Foxcatcher premieres at TIFF

(Updated)

Two films based on real people premiered tonight at the Toronto International Film Festival and both are generating Oscar buzz.

Up until now, most movie goers would associate Steve Carell with comedic roles. But his latest film ‘Foxcatcher’ is changing that in a big way.

Steve Carell: “I think the story is very dark in the sense that we were trying to honour these real life people”

In ‘Foxcatcher’, Steve Carell transforms himself into real life multi-millionaire John du Pont to tell the tragic story of the wrestling coach’s relationship with brothers Mark and Dave Schultz.

Did this character impact you in anyway? Did it stick with you? Steve Carell: “It was hard to let go of, yeah. I mean not to sound too ‘actory’ but yeah, it was a very complicated and dark character.”

Critics are already speculating Carell will earn an Oscar nomination.

Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo play the Schultz brothers. They spoke about the challenges of preparing for their physically and emotionally demanding roles. Even for Ruffalo who has some experience with the sport: “Unfortunately, I was a right-handed wrestler and Dave Schutlz was a lefty so I had to unlearn everything I had learned about wrestling except for what it took to be a wrestler.”

Do you take special care when playing a real person? Channing Tatum: “Yeah you’re not making it up you have to be honest to something that is real and someone that’s real you’ve got to watch this film. Mark was so open to me from day one and you go ‘oh God, how am I going to put this man’s life into 90 minutes?”

Reese Witherspoon also spent a lot of time with the woman she portrays on screen in her film “Wild.” Based on the memoir by Cheryl Strayed who also walked the red carpet, the film follows Strayed’s 11-hundred mile solo hike along the Pacific Coast Trail.

Reese Witherspoon: “I read the book and I was just blown away by her honesty and her insight in her own life. It’s really a story about the human spirit and how we can really bear the unbearable.”

Laura Dern who plays Bobbi, had a different reaction on her first read: “I said to her I read this book and the first thing I was thankful for and she was like what line or what thing did you connect to and I was like no, no, no, That I got the wisdom without the hike.”