The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival kicks off this week, and in honor of one of the biggest, most star-studded film festivals in the world, we helped make sense of it all by answering the eight most frequently asked Toronto International Film Festival questions, beginning with...
Q. So dude, what's up with Toronto?
A. Well, it's actually a really nice Canadian city that feels like a much cleaner version of New York. The people are friendly, the food is pretty good (props to Tim Horton's coffee and an amazing variety of poutine), and best of all their movie theaters (in particular the Scotiabank downtown, pictured below) are beautiful, spacious and immaculate.
Q. Whoa, wait -- what in the world is poutine?
A. Poutine is only one of the greatest food inventions in the history of awesome things that can be added to french fries. Essentially they're french fries topped with gravy and cheese curds, and they're soooooo yummy.
Q. Fine, the French fries sound amazing, but what's so special about this film festival, anyway?
A. Think of the Toronto International Film Festival as the preseason football equivalent of awards season. Many of the big, Oscar-buzzy movies arriving in theaters later this fall and winter will premiere there, giving moviegoers an early glimpse at what's to come.
Q. Alright, name some big movies that have played at this Toronto festival before.
A. Sure. The festival has hosted screenings of previous Oscar winners like American Beauty, Slumdog Millionaire and Argo (pictured above). Last year alone saw several Oscar winners and nominees premiere there, like 12 Years a Slave (watch a clip below), Gravity, Dallas Buyers Club and August: Osage County.
Q. What are some of this year's festival's most anticipated movies that I'll actually be able to see in theaters?
A. Oh, there's a bunch and they range from big studio releases to smaller, awards-friendly titles. When we recently asked over 1,000 moviegoers for their most anticipated Toronto International Film Festival movies, these were the results (along with the film's trailer):
1. Wild (Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern)
2. The Equalizer (Denzel Washington, Chloe Grace Moretz)
3. The Judge (Robert Downey Jr., Robert Duvall)
4. Foxcatcher (Steve Carell, Channing Tatum)
5. Men, Women & Children (Adam Sandler, Jennifer Garner)
Q. Cool, thanks for that! But what's your most anticipated movie, Erik? I know you've got one!
A. If I had to pick one movie that I'm looking forward to the most, it'd be a toss up between Nightcrawler and St. Vincent.
Nightcrawler stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a guy who stumbles into the seedy, underground world of freelance crime journalism. I think Gyllenhaal has reached a point in his career where he's really experimenting with some unique and different roles (see: Prisoners, End of Watch and Enemy), and I'm just stoked to see what he tackles next.
As for St. Vincent, I'm a huge Bill Murray fan, and while I don't know a lot about this movie (aside from the fact that Murray mentors a young boy whose parents just divorced), this image from the film quickly convinced me that it's a must-see because, I mean, c'mon!
Q. How do we track Toronto International Film Festival reactions via social media?
A. You'll want to keep track of the hashtag #TIFF14. In general, keep an eye out for the letters "TIFF" since they serve as the official abbreviation of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Q. How do we follow your own adventures at the festival this year?
A. Well that's an easy one. You can follow me @erikdavis on Twitter, and if you see me at the festival then make sure to say hey. Additionally, for those who want to dive a bit deeper into this year's program, you can listen to CinemaBlend's Sean O'Connell and myself geek out on all things TIFF on this week's podcast over at Movies.com.
