Toronto, Aug 20: The Toronto International Film Festival pledged on Tuesday to deliver plenty of star power, with Nicolas Cage, Nicole Kidman, Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan set to help the city shake off a SARS and blackout-induced slowdown. Unveiling the final lineup for the Sept 4-13 event, organizers said the recent SARS outbreak failed to scare off stars or filmmakers and ticket sales were already ahead of last year's record levels.
"The fact they're here is obviously for us a great sigh of relief ... their presence at the festival is going to electrify this city," Toronto festival director Piers Handling told reporters.
"I think it's just a recognition of how important the festival has become in the eyes of the international industry."
Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, Sean Penn, Robert Downey Jr., Val Kilmer, Cate Blanchett, Tim Robbins, Isabella Rossellini and Omar Sharif were also confirmed to attend, Handling said.
Ridley Scott will present his director's cut of science fiction classic "Alien," complete with never before seen footage. Francis Ford Coppola will also attend to show and discuss his 1982 film, "One from the Heart."
This year's festival will present 336 films from 55 countries, including 252 features, about 60 percent of which are in a language other than English.
Bureau Report