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THE CAST – Rosalind Eleazar, Adam Driver, Daniel Kaluuya, Anna Kendrick, Topher Grace & Chris Rock

THE TEAM– Chris Rock (Director/Writer)

THE RUNNING TIME –  103 Minutes

It appears comedian, actor, and director Chris Rock has finally reached his limit. The multi-hyphenate’s 12 year absence from the director’s chair has finally led to an artistic shift. His latest film “Misty Green” feels like a display of all the pent-up frustration Rock has accumulated over the past decade, shaped by his divorce, aging, his career, and the infamous Oscar slap that is now forever associated with anything he does from here on out. Yet Rock, a New York-born artist living in California, has the years under his belt to know the right moment to strike. He also knows that to be among the great directors he admires, he inevitably has to make a film about Hollywood. “Misty Green” is that film, setting itself apart from “Top Five” as a serious satire about one woman’s fight to reclaim her place amid her self-destructive ways. It’s a pivot that Rock is not able to swing both in its unfocused narrative and in the way everyone isn’t afforded the few laughs that work; that is, unless you’re Rock.

Rosalind Eleazar, who plays the titular character, was once a shining star in Hollywood. The Emmy winner, fresh off a hit series, is now at her lowest, living in the beachfront apartment of her now-deceased sugar daddy. That is, until his widow comes knocking on Misty’s door, giving her a week to move out before she’s forcibly evicted. Every opportunity has dried up for Misty in the business, as the aging star has formed some sort of feud with agents, casting directors, or other actors. Her only tie to this world is the golden statue on her shelf, reminding her of everything she’s lost. Misty doesn’t do herself any favors either; whenever an audition could help, her undisciplined nature derails her, often in the form of snorting whatever she can with her former co-star and high-end pimp Zach, played by Adam Driver.

While Rock structures the film over the seven days until Misty is evicted, he takes his time probing not only what makes her tick but also the ecosystem of personalities in Los Angeles that surrounds her. For someone as stubborn, problematic, and selfish as Misty, over the course of almost two hours, the film can’t even convey what makes her such an enticing subject to build a story around. Eleazar colors in the lines with a magnetic performance, capturing a rawness she’s never displayed before. She delivers career-best work, fully transforming into a fiery woman who is her own worst villain. Rock’s writing presents her as the only character with any actual dimensions compared to everyone else, whose presence is only there to add a sense of flavoring to the Los Angeles Rock has come to have a love-hate relationship with.

One of the only people who slightly rises above is Anna Kendrick, who garners some of the most laughs in the film as Misty’s snow bunny bestie, whose willingness to put up with her partner for financial security doesn’t stop her from eye-banging any man with a darker complexion. Even with Kendrick garnering laughs, her placement in the film is a total time-killer. The same can be said about Driver, who represents the absurdity of the town with his cabal of high-end hookers and trips to Dubai, where women listen to Busta Rhymes and fight for Birkin bags. It sounds ridiculous, but the situational comedy in these set pieces is far more integral to the narrative than everything involving Daniel Kalyuua’s Jay, Misty’s bipolar brother, who comes in like a tornado and causes chaos. Kalyuua – who came out of what’s been described as semi-retirement – is as ferocious as Eleazar, but Rock relegates this character to a whacked-out mental patient who escalates things for the sake of conjuring some sort of momentum for the plot.

Rock unmistakably wants to create the Los Angeles equivalent of a Woody Allen picture, a filmmaker who has heavily influenced this project, which is ironic considering how sluggishly-paced “Misty Green” is. The opening, which features a photo montage of Los Angeles in all its beauty and failure, shows that Rock’s direction had improved since his last feature. The messaging wraps around some of the most worrisome storytelling Rock has delivered so far. His character in the film, Jordan Green, a down-on-his-luck director tasked with assembling a “Dreamgirls” remake, has the most humorous moments, mainly a monologue opposite Eleazar about why he asks for things the way he does. “Misty Green” is never as insightful, scathing, or sharp as it wants to be. Rock’s commentary on homelessness, Blackness in Hollywood, and how the business turns talent into jaded personalities is all surface-level. Audiences should turn out for Eleazar’s powerhouse performance. Some will vary on whether seeing the film spin in circles for almost two hours is worth it, considering it feels as if the woman we see at its end isn’t that far off from the drug-addicted hustler we see sleeping in another woman’s bed.

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All That She Wants

What’s nice about Toronto, compared to the other fall festivals, is the kind of lighthearted film that can premiere there. The programming has a breezier, looser quality that lets what seems like more standard genre fare get a spotlight. That’s how a romantic comedy from relative newcomers like “All That She Wants” has a chance to make a splash. Co-director Andrew Rhymer had a solid hit a few years ago in the same wheelhouse with “Plus One”, but his other half, Scarlett Bermingham, is making her directorial debut with this film. As fans of “Schitt’s Creek,” “Girls,” and both “Shithouse” and “Cha Cha Real Smooth,” getting to see stars Annie Murphy, Cooper Raiff and Zosia Mamet in a new romantic comedy is as exciting as any awards contender.

Ancestors

Another directorial debut, “Ancestors,” this time from Irish filmmaker David Turpin, serves as much more of a question mark at this point than some of the other premieres. With the only real names attached being Rupert Everett and Christina Hendricks in likely smaller roles, one may write this film off when looking over the festival. Still, every year we see exciting new voices emerge at TIFF, and this could very well be one of those breakouts. The premise is rather vague, self-describing itself as a mystery intertwining dream and memory, so there’s plenty of opportunity for a bold and singular vision for this first film from Turpin. Whether he delivers or not, it’s exciting to find out ourselves and have it on our radar ahead of time.

