This year's TIFF People's Choice winner is "The Imitation Game" about the brilliant mathematician and persecuted homosexual Alan Turing, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
I think it's safe to say that this movie to isn't going to miss out on any Oscar noms. Cumberbatch is having quite a career trajectory. Maybe it's because most of my friends are theater people, but I think everyone I know knows who he is, and besides being a very good actor... he reminds me of a young Jeremy Irons, but with a much greater sense of humor... he's a major heartthrob. (My wife can't wait to see this... or rather, him.) Name recognition helps. I mean, seriously, who can forget that name? A nomination for him, at the very least, feels like a given.
The movie itself looks very King's Speech-y, including the Weinstein's involvement. The reviews for the film itself don't look as enthusiastic so I don't see a Best Picture win, but (especially with the safety cushion of an expanded field) a nom makes sense. And probably several other tag-along nominations to go with it, maybe including Kiera Knightly. But make no mistake. Whatever further success is in store for The Imitation Game is going to be mostly because of the strength of Cumberbatch. Sure, with a little help from the Weinstein's and the Downton Abbey milieu, but this will otherwise known as "the Cumberbatch film".
That's my prediction anyway....
Toronto line-up
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Re: Toronto line-up
"What the hell?"
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Re: Toronto line-up
The one that stands out here could be The Theory of Everything, an unusual biopic from documentary Oscar winner James Marsh that will have to be exceptional not to get lost in the crowd. Eddie Redmayne as Stephen Hawking and Felicity Jones as his wife have the kind of roles that tend to get Oscar nominations if not outright wins in this century.
Re: Toronto line-up
In that case, though, they would need Sasha Stone behind them; she's the one who made that film happen in the first place.Mister Tee wrote:What Toronto might do this year is what it has done in the not-so-distant past: highlight a film like Slumdog Millionaire, which wouldn't jump out on an initial list but ends up ruling the roost.
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Toronto line-up
Some titles might be added, but this is probably the main competition.
Lots of murmuring that Toronto is losing its "kickoff the Oscar season" reputation, because this slate doesn't feel terribly heavyweight.
I'd say give that analysis another year. As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, this is a season without a ton of upfront blue-chips, and NY grabbed up three of them (Gone Girl, Inherent Vice, and Birdman) just the other day, so there weren't many titles that could have qualified (short of Interstellar or Into the Woods, which likely don't want early unveiling). What Toronto might do this year is what it has done in the not-so-distant past: highlight a film like Slumdog Millionaire, which wouldn't jump out on an initial list but ends up ruling the roost.
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/tiff- ... 201266480/
Lots of murmuring that Toronto is losing its "kickoff the Oscar season" reputation, because this slate doesn't feel terribly heavyweight.
I'd say give that analysis another year. As I mentioned in a post a few days ago, this is a season without a ton of upfront blue-chips, and NY grabbed up three of them (Gone Girl, Inherent Vice, and Birdman) just the other day, so there weren't many titles that could have qualified (short of Interstellar or Into the Woods, which likely don't want early unveiling). What Toronto might do this year is what it has done in the not-so-distant past: highlight a film like Slumdog Millionaire, which wouldn't jump out on an initial list but ends up ruling the roost.
http://variety.com/2014/film/news/tiff- ... 201266480/