Shia LaBeouf says learning tennis legend John McEnroe91Ƶs style was like rehearsing a ballet.
LaBeouf stars opposite Sverrir Gudnason in 91ƵBorg/McEnroe,91Ƶ a film that recreates the match between McEnroe and Bjorn Borg at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships.
LaBeouf says the action scenes in the film were carefully scripted and choreographed to resemble the famous match.
Director Janus Metz added that some moviemaking 91Ƶmagic tricks91Ƶ were used to 91Ƶsell91Ƶ the actors91Ƶ performances, given they had never played tennis prior to the film shoot.
Although he spent countless hours learning about the sport, LaBeouf felt he never truly learned how to play.
The world premiere of 91ƵBorg/McEnroe91Ƶ officially kicked off TIFF on Thursday, which runs through Sept. 17. Canadian tennis phenom Denis Shapovalov was set to walk the red carpet along with the film91Ƶs stars for the gala screening.
91ƵWe rehearsed things like a ballet, including [McEnroe91Ƶs] outbursts. I would literally play them on a screen right before we would film and look at where everything was, and it was very paint-by-the-numbers in a way,91Ƶ LaBeouf said at a press conference.
91ƵYou could91Ƶve given me 20 years and I would91Ƶve never played like McEnroe91Ƶ. I started learning it like a dance, I never actually played tennis, it was something different.91Ƶ
About 340 films will screen at this year91Ƶs fest, which is a smaller number than in recent years 91Ƶ a result of a TIFF mandate to trim the overall number of titles by 20 per cent. Organizers said they made the changes in response to feedback from audiences, the industry and the media.
Among the first celebrities to arrive in Toronto for the fest were Charlie Hunnam of 91ƵSons of Anarchy91Ƶ fame, who stars in 91ƵPapillon91Ƶ with Rami Malek of 91ƵMr. Robot,91Ƶ Armie Hammer of 91ƵCall Me By Your Name,91Ƶ and supermodel and musician Grace Jones, who is promoting a documentary about her life.
Other films in the lineup include 91ƵSuburbicon,91Ƶ directed by George Clooney, Darren Aronofsky91Ƶs 91Ƶmother!91Ƶ starring Jennifer Lawrence and Alexander Payne91Ƶs 91ƵDownsizing.91Ƶ
About a third of the films in the lineup are directed by women, including Angelina Jolie91Ƶs 91ƵFirst They Killed My Father.91Ƶ
Other stars expected to attend the festival include Denzel Washington (91ƵRoman J. Israel, Esq.91Ƶ), Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba (both of 91ƵMolly91Ƶs Game91Ƶ) and Steve Carell and Emma Stone (co-stars of another tennis movie, 91ƵBattle Of The Sexes91Ƶ).
Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press
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