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Sony Classics Picks Up Toronto Winner 'Where Do We Go Now?'

September, 28, 2011 5:21 pm | On #film festivals, Movies, Nadine Labaki, Sony Pictures Classics, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Where Do We Go Now

The Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award winner, Nadine Labaki's "Where Do We Go Now?," has found a place to go in the United States: Sony Pictures Classics, which on Wednesday announced that it had acquired all U.S. rights to the film about Lebanese women trying to defuse the tensions between Muslims and Christians in their small village.

The film has already been announced as Lebanon's entry into the Oscar Best Foreign-Language Film competition.

Where Do We Go Now? “Nadine Labacki has made a warm, human film that is both perfect for this moment in time and will satisfy audiences across the country," said SPC co-chiefs Michael Barker and Tom Bernard in a press...

Toronto Roundup: Big, Bold and Inconclusive

September, 18, 2011 12:36 pm | On #film festivals, Movies, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival

It's too big.

It didn't provide any answers about the Oscar race.

It was a pretty good year for deals, even though some major players stayed out of it. (Where were Weinstein and Sony Classics, anyway?)

TIFF exterior And it was a festival for body parts: Michael Fassbender's penis (on ample display in "Shame") , Keira Knightley's jaw (perpetually jutting out in "A Dangerous Method"), Jonah Hill's brain (the source of Brad Pitt's success in "Moneyball"), George Clooney's grin (everywhere you looked the first weekend of the festival).

The 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, which began on September 8 and essentially ended on Sunday with the...

'Where Do We Go Now?' Wins Toronto Audience Award

September, 18, 2011 10:36 am | On #film festivals, Movies, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Where Do We Go Now

Nadine Labaki's "Where Do We Go Now?" has won the Cadillac People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF officials announced at an awards brunch on Sunday.

Where Do We Go Now? The film uses comedy and music to tell the story of a group of women in an isolated community in Lebanon who use a variety of schemes and ploys to distract their men from the outside tensions that threaten to disrupt the town's cordial relatioinships between its Christians and Muslims.

A surprising TIFF winner over such high-profile crowd-pleasers as "The Artist" and "The Descendants," the film was recently selected as Lebanon's official entry into the Academy's...

TIFF, Day 10: The Best, the Worst, the Last

September, 18, 2011 12:06 am | On #a separation, Bill Nighy, David Hare, film festivals, Grace Kelly, Michael Fassbender, miss bala, Movies, Page Eight, Shame, Take This Waltz, The Turin Horse, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival

On Day 10, it was time to turn to “Page Eight.”

The last major film to premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, David Hare’s spy thriller deals with a British MI5 officer (Bill Nighy) whose world is shaken when his boss dies and leaves behind an explosive file.

Bill Nighy The closing-night slot at Toronto is generally not filled by a movie that goes on to have much visibility. “Page Eight,” which was made for BBC television by the playwright/director Hare, was criticized in some circles for being talky and mannered, though most reviewers also showed respect to a cast that in addition to Nighy (left) includes Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis...

TIFF, Day 9: A Going-Out-of-Business Sale?

September, 17, 2011 10:14 am | On #film festivals, Jennifer Hudson, Movies, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Tyrannosaur, Winnie

It's (almost) all over but the buying.

There's not much time left, but the consensus out of the Toronto International Film Festival is that the final weekend is apt to see a spate of deals. Buyers are reportedly circling offerings as disparate as Oren Moverman's grim cop drama "Rampart," Christopher Plummer's acting tour de force "Barrymore" and Ron Fricke's wordless and plotless "Samsara" – and deals that aren't announced on Saturday or Sunday may well be coming in the days immediately after the fest's Sunday conclusion.

Winnie On Friday, the TIFF press office issued a press release trumpeting "significant sales" during the festival, with...

