Xavier Dolan's star-studded "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan" will make its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie is the Quebec phenom's highly anticipated English-language directorial debut starring Kit Harington, Natalie Portman, Thandie Newton, Jacob Tremblay and Sarah Gadon. However, more worryingly, Jessica Chastain's role has been completely scrapped in the editing room.
I was not a fan of Dolan's last film "It's Only the End of the World," and it hasn't been smooth sailing for the filmmaker since then either. After the negative reviews that met his last film, Dolan seems to have had a hard time with "The Death and Life of John F. Donovan".
Official Synopsis:
"A decade ago, the publisher of a gossip magazine, Moira, exposed the correspondences of an American TV star, John F. Donovan, with an 11-year-old British boy, Rupert Turner. A storm kills Donovan's life and career and culminates in his death. Ten years later, Turner reminiscences the written correspondence, as well as the impact those letters had on both their lives."
The TIFF announcement comes after last week's initial wave of premiere announcements. Dolan's “John F. Donovan” thus joins other World and North American premieres such as Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Steve McQueen’s “Widows,” Felix Van Groeningen's "Beautiful Boy," Dan Fogelman's "Life Itself," Bradley Cooper's "A Star is Born," and Jacques Audiard's "The Sisters Brothers."
The TIFF opening night film is still a mystery with Joel Edgerton's “Boy Erased,” starring Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, and Russell Crowe, a rumored contender.
TIFF will happen from September 6th to the 17th.