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'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy' to premiere at TIFF as Closing Film

posted 6 years ago by CKid (3829)
20 replies | jump to latest

From: https://theplaylist.net/pine-dern-stewart-tiff-films-20180814/

Chris Pine, Laura Dern & Kristen Stewart Headline TIFF's 2018 Opening And Closing Films
by Charles Barfield

It looks like the Toronto International Film Festival is bringing out the stars for its opening and closing films. The Chris Pine epic 'Outlaw King' is expected to open the prestigious event, while Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart headline 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,' which will close out the festival.
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"With 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy,' Justin Kelly brings to the screen a truly unbelievable story that captivated a nation," said Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of TIFF. "The storytelling is powerful and the characters are vivid, really evoking the idea that you have to see it to believe it."

"I am beyond honored that my film 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy' will premiere at TIFF as the Closing Night Film," said Kelly. "I can't wait for people to see the fascinating true story behind JT LeRoy, brought to life via incredible performances by a total dream cast."

First off, let me say that I love the new title of this film. It's definitely more captivating than just calling it JT LeRoy, plus that middle name makes me laugh.

Looking forward to hearing more about it during TIFF, which opens September 6th. Oh yeah, there's more info about the film in the article than what I quoted, as well as a cool pic of Laura and Kristen, so click away on the link above.

And now, as I have been known to do, I think I'll close this post with some music that I feel is quite appropriate ...
https://youtu.be/o-k1w_Rvglg

[–] LLOwens (983) 6 years ago

I must admit that the first thing that crossed my mind while reading the title of your OP, Carved, was: shouldn't this be off topic? I mean Kristen isn't starring in any film with "Terminator" in the title. Then I realized the initials JT stand for Jerimiah Terminator. Foot in mouth, egg on face.

That being said, I would agree that the new title is a better choice as it sounds much more catchy. And for some moviegoers, something as superficial as a movie's title might mean the difference between deciding to watch the film in a theater or not. Or, for others, it should at least spark some curiosity as far as who or what this film is about.

Not sure what to say as far as Jeremiah Terminator Leroy being the closing film at this year's Toronto International Film Festival other than to mention that Hailee Steinfeld's film "The Edge of Seventeen", which by the way has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, was the closing film at the 2016 TIFF. IMO, this was Steinfeld's best performance to date, even better than her Oscar-nominated performance in True Grit. Perhaps this may have something to do with the fact that I'm a sucker for quality coming-of-age flicks--although she did showcase more range than any other role I've seen her perform in thus far in her career. Hopefully the same bodes true for Kristen in that JTL will showcase Kristen's range, thus contributing to a critically acclaimed film.

And lastly, despite watching every single film in the Terminator film franchise--some installments I've watched numerous times--for some odd reason, I don't recall ever hearing the song you provided the link to. Perhaps I was so caught up in the action sequences that those were the scenes that have become most memorable to me.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

Not sure what to say as far as Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy being the closing film at this year's Toronto International Film Festival ...

Yeah, I kinda get what you mean there, LL. I've always known that being the Opening Night film at a festival was an honor, but I didn't realize that the same held true for being the Closing Night film. It always seemed to me that by the end of a long film festival the excitement had worn off and many attendees, and that includes some critics, had already gone home. I hope that in this case I am wrong. In any event, I am quite happy that 'Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy' is getting some advance publicity as all the trade publications have written about this.

Now as for my music selection, that piece played when Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese made love in the motel room in the first Terminator film. This, of course, was crucial to the story as that was when John Connor, the man responsible for saving humanity, was conceived. This was what the Terminator came back in time to prevent, but failed, for at the end of the film we see that Sarah is visibly pregnant when she is making the recording to her future son and wondering whether she should tell him about his father. Then the little Mexican boy takes her picture, a photo we had already seen Kyle looking at earlier in the film during one of the flashbacks to what life was like in the future and later telling Sarah about just before they made love.

Here's the actual "I came across time for you, Sarah" love scene from the film, music and all ...
https://youtu.be/hf4Em4n96NQ

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

Heh, I didn't know what JT stood for before, but I love the title "Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy". It's an attention getter. I look forward to seeing the Festival attendees reactions to the movie and actors, and to seeing this movie maybe later this year.
Also, speaking of Chris Pine, he's been a favorite of mine for a while and I'd like to see him and Kristen in a movie. I think their styles could complement each other as Chris is also good a playing interesting, in depth characters.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

Ron, I don't think that any of us knew what the initials JT stood for. I knew exactly what LL meant when he wrote that he initially thought I was posting an off-topic subject.

As for Chris Pine, one of my favorite films of his is 'People Like Us,' a film where Kristen's 'Charlie's Angels' director, Elizabeth Banks, plays the half-sister he never knew he had. I like that film so much that I bought the Blu-ray. And speaking of 'Charlie's Angels,' it wouldn't bother me one bit if Elizabeth cast him in the film.

