38th Toronto International Film Festival Coverage: Day Five
Monday, September 9th, 2013 by Ian Evans
A slightly quieter day for us as we headed down to Roy Thomson Hall to cover the gala premiere of August: Osage County. Based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the film tells the story of an estranged family getting together when their father goes missing and is eventually found dead. The family matriarch is portrayed by Meryl Streep, while the three daughters dealing with her are portrayed by Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, and Julianne Nicholson. Letts, who adapted his play for the screen, was on hand as was director John Wells and a large contingent of the cast. Sadly Meryl was not there.
Letts said that the play was partially based on his life — his grandfather did commit suicide and his grandmother subsequently descended into addiction — but added that so many layers of fiction had been added to the story that it was less autobiographical and more inspired by his life. Talking about the stellar cast, Dermot Mulroney said that when you’re hear of a script that already has Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts and Chris Cooper attached to it, you better do what you can to get yourself into that cast.