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TIFF

TIFF Expands TV Lineup Ahead Of TIFF: The Market

by jummy84 October 15, 2025

written by jummy84

EXCLUSIVE: The Toronto International Film Festival is going deeper into TV and making Primetime bigger. The Festival has a TV section called Primetime and TIFF execs told Deadline they plan to increase the selection by 40% for 2026.

Appropriately, the news came out of MIPCOM, the Cannes TV market that’s running this week. The setting was fitting, as TIFF was on the ground meeting the TV industry ahead of next year’s launch of TIFF: The Market.

TIFF and Deadline hosted a networking reception with buyers and distributors and we caught up with the TIFF execs in town, Judy Lung VP, Strategy, Communications & Stakeholder Relations and Geoff Macnaughton, VP of Industry and Theatrical Programming.

Macnaughton told us that the Primetime section he oversees will expand by 40%, featuring approximately 14 series next year.

This year’s Primetime lineup had six world premieres including The Lowdown, which opened the section, Netflix’s Mae Martin series Wayward, Black Rabbit starring Jude Law and Jason Bateman, and Origin: The Story of the Basketball Africa League, which was the only documentary series.

Macnaughton told guests at the TIFF-Deadline reception that several of this year’s Primetime shows racked up deals after their TIFF showing. That’s an important point for the MIPCOM crowd, notably as TIFF readies the launch of its own market in 2026.

TIFF: The Market will span TV, film and next-generation content and is a notable new addition to the calendar. “This year, our 50th has been a really exciting opportunity to celebrate how far we’ve come, but also to look ahead and ignite our vision for the next 50 years and beyond,” Lung said. “This vision for the future is centered around a commitment to deepening TIFF’s support of the global entertainment business, including the launch of an official content market at the Festival next September.”

Macnaughton added: “We are always looking for series that are things we have never seen before, and that are going to surprise people, but also [projects] that are looking for distribution. And we’re leaning into this idea of designing a content market and building not only what we do in the film side of things, but also growing what we do on the series side, that’s really important to us.”

TIFF: The Market will run September 10 through 16. The venue is TBC, but as it comes together TIFF has assembled a committee of industry advisors including TV execs from BBC Studios and Blue Ant.

October 15, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

David Jonsson Prison Movie Hits TIFF

by jummy84 September 13, 2025

written by jummy84

Prison yards contain a multitude of characters, but prison movies tend to focus on the same handful of archetypes: The badass that nobody dares to mess with, the tougher-than-he-looks newcomer who teaches everyone a lesson after they foolishly think they can mess with him, or the charismatic leader who gets the cell block to see past their differences and work together. You don’t often see movies centered around the guy who easily can be messed with and becomes everyone else’s punching bag while his own life gets worse and worse.

But prisons are filled with those guys who never make their way onto a movie screen, and Cal McMau’s directorial debut “Wasteman” centers around one of them. Taylor (David Jonsson) isn’t anybody’s worst nightmare or fearless leader. He’s a soft-spoken man whose eyes are filled with regret and whose posture suggests a deep desire to just be invisible. He desperately wants some kind of relationship with his young son on the outside, but any time he manages to place a call to his kid’s mother, he’s quickly dismissed and asked not to contact her again because his son “doesn’t know” him.

The only thing that occasionally dulls his pain is opioid use, as the British prison has a thriving drug-trading industry involving a variety of goods and services. It gets him through the day, but he’s all too happy to walk away from it when he’s presented with an opportunity for early parole (due to issues with prison overcrowding, rather than any of his own behavior). The chance to get his life back is nothing short of a godsend, but Taylor is warned that his last months need to be entirely mistake-free.

That shouldn’t be a problem, as Taylor would never be mistaken for a troublemaker. But he is soon assigned a new cellmate, Dee (Tom Blyth), who is looking to deal drugs and make a name for himself. Overflowing with machismo and misplaced aggression, he quickly assumes that Taylor is someone who can be broken and molded into an asset for himself. He seems like he might have heard the old adage that you need to find the biggest guy in the yard and beat him up on your first day in prison, but thought that going after the smallest and weakest guy would work just as well.

Their relationship is toxic from the get-go, painting a clear portrait of the ways that hard drugs can take a man’s soul and the violent personas that prisoners end up wearing as disguises without even realizing that they’ve changed. Taylor’s entire incarceration has revolved around keeping the peace and fitting in, but his new circumstances force him to consider how far he’s willing to push his own boundaries in order to survive.

The film alternates between cinematographer Lorenzo Levrini’s carefully composed shots, which often reflect Taylor’s loneliness and regret with cool colored lighting and deep shadows, and vertical phone camera footage of impromptu prison fights. But by switching between found footage and something more traditional without committing to either extreme, “Wasteman” finds itself in an unpleasant middle ground that puts a significant ceiling on its visual storytelling potential. And while much of the film’s message revolves around the senselessness and brutality of prison violence — a point that nobody could possibly miss — McMau and Levrini often lean too heavily on shaky camerawork during their fight scenes, creating their (presumably) desired sense of chaos at the expense of imagery that would give us a clearer picture of the actions they’re condemning.

