Toronto film festival unveils star-studded guest list

People watch a movie outdoors in Pecaut Square during the 38th Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, September 13, 2013. [Photo/Agencies]

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The 39th Toronto International Film Festival will feature a host of Hollywood favorites when it opens next month, with actors including Robert Downey Jr. and Al Pacino expected to attend.

Widely considered the kick-off to Oscar season, the festival will show 285 feature films, 143 of which will be world premieres. The festival unveiled its guest list and full program on Tuesday.

Downey will be on hand for the showing of David Dobkin's "The Judge," which will be among the films screening on opening night. Downey plays a big-city lawyer who returns home when his estranged father, a small-town judge played by Robert Duvall, is accused of murder.

"The Humbling" will also be on the opening night's roster. Adapted from the Philip Roth novel, the film stars Pacino as an aged actor who embarks on an affair with a much younger woman.

Noah Baumbach, Alan Rickman and Chris Rock are among filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto. Baumbach's "While We're Young" stars Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts as a middle-aged couple whose lives are disrupted when a free-spirited younger couple enters the picture.

Actor-director Rickman will present the historical drama "A Little Chaos," while comedian Rock will present "Top Five," which he wrote, directed and stars in.

Launched in 1976, the Toronto film festival ranks among the world's top movie events and often serves as a launch pad for international films seeking North American distribution. The festival previously cast a spotlight on such hits as "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech," which both went on to win best film Oscars.

The festival runs from Sept 4 to 14.