The festival, which has been a launchpad for numerous
Oscar-winning movies, is moving ahead with plans for its September 7 to 17
event in the face of doubts over whether the big names will come to promote
their work. The Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) is on strike in a battle with
studios over pay and other work conditions, meaning that its members generally
cannot promote films produced by studios and streamers involved in the dispute.
However, SAG-AFTRA negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland told
Hollywood news outlet Deadline that actors could benefit from some kind of
'interim agreement' to head to Toronto in support of independent features.
On the list of world premieres slated for TIFF are several
expected award contenders including 'Dumb Money', starring Rogen and Paul Dano,
about the amateur investors who turned GameStop into a Wall Street phenomenon
in 2021. De Niro stars in actor Tony Goldwyn's 'Ezra', about a man (Bobby
Cannavale) who moves back in with his father (De Niro) after blowing up his
career and marriage.
Other world premieres include Taika Waititi's sports comedy
'Next Goal Wins', French filmmaker Ladj Ly's drama 'Les Indesirables', Atom
Egoyan's 'Seven Veils' starring Amanda Seyfried, and Michael Keaton's 'Knox
Goes Away', starring Pacino. Also on tap is the international premiere of
awards hopeful 'The Holdovers' from director Alexander Payne (Sideways) about a
teacher (Paul Giamatti) tasked with supervising students at a boarding school
who cannot go home for Christmas break.
TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement that the lineup
showcased a "rich tapestry of talent, vision, and storytelling." The
Toronto film fest is a key part of the fall festival lineup, along with Venice
and Telluride, at which movies hoping to build early Oscars momentum typically
hold lavish premieres.
TIFF's annual People's Choice Award has become an
increasingly accurate Oscars bellwether, predicting eventual best picture
winners such as 'Nomadland', which took home the Academy Award in 2021, and
'Green Book'. The event only returned to full strength in 2022, after two years
of online or hybrid events staged amid the coronavirus pandemic.