An exciting second day of TIFF ’24 with many star-studded adventures!
•Orlando Bloom and Catriona Balfe for THE CUT
•Tom Hiddleston, Mike Flanagan, Karen Gillan, Kate Siegel and Chiwetel Ejiofor for THE LIFE OF CHUCK
•Eddie Huang for VICE IS BROKE
•Shamier Anderson and Samir Oliveros for THE LUCKIEST MAN IN AMERICA
•Sandra Oh, Honourary Chair of TIFF TRIBUTE Awards Gala
•Teresa Palmer for ADDITION
•Elton John, David Furnish and R.J. Cutler for ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE
•Demi Moore for THE SUBSTANCE
•Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh for WE LIVE IN TIME
Our chat with Cutler and Furnish:
A Q&A of WE LIVE IN TIME with Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield and John Crowley:
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
By David Baldwin
Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) was once Hollywood royalty. Fearing she may fade into total obscurity after getting sacked from her TV fitness show, she turns to a black-market injection program called “The Substance”. Using it creates a younger version of herself, Sue (Margaret Qualley), but it comes with a catch: each body is only allowed to exist for a week at a time before they need to swap back or else they risk irreversible consequences.
You may have an idea of where it goes from there, but trust me when I tell you that nothing can prepare you for THE SUBSTANCE. You will not be the same after watching this satirical nightmare that is as much an indictment of archaic female beauty standards as it is a masterpiece of Body Horror that would make even the genre’s Maestro David Cronenberg blush. I will not mince words – THE SUBSTANCE is disgusting and goes to some absolutely revolting places. In other words, this is one the Midnight Madness sickos are going to adore and anyone else should probably avoid.
I am one of those sickos and I loved every minute of THE SUBSTANCE.
Writer/Director Coralie Fargeat’s first film, the bloody thriller Revenge, was awesome. What she does here in only her second picture makes that film look like an angry Disney Princess movie. She swings for the fences right from the jump, crafting an experience that gradually takes over nearly every one of your senses. The way she incorporates sound is impeccable and her Editing (done alongside Jerome Eltabet and Valentin Féron) is magnificent. While I was not a fan of some of the CGI effects, the stunning makeup work more than makes up for it.
Even better are the genuine special effects on display here: the performances by Moore and Qualley. They are both incredible, firing on all cylinders and delivering the best performances of their careers. They both tap into something primal and give off an aura of raw, animalistic energy that continually grows stronger throughout. They compliment each other and breathe frighteningly real life into Fargeat’s poison-laced dialogue. And though he is used sparingly, Dennis Quaid is deliciously over-the-top as the shit weasel studio executive named (of course he is), Harvey. For my money, he has the most sickening, stomach-churning scene in the entire film – which says a lot given the places this theme park ride from hell takes you.
THE SUBSTANCE screens at TIFF’24:
Thursday, September 5 at 11:59PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre
Friday, September 6 at 7:30PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
Friday, September 13 at 5:45PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
So thrilled for TIFF ’24 to kick-off finally tomorrow and tonight the stars began to descend upon the City for what in my opinion always, is the greatest Festival in the world! Running till September 15, 2024, we cannot wait for Toronto finally to get the TIFF they deserve after multiple setbacks and restrictions these past few years!
Some stars we spotted already in town for TIFF ’24, including acting icon Demi Moore who makes a big comeback with Body Horror THE SUBSTANCE, premiering as part of the Midnight Madness programme, eight-time Grammy winner Anderson.Paak who makes his directorial debut in K-POPS, in which he also stars, plus Omar Apollo, whom we’re a huge fan of. He stars alongside the likes of Daniel Craig and Lesley Manville in this latest from Luca Guadagnino (Challengers, Call Me By Your Name). And TIFF Tribute Award honouree Zhao Tao, Chinese screen legend, also made her way to town! She stars in Caught by the Tides, directed by her husband, legendary Jia Zhang-ke.
Stay tuned, there will be MANY sightings this year. And we will be on CP24 AM in the 9 o’clock hour as well… twice! Tune in!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
MUBI, the global film distributor, production company and streaming service is thrilled to announce the Canadian release date for Coralie Fargeat’s deliriously entertaining and ruthlessly satirical new film THE SUBSTANCE, which received its World Premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival to riotous acclaim, winning the prize for Best Screenplay. Also, launched today is the new official teaser for the film.