Amid all the barbarity for barbarity’s sake, Jonsson carries the film with a deep well of unspoken regret. There’s an innocence that shines through all of his actions, showing that even a man who has spent most of his adult life incarcerated doesn’t have to let it change his priorities. Blyth provides a fitting foil to Jonsson’s softness with his endless spring of ruthless aggression, forcing Taylor’s primal survival instincts to butt against his more civilized sense that there has to be something more for him in this world. It’s the kind of high level character work that illustrates why Jonsson is one of the most exciting actors of our time. He simply deserved a better movie to showcase this particular character.

Grade: C+

“Wasteman” premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

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September 13, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

‘Honey Bunch’ Review: TIFF Retro Thriller

by jummy84 September 11, 2025

written by jummy84

Like “The Shining,” Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer’s “Honey Bunch” begins with its characters heading deep into a rural countryside that immediately suggests isolation from the wider world. Its central couple, Homer (Ben Petrie) and Diana (Grace Glowicki), are en route to an experimental therapy institute where they hope the latter’s memory and motor control lapses from a bad car accident might be healed.

No sooner does the pair arrive at this backwoods facility than the film adopts the aesthetic of throwback ‘70s madhouse thrillers like Gore Verbinski’s “A Cure for Wellness” and Peter Strickland’s neo-gialli. Homer and Diana emerge from their car to a disembodied POV shot gazing down at them from a window and slowly zooming in with surveilling paranoia. One of the institute’s medical personnel, Farah (Kate Dickie), greets them with the kind of clinical cordiality that undercuts its outwardly soothing welcome with unnerving detachment.

For the film’s first hour, “Honey Bunch” moves at a deliberate crawl, sinking into the simultaneously soothing and alienating qualities of the baroque manor that the institute repurposed into a therapy center. Slow pans and zooms take in large hallways within and ample grounds surrounding the building, the placating pace not quite disguising the subtle emphasis on the center’s total isolation from the outside world and the many places within its walls where it might hide secrets. Rooms are filmed in golden hues of sunlight beaming through windows, rendering everything in a bright, gossamer haze that prefigures Diana’s increasingly fraught visions of recovered memories and other, less personal hallucinations of mysterious, distorted figures in various states of illness who haunt the corridors and parlors of the vast estate.

While these unsettling details accumulate, the actors use the time to build their characters out from simple genre types to more complicated human beings. Glowicki initially has little to do as Diana other than to struggle through therapy sessions involving hypnosis and other techniques, but as Diana recovers more of her lost memories, she begins to chafe against her previously compliant, docile nature. Increasingly suspecting both her doctors and her husband, Diana nonetheless also finds moments to connect deeper with them as her inquisitiveness extends to basic human interaction alongside sleuthing for clues. Diana, already struggling to regain her full mental faculties, is loath to call attention to these misgivings, and Glowicki excels for underplaying the kind of role that tends to descend into expressionistic displays of madness in favor of subtle cues — a darting second glance, a forced tone of innocent curiosity used to phrase prying questions — to signal the woman’s mounting stress.

Similarly, Petrie strikes a careful balance between the doting, attentive husband seeking to help his wife heal and flashes of a darker side to his personality. Homer’s constant hovering can be overbearing, and there are hints that his suffocatingly intense focus on Diana’s recovery masks a guilt over some past difficulties in their marriage. By the same token, the earnest warmth with which Homer attempts to help Diana prevents the character from too quickly coming across as a controlling spouse. Both leads lean into the ambiguities of the story to explore the contours of a long-term relationship and the ways that a major trauma complicates it, in ways that can be as positive as they are frustrating.

At the halfway mark, the film shifts away from a slow-burn madhouse thriller toward a more grotesque entry in the latter-day body horror revival as the true nature of the facility’s treatment is revealed. This transition initially throws off the rhythm, losing the careful parceling out of character detail in favor of a series of plot complications and reversals and largely swapping out one set of cinematic reference points for another. To the film’s credit, it’s one of the few of the recent batch of body horror pictures to recognize the genre’s capacity for tragedy over allegorical statement and shock value.

Nonetheless, the directors get sidetracked poring over all the sordid mutations suddenly on display to the detriment of both the narrative tension and the leads’ nuanced performances. Glowicki and Petrie spend an extended portion of the second half shedding their naturalistic body language and ambiguous behavior in favor of explicit confrontations that too boldly underline what had been left unsaid to that point. Diana, Homer, and supporting characters like Farah repeatedly state aloud the film’s themes or, worse, give protracted recaps and explanations of twists as they happen.

