TIFF 2010 | torontolife.com

Shafted! (Or, our requisite article on how Canada fared in the 2011 Oscar nominations)

Incendies (bottom) got the nod; Ryan Gosling didn't

When the Oscar nominations came out this morning, we scrolled right past the laundry list of best picture nods (that 10-picture system still irks us) to the best actor category. Despite all of our hopes, Ryan Gosling was unlisted. We weren’t the only ones who thought the Academy would tap the Goz for his portrayal of a hard-living husband in Blue Valentine. Early Vegas odds had given the young actor +5,000 odds of taking home the trophy on the big night (not the greatest odds, but at least he had odds). Instead, it’s a showdown between Javier Bardem, Jeff Bridges, Jesse Eisenberg, James Franco and Colin Firth.

The way we see it, James Franco stole Gosling’s spot. On paper, they’re kind of the same actor—quirky, drawn to challenging roles despite their leading-man looks—and with Eisenberg also under 30 31, it’s possible Oscar was in danger of appearing a bit short in the tooth. In related news, Blue Valentine was overlooked for best picture (presumably to leave room for Toy Story 3), but Gosling’s co-star, Michelle Williams, was nominated. So at least if she wins, we can expect to hear the Ontario boy’s name in her acceptance speech.

The Hype

Awards Season

October 14, 2010 | 1:43 pm

Some of TIFF’s best films headed to the Oscars

No sooner has TIFF rolled out of town, taking all of its botoxed goodness with it, than awards show season rolls in, binding us to the couch to partake in the glorious judge-fest that is the Oscars. So maybe that’s not until February, but the boys who pick the winners (let’s face it, it’s mostly dudes) have already announced the long list of nominees for best foreign film, and TIFF 2010 favourites abound among the titles in contention.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 5:14 pm

One last after party: hanging out with Harvey Keitel, Jason Jones and Tricia Helfer

Harvey Keitel and Siam Yu; Paulo Costanzo and Tricia Helfer (Images: Fraser Abe)

The TIFF party scene was winding down by Friday night, but that didn’t keep the makers of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings from having a blast at their post-screening fête. Held at Urban Amish, a furniture store at the completely torn-up corner of King and Parliament (making it the first east-end movie party we’ve seen this season), the shindig attracted all the stars of the flick. Tricia Helfer, Jason Jones, Paulo Costanzo and Harvey Keitel all showed and, uncharacteristically, stayed. When Keitel declined to walk the red carpet or hold interviews, we worried he would be standoffish, but inside, he held court on the lower level (away from the roped-off VIP area), chatting with fans and posing for pictures with fellow actor Siam Yu. When we spoke with Helfer, we learned she had recently auditioned for a part in the upcoming film A Game of Thrones, a fantasy flick sure to get fan boys from her Battlestar Galactica days excited, but lost the role to Elizabeth Banks. Asked if she’d tried her eponymous TIFF cocktail, the Sweet Tart Tricia, she complained to us, “I just landed and I’m flying back to L.A. tomorrow. I didn’t even get a chance to try my own drink!” Jason Jones was jovial; when he handed his drink and appetizer toothpick to PR gal Gail McInnes, she said, “I don’t know where this has been,” to which he jokingly responded, “Up my ass.”

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 5:04 pm

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TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Abigail Breslin, Alessandro Nivola and Elisabeth Shue at Janie Jones gala

Abigail Breslin arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

The second-last red carpet event at this year’s TIFF was for Janie Jones. The screening brought out child star Abigail Breslin, who preformed at the Horseshoe earlier in the week to promote the movie (and who has shot up a foot since 2007’s Little Miss Sunshine). Some festival-goers scoffed audibly at Breslin’s choice of attire (see left), but we’ll give her a pass since she’s only 14, an age at which everybody dressed like their favourite TV show character or singer. (Apparently Breslin’s a Happy Days fan.) Also on the red carpet were Elisabeth Shue and Alessandro Nivola, who was pretty much inseparable from his wife, Emily Mortimer. They even signed autographs together (aww!).

: Emily Mortimer and hubby Alessandro Nivola arrive at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Emily Mortimer arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Emily Mortimer arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Elisabeth Shue arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Elisabeth Shue arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Director David M. Rosenthal arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Alessandro Nivola arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Abigail Breslin arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Abigail Breslin arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

: Abigail Breslin arrives at Roy Thomson Hall for the gala screening of Janie Jones (Image: Karon Liu)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 4:17 pm

Behind the barricade: meet eight TIFF celebrity hunters

Fans get close to Eva Mendes and Sam Worthington at Sunday's premiere of Last Night. (Image: Karon Liu)

Behind the barricades of the TIFF red carpets are hundreds of fans, autograph collectors and amateur photographers waiting—sometimes for hours—to see celebrities. A star’s arrival sets off a cacophony of screams and flashes. We’ve always wondered who these people are, so we chatted up a few of them to find out what gets them so riled up at the film festival. Meet eight TIFF celebrity hunters in our slide show below.

: I was interested in doing some freelance work sometime in the future and wanted to have pictures of the famous for my portfolio. I don’t even know why I come down here. At the very basic level, I just want to see some people: Megan Fox, Blake Lively, Michael C. Hall and Rachel Blanchard, because I met her when she was young.

: Last year, I saw a bunch of good movies and had a really good time, so my dad brought me back this year. We’re from Atlanta. I’m looking forward to seeing Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes. My friends think it’s pretty cool when I come home with pictures and autographs of people they see in movies. I guess it’s kind of bragging rights.

