Troubled Times at TIFF? How the Hollywood Strikes Could Impact the Toronto Film Festival
variety.comBrent Lang Executive Editor Before cameras ever start rolling on a RadicalMedia movie, staffers are already busy strategizing about where it should eventually premiere.
The company, which boasts “The Fog of War” and “Summer of Soul” among its many credits, routinely consults an exhaustive chart that lays out the deadlines to submit a movie to major festivals like Cannes, Sundance and Toronto. “There’s no guarantee that you’ll get invited, but it’s important to have a plan,” says Jon Kamen, CEO of RadicalMedia. “Each festival has their own unique personality that makes it the perfect fit for certain kinds of work.” In the case of RadicalMedia’s “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero,” a documentary that follows the pop star behind “Old Town Road” on his first global tour, that ideal launching spot was always the Toronto International Film Festival. “Nas X has performed in the city, and he has a huge fanbase there,” says Kamen. “We knew that people who love his music would turn out, so we weren’t going to have an audience of typical film festival attendees.
It will show how passionate people are about him.” A lively premiere of “Lil Nas X: Long Live Montero” filled with younger music lovers won’t be the only thing that’s distinctive about this edition of the Toronto Film Festival.
With actors and writers on strike, most movie stars won’t be making the trek across the border when the celebration of movies kicks off on Sept.
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