Pack your passport and brush up your hockey small talk -- the Toronto International Film Festival is just around the corner. This week, The Rocchi Review features James chatting with Michael Lerman, a filmmaker who also programs for the Woodstock Film Festival, and blogger for IndieWire. Is it true some in the industry see Toronto's enthusiastic audiences as the "kiss of death"? How many films can you squeeze into one festival? What's the difference between watching a film as a journalist and watching one as a film festival programmer? And why is Midnight Madness, for some, the best part of the Toronto International Film Festival? Cinematical's podcast is now available through iTunes; you can subscribe at this link. Also, you can listen directly here at Cinematical by clicking below:



As ever, you can download the entire podcast right here -- and those of you with RSS Podcast readers can find all of Cinematical's podcast content at this link.

It's so heartwarming to see rival studios playing nice with each other, even if it's only for purely financial reasons. It's especially good when the result of their cooperation is that a film by Danny Boyle (pictured) will get the theatrical release it deserves.

Slumdog Millionaire, about a Mumbai street kid who strikes it rich on an Indian game show before having his knowledge called into question, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next week. And now it'll hit multiplexes, too, on Nov. 28, thanks to a deal hammered out this week between Fox Searchlight and Warner Bros.

The film was originally part of Warner Independent Pictures' slate. But that division got shut down earlier this year, and Warner Bros. was left to deal with its leftover movies. It's like Warner Independent was a slightly irresponsible young adult, and Slumdog Millionaire was one of its children. Then Warner Independent died penniless in the gutter, and the child's grandmother, Warner Bros., being the only living relative, got custody. And Nana Warner Bros. loves the kid, thinks it's a great movie that people will enjoy, but ol' WB is on a fixed income and can't really support it. WB has kids of its own still living at home, for crying out loud.

So WB sidled up to Fox Searchlight, the dashing playboy son of billionaire Twentieth Century Fox, and struck up a relationship that involves Fox Searchlight paying for the film's marketing and distribution. Nobody has any illusions about this arrangement -- there's certainly no romance involved -- and they all live happily ever after. I just hope Fox Searchlight's dad doesn't find out, considering mean old Twentieth Century Fox is busy suing Warner Bros. over Watchmen. It's a pretty thorny situation, but hey, you gotta do what's best for the kids. It takes a village, right?

CINEMATICAL'S 2008 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL PREVIEW

TIFF 2008 is coming up fast; now that the full schedule's been announced, we thought we'd give you a preview of the films we're most excited about catching at this year's fest. With over 300 films to choose from, TIFF has something for everyone, but there's so much to choose from, it can be hard to decide what you want to see.

Cinematical will be at Toronto from start to finish, and you'll be able to read all our coverage on our TIFF hub. Meanwhile, to aid you in your own TIFF planning, here are the ten films we're looking forward to most. To get started, just click on any of the images below to find out more about that film ...

Special thanks to the stellar folks who run the unofficial TIFF guide, TOFilmFest.ca, who once again bring you the best-organized guide to this massive festival ...

One of the more controversial and polarizing films at this year's Sundance Film Festival (and last year's Toronto fest) was Towelhead, a dark and uncomfortable comedy about a 13-year-old Lebanese-American girl living in Texas during the first Gulf War. It was directed by Alan Ball, who showed with American Beauty (which he wrote) and HBO's Six Feet Under (which he created) that he has a knack for finding humor in the sinister corners of suburbia.

The film is set for limited release on Sept. 12 (here's Cinematical's review from Toronto), and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is calling on Warner Bros. to change the title before it comes out. A press release from the Greater Los Angeles Area office of CAIR said, "The word ('towelhead') is commonly used in a derogatory manner against people of the Muslim faith or Arab origin." Furthermore: "The use of such a derogatory term by a major film studio will serve to increase its acceptability in public discourse."

Really, CAIR? "Towelhead" is a slur? Then I wonder why the filmmakers would use it as a title -- unless -- you don't think -- nah -- could it be that the whole point of the movie is that this girl is trying to find her identity, and that "Towelhead" is one of the epithets she has to deal with while living in a redneck town during the Gulf War? Could it be that one of the movie's messages is that slurs like that are unacceptable? Could it be that only the most bigoted and idiotic of viewers could come out of it thinking, "I'm gonna start sayin' 'towelhead' more often!"?

TITLE: Me and Orson Welles
DIRECTED BY: Richard Linklater
STARS: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: In 1937, a young actor (Efron) gets the chance of a lifetime when he's invited to join the cast of a new production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar ... directed by the young, brash boy genius Orson Welles (Christian McKay). Of course, the scheming, plotting and tragedy isn't confined to the stage. ...

