Don’t forget to pack your wallet.
Hollywood hits the Toronto International Film Festival this week in hopes of landing the next lively burst. After two years of virtual or reduced-capacity gatherings as a COVID-era concession, the film business is back in force, and that means deals, deals and more deals.
Here’s a look at some of the hottest movies on sale – the kind of splashy projects that could lead to the next big sale.
Aristotle & Dante discover the mysteries of the universe
Director: Aitch Alberto
Pour: Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, Eugenio Derbez, Eva Longoria, Veronica Falcon, Kevin Alejandro
Sales agent: UTA
Buzz factor: This touching tale of two teenagers in 1987 El Paso, whose friendship is both deepening and surprisingly challenged, has audiences reaching for their tissues. It also marks the feature film debut of Alberto, an exciting new filmmaking talent who deftly adapts the award-winning 2012 novel by Benjamin Alire Sáenz and provides two impressive performances from the up-and-coming Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales in the title roles. Also, none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda signed on as producer, an important endorsement. If the reviews match early buzz, Alberto should exit TIFF with many compelling offers.
Volksjoker
Director: Vera Drew
Pour: Vera Drew, Lynn Downey, Kane Distler, Nathan Faustyn, David Liebe Hart
Sales agent: UTA
Buzz factor: Anyone with even a vague clue about Hollywood knows that superhero movies are all the rage. So it’s a bold nod to People’s Joker as “not the comic book movie we deserve — it’s the one we desperately need.” Yet the coming-of-age queer film about a transgender clown named Joker pretty much covers everything that’s often ignored in today’s comic book adventures. Always funny, often bizarre, the satirical “folk joker” seeks to connect with audiences (even those to whom spandex-wearing vigilantes are indifferent).
refuge
Director: Zachary Wigon
Pour: Christopher Abbott, Margaret Qualley
Sales agent: UTA
Buzz factor: The pitch sells itself: an heir (Abbott) and the dominatrix who set him up for success (Qualley) clash in a hotel room as he tries to cut ties. But she knows she deserves more than the door for her efforts, and she’s not ready to go quietly. Cue the blackmail. Think “succession” but make it sexy.
Dalíland
Director: MaryHarron
Pour: Sir Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Ezra Miller
Sales agent: CAA
Buzz factor: Kingsley brings the panache needed to portray the late, great surrealist artist in “Daliland,” about the mustachioed, feisty painter and his odd relationship with his wife, Gala. Told through the eyes of a young assistant trying to make her mark in the art world, American Psycho director Mary Harron paints a unique portrait of the glamor that surrounds Dali. Sometimes appearances can be deceiving.
other people’s children
Director: Rebecca Zlotowski
Pour: Virginie Efira, Roschdy Zem
Sales agent: Wild Bunch International
Buzz factor: The romantic drama about a teacher whose new relationship with a single father becomes complicated when she begins to bond with his 4-year-old daughter will have viewers reaching for a tissue. As Rachel, a 40-year-old who is about to become a mother, Efira gives a compelling portrayal of the complex feelings that grow for her boyfriend’s child – and the boundaries that can never be crossed.
Baby Ruby
Director: Happy health
Pour: Noemie Merlant, Kit Harington, Meredith Hagner, Jayne Atkinson
Sales agent: FilmNation entertainment
Buzz factor: In a very different take on the new motherhood, playwright Bess Wohl’s unsettling “Baby Ruby” explores the uncomfortable truths about parenting. The film, directed by ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ actress Noémie Merlant and ‘Game of Thrones’ star Kit Harington, begins as they bring their newborn baby home from the hospital. But the psychological thriller quickly devolves into a feverish dream that will be all too familiar to anyone who’s ever had dark thoughts about loved ones.
The prisoner’s daughter
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Pour: Kate Beckinsale, Brian Cox
Sales agent: UTA
Buzz factor: As TV viewers desperately love Logan Roy, Brian Cox takes a different turn in this emotional thriller about a reformed con man trying to reconnect with the family he never knew. However, his history of violence has lasting consequences. The combination of Kate Beckinsale and the beloved Cox should attract buyers, especially with veteran director Catherine Hardwicke at the helm.
