TIFF 2014: ‘St. Vincent,’ Roger Waters doc among late additions

The Toronto International Film Festival has announced one final round of world premieres for its gathering that begins Sept. 4.

Topping the list is Bill Murray’s eccentric-neighbor dramedy “St. Vincent,” which will be screened for the first time at the festival. Theodore Melfi’s movie, which costars Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts and centers on a single mother (McCarthy), will hit theaters courtesy of Weinstein Co. on Oct. 24.

Also making its world premiere at the festival is “Roger Waters The Wall,” a concert documentary about the famous Pink Floyd frontman, codirected by Waters himself, and “Murder in Pacot” a post-Haiti earthquake story cowritten by the noted Haitian author and activist Lyonel Trouillot.

Making their North American premieres, Toronto organizers said Tuesday, are “The Sound and the Fury,” James Franco’s directorial adaptation of the William Faulkner classic; Cannes Palme d’Or winner “Winter Sleep”; and “The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness,” a documentary about legendary Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli that features icons such as Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Not on the final Toronto list is Brad Pitt’s World War II drama “Fury,” which some thought might be a late addition to the slate. The David Ayer film will now either go to Telluride, Colo., or bypass this batch of film festivals entirely for a bow at either the New York Film Festival or a festival-free run ahead of its Oct. 17 U.S. commercial release by Sony.

Toronto this year has instituted a new policy that requires any movie that hopes to play the critical opening weekend of its festival to forgo playing Telluride or any other North American confab. It was unclear what effect that would have on the quality of entries and number of world premieres, but on the latter score, at least, TIFF organizers have kept things essentially constant, with 143 movies making their global debut, compared to 146 last year.