Finally, regarding the honor and publicity of Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy being named the Closing Night film, I really hope that this increases the chances of the film getting picked up by a quality distributor; a distributor that will open the film this year and promote it properly. I've grown really tired of IFC picking up Kristen's films and then opening them on a platform basis sometime in March or April with little or no promotion.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

"As for Chris Pine, one of my favorite films of his is 'People Like Us,' a film where Kristen's 'Charlie's Angels' director, Elizabeth Banks, plays the half-sister he never knew he had. I like that film so much that I bought the Blu-ray. And speaking of 'Charlie's Angels,' it wouldn't bother me one bit if Elizabeth cast him in the film."

I also really liked that film! I really like Chris and Elizabeth anyways, and the film was a good story with well played characters by the main cast. This is one role as an example of how I feel Chris is good at portraying interesting characters. Hell or High Water is another example. And of course, for me, I love Star Trek and Chris playing Captain Kirk in that is a plus for me.

[–] Mody (183) 6 years ago

I hope IFC stay all the way off this movie. I want a good company that open it during award season and that it is willing to support it. Also the movie has hype, it has interesting true story and it being at TIFF is honor also kristen performance has been heavily praised by savvanah, and the producer and from the stills u can't realize this is kristen, it seems like a strong role that could give her oscar buzz hopefully a company like A24 (NOT WITH DIREVTV), Amazon, focus feature, fox searchlight or sony classics pick it up. NOT IFC PLEASE

[–] LLOwens (983) 6 years ago

Here's the actual "I came across time for you, Sarah" love scene from the film, music and all ...
https://youtu.be/hf4Em4n96NQ

Now that my memory has been refreshed after viewing that clip, I still can't believe I couldn't recall that song, especially since it accompanied a topless Linda Hamilton in that intimate scene from The Terminator.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

I see that IMDb has gotten with the program and has changed the title from JT Leroy to Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy.
I also see that they've updated the cast and that Jim Sturgess is playing Laura Albert's boyfriend, aka Savannah Knoop's brother.
And I see that none other than James Jagger (yeah, Mick's son) has a role in the film as well.

So I guess there's no other way to celebrate this than to have Mick sing an oh so special tune ...
https://youtu.be/qEuV82GqQnE

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

Hmm, interesting cast also with Laura Dern, Diane Kruger and more. Big cast for the movie. Next month at TIFF, so I guess a general release date will be by year's end?

[–] Mody (183) 6 years ago

Hopefully if a distributor buys the movie at TIFF and release it in time for awards season.

[–] LLOwens (983) 6 years ago

Like you and Carved have pointed out on this thread and numerous times before, isn't it odd, even bizarre that the films Kristen had her best performances in post-Twilight (i.e., On the Road, Clouds of Sils Maria, Camp X-Ray, Certain Women, Personal Shopper) were all distributed by IFC? Is there a conspiracy to make her most critically acclaimed performances go completely unnoticed by the Academy? While I won't go that far, something does seem rather fishy.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

I just saw the very short write-up of Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy on TIFF's website. The cool thing is that there are three pictures included in a slideshow format.
The first is the photo of Kristen and Laura that we have already seen. That's the one where Kristen has long hair.
Then there's one of Kristen with short hair wearing a baseball cap and large sunglasses with Laura and a guy who I assume is Jim Sturgess. I guess that's Kristen's Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy persona.
The third is one of Kristen which is almost indescribable, so I'm not gonna try. But trust me, you've never seen her look like this before.
Click away ... https://www.tiff.net/tiff/jeremiah-terminator-leroy/

Man, I am so looking forward to reading about the film's TIFF premiere.
And even more so to seeing the actual film. I swear, I haven't been this excited about one of Kristen's films since I bought my ticket to see 'The Cake Eaters' at The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival back in November 2007.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

"I swear, I haven't been this excited about one of Kristen's films since I bought my ticket to see 'The Cake Eaters' at The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival back in November 2007."

That has to be one very lucky action you made, to buy that ticket! :) Indeed, 'The Cake Eaters' would be an amazing introduction to Kristen in one of her most demanding and well done roles. If I had seen her first in that I'd feel the same way for sure. As it is I saw her as a younger actress in 'Panic Room' and even though she was so young, it made such a strong impression on me that I wanted to keep her in mind to see what she could do in other roles, especially as she got older. Seeing a youngster play such a strong role is still amazing to me and tells me that he/she has something unique going for them in an acting career.

As for the link, it won't come up. Says not found. I tried fiddling with it, adding or removing characters/words but couldn't get it. I hope you can fix that as it sounds like there are some great pics and info there.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

Ron - 'The Cake Eaters' was not my introduction to Kristen, 'Speak' was.
I first saw 'Speak' when it had its television premiere on Showtime on Labor Day evening in 2005.
During the following week I then saw her previous five films on DVD (The Safety of Objects, Panic Room, Cold Creek Manor, Catch That Kid & Undertow). Immediately after watching Undertow, I changed my original IMDb handle to Carved Kid because of Kristen's "Can I carve my name in your face?" line at the beginning of it.
Two months later in November 2005, I saw her on the big screen for the first time in Zathura.
Then I saw The Messengers on the big screen in January 2007 and In the Land of Women in April of that year.
And sometime in 2007, before I saw TCE, I saw Fierce People on DVD.
Thus I had seen all ten of Kristen's prior films before I bought that ticket to The Cake Eaters. In fact, not only did I see them, I had purchased all of her films on DVD or Blu-ray as well.

