Here are some of the Toronto premieres with the hottest buzz:
* “Up in the Air” — George Clooney plays a corporate downsizer obsessed with frequent-flier miles in this dark comedy from Jason Reitman (“Juno”), which is being touted for Oscars after a sneak preview in Telluride. Clooney is also there with the paranormal-themed “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”
* “Whip It” — Drew Barrymore makes her directing debut in the roller-derby milieu, with Ellen Page in the central role. Page’s “Juno” screenwriter, Diablo Cody, is represented by the horror comedy “Jennifer’s Body” with Megan Fox, and her co-star, Torontonian Michael Cera, turns up in “Youth in Revolt.“
* “A Serious Man” — The Coen brothers get autobiographical with a story about growing up Jewish in Minneapolis. Adam Arkin and Richard Kind are the biggest names in the cast.
* “The Informant!” — A Coen-esque jape from Steven Soderbergh, starring a plumped-up Matt Damon as a bipolar corporate whistleblower.
* “The Road” — Adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s post-apocalyptic novel with Viggo Mortensen will try to survive a year on the shelf and downbeat reviews from Venice.
* “Get Low” — Murder in a small Tennessee town with a cast that includes Robert Duvall, Bill Murray and Sissy Spacek.
* “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee” — Robin Wright Penn gets an Oscar showcase as the disturbed, much-younger wife of Alan Arkin. Rebecca Miller directs Keanu Reeves, Winona Ryder and Julianne Moore.
* “Glorious 39” — Thriller set in London on the brink of World War II with Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Julie Christie, Eddie Redmayne, Jeremy Northam and Christopher Lee.