Studio 180 Blog

Fall is in the air which means a few things. The Ex is on, a new theatre season is just around the corner and the Toronto International Film Festival is poised to cast a spell over cinephiles. While I’m not sure I’ll make it to the Ex, I know that TIFF (which coincides with the start of rehearsals for The Normal Heart) will play a big part in my September plans, so I thought it might be fun to take a peek at a few of the films inspired by, or featuring, the world of the theatre.

This will be a cursory analysis to be sure. Just what I’ve gleaned from a quick look at the 2011 TIFF catalogue – but even a quick glance reveals an overwhelming number of theatrical treats among some of the higher profile films screening this year.

On the Canadian front, audiences will have a chance to see recent local theatrical hits brought to the big screen with Canadian legends Eric Peterson and Christopher Plummer stepping into the familiar roles of Billy Bishop and John Barrymore respectively in Billy Bishop Goes to War and Barrymore. Also, Toronto born auteur and iconoclast David Cronenberg will be collaborating with renowned British playwright Christopher Hampton (Les Liaisons Dangereuse) on A Dangerous Method. Hampton has adapted his own play, The Talking Cure, which centres around the relationship between Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud and (as you’d expect) all kinds of psycho-sexual shenanigans.

Having recently touted Bruce Norris’ Pulitzer Prize win for Clybourne Park, it seems appropriate to highlight another recent Pulitzer winner featured at the Fest. Norris’ Steppenwolf cronie Tracy Letts, who nabbed the 2010 Pulitzer for  August: Osage County, has adapted his first play Killer Joe for the screen, to be directed by 70′s stalwart William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist).

There would seem to be a little something for lovers of our two major summer festivals as well. On the Shavian side, After the Dance playwright Terence Rattigan’s The Deep Blue Sea gets the celluloid treatment courtesy of another Terence. Terence Davies. (You were expecting Terence Trent D’Arby?) And cinematic baddie Ralph Fiennes takes a leading role in front of and behind the camera as director and star of Coriolanus.

And nothing says Shakespeare like the phrase, “from the man who brought you Universal Soldier and Independence Day“. Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous looks at the oft debated issue of Shakespearean authorship in a sweeping, historical/political thriller.

Politics are front and centre in festival favourite George Clooney’s The Ides of March, adapted (by Clooney) from Beau Willimon’s play Farragut North and loosely based on the 2004 Democratic primary campaign of Howard Dean. Like Fiennes, Clooney also directs.

A few final selections may have less to do specifically with theatre but merit our attention given their relationship with some of Studio 180′s recent work. Fans of Our Class might be intrigued by Agnieszka Holland’s Polish World War II drama, In Darkness. According to the program guide “In Darkness deals with something that has been difficult to reconcile within the war experience for many people: the Catholic-Jewish tension that cuts like a knife through Polish society . . . This is a self-portrait of mankind, magisterial and Shakespearean in its grasp of what we are capable of doing to — and for — each other.” While the success with which she explores the subject matter remains to be seen, the goals of the film seem very in keeping with our approach to Our Class earlier this year.

And what better way to end than with the actual closing film of this year’s Festival. David Hare, whose Stuff Happens was one of Studio 180′s defining productions, is both writer and director of Page Eight, a purportedly juicy and sophisticated political thriller. We certainly know the man can weave a compelling tale out of intrigue and behind closed doors machinations so we’ll certainly be on the lookout for this one.

That, I’m sure, is just the tip of the iceberg. With hundreds of films unspooling (or whatever films do these days) at TIFF there’s sure to be plenty more theatre connections I’ve missed so let us know what else we should look out for. We always enjoy seeing the world and works of the stage brought to life on the big screen. Having seen none of the films in question, we can’t really call these recommendations – but they’ve certainly peaked our interest. And if you’re reading this, you may well share our passion for this sort of filmic diversion. We just thought we’d share.