TIFF 2023 Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

Good news, cinephiles: one of 2023’s buzziest movies now has an official theatrical release date. Radu Jude‘s “Do Not Expect Too Much From The End Of The World” hits theaters next month.

Growing up is hard, but growing up with MRKH syndrome (a rare reproductive condition that causes an underdeveloped uterus) is bloody hell. That’s the premise of upcoming coming-of-age movie “Fitting In” tackles, where Maddie Ziegler‘s teen Lindy discovers she has the condition, and it makes everything — be it her body, her sexual identity, her relationship with her mom — that much more complicated.

Based on word of mouth out of TIFF, A24 may have yet another hit on their hands with Kristoffer Borgli‘s “Dream Scenario“? Don’t believe the hype? Well, leading man Nicolas Cage has a new behind-the-scenes promo for the upcoming satire, explaining why critics are so excited about this one. READ MORE: ‘Dream Scenario’ With Nicolas Cage Tops 2023 TIFF Platform Slate And, yes, it has a lot to do with Cage himself.

The world premiere of “The Boy And The Heron” at TIFF last month marked the first film from Hayao Miyazaki in a decade. And as it’s made its tour on the Fall festival circuit, it’s clear Miyazaki has another winner on his hands.

How’s this for a big pick-up in an otherwise quiet sale season on the Fall film festival circuit? Variety reports that Netflix bought the rights to Richard Linklater‘s latest film “Hit Man” after it screened at the Venice Film Festival and TIFF to rave reviews. It’s Netflix’s second significant purchase out of TIFF, the other being Anna Kendrick‘s directorial debut “Woman Of The Hours.” READ MORE: ‘Hit Man’ New Look: Richard Linklater Says His New Genre-Bending Movie Is “All About Identity” Based on a true story (but taking liberties with the source material) “Hit Man” stars Glen Powell as Gary Johnson, a part-time teacher who moonlights as a fake hitman for the local Texas police department.

Director Tarsem Singh Dhandwar ominously warned audiences at the world premiere of his Punjabi-language debut that it was a much more serious affair than they might be expecting. After all, the Romeo and Juliet framing in the festival notes and the film’s title pointed towards a young-love romantic melodrama.

TORONTO – “American Fiction,” the directorial debut from Cord Jefferson, is genuinely a very, very funny movie. And that’s hyperbole on our part.

You could cinematically memorialize the life and works of Southern writer Flannery O’Connor in two ways, either by making a biographical drama or by adapting her work to the screen. Actor Ethan Hawke, however, directing a dramatic feature film for the fourth time, says, “Why not both?” and gives us a mélange of the two.

Trends change and ebb and flow, but in years past, winning the Toronto International Film Festival audience award used to be a surefire way to mean you were getting an Oscar nomination for Best Picture and, and many instances, winning the big Academy Award prize. And while the winning element of that trend has somewhat waned in recent years, the power of the prize is still there.

“Wicked Little Letters” narrates the bizarre tale of several foul-mouthed anonymous letters that began terrorizing the small British town of Littlehampton in the 1920s. Against all odds, what might seem like a contrived, ridiculous story is almost entirely true.

Movies containing portrayals of autism haven’t always treated the subject with sensitivity and conviction. Some breakout successes like “Rain Man” have conflated it with the savant syndrome, which isn’t representative of the full spectrum of people with autism.

Everyone wants to be David Fincher when you’re making a capital S serious, severe procedural, and grim murder mystery like Netflix’s uneven but still fascinating “Reptile.” And to be sure, gray and sinister —like all good serial killer or intricate murder thrillers are these days— director Grant Singer might reference a Fincher shot here and there or try inventively add a little Steven Soderbergh paranoia ala “KIMI.

Unassuming Japanese master Ryusuke Hamaguchi was jolted into the dehumanizing glare of the Oscar machine after “Drive My Car” became an unexpected cause célèbre a few years ago. That generational masterpiece saw him ascend to the pinnacle of instant and unanimous global adoration and forged a salivating fanbase eagerly anticipating his subsequent work.

For most Americans, the name Nasubi doesn’t mean anything. However, his impact on the world of television is immeasurable.

It’s odd to think that there once existed a time when the mere idea of women participating in a World Cup match was, to say the least, seen by some as farfetched; indeed, as the 1960s faded into a new decade, women who wanted to play professional football weren’t just frowned upon, it was not allowed. One would think that a somewhat secretive World Cup featuring team rosters that were 100% female taking place at this time would make enough of a sound that history would look back upon such an event with the sort of reverence generally reserved for the most outstanding achievements in the world of sports.

TORONTO – There always seems to be this assumption in Hollywood that when the end of the world comes it will be quick. A nuclear holocaust will destroy the environment in hours or a massive space object will send civilization back into the dark ages in an instant.

READ MORE: Toronto International Film Festival 2023: 26 Must-See Films To Watch At TIFF A transformation suddenly bubbles to the surface right around the crucial first-act closing mark of the period drama, “Widow Clicquot.” And it’s not a second too late. About the widow who nearly single-handedly transformed Veuve Clicquot into the world-renowned champagne brand it is today, just as the film threatens to suffocate the viewer with the dreary, stately, oh-so-proper and drab sheen of tragedy and frumpy dourness that overwhelms so many dowdy period dramas of this ilk, it froths to life, its cup running over.

The #MeToo movement only started six years ago, but over that time, we’ve seen its massive impact on Hollywood. Mostly, this has been for the better, as predators are being named and (sometimes) held accountable for their actions.

