'The Imitation Game' Wins TIFF's People's Choice Award

The 2014 Toronto Film Festival has come to a close and with it their top prize-- the People's Choice Award.  Toronto is somewhat different than other major film festivals (Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Berlin) in that their top prize is chosen by festival filmgoers rather than a designated jury.  They do hand out a few smaller jury prizes, but the biggie is the People's Choice Award.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
The Imitation Game- directed by Morten Tyldum

1st runner-up: Learning to Drive- directed by Isable Coixet
2nd runner-up: St. Vincent- directed by Theodore Melfi

The Imitation Game from Headhunters director Tyldum stars Benedict Cumberbatch as mathematician Alan Turing, who cracked the German enigma code during WWII.  Branded a hero until his homosexuality was discovered.  Keira Knightley and Mark Strong co-star in the awards hopeful coming to cinemas this November courtesy of The Weinstein Company.  Last year, eventual Best Picture winner 12 Years a Slave won the same prize in Toronto.  Other eventual Best Picture winners that have won the People's Choice in Toronto include Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty and The King's Speech, a comparable title to The Imitation Game, or at least its distributor hopes so.  Curiously, The Imitation Game had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival before playing Toronto, the same year Toronto organizers made a big fuss about Telluride premieres being sidelined to the back end of the Toronto slate.  The win for The Imitation Game sort of renders that decision even sillier, perhaps.

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD (Documentary)
Beats of the Anotonov- directed by Hajooj Kuka
1st runner-up: Do I Sound Gay?- directed by David Thorpe
2nd runner-up: Seymour: An Introduction- directed by Ethan Hawke

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD (Midnight Madness)
What We Do in the Shadows- directed by Taika Waititi & Jemaine Clement
1st runner-up: Tusk- directed by Kevin Smith
2nd runner-up: Big Game- directed by Jalmari Helander

BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM: Felix & Maria- directed by Maxime Giroux
BEST CANADIAN FIRST FEATURE FILM: Bang Bang Baby- directed by Jeffrey St. Jules

FIPRESCI PRIZE (PRIZES OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICS):
Special Presentation Section: Time Out of Mind- directed by Oren Moverman
Discovery Section: May Allah Bless France!- directed by Abd Al Malik

NETPAC AWARD FOR BEST ASIAN FILM: Margarita, With a Straw- directed by Shonali Bose

BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM: A Single Body- directed by Sotiris Dounoukos
BEST CANADIAN SHORT FILM: The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer- directed by Randall Okita

TIFF Stats

The People's Choice Award win for 12 Years a Slave for the 2013 Toronto Film Festival raises its awards profile times ten.  Past winners of the award include The King's Speech and Slumdog Millionaire.  Here's a look back at the history of the award and how it correlates with the big dog:

2013: 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen)
2012: Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell)- nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Picture; won Best Actress (Jennifer Lawrence)
2011: Where Do We Go Now (Nadine Labaki)
2010: The King's Speech (Tom Hooper)- won 4 Academy Awards including Picture.
2009: Precious (Lee Daniels)- nominated for 6 Academy Awards; won 2 including Best Supporting Actress (Mo'Nique)
2008: Slumdog Millionaire (Danny Boyle)- won 8 Academy Awards including Picture
2007: Eastern Promises (David Croenberg)- nominated for Best Actor (Viggo Mortensen)
2006: Bella (Alejandro Monteverde)
2005: Tsotsi (Gavin Hood)- won Best Foreign Language Film Oscar
2004: Hotel Rwanda (Terry George)- nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Actor (Don Cheadle)
2003: The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano)
2002: Whale Rider (Nikki Caro)- nominated for Best Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes)
2001: Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet)- nominated for 5 Academy Awards including Original Screenplay and Foreign-Language Film
2000: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee)- nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture; won 4 Oscars including Foreign-Language Film
1999: American Beauty (Sam Mendes)- won 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture
1998: Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni)- nominated for 7 Academy Awards including Picture; won 3 Oscars including Actor (Benigni) and Foreign Film.
1997: The Hanging Garden (Thom Fitzgerald)
1996: Shine (Scott Hicks)- nominated for 7 Oscars including Picture; won Best Actor (Geoffrey Rush)
1995: Antonia's Line (Marleen Gorris)- won Best Foreign Language Film
1994: Priest (Antonia Bird)
1993: The Snapper (Stephen Frears)
1992: Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrmann)
1991: The Fisher King (Terry Gilliam)- nominated for 5 Oscars; won Supporting Actress (Mercedes Ruehl)

