Variety Interview Studio Returns to TIFF Featuring Cate Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Elton John, Dakota Johnson, Lupita Nyong’o and More

Variety is pleased to announce this year’s lineup for its annual interview studio hosted at the Toronto International Film Festival. The studio, made possible by supporting partners J.Crew and SharkNinja, will run Sept. 6-8 featuring conversations with the cast and filmmakers behind the top projects screening at this year’s festival.

Talent participating in the studio includes Mikey Madison, Yura Borisov, and Sean Baker (“Anora”); Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander, Himesh Patel, and Fleur Fortuné (“The Assessment”); Barry Keoghan and Nykiya Adams (“Bird”); Orlando Bloom, Caitríona Balfe, John Turturro, and Sean Ellis (“The Cut”); Jude Law, Vanessa Kirby, Daniel Brühl, Sydney Sweeney, Ana de Armas, and Ron Howard (“Eden”); Elton John, David Furnish, and R.J. Cutler (“Elton John: Never Too Late”); Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Édgar Ramírez, and Jacques Audiard (“Emilia Perez”); Ryan Destiny, Bryan Tyree Henry, Claressa Shields, and Rachel Morrison (“The Fire Inside”); Bill Murray, Naomi Watts, David Siegel, and Scott McGehee (“The Friend”); Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michele Austin, David Webber, and Mike Leigh (“Hard Truths”); Anderson .Paak and Soul Rasheed (“K-Pops!”); Pamela Anderson, Brenda Song, Kiernan Shipka, Gia Coppola and Kate Gersten (“The Last Showgirl”); Tom Hiddleston, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Karen Gillan, and Mike Flanagan (“The Life of Chuck”); Dakota Johnson and Talia Bernstein (“Loser Baby”); Ben Stiller and David Gordon Green (“Nutcrackers”); John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, Malcolm Washington, and Virgil Williams (“The Piano Lesson”); Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore (“The Room Next Door”); Cate Blanchett, Roy Dupuis, Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson (“Rumours”); Gabriel LaBelle, Rachel Sennott, Cory Michael Smith, Ella Hunt, Dylan O’Brien, Lamorne Morris, and Jason Reitman (“Saturday Night”); Lupita Nyong’o, Kit Connor, Catherine O’Hara, Stephanie Hsu, Mark Hamill, and Chris Sanders (“The Wild Robot”).

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Cast members and filmmakers in attendance will experience the J.Crew Gifting Suite, where they can try on and take home some of the brand’s famously soft, premium quality cashmere garments, and the SharkNinja touch-up station, which will include a stylist stationed in the studio to provide hair touch-ups with Shark Beauty™ products.

In addition to its interview studio, Variety will celebrate its Demi Moore cover story with a party supported by J.Crew and SharkNinja for Moore’s critically acclaimed film “The Substance” on September 6. The film, distributed by Mubi and starring Moore, Margaret Qualley, and Dennis Quaid, follows a fading celebrity who decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself. Actress, producer, and New York Times bestselling author Moore can most recently be seen in the second season of “Feud: Capote vs.. The Swans” and will soon be seen in Paramount+’s upcoming drama “Landman” from Taylor Sheridan and Christian Wallace, in which she stars alongside Jon Hamm and Billy Bob Thornton. The actress set a record in 1995 when she became the highest-paid actress in Hollywood, known for her work in “St. Elmo’s Fire,” “About Last Night…,” “Ghost,” “A Few Good Men,” “Indecent Proposal,” “The Scarlet Letter,” “Disclosure,” “G.I. Jane,” “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” “Bobby,” and “Margin Call,” among many others.

In collaboration with Chanel, Variety will also host the annual Female Filmmakers Dinner event on September 7. Since 2018, Variety and Chanel have partnered on the event attended by the festival’s top talent, filmmakers and executives to celebrate women in film at TIFF. The event will also toast the Chanel Women Creators’ Network, an alumnae program and extension of Share Her Journey’s annual TIFF Writers’ Studio. The Chanel Women Creators’ Network reinforces the House’s commitment to championing women in the arts and to creating opportunities for their artistic and professional development.

Coverage from the interview studio, as well as the magazine’s additional festival events, will be distributed across Variety’s social media platforms and on Variety.com starting September 6 and continuing throughout this year’s TIFF.

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