The Assassin(s)

Hur Jin-ho is a rather unsung South Korean filmmaker; over his nearly thirty-year career, he has yet to fully break into the more pronounced discussions of international cinema, though his works have been widely admired. Whether his journalism-centered thriller “The Assassin(s),” which seems in line with the works of Alan J. Pakula, is the film that breaks him out is unclear; however, getting a platform for an audience to discover a filmmaker they may not be familiar with is one of the biggest treats of the festival season. This will be a lot of people’s first film of his; it would be my first, but on its own, it seems to play in the waters of storytelling that excites nearly everybody when they go to the movies.

Babies

One of the festival’s more high-profile premieres, Lauren Miller Rogen’s “Babies” seems to serve as classic TIFF programming. The relationship and family dramedy comes eight years after Rogen’s debut “Like Father,” but with the year her husband Seth is having and the cast she assembled here, it seems likely this will make much more of a dent. Roadside Attractions have already picked up the film for a wide release next year, and given how much it fits the festival’s vibe, it’ll probably generate a great first wave of buzz. Funnily enough, the animated Cannes holdover “Tangles” also plays at the festival, which both Rogen produced, and will probably help make it an exciting festival for not only the couple, but for fans of both of them.

Being Heumann

Another heavy hitter on this list, Sian Heder’s long-awaited follow-up to “CODA” makes its debut as the Opening Night film with “Being Heumann.” After the Cinderella story of her previous film’s Oscar run, it’s curious to see how far this film can go in this year’s much more competitive awards season. “CODA” was very TIFF-core in spirit, but in the COVID year of 2021 it released wide on Apple TV+ before the festival even began. Back with Apple, they’ve chosen a more traditional awards trajectory with this, and whether that pays off or not, it’ll be interesting to see how this film is perceived with the “baggage” of being a follow-up to a Best Picture winner. The story in and outside the film seem crowd-pleasing enough, with favorites like Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien in the cast, making it hard to imagine most people not falling for Heder’s work again if it truly delivers.

Closing Night

Back in the sphere of directorial debuts, Cody Fern, best known as an actor in American Horror Story, takes his first seat in the director’s chair with “Closing Night.” Fern brings along another Ryan Murphy regular, with Sarah Paulson taking on what seems like an exciting leading role. The film follows Paulson as an actress on the night before an important performance, which is disrupted when an estranged family member visits. Between Paulson, Naomi Watts, Dianne Wiest, and Odessa A’Zion, the ensemble alone is enough to be exciting. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how, if at all, Fern plays off Murphy’s style given their shared history. Not necessarily a needle mover for predicting quality, but Devon Bostick as a co-writer adds another fun component that makes this worth looking forward to.

Dorothy

A glance at the previous works of Indian filmmaker Karthik Subbaraj would make anyone fascinated by what it’s like to watch one of his films. Thankfully, TIFF audiences have that opportunity with his new film, “Dorothy.” Subbaraj seems to make films over two and a half hours, and this is no different, but with the epic stories he tries to tell, that length usually feels justified. “Dorothy” seems no less epic, following two friends in a violent world as their lives change with the arrival of the titular Dorothy. While that can sound quaint and small-scale, the action and adventure genres attached to the film make it feel like something bigger than the premise suggests. How big or crazy does it get? Well, Toronto audiences will be the first to find out.

Drifter

For fans of the “Fast and Furious” franchise who also happen to go to TIFF, actor Sung Kang, who plays Han Lue in that series, makes his directorial debut with “Drifter.” Also in the racing world, the film follows Kang as a racetrack janitor finding a different found family than Dominic Toretto’s. It seems very much in the vein of the Fast series, which makes its festival appearance a little surprising, but perhaps there’s something special here below the surface. Even if it doesn’t surprise in that way and is just a silly, fun action movie, it will surely serve as a refresher for many festivalgoers, or maybe even bring fresh audiences into the theater, which may be part of why it’s even here. With Kang as a director, a wild card, we’ll stay optimistic and assume he’s bringing something special to a formula he knows well.

Edward Said: Between Worlds

To highlight an exciting documentary debuting at the festival, “Edward Said: Between Worlds” follows the titular, late Edward Said, a Palestinian-American academic and activist. Directed by Maiken Baird, the film features plenty of important footage from Said’s life, along with new footage that paints the clearest portrait of the man we’ve ever seen. It’s one of many documentaries on the subject, but with the hole his passing left since 2003, there’s plenty of meat left in his life and ideology to explore in a feature film. His writings and work can be traced all the way back to the establishment of Israel and the subsequent conflict that is incredibly relevant currently with the ongoing genocide happening in Palestine, making Said’s voice all the more crucial to put a spotlight on today.

Everybody Wants To F*ck Me

One of the more eye-catching, if not the most eye-catching, titles of the fest, “Everybody Wants to F*ck Me,” is the feature debut of Jonathan Schey. The dark comedy stars Taron Egerton, who feels like he’s been pretty absent this decade in the theatrical film space, so it would be very welcome for this film to hit and get him big in a buzzy theatrical release. He’s paired opposite Mia McKenna-Bruce, who should be on everyone’s radar after her incredible work in “How to Have Sex,” and hopefully gets room to shine here as well. The film follows Egerton, who believes he has crafted himself to be the perfect man, perhaps a less dangerous Patrick Bateman type. Whatever the case, it should be an opportunity for Egerton to show off the comedic and charismatic chops we know he has in spades and hopefully a splashy debut for Schey.

