"Borg/McEnroe" to Open TIFF
Tuesday, August 1, 2017 at 2:30PM Chris here. We're very excited that the Toronto Film Festival is right around the corner, and last week's first announcement of the films in the lineup were just the beginning. One of the conspicuous gaps in last week's films was the fest opener - and now we know that film to be tennis biopic Borg/McEnroe.
This makes the second real-life period tennis film playing the fest, after the likely more lighthearted Battle of the Sexes. Here Shia Labeouf stars as the hot-tempered John McEnroe facing off against his rival Björn Borg, played by Sverrir Gudnason, during Wimbledon 1980. The opening slot hasn't had the best luck in recent years, with past films being the The Magnificent Seven remake, Demoliton, The Judge, and The Fifth Estate - bet you hadn't thought of those movies in a bit! Could Borg/McEnroe turn it around? Or, perhaps more importantly, is tennis the next sports movie obsession?
TIFF also just announced their Midnight Madness, Docs, Shorts lineups! Check those out after the jump...
MIDNIGHT MADNESS
Opening Film: Bodied, dir Joseph Kahn
Brawl In Cell Block 99, dir: S. Craig Zahler
The Crescent, dir: Seth A. Smith
The Disaster Artist, dir: James Franco (trailer above)
Downrange, dir: Ryuhei Kitamura
Great Choice, dir: Robin Comisar
Let The Corpses Tan, dirs: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani
Mom And Dad, dir: Brian Taylor
Revenge, dir: Coralie Fargeat
The Ritual, dir: David Bruckner
Closing Film: Vampire Clay, dir Sôichi Umezawa
TIFF DOCS
Opening Film: Grace Jones: Bloodlight And Bami, dir: Sophie Fiennes
Azmaish: A Journey through the Subcontinent, dir: Sabiha Sumar
Boom For Real The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat, dir: Sara Driver
The China Hustle, dir: Jed Rothstein
Cocaine Prison, dir: Violeta Ayala
Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars, dir: Lili Fini Zanuck
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library, dir: Frederick Wiseman
The Final Year, dir: Greg Barker
The Gospel According To André, dir: Kate Novack
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond – The Story Of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman Featuring A Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention Of Tony Clifton, dir: Chris Smith
Jane, dir: Brett Morgen
The Judge, dir: Erika Cohn
The Legend Of The Ugly King, dir: Hüseyin Tabak
Lots Of Kids, A Monkey And A Castle, dir: Gustavo Salmerón
Love Means Zero, dir: Jason Kohn
Of Sheep And Men, dir: Karim Sayad
One of Us, dirs: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
The Other Side Of Everything, dir: Mila Turajlić
Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me, dir: Sam Pollard
Scotty And The Secret History Of Hollywood, dir: Matt Tyrnauer
Silas, dirs: Anjali Nayar, Hawa Essuman
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!, dir: Morgan Spurlock
Closing Film. Makala, dir. Emmanuel Gras, France
SHORT CUTS
Airport, dir: Michaela Müller
Blue Christmas, dir: Charlotte Wells
Bonboné, dir: Rakan Mayasi
The Burden, dir: Niki Lindroth von Bahr
Catastrophe, dir: Jamille van Wijngaarden
Damiana, dir: Andrés Ramírez Pulido
The Death, Dad & Son, dir: Denis Walgenwitz
Drop By Drop, dir: Laura Gonçalves
A Drowning Man, dir: Mahdi Fleifel
Everlasting MOM, dir: Elinor Nechemya
Fifteen, dir: Sameh Alaa
Five Minutes, dir: Justine Bateman
A Gentle Night, dir: Yang Qiu
I Didn’t Shoot Jesse James, dir: Sophie Beaulieu
Jodilerks Dela Cruz, Employee Of The Month, dir: Carlo Francisco Manatad
Long Distance Relationship, dir: Carolina Markowicz
Lower Heaven, dir: Emad Aleebrahim Dehkordi
Magic Moments, dir: Martina Buchelová
Marlon, dir: Jessica Palud
Möbius, dir: Sam Kuhn
Mon Amour Mon Ami, dir: Adriano Valerio
Mother, dir: Rodrigo Sorogoyen
Preparation, dir: Sofia Georgovassili
The President’s Visit, dir: Cyril Aris
Push It, dir: Julia Thelin
Roadside Attraction, dir: Patrick Bresnan
Shinaab, dir: Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr
Signature, dir: Kei Chikaura
Still Water Runs Deep, dir: Abbesi Akhamie
Together Alone, dir: Mateo Bendesky
Treehouse, dir: Juan Sebastián Quebrada
Waiting, dir: Amberley Jo Aumua
Waiting For Hassana, dir: Ifunanya Maduka
We Love Moses, dir: Dionne Edwards
Wicked Girl, dir: Ayce Kartal
Reader Comments (9)
Borg/McEnroe - Here it is, the movie for everyone who dislikes actors speaking English when they are playing characters living in non-English speaking countries. I think it looks better and more authentic than Battle of the Sexes. The '70s have certainly become a movie obsession, anyway.
I'm really excited for some of the docs, especially Grace Jones, The Final Year, One of Us, and Jane.
Judging by the trailer it seems like Borg/McEnroe is part of the DC Extended Universe.
This looks like just another sports bio movie
Liking the look of Borg/McEnroe. Disaster Artist I'm leery about because I see it playing out like watching a bunch of people laughing together at an inside joke. Would love to see more of Grace Jones.
Interesting also to see Leboeuf and Franco trailers back to back. Both known for their, let's say, unconventional artistic choices, the one (Franco) swimming in a pool of self mockery (which his film does not seem to correct) and the other demonstrating why people want to work with, and get excited watching, Lebeouf despite the shenanigans. We'll see.
The Grace Jones doc! And I'm actually eager for The Disaster Artist. Don't give much of a damn about BORG/MCINROE
Shia and James have turned into big turnoffs.
If you know anything about tennis, you'll know that Lebeouf as McEnroe is stunt casting but it is perfect stunt casting. I'm optimistic.
I love tennis, but tennis movies, meh. They seem to want to be all about the personality of the player, not their skills as a player.
The best tennis movie imo is "Wimbledon" which goes so far into personality that it actually says something true about performance anxiety, and also has the plus of two charming actors, Kirsten Dunst and Paul Bettany.
But with most tennis movies, I keep thinking:
- if you had a movie about a dancer, wouldn't you show the expression of her self as she dances? Her intense work and preparation?
- if you had a movie about a runner, wouldn't your set piece be them running? And again, training and preparation and how this shapes them?
But with tennis movies, it seems sometimes the actual sport is downgraded, as actors are cast that don't look athletic in any way. It's going to be story making about personality that ignores the work. I dread the scenes of actual matches. Stunt doubles, close-ups of their faces, pretending that they are actually playing?
It's such a pale ghost of actual tennis. Watching Rafael Nadal fight his way through a match is gut-clenching, dramatic intensity. Watching Roger Federer is exhilarating empathy.
McEnroe ! The crazy tennis genius !