Scene & Herd

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Illustrations by Kagan McLeod

TIFF.TOSEPTEMBER 4 - 13, 2008

Posts for the category ‘You Are Here’

You Are Here

TIFF Round-Up: A short look at the festival that was

Raise high your cameras, Toronto (Photo by Sam Javranouh )

And…scene. TIFF is over for another year. We heard good things about The Wrestler and bad things about Burn After Reading (“burn after viewing” some say). A few critics grouched about the cult of celebrity that grips the city once a year, recalling those halcyon days when it was all about the films, while other critics got whacked with binders of some kind while trying to see one of said films. Someone crashed the InStyle party (not us—we wouldn't have been wearing head-to-toe black). No one crashed One X One (though an attempt was made). Brad Pitt came, saw and split. Yeah, it was quite the year. More

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Cadence Weapon garners plenty of one-hand clapping

Cadence Weapon
(Photo by Dakota Blue)

Cadence Weapon must have sensed that the damp audience at Dundas Square needed a pick-me-up, so when he took the stage at TIFF’s closing ceremony on Saturday, he did a brief imitation of bellicose rapper Fat Joe’s “I Make It Rain.” It’s even funnier when you consider the Edmonton rapper’s own, un-thuggish style: he wore an embroidered shirt made by his grandma, who he said was about 80 and to whom he dedicated a song about cellphones. He also poked fun of the audience’s umbrella-in-one-hand clapping and allowed three cute, soaking boys to be his dance crew onstage. Even though it began to pour, Cadence and DJ Skratch Bastid attracted a pretty large crowd by making people smile, dance and forget the festival was over. When he asked the (mostly young) audience if they’d seen a lot of movies, a rather unenthusiastic grumble gave him his answer. "What is a movie, anyway? A bunch of moving pictures?" he mused. Just like…life? "Think about it," he said.—Melita Kuburas More

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Conga line at Park Hyatt goes absolutely nowhere (or, come back, celebrities, we miss you already)

Come back, Brad
(Photo by Sam Javanrouh)

“Where are we going?” said the messy conga line on the Park Hyatt rooftop last night. The response? “Where aren’t we going!” Apparently, someone in the financial district got wind that there was a festival happening in Toronto—who knew?—and brought all their broker buddies to the top of the Hyatt to hang with the celebrities. The minute the celebs left, the classiest joint in town reverted to a deteriorating Copacabana of bottom feeders who thought they had dodged security and made it to the VIP. After the jump, our sad, hilarious collisions with two of them.More

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When stars are asked to add a new line to John Lennon’s “Imagine”

Corner Gas's Tara Spencer-Nairn

Stunt questions on the red carpet are hard to pull off, which is why we thought it was totally cute when interviewer Colanthony Humphrey asked stars what lyrics they would add to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” “Um, imagine all the…Starbucks,” joked Corner Gas’s Tara Spencer-Nairn. “Imagine all the shoes…I’m a shallow, shallow person.” Humphrey and his cameraman were from the John Lennon Bus, a mobile recording studio that was parked outside the CTV building until Wednesday, training young people, some from the Jane and Finch area, to become talented, bona-fide, all-access members of the entertainment industry. Their mentor, Sol Guy from MTV Canada’s 4Real, gave us a tour of the bus—a total dream hangout, with its fancy, state-of-the-art equipment and youths sprawled about playing guitar, writing songs, making music videos, slacking off, etc. More

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At the Wavelengths party at The Drake, everyone was on the same wavelength: must get laid

It was late into the night Wednesday when we hit the Wavelengths party at the Drake Hotel, where an eclectic crowd of creative types moved slyly around the various rooms. After some red wine and chatter among film buffs, it became clear that everyone was pretty much there to get laid. Those of you who have had a chance to ride the festival carousel will know the formula: dramatic films + free booze + a lot of people from out of town staying in hotel rooms = loose morals. More

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Daria takes our mind off TIFF for a flash

Daria takes a bow
(Photo by Simon Buchan)

Since there haven’t been nearly enough celeb photo opportunities this week at TIFF, CTV held its annual Walk of Fame gala, diverting traffic for blocks around King and University and raising many a middle finger. More

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The InterContinental pours an awfully strong Benicio del Toro

We’d drink him any day

If you’re a mere mortal camped outside the revolving doors at the InterContinental, you may be wondering what it’s like inside. Well, we’re not gonna lie (even if the most famous person we saw there this afternoon was Rick Campanelli): it’s pretty great. The staff is polite, the floors are shiny and it smells like lavender. More

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More venues approved for extended liquor licences

On Wednesday, we reported on nine venues that have been given permission to serve booze until 4 a.m. during the film festival. Over the last two days, many more have been granted the special licence. Here’s the full updated list, just in time for the weekend. More

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A bee bit my bottom line: TIFF buzz crosses the line into the insect kingdom

Get your buzz on

In an example of a festival pun gone too far, 10,000 “buzz”-crazy bees had the honey harvested from their hives on the rooftop of the Fairmont Royal York yesterday morning. Three queens and their colony have been staying at the hotel in the “V.I.Bee Suite,” the “Honey Moon Suite” and the “Royal Sweet” since early in the summer, producing the fresh ingredient for a new $22 drink called Festival Buzz. More

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The “happy festival” cheering squad is getting a little out of hand

While at Starbucks this morning—nowhere close to the epicentre of TIFF—we noticed upbeat ladies doing go-get-’em arm gestures while chirping “happy festival!” to everyone in their inner circle. This is just a taste of what’s to come, Toronto. At this very minute, there are conversations underway all over city that sound just like this:
   “Happy festival! See you at the end of September!”
   “Cripes—if I make it!”
   “Oh, just have some coffee and get your drink on tonight, girl!”
   “Will do! Happy festival!”
   “Happy festival!”
More

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Day one dawns in Yorkville

Empty chairs at Sassafraz. Don't get used to it
(Photo by Katy P.)

Empty tables at Sassafraz—this won’t last long. Admittedly, we were jogging through Yorkville at dawn this morning when we took this picture. Why dawn? There is no better time to count the cube vans (two at the Four Seasons unloading bars and tables for an unknown shindig) and security guys (two outside the eTalk tent at Avenue and Cumberland), and scope out the perfect perch for Park Hyatt snooping (if we told you, we’d have to kill you).—Katy P More

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The modern-day rickshaw will spirit celebrities away from feral fans

The ultra-stylish EcoCab

Perhaps it’s because David Suzuki has been wagging his finger at us all year, or maybe it’s because the world as we know it is doomed, but in TIFF’s 33rd year, we are spotting flashes of green between the red carpets. More

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Where to get a drink after 2 a.m.

Get your late-night drink on at the Drake
(Photo by Oliver Oike)

Many of the city’s swankiest bars and clubs are jockeying for extended liquor licences, which will allow them to serve until 4 a.m. during festival week. An extended licence is a golden ticket to a mention in the next day’s gossip columns, given that it herds A-listers and their entourages through the doors. More

Neighbourhood Guide

Map of Toronto Neighbourhoods

The film fest party scene was once confined Yorkville, but now sprawls like the city itself. With more stars every year and new it spots opening every month, TIFF has never been so fun. Here, we¹ve mapped out the best places to eat, drink and play. View the map

Features

Paul GrossPassion Project

Paul Gross’s Passchendaele is opening TIFF. Are people finally ready to take the Mountie seriously?

Behind the Screens: The Big ChillBehind the Screens

TIFF’s opening night selections have a history of ruffling film world feathers