A brush with (almost) fame at the Film Italia party
The Italian Film Commission scouts the best locations for their annual TIFF gala—two years ago, they were the first to take over the cool underground at the Lower Bay subway station, and in 2008, they partied on a tall ship at Harbourfront. And last night, they turned the MaRs building into a blue-lit banquet hall, awaft with the molto delicioso smell of duck-and-mushroom ravioli. And while no big stars attended (Tilda Swinton was on the list, but sadly, not on the floor), there were enough unidentifiable foreigners and Planet Hollywood types to keep us people watching.
Below is our favourite brush with almost fame:
STAR MAGAZINE JOURNALIST: You know Jason Priestley from 90210? TIFF.TO: Uh, yeah. STAR: His character was based on me. TIFF.TO, considering the poor guy’s shabby suit and desperate demeanour: Jason Priestley’s character was based on...you? STAR: Yeah. All the characters are based on people from my high school. I went to Beverly Hills High. It was crazy. They came in and did interviews with all of us. I had three interviews. I’ve met Jason Priestley a bunch of times. TIFF.TO, considering the poor guy’s shabby suit and desperate demeanour: So, you’re almost famous. Did Jason do you justice? STAR: I think so, yeah. But I was the captain of the football team and the editor of the school newspaper. TIFF.TO: So, when you were the editor of your school paper, did you know you were going to someday be a top tabloid journalist? STAR: Well, I’ve also written a book. TIFF.TO: Oh? About? STAR: It’s all about the history of celebrity gossip.
Look for The Art of Blagging in discount bins this November.
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