Jesse Eisenberg is set to close next month’s 49th Mill Valley Film Festival by presenting one of the season’s top Oscar contenders, a film for which he not only directed and acted, but also wrote seven songs.
“The Debut,” which is hot off its buzzy world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado over the weekend, stars Julianne Moore as a housewife cast in a small role in a community theater production who clashes with the show’s dictatorial director, played by Paul Giamatti.
Also making their Bay Area premieres are “Musk,” Alex Gibney’s four-hour deep dive into controversial billionaire Elon Musk; centerpiece film “I Play Rocky,” Peter Farrelly’s film about a young unknown Sylvester Stallone (Anthony Ippolito) struggling to make the first “Rocky” movie; and “Elsinore,” Simon Stone’s account of “Chariots of Fire” actor Ian Charleson who, stricken with AIDS, delivers one final stage performance. Andrew Scott, who plays Charleson, is scheduled to appear in person.
The California Film Institute released the full lineup for the Oct. 1-11 event on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Screenings will take place at venues in San Rafael, Mill Valley, Larkspur and Berkeley…