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Toronto Life - The Hype

A critical guide to Toronto’s cultural events, TIFF and high society. Plus, local celebrity news. Sign up for Preview newsletter for weekly updates

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September 19, 2011 | 12:05 pm

Nadine Labaki’s Where Do We Go Now? wins the Cadillac People’s Choice Award—but will it be Oscar bait?

(Image: Christopher Drost)

And that’s a wrap.

The official closing ceremony for the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival took place at the Four Seasons Hotel yesterday. TIFF 2011 co-directors Cameron Bailey and Piers Handling hosted the affair, and the attendees sipped mimosas and munched on egg souffle, spinach-and-flower petal salad, roast potatoes and crème brûlée (note: festival food is yum). Where Do We Go Now?, a dramatic comedy set in war-torn Lebanon that follows the lives of several women trying to keep their husbands out of the conflict, received the Cadillac People’s Choice Award, which in past years has been a sign of Oscar-y things to come (but we’re not so sure about this one). The Cadillac People’s Choice Documentary Award went to Jon Shenk’s political documentary The Island President and Gareth Evans took home the Cadillac People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award for The Raid.

Full list of winners here.

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September 19, 2011 | 10:33 am

The Swag Series: CANFAR and TDot TV celebrate celebrity and philanthropy at the Bata Shoe Museum

Brendan Fletcher and Julie Maxwell (Image: TDotTV.com)

What it is: Hosted by the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR) and lifestyle website TDot TV, this lounge paired philanthropy with a touch of glamour. The goal was to create awareness for CANFAR while pampering celebs with goodies and offering a makeover or two before a night on the town. Check out the swag, after the jump.

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September 18, 2011 | 8:00 am

Today at TIFF: People’s Choice free screening

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 6 p.m. People’s Choice free screening at Ryerson Theatre

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September 17, 2011 | 8:00 am

Today at TIFF: Page Eight gala presentation

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

•  9:15 a.m. The Story of Film: An Odyssey free screening at TIFF Bell Lightbox

• 6 p.m. Page Eight gala presentation at Roy Thomson Hall

• 11:59 p.m. Kill List midnight madness at Ryerson Theatre

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September 16, 2011 | 2:55 pm

TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Maggie Gyllenhaal talks about the female experience at the press conference for Hysteria

The press conference for Hysteria, which chronicles the invention of the vibrator, elicited giggles, guffaws, awkward pauses and perhaps even a gleeful sense of empowerment for many of the women in the room. Director Tanya Wexler sounded raspy, and she noted the irony in the fact that the director of a film about female empowerment had lost her voice. “What were you doing down there?” was a common inquiry of actors Hugh Dancy and Jonathan Pryce, who play the doctors who must pleasure women to relieve them of their “hysteria.” Dancy’s curt answer: “Acting.” Pryce revealed that he got a stress injury in his hand and lost the skin on a finger from all of the rubbing, and that he wasn’t touching an actual woman but rather a “modesty sandbag.” Dancy also revealed he visited a sex museum in Shanghai in preparation for the role. “You really had to take their word [that the artifact was a sex toy]. You look at it and think, that’s just a rock.”

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September 16, 2011 | 2:48 pm

TIFF 2011 roundup: (mostly non-fictitious) Dave Matthews edition

Dave Matthews on the Ides of March red carpet with Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn (Image: Christopher Drost)

Like a hirsute garden gnome, contemporary alt-blues-roots rocker Dave Matthews popped up everywhere at TIFF this year. First he crashed onto the red carpet for the Ides of March. Then he made an appearance at the mammoth Grey Goose Soho House party for A Dangerous Method. (Turns out, he wasn’t just here for fun—the multi-platinum college balladeer is the co-founder of ATO Pictures, which acquired the North American rights to The Woman in the Fifth back in February.) Indeed, he showed up so often that we started finding him everywhere we looked. Check out our slideshow of Matthews’ appearances, after the jump.

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September 16, 2011 | 1:54 pm

The Swag Series: RealTVFilms caters to Canadian celebrities and maybe Glenn Close

Shoes for celebrities (Image: Fraser Abe)

What it is: RealTVFilms, a California-based social media–type blog covering TV and films, has launched its annual TIFF gifting lounge again this year. Held at the brand-spanking-new lounge FStop in an alleyway off of King Street (all the coolest bars are hard to find), RealTVFilms has tried to make the space one that people actually want to hang out in. With Wi-Fi, a bar, a DJ, snacks by Crush Wine Bar and interesting decor (deer heads, human silhouettes and low, cozy banquettes are all here), they’ve made the space more inviting than some of the cold hotel rooms we’ve seen this week.

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September 16, 2011 | 1:23 pm

Venice vs. TIFF fashion showdown, Marisa Tomei edition

The seemingly ageless Marisa Tomei (can you believe she’s turning 47 in December?) attended the Ides of March premiere at both the Venice Film Festival and TIFF this year, with distinct fashion choices at each. In the film, Tomei plays a snooping journalist alongside George Clooney, who plays an elected official with a dark secret. We think both looks are stunning, but once again it seems another starlet has chosen a glamorous look for Venice and something more casual for TIFF’s concrete carpet. Which dress do you think is the best?

At which film fest was Marisa Tomei best dressed?

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September 16, 2011 | 1:01 pm

Venice vs. TIFF fashion showdown, Evan Rachel Wood edition

Evan Rachel Wood was in town promoting The Ides of March and has been spotted around town in menswear-inspired fashion (and hats, we mustn’t forget the hats). At the Ides of March premiere on September 9 she wore a well-tailored suit by Dolce and Gabbana, but her outfit of choice for the Venice Film Festival—a white, full-length Alessandra Rich gown—certainly makes a more dramatic statement (that wasn’t the first time a woman has worn a suit, and frankly, Diane Keaton did it better). This means that, once again, it seems the Venice Film Festival will likely win over TIFF for the sartorial effort the stars have put in, but which manner of dress do you think is best?

At which film fest was Evan Rachel Wood best dressed?

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September 16, 2011 | 12:40 pm

TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: James Gandolfini, Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel on the red carpet for the gala presentation of Violet and Daisy

When James Gandolfini walks the red carpet, he does so like Tony Soprano: he gets in, gets the job done and gets out (but he still makes his presence felt—when an older woman asked for a photo, he responded, “Get in here, Momma!”). Also making their presence felt as they walked the red carpet for Violet and Daisy were a pair of young starlets—Saoirse Ronan and Alexis Bledel—who play teenage assassins in the film. The duo complemented each other splendidly—Ronan in a seafoam knee-length pleated dress and Bledel in a black and gold number strangely reminiscent of a ’70s Star Trek uniform (we still think it worked).

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September 16, 2011 | 12:10 pm

TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Maggie Gyllenhaal and Hugh Dancy on the red carpet for the gala presentation of Hysteria

Considering Hysteria is a film about vibrators, the premiere’s red carpet last night at Roy Thompson Hall was a surprisingly modest affair. Director Tanya Wexler appeared uncomfortable in front of the cameras and was rushed inside without signing any autographs (although she did wave to fans, yelling, “Hi Canada!” and “Sorry” as her PR people ushered her out of the spotlight). Hugh Dancy, whose immaculate beard has been getting rave reviews, arrived with a smile. Jonathan Pryce gave one of the most dignified and professional red carpet performances we’ve seen so far at the festival, gazing directly into each camera and laughing it off when a cheeky photographer accidentally called him “Vincent.” Then, of course, there was Maggie Gyllenhaal, elegantly dressed head to toe in white. She did have to be prompted to remove a long black blazer, but in her defense it was freezing. Under the shining spotlights of CityTV’s cameras, subtle streaks of grey were visible in her up-do. Gyllenhaal lets her greys show! She’s the real deal, and we love her for it. See our photo gallery, after the jump.

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September 16, 2011 | 8:00 am

Today at TIFF: The Awakening gala presentation and Midnight Madness

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 10 a.m. The Story of Film: An Odyssey at the AGO

• 6:30 p.m. The Awakening gala presentation at Roy Thomson Hall

• 9:30 p.m. Winnie gala presentation at Roy Thomson Hall

• 11:59 p.m. Smuggle midnight madness screening at Ryerson Theatre

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September 15, 2011 | 1:35 pm

TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Nicolas Cage has the assembled media eating out of his hand at the press conference for Joel Schumacher’s Trespass

When Nicolas Cage is in the room, it’s impossible to look anywhere else (really). From the moment he sat down, answering questions about Joel Schumacher’s Trespass with a degree of intensity and thoughtfulness that we’re sure surprised many, all eyes were fixed on the actor. He delivered lines from the film in character, did his best impression of Werner Herzog and playfully shared the story the film is predicated upon: “I woke up and there was a naked man wearing my leather jacket and eating a Fudgsicle at the foot of my bed. It sounds funny, but it wasn’t.”

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September 15, 2011 | 1:05 pm

QUOTED: Keira Knightley on her drinks of choice, pre- and post-spanking

I did a couple of shots of vodka—definitely—beforehand, and then a couple of glasses of champagne as a celebration of never having to do that again.

—Keira Knightley on preparing for her spanking scene in A Dangerous Method [Winnipeg Free Press]

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September 15, 2011 | 1:04 pm

On night three of Festival Music House, it was indie rock madness with The Arkells and Hey Rosetta!

Parlovr getting into it at Festival Music House (Image: J.J. Thompson)

Last night wrapped up the final eve of Festival Music House at TIFF, and much like the two nights before it, the booze was flowing and the bands gave it their all. Festival Music House curators Arts&Crafts (the label that brought us Broken Social Scene, The Stills, Timber Timbre and Jason Collett to name a few) did a great job creating unique lineups with different themes each night, with Monday’s performances appealing to a more mainstream crowd, Tuesday’s country and folk influence and last night’s indie rock thread with The Darcys, Parlovr, Hey Rosetta!, The Rural Alberta Advantage and headliners The Arkells. Check out who showed up and rocked out, after the jump.

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