\n\tPack your checkbooks, Hollywood. <\/p>\n
\n\tAs studios and streamers decamp for the Toronto Film Festival<\/a>, where they will premiere or screen many of the films that they hope will dominate awards season, they\u2019ll also be on the hunt for some compelling movies to round out their slates. On paper, there\u2019s plenty on offer, including new films from leading auteurs like Steven Soderbergh, Mona Fastvold, and Gus Van Sant, as well as star-driven projects featuring the likes of Angelina Jolie, Riz Ahmed, Michaela Coel, and Chris Evans. But plenty of films have arrived at TIFF with impressive pedigree only to be met with a shrug by audiences. Here are 15 films that seem likely to spark the most intense bidding wars.<\/p>\n \t\tHamlet\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Riz Ahmed, Joe Alwyn, Timothy Spall, Art Malik, Sheeba Chadha \t\tYou Had To Be There\t<\/p>\n \n\tDirector:<\/strong>\u00a0Nick Davis \t\tThe Christophers\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Michaela Coel, Ian McKellen, Jessica Gunning, James Corden \t\tEasy\u2019s Waltz\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Vince Vaughn, Kate Mara, Shania Twain, Al Pacino \t\tDriver\u2019s Ed\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Sam Nivola, Sophie Telegadis, Mohana Krishnan, Aidan Laprete, Molly Shannon, Kumail Nanjiani \t\tThe Voice of Hind Rajab\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Clara Khoury \t\tPoetic License\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, Leslie Mann \t\tSacrifice\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Chris Evans, Anya Taylor-Joy, Salma Hayek, Charli XCX, Vincent Cassel \t\tCanceled: The Paula Deen Story\t<\/p>\n \n\tDirector:<\/strong>\u00a0Billy Corben \t\tCouture \t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Angelina Jolie, Louis Garrel \t\tBad Apples\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Saoirse Ronan, Jacob Anderson, Eddie Waller \t\tThe Testament of Ann Lee\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Abbott, Thomasin McKenzie \t\tDead Man\u2019s Wire\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Bill Skarsg\u00e5rd, Colman Domingo, Dacre Montgomery, Al Pacino \t\tTuner\t<\/p>\n \n\tCast:<\/strong> Leo Woodall, Dustin Hoffman, Havana Rose Liu, Lior Raz, Tovah Feldshuh, Jean Reno \t\tFuze\t<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Aneil Karia
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>WME Independent \/ CAA Media Finance\u00a0
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0A bold new take on the Bard, with Ahmed playing Shakespeare\u2019s tragic hero as the tortured son of a business mogul. Instead of dreary Danish castles, the action unfolds in boardrooms, mansions and wedding halls in contemporary London and the verse is delivered by a primarily South Asian cast.<\/p>\n
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>UTA Independent Film Group\u00a0
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0In 1972, a group of aspiring actors got their first big break in the Toronto production of \u201cGodspell.\u201d Not only was the show a smash, it also helped launch the careers of some of the biggest names in entertainment. Playing Jesus and his disciples were none other than Martin Short, Eugene Levy, Gilda Radnor, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, and Victor Garber, with Paul Shaffer serving as musical director. Davis\u2019 film interviews the surviving cast members, many of whom would go on to appear in \u201cSCTV\u201d and \u201cSaturday Night Live,\u201d and argues that when not earning standing ovations, they were revolutionizing comedy.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Steven Soderbergh
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>CAA Media Finance\u00a0
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0McKellen is said to be never-better as an aging artist whose children (Corden, Gunning) hire a forger to steal and then complete his unfinished works so they can inherit a bigger nest egg. Soderbergh, the most agile of auteurs, is exploring the dramedy genre after getting his heist on with the well-reviewed spy thriller \u201cBlack Bag.\u201d <\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Nic Pizzolatto
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>CAA Media Finance\/WME Independent\/Range
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Pizzolatto, one of the industry\u2019s brightest talents before \u201cTrue Detective\u201d unraveled and the franchise was farmed out to others, will try to recapture his former glory with a look at a fading crooner (Vaughn) who has fumbled his shot at the big time. He gets one more chance to see his name in lights after a former star (Pacino) takes him under his wing. Like the protagonist of his new film, all Pizzolatto needs is another break to remind us of his singular talent. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Bobby Farrelly
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>UTA Independent Film Group\/AGC Studios
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Are raunchy comedies dead? Not for Bobby Farrelly, who helped popularize the genre with hit films like \u201cThere\u2019s Something About Mary\u201d and \u201cDumb and Dumber.\u201d His latest is the story of a teenager who steals his driving instructor\u2019s car in order to visit his girlfriend in college. If the gross-out gags are hilarious, a streamer or studio will pounce. Plus, Nivola is white hot after \u201cThe White Lotus.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Kaouther Ben Hania
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>CAA Media Finance\/Party Film Sales
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0After scoring a 22-minute standing ovation at Venice, this true story of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl left stranded after trying to flee Gaza with her family seems destined to score a major distribution deal when it lands in Toronto. It\u2019s a ripped-from-the-headlines drama that should strike a nerve at the festival with its depiction of the human cost of conflict. But will it prove too hot to handle in the current political climate? <\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Maude Apatow
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>WME Independent
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Apatow, the daughter of Judd Apatow and Mann, makes her feature directorial debut with this story of two college buddies whose friendship is tested after they fall for a married woman who is auditing their poetry class. Early buzz is that Apatow skillfully navigates both the humor and the heartbreak. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Romain Gavras
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>CAA Media Finance
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong> The story of a movie star (Evans) who snaps out of an existential crisis after a radical group led by Taylor-Joy hijacks a glitzy charity function and enlists him to be part of a ritual sacrifice<\/a> involving a volcano. The premise is gonzo and the cast is top shelf. That\u2019s enough to pique studios\u2019 interest.<\/p>\n
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>UTA Independent Film Group
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Paula Deen became a household name thanks to her Southern hospitality and artery-clogging cooking (man, did she love butter!). But the culinary empire she built collapsed in 2013 after an employee filed a lawsuit and Deen acknowledged in a deposition that she had used racial slurs. Corben\u2019s film re-examine\u2019s Deen\u2019s life story, as well as the scandal that tarnished her reputation. It should spark lots of debate around the dinner table.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Alice Winocour
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>UTA Independent Film Group\/Han Way Films
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s Angelina Jolie as you\u2019ve never heard her before. The Oscar-winner gives her first performance in French, playing an American director in Paris to capture a fashion event on film. Things don\u2019t go according to plan after she receives some upsetting medical news. The combination of Jolie and haute coutre sounds like a match made in runway heaven. <\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong> Jonatan Etzler
Sales Agent:<\/strong> FilmNation
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Saoirse Ronan\u2019s turn as an elementary school teacher navigating a bully in the classroom and an indifferent administration is a satire that has plenty to say about our modern world. In the right hands, the film that is both provocative and accessible could find traction during awards season.<\/p>\n
Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Mona Fastvold
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>CAA Media Finance\/Charade
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0Seyfried explores the sect lives of Shakers, in this musical about a religious community that embraced celibacy, which didn\u2019t do wonders for its longevity. The film scored with critics when it debuted at Venice, and Fastvold is on every cinephile\u2019s radar after penning \u201cThe Brutalist\u201d with her partner in life and art, Brady Corbet, who co-wrote the script for this one.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Gus Van Sant
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>WME Independent\/Elevated
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0This true-life hostage drama plays like a spin on \u201cDog Day Afternoon,\u201d and that\u2019s not just because Pacino\u2019s name is in the credits. It tells the story of a budding entrepreneur (Skarsg\u00e5rd) who ignites a media firestorm after he kidnaps his mortgage broker. The saga seems tailor-made for these mad-as-hell times. Plus, it marks Van Sant\u2019s return to feature filmmaking after a six-year absence. What took you so long?<\/p>\n
<\/a>Director:<\/strong>\u00a0Daniel Roher
Sales Agent:\u00a0<\/strong>WME Independent\/UTA Independent Film Group
Why Buyers Are Circling:<\/strong>\u00a0A film that is both a sensitive drama and thriller, \u201cTuner\u201d delves into the life of a piano tuner (Woodall) whose auditory superpowers are harnessed for the dark arts of safecracking. With a splashy supporting performances from veterans Hoffman and Reno, \u201cTuner\u201d marks a convincing pivot for documentarian Roher, whose \u201cNavalny\u201d won the Oscar.<\/p>\n