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Paul Haggis speaks out against Scientology in massive New Yorker profile

A protestor stands outside the Toronto location of the Church of Scientology (Image: Joe Howell)

Paul Haggis, the Ontarian writer-director of Million Dollar Baby and Crash (who we’ll always remember as the co-creator of Walker, Texas Ranger), has gone and made himself Scientology’s number one enemy following an article in this week’s New Yorker. Haggis quit the church in 2009 after it supported Proposition 8, the California legislation banning gay marriage, and dished about his exit to the magazine’s Lawrence Wright for a 24,000-word colossus called “The Apostate.”

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 1:42 pm

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The best and worst moments of TIFF 2010

That’s all, folks—TIFF is toast for 2010, but we still have the memories. We asked our team to dish on the best and worst, the scary and the sublime, the hot and the lame of this year’s festival. Find out what they told us in the slide show below.

: The Bell “lounge” at Roy Thomson Hall. It’s basically a shipping crate that blasts Daft Punk’s “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” before a gala starts. Dancers then emerge from the crate (complete with smoke effects) and do a half-assed number to get people’s attention, though neither the media nor fans seemed to care. (Image: Karon Liu)

: A Snooki impersonator tried to walk the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall for Black Swan. It’s a sad day in pop culture history when Snooki is considered red carpet royalty. (Image: Jeff Lewis)

: Hotel workers striking in front of the Regency Park Hyatt, where everything TIFF-related took place. (Image: Karon Liu)

: When their publicist walks behind them holding a card announcing their name and title. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Score: A Hockey Musical, which will probably be remembered as the worst movie to open TIFF.

: The press and industry screening of Dustin Lance Black’s What’s Wrong With Virginia, which cleared out halfway through, foreshadowing such reviews as “Everything Is ‘Wrong With Virginia.’”

: The Elgin Theatre, where fans had to line up on the other side of Yonge Street hoping that the zoom on their iPhones would be good enough. (Image: Karon Liu)

: During the introduction of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings, a producer made a very long speech while the cast stood onstage, wondering when he would shut up. Suddenly Harvey Keitel threw his hands in the air and walked off; the cast followed him. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Two-time Oscar winner Paul Haggis being turned away from Soho House, while Josh Brolin helped his pal out by breaking into hysterics. They later made up. (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

: Quebec filmmaker Xavier Dolan, who managed to answer “How did your success at TIFF last year affect your new film?” with a passionate rant against his critics. (Image: Jag Gundu/Getty Images)

: Little Miss Sunshine star Abigail Breslin, now 14, taking the famous stage at the Horseshoe to sing an acoustic ballad. (Image: Jason Merritt/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images)

: Our hard-fought battle against tears at the end of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling’s drama Blue Valentine.

: Taking a 20-minute nap in the Elgin Theatre’s media pit while waiting four hours for Nicole Kidman’s arrival. Then, during some attempted downtime with Battlestar Galactica, we fell asleep in our armchair holding a glass of water, only to be awakened when we spilled it all over ourselves.

: Natalie Portman, the leading lady in the Oscar race for her role in Black Swan. (Image: Karon Liu)

: When Ben Mulroney and Shinan Govani walk the carpet. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Uma Thurman’s strict Mexican-only menu, which she requested at an after-party dinner at Brassaii. (Image: George Pimentel)

: The ET Canada party for where a generator that burst into flames was replaced in just 20 minutes. (Image: Staci L.)

: Peter Fonda, whose left-wing politics mixed uneasily with guests at the Best Buddies gala. (Image: Ryan Porter)

: It’s not like we were expecting to sidle up to Don Draper at the bar and have him offer us a Lucky Strike and a Canadian Club, but missing Jon Hamm at all the glitzy film after parties was our biggest celeb letdown. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Belinda Stronach, who was spotted at Maison in the wee hours, hanging with a group of 20-somethings, one of whom was not wearing a shirt.

: Blake Lively, for wiping out all traces of Gossip Girl’s pristine Serena van der Woodsen to wear the trashtacular tube tops of Boston broad Krista in Ben Affleck’s The Town.

: At the Absolut party, we rode up to the garage in chauffeured golf carts at breakneck speed. (Image: Carldunn)

: A Mexican tabloid reporter asked Hilary Swank if she would appear in a vampire movie. For the record, she said no. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Meeting Ryan Kwanten, who, like us, turns out to be a bit of a mama’s boy. The True Blood hunk (have you ever seen better abs?) took his mom to the Amfar gala and on an Alaskan cruise. (Image: Karon Liu)

: We hit the swag lounges hard this year and came away with some great stuff, albeit mostly for women. Hear that, Mom? Christmas comes early this year!

