Will the Toronto Film Festival launch another Oscar streak? Here are 8 movie hopefuls

Eddie Redmayne as Lili Elbe, in Tom Hooper’s "The Danish Girl."

Sept. 11, 2015 11:46 AM PT

The awards season battle cry rang out inside Telluride's Palm Theatre on Saturday night, a single word whooped by an audience member during the premiere of "Steve Jobs."

"Sorkin!"

Summer's over. Forget "The Avengers" and the raptors and the Minions. It won't be hard. Did anyone scream out "Hulk!" during "The Avengers'" climactic battle the way some guy did after Michael Fassbender (as Jobs) and Jeff Daniels (playing Apple CEO John Sculley) rained down a hellfire of ping-ponging, Aaron Sorkin-written elocution in "Steve Jobs"?

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For the record, 11:50 a.m. Sept. 11: A previous headline on this post said that the movie "Steve Jobs" would top the list of Oscar hopefuls in Toronto. "Steve Jobs" will not be playing at the Toronto festival.

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What began over the weekend in Colorado ramps up now with the sprawling Toronto International Film Festival, an 11-day event with 399 movies, big and small, from all over the world, many of them from studios and production companies hoping that someone will call out their name ("Sorkin!") when the Oscars are handed out next February in Hollywood.

There's good reason to believe: The eventual best picture Oscar winner played or premiered at Toronto from 2007 to 2013. Then last year, after "Birdman" ran at Venice and Telluride, its team decided to bypass Canada in favor of a closing-night slot at the New York Film Festival.

The streak was broken.

Could a new one begin? Toronto sports several high-profile awards contenders — the journalism procedural "Spotlight," the horrific African war drama "Beasts of No Nation" and the gripping mother-and-son saga "Room" among them — that found appreciative audiences at Telluride. The festival also boasts a host of premieres — Michael Moore's latest hand-grenade documentary, "Where to Invade Next," screened Thursday night, with "Our Brand Is Crisis," "About Ray," "Truth" and many others to come — that will be in the conversation.

Here's a preview, with the best- and worst-case, post-TIFF scenarios for several high-profile titles.

"The Danish Girl"

Premise: Period bio love story about the relationship between Danish artists Gerda (Alicia Vikander) and Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne) and how it evolves after Einar starts living as a woman.

Best case: Reviews will pop a little louder than when "Girl" premiered last week at Venice. There, critics were split, with Variety calling Tom Hooper's movie a "cinematic landmark" and the Guardian griping that it was a "determinedly mainstream melodrama that doesn't really offer new perspectives on its theme."

Worst case: "Respectable" and "pretty" are the words most often used to describe the movie.

"Spotlight"

Premise: Boston Globe reporters investigate allegations of abuse in the Catholic Church. Deep-bench ensemble includes Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo and Rachel McAdams. Tom McCarthy ("The Visitor") co-wrote and directs.

Best case: The film builds on its ecstatic Telluride and Venice receptions (headline: best journalism movie since "All the Presidents Men"). Important subject + flawless execution = Oscar juggernaut.

Worst case: With its tough subject, movie fails to find commercial success even after its strong festival notices and gets lost among higher-profile awards contenders.

"The Martian"

Premise: Mission to Mars goes awry and a stranded astronaut (Matt Damon) fights to survive while awaiting rescue.
Best case: Director Ridley Scott delivers a commercial hit that's embraced by Oscar voters, bringing back the golden years of "Black Hawk Down" and "Gladiator." Are you not entertained? Yes. Yes, we are!
Worst case: Movie suffers by comparison with Alfonso Cuarón's groundbreaking "Gravity," which wowed Toronto two years ago.

"Black Mass"

Best case: The Depp renaissance, already hailed at Venice and Telluride, continues to pick up steam. Memories of "Mortdecai" fade into the recesses of time.

Worst case: Early moniker for movie "Depp-arted" sticks. Respect paid to filmmaker Scott Cooper for sturdy effort, but Scorsese planted the Boston mob flag to better effect.

"Beasts of No Nation"

Premise: African warlord (Idris Elba) turns a young boy (Abraham Attah) into a ruthless killer.

Best case: Cary Fukunaga's harrowing epic multiplies the strong reviews won at Telluride and Venice in advance of its simultaneous release on Netflix and in movie theaters.

Worst case: Academy members remember the buzz, but the movie sits in their Netflix queue because they can't bring themselves to watch.

"Room"

Premise: A mother (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) make the best of their lives as prisoners confined to an 11-by-11-foot shed in this adaptation of Emma Donoghue's celebrated book.

Best case: The unique premise and deft way it morphs from a survival thriller to an affecting drama about parental bonds, change and loss make it a must-see movie and catapult Larson into the thick of the lead actress conversation.

Worst case: Stories about the movie > tickets sold.

"Trumbo"

Premise: Popular Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo (Bryan Cranston) tries to work his way back from the professional and personal horrors of the blacklist.

Best case: Cranston moves one letter closer to joining the exclusive EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) club. Solid supporting cast — Louis C.K., Helen Mirren (playing gossip columnist Hedda Hopper!) — wins raves as well.

Worst case: People are more interested in asking Cranston about a "Better Call Saul" guest spot than talking about the movie.

"Youth"

Premise: Paolo Sorrentino's ("The Great Beauty") latest has Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel as old friends looking back at life and love with Jane Fonda killing it in a small, crucial role as a fading movie star.

(Gianni Fiorito / Fox Searchlight)

Best case: Caine, Keitel and Fonda give this year's awards season a classy, retro feel.

Worst case: The movie's pervasive mood of old-guy regret doesn't translate to anyone who hasn't memorized the lyrics of "To All the Girls I've Loved Before."

Twitter: @GlennWhipp