Law Abiding Citizen -- a thriller shot here earlier this year and starring Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler -- will be the opening film at the 18½ Philadelphia International Film Festival.
Director F. Gary Gray is tentatively scheduled to attend the Oct. 15 screening at the Kimmel Center's Perelman Theater.
In LAC -- which opens nationwide the next day -- Butler plays a sociopath who exacts revenge on the DA (Foxx) who sprung the killers of his wife and daughter.
The festival's closing film will be Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (Oct. 18), directed by Philly-bred Lee Daniels. It won the Audience Award, the Grand Jury Award, and Special Jury Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, along with the People's Choice Award at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. The gritty, Harlem-based story of Claireece Precious Jones stars Mo'Nique, Mariah Carrey, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, Sherri Shepherd, and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe.
The festival's slate includes 28 films from 14 countries. Also on the slate:
Update: Shortly after issuing the information, the film fete's publicist asked that this post come down because of what it calls "significant incorrect information." The closing night is Oct. 18, not the 19th as first announced.