In Pictures: Toronto Film Festival 2013
- Published
Actress Jennifer Aniston's latest movie, Life of Crime, has closed the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Based on crime writer Elmore Leonard's 1978 novel The Switch, the former Friends star plays a kidnap victim who spends most of the film's running time with a mask over her head.
The two-week festival is a major fixture on the film industry calendar, with a reputation for screening future Oscar winners. Daniel Radcliffe was mobbed by fans (brandishing Harry Potter books) at the premiere of Kill Your Darlings, in which he plays beat poet Allen Ginsberg.
Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch had the honour of opening the festival with The Fifth Estate, in which he plays Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. "I'm not a betting man, but I reckon he won't particularly want to support the film," he told reporters.
Venezuelan-Spanish production Libertador: The Liberator tells the story of Simon Bolivar, who led the liberation movement for six Latin American nations in the 18th Century. It stars Edgar Ramirez as the military leader and Juana Acosta as one of his great loves.
Jake Gyllenhaal starred in Enemy, about a history professor who sets out to find his exact look-alike after spotting him in a film. The actor plays both himself and his double in the thriller, which was directed by Canadian Oscar nominee Denis Villenueve.
Emma Thompson threw a pose for photogaphers as she attended the premiere of heist movie Love Punch.
Love Punch also stars former 007 Pierce Brosnan, who plays Thompson's estranged former husband. The film follows the ageing partners-in-crime as they embark on a diamond heist to recover their retirement savings. “The bunions, aches and pains are somewhat real at times," Brosnan quipped.
Nicole Kidman was present for the premiere of The Railway Man, in which she plays the wife of a British soldier (Colin Firth) traumatised by his experiences as a prisoner of war during WWII. Based on the memoirs of Eric Lomax, the film was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce, fresh from the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Batman and Inception star Joseph Gordon-Levitt made a dashing entrance, literally, as his directorial debut Don Jon screened at the festival.
Gordon-Levitt's co-star in Don Jon is Scarlett Johansson. She plays an all-American girl who falls in love with a man addicted to pornography and one-night stands. The actress also cropped up as an alien in fellow festival premiere Under The Skin, which received poor reviews.
Jared Leto took a break from his career as a rock star and returned to the big screen in Dallas Buyers' Club. He won rave reviews for his portrayal of Rayon, a transgender person dying of Aids. The actor revealed he auditioned via Skype while his band 30 Seconds To Mars were on tour in Europe.
Oscar-winner Paul Haggis (Crash) took his latest film, Third Person, to the projection rooms of Toronto. Interweaving three love stories in New York, Paris and Rome, the film's ensemble cast includes Liam Neeson (pictured), Adrien Brody, Olivia Wilde and Mila Kunis.
Critics carped that Third Person fell flat, with none of the three stories achieving believability, but Wilde and Kunis nonetheless seemed to be in good spirits at the film's press call.
Taylor Swift was caught unawares by a photographer on the red carpet for One Chance, a movie based on the story of Britain's Got Talent winner Paul Potts.
Swift wrote a song for the film, which stars James Corden (front, seated) as the British tenor. Potts (second left) flew in for the premiere and posed with the cast, including Valeria Bilello (centre) and Alexandra Roach (left), who plays his wife Julie-Ann Cooper.
Sandra Bullock jetted into the festival from its counterpart in Venice. Her space-set thriller Gravity, which co-stars George Clooney, played at both.
Austin Powers funnyman Mike Myers brought a documentary to the film fortnight. Supermensch: The Legend Of Shep Gordon tells the story of music manager Shep (pictured above, right), who steered the careers of Alice Cooper, Teddy Pendergrass and Pink Floyd in the 1970s and 80s.
Idris Elba took Long Walk To Freedom, in which he plays former South African President Nelson Mandela, to the festival. Bringing the intensity of his performances in Luther and The Wire to the role, he was praised by Variety for capturing "the spirit of Mandela in the way no other actor quite has".
British gangster movie Don Hemingway won actor Jude Law positive notices for his talk-heavy character study. He wasn't present for the photocall, though, with the rest of the cast apparently having fallen asleep waiting for him. From left: Richard E Grant, director Richard Shepard, Emilia Clarke, Demian Bichir and Madalina Diana Ghenea.
A heavily pregnant Kate Winslet attended the premiere of the appropriately-titled Labor Day. Directed by Jason Reitman (Juno, Up In The Air) it sees the British star forced to give up her home to a jail-breaker played by Josh Brolin.
Brad Pitt brought some star power, and a ponytail, to the the screening of 12 Years A Slave. He plays a small role in British director Steve McQueen's latest film, a brutal depiction of the mistreatment of slaves in America. Based on Solomon Northup's memoir, the unflinching scenes of torture caused some audience members to walk out.
Ewan McGregor and Julia Roberts were among the cast of August: Osage County, the film adaptation of Tracy Letts' Tony and Pulitzer prize-winning stage play. Telling the story of a bitter, pill-popping matriarch (Meryl Streep) who summons her daughters home when their father goes missing, there were reports that the film's ending would be re-shot following feedback from the Toronto audience.
There were positive reviews for crime-fighting action thriller Cold Eyes, which has already sold 5.4 million tickets at the Korean box office. Actress Han Hyo-joo (pictured) and K-pop star Junho were mobbed by fans at the premiere.
Keanu Reeves brought his directorial debut Man Of Tai Chi to the festival. Five years in the making, the multilingual martial arts film was partly inspired by Reeves's kung-fu trainer Tiger Hu Chen (right), who also stars. Reeves had bad news for fans of Bill and Ted though, telling reporters that the much-anticipated third instalment in the comedy franchise was in a "dark period" and may never see the light of day.
Kurt Russell shared a joke on the red carpet with Jay Baruchel, his co-star in The Art of the Steal. Mirroring Britain's Love Punch, the heist movie sees an ageing hustler putting together one last job. The Toronto Film Festival closes on Sunday night with the presentation of its annual awards, including the People's Choice award for the film most favoured by TIFF audiences.