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Make no mistake: While the TIFF red carpet is all air kisses and man-hugs, the festival is also a competition—for distribution deals, media attention and precious, precious Oscar buzz. Below, the winners and the losers in the hunger games that were TIFF 2012:
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TIFF Roundup: the winners and losers from this year’s fest
TIFF PARTY: Ray Liotta and Stephen Dorff eventually turn up for The Iceman after-party
Gerard Butler (Image: Lu Chau/Photagonist)
Although a number of The Iceman’s A-list stars, including Winona Ryder, David Schwimmer and James Franco, were no-shows at the after-party at the Virgin Mobile Arts and Cinema Centre at Charles Khabouth’s Storys, fans still worked themselves into a tizzy over the members of the star-studded cast that did show—including Stephen Dorff, Chris Evans and Ray Liotta (plus Gerard Butler, who isn’t in the film but attended to wish them his best).
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TIFF WEEKEND ROUNDUP: The five hottest parties from the festival’s first few nights
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Movie debuts and closed-door distribution deals may be the driving forces behind the Toronto International Film Festival, but it’s the late-night soirées and off-hours socializing that we really wait to see every September. From cute celebrity couples cooing in the corner to a private rendezvous between Jennifer Lawrence and Kristen Stewart to the hot mess that was the Spring Breakers post-premiere party, TIFF is just as much about nonstop star-studded gloss as it is about the, you know, films. With that in mind, we offer a quick roundup of some of the best bashes from the film fest’s opening weekend.
TIFF PARTY: Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens and a pair of hard-partying twins at the Spring Breakers shindig
Spring Breakers may not really be about spring break, but the after-party sure was. Stars Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine feted the film’s Canadian premiere on Friday night with a spring break–themed bash at Brassaii on King West (complete with a hot tub full of bikini babes and beach balls on the patio). After tucking into a meal of steak and corn, Gomez caught up with David Blaine and entertained a crowd of male admirers (Justin Bieber, watch your back). Later, she joined Hudgens, who was by the candy bar clinging to her boyfriend, Austin Butler, and sucking a cherry Blow Pop. Meanwhile, Eli Roth hung out with the film’s director, Harmony Korine, Michael Pitt mingled on the patio sporting a candy necklace and Natasha Lyonne tottered around looking relaxed and much less messy than we’ve seen her.
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TIFF PRESS CONFERENCE: James Franco holds court with Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens at the Spring Breakers presser
Bless James Franco! Without him, filmmakers might actually have to talk about their own films. Oddball American director Harmony Korine attended today’s press conference for his latest flick, Spring Breakers, which stunt-casts Disney-friendly stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, daytime soap star Ashley Benson and the director’s young wife, Rachel Korine, alongside Franco. And though Korine’s film may have been the topic of discussion, it was undeniably Franco who ran the show.
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TIFF 2012 Insider’s Guide: top 10 places to eat
Amid the cocktail swilling and celebrity gawking, eating can be an afterthought during TIFF. Good news: there are plenty of excellent restaurants that let you do all three. Here, the glitziest places to dine, drink, and catch starlets cheating on their diets.
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TIFF 2012 Insider’s Guide: top 10 spots for boozing and schmoozing with stars
TIFF can be the most exhausting event of the year—10 days of near constant drinking, schmoozing and stargazing, all, ostensibly, in the name of movies. Choosing the best parties requires insider intelligence and expert planning. Here, a highly discerning look at the festival’s hottest hot spots.
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The 50 buzziest films of TIFF 2012: we slice through the hype so you don’t have to
Single tickets for the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival go on sale this Sunday, September 2. And with a record 372 films being screened (146 of them world premieres), it can be daunting trying to figure out which ones are actually worth the $20 (or $40, for galas and special presentations) and hours in line. The solution: our guide to the 50 most talked-about movies at the festival this year, in which we scrutinize the advance hype (and the buzz from Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and Venice) to separate the must-sees from the flicks that only a mother could love.
See all our picks and rejects »
CONFIRMED: James Franco returns for another TIFF (this time, to promote a film)
Also confirmed: this is not Franco’s best look (Image: TIFF)
This year, James Franco appears on TIFF screens as a gangster who rescues (or ruins?) the spring break of four female students, including Disney favourites Selena Gomez (who’s also coming to Toronto) and Vanessa Hudgens, in Spring Breakers. Questionable as this cinematic dalliance may be, Franco is, of course, a gentleman in real life: he was spotted last year charmingly buying a self-portrait from a giddy fangirl after coming to town to unveil an art installation with Gus Van Sant at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Atrium.