Starring Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid, this Cannes sensation turns toxic beauty culture inside out with a be-careful-what-you-wish-for fable for the ages. Explosive, provocative and twisted, THE SUBSTANCE announces the arrival of a thrillingly visionary filmmaker.
Have you ever dreamt of a better version of yourself? You. Only better in every way. Seriously. You’ve got to try this new product, The Substance. IT CHANGED MY LIFE.
It generates another you.
A new, younger, more beautiful, more perfect, you. And there’s only one rule: You share time.
One week for you. One week for the new you.
Seven days each. A perfect balance.
Easy. Right?
Written and directed by Coralie Fargeat (Revenge), The Substance stars Demi Moore (G.I. Jane, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal), Margaret Qualley (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Maid, Kinds of Kindness, Fosse Verdon), and Dennis Quaid (Far from Heaven, The Rookie, The Day After Tomorrow).
Director of Photography on the film is Benjamin Kracun (Promising Young Woman, Beast), co-editors are Coralie Fargeat, Jerome Eltabet (Revenge) and Valentin Féron, music is composed by Raffertie (I May Destroy You), Production Design is led by Stanislas Reydellet (Le Bal Des Folles), and Costume Design is by Emmanuelle Youchnovski (Café de Flore, La belle époque).
The Substance is produced by Coralie Fargeat, and Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan for Working Title following Fargeat’s acclaimed debut feature Revenge, which world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017 and was written, directed and co-edited by Fargeat. Alexandra Loewy of Working Title and Nicolas Royer of A Good Story are Executive Producers.
Paramount+ today announced that Golden Globe® nominee Demi Moore will star in the highly anticipated original drama series LANDMAN as a series regular. Moore will play Cami, wife to one of the most powerful oil men in Texas and a friend of Tommy Norris, played by Oscar® winner and series lead Billy Bob Thornton. Co-created by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, LANDMAN is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios, 101 Studios and Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch Productions exclusively for Paramount+.
Set in the proverbial boomtowns of West Texas, LANDMAN is a modern-day tale of fortune seeking in the world of oil rigs. Based on the notable 11-part podcast “Boomtown,” the series is an upstairs/downstairs story of roughnecks and wildcat billionaires fueling a boom so big, it’s reshaping our climate, our economy and our geopolitics.
Moore has proven herself to be one of the industry’s most accomplished performers, lending her talents to an array of revered films and television both in front of and behind the camera. The actress set a record in 1995 when she became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, a testament to her star power and box office appeal. Most recently, Moore can be seen in the second season of Ryan Murphy’s anthology series Feud: Capote vs. The Swans as socialite Ann Woodward, a former showgirl and radio actress who was infamously accused of murdering her husband in 1955. The actress will soon be seen in Coralie Fargeat’s first studio feature, The Substance, alongside Margaret Qualley. Moore’s acting career took off in the late 1980’s when she starred in St. Elmo’s Fire. She then went on to star in such iconic films as About Last Night…, Ghost, A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, The Scarlet Letter, Disclosure and G.I. Jane. Success poured into the following years, with Moore consistently in well-grossing films including Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Bobby and Margin Call among many others. She produced and lent her voice to QCode’s podcast Dirty Diana, which is being adapted into a series that Moore will star in. In 2019, she added New York Times Best Seller to her lengthy list of credits with her memoir Inside Out.
In addition to Thornton and Moore, the series stars Ali Larter (The Last Victim), Michelle Randolph (1923), Jacob Lofland (Joker 2), Canadian Kayla Wallace (When Calls the Heart), James Jordan (Yellowstone), Mark Collie (Nashville) and Paulina Chávez (The Expanding Universe of Ashley Garcia).
Currently filming in and around Fort Worth, Texas, LANDMAN is executive produced by Taylor Sheridan, David C. Glasser, David Hutkin, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, Christian Wallace, Geyer Kosinski, Michael Friedman and Stephen Kay. Dan Friedkin and Jason Hoch, for Imperative Development LLC, and J.K. Nickell and Megan Creydt, for Texas Monthly, also executive produce. Peter Feldman serves as co-executive producer.
The series is the latest addition to Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1923, 1883, SPECIAL OPS: LIONESS, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, TULSA KING and LAWMEN: BASS REEVES.
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