Ben Stiller’s ‘Nutcrackers’ to Open 2024 Toronto Film Festival

David Gordon Green’s new comedy, ‘Nutcrackers’, starring Ben Stiller, is set to open the 2024 Toronto Film Festival on September 5, according to The Hollywood Reporter. This marks Stiller’s first starring role in a movie since Mike White’s ‘Brad’s Status’ and Noah Baumbach’s ‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ in 2017. The world premiere will take place at Roy Thomson Hall, a venue known for hosting ordinary moviegoers alongside industry professionals.

Written by Leland Douglas, ‘Nutcrackers’ follows Mike (Stiller), a straight-laced worker who must travel to rural Ohio to care for his four nephews after their parents die in a car accident. Amid the chaos of farm life, Mike realizes that he doesn’t need to find a new home for the orphaned children; they have found a new home in him. The film features a star-studded cast, including Linda Cardellini, Edi Patterson, Tim Heidecker, and Toby Huss, and will have a red carpet premiere at Roy Thompson Hall.

The Toronto Film Festival also confirmed that Rebel Wilson’s directorial debut, ‘The Deb’, will close the 2024 edition. Based on the Australian blockbuster musical, the film follows Taylah Simpkins (Natalie Abbott), a charming farm girl and high school outcast who sees the upcoming Debutante Ball, “the Deb,” as her chance to reinvent herself.

Selecting ‘Nutcrackers’ as the opener and ‘The Deb’ as the closer follows Toronto’s tradition of bookending its festival with mainstream crowd-pleasers. Anita Lee, chief programming officer at the Toronto festival, stated, “This year’s festival is shaping up to be a star-studded event with highly anticipated films that reflect the world around us with humor and empathy, like our opening and closing night selections, Nutcrackers and The Deb,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.