1990: Cyrano de Bergerac (Jean-Paul Rappeneau)- nominated for 5 Oscars including Foreign Film and Best Actor (Gerard Depardieu); won Costume Design
1989: Roger & Me (Michael Moore)
1988: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almódovar)- nominated for Best Foreign Film
1987: The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner)- nominated for Best Original Song
1986: The Decline of the American Empire (Denys Arcand)- nominated for Best Foreign Film
1985: The Official Story (Luis Puenzo)- nominated for 2 Oscars including Original Screenplay; won Best Foreign Film
1984: Places in the Heart (Robert Benton)- nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture; won 2 including Best Actress (Sally Field-- her famous "you like me" speech)
1983: The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasden)- nominated for 3 Oscars including Picture
1982: Tempest (Paul Mazursky)
1981: Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson)- nominated for 7 Oscars; won 4 including Picture
1980: Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (Nicholas Roeg)
1979: Best Boy (Ira Wohl)
1978: Girlfriends (Claudia Weill)

Toronto Film Festival Winners

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD
12 Years a Slave (US)- directed by Steve McQueen

runners-up:
Philomena (UK)- directed by Stephen Frears
Prisoners (US)- directed by Denis Villeneuve

PEOPLE'S CHOICE DOCUMENTARY AWARD
The Square (Egypt/US)- directed by Jehane Noujaim

runners-up:
Hi-Ho Mistahey! (Canada)- directed by Alanis Obomsawin
Between the Edge (Canada)- directed by Leanne Pooley

PEOPLE'S CHOICE MIDNIGHT MADNESS AWARD
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (Japan)- directed by Shion Sono

runners-up:
Oculus (US)- directed by Mike Flanagan
Witching & Bitching (Spain/France)- directd by Álex de la Iglesia

PRIZE OF THE INTERNATIONAL CRITICS
Ida (Poland)- directed by Pawel Pawlikowski

Steve McQueen's 12 Years a Slave, perhaps the only undisputed champion of the fall festivals on terms of salivating reviews, joins the ranks of previous Best Picture winners Chariots of Fire, American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire and The King's Speech by winning the coveted People's Choice Award.  Other recent winners have included Precious and Silver Linings Playlist.

Toronto Film Festival Line-Up Announced

The Toronto Film Festival is the biggest beast of the fall festival, with it's yearly line-ups that are massive and daunting and filled to the brim with the seasons awards hopefuls. Last year, it was at where Silver Linings Playbook started its awards run, winning the Audience Award (of which has also been doled out to past Best Picture winners like Slumdog Millionaire, American Beauty and, gulp, The King's Speech) which culminated in eight Oscar nominations and Jennifer Lawrence's victory.  Toronto can kill Oscar dreams just as it can ignite them.  Here's the line-up so far:

OPENING NIGHT

 The Fifth Estate (USA)- directed by Bill Condon (World Premiere) (trailer)

GALAS

American Dreams in China (Hong Kong/China)- directed by Peter Ho-Sun Chan (North American Premiere)
The Art of the Steal (Canada)- directed by Jonathon Sobol (World Premiere)
August: Osage County (USA)- directed by John Wells (World Premiere)- Heavy duty curio of 2013 with its massive ensemble (Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Ewan McGregor, Juliette Lewis, Sam Shepard, Cumberbatch, etc.), so one quibble-- if this is ready for Toronto, why, oh why, is Weinstein waiting to release this during the dreaded Christmas glut?
Cold Eyes (South Korea)- directed by Cho Ui-seok & Kim Byung-seo (North American Premiere)
The Grand Seduction (Canada)- directed by Don McKellar (World Premiere)- Stars Taylor Kitsch of Battleship and John Mars infamy.
Kill Your Darlings (USA)- directed by John Korkidas (International Premiere)- Stars Daniel Radcliffe and Elizabeth Olsen; premiered at Sundance.
The Love Punch (France)- directed by Joel Hopkins (World Premiere)- Stars Emma Thompson and Pierce Brosnan.
The Lunchbox (India/France/Germany)- directed by Titesh Batra (North American Premiere)
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (UK)- directed by Justin Chadwick (World Premiere)- Another hot title from Weinstein with Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela-- can he score with the Academy a mere four years after Morgan Freeman was nominated for the same part?
Parkland (USA)- directed by Peter Landesman (World Premiere)- Stars Zac Efron and James Badge Dale.
The Railway Man (UK/Australia)- directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (World Premiere)- WWII drama with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman; lacks a distributor at the moment.
The Right Kind of Wrong (Canada)- directed by Jeremiah Chechik (World Premiere)- Stars Ryan Kwanten (True Blood.)
Rush (USA/UK/Germany)- directed by Ron Howard
Shuddh Desi Romance (India)- directed by Maneesh Sharma (International Premiere)
Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon (USA)- directed by Mike Myers (World Premiere)

The Weinstein Company Triumphs!

