August 9, 2005

Festival Adds Star-Studded Films to Line-Up

Toronto – Twelve star-studded films by major and up-and-coming directors have been added to the line-up for the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. The additions include six world premieres and six North American premieres. Several films feature actors playing actors/celebrities; two films are directed by established actors. The following titles showcase an enormous amount of talent from around the world.

BEE SEASON Scott McGehee & David Siegel, USA, Special Presentations World Premiere

Based on Myla Goldberg's best-selling novel, the film follows a young girl (Flora Cross) whose unexpected success at spelling competitions disrupts the equilibrium of her family, including her father (Richard Gere), mother (Juliette Binoche), and older brother (Max Minghella).

BREAKFAST ON PLUTO Neil Jordan, Ireland/UK, Masters World Premiere

Set in the 1970s, the film follows the exploits of Patrick Braden (Cillian Murphy in a tour-de-force performance). Abandoned as a baby in his small Irish hometown and aware from a very early age that he is different, Patrick survives this harsh environment with the aid of his wit and charm, plus a sweet refusal to let anyone or anything change who he is. Also starring Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea.

THE NOTORIOUS BETTIE PAGE Mary Harron, USA, Special Presentations World Premiere

The film offers a provocative exploration of the real character and many facets of a successful pin-up girl (played by Gretchen Mol) whose deep religious beliefs and cheerful naiveté contrasted sharply with her iconic image. The film also stars Lili Taylor and David Strathairn.

OPA! Udayan Prasad, UK, Contemporary World Cinema World Premiere

The film tells the story of an American archeologist (Matthew Modine) who arrives on the Greek island of Patmos in search of a lost Biblical artifact that his late father had searched for in vain. He falls in love with a woman (Agni Scott) who owns the village taverna, under which the artifact may be buried.

TRISTRAM SHANDY: A COCK AND BULL STORY Michael Winterbottom, UK, Special Presentation World Premiere

The film is the clever, comic, post-modern take on the construction of a film, from an intricate, hilariously complex autobiographical novel, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by Laurence Sterne. The film stars Steve Coogan, Jeremy Northam, Stephen Fry, and Gillian Anderson.

THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN Roger Donaldson, New Zealand, Special Pres. World Premiere

Anthony Hopkins stars in this true story of New Zealander Burt Munro. After a lifetime of perfecting his classic Indian motorcycle, Burt set off from the bottom of the world to test his bike at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the 1960s. With all the odds against him, he set a new speed record and captured the spirit of his times. Diane Ladd and Paul Rodriguez round out the cast.

BUBBLE Steven Soderbergh, USA, Masters North American Premiere

In this romantic tragedy, a bizarre love triangle is born at a doll factory in a small town fallen on hard times. Featuring a cast of non-professional actors from the Ohio location, Soderbergh brings this tragic story to life with startling realism.

TIM BURTON'S CORPSE BRIDE Mike Johnson & Tim Burton, UK, Special Presentations North American Premiere

Set in a 19th century European village, this stop-motion, animated feature follows the story of Victor (voiced by Johnny Depp), a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride (voiced by Helena Bonham-Carter) while his real bride, Victoria (voiced by Emily Watson), waits bereft in the Land of the Living. Other voices include Albert Finney and Richard E. Grant.

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED Liev Schreiber, USA, Special Pres. North American Premiere

Based on the critically-acclaimed novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, the film tells the story of a young man's (Elijah Wood) quest to find the woman who saved his grandfather in a small Ukrainian town that was wiped off the map by the Nazi invasion. A journey to piece together one family's history under the most absurd circumstances becomes a surprisingly meaningful journey with a powerful series of revelations.

KISS KISS, BANG BANG Shane Black, USA, Special Presentations North American Premiere

Robert Downey Jr. stars as a petty thief who inadvertently stumbles into an audition for a Hollywood detective movie and is flown to Los Angeles for a screen test. When he is teamed with a tough-guy private eye (Val Kilmer) in preparation for this screen test, he decides to try out his acting skills by passing himself off as a real detective.

MARY Abel Ferrara, Italy/USA, Visions North American Premiere

An independent director (Matthew Modine) casts himself as Jesus Christ in his film. The actress (Juliette Binoche) playing Mary Magdalene travels alone to Jerusalem after the shoot to continue her spiritual journey inspired by her role. A year later in Manhattan, a superstar network journalist (Forest Whitaker) investigates the life and times of Jesus Christ. While his show receives high ratings, he and his wife (Heather Graham) face a crisis for which they are spiritually unprepared.

ROMANCE & CIGARETTES John Turturro, USA, Special Presentations North American Premiere

This down-and-dirty musical love story stars James Gandolfini as Nick, a New York ironworker who is married to Kitty (Susan Sarandon), a strong but gentle woman with whom he has three grown daughters. He is secretly carrying on a torrid affair with the flame-haired Tula (Kate Winslet). When his wife catches him and Tula wants a commitment, Nick finds himself a prisoner of his primal urges. Mandy Moore, Mary-Louise Parker, and Christopher Walken round out the cast.

Special Presentations are made possible through the generous support of Cineplex Galaxy.

Contemporary World Cinema is generously supported by Sun Life Financial