I’ve attended 29 film festivals since the start of 2006, but none as prestigious or breathtaking in scope than the Toronto International Film Festival. At the last two festivals combined I saw over 50 films there, and many of my Top Picks from all festivals over the past couple of years (of over 300 films in total) came out of those lineups.

This year’s festival runs from September 4-13 and is considered the premiere film festival in the Western Hemisphere, second in the world only to Cannes. Many films have their World or North American Premieres there. The complete film list will be revealed on August 19. In the meantime, the following three sections have been announced in their entirety:

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As we first reported here two months ago, Dance of the Dead will be released by Lionsgate Home Entertainment and Ghost House Underground as part of an inaugural series of horror films on DVD.

The first collection in the series is an eight film boxed set which will also include Brotherhood of Blood, Dark Floors, Last House in the Woods, No Man’s Land: The Rise of the Reeker, Room 205, Substitute, and Trackman. All eight films will also be available as individual discs.

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On Friday, June 27, I attended the Hollywood Premiere of American Son at the 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival. The film tells the story of a young Marine (Nick Cannon), fresh from Camp Pendleton, who is forced to confront the complexities of adulthood and a volatile home life during a four-day Thanksgiving leave prior to shipping out to Iraq.

American Son wowed audiences at its 2007 Sundance Film Festival debut. It was acquired for distribution by Starz Home Entertainment, who will be premiering it on their cable channel soon.

Director/co-writer Neil Abramson attended along with Nick Cannon (Drumline, Weapons, Day of the Dead), Melonie Diaz (Lords of Dogtown, Remember the Daze, Be Kind Rewind), Michael Welch (Joan of Arcadia, All the Boys Love Mandy Lane, Twilight), Matt O’Leary (Spy Kids 2, Spy Kids 3D, Brick), Jay Hernandez (World Trade Center, Hostel Part II), Erika Ringor (Love & Basketball), April Grace (Playing by Heart, Constantine, Choose Connor), Erica Gluck (The Game), and Ray Santiago (Meet the Fockers, Accepted).

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Rants are not my style, especially outside of a small circle of friends. There are several topics, however, which dominated some recent conversations which I thought might be worth mentioning in passing — trailers, the threat of an actors’ strike, the IMDb message boards, Get Smart, and Teeth. While any or all might be worthy of its own 1000-word post, some random thoughts should suffice.

Trailers are immensely popular. Articles and posts with links to clips are among the most viewed on the internet. But, personally, I don’t like them and try to avoid watching them. Why? Because they are all about spoilers and deception.

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As we celebrate the Fourth of July it’s also worth noting that the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival is exactly two months away. I’ve attended 30 film festivals since the start of 2006, but none as prestigious or breathtaking in scope as this one. I saw over 50 films there in 2006 and 2007, and many of my Top Picks from all festivals over the past few years (of over 300 in total) came from the Toronto lineup.

This year’s festival runs from September 4-13 and is considered the top film festival in the Western Hemisphere, second in the world only to Cannes. Many films have their World or North American premieres there. Almost every major Academy Award winning film debuted at this festival. The total number of films typically totals over 350.

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