‘Outlaw King,’ ‘Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy’ to Open and Close Toronto Film Festival

“Outlaw King,” a biopic about Scottish hero Robert the Bruce, and “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,” a look at an infamous literary fabulist, will both screen at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

The “Hell or High Water” team of director David MacKenzie and Chris Pine reunite for “Outlaw King,” which will be the opening night gala presentation. It’s being billed as a David-versus-Goliath story, one that chronicles the Bruce’s transformation from defeated nobleman to defiant freedom fighter.

“Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,” stars Laura Dern as an author who adopts a fictitious persona of JT LeRoy, a queer man. After her book tops the best-seller list and JT LeRoy becomes an object of fixation among the literary set, she’s forced to come to terms with the consequences of her creative nom-de-plume. Kristen Stewart co-stars in the film. “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” will be the festival’s closing night offering.

In addition, Toronto unveiled 100 more features and short films that will screen as part of its lineup. They include such notable additions as Joel Edgerton’s “Boy Erased,” a drama about gay conversion therapy that stars Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, and Lucas Hedges; Sam Taylor-Johnson’s “A Million Little Pieces,” an adaptation of James Frey’s controversial and factually challenged memoir of the same name; and Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Never Look Away,” the German director’s attempt to wash off the stink left over from the debacle that was “The Tourist.”

Actor and comedian Jonah Hill’s directorial debut “Mid90s” has earned a berth at the festival, as has “Teen Spirit,” which marks the first time behind the camera for Max Minghella, son of “The English Patient” director Anthony Minghella.

“Outlaw King” also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh, and Billy Howle. Netflix backed the film. Its inclusion is notable because the streaming service was shunned by Cannes, which barred its films from competition because they largely forgo theaters. The company is being welcomed by Toronto — Netflix will release seven films at the gathering, including Paul Greengrass’ “July 22” and Nicole Holofcener’s “The Land of Steady Habits.”

Justin Kelly directs “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy” and the film also features Diane Kruger, Jim Sturgess, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Courtney Love.

The festival runs from Sept. 6 to 16. Toronto, know as TIFF around the industry, has previously unveiled much of its slate. The list of Oscar contenders making the trek to Canada includes Bradley Cooper’s “A Star is Born,” Alfonso Cuaron’s “Roma,” and Damien Chazelle’s “First Man.” The gathering is seen as a critical awards season stop. Oscar darlings such as “Gravity,” “The Shape of Water,” and “Moonlight” have all bolstered their plaudits chances by premiering up north.

Here are the additions to TIFF’s slate:

GALAS
“Green Book,” Peter Farrelly
“Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,” Justin Kelly (closing night)
“The Lie,” Veena Sud
“Outlaw King,” David Mackenzie (opening night)

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
“American Woman,” Jake Scott
“Baby” (“Bao Bei Er”), Liu Jie
“Boy Erased,” Joel Edgerton
“Driven,” Nick Hamm
“Duelles” (“Mothers’ Instinct”), Olivier Masset-Depasse
“A Faithful Man” (“L’homme fidele”), Louis Garrel
“Gloria Bell,” Sebastian Lelio
“Hold the Dark,” Jeremy Saulnier
“Kursk,” Thomas Vinterberg
“Legend of the Demon Cat – Directors Cut,” Chen Kaige
“Mid90s,” Jonah Hill
“A Million Little Pieces,” Sam Taylor-Johnson
“Never Look Away” (“Werk ohne Autor”), Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
“The Quietude” (“La Quietud”), Pablo Trapero
“Skin,” Guy Nattiv
“Teen Spirit,” Max Minghella
“Tell It to the Bees,” Annabel Jankel
“22 July,” Paul Greengrass
“Viper Club,” Maryam Keshavarz
“Vision,” Naomi Kawase
“Vita & Virginia,” Chanya Button
“Wild Rose,” Tom Harper

MASTERS
“3 Faces,” Jafar Panahi
“Ash Is Purest White” (“J iang Hu Er Nü”), Jia Zhang-ke
“Divine Wind” (“Rihrabani”), Merzak Allouache
“Hotel by the River” (“Gangbyun Hotel”), Hong Sang-soo
“Killing” (“Zan”), Shinya Tsukamoto
“Loro,” Paolo Sorrentino
“Our Time” (“Nuestro Tiempo”) Carlos Reygadas
“Peterloo,” Mike Leigh
“The Image Book” ( Le livre d’image ) Jean-Luc Godard
“The Wild Pear Tree” (“Ahlat Ağacı”) Nuri Bilge Ceylan
“Transit,” Christian Petzold

CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA
“The Accused” (“Acusada”), Gonzalo Tobal
“Angel” (“Un Ange”), Koen Mortier
“Asako I & II” (“Netemo Sametemo”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi
“Before the Frost” (“For Frosten”), Michael Noer
“Belmonte,” Frederico Veiroj
“Birds of Passage” (“Pajaros de verano”), Cristina Gallego & Ciro Guerra
“Black 47,” Lance Daly
“The Black Book,” Valeria Sarmiento
“Border” (“Grans”), Ali Abbasi
“Bulbul Can Sing,” Rima Das
“Core of the World,” Natalia Meshchaninova
“The Dive” (“Hatzlila”), Yona Rozenkier
“Donbass,” Sergei Loznitsa
“The Angel” (“El Angel”), Luis Ortega
“EXT. Night” (“Leil Khargi”), Ahmad Abdalla
“The Factory,” Yury Bykov
“Florianopolis Dream” (“Sueno Florianopolis”), Ana Katz
“I Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,” Radu Jude
“Jinpa” (“Zhuang Si Le Yi Zhi Yang”), Pema Tseden
“Let Me Fall” (“Lof mer ad falla”), Baldvin Z
“Look at Me,” Nejib Belkadhi
“Miniscule – Mandibles From Far Away,” Helene Giraud
“The Most Beautiful Couple” (“Das schonste Paar”), Sven Taddicken
“Museum” (“Museo”), Alonso Ruizpalacios
“One Last Deal” (“Tuntematon mestari”), Klaus Haro
“The Other Story” (“Sipur Acher”), Avi Nesher
“Quien te Cantara,” Carlos Vermut
“The Realm” (“El Reino”), Rodrigo Sorogoyen
“Redemption” (“Guela”), Boaz Yehonatan Jacov, Joseph Madmony
“Retrospekt,” Esther Rots
“Roads in February” (“Les routes en fevrier”), Katherine Jerkovic
“Rosie,” Paddy Breathnach
“Sew the Winter to My Skin,” Jahmil X.T. Qubeka
“Stupid Young Heart” (“Holmo nuori sydan”), Selma Vihunen
“Styx,” Wolfgang Fischer
“The Sweet Requiem” (“Kyoyang Ngarmo”), Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam
“That Time of Year” (“Den Tid Pa Aret”), Paprika Steen
“Ulysses & Mona,” Sebastien Betbeder
“The Vice of Hope” (“Il Vizio Della Speranza”), Edoardo de Angelis
“Winter Flies” (“Vsechno bude”), Olmo Omerzu
“Working Woman” (“Isha Ovedet”), Michael Aviad

WAVELENGTHS FEATURES
“Dead Souls,” Wang Bing
“Erased,___Ascent of the Invisible,” Ghassan Halwani
“Fausto,” Andrea Bussmann
“In My Room,” Ulrich Köhler
“The Flower,” Mariano Llinás
“Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” Bi Gan
“RAY & LIZ,” Richard Billingham
“The Stone Speakers,” Igor Drljača
“The Trial,” Sergei Loznitsa
“What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?” Roberto Minervini

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