As majestic in appearance as a “National Geographic” special or any episode of “NOVA,” the opening shots of the semi-documentary “Songs of Earth” are quick to immediately showcase beautiful cinematography that’s as much a character as any of the several humans who materialize from time to time, both elements of the film that do their best to drive things forward and attempt to keep the onscreen action from slipping into a black hole of dull.

It is an overused cliche to describe visually stunning films as “every frame of this movie could be a painting hanging on the wall.” It is now an actual fact for at least two films. “Loving Vincent” was the first animated feature-length film composed exclusively of hand-painted oil paintings as its individual frames.

A family of Syrian refugees and an English teacher from Afghanistan receive about five minutes of joy in veteran Polish auteur Agnieszka Holland’s otherwise grim and harrowing refugee drama, “Green Border.” As they land in a plane to Belarus, hoping to cross into Poland and eventually Sweden for asylum where refugee status awaits, their eyes beam with optimism as a new land of promise reflects on their smiling faces.

Michael Keaton has been acting in movies long enough to know that if you’re making one, as he does for the second time with the proficient neo-noir “Knox Goes Away,” your opening shot needs to say something. His says it all: a tight close-up inventories the personal affects of an unseen figure taking them one by one, heading out the door, then doubling back to grab the watch, filling the audio track with its relentless ticking.

TORONTO – Considering the explicit gravity of her previous films, “The Burial” is an unexpected detour for filmmaker Maggie Betts. Likely considered a dramatic comedy by most, the MGM release centers on a 1995 lawsuit where a Mississippi small businessman, Jeremiah Joseph O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones), took the Loewen Group, a Canadian funerals services company, to court.

Everybody loves a winner turned loser, especially these days, Taika Waititi. As of late, in his non-“Thor” directorial output, the once-beloved filmmaker has gravitated toward zeroes meekly shuffling around the margins of power.

Over the weekend, iconic director Spike Lee was at the Toronto International Film Festival to accept the Ebert Director Award, which is given out at TIFF’s Tribute Awards. And as you might expect from someone like Lee, who is not prone to biting his tongue, the opportunity to accept an award named after Roger Ebert allowed for the filmmaker to recall a pivotal moment in his career that was greatly affected by the legendary film critic.

TORONTO – About 20 minutes into “The Critic” it may occur to anyone paying attention that screenwriter and noted playwright and screenwriter Patrick Farber might not be a fan of the profession that is at the center of his new film. Then again, maybe we’re just taking it a bit personally.

Chances are potentially relatively high that all of us, at some point or another, have abandoned a project or two that could revolve around almost any task, from upgrades to one’s home to that yet-unfinished memoir to a rusty car in dire need of some TLC, still occupying space in an out of the way carport ready for that day when motivation strikes and the time comes to get back to work.

The high-concept elevator pitch description for Christy Hall’s “Daddio” would probably be something along the lines of “‘Locke’ as a two-hander,” or maybe “‘Collateral’ without the killing,” though it’s better than either of those loglines might lead you to believe. The premise is a simple one: Dakota Johnson (never named on-camera) plays a young woman coming home to New York who takes a cab from JFK to her home in Hell’s Kitchen.

Note: This review is based on episode five of a six-episode miniseries, which Apple, A24, and TIFF decided to show to audiences publicly. It’s not a particularly encouraging sign when a movie begins with the insipid, high-glucose feel-goodery of “Roar” by Katy Perry, but the song selection is indicative of mercifully little for “Central,” Lulu Wang’s otherwise downbeat constellation of loneliness among strangers in the strange land of Hong Kong.

In a time when ponderous, navel-gazing attempts at profundity have invaded even the superhero movies of the day, “Boy Kills World” stands apart as an actioner liberatingly unburdened with meaning or cheap sentiment. Instead, it delivers exactly what it says on the tin, a gleeful orgy of violence and blood-letting – wrapped in a stylish and imaginative package.

It’s hard to make much sense of what’s unfolding as the first few minutes of Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s “The Monk and the Gun” pass by. However, what is clear is that this immediately comes out of the gate with a slice-of-life feeling in stark contrast to what one might expect from a film with this particular brand of odd title.

High school is challenging, competitive, and traumatic enough as it is. But in “Backspot,” the new feature-length directorial effort and cheerleading drama from filmmaker D.W.

TORONTO – The accomplishments of Nicholas Winton were lost to history for almost forty years. The last time the Brit had spoken about his work rescuing Jewish refugees in Czechoslovakia was when he ran for local council in 1954.

TORONTO – About three years ago, an underdog YouTube and Reddit personality recruited an army of retail investors that sent investment powerbrokers scrambling and changed how Wall Street viewed social media. It’s an inherently funny story because it seemed preposterous at the time (at least to the financial community), but it also occurred during a pivotal moment in global history.

New Zealand-born director Lee Tamahori has dabbled in big-budget Hollywood film-making (“Die Another Day,” “XXX: State of the Union”) as well as more intimately-scaled films exploring his Māori heritage (“Once Were Warriors,” “Mahana”).

BAFTA winner Jodie Comer came out of the gate so damn strong with her breakout turn in “Killing Eve,” and she’s shot up to the A-list ever since. Case in point, her new apocalyptic drama, executive produced by Benedict Cumberbatch, who also co-stars, is one of the most anticipated titles of the recently kicked off Toronto International Film Festival.