TWoP writer Djb went to the Toronto International Film Festival this week and chose ten films to see out of the 300 that were playing, based on whether he thought he'd ever get the chance to see them again on the big screen. One of them was Canada's first stop-motion animation movie. One was a documentary about the world's biggest Chinese restaurant. One of them starred Jean-Claude Van Damme. And these were just the ones he liked! Check out his full report over in Mondo Extras!

If you weren't one of the people who was totally befuddled by The Fountain, then you're probably waiting with bated breath for director Darren Aronofsky's next picture. Pi and Requiem for a Dream established Aronofsky as a major talent, and his next picture -- with its combination of mainstream subject matter, amazingly talented actors and Marisa Tomei stripping -- is sure to take the country by storm. That's probably why Fox Searchlight outbid all comers at the Toronto International Film Festival for the rights to distribute The Wrestler, which only last week won the Golden Lion in Venice. (Man, I wish I had a gold lion.)

Venice is sinking, and this time the rising tides aren't to blame. This time, the decline has to do with the 65th Venice Film Festival, which, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is suffering from subpar business, high prices and a "relative lack of red carpet star power." Somewhere in the distance, Brad Pitt is saying to a journalist: "What am I? Chopped liver? I saved a kid from the canal the other day!" Or maybe he would be saying it, if he were giving interviews beyond the obligatory 30-minute press conference he and co-star George Clooney gave for the Coen brothers' Burn After Reading.

The Venice Film festival (that's the Venice in Italy, if you didn't know) is the world's oldest film festival, and it got underway yesterday for the 65th time. Emceed by Russian actress Ksenia Rappoport, known in Italy for her turn in the film The Unknown, the opening day of the fest featured an afternoon screening of Vittorio De Sica's 1948 classic The Bicycle Thief. But no one really gives a damn about any of that crap, because George Clooney and Brad Pitt were there, omigod!

Later this month, movie stars and producers will descend upon Colorado. Hollywood's A-listers will rub shoulders with the industry elite, hobnob with the wealthy, attend exclusive parties, promote their causes, and get a sneak peek at a slate of movies. Is it the highly regarded Telluride Film Festival they're all turning out for? Not this time around. According to The Hollywood Reporter, what's got actors and producers all frothing with an excitement usually reserved for prestigious film festivals and awards ceremonies is, instead, the Democratic National Convention.

The New York Film Festival has announced its complete lineup, and it looks like they've gone bargain hunting at Shop-Rite's Cannes Cannes bash. In addition to the opening night presentation of Palme D'Or winner The Class, the snobfest I've attended 14 years in a row is also including Steven Soderbergh's Best Actor winner, Che, and Angelina Jolie's Changeling. Chouga and A Christmas Tale are also slated during the fest, which runs September 26 to October 12. Cue Cookie Monster's voiceover: "The New York Film Festival is brought to you today by the letter C for Class, Che, Changeling, Chouga, Cannes, and A Christmas Tale!" Completely by coincidence? Methinks not!

So how do old franchises that haven't been in the limelight in years but have a new film coming out woo their old audiences back for one more shot at box office success? If you're the studio behind The X-Files, you throw one slam-bang, pretty seriously awesome premiere. 20th Century Fox is hosting what they're calling a Fan Celebration at the world premiere screening of The X-Files: I Want to Believe on July 23rd at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

The New York Film Festival has selected its opening-night film, the Palme D'Or-winning French film, Entre Les Murs (The Class). Reuters reports that the first French film in two decades to win Cannes' top prize tells a classroom story populated by real-life students and teachers making their acting debuts. It's a strange day when a place as snobby as the NY Film Festival selects a movie from the oft-hated inspirational teacher genre. I'm looking forward to seeing it because I'm a sucker for these movies. I've enjoyed so many over the years. To honor the occasion, here are three good teacher movies and two bad ones.