Evil Genius

For a directorial effort from a more well-known face, Courteney Cox’s newest film “Evil Genius” is making its debut at the festival. The crime thriller, with an ensemble including Patricia Arquette, David Harbour, and Tom McCarthy, serves as Cox’s third feature. Still, the premise seems a bit more attention-grabbing than her past work. People love the true-crime story this film follows, an investigation into the events behind a real-life murder. Whether it’s notable enough to reach outside of the audience who’s primed to like that kind of story, at the very least it will hopefully scratch the itch of the genre’s biggest fans.

The Face Of Horror

Anna Biller made a strong impression with her last film, “The Love Witch,” and despite the ten years since then, that goodwill has carried over into decent buzz for her new film, “The Face of Horror.” The gothic medieval romance seems to offer the same strong color palette that pops right off the screen, even from the few images that we can see online. The film follows a woman who, in the afterlife, tries to get revenge on her adulterous husband, and that combined with those strong colors of someone like Jacques Demy, makes this feel like a must-see for fans of Biller, or just those like me who get irrationally excited at a gothic romance and how it juxtaposes with a visual style like that.

Four Seasons In Java

Kamila Andini is another filmmaker who, despite having several well-regarded films, has yet to fully blow up in the international cinema discussion. Her latest, “Four Seasons in Java,” could be the one that launches her into it, or at the very least another building block toward deserved widespread recognition. The film follows a woman who returns to her hometown after prison; she starts to become fascinated with the abandoned things and people that make up the home she no longer recognizes. Whether this connects with people in a way her past hasn’t is yet to be seen, but that pitch is universal enough of a conceit to do such a trick, or at the very least make a great film that word of mouth gets people to check it out and her past works out.

Future Tense

Soon to be followed by a Fantastic Fest screening, Jenna Cato Bass’s “Future Tense” makes its world premiere at Toronto. It’s Bass’s third time at the festival, and his latest South African set thriller seems to be his most ambitious film yet. The climate-control time-travel adventure seems to be one of the biggest swings of this year’s fest period; that four-word description alone should prove it as such. At a short ninety minutes, it’ll be interesting to see how the film communicates and explores its ideas, but for festival-goers, that runtime is more of a plus than a drawback when planning a schedule.

Growth Of The Soil

Norwegian filmmaker Hans Petter Moland has a fascinating balancing act between more respected films from or near his home country, and more American Liam Neeson thrillers that don’t have the same respect for their name. His latest, “Growth of the Soil,” is a Neeson-less adaptation of Knut Hamsun’s classic novel that likely will lean more into the reception of the former option. The sweeping drama will premiere in Norway soon after the festival, but for those attending this year’s festival, it may be a while before they’re able to catch it again. For fans of the book, the filmmaker, or anyone just interested in the premise, it’ll be an interesting and hopefully standout entry in the fest.

The Housewife

Naomi Watts appears in her second film on this list with Ben Shirinian’s “The Housewife.” Quite different from the other film of hers, this film, she’s opposite Luke Evans, her husband, who is accused of being a Nazi in 1960s New York. Being Shirinian’s debut, the fact that he got these two, as well as Michael Imperioli, Tye Sheridan, and Norman Reedus, on board makes one wonder what he’s bringing to this first film. It could be the sort of historical drama that comes and goes at the fall festivals, but with the unknown factor of a debut film, one can be excited about the project’s potential ceiling.

I Play Rocky

One of the highest-profile debuts by default comes from another former Best Picture winner, in Peter Farrelly’s “I Play Rocky.” His third feature since the aforementioned “Green Book,” and maybe his most Academy-angled movie since. As the title suggests, the film follows the making of the classic sports drama “Rocky,” with Anthony Ippolito stepping into the Sylvester Stallone role, writing and hoping to act in the iconic film as he tries to get it made. It’s hard to imagine this film justifying its existence, with the real-life story of this film’s production feeling as told as the film itself. Perhaps diehard fans of Stallone and the film can enjoy seeing it in the film medium, and maybe those unaware of the behind-the-scenes story will be in awe of what it took Stallone to get this film made. However, the trailers make it seem like half behind-the-scenes story and half remake, and it’s wholly unclear what the film is trying to say. Hopefully it serves as something more interesting, but with Farrelly’s track record so far, expecting more than the surface level feels generous.

The Julia Set

Many films debuting at the festival feature either unknown talent or seasoned talent who tend to do lots of films each year. Very few of these feature rising stars like Niki Byrne’s “The Julia Set” does with Chase Infiniti in the lead role. After her incredible breakthrough in “One Battle After Another,” this is her first film role since then, which alone is enough to draw a lot of attention to Byrne’s film. She isn’t a solo act either; the film has seasoned actors as well, like Jason Isaacs, Nina Hoss, and Gillian Anderson, who, after “Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma,” is more exciting than ever to see. A small-scale thriller in the world of academics is the type of film that can easily become a must-see with the right script and ensemble, and with the latter in great hands, it’ll be exciting to see what material Niki Byrne gives to this exciting cast.

Kick On

Australian horror wasn’t really defined enough in the worldwide mainstream to get a spotlight. Still, after the Philippou brothers burst onto the scene with “Talk to Me,” it seems other Australian filmmakers hoping to work in horror have a clearer space to break into. Nick Kozakis surely hopes to with his gruesome-seeming thriller, “Kick On.” After four young friends get involved with a mob, things quickly go wrong and spiral into a ride of extremity that may be a little too much for some festival-goers, but also right up others’ alley. Unsurprisingly, it is part of the Midnight Madness section, which has showcased some of the gnarliest films in horror and otherwise in the last decade. Surely, Kozakis, like most filmmakers in the genre, would die to be a part of.

