One of the many films to premiere at this year's Toronto International Film Festival was writer-director Jonathan Sobol's The Art of the Steal.  Loaded with a great cast featuring Kurt Russell, Matt Dillon, Jay Baruchel, Terence Stamp, Katheryn Winnick, Jason Jones, and Chris Diamantopoulos, the film is about a small group that teams up to steal one of the most valuable books in the world.  While I wasn't sure what to expect going in, I had a blast watching The Art of the Steal.  The pic is a fresh take on the heist genre, and it's loaded with great dialogue and fun set pieces.  While I'm not sure when it's going to be released in America, it's definitely worth checking out down the road.

Shortly after the premiere, I landed an extended video interview with Jay Baruchel.  During our wide-ranging conversation we talked about being at TIFF, what The Art of the Steal is about, what it was like for Baruchel to work with Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp, what he collects, the reception to This Is the End, the Goon sequel (and what it's about), and more.  In addition, he talked about how he'd just seen the rough cut of How to Train Your Dragon 2, who he plays in the Robocop remake, and future projects like his pilot for ABC, and his comic book adaptation, Random Acts of Violence, which is in development.  Hit the jump to watch.

Jay Baruchel Time Index:

  • Talks about the experience of returning to TIFF every year.
  • 1:40 – Explains what the movie is about for people who haven't seen it.
  • 3:00 – Pitches it as a super fun way to spend two hours.
  • 3:30 – The film nerd in Baruchel loves that he gets to work with actors like Kurt Russell and Terence Stamp.
  • 5:50 – He collects knives.
  • 7:50 – Happy with the reception to This Is the End.
  • 10:30 – They are writing the Goon sequel right now.  The script is almost done.  There is an even bigger cast.  Best case scenario: Filming this time next year.
  • 11:25 – If the first one is about finding what you're meant to do, the sequel explores what happens if what you're meant to do is hard.  Film two is the "darkest piece" of what could turn into a trilogy.
  • 12:40 – Baruchel says the rough cut of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is amazing.  It's darker, heavier, more epic.
  • 13:50 – He plays the sleazy head of marketing at Omnicorp in Robocop.
  • 15:10 – He signed up for Robocop because the production was close to home, he liked the director, and wanted to work with Gary Oldman and Michael Keaton.
  • 16:30 – Teases upcoming projects.  Finished writing Goon 2, closed a deal to write a pilot for ABC, and has a comic book adaptation Random Acts of Violence in development.  He'll be involved in a video game next year that he can't talk about yet.

the-art-of-the-steal-cast