Heavier-themed films dominated the discussion at the Toronto International Film Festival, but the lineup also featured lighter fare like local filmmaker Jonathan Sobol's throwback heist flick The Art of the Steal.
A star-studded outing that includes Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon and Terence Stamp along with Canadians Jay Baruchel, Jason Jones and Katheryn Winnick, the film is a bit of a throwback, says Toronto-based director Sobol, who was inspired by heist movies of the 1950s.
"I like the blue collar guys doing tactile things. In the past 20 years, when you see a heist film, it’s like some computer programmer will hack into the mainframe," he told CBC News on Wednesday ahead of the film's evening gala premiere.
"I kind of like the nuts and bolts thing."
Russell stars as a fading stunt motorcycle driver and former master thief who is trying to escape his past when he is lured into a fresh caper involving his brother (played by Dillon). Baruchel appears as Russell's fast-talking sidekick.
In the attached video, Sobol and Baruchel (a rising producer and screenwriter as well as actor) talk to Eli Glasner about tweaking conventions of the heist film genre, what films inspired The Art of the Steal and working with cinematic heroes like Russell.
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