Today is the start of the Toronto Film Festival (Sept. 4-13) and there are a number of films premiering that have Oscar potential. As stated in previous blogs, making their world premieres will be Spike Lee's 'Miracle at St. Anna', which stars Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonzo, and Omar Benson Miller. The is a film that features five African-American members of the Buffalo Soldiers at the center of World War II as opposed to a face in the crowd in similiar war themed films.
Also making its debut at the festival is the heavily anticipated film 'The Secret Life of Bees' that stars Dakota Fanning, Jennifer Hudson, Queen Latifah, Alicia Keys and Sophie Okonedo. Also in the film are Paul Bettany, Nate Parker, and 90210's Tristan Wilds. The film is directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, who directed 'Love and Basketball'.
Idris Elba, Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges, and Thandie Newton will also be headed to Toronto as the three of them are in Guy Ritchie's latest film, 'RocknRolla', which also features Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Mark Strong, and HBO's Entourage's Jeremy Piven.
Keira Knightley seems to be a favorite of Toronto having had 'Atonement' there last year and is back this year with 'The Duchess' in the role of Georgiana Spencer, the Duchess of Devonshire. Viggo Mortensen has two films there with 'Appaloosa' which was directed by and co-starring Ed Harris. His other film is 'Good' a drama about the early days of the Third Reich adapted from the play by C. P. Taylor, which follows a literature professor roped into joining Hitler's S.S. which puts him at odds with his Jewish best friend (Jason Isaacs).
Danny Glover appears in 'Blindness', which was directed by Fernando Meirelles (City of God). The film is based on Jose Saramago's tale on a worldwide epidemic of lost eyesight. The film also stars Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo and Gael Garcia Bernal.
Anna Deavere Smith is featured in Jonathan Demme's 'Rachel Getting Married', which is the story of a A young woman (Anne Hathaway) who has been in and out from rehab for the past 10 years and returns home for the weekend for her sister's wedding. Debra Winger and Dorrian Missick are also in the film.
Craig Robinson, who was hilarious in 'Pineapple Express', will appear in Kevin Smith's 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno'. Zack (Seth Rogen) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) are two lifelong friends who are deep in debt and enlist the help of their friends to make a porno movie for some quick cash. But as everybody starts "doing" everybody, Zack and Miri realize that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
