Toronto Film Festival opens with muted Oscar buzz
April 8,2009 Wednesday
The pre-Oscar press circuit, usually a defining feature of the Toronto Film Festival, felt uncharacteristically subdued as it opened last week. This year, the major studios kept their cards close to their chests as they witheld the promotional stampede for their awards hopefuls. Potential contenders such as Baz Luhrmann's Australia and Oliver Stone 's W were among those kept at bay.However, the opening days of the festival have seen some major highlights. Burn After Reading with Brad Pitt, the Coen Brothers ' follow-up to the seminal No Country For Old Men, Gus Van Sant 's Milk starring Sean Penn as the eponymous gay San Francisco politician and Darren Aronofksy's The Wrestler, featuring an inspired turn from Mickey Rourke and a recent winner of the Venice film festival's Golden Lion award for 'Best Film', have all been feverishly greeted.