Big weekend for The Weinstein Company, as the People's Choice Audience Award was bestowed upon David O. Russell's The Silver Linings Playbook at the Toronto Film Festival, while Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master achieves the (unadjusted) highest per-screen average for a live-action film in history.  Both films won their respective award, and it's a major coup for Weinstein, as they head into another awards season, being the undefeated champion the last two years running, for The King's Speech and The Artist, respectively.

The Audience Award at Toronto can be a major win (think American Beauty, Precious, Slumdog Millionaire, The King's Speech) or an also-ran (Water, Bella, Where Do We Go Now?; remember those?)  However, the comic-tragic mental illness romance between Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver as support, played to luminous reviews and seemed a big festival hit.  The Master, the ponderously, critically drooled over film didn't win anything at Toronto (even though, an Audience Award seems somewhat antithetical for a film that keeps itself intentionally distant-- more on that later), after it's sweep at Venice, it became the king of the box office (nabbing $148,000 per screen on 5 screens this past weekend-- taking over this record from this summer's Moonrise Kingdom.)  Let the games begin.

Other winners at Toronto:

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD: The Silver Linings Playbook
CANADIAN FEATURE: Lawrence Anyways- Xavier Dolan
CANADIAN DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: Antiviral- Brandon Croenberg; Blackbird- Jason Buxton
AUDIENCE AWARD MIDNIGHT MADNESS: Seven Psychopaths- Martin McDonaugh

Toronto Film Festival Line-Up Announced

Whatever the calendar says, in the universe of the movies (where summer begins two months before it does officially), it's almost time for the end of the year awards season chaos to get underway.  The first stop is the late summer film festivals; the big ones and most important in sizing up early Oscar buzz and driving the prognosticators mad (Toronto, Venice and Telluride) are all interloped in the same couple of weeks time during the month of September.  The madness begins with the announcement of the line-up to this year's Toronto Film Festival, and the typical array of awards bait films, buzzy movies that have already premiered at other festivals (Sundance, Cannes) trying to stay relevant, and those itching for enough attention to become the next Crash-- the first film ever acquired at a film festival (2004's Toronto, in fact) to wind up winning the Best Picture Oscar.  The slate at Venice will revealed Thursday; Telluride famously keeps its offerings secret until it's shown.  The Toronto line-up (expect many more to be announced as the festival approaches):

