Today at TIFF: Roger Ebert Twitter showdown, Hello! party, Vanity Fair party, OneXOne fundraiser

3 thoughts on “Today at TIFF: Roger Ebert Twitter showdown, Hello! party, Vanity Fair party, OneXOne fundraiser”

1. Today I went to the Gala showing of Little White Lies. It is to be the first non-children’s movie my husband and I have seen in several years. Our afternoon out did not start well and ended up as a huge disappointment due to the lack of crisis planning by Tiff. Instead of seeing Little White Lies, we were told little white lies (LWL).
   We had to wait more than 30 minutes past the show time outside, because we were told that the lobby of the Roy Thomson couldn’t accommodate the crowd due to fire regulations. I have been to sold-out shows at the Thomson, and there doesn’t seem to be any problem with that in the regular season. (LWL #1) Cameron Bailey greeted by the crowd, apologizing for the delay, and introduced the director. Apparently, Mr. Bailey thought that it was best to leave the tough stuff to the director, because he had to tell the crowd that unfortunately, they would be unable to show the movie with subtitles at the Thomson theatre, but that if we walked to the Scotia Theatre, there would be a showing at 3 and 5 and they would accommodate everyone. (LWL #2) This meant that we would be later getting back home than we had expected, but after checking with the babysitter, and finding out that there was no way to get a refund, we decided to go to Scotia Theatre. We arrived there at about 2:30 and were told that we would be in the theatre by 3. (LWL #3) I spoke to someone who worked there and they said that this was a complete surprise to them and they were still working out what theatre they would put us in. Of course, the volunteers were assuring us that we would see the movie shortly. (LWL #4) After waiting outside for an hour, my husband and I gave up. It would be impossible for us to see the movie and get home in time.
   It was like being at an airport when a flight is delayed – the ground staff doesn’t know what’s going on, and the higher-ups create LWL’s for them to tell the customers. I really expected better. In the future, I will probably not attend TIFF, even though we have supported both TIFF and Sprockets. My husband and I are very disappointed.

2. My brother and I had Priority tickets for Little White Lies at Roy Thomson Hall yesterday @ 1:30pm. While we waited in the American Express Lounge we watched the people outside the window waiting to get in. We were told the movie was delayed, due to the difficulties with getting the subtitles working. We had the option to watch the movie without subtitles at Roy Thomson Hall or go to Scotia Bank Theatre for the subtitles. We went to the Scotia Bank Theatre and waited in a long line up until close to 3:30 before being quickly crammed through the doors and up the stairs to the theatre were people quickly ran to find a seat. Many did not get a seat. After all the adventure, the movie was AWESOME! I would highly recommend the movie! It was worth the wait! I can’t wait until it’s available on DVD!

3. 5 Hours of waiting and I never got to see the movie! After waiting 2 hours outside Roy Thomson Hall for the original showing at 1:30, and not getting seated until about 2:15, I decided to attend the re-scheduled 5:45 showing at Scotiabank theatre. After another 2 hours waiting in line there, we were told at about 6:00 that the movie would not be playing and we could go to the TIFF box office for exchanges or refunds. The way TIFF handled that was a mess too! Those of us who spent a lot of money on packages and bought them in advance were served last simply because it was easier to deal with those who bought tickets for that show only. Pay first, pay more, and get served last – where is the customer service logic in that? We then heard some of the others walking away from the counter saying that they could not get exchanges like they were told and were forced to take a refund. By then all I wanted was a refund. After waiting another 1 hour, when I got to the counter I told the manager I would take a refund for Little White Lies but would keep the other tickets. No can do, you need to refund the whole package, but he didn’t tell me that until after he cancelled all my tickets. When I tried to have a rational discussion with him, all I got was attitude, rudeness, and disrespect – he was obviously tired and frustrated with the entire situation too, but you don’t take it out on customers – rule #1 in customer service. I’ve wanted to participate in TIFF for years, and finally this year got a chance to try it – NOT! I won’t attempt TIFF again – I learned my lesson. Ironic that the movie is called Little White Lies – which is what TIFF told all of us. I’d be interested to hear what the director thinks of TIFF after his world premiere was hi-jacked by a technical difficulty that should not have happened if TIFF planned and prepared appropriately – it’s called a rehearsal and I thought it was standard in the movie business.

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