After spending the better part of the last decade immersed in the “Star Wars” galaxy with “Andor,” writer/director Tony Gilroy is finally returning to the big screen. And his first feature as writer-director since 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy” has landed a major fall festival berth. Film at Lincoln Center announced today that “Behemoth!”, Gilroy’s new drama starring Pedro Pascal, will serve as the Centerpiece selection of the 64th New York Film Festival.
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The film will make its world premiere at Alice Tully Hall on October 2, with Gilroy, Pascal, and additional cast members expected to attend.
Pascal stars as Alex, a former child-prodigy cellist trying to rebuild his life after leaving his orchestra in Chicago and returning to Los Angeles, where he begins recording Hollywood film scores while confronting unfinished family business. Complicating matters is the aftermath of a failed relationship with an ex played by Olivia Wilde, while the story moves between different periods of Alex’s life through a flashback structure built heavily around music and original film compositions.
FLC is already talking up Pascal’s work in unusually strong terms, calling it the performance of his career so far. NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim went even further, describing Pascal’s turn as “one of the performances of the year from one of our true movie stars.”
The film also stars Eva Victor, Alexa Swinton, Kaya Ralls, Erik Griffin, JoBeth Williams, and Margarita Levieva, with Hank Azaria and Will Arnett in supporting roles. Searchlight Pictures will release the film.
For Gilroy, the NYFF premiere has a particularly personal significance. The filmmaker said his relationship with the festival dates back decades, recalling seeing Werner Herzog’s “Fitzcarraldo” there after receiving a ticket from a customer while working at a bar across the street.
“I have been orbiting NYFF for the great majority of my life,” Gilroy said. “The Centerpiece invitation is a fantasy I’ve conjured more times than I care to admit. NYFF has always been the benchmark for me; the opportunity to premiere a film I cannot wait to show, in that hall, to that audience, feels every bit as thrilling as I’d imagined. I’m honored.”
“Behemoth!” marks Gilroy’s first theatrical directorial effort in 14 years, though he’s hardly been absent. After working on “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” he created and shepherded “Andor” through its acclaimed two-season run, earning the series 22 Emmy nominations and two Peabody Awards. His feature directing credits also include “Duplicity” and the Oscar-nominated “Michael Clayton,” which earned seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
The 64th New York Film Festival runs September 25 through October 12. “Behemoth!” premieres October 2 at Alice Tully Hall.
