I can help you with that. Here is the rewritten content: US buyers have not been in an adventurous mood as the last few markets will attest. Howe
I can help you with that. Here is the rewritten content:
US buyers have not been in an adventurous mood as the last few markets will attest. However, hope springs eternal and acquisitions teams will be on the hunt at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) to bulk up pipelines following the Hollywood strikes of 2023.
How theatrical buyers fare against streamers remains to be seen. Financiers and sales agents, many of whom are avowed fans of the theatrical experience, must recoup.
The lure of a worldwide deal with a platform can be hard to resist, and while the North American summer box office rallied well and there are lucrative opportunities for the right theatrical releases, that landscape remains challenged.
Joe Plummer, president of New York-based Wavelengths Productions, a co-financier on Special Presentations selection and sales title “On Swift Horses” starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi, says he is “cautiously optimistic” heading into TIFF.
“[On Swift Horses] deserves to be seen on the largest screen and looks beautiful wherever it’s seen,” he says, adding: “I want it to reach the widest possible audience.”
TIFF intends to ramp up its on-site business activity and will launch an official market in 2026. Until then, watch the number of private screenings creep up this year and next. They used to be banned but TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey tells Screen they are soon likely to be categorised as market screenings.
Republic Pictures handles worldwide sales on two TIFF selections – Edward Burns’s Special Presentations choice “Millers In Marriage” and K’naan Warsame’s Somali film “Mother Mother” in Discovery.
Dan Cohen, Paramount Global chief content licensing officer and president of Republic Pictures, notes: “It feels very much business as usual… There’s interest and need for movies. I feel good about things.”
GALA PRESENTATIONS
* “The Deb” (Australia) – Dir. Rebel Wilson – Wilson makes her directing debut with an adaptation of stage musical “The Deb”, about two teenage girls attending a debutante ball in a small country town. Wilson has been involved in a public fallout with three of the film’s producers.
+ Screenings: P&I Sept. 9, 10am, TIFF Lightbox; WP Sept. 14, 6.30pm, Princess of Wales Theatre, 8pm, Roy Thomson Hall
+ Sales: WME Independent
* “Eden” (US) – Dir. Ron Howard – Sydney Sweeney, Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Ana de Armas, and Daniel Brühl star in the thriller about a group who abandon civilization to start anew in the Galapagos islands, when everything goes horribly wrong. Prime Video acquired multiple territories, so all eyes turn to a potential US sale.
+ Screenings: WP Sept. 7, 5.45pm, Roy Thomson Hall; P&I Sept. 8, 8.45am, TIFF Lightbox
+ Sales: AGC Studios
* “The Friend” (US) – Dirs. Scott McGehee, David Siegel – Fresh from its Telluride world premiere, the adaptation of Sigrid Nunez’s 2018 novel stars Naomi Watts as a Manhattan-based novelist who inherits a Great Dane following the death of her best friend, played by Bill Murray. Bing the Great Dane earned rave reviews in the Rockies.
+ Screenings: P&I Sept. 8, 12.30pm, Scotiabank; IP Sept. 10, 9.30pm, Roy Thomson Hall
+ Sales: CAA Media Finance
* “Nutcrackers” (US) – Dir. David Gordon Green – Ben Stiller is back in a lead role as a workaholic tasked with looking after his livewire orphaned nephews.
+ Screenings: WP Sept. 5, 6pm, Princess of Wales Theatre, 8pm, Roy Thomson Hall; P&I Sept. 6, 11.30am, Scotiabank
+ Sales: UTA Independent Film Group
* “On Swift Horses” (US) – Dir. Daniel Minahan – Oscar-winning “Nomadland” producers Peter Spears and Mollye Asher team with Ley Line and Wavelength on the adaptation of Shannon Pufahl’s 2019 novel about a married woman whose life is upended by her wayward brother-in-law, setting her off on a path of self-discovery. Daisy Edgar-Jones, hot off summer hit “Twisters”, stars with Jacob Elordi and Will Poulter in the 1950s American West-set drama.
+ Screenings: WP Sept. 7, 6.15pm, Princess of Wales; P&I Sept. 8, 9.30am, TIFF Lightbox
+ Sales: UTA Independent Film Group, Black Bear
* “Paul Anka: His Way” (US) – Dir. John Maggio – Documentarian Maggio trains his lens on Canada-born Anka, the singer/songwriter of Syrian-Lebanese parents who rose to fame at the tender age of 15 with number-one hit “Diana” and went on to enjoy a successful career.
+ Screenings: P&I Sept. 7, 5pm, Scotiabank; WP Sept. 10, 2pm, Royal Alexandra Theatre
+ Contact: UTA Independent Film Group
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
* “Friendship” (US) – Dir. Andrew DeYoung – Tim Robinson, Paul Rudd, Kate Mara, and Jack Dylan Grazer star in this cringe comedy outing about a suburban dad who tries too hard to befriend his charming new neighbor.
+ Screenings: WP Sept. 8, 11.59pm, Royal Alexandra Theatre; P&I Sept. 9, 8.45am, Scotiabank
+ Sales: WME Independent, Stampede Ventures
* “The Luckiest Man In America” (US) – Dir. Samir Oliveros – Inspired by the “Press Your Luck” scandal of 1984, Paul Walter Hauser stars as an ice-cream van driver who exploits a flaw in a TV game show to win a big cash prize, arousing the suspicions of network execs. Haley Bennett, Walton Goggins, and Maisie Williams also star, and Pablo Larraín, whose “Maria” just premiered in Venice, is among the exec producers.
+ Screenings: WP Sept. 5, 9pm, TIFF Lightbox; P&I Sept. 6, 9.05am, Scotiabank
+ Contact: CAA Media Finance (North America), Protagonist Pictures (international)
INDUSTRY SELECTS
* “London Calling” – Dir. Allan Ungar – Josh Duhamel plays a hitman who has fled the UK after a botched job and finds himself babysitting the son of his new crime boss and showing the youngster how to become a man. Jeremy Ray Taylor and Aiden Gillen also star.
+ Screening: Sept. 7, 3pm, TIFF Lightbox
+ Sales: Verve Ventures (US), Highland Film Group (international)
* “Rich Flu” (Sp) – Dir. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia – The director behind 2019 TIFF hit “The Platform” returns with a parable about an illness that kills wealthy people, eventually causing global catastrophe.
+ Screening: Sept. 6, 9.10am, Scotiabank
+ Sales: CAA Media Finance, XYZ Films
Conclusion:
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) is set to kick off on September 5th, with a lineup of highly anticipated films and a slew of industry events. With the Hollywood strikes of 2023 still fresh in everyone’s minds, it will be interesting to see how theatrical buyers fare against streamers.
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