Krux

Set in the final days of the Second World War, Tony Vahl’s “Krux” seems to be one of the bleaker films to be birthed out of this year’s festival. The German film follows a village that fell victim to the final wave of horror in this tragic time in history. While nothing of Vahl’s style is known yet, cinematographer Piotr Sobociński Jr. worked on “Corpus Christi,” a film celebrated for its look, which is encouraging for this film’s visual language. Especially for a film as dark as this in subject matter, the look can really make or break how the film sticks with you, and those with an understandable weak stomach for this subject matter can rest easy knowing it isn’t much longer than ninety minutes in length.

Ladies And Gentleman, Brian Mulroney

It feels like “Universal Language” got nowhere near the buzz it deserved back in 2024; despite that, director Matthew Rankin is already back with an exciting follow-up. “Ladies and Gentleman, Brian Mulroney,” a similarly political Canadian film, this time more overtly political and Canadian, as it documents the titular eighteenth prime minister of the country. This is Rankin’s first feature documentary, so it’ll be interesting to see how his bold style translates to this medium, but whether it lives up to this narrative work or not, it’ll be an exciting new step for the rising Canadian filmmaker.

The Last Photograph

Despite being one of the most talked-about filmmakers of the last ten years, if not longer, it’s still shocking to see a Zack Snyder film playing at one of the major film festivals. However, this is probably the most interesting subject matter he’s ever tackled. “The Last Photograph” isn’t a superhero film or a traditional action or genre affair, but a revenge mystery of sorts set in South America. Whether this film falls into the visual and writing traps of his weaker blockbuster work is yet to be seen; however, it’s the most promising one of his films on paper in years.

Magazine

Back in 2022, a small film, “Palm Trees and Power Lines,” didn’t make much of a splash itself; its lead actress, Lily McInerny, on the other hand, made quite a strong impression. Still, she’s had only a few roles since, including this year’s “Magazine,” which hopefully offers her a similarly meaty lead role to show off her talents. The debut feature from Alexandra Pechman seems to tread similar ground to Kitty Green’s “The Assistant,” with this film tackling the power dynamics affecting a New York-based magazine intern. With her work being unknown, it may be unfair to expect it to be as strong as Green’s debut was. Still, it may be just as exciting a launch for Pechman’s career, with at the very least another captivating lead performance from McInerny.

Misty Green

Another heavy-hitter premiere, or at least one that hopes to be, Chris Rock and A24’s indie dramedy “Misty Green” makes its debut here. The buzz has been pretty strong since the trailer dropped a month ago, and it’s only grown since it was announced to show here and, more surprisingly, at the New York Film Festival. Chris Rock has sat in the director’s chair before, most recently with “Top Five,” a solid industry set dramedy in a similar register. With actors like Adam Driver and the long-awaited return of Daniel Kaluuya starring here, it’ll be interesting to see what Rock delivers. Whether it’s a starry dramedy that peaks here, or something that lasts throughout the year and maybe even awards season, it’ll be interesting to find out very soon.

Lemonade

Despite booking big roles as Ringo Starr and the Joker, it’s nice to see Barry Keoghan not abandoning his indie roots and using his newfound stardom to lift newer filmmakers’ work. He’s an actor people keep an eye on, and his name alone will get people to check out Kim Bartley’s drama “Lemonade.” In the film, Keoghan plays a social worker reconnecting with a young man as his eighteenth birthday approaches. The coming-of-age film feels like a classic feel-good Toronto offering, and with Keoghan in an assumedly kinder register than we usually see him, that alone makes it worth keeping an eye on, as well as the young, rising talent that rounds out and leads the film’s cast.

Love Of Your Life

Another young star anchoring a premiere is Margaret Qualley in the lead role of the romantic drama “Love of Your Life.” Opposite Patrick Schwarzenegger, the film follows the two meeting by chance, causing Qualley’s character to reassess what she wants in life and relationships.  The film’s director Rachel Morrison previously worked with Barry Jenkins on her debut “The Fire Inside,” which got strong notices at this very festival a few years back. It’ll be interesting to see how she does without Jenkins on board; “NYAD” screenwriter Julia Cox takes over as scribe. Another interesting tidbit on the crew side is Ryan Gosling being a producer on this, his first time doing so without being involved elsewhere. It’ll be interesting to see if this is a sign of projects he will want to be involved with going forward or just a one-off, but no matter what, there’s plenty to be curious about with the talent for this premiere.

Phoolan

There’s something about a contained time period that makes for a particularly thrilling theatrical experience. Richie Mehta’s “Phoolan” aims to be a perfect example of this: a tense Indian thriller spanning forty-eight hours. Based on the autobiography of the titular Phoolan Devi, the film follows a small Indian village under siege. The film seems to balance a window into the siege with the traumas Phoolan faced as the target of an army of thousands. Whether the film works more as a thriller, a historical biography of Phoolan, or succeeds at both, it at the very least seems like a story that should be told, and hopefully will be made in a way that deserves to be seen. The film will be a Prime Video original, so those unable to catch it at TIFF will hopefully not have to wait too long to see it.

Prima Facie

Hot off the “Wicked” duology, Cynthia Erivo returns to a more grounded drama with Susanna White’s adaptation of “Prima Facie.” Based on Suzie Miller’s one-woman play, Erivo takes over the role of Tessa, originated by Jodie Comer, a barrister who defends men accused of sexual crimes whose perspective on her job is changed when she herself is the victim of such a crime. It’s dense and layered material, a show and performance that received intense acclaim, and it’ll be exciting to see how Erivo and White adapt the work into film. Miller returns to pen the screenplay, and how she adjusts her own work will be fascinating for both those familiar with the play and the many people who will be introduced to the story through this film.

