Contenders Film Los Angeles Underway With 15 Movies Ready For Their Awards-Season Closeups

Buckle up, because this season’s edition of Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles is taking us on a journey, all the way from L.A. to outer space.

For today’s all-day event, which spotlights the casts and creatives of 15 films from eight studios and streamers live at the DGA Theater, we’re in the L.A.-Philly-Jersey City locations of Peter Farrelly’s I Play Rocky, with the backstory of a young Sylvester Stallone. Farrelly, the recipient of this year’s Contenders Hall of Fame Award, will be here with a stellar panel including writer Peter Gamble and lead actor Anthony Ippolito.

Siân Heder’s Being Heumann takes us to San Francisco and the incredible true story of disability rights activist Judy Heumann. Heder and star Ruth Madeley will be joined on our stage by casting directors Bernard Telsey and Adam Caldwell. And in an animated California-esque world, we have Toy Story 5 — the much-anticipated return to beloved characters Woody (Tom Hanks), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and many more. Producer Lindsey Collins will be here to tell us all about it.

Oregon is the inspiration for Hoppers’ fictional town of Beaverton Glade, where teenager Mabel (Piper Curda) tackles the environmentally insensitive local mayor (Jon Hamm) by infiltrating the local beaver community. Director Daniel Chong, producer Nicole Paradis Grindle and Curda will be here to chat about the project.

Over in Houston, we have Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, from writer-director Bassam Tariq, which follows the story of a widower (Mahershala Ali) raising three kids, who also happens to be a contract killer. Tariq will be joined on stage by Ali and his co-star John Cho and composers Son Lux.

We’re in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens for The Only Living Pickpocket in New York, starring John Turturro as a light-fingered career criminal and Tatiana Maslany as his estranged daughter — and both actors will be here on stage. And continuing the tri-state area tour, Guy Nattiv’s The Liberation investigates the life of a New Jersey housewife (Carrie Coon) who absconds from family life in favor of an all-female commune. Nattiv, Coon and Lily James will be here to talk about the film, loosely based on the life of Nattiv’s grandmother.

Then, in Manhattan proper, we encounter Tuner, the story of a hearing-impaired piano tuner-turned-safe-cracker (Leo Woodall), directed by Daniel Roher, with sound design by Johnnie Burn, who’ll be here to discuss his work.

Florian Zeller’s Bunker may have been shot in Madrid but it makes for an extremely convincing London, starring real-life partners Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem as a couple experiencing marital tension. Zeller and Cruz will be on stage to tell us about the experience.

Also set in the UK (sort of, it’s a fantasy location) is Wicker, the story of a fisherwoman (Olivia Colman) who orders herself a wicker-woven husband (Alexander Skarsgård) as a response to societal pressure to marry. Co-writers/directors Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson will be on hand, along with wicker husband himself Skarsgård and the character’s designer and makeup FX artist Joe Dunkley.

In Project Hail Mary, we’re among the stars (literally) with scientist-turned-middle school teacher Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), on a last-ditch mission to save the world with his unexpected alien friend Rocky. Directors-producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, writer Drew Goddard and editor Joel Negron will be here to discuss. Set slightly less far afield is Jennifer Peedom’s Tenzing. From a screenplay by Lion scribe Luke Davies, this true story takes us to the very top of Chomolungma, aka Mount Everest, with Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok) and Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston). Peedom and Davies will both be here to tell us how they shot an epic story in epic locations.

And, leaving our universe entirely we have Hexed, the story of teenager Billy Doe (Hailee Steinfeld), who accidentally lands herself and her mother Alice (Rashida Jones) in a witchy mystery realm ruled by Queen Celeste (Jodie Foster). Jared Bush, Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer and writer, will be here with writer Dana Ledoux Miller to tell all.

In addition, Danny Boyle, whose latest film Ink premiered at the Venice Film Festival, will be on hand today to receive the Deadline Legend Award.

Follow our panel coverage all day on Deadline.com and on social using #DeadlineContenders. On Monday, we’ll launch the streaming site featuring all the panel videos.

In the meantime, below is the rundown of today’s show.

Deadline’s Contenders Film: Los Angeles lineup

(order subject to change)

9:30 a.m. – Opening remarks

SONY PICTURES CLASSICS

Bunker

Florian Zeller, Writer/Director
Penélope Cruz, Actor

The Only Living Pickpocket in New York

John Turturro, Actor
Tatiana Maslany, Actor

AMAZON MGM STUDIOS

Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother

Bassam Tariq, Writer/Director/Producer
Mahershala Ali, Actor
John Cho, Actor
Son Lux, Composers

Project Hail Mary

Phil Lord, Director/Producer
Christopher Miller, Director/Producer
Drew Goddard, Writer
Joel Negron, Editor

I Play Rocky

Peter Gamble, Writer
Peter Farrelly, Director/Producer
Anthony Ippolito, Actor
AnnaSophia Robb, Actor
Rick Montgomery, Casting Director
Sam Seig, Editor

CONTENDERS HALL OF FAME AWARD

Peter Farrelly, Director/Producer

WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS

Hexed

Jared Bush, WDAS Chief Creative Officer/Writer
Dana Ledoux Miller, Writer

APPLE ORIGINAL FILMS

Being Heumann

Siân Heder, Writer/Director/Producer
Ruth Madeley, Actor
Bernard Telsey, Casting Director
Adam Caldwell, Casting Director

Tenzing

Jennifer Peedom, Co-Story By/Director/Producer
Luke Davies, Writer/Producer
Liz Watts, Producer
Stefan Duscio, Cinematographer
Rebekka Karijord, Composer

LAIKA

Wildwood

Travis Knight, Director/Producer
Caleb Deschanel, Cinematographer
Steve Emerson, VFX Supervisor

BLACK BEAR

Tuner

Johnnie Burn, Sound Designer

DISNEY/PIXAR

Toy Story 5

Lindsey Collins, Producer

Hoppers

Daniel Chong, Director
Nicole Paradis Grindle, Producer
Piper Curda, Actor

ROBOT PLAYGROUND MEDIA

The Violinist

Ervin Han, Co-Writer/Co-Director/Producer
Raúl García, Co-Director
Ricky Ho, Composer

BLEECKER STREET

The Liberation

Guy Nattiv, Writer/Director
Carrie Coon, Actor
Lily James, Actor

BLACK BEAR

Wicker

Alex Huston Fischer, Writer/Director
Eleanor Wilson, Writer/Director
Alexander Skarsgård, Actor
Joe Dunckley, Wicker Husband Design and Makeup FX Artist