictures Classics will bring several titles first seen at Cannes while introducing new titles like "Made in Dagenham," directed by Nigel Cole.

"There are a lot of interesting movies with movie stars, but unless someone is completely blown away by something, people will sort of let it all play out a little bit and wait," one agent in the midst of the expected fray told THR. "The good news is there are still a number of buyers. The question is, what kind of appetite will they have, how much will they pay, and will they offer real theatrical releases backed with P&A;? But then you only really need a couple of buyers to like a film and you have a competition going."

Focus and Searchlight, says THR, are expected to be very selective while SPC, IFC Films and Magnolia are expected to be more active.

The Weinstein Co. will be looking to build momentum around such films as "The King's Speech," which drew raves at Telluride for Colin Firth's performance. David Glasser, the company's president of international distribution, told THR, "My hope is that we can find some ideal pictures either for the remainder of 2010 or our 2011 slate."

Daniel Battsek will attend in his new role as president of National Geographic Films. "We don't have a quota or a pipeline that has to be filled, but if we see films that fit our brand, we are very keen to maximize the distribution part of our company," he told THR.

Newmarket Films is also expected to ramp up its activities.

Meanwhile, sellers are watching to see if Relativity will emerge as a serious buyer after its deal to acquire assets from Overture.

Futher, notes THR, sellers are also eager to see Graham King's GK Films formally announce that Bob Berney is coming aboard.

Summit for its part, says THR, will likely be looking closely at the Midnight Madness lineup, which includes a number of movies that could prove commercially viable.

The Oscar Factor

With 300 films on offer there is a vast menu to select from and of course there's the Oscar element. The Los Angeles Times notes that by showing a large number of pedigreed films, Toronto is a key handicapping ground for the Oscar race. Fox Searchlight has effectively used Toronto as an awards springboard in the past for films such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Juno," for example. Last year's "Up in the Air" was a strong Oscar contender after its Toronto showing -- although it was eventually beaten to Best Picture by a film ("The Hurt Locker") that coincidentally had screened in Toronto a year earlier.

"The fall festivals, and maybe especially Toronto, set the horse race," Cameron Bailey told the LAT. "But you can never predict what's going to come out of the back of the pack."

The Big Questions

Back at The Wrap, Pond offers up answers to five burning questions going into the festival.

Regarding who'll emerge with the most Oscar buzz, the Website considers "127 Hours" a key film along with "The King's Speech" while "Black Swan" and "Never Let Me Go" are also high on the radar.

Clint Eastwood's "Hereafter" is a likely contender, says TW adding that other films with a chance to make a splash include Ben Affleck's "The Town"; George Hickenlooper's "Casino Jack" and Sylvain Chomet's "The Illusionist."

As for the biggest deal, the most high-profile film going to Toronto without US distribution is probably Redford's "The Conspirator."

For TW, others include "Everything Must Go," Larysa Kondrack's "The Whistleblower," "What's Wrong with Virginia" and "Rabbit Hole."

A dark horse candidate, says TW, could be Justin Lerner's "Girlfriend," a drama about a young man with Down's Syndrome who comes into money and decides to romance a girl he's liked since high school.

Other Picks

The Playlist, here, has compiled its list of the 17 most anticipated films at the festival.

Cinematical has compiled a list of (mostly foreign) films the site bets won’t find US distribution but which remain must-sees anyway.

Downtime

Finally, given its new home at the Bell Lightbox, TIFF will be a whole new ballgame for even seasoned festival goers. IndieWire here provides its guide to eating, drinking and shopping for the bleary-eyed.

TIFF: What's on the menu (THR, TW, LAT, GAM, PL, CIN, IW)

By Nancy Tartaglione

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