River

Going back into Midnight Madness, Joshua Giuliano makes his feature debut with the slasher “River.” The film follows three siblings adrift in the ocean, which, as a slasher setup, is already incredibly unnerving. If it delivers on the claustrophobia of a slasher at sea, this could be one of the biggest armrest grippers of not just the festival but the entire year. Is that just a fear of the ocean talking? Perhaps a little, but the fear of the vast unknown is such a common, universal anxiety that it feels primed to build a successful horror film off of. Hopefully, Giuliano can deliver on that prospect.

Run Terry Run

The only film on this list that technically has screened before, Sean Menard’s “Run Terry Run” had an advance screening nearly a year ago at Roy Thomson Hall. The documentary follows Terry Fox and his run during the 1980 Marathon of Hope. Much of the footage in the film is previously unseen, uncovered by Fox’s foundation only in recent years. Whether the film has changed at all since last year’s screening is unclear, but whether it’s the same or mildly different, it’ll be a joy for major audiences to get access to this story and how Menard tells it.

Salvation

English filmmaker Tom Nicoll makes his debut with a dark comedy/thriller “Salvation.” The film follows an aspiring life coach who uses the profession to explore how masculinity is perceived today, especially by more troubled men. It may play into a Safdie Brothers-type unlikable lead who gets involved in things they shouldn’t, but that’s pure conjecture based on the premise. Nicoll has made short films before, but for many, this will be the first time his style and voice really take shape. The premise here sounds like a perfect tonal exercise for a first-time feature.

Still Night, Burning House

A deeply personal documentary, Carol Nguyen’s “Still Night, Burning House” follows Nguyen’s own family as they reunite after the mysterious death of her uncle. The film unpacks the generations of trauma that make up the history of their family, while also seeing if there’s anything left to uncover in the death that still haunts them. Documentaries that follow filmmakers exploring their own history and experience are always the most fascinating; seeing their discoveries and closures happen in real time on camera is incredibly cathartic to watch. What comes of this film and how personal and intimate it gets is to be seen, but the premise alone is not only fascinating to see, but incredibly inspiring to see bravery like this from a new filmmaker.

The Surgeon

Between directing “A Nice Indian Boy” and “7 Days,” as well as scribing “Call Jane,” Harvard graduate Roshan Sethi has made a solid name for himself as a filmmaker this decade. The former especially made quite a splash at its 2025 launch, and hopefully will build enough goodwill to draw eyes to his latest film, “The Surgeon,” as it makes its first bow at the festival. If his past work isn’t enough to do it, the star power certainly will, with stars Michelle Yeoh and Martin Freeman having led both blockbuster and smaller projects to get fans all over interested in seeing their work here. It seems these two are among the only actors in the film, perhaps a two-hander akin to “Sanctuary,” with Yeoh playing a surgeon kidnapped by Freeman. The film draws on Sethi’s own experience in the medical field, and on the thrillers of the 2000s that we don’t see in the same quantity this decade, but perhaps this will help bring them back.

A Talent For Murder

Dutch filmmaker Anton Corbijn has worked with some of the greatest movie stars of our time, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robert Pattinson, and George Clooney. His latest film, premiering in Toronto, “A Talent For Murder,” is no different, with not only an icon like Helen Mirren, but also rising stars Olivia Cooke and Alden Ehrenreich. The film follows Ehrenreich as he travels to Switzerland to convince Mirren’s character, Patricia Highsmith, to write one more of her Tom Ripley novels. For a character like Ripley that’s been adapted so many times, and so famously in cinema, to see a different sort of story involving the character is a rather interesting prospect. Especially with a cast like this and a solid director at the helm, it could certainly make for a breakout, at least for fans of the author and actors involved in bringing her to the screen.

Trash Mountain

For fans of Caleb Hearon, or even just those vaguely familiar with him, it feels like the comedian has been on the verge of a breakout for a while now, maybe getting closest with his small role in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.” With him writing and acting in Kris Rey’s new film “Trash Mountain,” it may be his time to fully explode as a star comedian. The film follows Hearon as he returns home after his father passes to sort through all he has hoarded. It will be exciting to see how well the dramatic-sounding premise balances with the film’s clear lighter side, but these comedy vehicles, once spearheaded by Judd Apatow in the 2000s, are still nice to see made on any scale.

Vintage Violence

Only so many filmmakers can properly tap into what it feels like to be online. That said, between “Spree” and “The Code,” Eugene Kotlyarenko is clearly among this class of tapped-in artists. Even the fact that someone like Cole Sprouse leads this film may support that, especially in his role as a live streamer. The film follows his character as he travels to Japan to sell a pair of jeans to one of his subscribers, and how he explores this through the film’s self-described “mixed media” approach will be one of the most curious reveals of this year’s lineup. He’s certainly not a filmmaker for everybody, and not all of his films work. Still, the way he captures constantly shifting online culture is fascinating to watch evolve as his career progresses.

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Perhaps this is circumstantial to individual film spaces, but the final film on this list, “Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother,” may have had the buzziest trailer of anything listed here. The Bassam Tariq film stars Mahershala Ali, an actor everyone is excited to see after his troubled “Blade” production, which Tariq was going to direct, kept him offline for so long. With a film that looks as good as this trailer does, and an ensemble that includes John Cho and Tramell Tillman, it’s become not only one of the most exciting premieres of the festival but one of the most exciting films, period.

