‘Steve Jobs’ Joins Fall Festival Contenders as NYFF Centerpiece Gala: What’s Coming Up and What’s Not (UPDATED)

The 53rd New York Film Festival Centerpiece Gala is Danny Boyle’s “Steve Jobs” biopic, adapted by Aaron Sorkin from Walter Isaacson’s biography, starring Michael Fassbender as the man at the center of the digital revolution, Kate Winslet as Joanna Hoffman, Seth Rogen as Steve Wozniak, Jeff Daniels as John Sculley, Michael Stuhlbarg as Andy Hertzfeld, and Katherine Waterston as Chrisann Brennan, set for Legendary/Universal release on October 9. The producers are Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady, Scott Rudin, Boyle, and Christian Colson.

This follows last week’s announcement that Don Cheadle’s directorial debut “Miles Ahead,” in which he stars as legendary jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, will world premiere on closing night of the upcoming NYFF (September 25 – October 11). Cheadle stars as Davis, during his crazy Manhattan days in the late-70s, opposite Emayatzy Corinealdi as his great love Frances Taylor and Ewan McGregor as Dave Brill, a “reporter” who cons his way into Miles’ apartment.

The NYFF has already announced its opening night movie, Robert Zemeckis’s 1970s period “The Walk,” starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as French wire-walker Philippe Petit and Ben Kingsley. (Sony/TriStar, October 2)

Landing a prime position at a fall festival can make a difference in finding a distributor or launching an awards contender. This prestigious slot at the NYFF will help Cheadle to land distribution; sales agent UTA will likely privately screen the film for distributors before the festival; otherwise will be too late to enter this year’s Oscar race. It looks like Cheadle has a shot for Best Actor, for starters. The rest of us will have to wait.

Slates about to roll out from Toronto (Tuesday, July 28) and Venice. (Telluride will reveal its secret program on opening day, September 4, before the Labor Day weekend.)

Baltasar Kormákur’s mountain ascent thriller “Everest,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Jason Clarke, John Hawkes, Sam Worthington, Keira Knightley, and Robin Wright, will open and world premiere at the Venice Festival (September 18, Working Title/Universal). So these titles are effectively off the table for other fests.

Focus Features’ “Suffragette,” which will open the London Film Festival on October 7, on the other hand, will also play earlier fall fests. Venice is world-premiering Scott Cooper’s Whitey Bulger biopic “Black Mass,” starring Johnny Depp in heavy makeup and blue contact lenses, as well as Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sienna Miller, and Dakota Johnson. It was shown in rough early form to Cannes but wasn’t finished in time, and will likely turn up at other fall festivals. (Warner Bros., September 18).

A raft of films that were shown at Sundance, Berlin and Cannes will turn up in these fall programs, from “Brooklyn,” “Carol,” “Macbeth,” “Youth,” “Sicario,” and “Son of Saul” to “45 Years.”

‘Steve Jobs’ Joins Fall Festival Contenders as NYFF Centerpiece Gala: What’s Coming Up and What’s Not (UPDATED)

'Steve Jobs' Joins Fall Festival Contenders as NYFF Centerpiece Gala: What's Coming Up and What's Not (UPDATED)