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"Borg/McEnroe" stars Shia LaBeouf as fiery U.S.
tennis star John McEnroe and Sverrir Gudnason as cool Swedish
champion Björn Borg, whose epic matches in the 1980s set the
world of tennis alight.
"Their rivalry had something universal that transcended the
sport," director Janus Metz told a news conference. "It had deep
existential questions about how two people could drive
themselves above and beyond."
LaBeouf, 31, in his first big movie since a string of arrests
for drunken or disorderly behavior in the past three years,
acknowledged that he shared some of McEnroe's hot-headed
personality.
"Acting is like athletics - ordinary men with extraordinary
effort putting themselves out there," the actor said, calling
McEnroe the "bad Santa" of the tennis world.
"Borg/McEnroe" is not the only film getting a Toronto showcase
whose drama plays out on the tennis court. Emma Stone, in her
first movie since winning an Oscar for musical "La La Land" in
February, plays Billie Jean King as she fought 1970s sexism and
faced off against Bobby Riggs (Steve Carell) in "Battle of the
Sexes."
The Toronto festival has become one of the most important stops
for filmmakers looking to showcase their work in the long
Hollywood awards season that culminates with the Oscars, on
March 4 next year. The slate this year has been trimmed to 260
from around 300 in 2016.
The festival's chief executive, Piers Handling, said this year's
line-up reflected a "fascination with people at the top, people
who have sacrificed everything."
Other movies featuring personal struggles include the world
premieres of "Stronger," starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a man who
lost both his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and
"Kings" in which Halle Berry plays a woman trying to protect her
brood of children during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
Other films on offer include "Suburbicon," a George
Clooney-directed satire tackling racial prejudice in 1950s
America, and Darren Aronofsky's horror movie "mother!", starring
Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence.
Angelina Jolie brings her film "First They Killed My Father"
about the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia to Toronto, while
"Darkest Hour" stars Gary Oldman as British World War Two Prime
Minister Winston Churchill.
(Reporting by Alastair Sharp and Chris Arsenault; Editing by
Grant McCool and Leslie Adler)
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