Benedict Cumberbatch seems to be taking over the universe, showing up on desolate Klingon planets and San Diego Comic Con and stealing the show in both places. Now he's taking his universally beloved roadshow up north, with no fewer than two high-profile films now set to premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Programmers announced the fest's Gala and Special Presentations lineup, and Cumberbatch will be starring in three of them-- opening night offering The Fifth Estate, in which he plays Julian Assange, and the ensemble dramas August: Osage County and 12 Years A Slave.
The rest of the lineup of films, though Cumberbatch-less, is equally impressive-- lucky festivalgoers can check out Alfonso Cuaron's much-buzzed Gravity, Jason Reitman's film starring Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin Labor Day, the new Ron Howard racing drama Rush, and Idris Elba's starring role as none other than Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. Every single one of those ought to be a contender in the fall awards race-- or at least, they hope to be-- so expect strong buzz good or bad about them the moment they premiere in Toronto.
Some other strong efforts from other festivals will also be joining the festival, including Jon Krokidas's Beat generation-piece Kill Your Darlings-- which I loved at Sundance-- and the big Cannes buzz-getter Blue Is The Warmest Color, which will be bringing its reportedly explicit sex scenes to the shores of Lake Ontario. There's also Joseph Gordon-Levitt's directorial debut Don Jon, formerly called Don Jon's Addiction, which I liked a lot less at Sundance, but which is headed for release this fall.
You can click over to the official TIFF website for the full lineup of films, and check back in early September for our coverage of the festival. In the meantime, check out some of the trailers for those big films listed above, including good ol' Cumberbatch getting terrifying as Julian Assange in The Fifth Estate.
The Fifth Estate
Gravity
Rush
