Well ... I'm not normally all that interested in the Gala lineup at the Toronto Film Festival but this year is looking to be an exception. Cronenberg's History of Violence and Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies are both already on the list and today the festival announced five more. They are:
Charlize Theron drama North Country
Annette Bening / Ben Kingsley vehicle Mrs. Harris
Feel good horse film Dreamer
Cameron Crowe's Elizabethtown
Johnny Cash bio-pic Walk the Line
Read on for the full press releases for the entire bath of new Gala films ...
WORLD PREMIERE OF JAMES MANGOLD'S WALK THE LINE A GALA PRESENTATION
Toronto – Director James Mangold's WALK THE LINE receives its world premiere as a Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon, WALK THE LINE explores the early years of music legend Johnny Cash and the woman who would forever change his life, June Carter.
Developed for seven years with the cooperation of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, WALK THE LINE takes a close look at the period in the mid-fifties when rock-and-roll exploded from a tiny studio in Memphis, Tennessee. The film follows Cash's meteoric rise to fame, culminating with his emergence as the "Man in Black" at his historic concert at Folsom Prison in 1968.
Featuring musical performances from Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash, and Reese Witherspoon as June Carter, the film also delivers performances by notable musicians, including country and blues artist Shelby Lynne, in her feature debut as John Cash's mother; rock and blues artist Waylon Payne, who sings in the role of Jerry Lee Lewis; country/rock artist Shooter Jennings who portrays his father, the legendary Waylon Jennings; alternative rock and folk artist Johnathan Rice as Roy Orbison; and singer/songwriter Tyler Hilton, who portrays the young Elvis Presley.
With commanding and unforgettable performances that take an intimate look at an artist who transcended musical boundaries, WALK THE LINE is the true story of an honest sound that became a revolution, a man who became an icon, and above all, a love that saved him from destruction.
Directed by James Mangold, and co-written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, WALK THE LINE is a Tree / Line Film Production, produced by Cathy Konrad and James Keach. WALK THE LINE is distributed in North America by 20th Century Fox.
CAMERON CROWE'S ELIZABETHTOWN A NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE GALA PRESENTATION
Toronto – ELIZABETHTOWN, the latest film by Academy Award©-winning director Cameron Crowe (ALMOST FAMOUS) receives its North American premiere as a Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. Starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst, ELIZABETHTOWN is the heartwarming story of an unexpected romance that develops amidst the backdrop of a Kentucky patriarch's hilariously elaborate memorial. The film also stars Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Judy Greer, Bruce McGill, Jessica Biel, and Paul Schneider.
Drew Baylor (Orlando Bloom), once a rising star at a leading athletic shoe company, has just been fired due to the overwhelming failure of his design for a sneaker and the $972 million loss his company suffered because of the fiasco. As if that wasn't bad enough, things get even worse: Drew receives a phone call informing him that his father has passed away – and now, he must get on a plane for Elizabethtown, Kentucky, to retrieve his father's remains.
On the plane ride, Drew meets Claire (Kirsten Dunst), a flight attendant and unstoppably positive woman who changes the course of his life. It is in Kentucky that he comes to learn the breadth of his father's life and his own family roots. Drew, with the help of Claire, submits to discovering the possibilities for his own destiny. A love letter to the resilience of the life force, ELIZABETHTOWN is a charming music-filled journey that proves amazing things can happen when you least expect them.
Written and directed by Cameron Crowe, ELIZABETHTOWN is produced by Tom Cruise, Paula Wagner, and Cameron Crowe. A Cruise/Wagner-Vinyl Films production, the film is distributed in North America by Paramount Pictures.
WORLD PREMIERE OF JOHN GATINS' DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY A GALA PRESENTATION
Toronto – DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY, the directorial debut of John Gatins, receives its world premiere as a matinee Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. The film stars Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Kris Kristofferson, Elisabeth Shue, David Morse, Freddy Rodriguez, Luis Guzmán, and Oded Fehr. Gatins directed the film from his own screenplay that tells the story of a father who, for the love of his daughter, sacrifices almost everything to save the life of an injured racehorse and restore the filly to her former glory.
