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Lee to revisit ‘Bad’ at Toronto
AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES
Music is highlighting the Toronto International Film Festival with a Michael Jackson documentary from Spike Lee and a closing-night film featuring Vanessa Redgrave as a terminally ill choir singer.
Organizers announced Tuesday that Redgrave’s “Song for Marion” will close next month’s Toronto festival, which runs Sept. 6 to 16 and is one of the key cinema gatherings that kick off Hollywood’s fall movie lineup and Academy Awards season.
The film, directed by Paul Andrew Williams, co-stars Terence Stamp and Gemma Arterton.
Lee’s documentary, “Bad 25,” also is playing the festival, marking the 25th anniversary of Jackson’s 1987 album “Bad.”
The film features footage shot by Jackson himself along with interviews with such stars and music producers as Mariah Carey, Kanye West, Sheryl Crow and L.A. Reid.
Toronto planners announced dozens of other films to round out its 11-day run, among them Peter Webber’s “Emperor,” starring Tommy Lee Jones as Gen. Douglas MacArthur in the aftermath of Japan’s defeat in World War II; Dante Ariola’s “Arthur Newman,” a romance with Colin Firth and Emily Blunt centered on a former golf hotshot who became a notorious choker on the pro circuit; and Brian De Palma’s “Passion,” an erotic thriller featuring Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace.
Other Toronto highlights include Lee Daniels’ “The Paperboy,” a murder tale set in 1960s Florida that stars Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey, John Cusack and Zac Efron.