As for the link to the TIFF website, it works fine -- now, that is. If truth be told however, I had left out part of the addy when I originally posted it. It took me five minutes to figure out what I had omitted and correct my error.
Unfortunately, you tried to click the link during that five minute period.

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

"Thus I had seen all ten of Kristen's prior films before I bought that ticket to The Cake Eaters. In fact, not only did I see them, I had purchased all of her films on DVD or Blu-ray as well."

Ah ok, I stand corrected. :) You saw many of her films before I did. Panic Room was the first film I saw Kristen in and took notice of her. I don't remember seeing any of her earlier films before that movie. I saw most of her films after PR, prior to and during the Twilight years. It seems that as Twilight came out and became a huge fan favorite then more of her films were on TV/Cable a lot more often. I also bought some on DvD like Yellow Handkerchief and have some others of hers on DvD.

Thanks for that link. You're right, I was blown away by one of those pics! The dark wide brim hat and leather, long blond hair. Awesome look she took on for the character. Can't wait to see the movie and the amazing story behind it.

[–] LLOwens (983) 6 years ago

The first is the photo of Kristen and Laura that we have already seen. That's the one where Kristen has long hair.
Then there's one of Kristen with short hair wearing a baseball cap and large sunglasses with Laura and a guy who I assume is Jim Sturgess. I guess that's Kristen's Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy persona.
The third is one of Kristen which is almost indescribable, so I'm not gonna try. But trust me, you've never seen her look like this before.

Being that Kristen is almost unrecognizable especially in that third still like you mentioned, even to us fans who have followed her career for years, does this imply that she will completely disappear into her role and become the character? Will she pull off a transformation on par with Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman or Heath Ledger? If so, I too will highly anticipate watching JTL.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

I'm not sure what it implies, LL, I just can't wait to see this film!

That being said, getting news from TIFF about JTL helps ease the wait pain.

And speaking of wait pain, I really need to lose some weight around the middle as well.
Ah, don't ya just love the English language! ;-)

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

TIFF has released the screening showtimes as well as a much fuller description of this film on their website ...
https://www.tiff.net/tiff/jeremiah-terminator-leroy/

In this captivating true story, a young woman (Kristen Stewart) spends years playing the public role of Jeremiah "Terminator" LeRoy, an enigmatic and celebrated literary persona created by her sister-in-law (Laura Dern).

In a stroke of dream casting, filmmaker Justin Kelly brings together Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern to tell a story that's stranger than fiction, wilder than fact, and full of the drama we need right now. Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is a delicious dive into the hubris, risk taking, and jealousy that so often surrounds great talent.

Laura Albert (Dern) writes tough, insightful fiction under a pseudonym, JT LeRoy. Her JT is not just a pen name but a whole persona; a teenage boy from West Virginia living a dangerous life as a truck stop sex worker. Laura was born in Brooklyn a generation earlier, and grew up in New York's punk scene. Writing books such as 'The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things' as JT gives her complete freedom to explore the darker regions of human experience. Readers love it. The media loves it. They love it so much that they begin to demand JT in person. As journalists press for interviews, turmoil mounts with Laura's husband Geoffrey (Jim Sturgess) and sister-in-law Savannah (Stewart). Partly from desperation, partly for kicks, they conspire to have Savannah don a wig and sunglasses, adjust her voice, and become the teenage boy author.

I shall continue this on a follow-up post because apparently, I've reached the character limit that MovieChat sets.

[–] CKid (3829) 6 years ago

Continuation from above ...

A former protege of Gus Van Sant's, Kelly graduated from music videos to directing acclaimed independent films, 'I Am Michael' and 'Welcome the Stranger'. Here, he invites his audience along on what may look like a very strange ride. Layers of artist masquerade? Yes. Gender fluid everything? Naturally. Queer looks? Of course. Stewart and Dern, who've long proved their ability to make creative leaps look perfectly normal, are at their best here. As everyone's persona begins to bleed a little around the edges, it just makes the world that much more exciting. True story.

Then there's a little more on Justin Kelly's filmology as well as a listing of Cast and Credits.

TIFF runs from September 6th through the 16th.
The Press & Industry screening for Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy is Monday, September 10th.
Screenings for the public are Friday, Saturday & Sunday, Sept. 14, 15 & 16.

So Laura Albert is from Brooklyn and she grew up in New York's punk scene, eh?
Well then this, from some guys from Queens, is for her ... https://youtu.be/y3TQnMtUYwU

And as for Savannah Knoop, she can do her Terminator-ing to ... https://youtu.be/8nYXTsbwsxA

Can't wait to read about the Press screening on the 10th!!!

[–] Ron2011 (908) 6 years ago

"Stewart and Dern, who've long proved their ability to make creative leaps look perfectly normal, are at their best here. As everyone's persona begins to bleed a little around the edges, it just makes the world that much more exciting. True story."

Well said by the author, and "True Story". :)