TIFF: First Images of Woody Allen in 'Fading Gigolo', James Franco's 'Child of God' and More

The Toronto International Film Festival is right around the corner, typically the festival kick-off to the fall awards season, and that means a bunch of images have been released for some of their anticipated line up. The first are a couple of photos from Fading Gigolo, which has Woody Allen making a rare acting performance in a film not his own. Written, directed, and starring John Turturro, whose neurotic sensibilities would seem like a perfect match for Allen's, the story follows a New York City hustler (Turturro) and his best friend (Allen), a book seller-turned-pimp.  Vanessa Paradis, Liev Schreiber, Sharon Stone and Sofia Vergara complete a talented ensemble.

Another festival, another challenging "it can't be filmed" adaptation by James Franco. This time it's his long-developing Child of God, based on the Cormac McCarthy novel. Franco co-stars alongside Tim Blake Nelson and Jim Parrack (both having appeared in Franco's As I Lay Dying), but it's Scott Haze who takes on the lead role of Lester Ballard. Here's the breakdown: Set in mountainous Sevier County, Tennessee in the 1960s, Child of God tells the story of Lester Ballard, a dispossessed, violent man whom the narrator describes as “a child of God much like yourself perhaps.” Ballard's life is a disastrous attempt to exist outside the social order. Deprived of both his parents and a home, and with few other ties, Ballard descends to the level of a cave dweller, falling deeper into crime and degradation. 

Fred Schepisi (Six Degrees of Separation) has secured two terrific stars in Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche for his latest dramedy, Words and Pictures, which should make it easy for the film to find distribution. The film is described as a "playful comic drama about an English teacher who challenges the school’s art teacher to a "war" between words and pictures — and, in the process, sparks an unlikely romance." Yep, sounds like familiar ground for Schepisi, and if it holds up could be a sleeper favorite some time next year.

Game of Thrones star Richard Madden...er, ex-Game of Thrones star Richard Madden that is, stars alongside Rebecca Hall in the period drama, A Promise. Directed by Patrice Leconte and co-starring Alan Rickman, the story is set in pre-WWI Germany and chronicles the simmering love triangle between an ailing factory owner (Alan Rickman), his young bride (Rebecca Hall) and his protégé (Richard Madden).