The Buzz: Film fest deals and Oscar hopefuls

• There’s already Academy Award talk about The Wrestler and for Mickey Rourke’s haunting comeback performance as a world-class athlete gone to seed. [Los Angeles Times]

• Though it has just been picked up for U.S. distribution by Summit Entertainment, Kathryn Bigelow’s The Hurt Locker will still have to avoid the box-office death suffered by Iraq films in previous years. Did anyone see In the Valley of Elah? [Economist]

• We’re hearing good things from inside the theatre world about the documentary Every Little Step, which chronicles the casting process for the 2006 stage revival of A Chorus Line. [Broadway World]

• Four actresses from the TIFF crop are standing out in the awards-show race: Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married, Keira Knightley in The Duchess, Kristin Scott Thomas in Il y a longtemps que je t’aime (I’ve Loved You So Long) and Sally Hawkins in Happy-Go-Lucky. [The Envelope]

Since most of the celebs have left town, Torontonians can now enjoy the films for their own sake, without the constant ticky-tack of someone thumbing the details of last night’s close encounter into their BlackBerry.—Katy P