What are you most looking forward to at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival? Anything you’d specifically like to hear our take on when we attend? Please let us know in the comments section below or on our X account.

The post The World Premieres We Can’t Wait To See From The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) appeared first on Next Best Picture.

Will anything actually surprise us at fall festivals this year?

Last year, fall fests premiered Best Picture nominees like “Bugonia,” “Frankenstein,” “Hamnet,” and “Marty Supreme.” Still, none of them really came out of nowhere – not like “The Brutalist” did out of Venice in 2024, or like “American Fiction” and “All Quiet on the Western Front” did out of TIFF in 2023 and 2022.

This year, all eyes are on long-projected contenders like “Wild Horse Nine,” “The Debut,” and “Behemoth!” to go from fall festival premieres to Best Picture hopefuls. But is anything going to break out at Venice, Telluride, Toronto, and New York that almost no one eyes as a Best Picture nominee right now – something like “Tender Loving Care” or “A Long Winter” from Telluride, “Possible Love” or “Bunker” at Venice, or even “Misty Green” or “I Play Rocky” at TIFF?

Between the assumed fall festival heavyweights and all the early pre-fall contenders, there might not be room for any nominee that absolutely nobody sees coming before September. As much as pundits and fans might like to see any new blood shake up the race, it might be a case of too little, too late or a case of needing to be careful what we wish for.

Will “Ink,” “Elsinore,” and “Primetime” live up to their sudden hype?

There are a few films that aren’t projected in a lot of Best Picture picks right now, but may be lurking just outside the top 10 because of how they’ve been positioned at fall fests. In that context, if they do surge higher up the bubble or even become locks after their festival runs, nobody can say they didn’t see it coming – not after Netflix bought “Ink” and suddenly put it at Venice, Toronto and likely Telluride, or how Focus Features turned “Elsinore” into a must-see Telluride premiere that might launch Andrew Scott’s Best Actor campaign, or how A24 made “Primetime” a potential major launch for Robert Pattinson at Venice.

“Ink,” “Elsinore,” and “Primetime” still aren’t considered sure-fire fall fest breakouts on the level of “Wild Horse Nine” and “The Debut.” Yet all the moves they’ve made these last several weeks have put them very close to that level. But now that Netflix, Focus and A24 have put a rather eyebrow-raising amount of faith in them, how many, if any of them, will actually reward that faith – and if they do, will it still be enough to make them and their stars contenders in the long run?

How will the Cannes favorites fare in North America?

As much as the world premieres at Telluride, TIFF and NYFF will be a big story, the non-premieres there will be just as important. Every year, Cannes winners and favorites have to prove they aren’t a fluke with their first tests amongst American audiences – and this year, supposed Oscar contenders from Cannes like “La Bola Negra,” “Fjord,” “All of a Sudden” and maybe even “Club Kid” will take that test.

Sometimes these results can be misleading, as “No Other Choice” won TIFF’s first International People’s Choice Award over future Best Picture nominees “Sentimental Value” and “The Secret Agent” but faded later on, while Palme d’Or winner “It Was Just an Accident” didn’t have any speed bumps with American viewers until much later. Nonetheless, “La Bola Negra” will still hope to match its Cannes raves at Telluride and TIFF and further prove it can challenge “The Odyssey” and others for a Best Picture win, all as “Fjord” and “All of a Sudden” hope to start separating themselves in the race to be the second “safe” Cannes Best Picture nominee, and “Club Kid” hopes a potential TIFF People’s Choice win or place can give it a shot at the Oscar bubble.

Will a classic TIFF “villain” premiere this year?

Usually when a film becomes an Oscar season “villain’ to certain critics, it starts by winning or doing damage at TIFF, like “Green Book” did in 2018. But no TIFF film like that has really matched it in awards success or backlash since then, at least depending on what one thinks of other recent TIFF winners turned Oscar winners like “Jojo Rabbit,” “American Fiction,” and “Hamnet.”

In the last two years alone, films made to be seemingly sure-fire TIFF People’s Choice winners turned heavily backlashed Oscar contenders have flamed out instantly, like “Saturday Night” in 2024 and “Rental Family” last year. This year the biggest possible threat to upset at TIFF, break into the Oscar race and get tons of hate later on for it would seem to be “I Play Rocky,” if only because of the combination of a “Rocky”/Sylvester Stallone reenactment and the direction of “Green Book’s” own Peter Farrelly. If not that, it might be Opening Night film “Being Heumann” from “CODA’s” own Sian Heder, if not Chris Rock’s “Misty Green” or the Cynthia Erivo-led adaptation of “Prima Facie.”

The reliability of TIFF regularly premiering Oscar frontrunners, let alone those mainly adored by the most traditional Academy voters, has been shaky lately. Will this year be another sign of the decline of TIFF world premieres, or will one of them bring back the festival’s good old days – whether pundits and future viewers outside of Toronto like it or not?

How misleading will Venice reactions be this year?

Venice kicked off the 2025 fall festival season on a weird note, both during the festival and in the long run. While “Bugonia” and “Frankenstein” were the two Venice films that made it into Best Picture, they arguably had their worst receptions at their Venice premieres, as “Frankenstein” needed a TIFF People’s Choice runner-up mention to get back on its feet and “Bugonia” took until late fall to become a locked nominee again.

On top of all that, “Jay Kelly” started its collapse from preseason frontrunner to complete snub with its own mixed Venice reception, “A House of Dynamite” actually got raves from Venice but nowhere else the rest of the season, and eventual Golden Lion winner “Father Mother Sister Brother” was a non-factor the rest of the year just like 2024 winner “The Room Next Door.” With that in mind, how much stock can we really place in any word of mouth from Venice this year?

