‘Outlaw King’ to open Toronto film fest; ‘Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy’ to close

FILE: Chris Pine at the 2016 San Diego Comic Con International for Wonder Woman. (Photo By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America – Chris Pine, CC BY-SA 2.0)

TORONTO — The world premiere of David Mackenzie’s “Outlaw King,” starring Chris Pine, will kick off the Toronto International Film Festival.

Organizers say the epic David-versus-Goliath tale, which is set to hit Netflix in November, will be the opening-night gala presentation on Sept. 6 at Roy Thomson Hall.

Pine stars as 14th-century Scottish outlaw hero Robert the Bruce, who reclaimed the throne from the English crown and its army.

The cast also includes Aaron Taylor-Johnson.

“TIFF’s opening night film, ‘Outlaw King,’ tells a powerful story that is rich in drama, excitement, romance, and adventure,” Piers Handling, director and CEO of TIFF, said in a statement.

“Audiences are promised a thrilling journey back in time, as David Mackenzie masterfully unwraps history with taut, dramatic flair.”

Meanwhile, Justin Kelly’s “Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,” a true story starring Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, will close the festival on Sept. 16.

Dern plays an author who writes under a fictionalized persona, a young queer man named JT LeRoy.

Stewart plays her boyfriend’s androgynous sister who agrees to be JT in the public eye.

Other titles added to the lineup Tuesday include comedy star Jonah Hill’s feature directorial debut “Mid90s,” about a 13-year-old boy’s summer in Los Angeles.

Sam Taylor-Johnson directs “A Million Little Pieces,” an adaptation of the James Frey semi-fictional addiction novel starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Juliette Lewis, and Billy Bob Thornton.

“Boy Erased” by Joel Edgerton is based on the memoir by Garrard Conley. Nicole Kidman, Lucas Hedges, Russell Crowe, and Xavier Dolan star in the story of a Baptist pastor’s son who is forced into a gay conversion therapy program.

In Jake Scott’s “American Woman,” a Pennsylvania woman’s teen daughter goes missing and she is left to raise her infant grandson alone. The cast includes Christina Hendricks, Sienna Miller, and Aaron Paul.

Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, and Linda Cardellini star in Peter Farrelly’s “Green Book,” about an Italian-American bouncer who becomes a pianist’s chauffer in the Deep South.

The love affair between writers Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf is profiled in Chanya Button’s “Vita & Virginia,” starring Gemma Arterton and Elizabeth Debicki.

“22 July” by Paul Greengrass is based on the aftermath of the 2011 Norway attacks.

Canadian films added include “The Lie” by Toronto-born Veena Sud, who created the recent Netflix series “Seven Seconds.”

The festival also unveiled the lineups for several others programs.

The auteur-filled Masters program includes Jean-Luc Godard’s “The Image Book,” winner of the inaugural 2018 Special Palme d’Or at Cannes.

And the Contemporary World Cinema program has 47 titles from international filmmakers, including a strong presence from Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Other highlights unveiled Tuesday include:

— Nick Hamm’s John DeLorean biopic “Driven,” starring Judy Greer and Jason Sudeikis

— “Hold the Dark” by Jeremy Saulnier, starring Alexander Skarsgard and Riley Keough

— “Tell It To The Bees” by Annabel Jankel, starring Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger

— “Viper Club” by Maryam Keshavarz, starring Matt Bomer, Susan Sarandon, and Edie Falco