• 11 Flowers- Chinese mystery from director Xiaoshuai Wang (Beijing Bicycle); World Premiere.
• 50/50- Cancer dramedy starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Seth Rogan, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anjelica Huston and Anna Kendrick, written by Will Riser (his debut) and directed by Jonathon Levine (The Wackness); World Premiere.
• 360- Globe-trotting slice of life ensemble piece inspired by Arhur Schnitzler's La Ronde that stars Anthony Hopkins, Rachel Weisz and Jude Law.  Written by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and directed by Fernando Mierelles (City of God); World Premiere.
• Albert Nobbs- The latest bid for Glenn Close to finally reap her first Academy Award comes from a story that she's championed for many years about a woman who pretends to be a man in 19th century Ireland in order to carve out a better life.  The film was snapped up by Roadside Attractions recently, who had a terrific year last year with Winter's Bone. Directed by Rodrigo Garcia (Nine Lives, Mother & Child); World Premiere.
• Americano- Drama from first time director and actor Mathieu Deny that stars Salma Hayek and Geraldine Chaplin; World Premiere.
• Anonymous- Speculative history piece that argues the validity of the work of William Shakespeare.  A change of pace from director Roland Emmerich (2012), starring David Twelis and Vanessa Redgrave; World Premiere.
• The Artist- Cannes favorite (it's star Jean Dujardin won this years Best Actor prize at the May festival) about a silent movie star struggling with the birth of sound.  Already acquired by The Weinstein Company and an early awards season favorite. Directed by Michel Hazanavicius.
• A Better Life- Canadian social drama from director Cedric Kahn; World Premiere.
• Burning Man- Father and son drama starring Matthew Goode and Rachel Griffiths; directed by Jonathon Teplitzky (Better Than Sex); World Premiere.
• Butter- Mixture of social commentary with comedy, this film stars Jennifer Garner, Ty Burrell and Hugh Jackman and takes place in the unusual and competitive world of butter carving.  Directed by Jim Field Smith; World Premiere.
• Chicken with Plums- French period drama about a celebrated Iranian violinist from directors Marjane Satrapi (Persepolis) and Vincent Paronnaud; North American Premiere.
• Coriolanus- Period epic about a banished Roman solider who seeks revenge that stars Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Gerard Butler and Brian Cox.  Acquired by The Weinstein Company after debuting at this years Berlin Film Festival.  Directed by Fiennes (his debut); North American Premiere.
• Countdown- Heist flick from Huh Jong-ho.
• A Dangerous Method- Viggo Mortenssen, Michael Fassbender and Keira Knightley star in the eagerly anticipated period drama about the relationship between Sigmund Freud and Karl Jung; recently acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.  Directed by master David Croenberg.  North American Premiere-- indicating that it's real premiere will take place, hopefully in competition, at Venice.
• Dark Horse- The latest from provocateur Todd Solondz, a romance starring Justin Bartha, Selma Blair, Christopher Walken and Donna Murphy.  No US distribution as of now.  North American Premiere, and likely to be shown at Venice first.
• The Deep Blue Sea- Period epic starring Rachel Weisz and Tom Hiddleston (Thor, Midnight in Paris) from director Terrence Davies (The House of Mirth); World Premiere.
• The Descendants- The latest from director Alexander Payne stars George Clooney as a man seeemingly going through a midlife crisis.  Fox Searchlight Pictures has it's hand on the film, making its World Premiere.
• Drive- A hit at Cannes this year (winning the Best Director Prize for Nicholas Winding Refn), Drive is a heist flick centering around a Hollywood stuntman.  Star Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan and Albert Brooks.
• Elles- French drama starring Juliette Binoche as a journalist reporting on prostitution at a local university.  Directed by Malgoska Szumowka; World Premiere.
• The Eye of the Storm- Based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner Patrick White, this Geoffrey Rush-Charlotte Rampling top lined drama concerns a family as its matriarch lies at her deathbed.  From director Fred Schepisi (Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark); International Premiere.
• Friends with Kids- Ensemble relationship comedy starring Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Maya Rudolph and Megan Fox.  Directed by Westfeldt (star and co-writer of Kissing Jessica Stein); World Premiere.
• Habemus Papam- Premiered at Cannes this year to mixed reviews, Italian filmmaker Nanni Morreti's (The Son's Room) concerns an ailing Pope.
• A Happy Event- Described as a film "that breaks the taboo of pregnancy through the tragicomic diary of a young woman who becomes a mother." Directed by Remi Bezancon; World Premiere.
• Headhunters- Norwegian thriller from director Morten Tyldum; North American Premiere.
• Hick- Dramedy about a teen girl from Nebraska who gets into trouble in Las Vegas.  Star Chloe Moretz, Blake Lively, Rory Culkin and Juliette Lewis.  Directed by Derick Martini (Lymelife); World Premiere.
• The Hunter- Psychological drama starring Willem Dafoe, directed by Daniel Nettheim; World Premiere.
• The Ides of March- Based on the play by Beau Willimon, George Clooney's latest directorial project (which he stars and co-wrote with his Good Night...& Good Luck partner Grant Heslov) takes on a crash course on dirty politics and scandal over a presidential hopeful.  The cast includes Ryan Gosling, Paul Giamatti, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood.  Coming courtesy of the always busy Sony Pictures Classics. North American Premiere; this film has already been confirmed to play at Venice first.
