If you're thinking on putting down an early bet on big Oscar winners, then you don't need to look much further than the winner of the People's Choice Awards at the Toronto International Film Festival for an educated guess.
Some of the most recent TIFF People's Choice Awards winners included Room (which went on to win the Best Actress Oscar, nominated for Best Film, Director and Adapted Screenplay), 12 Years A Slave (winner of Best Picture, Best Supporting Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay, nominated for a further six Oscars), The King's Speech (winner of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay and Best Director, while nominated for another eight), The Imitation Game (winner of Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar, nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor and another six besides) and Slumdog Millionaire (which won eight Oscars, including Best Picture).
So when La La Land received the award today at the close of the TIFF, it means some very good news for the movie's future.
Written and directed by Damien Chazelle - whose previous movie Whiplash wound up with three Oscar wins - La La Land pairs Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone together in this comedy romantic musical about a jazz pianist who falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.
La La Land is due for release in Irish cinemas on January 13th 2017, while the 89th Academy Awards will take place a little over a month later on February 26th.