If “Wild Horse Nine” does get the raves most everyone expects out of Venice, will it be a lasting sign of Oscar success ahead – and if it doesn’t, will that prove misleading down the line anyway? “Bugonia” and “Frankenstein” had to play the long game after their initial struggles at Venice, but can something like “Ink” or “Primetime” afford to have less than perfect Venice reactions out of the gate? And should something out of nowhere win the Golden Lion again, is that now a kiss of death these days, or can a Venice winner match the likes of “Poor Things,” “Nomadland,” “Joker,” “Roma,” and “The Shape of Water” once again?

Does New York have another Best Picture premiere in waiting?

By a technicality through a “surprise” premiere that wasn’t really a massive surprise, “Marty Supreme” became the first New York Film Festival world premiere to make Best Picture since “The Irishman” in 2019. By and large, NYFF isn’t really a prime destination for world premieres turned Oscar contenders on the level of Venice, Telluride and TIFF, but it will hope to defy the odds again this year anyway.

NYFF’s chances for a second straight year of launching a Best Picture nominee seem to ride on “Behemoth!”, which will have its opening concert on October 2nd. By then, “Wild Horse Nine” might already be big enough that Searchlight doesn’t really need “Behemoth!” as an Oscar season priority anymore, unless it still wants to get two films in for the first time since 2017. But if “Wild Horse Nine” does tumble at Venice and Telluride, Searchlight will have a lot more riding on “Behemoth!’s” premiere – although “Is This Thing On?’s” closing night premiere at NYFF last year didn’t bail Searchlight out after “Rental Family” fell out of the running at TIFF.

Beyond that, NYFF has three other world premieres with Oscar pedigree: it launches “Godzilla Minus Zero” three years after its predecessor, “Godzilla Minus One,” won the 2023 Best Visual Effects Oscar, and will later have “A Statement” from “Spotlight” director Tom McCarthy. In addition, the recently announced premiere of Luca Guadagnino’s already-controversial “Artificial” is sure to draw attention. Yet if these three films and “Behemoth!” fade after their NYFF premieres, it will be back to business as usual.

Will the fall fests launch major Oscar winners again?

Thanks to “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” and “Weapons,” the only 2025 above-the-line Oscar winner who premiered at a fall festival was Jessie Buckley, following “Hamnet’s” Telluride premiere and TIFF People’s Choice win. But that can’t be written off as a one-year fluke, since 2024’s only fall festival Oscar winners were Adrian Brody and the script for “Conclave,” 2023’s were Emma Stone, Da’Vine Joy Randolph and the script for “American Fiction,” and 2022’s were Brendan Fraser and the script for “Women Talking.” And of course, there still hasn’t been a Best Picture winner from a fall festival in a non-pandemic year since “Green Book” back in 2018.

Between “The Odyssey,” “La Bola Negra,” Inde Navarrette, Anne Hathaway, and post-fall-festival premieres from the likes of Tom Cruise, “Digger,” and “Dune: Part Three,” this is already looking like another year where most major Oscar winners will be from films outside the fall festival circuit. Right now, the biggest hopes to turn that around seem to be from Martin McDonagh and the stars of “Wild Horse Nine,” Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti from “The Debut,” and maybe stars from the likes of “Ink,” “Elsinore,” “Behemoth!” and “Primetime.”

Admittedly, since the current Next Best Picture projections have Moore, Giamatti and “Wild Horse Nine” as favorites for Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Best Original Screenplay, and John Malkovich as the top consensus Best Actor nominee, maybe this can be a year with more balance between early contenders and fall festival films. But if “Wild Horse Nine” and/or “The Debut” do not live up to their hype, will it be another year where fall festivals have little to no impact on who wins the biggest Oscars – or will a few unlikely saviors make this a comeback year after all?

Do you believe any of these Best Picture contenders are similar to last year’s contenders? Which films are you currently predicting for Best Picture before the fall film festivals begin? Please let us know in the comments section below and on Next Best Picture’s X account, and check out Next Best Picture’s latest Oscar predictions here.

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One of the big storylines of fall festivals this year will be how A24 makes out with its four major entries, and how its Oscar season pecking order and priorities will be shaped as a result. But even if A24 has one or two or more new legitimate contenders after fall festivals, is it actually equipped to juggle them – and what will become of its one already established contender in “The Invite” if it can’t do it?

Although A24 swept all but one above-the-line Oscar in 2022 with two films, its ability to multitask hasn’t been very good since then. Even in 2022, when “Everything Everywhere All at Once” won six major Oscars and it still had time to get Brendan Fraser another one for “The Whale,” the one thing A24 couldn’t do that year was get two movies into Best Picture. And when it did so a year later, it was by the skin of its teeth, since it let early season contender “Past Lives” nearly slip out of Best Picture altogether by the end of the year while it was busy surging “The Zone of Interest” in.

A24 wasn’t so lucky in 2024, as it once again took its eye off the ball of a minority-led/directed film that looked like a major contender in the early season, but slipped to the bubble by the end. In that case, “Sing Sing” did ultimately lose out on a Best Picture nomination, yet by then it was a secondary priority for A24 as soon as it bought “The Brutalist” out of Venice. Although “The Brutalist” was a multi-Oscar winner, a top three contender and a Best Actor winner for Adrian Brody, A24 still left a lot more on the table once it neglected its initial contender for its shiner new toy.

