Finally, some buyer movement out of Toronto.
“Nutcrackers,” which opened the Toronto International Film Festival, has been acquired by Hulu in the first major acquisition deal on the ground since the festival began.
Hulu is in final talks to pay a rumored $12M for David Gordon Green’s holiday dramedy, starring Ben Stiller, and Linda Cardellini. Hulu will release it for Christmas. Sadly, “Nutcrackers” fell flat with critics. It’s a film that played it way too safely. Anybody expecting a comeback from Green, after his disastrous “Halloween” and “Exorcist” stints, will sadly be out of luck.
“Nutcrackers” follows strait-laced and work-obsessed real estate developer, Michael (Ben Stiller), as he is suddenly thrust into becoming a caregiver for his four rambunctious nephews after his sister dies in a road accident. He drives his yellow Ferrari to farmland Ohio, with a plan to only stay three days, at least until foster care is found for the kids.
This is Stiller’s first lead role in seven years, and he’s fine in this, albeit not that challenged by a thinly written role that feels like it’s something out of a Hallmark movie. Green, going back to his indie roots, shot the film in 35mm, and it looks great, but nothing fresh is brought to the table. The jokes fall flat. The story is way too familiar.
As mentioned, there haven’t been many notable acquisitions, so far. Some of the splashier premieres without a distributor include Mike Flanagan’s “The Life of Chuck,” Andrew DeYoung’s “Friendship,” Ron Howard’s “Eden,” Scott McGee & David Siegel’s “The Friend,” and Gia Coppola’s “The Last Showgirl.”
Last year was a major buyer’s market at Toronto, some of the more marquee buys included “Sing Sing,” “Woman of the Hour,” “Hit Man,” “His Three Daughters,” and “Daddio.”
I’ll soon publish a recap of the 10 best films I saw at TIFF this year. There were many good films, but not many great ones.