Breakfast on Pluto, The Notorious Bettie Page
,
Bee Season
, and Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang to screen in
Toronto

The Toronto International Film Festival (September 8-17) unveiled nearly a dozen world premieres Tuesday, including the latest from returning directors Michael Winterbottom and Neil Jordan. Jordan's Breakfast on Pluto has been booked for a world premiere in the Masters program after being bypassed by Cannes. The Crying Game director returns to familiar turf with a drama set in 1970s Ireland which stars Cillian Murphy as a deceptively young transvestite. Liam Neeson and Stephen Rea also star. Sony Pictures Classics has already locked up key world rights ahead of a fall theatrical release in the United States. Winterbottom's latest work, Tristam Shandy: a Cock and Bull Story , will receive a world premiere as a special presentation in Toronto.

In addition, a world premiere gala screening at Roy Thomson Hall has been set for Niki Caro's North Country , the Charlize Theron drama about a single mother rallying her female coworkers to fight against sexual harassment at a local mining company. Frances McDormand, Sissy Spacek, and Woody Harrelson round out the cast of the Warner Bros. film. Also lending dramatic depth to Toronto is a gala for Mrs. Harris , HBO Films' recreation of the murder of Scarsdale diet creator Dr. Herman Tarnower (Ben Kingsley) by Jean Harris, played by Annette Bening. Phyllis Nagy marks her directorial debut with Mrs. Harris , which also stars Ellen Burstyn, Frances Fisher, and Chloe Sevigny. In addition, there's a world premiere at Roy Thomson Hall for John Gatin's Dreamer: Inspired by a True Story . The DreamWorks picture stars Kurt Russell and Dakota Fanning as father and daughter attempting to nurse an injured horse back to health so it can compete in the Breeders' Cup.

Toronto is also welcoming back Cameron Crowe as he brings Elizabethtown to Roy Thomson Hall for a North American premiere only days after the film bows at the Venice festival. The film, to be released in North America by Paramount, stars Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst in a romantic drama about a disgruntled employee who returns to his hometown to ensure his dead father's wishes are met. Also jumping the pond from Venice for North American premieres are John Turturro's Romance & Cigarettes , unspooling in the Masters sidebar; Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and Steven Soderbergh's Bubble--both part of the Special Presentations showcase; and Liev Schreiber's Everything Is Illuminated .

Also headed north is Fox Searchlight's Bee Season , a world premiere from out director Scott McGehee and his straight filmmaking partner David Siegel. The film follows a young girl, played by Flora Cross, whose success in spelling competitions disrupts her family, including her father (Richard Gere) and mother (Juliette Binoche). The drama, to screen in the Special Presentations sidebar, is set for an October 21 theatrical release. Also receiving a world premiere in the Special Presentations program is The Notorious Bettie Page , U.S. director Mary Harron's biopic about the famous 1950s pinup girl, played by Gretchen Mol. The film, which Harron cowrote with lesbian icon Guinevere Turner, also stars Lili Taylor and David Strathairn.

U.S. director Shane Black is coming to Toronto with Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, the Robert Downey Jr.-starrer that screened out of competition in Cannes and won Val Kilmer acclaim for his performance as a gay detective. Another slot has been reserved for Cinema Seven's Opa! the romantic comedy from British director Udayan Prasad about an American archaeologist (Matthew Modine) in Greece to uncover a lost biblical artifact that his late father had searched for in vain. As he digs, he falls in love with a tavern owner, played by Agni Scott. Modine will also be in Toronto to tout Mary , in which he plays an independent director casting himself as Jesus Christ in his film. Abel Ferrara directs the drama that includes Juliette Binoche as an actress playing Mary Magdalene. The drama will first bow in Venice before having its North American premiere in Toronto.

New Zealand director Roger Donaldson is bringing The World's Fastest Indian to Toronto for a world premiere in the Special Presentations sidebar. Anthony Hopkins plays New Zealander Burt Munro, intent on setting a new speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats for the classic Indian motorcycle he developed. Diane Ladd and Paul Rodriguez also star. (Etan Vlessing, via Reuters)