The Blackening
Director: Tim story
Pour: Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Melvin Gregg, X Mayo, Yvonne Orji, Dewayne Perkins, Jay Pharoah, Antoinette Robertson, Sinqua Walls
Sales agent: MRC movie
Buzz factor: “Ride Along” franchise leader Tim Story offers an elevated version of the horror comedy from writer-producer Tracy Oliver (“Girls Trip”). While they’re not afraid to discuss black and intersectional identities in the context of a cabin-in-the-woods slasher, buyers’ greatest appeal is how much the film refuses to take itself seriously. The strong ensemble and the laugh-a-minute script don’t hurt either.
Sick
Director: John Hyams
Pour: Gideon Adlon, Dylan Sprayberry, Beth Million, Jane Adams
Sales agent: Miramax
Buzz factor: Horror films tend to sell easily, especially at prestigious festivals over the past decade. A claustrophobic slasher with a pandemic twist, this particular film should be extra hot thanks to its writer, Kevin Williamson (father of the evergreen cash cow “Scream” franchise).
Holy Omer
Director: Alice Diop
Pour: Kayije Kagame, Guslagie Malanda, Valérie Dréville, and Aurélia Petit
Sales agent: Wild Bunch International
Buzz factor: One of the best-reviewed films at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Diop’s project continues to rock audiences with its poignancy. A courtroom drama about infanticide and the uneasiness of a new mother watching the trial, the documentary filmmaker’s narrative debut is sure to make waves in Toronto.
the grave
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Sales agent: WME
Buzz factor: No stranger to headline-grabbing movies, Cowperthwaite pulled back the curtain on SeaWorld’s animal cruelty with Blackfish. Now she delves back into the world of whistleblowers and truth seekers with The Grab, following journalist Nathan Halverson and his team at the Center for Investigative Reporting as they investigate the ways governments try to control food and water outside of theirs Boundaries to prepare for bottlenecks. The search was sparked after a Chinese company bought Smithfield Foods, the world’s largest pork producer, giving China control of one in four American pigs. At a time of increasing geopolitical tensions, The Grab seems tailor-made to understand the escalating struggle for scarce resources.
wildflower
Director: Matt Smukler
Pour: Kiernan Shipka, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer, Alexandra Daddario, Jean Smart
Sales agent: CAA, Sierra/Infinity (eOne) and WME
Buzz factor: The coming-of-age film seems to pull even the hardest of hearts by the strings. It follows Shipka, a standout character from her role in “Mad Men,” as a young woman who must balance her responsibilities to her mentally challenged parents with her desire to lead an independent life and attend college. Supposed to be funny and compassionate, the film sounds a bit like “CODA,” which sparked a bidding war at Sundance that eventually led to it winning an Oscar for best picture.
joy land
Director: Saim Sadiq
Pour: Ali Junejo, Rasti Farooq, Alina Khan, Sarwat Gilani, Salmaan Peerzada, Sohail Sameer, Sania Saeed
Sales agent: WME
Buzz factor: Pakistani writer-director Sadiq’s debut film, A Look at Transgender Desire, caused a sensation at Cannes, where it won the Un Certain Regard and Queer Palm Jury Awards. The film’s contemporary love and identity story should appeal to indie studios looking for an art house hit.
Maya and the Wave
Director: Stephanie John
Sales agent: 30 west
Buzz factor: This documentary about Brazilian surfer Maya Gabeira packs a punch. An inspiring story about a world champion who dreams of competing at the highest level, and a look at the sexism and chauvinism she has had to overcome in a male-dominated sport. Intended to be visually stunning, the film follows Gabeira as she searches for a world record in the Portuguese city of Nazaré. Her persistence in the face of death-defying odds sounds like it could be another non-fiction hit in the style of Free Solo.
sympathy for the devil
Director: Yuval Adler
Pour: Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman
Sales agent: Capstone Global
Buzz factor: Cage is enjoying a career boost thanks to his critically acclaimed roles in Pig and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. And “Sympathy for the Devil,” which finds Cage as the mysterious passenger of Kinnaman’s driver, sounds like big ol’ mush. It’s the kind of banquet Cage has served up with scenic munching relish over the years.
sleeping dogs
Director: Adam Cooper
Pour: Russell Crowe
Sales agent: Highland film group
Buzz factor: Talk about a twisted premise. Crowe plays an Alzheimer’s disease detective who must figure out if he locked up the wrong man when a death row inmate he arrested 10 years ago begins to protest his innocence. It sounds like a meaty role for the Oscar-winning actor, and the kind of sizzling mystery that should make buyers seek a slice of the action.
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