Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie flew in on a red eye. George Clooney arrived to show off his new flick, The Ides of March, and his new girlfriend, lady wrestler Stacy Keibler. Sarah Palin was roundly booed. But nothing as outrageous as Sacha Baron Cohen’s 2006 appearance, when the actor turned up on the red carpet in character as Borat, inside a cart pulled by four women in Kazakhstanian peasant garb, occurred at the 2011 Toronto Film Festival, preserving intact TIFF’s reputation as one of the world’s most civilized film showcases.
Two hundred and sixty eight feature-length films and 68 shorts will be shown this year. What have been the standouts so far?
Moneyball: While the movie itself may not sound like a must-see unless you’re an Oakland As fan or own every season of the West Wing on DVD, Brad Pitt’s performance in Moneyball as baseball general manager Billy Beane has generated considerable buzz. Some TIFF insiders are lobbying hard for a Best Movie nod. Directed by Bennett “Capote” Miller and scripted by the indomitable Aaron Sorkin, Moneyball – which also stars Capote’s Philip Seymour Hoffman and Get Him To the Greek’s Jonah Hill – goes into wide release on September 23 at many theaters near you. [Read more…]