Hosting an Oscars party is going to be tough this year. With 10 nominations for best picture, instead of the usual five, making movie-themed munchies will be twice as hard. To help Toronto hosts get their bearings, we suggest the following dishes from across the city, each inspired by the films hoping for the ultimate Academy prize.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posts Tagged ‘Precious’
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
RED CARPET VIDEO: We chat with Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey and the rest of the cast of Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Precious wins People’s Choice Award, screens free tonight
Oprah Winfrey at the premiere of Precious (Photo by Karon Liu)
You get a free screening of my movie! You get a free screening of my movie! And YOU get a free screening of my movie!
Yep, the Oprah-produced, clunkily titled Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire won the Cadillac People’s Choice Award this afternoon during a ceremony at the InterContinental Hotel Ballroom. That means that anyone can turn up for a free screening of the film tonight at 9 p.m. at the Visa Screening Room, right after the closing gala, The Young Victoria.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Lessons learned while photographing celebrities
One of our favourite shots from the festival (Photo by Karon Liu)
We consider ourselves to be experts in taking red carpet photos, having attended quite a few of the galas and special presentations since TIFF began. With every premiere, we learned something new in mastering the art of getting the perfect shot.
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Elevated Oprah takes no chances with security (except sometimes)
Destination unknown: elevator numbers were switched off at the Hazelton when Oprah was changing floors (Photo by Karon Liu)
Going up? O, no you’re not.
When Oprah Winfrey rides the elevator, the numbers go black, or so claims a Yorkville insider we met at the InStyle party. The insider told us that although Oprah fans had swarmed the Four Seasons in hopes of catching their 4 p.m. saviour, the Precious producer was, in fact, staying at The Hazelton. We also learned that when Oprah wanted to go up or down the elevator, FBI tactics were in play: all the elevators went dark so no one could know which floor she was on. To further ensure her safeguard, security would block off the foyer to prevent other guests—A-listers or not—from getting to their room.
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
The fun dozen stop: our top 12 TIFF tales
Read the rest of this entry »
This Saturday night, TIFF volunteers will roll up the red carpet for the last time in 2009. With the festival’s imminent end, we’ve compiled a list of the our most-read stories since the beginning of festivities on September 10. Here, the top dozen:
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
Whip It good: Drew Barrymore and Ellen Page at Tattoo Rock Parlour
Rock ’n’ roller derby: performers prepare for the Whip It after-party (Photo by Jen McNeely)
Roller derby chicks whirled around a TTC streetcar outside Tattoo Rock Parlour on Queen West on Sunday, giving the red carpet crowd a terrific tease for the arrival of director Drew Barrymore and homegrown sweetheart Ellen Page to the Whip It after-party. Blaring classic rock tunes and serving up mac and cheese, this was a Hollywood party with a dirty, down-home feel. We stood in line to get a Whip It tattoo branded on our arm and chatted up some of the real-deal derby girls before sneaking into the VIP section to hang with—well, adjacent to—Drew, Ellen, Jason Reitman and Justin Long.
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
The Oprah effect: The press conference-turned-talk show taping
Oprah ropes in her fans at the press conference for Precious
“It’s like the president is coming,” said one photographer looking back at the burly security guards at the entrance of the room.
“It’s bigger than that,” replied another. “It’s Oprah.”
With our cameras slung over our shoulders, painfully weighed down by the giant lenses and flashes attached to them, 15 or so photographers negotiated spots and angles with each other so we all would have a clear shot at the mighty O behind the table she’d be sitting at for the morning press conference of the movie she co-produced: Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire. (To see all photos from the Precious press conference, click here.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
PHOTO GALLERY: Chloe premiere with Amanda Seyfried, Julianne Moore, Atom Egoyan and Jason Reitman
Full disclosure: we arrived at Roy Thomson Hall yesterday around 4 p.m. to secure a spot behind the barricades for the Precious premiere that night and completely forgot about the gala for Atom Egoyan’s Chloe earlier in the evening.
However, things worked out for the best as we had the best view to catch a glimpse of stars Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried (Liam Neeson pulled out of TIFF after the death of his wife) as well as Egoyan and Jason Reitman (his dad Ivan also made an appearance). Mayor David Miller, apparently suffering from a George Hamilton-level faux tan, walked to the red carpet instead of arriving in a car, but his thunder was quickly stolen when Seyfried arrived seconds later.
We’d like to thank Oprah for this bountiful gift.
Toronto International Film Festival 2009
The day TIFF stood still: the Oprah, er, Precious premiere
Precious moments: Oprah Winfrey clasps her hand to heart at the world premiere of Precious (Photo by Karon Liu)
First the Beatles performed on The Ed Sullivan Show. Then Tim Hortons opened in New York. And now, Oprah Winfrey comes to Toronto.
We stood at the exact same spot for seven hours last night at Roy Thomson Hall to capture our red carpet photos of Oprah Winfrey, Mariah Carey, Tyler Perry, Sherri Shepherd, Gayle King, Mary J. Blige and others. Still, we were latecomers; the girl beside us arrived at 8 a.m., and others started rolling in at 10 a.m. By six we could see a current copy of O Magazine in every direction (what else would Oprah sign?), which probably produced a spike in magazine sales and a possible solution to save the print industry.
Read the rest of this entry »
Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS