The world premiere of Netflix’s Outlaw King, starring Chris Pine as the legendary Scottish king Robert the Bruce, will open the Toronto Film Fest on September 6.
David Mackenzie directed the Scotland-shot period epic, which also stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Florence Pugh and Billy Howle.
Outlaw King contains many battle scenes as the Scottish king leads his country to freedom from English rule.
The event marks the first time that a Netflix movie has opened the Toronto festival, a willing partner for the digital giant.
Netflix has seven titles in all booked into the Canadian festival’s 43rd edition. “We have an amazing cast and crew working at the top of their game, and we are really looking forward to spreading some Scottish goodwill on the great city of Toronto,” Mackenzie said in a statement.
After skipping Cannes following the French festival’s refusal to show Netflix movies in competition, the streaming service will also receive gala treatment in Roy Thomson Hall for Hold the Dark, from director Jeremy Saulnier and starring Jeffrey Wright and Alexander Skarsgard; and Paul Greengrass’ 22 July, the Norwegian terror attack picture that stars Anders Danielsen Lie as lone wolf Anders Breivik.
TIFF earlier announced bookings for four other Netflix movies: Alfonso Cuaron’s ROMA, from the Oscar-winning director of Gravity; Sara Colangelo’s Sundance title The Kindergarten Teacher, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal; Nicole Holofcener’s The Land of Steady Habits, starring Connie Britton; and the documentary Quincy, about music icon Quincy Jones that is directed by Rashida Jones, the actress and writer who is Jones’ daughter, and Alan Hicks.
TIFF will close September 16 with a first look at Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy, the Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern-starrer from director Justin Kelly. And Toronto booked into Roy Thomson Hall for red-carpet screenings of Peter Farrelly’s Green Book, which stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali; and The Lie, by The Killing creator Veena Sud, and toplined by former Killing star Mireille Enos and Peter Sarsgaard.
The Special Presentations sidebar added world premieres for Jake Scott’s American Woman, starring Sienna Miller, Amy Madigan, Aaron Paul and Christina Hendricks; Tom Harper’s Wild Rose, starring Julie Walters; Jonah Hill’s directorial debut, Mid90s; Sam Taylor-Johnson’s A Million Little Pieces, the movie adaptation of James Frey’s best-seller exposed for wrongful invention; and Guy Nattiv’s neo-Nazi drama Skin, starring Vera Farmiga and Jamie Bell.
The high-profile sidebar also has world bows for the Elle Fanning-starrer Teen Spirit, the directorial debut for Max Minghella, son of the late Academy Award-winning director Anthony Minghella; Annabel Jankel’s Tell It to the Bees, which stars True Blood star Anna Paquin; Maryam Keshavarz’s Susan Sarandon-starrer Viper Club; and Chanya Button’s Vita & Virginia.
The special presentations program also has world bows for Liu Jie’s Baby; Olivier Masset-Depasse’s Mother’s Instinct; Louis Garrel’s A Faithful Man; Sebastian Lelio’s Gloria Bell; Thomas Vinterberg’s Kursk; and Chen Kaige’s Legend of the Demon Cat – Director’s Cut.
