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The Hype

From the Print Edition
April 26, 2011 | 9:25 am

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Memory lane: Woody Harrelson carries a giant torch for Toronto. Here’s the photo album to prove it

Woody Harrelson at FreshWoody Harrelson likes us. He really, really likes us. The American actor and enviro poster boy has been in Toronto since February, rehearsing his loosely autobiographical comedy, Bullet for Adolf. The play is set in the summer of 1983—during which Harrelson worked construction in Houston alongside his pal (and co-writer) Frankie Hyman—and covers everything from race relations to dissolving friendships. This new show is the latest chapter in the Woody-hearts-Hogtown saga that began more than 20 years ago when the actor, newly famous for playing a lovably dim bartender on Cheers, hung out with Ted Danson on the Toronto set of Three Men and a Baby. Since then, he has returned regularly for film and theatre projects, awards ceremonies and the mother of all yoga sessions. We met with him over milk thistle smoothies at his top nosh spot, Live, to reminisce about his best Toronto moments.

Breaking a killer fast, August 2003Indicates photo on left is for this entry
“I had started a juice fast before I got to town. The cast and producers of This Is Our Youth—a play I was directing here—threw me a welcome party at Fresh. I thought I was just going to sit there, but I hadn’t eaten in 30-odd days. The smell was too much; I was onto those sweet potato fries before I knew it. God, those things are good. I’m kind of an extremist, so I’ll do the fast and then I’ll gorge. Same old bullshit.”

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009
September 19, 2009 | 5:35 pm

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The Tastemakers’ Lounge: generous to the famous

Swagger: Kat Denning at the Tastemakers' Lounge (Photo courtesy of Rok-It PR)

Swagger: Kat Denning at the Tastemakers' Lounge (Photo courtesy of Rok-It PR)

Where’s a TIFF-goer to head for a semblance of home when they are miles before sleep? To the Tastemakers Lounge, of course. In its tenth year at the InterContinental, the gifting suite to the stars has gotten comfortable, feeling more like a super-yuppie condo than swag showroom.

Upon entrance to the airy, livable room, things soothed and wafted: neutral decor by Croma Design and PC Home, faintly spiced almonds mingling with inoffensive fragrances from D&G (most popular? L’Imperatrice; it translates to “The Star”). Box sets of AMC shows Mad Men and Breaking Bad went over big with the cast of Defendor—Woody Harrelson and Kat Dennings—while bamboo tees by Guats went out on the backs of Colin Firth and Agora’s Oscar Isaac. Ally Sheedy got good hair from a Chiggy’s Touch stylist with Rowenta tools. Amanda Schull (danced most famously in Centre Stage, now more credibly in Mao’s Last Dancer) primped with Joe Fresh Beauty. And Ben Barnes, the wasted anti-hero of Dorian Gray, can now recover with the aid of his new PC Home personal water-filter bottle.

As for us, we just wanted to steal a silky pillow for our hollowed-out heads.

Toronto International Film Festival 2009
September 16, 2009 | 5:05 pm

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Dignity helps when trying to party with Nicolas Cage, Fergie and Keanu at the InStyle bash

(Photo by Jen McNeely)

British actor Bill Nighy is mobbed by fans with poor taste in hats outside the Windsor Arms last night (Photo by Jen McNeely)

“We want the king, we want the king!”

At first we couldn’t decipher what the overzealous crowd was chanting, but as we drew closer to the masses outside the Windsor Arms, it became clear that it was not the king they wanted but the Cage. Nicolas, that is. The mob was gaining momentum and force, so when British actor Bill Nighy exited the hotel, an emergency PR situation dominoed: fans surged forward, magazines slapped magazines at Nighy and women on walkie-talkies were frantically trying to locate his driver. Cops had to buffer the mania so Nighy could escape. As he wandered in the direction of Theatre Books, all we could hear him say was “Where the fuck? What the fuck? Fuck!” An intense female wrangler yelled, “Bill—back inside!” She shouted louder, “Bill! Inside, let’s go!” ushering him in haste back in the embrace of the Windsor Arms. By the urgency in her tone, we thought the fans were about ready to rip his flesh off, like a scene from Shaun of the Dead.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009
September 13, 2009 | 2:33 pm

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We talk dildos with Kristin Booth and nude photo shoots with Dragonette’s Martina Sorbara at the Hello! party

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Russel Peters and his girlfriend

Nothing says Yorkville quite like a Birks blue box (perhaps with the exception of Tiffany’s), so it was apt that star-stalking Hello! magazine staged its festival bash at the jeweller’s Bloor Street shop. The Bay-Bloor junction was jammed with iPhone-waving onlookers eager to snap a shot of red carpeters, including us. We said hello to head-turning actress Monika Schnarre, who was sporting a sexy backless dress by Lucian Matis. Being Erica star Erin Karpluk assured us that Ethan and Erica are still together in the soon-to-air Season Two. Just then, the crowd got rowdy for funny man Russell Peters, who hammed it up on the red carpet. “I never know what to do with my hands,” he joked while under fire from a dozen cameras. When a photographer asked for a solo shot, he retorted “So you hate my girlfriend?”

Inside, it was a bling-off between the Birks showcases and the gem-dotted glitterati. Crisis hit early, however: two attendees were wearing the same BCBG dress. “Whatever, you look better in it,” said a friend to one of the identically clad ladies.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009
August 31, 2009 | 4:37 pm

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Skyy’s the limit: three celeb-inspired cocktails for TIFF

Splashmakers: Ellen Page, Lisa Ray and Sandra Oh are all turned into beverages (Photo by Kenny)

Splashmakers: Ellen Page, Lisa Ray and Sandra Oh have all been turned into beverages (Photo by Kenny)

Oscar buzz and party chatter were not the only things served up at the Hazelton Hotel’s TIFF event last week. Official sponsor Skyy Vodka unveiled its annual trifecta of celebrity-inspired cocktails, each with an unsurprising dose of—what else?—Skyy Vodka (although our preliminary research indicates that any kind of vodka can be used). The full list, after the jump.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009
August 5, 2009 | 4:20 pm

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CanCon at TIFF: Atom Egoyan’s latest and Heath Ledger’s final film among newly announced titles

Even though it’s just a press conference, the announcement of TIFF’s Canadian lineup is considered to be the unofficial pre-gala kickoff for locals. Homegrown filmmakers, actors and distributors packed into the Royal York’s Imperial Room yesterday to pose for the camera and decimate the open bar and buffet table in a manner befitting this country’s underfunded film industry. Since a British film—Creation—was chosen for opening night, a Canadian project was widely expected to close the festival. Organizers didn’t disappoint. The honour went to The Young Victoria, a look at titular queen’s early years on the throne directed by C.R.A.Z.Y. filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée. Other notable announcements included:

• Atom Egoyan’s Chloe, about a wife (Julianne Moore) who hires a PYT (Amanda Seyfried) to catch her husband (Liam Neeson) in the act of cheating;
• Reginald Harkema’s follow-up to Monkey Warfare—Leslie, My Name Is Evil—will have its world premiere;
• Terry Gilliam’s The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the tale of a travelling theatre show staring Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Heath Ledger in his last role. A Canada-U.K. co-production, this one just squeaked into the CanCon category.

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