Diablo Cody’s Latest Project, Jennifer’s Body, To Open Midnight Madness At TIFF

Zombies, vampires, martial arts, and a possessed cheerleader — it’s the Toronto International Film Festival programme where weird is welcome.

TIFF programmer Colin Geddes on Tuesday announced the predictably bizarre lineup for this year’s Midnight Madness and it includes the latest project from Oscar-winning screenwriter Diably Cody ( Juno), a vampire thriller with Ethan Hawke, and the highly anticipated sequel to Ong Bak, a previous Midnight Madness hit.

“This year’s Midnight Madness lineup is a showcase of some of the most highly anticipated thrillers and chillers of the year,” Geddes explains in a press release. “Bloody proms and zombies seem to pop up as main themes, but I’ve made sure to inject some truly bizarre action into the mix with animated plastic toys from Belgium and Russ Meyer inspired fighting femme fatales.”

Midnight Madness, a series of offbeat films screening at 12:01am over the duration of the 10-day festival, is one of the event’s most popular programmes and year after year fans buy the package to catch all the films. Geddes and his colleagues screen thousands of films before arriving at the chosen ten.

Among this year’s selections: opening night film Jennifer’s Body, written and executive produced by Diablo Cody. Directed by Karyn Kusama, the film stars Megan Fox as Jennifer, a small-town high-school student who becomes possessed by a demon. Mamma Mia‘s Amanda Seyfried plays Jennifer’s best friend, Needy, who’s forced to defend the men in town from Jennifer’s now-insatiable appetite.

Daybreakers is another film of note — it stars Ethan Hawke, Sam Neill and Willem Dafoe and takes place in a world populated by vampires, where humans represent the minority.

Meanwhile, Thai action star Tony Jaa returns with Ong Bak 2: The Beginning. Jaa not only stars in but directs this sequel, which is actually a prequel to what occurred in the first film.

This year’s Midnight Madness package costs $156.51 ($100 for students and seniors), and is available now.

For ticket information visit tiff.net.

Midnight Madness selections for 2009:

Jennifer’s Body
Karyn Kusama, USA
World Premiere
Jennifer’s Body tells the story of small-town high-school student Jennifer (Megan Fox) who is possessed by a hungry demon and transitions from being “high school evil”—gorgeous (and doesn’t she know it), stuck up and ultra-attitudinal—to the real deal: evil/evil. The glittering beauty becomes a pale and sickly creature jonesing for a meaty snack, and guys who never stood a chance with the heartless babe take on new lustre in the light of her insatiable appetite. Meanwhile, Jennifer’s best friend, Needy (Amanda Seyfried), long relegated to living in Jennifer’s shadow, must step-up to protect the town’s young men, including her nerdy boyfriend Chip (Johnny Simmons). Written and executive produced by Oscar®-winner Diablo Cody (Juno).

A Town Called Panic
Stéphane Aubier and Vincent Patar, Belgium/Luxembourg/France
North American Premiere
An outlandish animation style captures the absurd wit and surreal adventures of plastic toys Cowboy, Indian and Horse.

Bitch Slap
Rick Jacobson, USA
World Premiere
In this campy action comedy from the creators of Xena and Hercules, three hot-blooded women try to uncover some booty in the desert using feminine charms, fists and machine guns.

Daybreakers
Michael Spierig and Peter Spierig, Australia/USA
World Premiere
Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe and Sam Neill star in this sci-fi horror about a future populated by vampires where humans are the minority.

George A. Romero’s Survival of the Dead
George A. Romero, Canada
World Premiere
Master director George A. Romero returns to his world of the undead, this time pitting two feuding clans in the middle of the fallout of a zombie epidemic.

The Loved Ones
Sean Byrne, Australia
International Premiere
A troubled teen’s prom dreams are shattered by a series of painful events that take place under the mirrored disco ball, involving syringes, nails, power drills and a secret admirer in this wild mash-up of Pretty in Pink and Misery.

Ong Bak 2: The Beginning
Tony Jaa, Thailand
Canadian Premiere
Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa stars in and directs this epic tale of revenge set hundreds of years in the past. Featuring a huge cast and hordes of elephants, this prequel takes Jaa’s skills to the next level, showcasing him as a master of a wide range of martial-arts styles – while proving him to be a promising director as well.

[REC] 2
Jaume Balagueró, Paco Plaza, Spain
North American Premiere
In the follow-up to the acclaimed [REC], a SWAT team enters the old apartment to control an epidemic with terrifying results.

Solomon Kane
Michael J. Bassett, United Kingdom
World Premiere
From Robert E. Howard, the legendary creator of Conan, comes this tale of a savage mercenary in sixteeth-century Century England who owes the devil his soul and seeks to redeem himself by fighting evil.

Symbol
Hitoshi Matsumoto, Japan
International Premiere
Japanese comedy superstar Hitoshi Matsumoto (DAINIPPONJIN) stars in and directs this absurd and outlandish comedy about a man trying to escape a unique dilemma.

Courtesy tiff.net