There was buzz late last month that both the Toronto International Film Festival and The Weinstein Company wanted to bring “St. Vincent,” which stars Bill Murray, to the 2014 edition of the annual awards season kickoff. The problem was, reportedly, that no one could find him. Murray supposedly doesn't have a cell phone (or perhaps even E-mail?), but even though he continues to crash one party after another it looks like somebody tracked him down as TIFF announced today that “St. Vincent” is now a late addition to the festival.
The feature directorial debut of Theodore (Ted) Melfi, “St. Vincent” is an original dramedy which finds Murray playing “St. Vincent de Van Nuys,” a retired war veteran who becomes the mentor to a young boy played by Jaeden Lieberher. The cast also includes Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O'Dowd, Terrence Howard and Selenis Leyva (Gloria from “Orange is the New Black”). With an Oct. 24 release date it isn't hard to intuit that The Weinstein Company is pretty confident “St. Vincent” will go over well with critics and audiences. Could it be a surprise addition to the Oscar race? Could Murray earn a supporting (or lead) actor nomination? We'll find out in a little less than three weeks.
TIFF also announced a number of other new additions to the festival including the world premiere of the concert documentary “Roger Waters The Wall”; the North American premiere of yet another James Franco-directed movie, “The Sound and the Fury”; the world premiere of Krzystof Zanussi's “Foreign Body”; Raoul Peck's “Murder in Pacot”; and the long expected addition of Cannes Palme d'Or winner “Winter Sleep.”
The 2014 Toronto International Film Festival runs from Sept. 4-14. Look for complete coverage on HitFix and In Contention.