Only in the final minutes does “Honey Bunch” regain its footing, bringing together its various stylistic and plot elements into a cohesive and thought-provoking rumination on the hazy line that separates the moral imperatives of lifelong commitment to another person from the selfishness that can ultimately undermine care for that person. Harking all the way back to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” irresolvable questions arise regarding the ethical imperatives born of embracing technological breakthroughs too rashly. Unlike many of its obvious influences, “Honey Bunch” is built on a foundation of its characters’ genuine love and desire to help, but in some ways that makes their actions all the more horrific and troubling.

Grade: B-

“Honey Bunch” premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Shudder will release it in the United States.

September 11, 2025 0 comments

Bollywood

PHOTOS: Janhvi Kapoor Rocks a Prada Ensemble at TIFF

by jummy84 September 11, 2025

written by jummy84

Janhvi Kapoor turned heads at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in a stunning ensemble from Prada’s Spring 2004 collection. The archival look, designed by Miuccia Prada, was an ode to femininity. It represented the essence of a saree through a structured 1950s silhouette. The draping is delicate and flaunts a vintage aesthetic. The outfit became a standout moment on the international red carpet.

Janhvi paired the outfit with sleek heels inspired by the traditional Kolhapuri chappal. The footwear was custom-made by Indian designer Aprajita Toor. The minimalist design of the heels added depth to her ensemble.

Janhvi styled her hair in soft waves. She kept her makeup understated. She flaunted blushed up cheeks with mascara-heavy eyes. She kept her eyebrows defined.

The actress let the outfit speak for itself. She is attending TIFF with the cast and crew of Homebound, including Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa.

Take a look at her recent clicks below:

September 11, 2025 0 comments

Fashion

How Michaela Coel Pulled Off Her TIFF Tribute To Sudan, With An Entire Team Of Sudanese Women

by jummy84 September 11, 2025

written by jummy84

“Sudanese women have been on the frontlines of every revolution in Sudan—2019 was even called a women’s revolution. I’m inspired by their resilience and determination, and wanted to pay tribute to them and help give their stories a platform for recognition,” Michaela Coel told Vogue on Monday after the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) premiere of The Christophers. On TIFF’s international stage, where the industry converges on Hollywood North and kicks off the unofficial start of awards season, Coel wasn’t vying for awards recognition or trying to drum up Oscar buzz. She was using her platform to shed light on the devastating atrocities in Sudan, in which 12 million people have been displaced, 150,000 (likely many more) have been killed, and the region is facing mass starvation caused by the ongoing civil war.

Joined by a team of Sudanese women, hand-picked by Coel and her friend, Ebaa Elmelik, co-founder of Media for Justice in Sudan, the multi-hyphenate pulled off the ultimate GRWM with intention. And Toronto-based Sudanese photographer Nabra Badr was there to document it all. Badr’s work is rooted in her Sudanese heritage, and as her bio reads, her “work goes beyond aesthetics, creating visuals that not only look beautiful but also resonate deeply.” Two days after Coel’s TIFF premiere look did exactly what she had hoped — make people stop scrolling and dedicate their timelines to learning more about what’s happening in Sudan — Badr and I got on the phone to talk about how the moment came together, what it was like to be in the room with Coel as she honored Sudanese women, and why the team was adamant that the photos had to be exceptional. Coel wanted them to be so good that Vogue would have no choice but to splash them everywhere. Featuring never-before-seen outtakes from the day, here’s how they pulled it off.

Tell me how this moment at TIFF with Michaela came to be.

Nabra Badr: It was a really quick turnover. I got a DM from the agency that’s working with her on the movie, The Christophers; they messaged me on Saturday and said that Michaela [had] requested to have me shoot this project that she’s working on.

Did you know Michaela before this?

NB: I’ve never had any contact with her. When I saw the DM, I was kind of taken aback. And I’m a huge fan of her work so I was like I don’t know if this is a real DM [laughs]. I was at work as well so I was like, okay, let me get my bearings together. I told them that I was interested and they were like, ‘Okay, great. We’ll get back to you with the details.’ Then they followed up and said that it was actually [Michaela] herself trying to push for [the shoot] to become a Vogue article. It just was surprise after surprise. They let me know that they needed it for the next day. So I got the DM Saturday and ended up meeting up with them on Sunday.

Did you know ahead of time that she was going to tribute Sudanese women and how did that inform your storytelling as you were taking pictures throughout the day?

NB: I wasn’t aware that she was even interested in showcasing the story of Sudan. It was more so that I always knew that she was socially conscious and she utilizes her platform to talk about things that she really cares about. And actually it wasn’t until I met her in person that I learned she was really, really passionate about it. She actually told me that she’s worn a traditional Sudanese garment, the toub, to the White House, and that gained some traction previously. After that happened, she said she wanted to do it again. With TIFF and her premiere, she had a lot more time to make it happen. I’m always willing to do anything in connection to Sudan. It informs my personal work. Even if this wasn’t someone in the public eye, but it was going to get eyes on it, period, I would do it. I was ready to take that on.

I just kept telling [Michaela], ‘this is so important.’ So many people would shy away and feel uncomfortable… but she’s willing to go above and beyond.
Nabra Badr on michaela coel

When you say Sudan informs your personal work, how so?

NB: Sudanese storytelling is often neglected, and the issues that happen in Sudan are kind of placed on the back burner, mainly because people think the problems that are arising in the country are insular and that there’s no way they can help. In reality, it’s not complicated. The people of Sudan just want to be able to live in a democratic environment and not risk their lives every single day, and especially back in 2019 when the revolution first started, it was spearheaded by a lot of Sudanese women. We saw a lot of Sudanese imagery featuring women at the forefront. Since then, anytime I have an opportunity to shoot with Sudanese women, especially my elders, I take it.

Unfortunately, during COVID, I had a lot of female figures in my family pass away, and it just made me realize that time is of the essence, and I only have this opportunity to be around my elders and my ancestors for so long that I want to be able to document it and share their stories and share how they feel about Sudan and what their aspirations are. I have spent more time outside of the beauty and the fashion stuff that I usually do to be able to just document the people around me and my community members. It informs me by me picking up the camera more often when I can.

That’s really beautiful. And I’m so sorry about your family. So when you found out the story that Michaela wanted to tell and and knowing that she wanted to put it in Vogue, did that knowledge inform the way that you approached the shoot?

NB: Michaela’s friend Ebaa [Elmelik, co-founder of Media for Justice in Sudan], was also the person who put everybody together. They were pretty adamant about trying to feature as many Sudanese women as possible. Her henna artist was Sudanese, the jewelry designer was Sudanese. They even got an older Sudanese lady to come in and teach her how to tie the toub. I communicated with Ebaa and what we wanted was really just capturing Michaela while she was getting dressed, but also making sure that I’m capturing details of the [Sudanese] aunt putting the garments on and the details of how she’s passing on this information to Michaela and everybody in the room, just making sure that we’re doing everything correctly.

[Michaela’s] henna artist was Sudanese, the jewelry designer was Sudanese… an older Sudanese lady came in to teach her how to tie the toub… everybody in the room [was] making sure we were doing everything correctly.
nabra badr

There were a lot of conversations around, oh, is this appropriate for this particular instance? There were a few jewelry pieces that are typically reserved for certain situations, like bridal wear [in Sudan]. And we were going back and forth. Maybe Michaela puts it on, maybe she doesn’t. But then it just came to a consensus from both her and everybody else in the room that if it’s not authentic to what the day is, then we’re not going to do it. So if it’s something that would be reserved for brides, then we’re going to take that away. It was a lot of having really authentic conversations and bouncing off of each other — what works and what doesn’t work — and making sure that I’m capturing every aspect of the outfit. It’s not just the toub but the hair piece, the jewelry, the henna that she had done before she even came to Toronto for the festival, by a South Sudanese artist in London. And there was just so much attention to detail about how that henna looked on her hands, and how the henna looked on her feet, and making sure that I was also getting those aspects of it. Because each detail is really important to the outfit as a whole.

It all seemed so intentional. And I love what Michaela said in the Vogue piece about how the color of the traditional toub was dark brown, because she wanted to bring attention to how dark-skinned women are treated specifically.

NB: I didn’t have as much conversation around the color choice of the garment, but I could definitely see why that was intentionally done. She did have a lot of conversations around the fact she was making sure to include [certain pieces] because West Sudan is the is currently the one in the most crisis, or she would say, ‘I want to make sure I’m amplifying these specific voices’ so I could definitely see why she made that particular choice, especially because a lot of traditional Sudanese toubs that are worn on an everyday basis, or to a special gathering, are usually super colorful and bright. So for her to choose something that’s not shimmery and not super textured, and go with something that’s very plain and a very specific color, it was a more modern take on the toub, from my perspective. It’s like bringing the toub to the everyday person.

Did Michaela say why she wanted to showcase this look in Vogue specifically? Was it that she wanted it on the biggest platform possible?

NB: Not specifically. But there was so much conversation [around], ‘Guys, we have to get these pictures done as well as possible and get as much traction as possible, because we don’t want them to pull the photos. When I was approached, I was told that Vogue was okay with iPhone photos, and [Michaela] wanted to reach out to me on her own accord, like, no, let’s get a Sudanese photographer in. Let’s make these pictures as amazing as possible, so that they don’t have any reason to not use them, or to not go ahead with this article. Let’s push them to like the pictures so much that they’ll put them on their social feed and they’ll put them on their story, just pushing to get eyes on Sudan and just making sure we’re utilizing our platform to the best of our abilities. From my understanding, she just wanted to utilize Vogue in particular because she knows how big of a platform it is.

The shots are stunning and you did make it undeniable. These are just so good that they had to run them. Can you talk to me about using art, fashion, and beauty as a way to make political and social statements? Why do you think that’s so effective?

NB: I would say that it’s kind of threaded through all my work., I’m a Black Muslim girl who doesn’t have any links to the fashion industry, doesn’t have any links to the photography industry, it’s really been a breaking of the wall, like the glass ceiling at every single stage possible. And I have always been pretty vocal about my personal beliefs and that I’m not willing to conform just so I can get the job, because at the end of the day my belief system and my moral system just says, Oh, this is just not worth it. I feel like the ability to be able to use fashion and art and all these things is just a more digestible way for people to understand and maybe get connected to it. I’ve grown up with the Teen Vogues [and], I remember reading these stories that were super impactful, but then they were always complimented by beautiful images. I was like, oh, okay, it’s possible for us to have these nuanced conversations, but then at the same time, we’re utilizing art to make a statement.

Is there anything you want to say to or about Michaela after having this experience with her?

NB: My respect for her has gone up tenfold. I truly did not get a sense that it was a performative act. She genuinely wants to learn about Sudan. When I first came into the room, she greeted me with a Sudanese greeting. She’s like, ‘I know it. I know how to do it!’ And it was just so charming. And she had a whole Sudanese playlist. Ebaa, who put everything together, is also her friend, and has been informing her on a lot of the issues, and she genuinely cares. When I first got introduced to this project, I thought maybe the movie was about Sudan, and so that’s how we were trying to relate. None of this has anything to do with Sudan. She just saw an opportunity to be able to be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to this big, huge premiere that I’m doing, and at the same time, I can do this activism at the same time.’ People will see it and they want to do more research so now they know.

We’re utilizing art to make a statement.
nabra badr

I think that was really exciting. I just kept telling her, ‘this is so important.’ So many people would shy away and feel uncomfortable because they don’t want to burn any bridges or ruin any relationships, but she’s willing to go above and beyond. That’s someone I really respect. I would say that she’s great at what she does in her artistry, but she also just has this incredible ability to empathize with other people, be compassionate, and utilize her platform for good, which you don’t always see nowadays because a lot of people fear backlash.

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September 11, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

James McAvoy Allegedly Attacked in Toronto Bar While at TIFF

by jummy84 September 10, 2025

written by jummy84

James McAvoy was reportedly attacked in a Toronto bar on Monday while attending the Toronto International Film Festival to screen his directorial debut, “California Schemin’.”

According to a report by People, McAvoy was at Charlotte’s Room in Toronto on Monday when a man hit him just before midnight. The “Split” star allegedly tried to calm the aggressor down before others came to remove him from the bar.

An individual close to McAvoy told People, “James was having a casual get-together with the producers of his movie and, as he later learned when speaking with the staff, there was a man who drank too much who was getting escorted out. James’ back was to him and the man just punched him.”

The unnamed source added that McAvoy was fine after the alleged punch and that he stayed at the bar to laugh off the incident.

“California Schemin’” is inspired by the real-life story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd, two aspiring rappers from Dundee, Scotland. When they are turned away by the London music industry in the early aughts because of their accents, they rebrand themselves as Silibil N’ Brains, a bad-boy rap duo from the U.S. West Coast.

Before the film’s TIFF premiere, McAvoy shared his admiration for Bain and Boyd with Variety, comparing them to “folk heroes” like “Robin Hood.”

“Nobody cares that they got caught,” McAvoy said. “Nobody cares that they never made it. We just love that they fucking went down there and played the system. When the system’s rigged against you, try to undermine it or circumvent it. Game the game!”

September 10, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Sam Worthington and Gugu Mbatha-Raw on ‘Fuze’ at TIFF

by jummy84 September 6, 2025

written by jummy84

A ticking bomb in the heart of London sets the stage for “Fuze,” a taut new British crime thriller from director David Mackenzie. The film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, combines the urgency of a heist film with the dread of an unexploded World War II bomb unearthed at a bustling construction site.

Written by Ben Hopkins, the feature stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Theo James, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Sam Worthington. As the military and police scramble to evacuate the city against the clock, chaos unfolds across London’s streets.

For Mackenzie, whose credits include the best picture-nominated “Hell or High Water” and “Outlaw King,” the concept was born years ago.

“I wanted to mash up the tensions of the heist movie with an unexploded bomb movie,” Mackenzie tells Variety in the TIFF Studio. “In the U.K., there’s always a discovery of an unexploded World War II bomb somewhere. Evacuations are forced, and they’re often blown up in situ. It felt like a very real thing to lean into. With ‘Fuze,’ I just wanted to make something purely entertaining, visceral and cinematic — not trying to be a message film. It’s a high-tension, hopefully enjoyable ride.”

At just over 90 minutes, Mackenzie calls it his leanest feature yet: “I genuinely want the audience to feel a sense of relief that it’s over and to have had a good, entertaining experience of a thrilling, high-tension, modern heist movie.”

Mbatha-Raw, who plays Chief Superintendent Zuzana, says she was drawn to the project’s realism and immediacy.

“When I read the script, it felt so propulsive, almost like it was playing out in real time,” she shares. “I hadn’t played a police officer before, and I was excited to tackle something this grounded and gritty. I got to meet with London-based police officers and observe command centers like the one my character oversees. That was a fascinating insight.”

Mbatha-Raw praises Mackenzie’s style: “His long takes and constantly moving camera feel so authentic and exhilarating. Watching it with an audience for the first time, I was on the edge of my seat — even though I knew what was going to happen.”

Worthington, who reunites with Mackenzie after several collaborations, said his character X didn’t exist in early drafts.

“I just phoned David and said, ‘What can I do in this one?’ He told me all the roles were gone,” Worthington recalls. “But when I read it, I thought I could do something with this henchman figure in Theo’s gang. I asked him to let me create something, and David gave me that trust. That freedom allowed me to help serve the story and be a foil for Theo.”

Worthington, best known for his role as Jake Sully in James Cameron’s “Avatar” franchise, added that Mackenzie’s confidence in his actors keeps him coming back: “He trusts me, which is fantastic. Then you can just go and create.”

Alongside Taylor-Johnson and James, the cast builds tension through two opposing forces — the bomb squad and the robbery gang.

“They’re both really strong actors, deeply committed to what they’re doing,” Mackenzie says of Taylor-Johnson and James. “Aaron brings a very real representation of the Army EOD squad, while Theo delivers this visceral energy as part of the robbery crew. It was great to work with them both.”

While Mackenzie called “Fuze” his “pure cinematic entertainment” effort, he teased a passion project long in the works: an adaptation of a generational spaceship travel novel spanning 100 years.

“It’s incredibly complex, a 190-page script at the moment,” he admits. “If realized properly, it could be a heck of a trip. That’s something I’d still love to find a home for.”

For Mbatha-Raw, the role marked another chance to explore range. “I’d love to do a two-hander on film — something really intimate and soulful. I’m always looking for characters with depth,” she shares.

And for Worthington, with off “Avatar: Fire and Ash” on the horizon, “Fuze” proved another chance to collaborate with a trusted director. “It’s all about whether a movie connects with an audience,” he said. “If it does, you hope you get the chance to keep telling these stories.”

Worthington also offered an update on James Cameron’s sprawling “Avatar” sequels. He confirmed that Avatar 2 and 3 were shot together, with portions of 4 filmed as well to accommodate the younger cast’s aging. “There was a scene or two where the kids had to be the same age, so we shot that back in 2018 or 2019,” he explains. He added that Cameron has written Avatar 4 and 5 in full, teasing that the saga will jump forward in time if audiences continue to embrace the films. “We’re not arrogant enough to assume they’ll keep connecting, but if they do, we get to keep telling the story.”

Worthington also addressed the uncertain future of Kevin Costner’s “Horizon” saga, in which he had a significant role. He confirms that Costner had mapped out and written four films, with Worthington having read all of them, but the project’s continuation now rests in limbo. “That was Costner’s passion project — he’d been working on it for 10 years,” Worthington says. “It all comes down to whether the audience connects. The passion is always there, but sometimes it’s just about whether it’s the right time for people to embrace it.”

September 6, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Barbie Ferreira Is a Critic in TIFF Movie

by jummy84 September 5, 2025

written by jummy84

Can you blame a critic for wincing when a character pulls out a notepad in the middle of a concert? Cinematic depictions of criticism are usually withering at best, and pointedly personal at worst. Well, critics can exhale while watching “Mile End Kicks,” the sophomore feature from Canadian writer/director Chandler Levack. Levack, herself a former critic, is cynical about a few things, but the act of criticism isn’t one of them.

Like her debut “I Like Movies,” Levack’s new film is based on her own life experiences, namely a summer she spent in Montreal as a young, aspiring writer trying to find herself. Her protagonist, Grace Pine (Barbie Ferreira), goes through a similar arc, convincing herself — as so many young people do — that moving somewhere cooler will fix her life. She’s also telling everyone that she’s writing a book about Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill,” never mind that she has neither a book contract nor a first draft. Grace recently interned at an alt-weekly whose editor told her she had promise as a writer (more on that in a bit). But really, all she learned there is how snide and dismissive male rock critics can be toward younger women.

IndieWire's Alison Foreman at a special treadmill screening of 'The Long Walk' at Culver Theater in Los Angeles

I don’t work there anymore, so it seems safe to divulge that my personal nickname for the circle of white male gatekeepers at the publication where I got my start was “the plaid dads.” And, as with the intricacies of stocking at a suburban video store in “I Like Movies,” “Mile End Kicks” gets the nuances of life as a young female music critic right. The scenarios are relatable — who among us has not anxiously ignored emails from an editor? — as are the conversations: The argument Grace interrupts, earning derisive laughter from her coworkers, is over the merits of different Hüsker Dü albums.

“Mile End Kicks” is set in 2011, but it feels more like the late aughts — again, accurate — and the care put into the details of Grace’s world is evident from the opening credits, rendered in the modified Helvetica font of an American Apparel ad. The reference reoccurs in the movie’s most artfully shot scene, which follows Grace around a party with a spotlight on her face, moving along with her. The flat, bright light creates a vignette effect reminiscent of a Terry Richardson photograph, effectively evoking both the era and the sexual danger that came with it.

“Mile End Kicks” is also specific to Montreal (look out for the Grimes lookalike, sniffing something off the rim of a toilet at a loft party), as well as Canada as a whole. One monologue in particular about the life cycle of a hip Canadian should slay with local audiences, although it rang true for someone from the American Midwest as well.

“Red Rooms” star Juliette Gariépy brings a French-Canadian flair as Grace’s DJ roommate Madeline, who starts off thinking that this dorky Ontario transplant who doesn’t speak French is kind of adorable before losing her patience with Grace’s unpaid rent and brazen fridge-raiding.

She’s not a particularly well-developed character; her role is to serve as a tour guide/sounding board/eventual lesson learned for our protagonist, which speaks to one of the weaker aspects of Levack’s film.

Grace can be a frustrating protagonist, making foolish, self-sabotaging decisions in pursuit of fleeting pleasure and conditional approval from guys who, frankly, aren’t worth her time. But that’s just part of what makes her real. By comparison, some of the supporting characters, particularly (why mince words?) idiot fuckboy Chevy (Stanley Simmons), are slightly too exaggerated for the film’s realistic milieu.

This is where Levack’s cynicism comes in: This is a movie that can’t believe how dumb smart women act when there’s a man putting in the absolute bare minimum involved. This sentiment comes across most clearly in a sex scene that’s both funny and essential to the plot, as the terminally indifferent Chevy literally just lies there while a confused Grace does all the work.

By comparison, his romantic rival Archie (Devon Bostick) is a weirdo, but a more believable one, and Bostick’s banter with Ferreira has a specific kind of romantic chemistry common to hyperintelligent, socially awkward nerds. But again, while it may be a byproduct of the self-absorbed protagonist’s point of view, the lives and motivations of each of these characters outside of being two guys in the same band vying for the same woman’s attention remain unconsidered. Then again, it’s kind of refreshing to have men playing the one-dimensional love interests in a movie for once.

At times, “Mile End Kicks” seems to be reaching for a broader, more heightened style of comedy à la an ‘80s teen sex romp. Some of these jokes are funny, but the shifts in tone are sudden, and it takes a few beats for the film to recover every time. However, the fact that she can pull them off at all speaks well for the movie Levack is currently making with Adam Sandler — applied consistently over the course of an entire film, she could quite successfully direct something quite silly.

The poignant bits, meanwhile, are consistently on point. A #MeToo-inspired office storyline (that’s the issue with her old editor, played contemptibly by Jay Baruchel) fits in better here than a similar subplot in “I Like Movies,” perhaps because it’s being experienced by the protagonist herself. It also gives us the film’s most heartrending moment, as Grace, who’s the last one in the office as usual, waves her arms to keep the motion-sensor lights on, crying the whole time.

Ferreira is a believable and sympathetic protagonist, bringing a vulnerability to Grace that makes the viewer root for her even as she blows up her life for reasons even she doesn’t seem to understand. She wants to be a critic, but she also desperately wants to be liked. The tension between those modes is gendered, as Grace recognizes when she finally writes something that she believes in late in the film. (It also helps that Grace, via Levack, is actually a good writer.) Navigating that tension is something you learn with experience — the topic of Chandler Levack’s next movie, perhaps?

Grade: B

“Mile End Kicks” premiered at the 2025 Toronto Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

September 5, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

‘John Candy’ Doc Director Colin Hanks on TIFF Opening Night Film

by jummy84 September 4, 2025

written by jummy84

On screen, John Candy was often the gregarious life of the party. He smoked and drank through a game of racquetball in “Splash,” he charmed a household of unruly kids with his free-spirited ways in “Uncle Buck” and annoyed the living hell of Steve Martin with his constant stream of chatter in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” But “John Candy: I Like Me,” a new documentary about his life and career that kicks off the opening night of the Toronto Intl. Film Festival, shows the private turmoil behind the comedian’s affable facade.

“There were real, serious, traumatic experiences that formed John and made him who he was,” says Colin Hanks, the film’s director. “He was an incredible human being and a kind, loving, generous spirit. But all of those qualities were coping mechanisms for a tremendous amount of pain and sorrow.”

Chief among the issues that Candy battled with was unresolved grief he felt after his father died of heart disease at age 35 when the actor was 4 years old. That gave Candy, who would die at age 43, a sense that he was on an accelerated timeline.

“This idea of borrowed time combined with the nature of show business, which is go, go, go, go, moving at the speed of opportunity. Those things came together to create this perpetual motion machine for John that made things incredibly hectic and stressful and added to that general sense of anxiety,” says Hanks.

Hanks says he related to his subject’s struggles to make sense of the death of a parent, since his mother, Samantha Lewes, died from lung cancer at a young age.

“I understand this ticking clock,” Hanks says. “My mother died at 49. I’ll be turning 48 in November. I always look at 49 as a marker for me in my life. I have zero doubt it was the same way for John.”

Professionally, Candy seemed to be unstoppable during the 1980s and early ’90s, making hits like “Stripes,” “Spaceballs” and “Cool Runnings” with everyone from Bill Murray to Mel Brooks to Doug E. Doug. But the filmmaker whose sensibility seemed tailor-made for Candy’s was John Hughes, who worked with him on six movies, including classics like “Uncle Buck,” “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “Home Alone.”

“They were both real, genuine people that never lost sight of that even after they became famous,” says Hanks. “In show business, you’re part of a traveling circus. You meet a lot of different people, and when you find a kindred spirit, you hold on to that, and you spend as much time with them as you can. You work with them as much as you can.”

In interviews, Candy, who struggled with his weight for much of his life, had to deal with the press making rude comments about his size. Hanks’ film contains many instances where interviewers essentially call Candy “fat” to his face, leaving him trying to smile good-naturedly. It’s shockingly cruel.

“You look at interview after interview and horrible things are being said and questions are being asked in incredibly insensitive ways,” Hanks says. “It’s tough to see how uncomfortable John was in almost every clip. And he had good reason, because some of the things that people said were disgusting and would not be tolerated today.”

To make the documentary, Hanks interviewed Candy’s co-stars and friends — a group that includes Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Catherine O’Hara and nearly the entire galaxy of the 20th century’s greatest comedians. Even three decades after his death in 1994, they talk about Candy with tremendous love and admiration. Hanks, whose father, Tom Hanks, co-starred with Candy in “Splash” and “Volunteers,” had his own memories of the late actor.

“It’s through kid glasses, because I knew him when I was young, but even as a child he made you feel like your opinions mattered, your feelings mattered, you mattered,” Hanks says.

September 4, 2025 0 comments

TV & Streaming

Sales So Far Out of Venice, TIFF, and Telluride

by jummy84 August 29, 2025

written by jummy84

While Venice and TIFF (at least this year) don’t have dedicated film markets for packages, there are still plenty of indies debuting at the festival that will have theatrical prowess or awards potential for the right buyer.

At the start of the fall film festival season, we identified 15 films that we believe could sell and tried to match them to their perfect distributors. See what else sells and how many we got right below, and on the next page, check out a full scorecard of every film acquired so far and those that came into the fests with distributors already in place.

Both the below and the final scorecard on the next page will be updated as sales come in.

AFTER THE HUNT, Julia Roberts, 2025. ph: Yannis Drakoulidis /© Amazon MGM Studios / Courtesy Everett Collection

“Ghost Elephants”
Distributor: Nat Geo
Director: Werner Herzog
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
The latest introspective doc from the German master Werner Herzog is about elephants in the “mist-covered highlands of Angola.” Specifically Herzog is fascinated with the elusive “ghost elephants of Lisima,” potential living descendants of the largest land mammal ever recorded, whom Nat Geo’s own Steve Boyes is determined to prove actually exist.

The film netted Herzog a lifetime achievement award from Venice this year for the film that he directed, wrote, and narrated, and Nat Geo is planning a theatrical release for “Ghost Elephants” prior to it launching on Disney+ and Hulu in 2026.

“Man on the Run”
Distributor: Amazon MGM
Director: Morgan Neville
Festival: Telluride
Though there’s no shortage of Beatles documentaries, this one about Paul McCartney follows Macca after he broke up from The Beatles and how he reinvented himself into the world’s biggest pop star yet again. Any Beatles-head like yours truly will tell you that it didn’t always go well early on and McCartney was arguably in third place behind John Lennon’s Plastic Ono Band and George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” triple album full of under-appreciated bangers.

The film will be released theatrically before landing on Prime Video on February 25, and the documentary’s release will coincide with a new book by McCartney, “Wings: The Story of a Band on the Run,” releasing November 4, as well as with McCartney’s Got Back tour dates across North America.

“Palestine 36”
Distributor: Watermelon Pictures
Director: Annemarie Jacir
Festival: TIFF Gala Presentations
Director Annemarie Jacir’s period historical drama about the occupation of Mandatory Palestine by the British is the filmmaker’s fourth film that will be submitted to the Best International Feature race at the Oscars by Palestine, and it’s also the first Arab film to land in the Gala section at TIFF.

“Scarlet”
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Festival: Venice Out of Competition
The anime feature from the director of “Mirai” is described as a time-bending adventure about a medieval warrior princess fighting to avenge the death of her father. SPC is releasing it for an awards-qualifying run at the end of 2025 followed by a wider release in early 2026.

Continue Reading: Sales So Far Out of Venice, TIFF, and Telluride: Amazon MGM Lands Paul McCartney Doc ‘Man on the Run,’ Nat Geo Buys Werner Herzog’s ‘Ghost Elephants’
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August 29, 2025 0 comments

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