: A fan had Kevin Spacey sign her cheque book for the premiere of Casino Jack. Unbeknownst to her, the media’s zoom lenses got shots of all her cheque book details, including name and account number. The photographers we talked to blurred out that info before uploading them. (Image: Karon Liu)

: If even for two weeks, we were able to forget about Justin Bieber. (Image: Jake Auzzie)

: James Franco’s movie 127 Hours. One particularly graphic scene caused three audience members to faint at the screening. Others walked out.

: Rachel McAdams and Michael Sheen were reportedly canoodling at Sheen’s party for Beautiful Boy at Cheval. (Images: Sheen by Toby Canham/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images, McAdams by James Helmer)

: The hype for Casey Affleck’s Joaquin Phoenix doc I’m Still Here was strong, but by the end of the week, the reviews were harsh, and we learned it was all a hoax. The film might be in theatres, but we’re not.

: Martin Sheen picketed for 20 minutes with striking Royal York staffers one day and showed off his undies to photographers at a party another day. (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

: (Images by Karon Liu and Stefania Yarhi)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 1:20 pm

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TIFF’s most memorable couples

The newlyweds oozed post-coital confidence (Image: Karon Liu)

Is it just us, or were significant others one of the most commonly spotted red carpet accessories? Nicole, Jon, Megan (to name a few) all showed off their better halves at their premieres. With the festival wrapped up for another year, a look back at this year’s most memorable couples in our slide show below.

: Firth turned 50 at TIFF this year, confirming that 50 is the new 40 and that Brits are about more than posh accents and bad teeth. It’s hard not to think of his wife as the luckiest woman on the planet, but then, the satisfied smirk on Firth’s face makes us think that maybe he’s the lucky one. (Image: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Grey Goose Vodka)

: He may be the biggest dreamboat on the planet right now, and still, the real-life Don Draper ably pulls off the whole “who, me?” thing. His long-time love looks equally effortless. We’re not sure if we want to be them or kill them. (Image: Karon Liu)

: We weren’t impressed by Kidman’s lacklustre fashion efforts last week. We know she and her hair straightener–obsessed hubby are all about pushing the “we’re normal, we live in Nashville, we shop at Walmart” message, but would a little Cruise-era Kidman glamour have been too much to ask for? (Image: Karon Liu)

: We were lucky enough to spot the Boss and his lovely bride having post-premiere refreshments at the Four Seasons bar. Yes, their fashion choices leave something to be desired, but when you’re as cool as they are, it really doesn’t matter. (Image: George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images)

: As always, the communications power couple cut a memorable figure at the annual Amfar bash. This dress reminds us of something Donna Martin would have worn to a high school dance. At least she had youthful ignorance as an excuse. (Image: Karon Liu)

: The newlyweds oozed post-coital confidence at the after party for Fox’s movie Passion Play. So how does BAG avoid the obvious Mr. Megan Fox jokes? Um, we’re not sure, but his upcoming role on Desperate Housewives probably isn’t going to help. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Hilary is a former Miss Ireland and an undeniable beauty, but—how shall we say this?—at times Mama Weston tends toward outfits that are a little, well, young. After a certain age, strapless should refer to purses only. Hilary looked fab and totally age appropriate on the Amfar red carpet. And, as always, a billionaire is the ultimate accessory. (Image: George Pimentel/WireImage/Getty Images)

: In the two years since their out-of-nowhere smash Slumdog Millionaire had its world premiere at TIFF, Pinto has become a Woody Allen muse and an international fashion plate. Patel’s career has been slightly slower out of the gate, but he gets to date Freida Pinto, so we doubt he’s even noticed. (Image: Karon Liu)

: As if we needed further evidence that the Goz is the one for us. And yes, we get that he and his pint-sized Blue Valentine are not technically a couple, but who doesn’t want to look at snaps of the sexiest thing to come out of Canada since one-piece long johns? (Image: Jeff Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images)

: As our spies reported, Brolin attended an after party at the Thompson Hotel where he had no qualms about lighting up inside, even though he was steps from a smoker-friendly patio and must know the practice is illegal (the guy’s from L.A., where they practically hang you for smoking). Plus, he ashed on a frickin’ plate! We’re not sure whether to be appalled by his arrogance or admire his commitment. (Image: Stefania Yarhi)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 14, 2010 | 10:19 am

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TIFF Fashion Poll: James Franco, Jon Hamm, Josh Brolin and Hayden Christensen

