TORONTO, ONT ā When the Hollywood actors union announced a strike this summer, Cameron Bailey, the longtime chief executive of the Toronto International Film Festival, dusted off his COVID-19 playbook.
For two years, TIFF, the largest film festival in North America, had maneuvered through pandemic editions that persevered, one way or another, through travel restrictions, social distancing measures and other upheavals. Now, TIFF was faced with a sudden eclipse of star power.
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āThis is the nature of running a festival,ā Bailey says. āYou have to respond to what the year gives you. We have good experience from recent years in terms of handling how the COVID pandemic affected us. And we put some of those same measures at the beginning of the news about the actors strike.ā
Some performers are still coming to the 48th annual TIFF, which opens Thursday night with Hayao Miyazakiās long-awaited āThe Boy and the Heron.ā Filmmakers will be present. Documentaries and their subjects will still there. Independent productions have the chance of securing interim agreements from SAG-AFTRA.
But the biggest film festivals depend on having red carpets flush with stars. And itās not only about the photo opportunities. Films come to a festival like Toronto looking to make as big a splash as possible, and announce themselves to moviegoers and Oscar voters.
A movie like āThe Pain Hustlersā could have expected to cause quite a stir. Directed by āHarry Potterā filmmaker David Yates, it boasts a starry cast led by Emily Blunt and Chris Evans as pharmaceutical drug reps in the early days of the opioid epidemic.
āIt is a shame that theyāre not going to be with us when we premiere in Toronto, but it is what it is. These are seismic times,ā says Yates. āYes, I will miss the actors. Obviously, they really help. But I think theyāre doing the right thing at the right time. We support them, but weāll miss them.ā
The dual strikes have already taken the spotlight at the Venice Film Festival. Lead juror Damien Chazelle wore a writers guild shirt to the opening press conference. Adam Driver, who stars in the independently made Michael Mann film āFerrari,ā wondered why āa smaller distribution company like Neon and STX can meet the dream demands of what SAG is asking for ā¦ but a big company like Netflix and Amazon can't?ā
But most stars have simply stayed home. Even though Bradley Cooper could have come to Venice as a director for his Leonard Bernstein biopic āMaestro,ā in which he also stars, Cooper elected not to hit the Lido with his Oscar contender.
Word is still getting out on many of the breakout films. Yorgos Lanthimosā āPoor Thingsā was a sensation in Venice. Out of the recent Telluride Film Festival, which has always focused more on movies themselves than the circus of larger festivals, Alexander Payneās āThe Holdovers,ā George C. Wolfeās āRustinā and Andrew Haigās āAll of Us Strangersā have been much celebrated.
At Toronto, Bailey grants the absence of actors has a cascading effect on other parts of the festival ā the amount of media that makes the trip, the number of industry members on hand and the press junkets that fill up hotel floors throughout downtown Toronto. But, he notes, the films stay the same.
āWhat we found was that in terms of the lineup and our audienceās interest in seeing the films, very little changed,ā says Bailey. āWeāre on track to match or even better last yearās audience numbers.ā
But less star power inevitably means less buzz. And Toronto is arguably the premier buzz factory in movies. Because ā unlike Cannes or Venice ā TIFF audiences are packed with moviegoers and not just industry people, Toronto has an enviable record of hosting both the best in global cinema and crowd-pleasing hits. Its top award, the audience award, is voted on by attendees. Year after year, that winner has gone on to be a best-picture nominee, whether āGreen Book,āāNomadlandā or last yearās āThe Fabelmans.ā
What might pop this year? Craig Gillespieās āDumb Money,ā an entertaining portrayal of the GameStop stock frenzy, should be a hit with TIFF audiences. Gillespie, whose feature debut āLars and the Real Girlā premiered at TIFF and whose āI, Tonyaā was the most sought-after acquisition of the 2017 festival, knows what a warm reception in Toronto can mean for a movie.
āThe crowd, theyāre so receptive,ā Gillespie says. āAnd itās such a great atmosphere.ā
To him, āDumb Moneyā ā a farcical tale of high-finance rebellion starring Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Pete Davidson and America Ferrera ā in some ways reflects the battles actors and screenwriters are waging with Hollywood studios.
āThe irony is that the message of our movie ā which is so much about the discontent going on in our country with the wealth disparity ā is timely,ā says Gillespie. āWeāre so in the thick of this commentary thatās going on in our society.ā
With Hollywood in a pitched, existential battle over pay, streaming economics and artificial intelligence, some of those who are free to attend festivals are still hesitant to do so. Two weeks ago, SAG-AFTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland encouraged members to work in projects with an approved interim agreement āand applaud them for promoting their work in these productions.ā
Crabtree-Ireland was expected to walk the red carpet Thursday for TIFFās opening night. On Friday, SAG-AFTRA is set to hold a rally in downtown Toronto.
Among the stars expected at TIFF are Sean Penn, Dakota Johnson, Jessica Chastain, Willem Dafoe, Nicolas Cage and Finn Wolfhard ā all of whom are bringing projects with interim agreements. The festival has also notably programmed a number of films directed by actors, including Viggo Mortensenās āThe Dead Donāt Hurt,ā Kristin Scott Thomasā āNorth Star,ā Michael Keatonās āKnox Goes Away,ā Ethan Hawkeās āWildcatā and Anna Kendrickās āWoman of the Hour.ā
Toronto programmers have also leaned into music. The documentaries āLil Nas X: Long Live Montero,ā āIn Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simonā and āHate to Love: Nickelbackā will premiere, as will a new restoration of the classic Talking Heads concert film āStop Making Sense.ā
Some of TIFFās hottest tickets include Taika Waititiās āNext Goal Wins,ā Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chinās āNyad,ā Jessica Yuās āQuiz Ladyā and Cannes prize winners including āAnatomy of a Fall,ā āFallen Leavesā and āZone of Interest.ā
With stages mostly bereft of stars, more attention may go to young filmmakers breaking through. Cord Jefferson, an award-winning TV writer of āThe Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore,ā āSuccessionā and āWatchmen,ā will premiere his directing debut āAmerican Fiction,ā an adaptation of Percival Everettās āErasure," starring Jeffrey Wright.
āIāve loved movies since I was child and Iāve never been to a film festival before,ā says Jefferson. āEven the idea that Iām going to a film festival with a film that Iāve directed feels surreal. I canāt comprehend it fully yet.ā
āItās a dream come true, literally,ā he adds. āIām just excited to be amongst other filmmakers.ā
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Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP