Rooney, along with her “Tanner Hall” co-stars Amy Ferguson and Georgia King, made the Toronto Star’s list of standout “fresh faces” at the annual Toronto International Film Festival. Along with a glowing review of Rooney’s performance, a new portrait image of the 3 was featured, which you can view in our gallery now.

Fresh faces at TIFF
Which new stars made a claim on fame at the film festival this year? Here are our picks

Amy Ferguson, Georgia King, Rooney Mara

First-time directors Tatiana von Furstenberg and Francesca Gregorini have assembled a cast of outstanding young actresses for their film Tanner Hall, a drama set in a girls’ boarding school in northern New England. All in their early 20s (and coy about giving their ages), Americans Amy Ferguson and Rooney Mara and Scottish-born Georgia King are solid and believable as three teens on the verge of womanhood facing tough decisions and hard learning lessons about consequences.

These are the first leading roles for this trio of young actresses (the fourth star, Brie Larson, wasn’t at TIFF), although they have screen credits ranging from TV to theatre and small movies. During an interview with the Star, the actresses said they hope the as-yet-unsold Tanner Hall will find a waiting audience of young women who often feel overlooked by Hollywood’s desire to cater to teen boys. King’s first screen role was as Lady Teazle in The Duchess – which was at TIFF last year – starring alongside Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes. In Tanner Hall she’s the bad seed, a new girl who sets out to manipulate and destroy others. King balances a credible portrayal of evil with vulnerability.

Rooney Mara, younger sister of actress Kate (TIFF closer last year, The Stone of Destiny), has the most challenging role, taking on the part of wise yet unworldly Fernanda, who finds herself drawn into an affair with an older family friend (Tom Everett Scott). Her portrayal of a girl’s torment over her actions and rising panic about her choices is credible and note perfect.

Mara has the lead in director Samuel Bayer’s re-imagining of A Nightmare on Elm Street, due next year. She also appeared alongside Michael Cera in another TIFF film, Youth in Revolt. As Lucasta, a scholarship student who seems unaware – or unwilling to acknowledge – that she is questioning her sexual identity, Amy Ferguson takes on her first major role.

Rooney is featured with big sister Kate Mara in the new issue of Glamour magazine, modeling their favorite Little Black Dress look. An HQ scan and clean version of the image are available in the gallery below. Please do not archive our scans in your gallery. Thanks!

001 x Scans – November 2009: Glamour Magazine

001 x Photoshoots – November 2009: Glamour Magazine

The pretty pics just keep coming! Here’s another portrait session out of Toronto. Seven MQs are in the gallery below.

007 x Photoshoots – 2009: TIFF “Tanner Hall” Portrait Session #3

Here is another gorgeous photoshoot Rooney did while promoting “Tanner Hall” at the Toronto International Film Festival. One HQ and 2 MQ pictures are available now in the gallery below.

003 x Photoshoots – 2009: TIFF “Tanner Hall” Portraits #2

Here is a gorgeous new photoshoot Rooney did at TIFF promoting “Tanner Hall” with her castmates. Hopefully there are more pics from Toronto coming soon!

006 x Photoshoots – 2009: TIFF “Tanner Hall” Portrait Session

Rooney is featured in the October issue of Teen Vogue magazine! It’s their annual Young Hollywood issue, and Rooney is photographed among some of her fellow rising stars, including Tom Sturridge, as seen in the outtake and behind the scenes pics and screen captures now in the gallery below. Check back for HQ scans as soon as I get my copy!

001 x Photoshoots – 2009: Teen Vogue

003 x Photoshoots – 2009: Teen Vogue (Behind the Scenes)

011 x Photoshoots – 2009: Teen Vogue (Screen Captures)

Here is an excerpt from the article:

In the next year, Rooney (younger sister of actress Kate) will star in the remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street and the comedy Youth in Revolt, but for right now, she’s focused on her humanitarian efforts. After traveling to Africa with a volunteer group, Rooney established the nonprofit Faces of Kibera to benefit kids in a small village in Kenya. “We’ve already been able to do so much,” she says. While most ingénues struggle to balance fame with a career, she seems markedly poised. “It makes you a better actor if you have real-life experiences that you can draw from.”—S.J-D.

The Behind the Scenes video can be viewed by clicking below…
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Rooney is, quite deservedly, featured as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2009. A new photo accompanies the article, which features some great new soundbytes from Rooney, and the magazine itself goes on sale at the end of July, though you can read the whole thing below. Check back for HQ scans when I get my copy.

Rooney Mara

The careers of actors and actresses are possessed of their own internal logic. An actor’s breakout in a critically acclaimed starring role is usually the culmination of a process that’s been witnessed by producers, directors and casting directors for years before. So when we surveyed people in the industry about acting talent for this year’s list, one not-yet-household name kept coming up: Rooney Mara. Said a casting director: “She’s got great presence and wit, and she can do both comedy and drama.” “Women love, guys love her,” one producer said to me. “We cast forever for her character, and she just came in and nailed it.” Audiences will have a chance to discover Mara’s talents because she has supporting roles in three independent or specialty films coming out this year. First she’s opposite Sam Rockwell in the Sundance pickup The Winning Season, she co-stars in Adam Salky’s Sundance Competition pic Dare, and she’s also in Miguel Arteta’s upcoming Youth in Revolt with Michael Cera.

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