A24 didn’t even bother with the pretense of having multiple options in 2025, as from the very beginning, it was clear its entire awards season campaign was just going to be devoted to “Marty Supreme.” To be fair, it did work in the beginning with nearly $100 million box office in America, across-the-board nominations, and a seemingly assured Timothée Chalamet Best Actor win. However, when Chalamet and “Marty Supreme” sank after the nomination phase, and when A24 had no other backups, it resulted in its first winless Oscar night since 2021.

Whether that consciously taught A24 a lesson or not, it seems it is keeping its options far more open this year. Like “Past Lives” and “Sing Sing” before it, “The Invite” has gone from a very early-season festival film to a presumed Best Picture nominee by summer. But like with “Past Lives” and “Sing Sing,” “The Invite” could easily be neglected and left to fall out of the running if A24 has other, newer and shiner priorities by the end of fall festival season – and this year it has up to four of those.

A24 was already presumed to have its top 2026 priority set for fall, in the form of “The Debut.” Since it is from “A Real Pain” writer/director Jesse Eisenberg, and already has Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti as the projected Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor favorites, the train of thought was that once it premiered at Telluride, it would take over as A24’s No. 1 from there. Afterward, it would be a question of whether A24 would bother to keep pushing “The Invite” from there and try to get two films in again – which it only barely did after letting its early season contender falter in 2023, and couldn’t do when its early season contender fell off completely in 2024.

Given that “The Invite” is the only projected contender so far from a female director, and that it could wind up the only hope to avoid a Best Picture field with no female-made films for the first time since 2018, the optics would look especially bad if A24 deprioritizes it for anything beyond a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination. Nonetheless, if “The Debut” actually lives up to preseason expectations and gives A24 a shot at major wins, it will reason that it should be prioritized over something like “The Invite” fighting for nominations only, à la “The Brutalist” over “Sing Sing” and “The Zone of Interest” over “Past Lives.”
But on the off chance “The Debut” underachieves at Telluride and elsewhere, that might not automatically mean “The Invite” becomes its undisputed No. 1 – especially with other options staking a claim at fall festivals lately.

“Misty Green” has been raising eyebrows not just as one of the highest-profile TIFF world premieres, but also when it was chosen to be in NYFF’s Main Slate as well. To this point, the highest awards expectations for “Misty Green” were that it could elevate star Rosalind Eleazar into the wide-open Best Actress field, and perhaps give A24 a second nominee in that category alongside Moore. But its prominent place at TIFF and NYFF has raised hope that if “The Debut” disappoints, maybe it leaves room for “Misty Green” to be A24’s big fall festival breakout and newest Oscar season priority, especially if it contends for the TIFF People’s Choice.

Another potential A24 TIFF challenger is “Club Kid,” which has actually already been seen and raved about at Cannes. Like with “Misty Green,” the most realistic awards chances for “Club Kid” are presumed to be in one category only, in this case as a possible hopeful for the last Best Original Screenplay slot. Yet if it is as much of a crowd pleaser in TIFF as it was in Cannes, a People Choice placement or higher could make “Club Kid” something that demands greater resources and backing from A24 as well.

As if this wasn’t enough, A24 also has “Primetime” to set the tone for fall festivals at Venice. Like both “Misty Green” and “Club Kid” all the awards potential for “Primetime” is assumed to be in one category, in this case for Pattinson in Best Actor. It may be the most likely place for him to get a collective nomination for his gigantic year – which includes the A24 spring hit “The Drama” – although “Primetime” may not otherwise be the kind of crowd pleaser that can ride his coattails into other nominations.

Even with all these options for A24, its most likely outcome may be the one that’s been picked from the beginning – for “The Debut” to be its top contender after Telluride, for “The Invite” to fight for a bubble Best Picture nomination and A24’s attention afterwards, and for “Misty Green,” “Primetime,” and “Club Kid” to each scratch and claw for one collective nomination. But what happens if one or all of those latter three films exceed all expectations at fall festivals, and what would that mean for A24’s priorities depending on what “The Debut” does? Or what if all four of them are letdowns and it clears the way for “The Invite” to be its one and only hopeful after all?

There is a world where this year is a vintage “comeback” season for A24, as it has more than one chance to be one of the biggest fall festival players of the season, has a major safety net in “The Invite” to fall back on if a few or all of those festival films fall flat, and maybe even has some of the few contenders this year not made by white male directors in “The Invite” and “Misty Green.” On the other hand, if their fall fest lineup becomes one of the biggest disappointments of the year, and/or they still manage to miscalculate with their Oscar season pecking order, it will turn a season of great promise for A24 into one it will struggle to live down.

In a time where A24 has made major inroads towards the mainstream with hits like “Marty Supreme” and “Backrooms,” where it can still push smaller films like “The Invite” into box office success, but where the glory days of “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” have been somewhat hard to recapture as it becomes less independent, it could use a big performance this Oscar season – beyond just nominations only for one film – to prove it still has some true indie and awards magic left. At the least, it has up to four chances next month to show how magical its 2026 Oscar lineup can really become.

Which A24 film do you think will emerge from the fall film festivals as the studio’s biggest Oscar contender? Or is it already “The Invite?” Please let us know in the comments section below and on Next Best Picture’s X account, and check out Next Best Picture’s latest Oscar predictions here.

The post Which A24 Film Will Emerge From The Fall Festivals As Their Biggest Oscar Contender? appeared first on Next Best Picture.

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The post The Next Best Picture Podcast: Episode 502 – Venice & TIFF Lineups, Comic-Con, “Avengers: Doomsday,” “Other Mommy,” “Clayface” & “Ebenezer” Trailers appeared first on Next Best Picture.