Tony Gilroy’s ‘Behemoth!’ to World Premiere as New York Film Festival Centerpiece

Pedro Pascal stars as a cellist picking up the pieces of his life in a classical music drama that co-stars Olivia Wilde and Eva Victor.

With each passing day, our picture of the fall film festival landscape gets a little bit clearer. With Venice’s complete lineup announced, Toronto’s trickling out one day at a time, and expert observers using that information to fill in the gaps about Telluride, it’ll soon be time to turn our attention to the New York Film Festival. And this morning brought the news that Tony Gilroy‘s “Behemoth!” will have its world premiere as the festival’s centerpiece selection.

News that the “Andor” creator and “Michael Clayton” multi-hyphenate would be directing his first feature film since 2012’s “The Bourne Legacy” made the classical music drama a key title to watch on the fall calendar. (For all of his involvement in the “Rogue One” reshoots, Gilroy is still only credited as a writer on that film.) “Behemoth!” stars Pedro Pascal as a cellist looking back on his life through flashbacks. Olivia Wilde and Eva Victor co-star in the film, which notably uses its score as both musical accompaniment and an in-world story element.

Nine of Hollywood’s top composers are credited on the film, including Michael Abels, Emily Bear, Lukas Frank, Michael Giacchino, James Newton Howard, Henry Jackman, Nami Melumad, Brandon Roberts, and Alan Silvestri.

“We are delighted to present the world premiere of Tony Gilroy’s anticipated return to the big screen as this year’s NYFF Centerpiece,” NYFF Artistic Director Dennis Lim said in a statement. “There is so much to savor in this immaculately crafted film, from its creative use of music to its note-perfect ensemble cast. Holding it all together is a tour de force by Pedro Pascal, one of the performances of the year from one of our true movie stars.”

“I have been orbiting NYFF for the great majority of my life,” Gilroy added. “I was baptized by ‘Fitzcarraldo.’ I was tending bar across the street, and a customer tipped me a single ticket. It was a bad seat to the most remarkable screening I’d ever attended. There were many memorable nights to follow. The Centerpiece invitation is a fantasy I’ve conjured more times than I care to admit. NYFF has always been the benchmark for me; the opportunity to premiere a film I cannot wait to show, in that hall, to that audience, feels every bit as thrilling as I’d imagined. I’m honored.”

Searchlight Pictures will release “Behemoth!” in theaters on Friday, December 4.