: This is my first TIFF. I’m from Niagara Falls, and I left at five o’clock this morning to come here. I want to see James Franco, Robert De Niro, Elisabeth Shue and Eva Mendes. I collect pictures of celebrities, and then I scrapbook them. If I have an autograph with the picture, I put it beside it in the scrapbook.

: I’ve been doing TIFF since 2002 to see the celebrities and meet my friend who comes from Japan. This year, I was waiting for Helen Mirren’s premiere at the Elgin Theatre and went to the washroom at St. Mike’s Hospital. The automatic door smacked me in the head, and my eyebrow ring got stuck in my face. They wanted to keep me for two hours in emergency, but I told them, “Sorry, you have to do this as soon as possible because I’m not missing Helen Mirren and Nicole Kidman for stitches.” They got me out in half an hour. I didn’t get any autographs that night.

: Sarah: We came to see the celebrities, but we missed Ryan Reynolds.
Erin: We’ve been waiting for six hours. Keira Knightley was supposed to be here, but she’s not coming tonight; she’s filming Pirates of the Caribbean or something.
Sarah: Well, today has been a lot of fun. It’s nice because you just sit around with a bunch of people who are all here for the same reason.

: My sister has always encouraged me to volunteer at TIFF, but my friend really wanted to see a movie, and I really wanted to see it, too. We saw a bunch of celebrities, and I’ve been doing it for eight days. I’ve waited 15 hours to see celebs this week; maybe more. I come to see the ones whose movies I really enjoy, but there’s just something about seeing them in person; it’s different.

: Fans get close to Eva Mendes and Sam Worthington at Sunday’s premiere of Last Night.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 3:05 pm

Looking back at TIFF 2010: Nick Di Donato on how to throw a film festival party

Rick Campanelli hangs out at ET Canada's parking garage party

Nick Di Donato, president and CEO of Liberty Entertainment Group, is sitting in his newest Yorkville restaurant, Ciao, where just days ago Bill Gates broke bread with John Legend. Four storeys above is the parking lot that was transformed for four days into Entertainment Tonight Canada’s Festival Central, where a fab four-party weekend took place, all under Di Donato’s direction. The man behind the Rosewater Supper Club, Tattoo Rock Parlour, Spice Route and C Lounge—just to scratch the surface of his empire—and veteran of 15 TIFFs reflects on film festival parties past and present.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 1:42 pm

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 | 1:23 pm

The King’s Speech takes TIFF’s top honour (and becomes Oscar bait)

TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey prepared to hand out the People's Choice awards (Image: Karon Liu)

And that’s a wrap.

The official closing ceremony for the 35th Toronto International Film Festival took place at the Intercontinental on Front Street yesterday. The King’s Speech took the Cadillac People’s Choice Award, joining previous winners (read: Oscar bait) Precious, American Beauty and Slumdog Millionaire. The People’s Choice Award for best documentary went to Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie, and the People’s Choice Award for the best midnight madness film went to Stake Land, with Fubar II getting the runner-up prize.

Full list of winners here.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 1:20 pm

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 20, 2010 | 12:52 pm

TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Harvey Keitel and company walk out on producer’s speech at gala for A Beginner’s Guide to Endings

Director Jonathan Sobol and the cast of A Beginner's Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

No one likes to sit through a thank-you speech that lasts more than 30 seconds, so when the cast and director of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings had to stand on the stage while producer Nicholas Tabarrok went off on his second tangent behind the podium, Harvey Keitel threw his hands in the air and walked off the stage—followed by director Jonathan Sobol and the rest of the attending cast members, including Tricia Helfer, Paulo Costanzo and Jason Jones. The audience inside Roy Thomson Hall erupted in gasps and laughter as Tabarrok continued with his speech, which even drove TIFF co-director Piers Handling to walk out on him as a follow-up gag.

: Director Jonathan Sobol at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Harvey Keitel at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Harvey Keitel at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Harvey Keitel at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Harvey Keitel and Daphna Kastner at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: The cast of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Jason Jones at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Director Jonathan Sobol and the cast of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Producer Nicholas Tabarrok at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Paulo Costanzo at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Paulo Costanzo at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Tricia Helfer at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Tricia Helfer at the premiere of A Beginner’s Guide to Endings at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 12:51 pm

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Looking back at TIFF 2010: Eight films to watch

As with any film festival, TIFF 2010 had its share of disappointments (Miral, Hereafter) and outright disasters (Passion Play, What’s Wrong With Virginia), but the general consensus is that this was a pretty good year. Critics and audiences found more than a few gems, and an astounding 18 films that arrived here without North American distribution have already found buyers. By our reckoning, however, eight films stood out as the biggest winners of the festival.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 20, 2010 | 11:32 am

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TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: At the closing gala with Eva Mendes and Sam Worthington (who spent a whopping 35 minutes signing autographs)

Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

Last year, we gave the title of most fan-friendly TIFF celebrity to George Clooney. This year, it has to go to Avatar and Last Night star Sam Worthington, who spent more than half an hour going down the barricade at Roy Thomson Hall last night, posing for photos and signing autographs. He even had security guards take pictures of him with the fans. Co-star Eva Mendes, who arrived 15 minutes later, was almost as generous with her time, spending about 20 minutes with the cheering hordes before walking the red carpet.

: Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Sam Worthington at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Eva Mendes at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)

: Director Massy Tadjedin at the gala premiere of Last Night at Roy Thomson Hall (Image: Karon Liu)