From 'Moneyball' to 'Barrymore': Toronto's Big Winners

September, 16, 2011 5:52 pm | On #50/50, Barrymore, Drive, film festivals, god bless america, In Darkness, Martha Marcy May Marlene, miss bala, Moneyball, Movies, Paul Williams Still Alive, Pina, Shame, Take This Waltz, The Island President, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Wuthering Heights

The 2011 Toronto Film Festival screened more than 250 films over 10 days -- here are a few of the ones that got the most attention from one of the year's biggest and most crucial festivals.

View the Slideshow

Toronto Deals: ATO Pictures Takes 'The Oranges'

September, 16, 2011 5:37 pm | On #Atlas Shrugged, Bobcat Goldthwait, Carey Mulligan, deals, Ewan McGregor, films, Gabourey Sidibe, god bless america, Golgo 13, Greetings from Tim Buckley, highlander, Jafar Panahi, Juan Carlos Fresnadillo, Michael Fassbender, Movies, news, Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, Shame, Steve McQueen, Summit, This is Not a Film, TIFF, Toronto Film Festival, Victoria Mahoney, Yelling to the Sky, Zoe Kravitz

Updated 5:37 p.m. Sept. 16

ATO Pictures has acquired North American rights to Julian Farino's debut feature film "The Oranges," the company announced Friday.

The comedy-drama stars Hugh Laurie, Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Allison Janney, Alia Shawkat, Adam Brody and Leighton Meester.

It's about a young man who falls for the daughter of a family friend.

ATO plans to release the movie in 2012.

"We love this film," ATO's co-founders, Johnathan Dorfman and Temple Fennell, said in a written statement. "Julian has done a terrific job directing a dream cast in what we think is going to be...

TIFF, Day 8: Doom, Death and Questionable Taste

September, 15, 2011 11:58 pm | On #A Dangerous Method, Alexis Bledel, Bobcat Goldthwait, film festivals, god bless america, independent film, indies, Judy Greer, Keira Knightley, Michael Shannon, Movies, Saoirse Ronan, Take Shelter, The Descendants, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Violet & Daisy

To quote somebody else (Maxwell Anderson) writing about a different September, the days dwindle down to a precious few. And so do the movies left to debut in Toronto.

At the end of day eight for TIFF 2011, the only films that have yet to screen publicly are the darkly comic British film "Tyrannosaur," the Winne Mandela biopic "Winnie," the closing-night attraction "Page Eight," and a handful of others.

Michael Shannon Thursday, meanwhile, brought the first public TIFF screenings of Jeff Nichols' "Take Shelter," a fascinating...

TIFF, Day 7: Finally, Let's Make a Deal

September, 15, 2011 1:39 am | On #film festivals, Jeff Who Lives at Home, Movies, Peace Love and Misunderstanding, Shame, the lady, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Wuthering Heights

So much for the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival being a slow one for sales.

After almost a week of slugging activity on the acquisition front, a slew of announcements came out on Wednesday.

In the last one of the day, Cohen MediaGroup bought U.S. rights to Luc Besson's "The Lady," with its awards-potential performances from Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis.

Prior to that, IFC added Lynn Shelton's "Your Sister's Sister" and Abel Ferrara...

TIFF, Day 6: Where Did Everybody Go?

September, 14, 2011 12:52 am | On #film festivals, independent film, indies, Movies, Nick Broomfield, Paddy Considine, Sarah Palin You Betcha, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Tyrannosaur, undefeated

What a difference a day makes.

All weekend long, and on Monday as well, lines were enormous for both public screenings and industry screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival.

On Tuesday morning, that changed. While the public still turned out in large numbers for TIFF debuts like Whit Stillman's "Damsels in Distress," Drake Doremus' "Like Crazy," Bruce Beresford's "Peace, Love & Misunderstanding" and Jim Field Smith's "Butter," the crowds thinned out hugely at the Scotiabank multiplex, home to most of the fest's press and industry screenings.

The industry crowd, it seems, it starting to leave town, making things significantly easier for those of us who remain – though in my case, it just meant a trio of comfortably uncrowded morning and afternoon screenings before I did one...