The women of TIFF are looking a little dull this year, leaving the men to rule the red carpet. Here are the contenders in our manly fashion battle:

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 13, 2010 | 11:56 am

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What you missed this weekend: the biggest stories at TIFF so far

Milla Jovovich sneaking out of her premiere (Image: Mauricio Contreras-Paredes)

Our dance card was full this weekend as we attended all the best TIFF parties and premieres. But we don’t just brag about hobnobbing with Javier Bardem and Josh Brolin; we’ll give you all the insider gossip. If you haven’t been following the action as it happens, here are the highlights:

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 13, 2010 | 10:13 am

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TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Woody Allen, Anthony Hopkins and Josh Brolin at the premiere of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger

Woody Allen arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the premiere of You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (Image: Karon Liu)

Yonge Street was abuzz Sunday evening as veteran director Woody Allen arrived for the premiere of his latest film, You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (which, critics say, is more Vicki Christina Barcelona and less Whatever Works). Co-stars Josh Brolin, Anthony Hopkins, Freida Pinto, Gemma Jones and Lucy Punch were also on the red carpet.

Check out all our pictures, below.

: Woody Allen arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Woody Allen arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Perhaps chanelling his earlier role as Richard Nixon, Anthony Hopkins greets the adoring public at Elgin Theatre when he arrived for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Anthony Hopkins arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Anthony Hopkins and Stella Arroy arrive at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Lucy Punch arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Josh Brolin arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Gemma Jones arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Freida Pinto arrives at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Freida Pinto and Dev Patel arrive at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

: Freida Pinto and Dev Patel arrive at the Elgin Theatre for the You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger premiere. (Image: Karon Liu)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 12, 2010 | 2:44 pm

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Martin Sheen shows off his undies for $1,000 at the Artists for Peace and Justice party

James Franco and Josh Brolin party hopping on Saturday (Image: George Pimentel/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images)

Party hopping was the name of the game last night. The celebs’ collective dance card was a busy one, with such major events as Hello!’s party at the Royal Conservatory, the Vanity Fair/Fox Searchlight bash at the Thompson and the charity event Artists for Peace and Justice at Pears on the Avenue. Uptown, director Paul Haggis and actors Anna-Lynne McCord and James Franco hosted the APJ event and tried to rouse the crowd into digging deep for a live auction. Haggis, the auctioneer, bellowed into the mic, either shushing the crowd, demanding attention (“I’m a director. You have to do what I say”) or thanking his Hollywood compadres (“not the typical Hollywood wankers”) for raising $26,000 for public works in Haiti (“I conned Ben Stiller into paying half the costs”).

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 12, 2010 | 12:02 pm

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TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: James Franco, Hilary Swank and Marion Cotillard party at the Thompson Hotel

James Franco and director Danny Boyle at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thompson Hotel to celebrate their film 127 Hours. (Image: Tom Sandler)

The TIFF celebrity brigade was out in full force at the Thompson Hotel on Saturday night to celebrate the films from Fox Searchlight: Conviction, Black Swan, Never Let Me Go and 127 Hours. Cast members (and a few of their friends) who swung by included Hilary Swank, Sam Rockwell, Minnie Driver, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Juliette Lewis, Marion Cotillard and Carey Mulligan. Also spotted were director Darren Aronofsky, comedian David Cross and basketball legend Steve Nash.

: Minnie Driver at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thmpson Hotel to celebrate her film Conviction. (Image: Tom Sandler)

: Actror Hilary Swank and director Tony Goldwyn at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thmpson Hotel to celebrate their film Conviction. (Image: Tom Sandler)

: Actor James Franco and director Danny Boyle at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thmpson Hotel to celebrate her film 127 Hours. (Image: Tom Sandler)

: Sam Rockwell and Michael Sheen at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thmpson Hotel to celebrate Rockwell’s film Conviction. (Image: Tom Sandler)

: Danny Boyle and Amber Tamblyn at the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight party at the Thmpson Hotel to celebrate their film 127 hours. (Image: Tom Sandler)

Officially dubbed the Vanity Fair, Belvedere and Fox Searchlight Party, the event became a crowded affair once the rain started falling and guests poured inside from the patios, clutching their special-for-the-occasion vodka cocktails (we had a very sweet liquid interpretation of 127 Hours that, to be fair, tasted rather good for a drink inspired by a man pinned under a boulder for five days). The celebs seemed to take the weather in stride, coming and going throughout the night under canopies of black umbrellas and, in one case, lighting up a cigarette in one of the booths.

