to premiere at toronto

Described as Gosford Park meets Boys Don't Cry, Albert Nobbs is Glenn Close's new gender-bending drama that not only stars the Oscar winner, she also produced and co-wrote the screenplay about a woman who poses as a male butler in 19th-century Dublin in order to survive in a society not given to being kind to single women. The news Tuesday that Albert Nobbs has been picked up for distribution by film companies Liddell Entertainment and Roadside Attractions with a fall release date planned is perfect timing for a world premiere at TIFF. There are already rumours the distributors have plans for an Oscar push for Close, who first played the role in Simone Benmussa's The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs when it opened as an off-Broadway play in 1982. Close earned an Obie Award for her portrayal of the mysterious hotel worker who yearns to be free of her secret life. Mia Wasikowska and Jonathan Rhys Meyers also star in the upcoming film.