TIFF 2010: Toronto International Film Festival

HOLLYWOOD -- Clive Owen, Will Ferrell, Mickey Rourke, Bill Murray, Helen Mirren, Ellen Page, Ewan McGregor, Rachel Weisz, James McAvoy, Robert Redford, Keanu Reeves, Kevin Spacey, Kelly Preston, Paul Giamatti, Kevin Bacon, Dustin Hoffman, Marion Cotillard, Robin Wright, Ryan Phillippe, Liv Tyler, Kristin Scott Thomas, Catherine Deneuve, Megan Fox.

While they're among those A-listers who'll be turning heads at this year's TIFF, they happen to share something else in common: They're all hoping to leave Toronto with something they didn't arrive with -- as in a distributor for the films in which they're promoting.

There was a time, not too long ago, that a certain name above a title (or behind a camera) would usually guarantee that a movie would show up at the festival with distribution already in place.

But that's no longer the case, as evidenced by this year's bumper crop of unattached films.

Blame it on the tough economic times, but marquee value has become an increasingly scarce commodity.

How else to explain those high-profile TIFF '10 titles looking for a home, like the Robert Redford-directed The Conspirator, starring Oscar nominee James McAvoy and Robin Wright; The Whistleblower, starring Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz; and Everything Must Go, a Will Ferrell drama based on a Raymond Carver short story?

Also currently unattached is Casino Jack, featuring Kevin Spacey and Kelly Preston, Barney's Version, based on the Mordecai Richler novel, with a cast including Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman and Minnie Driver; and the David Schwimmer-directed Trust starring Clive Owen and Catherine Keener.

And let's not forget, Henry's Crime, a crime drama starring Keanu Reeves; Passion Play, a thriller featuring Mickey Rourke, Bill Murray and Megan Fox; Brighton Rock starring Helen Mirren; Beginners, with Ewan McGregor; the superhero-themed Super, with Ellen Page, Liv Tyler and Kevin Bacon; and Marion Cotillard in Little White Lies.

Ironically, it was just a few years back that TIFF had the opposite problem.

With distribution rights to so many Festival faves already snapped up at Sundance and Cannes, frustrated buyers complained about the slim pickings in Toronto.

Determined to uphold their proven reputation as a discovery festival rather than simply a venue for studios to test their upcoming product, TIFF organizers made a concerted effort to program more untapped product.

These days, given the tight-fisted, skittish marketplace they don't have to try so hard.

The writing was on the wall last year, when the titles that did find an eventual buyer sold for considerably less than they would have during those golden Miramax deep-pockets days. Meanwhile, the well-received TIFF premiere of Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, a dramedy graced by an accomplished Natalie Portman performance, attracted interest, but, ultimately zero buyers.

Portman, incidentally, returns to Toronto this year in Darren Aronofsky's Black Swan, in which she reportedly gets steamy intimate with co-star Mila Kunis.

While that film has already been picked up by Fox Searchlight, Rourke, who starred in Aronofsky's previous TIFF sensation, The Wrestler, and Weisz, who happens to be Aronofsky's wife, are among those who'll be on the prowl at TIFF 2010 looking for some big studio love.