= Find this story on our Celebrity Sightings Map, where we plot the locations of stars spotted throughout Toronto

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 12, 2010 | 11:25 am

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Spotted! Josh Brolin smoking inside at the Thompson

Bad boy Josh Brolin, re-imagined by Swedish artist Sebastian Fritzon

The stars were clouded under a brief haze last night at King West’s Thompson Hotel, where Josh Brolin popped by the exclusive Fox Searchlight-Vanity Fair-Belvedere party. Sitting in one of the open bottle-service booths, the bearded actor engaged in what appeared to be an intense and hilarious conversation with a friend (he’s known for his gesticulations) and lit up a smoke without a second thought. Staffers and partiers didn’t stop him as he ashed into the small stack of white dishes set out next to a tray of snacks.

OK, smoking indoors is not much of a to-do (Sean Penn did it at a festival press conference back in 2006), but at a TIFF that has, so far, been scandal-free, we’ll take what we can get. Where’s Mickey Rourke when you need him?

= Find this story on our Celebrity Sightings Map, where we plot the locations of stars spotted throughout Toronto

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 11, 2010 | 1:41 pm

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Spotted: Josh Brolin, Paul Haggis and Javier Bardem at Av and Dav

Click on the map to see all TIFF celebrity sightings

On our way home last night, we decided, on a lark, to check out the Toro After Dark space at Pears on Avenue Road. No official events were scheduled, but we thought it the perfect low-key come-down after the insanity of Slash’s appearance at Tattoo Rock Parlour. Imagine our surprise, then, to find Josh Brolin being escorted into the space with Paul Haggis. Smart phones lit up the room and tweets about the unlikely celeb sighting flooded the Internet. Little did the crowd know that the best was yet to come.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 11, 2010 | 12:29 pm

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Inside Soho House: Javier Bardem celebrated, Paul Haggis denied entry and Josh Brolin’s new BFF

A Biutiful night: Javier Bardem at the Soho House on Friday (Image: Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Grey Goose Vodka)

“Name?”
“Paul Haggis.”
“I’m sorry, it’s not on the list.”

Josh Brolin, standing nearby with a cigarette, breaks into hysterics.

This was the scene last night at Soho House—a branch of the international members-only club that’s opened in Toronto just for the duration of TIFF—where stars of the highest wattage gathered to fête Javier Bardem and his new movie, Biutiful. The confusion eventually cleared up, partially thanks to a woman leaving the party who noted “he’s a director” and the hotly sought, Ontario-raised Oscar-winner swung into the lush party space. And yes, Brolin got in too.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

July 27, 2010 | 1:00 pm

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TIFF announces 50 films starring awesome famous people who might come to Toronto

The-Private-Lives-of-Pippa-Lee_JamesHelmer_006-386x386

Robin Wright, shown here at TIFF last year, stars in Robert Redford's The Conspirator (Image: James Helmer)

Today’s edition of TIFF celebrity stalking is a little meatier, as co-directors Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey announced 50 films (15 galas, 35 special presentations, including 25 world premieres) and the whackitude of celebrities associated with them. We’ve got two Friends (Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer), the Gilmore Girls (Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel), the Mad Men man himself (Jon Hamm), Office favourite Rainn Wilson, the ever-intriguing Winona Ryder, plus Robert Redford, Woody Allen, Helen Mirren, Natalie Portman, Javier Bardem and more. This year might just top 2009’s Oprah-Clooney juggernaut appearances. Too lazy to go through the list? The lowdown, after the jump.

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Toronto International Film Festival 2009

September 13, 2009 | 8:31 pm

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Paul Haggis closes the bar at the Artists for Peace and Justice fundraiser

Charlize Theron is on the board of Artists for Peace and Justice (Photo by Attit Patel)

The opportunity to walk on the set of an undisclosed major picture starring Russell Crowe was sold for $6,000, tea time with Diane Lane went for $3,000 but no invited guest was willing to gamble $5,000 for Casino Royale poker chips, worthy cause or not. Co-hosted by director and writer Paul Haggis and stunning actor Olivia Wilde of House, the charity event for Artists for Peace and Justice (Josh Brolin, James Franco, Oliver Stone and Charlize Theron are on the board) was well attended. Beyond supporting the cause, (helping children in Haiti), we suspect Hollywood also came out to shmooze Haggis, whose credits include Casino Royale, Million Dollar Baby and Oscar winner Crash. In attendance was Sex and The City’s Kim Catrall, the OC’s Peter Gallagher, bad-boy Colin Farrell and Twilight vamp Rachelle Lefevre.

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