WALT DISNEY'S "TRON: LEGACY 3-D" TO PREMIERE AT TOKYO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

Jeff Bridges in Walt Disney's TRON: Legacy 3-D

Tokyo, I envy you!    The other TIFF, the Tokyo International Film Festival, will be the first to premiere Walt Disney's TRON: Legacy 3-D this Saturday, October 23, 2010 as the film will be shown as a Special Presentation.  Stars Garrett Hedlund and Olivia Wilde are confirmed to be doing Press also at the Festival. Our dear friend MiT will do her best to get us some photos of the excitement!

Other titles - many which premiered in Toronto last month - to be making the rounds in Tokyo include:

RACHEL MCADAMS AND MICHAEL SHEEN DATING?

It was reported that during TIFF a couple weeks ago that McAdams was at the premiere of Shawn Ku's Beautiful Boy starring Sheen, which already struck me as odd.  But my Tipsters are dropping a line to tell me now that both McAdams and Sheen were seen together last night at the Bell Lightbox as part of Scotiabank Nuit Blanche festivities. Sheen I can reassure you, is not in-town filming anything right now, so unless they are v. good friends who really just like flying back and forth to see each other, I think there might be some validity to the rumour.

Now if it were true, this would be amazingly positive news and I'm sure nobody would have the slightest objection.  Two truly wonderful people who are a perfect match... as lovers...  or just friends!

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BEAUTIFUL BOY REVIEW

Beautiful Boy

First time Director Shawn Ku delivers something important in Beautiful Boy.  The film is a story of a  grounded middle class American couple Bill and Kate Carroll (Michael Sheen and Maria Bello) who learn of the tragic news that their son Sam (Kyle Gallner) had opened fire at his College, killing many students - before taking his own life.  This story though is told from the perspective of the parents, which puts a spin on the norm as we often only see such matters from the eyes of the victims.

Much of the film is divided between Bill and Carroll and thus, v. dependent on the strength of their performances.  Sheen and Bello both deliver heartbreaking vulnerability in expressing their characters' pain, fluctuating between acceptance of their loss and emotional breakdowns.  We join them on their tender journey and see the challenges they must face beyond losing their only son, but whether it be facing media and social scrutiny, their careers being impacted, in addition to strained relationships with their family members and ultimately, their own love for one another being questioned.  This is not a lighthearted film.

Beautiful Boy's ultimate moment comes when tensions within their marriage reach a boiling point, with Bill and Carroll engaging in a painful war of words, blaming one another for their son's actions after failing to understand why all of this has happened.  The couple must face the toughest challenge of all in allowing themselves to undergo the pain of mourning.

Aside from shaky camera work and over-utilized grainy texture to its scenes for effect, Beautiful Boy is a pleasure to watch and its outstanding performances from Sheen and Bello cannot be denied.  There is no set release date yet for the film.  Grade: A-

MICHAEL SHEEN AT TIFF FOR BEAUTIFUL BOY

Alright, Michael Sheen Fans - you know how much I love you guys and Michael, so it was a blessing from God that he and I crossed paths again today.  Returning to his Hotel quickly before heading out again, I was surprised to see him looking amazing as he was in-character last time I saw him this summer in Toronto filming Jesus Henry Christ.  Michael premiered first-time Director Shawn Ku's Beautiful Boy last night at Isabel Bader Theatre.  

View more pics of Sheen below:

DANNY BOYLE'S 127 HOURS AND SHAWN KU'S BEAUTIFUL BOY AT TIFF 2010

Yes! The equally handsome as he is talented James Franco, will more than likely be appearing at this year's TIFF as Slumdog Millionaire Director Danny Boyle's 127 Hours is now rumoured to be one of this year's titles. Boyle of course, won the Cadillac People's Choice Award at the festival in 2008 and subsequently, Best Picture at the Oscars in 2009 with that film. 127 Hours is based on the true story of Aron Ralston, who had to cut off the lower portion of his arm after being trapped in a rock-climbing incident; he survived. The film, which opens November 5, 2010 via Fox Searchlight, also stars Mean Girls' now slim-and-trim Lizzy Caplan. Read more about it at Entertainment Weekly.

Also, it was just announced that Choreographer-turned-Director Shawn Ku's Beautiful Boy will be premiering at TIFF too. The film which stars Maria Bello, Michael Sheen and get this - Meat Loaf - is a story about the parents of a young man who goes on a killing rampage at his College, before finally killing himself. Although chilling films like Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine and Gus van Sant's Elephant have been made on the matter, it is said that this film instead focuses more on the story of the parents of the Murderer. This is definitely one of Sheen's meatier roles and Bello as we've seen in David Cronenberg's A History of Violence, is a perfect fit for darker matter even though she doesn't always get to show it. The film will screen September 12, 2010, although its theatrical release date has yet to be confirmed.