Ben Crane (Kurt Russell) was once a champion racehorse breeder, whose gifts as a trainer were now being wasted on making other men's fortunes. His daughter Cale (Dakota Fanning) idolizes her father and begs him to take her to work with him. But on the day he finally does, she watches with horror as a promising young filly named Sonya has a terrible fall and breaks her leg at the racetrack. Considered as good as dead to her owner, who also happens to be Ben's boss, Sonya is given to Ben as severance pay, along with his walking papers.
Now, it will take Cale's unwavering faith and determination to bring these two damaged souls together in a quest for a seemingly impossible goal: to enter and win the Breeders' Cup Classic. However, the true miracle might be that, in helping this injured horse, what they are actually healing is their own family.
Written and directed by John Gatins, DREAMER: INSPIRED BY A TRUE STORY is produced by Michael Tollin and Brian Robbins. A Tollin/Robbins production, the film will be distributed in North America by DreamWorks and internationally by Hyde Park Entertainment Releasing.
WORLD PREMIERE OF PHYLLIS NAGY'S MRS. HARRIS A GALA PRESENTATION
Toronto – MRS. HARRIS, the directorial debut by playwright Phyllis Nagy, receives its world premiere as a Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. A tale of love and obsession, the film explores the sensational story of Jean Harris, who killed her lover, Dr. Herman Tarnower, author of the best-selling The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet. MRS. HARRIS stars Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley, along with Ellen Burstyn, Frances Fisher, Philip Baker Hall, Cloris Leachman, Mary McDonnell, Chloë Sevigny, Bill Smitrovich, and Frank Whaley.
Jean Harris (Annette Bening) was the refined headmistress of a prestigious boarding school and a mother of two. At a cocktail party she meets Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley), a confirmed bachelor, and the two begin a romance. After nearly fifteen years of being unable to break through the distant Tarnower's emotional defenses and put an end to his blatant infidelities, Jean's love for the doctor spirals into something much darker.
Be it premeditated murder, as the prosecution claimed, or an accidental killing of Tarnower while trying to commit suicide, as she swore, Jean Harris became an unlikely candidate to stand trial for murder in a case that became the media sensation of its time.
Written and directed by Phyllis Nagy, MRS. HARRIS is executive produced by Elizabeth Karlsen, Pamela Koffler, Christine Vachon, and John Wells. Inspired by the book Very Much a Lady by Shana Alexander. A Killer Films/Number 9 Films/John Wells Production, the film is a presentation of HBO Films.
WORLD PREMIERE OF NIKI CARO'S NORTH COUNTRY A GALA PRESENTATION
Toronto – Niki Caro's NORTH COUNTRY receives its world premiere as a Gala Presentation at the 30th Toronto International Film Festival. NORTH COUNTRY stars Academy Award©-winner Charlize Theron in an inspiring story of a single mother who rallies her female coworkers to rise above the unfair treatment they face at a local mining company. At once inspiring and heartwrenching, NORTH COUNTRY also delivers commanding performances from fellow cast members and Academy Award©-winners Frances McDormand and Sissy Spacek, along with Sean Bean, Richard Jenkins, Jeremy Renner, Michelle Monaghan, and Woody Harrelson.
In the wake of a failed marriage, Josey Aimes (Charlize Theron) returns to her hometown in Northern Minnesota hoping to build a better life for herself and her two children. Encouraged by her friend Glory (Frances McDormand), one of the few female miners in town, Josey takes a job at the mine.
She's prepared for the back-breaking and often dangerous work, but coping with the harassment she and the other female miners encounter from their male coworkers proves far more challenging.
Josey's attempts to carve out a better future for her family put her at odds with her children, her disapproving parents (Sissy Spacek and Richard Jenkins), and her community. Through this struggle she finds the courage to stand up for what she believes in – even if that means standing alone. Ultimately, her journey takes her farther than she could have ever imagined and inspires countless others to follow.
NORTH COUNTRY is directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Michael Seitzman. Produced by Nick Wechsler, the film is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.