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: A number of reasons: Welles has always made for great drama on-screen; Efron may finally demonstrate there's more to him than endless iterations of the High School Musical formula; Danes is turning into a truly interesting actress with the passing of time. But ultimately, the reason we're most psyched to see this comes down to director Linklater -- who's proven he can handle both the energy of youth (Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise) and the technical challenges of period pieces (The Newton Boys). Linklater's a filmmaker looking for a mainstream hit, and the mix of high-class material and Efron's star power may be just what's needed to shove him into the mainstream.

Back to the TIFF Preview page ...

TITLE: JCVD
DIRECTED BY: Mabrouk El Mechri
STARS: Jean-Claude Van Damme

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Jean-Claude Van Damme, washed-up action star plays ... Jean-Claude Van Damme, washed-up action star. Trying to deal with a career in decline and various personal crises, the Muscles from Brussels stumbles into a bank robbery -- and has to explain to everyone around him that life is not, in fact, like the movies.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: Believe it or not, this was actually one of the most buzzed-about films in the marketplace at Cannes this year -- and the idea of Jean-Claude going meta and post-modern can't help but bring a smile to anyone with memories of the actor's '80s heyday. Plus, JCVD's also the opening film for Midnight Madness -- and sounds like the perfect pick for the maniacs who stay up late at Toronto.

Back to the TIFF Preview Page

TITLE: Religulous
DIRECTED BY: Larry Charles
STARS: Bill Maher

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Stand-up comedian Bill Maher tours the globe, talking with people of faith ... to question, deride and challenge their beliefs. While big-name atheism is big on the bestseller charts recently thanks to Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris, Religulous is the first big-name documentary to take on the world of faith. Directed by Larry Charles (Borat), Religulous seems to promise a mix of thought-provoking commentary and laugh-inducing uncomfortable silences.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: After months of Presidential candidates droning on about what their faith means to them, doesn't a sharp shot of pointed questions and cold, hard logic sound refreshing? Maher's also far smarter than his shtick seems, and after Borat, we'd watch anything Charles offered as a follow-up. We're also looking forward to counting the number of times the phrase "preaching to the converted" gets used in Religulous's reviews.

Back to the TIFF Preview page

TITLE: Miracle at St. Anna
DIRECTED BY: Spike Lee
STARS: Derek Luke, Laz Alonzo, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: In 1944, a group of black American soldiers were trapped behind enemy lines in occupied Italy ... and their ordeal is the key to unraveling a mysterious murder in the present day. With James McBride adapting his own novel for the big screen, Miracle at St Anna would already be intriguing ...

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: ... But the fact Spike Lee's in the director's chair seals the deal to make this one of the must-see films this year at Toronto. All controversy aside (and that's saying a lot, considering how firmly Lee challenged Clint Eastwood's judgment about race and representation in Eastwood's World War II films), Lee's great with actors, tackles tough material head-on and has even turned into a great action and suspense director in recent years. If any filmmaker's been able to turn their complicated, complex, challenging love for America into fascinating moviemaking, it's Lee -- and we can't wait to see this film.

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TITLE: Rachel Getting Married
DIRECTED BY: Jonathan Demme
STARS: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie DeWitt, Debra Winger

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: Habitual rehab recidivist Kym (Anne Hathaway) comes home for the wedding of her sister Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt), and to the complicated embrace of her mom (Debra Winger) and dad (Bill Irwin) . Any and all promises of best behavior are, of course, certain to go awry in this comedy-drama scripted by Jenny Lumet, the daughter of directorial legend Sidney Lumet.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: Because this is a classic example of a star-director pair worth looking forward to. After a recent series of great documentaries and glossy entertainments, Jonathan Demme looks to be settling in for a fierce, frank drama about people ... and Hathaway, too often sidelined in light comedy, may finally have a chance to flex the acting chops she demonstrated in her brief-but-bold turn in Brokeback Mountain.

Back to the TIFF Preview page ...

TITLE: Goodbye Solo
DIRECTED BY: Ramin Bahrani
STARS: Souleymane Sy Savane, Red West, Diana Franco Galindo, Lane 'Roc' Williams

WHAT IT'S ABOUT: William, an elderly man (West), hires Solo (Savane), a charming taxi driver, to drive him in two weeks to a mountaintop so he can jump to his death. Solo befriends William, and decides to try to stop him from ending his life.

WHY WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT IT: Bahrani is one of the most exciting young directors working in indpendent film. His film Man Push Cart, played numerous fests and was picked by Roger Ebert as one of the films for his Overlooked Film Festival in 2005, and his 2007 film, Chop Shop, also played well on the fest circuit and was one of the best indie films of that year. With Goodbye Solo, Bahrani works once again with cinematographer Michael Simmonds, who did fantastic work on Bahrani's previous two films. This one is a must-see for indie film lovers at TIFF.

Back to the TIFF Preview page ...