Bennett Miller's ‘Moneyball' has started receiving lots of positive attention with the premiere just ten days away. Most recently, the Los Angeles Times addressed the movie's potential to wow at the Toronto Film Festival.
The article talks about the film's initial reception: "The movie lived up to the hype, earning enthusiastic ovations after its debut and packing a 1,200-seat theater during a second screening, yielding goodwill for Pitt, who plays Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane, as well as supporting players such as Jonah Hill." This is a good sign for Miller, whose film appears to be regarded amongst the movie industry as a big-budget movie that might not have the goods to contend for movie awards.
That perception is definitely shifting. The article goes on to quote Marc Weinstock, the president of marketing at Sony Pictures: "The reviews of the (premiere) screening, coupled with the audience reaction couldn't have gone better."
‘Moneyball' is certainly making noise at the Toronto Film Festival, which historically has huge implications in the Oscar hunt. The last three films to win the People's Choice Award, the highest award given at the Toronto Film Festival, were ‘Slumdog Millionaire' (2008), ‘Precious' (2009) and ‘The King's Speech' (2010). Those films went on to win eight, two and four Oscars, respectively.
The festival will continue until this Sunday, Sept. 18th. We should have a better sense of where ‘Moneyball' stands after that point.