"The Judge", with Duvall and Downey, to open Toronto Film Festival

[July 25, 2014]  TORONTO (Reuters) - "The Judge", starring Robert Duvall and Robert Downey Jr, will open the annual Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 4, the festival said on Friday.

The film, by "Wedding Crashers" director David Dobkin, follows a lawyer who returns to his childhood home where his estranged father, who is also a judge, is suspected of murder.

It was one of about 60 films unveiled by the festival on Tuesday when it announced just under a fifth of the slate for its 39th edition, but organizers at the time said they had yet to decide on an opening night film.

The Toronto festival ranks with Cannes and Sundance as one of the most influential in the world and also acts as a showcase for films hoping to compete for Oscars.

The 10-day festival is tightening its scheduling criteria this year to include only true world premieres during its first four days, when media and industry attention is brightest.

The tougher criteria is meant to halt recent occurrences of films touted as "world premieres" appearing days previously at the smaller Telluride Film Festival, a largely industry-only event that unveils its screenings at the last minute.

(Reporting by Cameron French; Editing by Grant McCool)

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