Year in Review: TIFF 2011, where we saw celebrities everywhere (and even shared a bathroom with one)
TIFF this year was a a non-stop gauntlet of activity, from press conferences to movie screenings (actually), swag lounges and some of the splashiest parties this city has ever seen. We saw Jon Hamm, Madonna, Keira Knightley, the Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Johnny Rotten, Rachel Weisz and hundreds more (seriously, there wasn’t a corner of Yorkville or King West that didn’t have a star sighting—we even shared a bathroom break with Gerard Butler; no big deal). Here, a top 10 list of our favourite TIFF moments
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James Franco grabs a man’s tush and Johnny Rotten tells a fan “we’re fucking done here” at Bad Day Magazine’s TIFF party
This is not the Vanity Fair party. (Image: Geoffrey Knott)
Bad Day magazine took over the Hoxton on Sunday night to celebrate Gus Van Sant and James Franco’s Memories of Idaho. The party was perhaps one of the least publicized of TIFF, and the strict invite-only policy kept the crowd restricted to Toronto’s hipsters. James Franco was spotted wearing a blue and black–striped Gucci mohair sweater (he is the face of the brand’s fragrance) that enticed a number of women so much they tried to pet it. Franco was also seen grabbing a skinny boy’s behind, which left the women wondering how they could line up for a grope. Franco was overheard speaking with Bruce La Bruce—who was the night’s DJ—about his upcoming interview in the publication. Check out images and find out what we spotted Johnny Rotten dancing to after the jump.
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SPOTTED: James Franco, fan art collector
James Franco collage by Macy Armstrong (Image: Macy Armstrong)
James Franco was in town yesterday to promote Memories of Idaho, an art installation presented in collaboration with Gus Van Sant at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. The installation is a meditation on Van Sant’s My Private Idaho, featuring a reassemblage of excised scenes and alternate takes from the 1991 film. But while Franco was playing artist at TIFF, it was a 13-year-old fan, Macy Armstrong, who stole the show, with three of her own artistic pieces created in tribute to Franco. Franco spotted the pieces in the crowd at the Memories of Idaho exhibition and proceeded to purchase them from Armstrong. No, we aren’t kidding: Franco asked to purchase a portrait of himself made out of yarn, a collage made from newspaper clippings and a canvas inspired by the poster for 127 Hours created by Armstrong. Franco insisted, “I saw that one on the Internet, someone sent it to me. I wanna buy those.” Armstrong, a mega Franco fan, happily obliged, immediately taking to her Tumblr account to exclaim, “He looked at me, he spoke to me, and I’m pretty sure we mentally got married!”
• James Franco tells teen he wants to buy her fan art [The Canadian Press]
Find this story on our Star Spotting Map, where we plot the locations of celebrities spotted around Toronto. Send us your tips: tips@torontolife.com
SmartWater and Bungalow 8 threw a party that was tough to get into at the Burroughes building
Juno Temple and Emile Hirsch (Image: Jerod Harris)
Last night’s Creative Artists Agency jam at the Burroughes building, sponsored by Smart Water and hosted by Bungalow 8, seemed to be where every celeb ended up after their various screenings and parties. It’s no wonder, because the CAA reps some of the world’s biggest stars. Michael Fassbender (whose exposed penis in Shame seems to be the talk of the town) finally showed up in Toronto after rumours he wouldn’t be coming, and James Franco, Jessica Chastain, Gerard Butler, Emile Hirsch, Glenn Close, Ethan Hawke, Colin Farrell, Dave Matthews and Emily Blunt were all in attendance in between any number of stops—Franco was feted by Bad Day magazine at the Hoxton with Gus Van Sant earlier Sunday night, and Blunt was spotted with Ewan McGregor at the Your Sister’s Sister dinner. Of course, we couldn’t see any of them, since they, like the cool kids in high school, spent the evening smoking on the rooftop, if they themselves could even get upstairs. Check out the scene after the jump.
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This year’s Vanity Fair party was a splashy affair, obviously
Charmed, I’m sure (Image: Jeff Vespa/WireImage/Getty Images Entertainment)
There are certain markers that make a TIFF party successful: people need to be happy (drunk), celebrities (i.e. not the Degrassi kids) need to be there for at least 10 minutes, and people need to be happy (drunk). Vanity Fair and Belvedere Red delivered last night, hosting its annual party that brought out guests—and apparently best friends—Bono and George Clooney, who were inseparable all night (the two left Scarpetta moments after arriving, because they had to get to what is now being referred to, by us, as the best after party of TIFF 2011—so far). It girl in the making Elizabeth Olsen was spotted getting up close and intimate with T-shirt-under-blazer-clad Emile Hirsch in front of a giant bottle of Belvedere vodka that glowed red, as if Scarpetta had somehow transformed into C Lounge. Olsen wasn’t drinking, but leaned in to hear Hirsch’s whispers over a Rihanna soundtrack, and moments after, Olsen got up from her seat and left Scarpetta—okay, not immediately, she vanished after a tête-à-tête with Clooney. Find out who else was there and see all of the hot celebrities in our Vanity Fair party gallery after the jump.
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James Franco and Gus Van Sant set to contribute an installation at this year’s TIFF
James Franco at TIFF? (Image: David Shankbone)
James Franco has collaborated with Gus Van Sant on a film project that can be viewed as an installation at TIFF 2011 in the TIFF Bell Lightbox Atrium. Dubbed Memories of Idaho, it serves as a meditation in multiple parts on My Own Private Idaho, focusing on Van Sant’s experiences with River Phoenix. The duo has created two new films (with elements from original work), which are the main pull factors of this artistic installation—the first part, My Own Private River, is a chronological reassemblage of excised scenes and alternate takes from the original shoot of My Own Private Idaho, while the second part, Idaho, comes from one of the three scripts Van Sant used to create the original film. Both films were shot using Super 8 film to create a “ghost” of Van Sant’s original conception and will be projected in a dark space, which just sounds cool, even for those unfamiliar with Phoenix’s work or life outside of the Viper Room.
