I’m a bit late on this one. Back in January, one of Toni’s latest films, the Ben Lewin-directed “Please Stand By” was released on demand and in select US cities. Maybe I’m too old, I still connect an on-demand release of a feature film with its quality, as it was direct-to-video only a few years back. It’s rather a question of promotion budget and giving people the opportunity to see it directly, so I’m good – plus, if you need one film to prove to on-demand releases are not back, check out “Please Stand By”. It tackles some hefty issues wrapped around lots of Star Trek, and it works, for some miraculous reasons. Dakota Fanning plays an autistic girl who wants to submit her screenplay for a Star Trek contest, and leaves her care to do so. Toni Collette gives a warm supporting performance as her caretaker – we even have a small “United States of Tara” reunion with Patton Oswalt. Screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.

Apple brings us the exclusive trailer for the upcoming Toni Collette-Matthew Goode comedy (or dramedy) “Birthmarked”: Two respected scientists decide to quit their jobs for their biggest experiment to date – parenthood! Raising three very different children, they seek to prove that everyone has the same potential to become anything they choose. The film is directed by Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais and will be released in select theaters starting March 30th, 2018. The trailer can be watched in the video archive, screencaptures have been added to the photo gallery.

2018 starts off with great news, as the Sundance Film Festival will boast not only one but two of Toni’s upcoming films: The world-premieres of both “Hearts Beat Loud” and “Hereditary”. It hasn’t been that long since we’ve first heard about this project, so it’s nice to see it move along so fast. World premiere will be on January 21, here’s the officia synopsis:

The Graham family starts to unravel following the death of their reclusive grandmother. Even after she’s gone, the matriarch still casts a dark shadow over the family, especially her loner teenage granddaughter, Charlie, whom she always had an unusual fascination with. As an overwhelming terror takes over their household, their peaceful existence is ripped apart, forcing their mother to explore a darker realm in order to escape the unfortunate fate they’ve inherited.

The feature-film debut of writer/director Ari Aster captivates the audience with a delicate and deliberate take on domestic turmoil, and it’s filled with haunting manifestations. Aster’s script ratchets up a feeling of delirious dread as the family members isolate themselves, only furthering their descent into madness. While consistently surprising in its twists and turns, this is a horror story firmly grounded within the desperate emotions of its compelling lead performances. Among a talented cast including Toni Collette, Gabriel Byrne, Alex Wolff, and Ann Dowd, the real standout is the menacing performance from young Broadway actress Milly Shapiro.

Toni’s latest feature film, the French comedy “Madame”, has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in Australia in November, and I’ve been happy to receive my copy. The film has made it to theaters in various European cities as well, and for once I cannot understand the critics being rather mixed on this one. The story might not be the most realistic – a modern-day Cinderella story with quite an odd Cinderella (a charming Rossy De Palma) – but it drags you as soon as you commit yourself to it. It has a poignant ending though that I really liked. Toni Collette has the “evil stepmother” part in this one, and for one I can’t understand the negative reviews for her portrayal, with the Herald Sun calling it “one of the few complete performance misfires of her career with a very loud bang”. And that in a year which brought us “XXX: The Return of Xander Cage”? :-) She was having fun with the part, and I’d recommend “Madame” without hesitation. Screencaptures from the Blu-Ray have been added to the photo gallery.

In Please Stand By, Dakota Fanning (War of the Worlds, The Twilight Saga) plays a young woman with autism who runs away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. Will she live long and prosper? You can find out on Jan. 26, when the film is released in theaters, on demand, on Amazon Video, and on iTunes. Please Stand By is written by Michael Golamco (NBC’s Grimm) and directed by Ben Lewin (The Favour, The Watch, and the Very Big Fish, the John Hawkes-starring The Sessions). The film costars Toni Collette, Alice Eve, and Jessica Rothe from the recent hit horror film Happy Death Day, with a special guest appearance by Patton Oswalt.

Toni Collette stars in Wanderlust, a searingly insightful and funny exploration of the relationships of a multi-generational family. Toni is joined by Steven Mackintosh (A Song For Jenny, Stan Lee’s Lucky Man, The Halcyon), Zawe Ashton (Fresh Meat, Not Safe For Work, Case Histories) and Royce Pierreson (Line Of Duty, Our Girl, Murdered By My Boyfriend) in the six-part drama. Commissioned by BBC One and a co-production with Netflix, the series will premiere in the UK on BBC One and globally outside of the UK on Netflix. Wanderlust is the first television series scripted by award-winning playwright Nick Payne (Constellations, The Sense Of an Ending, If There Is I Haven’t Found It Yet) and is directed by Luke Snellin (The A Word, Our Girl, My Mad Fat Diary). Made by Drama Republic (Doctor Foster, King Charles III, The Honourable Woman), it looks at how we build and maintain happy relationships and asks whether lifelong monogamy is possible – or even desirable. Wanderlust follows Joy Richards (Toni Collette) a therapist trying to find a way to keep her spark with her husband alive after a cycling accident causes them to reassess their relationship. As we meet her family, friends, neighbours and clients, remarkable yet relatable stories of love, lust and forbidden desire emerge. Toni Collette says: “I am honoured and thrilled to work with Nick Payne’s wonderful words on Wanderlust. It is an authentic and revolutionary story about relationships, sex, love and all the things we really care about. I could not be more excited.” Nick Payne says: “I’m over the moon to be working with Drama Republic, the BBC and Netflix. And the cast – what a galaxy of talent. Toni Collette is an astronomically adept performer, and someone I’ve long admired.”