• Jeff, Who Lives at Home- Paramount Pictures brings the latest from the Duplass Brothers (Cyrus, The Puffy Chair), a comedy about a man searching for the meaning of life starring Jason Segal, Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon; World Premiere.
• Killer Joe- Based on the acclaimed play by Tracy Letts, William Friedkin directs Matthew McConaughey and Emile Hirsch in a twisted story of a poor man trying to collect insurance money by taking a hit out on his mother.  No US distribution; World Premiere.
• The Lady- A period biopic of Aung San Suu Kyi starring Michelle Yeoh and David Thewlis.  Directed by Luc Besson; World Premiere.
• Like Crazy- The winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance this year, which stars Anton Yelchin and Felicity Jones as a young couple dealing with a long-distance relationship (an artier Going the Distance?)  Paramount acquired the film by Drake Doremus (Douchebag) in January.
• Machine Gun Preacher- Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) directs a biopic of Sam Childers, a former nogoodnik who found God and became a crusader for Sudanese children.  Stars Gerard Butler and Michelle Monoghan; World Premiere.
• Martha Marcy May Marlene- Tongue-twisting title of the Sundance hit starring Elizabeth Olson as a woman reacimilating after fallen victim to a charming cult leader.  From director Sean Durkin (who won the Best Director prize at Sundance), the film was acquired by Fox Searchlight in January.
• Melancholia- Kirsten Dunst won the Best Actress prize in Cannes this year for her work in Lars von Trier's latest, and end of the world\family wedding film.  Recently acquired by Magnolia Pictures.
• Moneyball- Brad Pitt stars in this true story of a struggling general manager of a baseball who reconfigures the ways of the game with controversial results.  Also stars Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Robin Wright and will be released through Sony Pictures Classics at the end of September.  Directed by Bennett Miller (Capote); World Premiere.
• The Oranges- Ensemble comedy starring Adam Brody, Leighton Meester, Hugh Laurie and Allison Janney.  From director Julian Farino, making his feature debut (he's directed several episodes of shows including Sex & the City and Entourage); No US distribution; World Premiere.
• Peace, Love & Misunderstanding-  Family dramedy starring Jane Fonda, Catherine Keener, Chace Crawford and Sundance it girl (and famous sister) Elizabeth Olson.  Currently has no distribution, so if early word is good, than this will likely make its way to theaters this fall, given its cast.  Directed by Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy); World Premiere.
• Pearl Jam Twenty- Cameron Crowe directs this documentary celebrating the 20th anniversary of the band Pearl Jam; World Premiere.
• Rampart- Director Oren Moverman follows up his Oscar-nominated The Messenger with a film about a cop trying to take care of his family.  Star Woody Harrelson, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Foster and Robin Wright.  No US distribution; World Premiere.
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen- Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt star in Lasse Hallstrom's (My Life as a Dog, The Cider House Rules) drama about a fisheries scientist.  From Lions Gate Films; World Premiere.
• Shame- Director Steve McQueen (Hunger) re-teams with Michael Fassbender in a family drama also starring Carey Mulligan.  No US distribution; World Premiere.
• The Skin I Live In- Pedro Almodovor's latest starring one-time muse Antonio Banderas as a vengeful plastic surgeon.  Sony Pictures Classics has this one, which debuted at Cannes last May.
• Take Shelter- End of the world thriller starring Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain that debuted at Cannes this year and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.
• Take This Waltz- Sarah Polley wrote and directed this romantic drama (her second feature after receiving an Adapted Screenplay Oscar nod for her debut, Away From Her) and stars Michelle Williams and Seth Rogan, currently without distribution; World Premiere.
• Ten Year- Drama about a group of friends that reunite ten years after high school starring Channing Tatum and Kate Mara.  No US distribution, World Premiere.
• Trishna- Michael Winterbottom's latest starring Frieda Pinto; World Premiere.
• Twixt- Val Kilmer and Elle Fanning star in Frances Ford Coppola's latest, a thriller about a writer who winds up in his own mystery.  No US distribution; World Premiere.
• Tyrannosaur- Directed by actor Paddy Considine, Tyrannosaur is a drama about a woman who looks to get out of her abusive relationship.  Premiered at Sundance, where Considine won the Best Director prize for World Cinema; Strand Releasing acquired the film.
• W.E.- Either simply a curiosity piece or, who knows, maybe a real awards contender as The Weinstein Company has already grabbed this biography of Wallis Simpson (fans of The King's Speech will remember-- she's the gal that Guy Pearce abdicated the throne for) that's directed by a certain person of interest, Madonna.  North American Premiere, again indicating the Material Girl will debut her film in Venice.
• We Need to Talk About Kevin- Cannes favorite with Tilda Swinton about a mother coping with her son's involvement in a school shooting.  Directed by Lynne Ramsay (Morvern Caller); Roadside Attractions will release it later this fall.