Jon Hamm, Paul Haggis, Morgan Spurlock and more came out to George Strombo’s Hazelton Hotel fete
Strombo and Hamm are the best of friends (Image: J.J. Thompson)
The CBC George Stroumboulopoulos Takeover at the Hazelton Hotel is always a mixed bag: big-name celebs mingle with more commonplace TIFF partygoers, like the stars of CBC programming (duh), television hosts and countless gawkers. Last night was more of the same, with Jon Hamm (yes, he’s just as dreamy in real life), Gerard Butler (also hot), directors Paul Haggis and Jason Reitman, Kiefer Sutherland, Rob Lowe, Sloan’s Chris Murphy, director Morgan Spurlock, Traci Melchor, Sarah Slean, Being Erica stars Erin Karpluk and Adam Fergus and Little Mosque on the Prairie’ s Zaib Shaikh all stopping in to enjoy the free booze and pre–after party snacks.
The scene was absolute chaos, as looky-loos mobbed the red carpet hoping to get a glimpse of someone—anyone—which led some guests to force their way through the crowd. One guest was pushed among the many gawkers inside, leading him to trip and fall on his face onto a freshly smashed wine glass (yes, blood was everywhere, and no, neither nearby Hamm nor Slean came to his aid). Spurlock hung out on the patio, taking drags from a friend’s second or third bummed cigarette (hey, the dude directed and starred in Super Size Me, so he’s obviously not overly health-conscious), while Hamm held court inside. As Hamm passed us on the patio, the sea of dudes who looked like Entourage extras gave him a round of high-fives. Haggis was cordial, even asking us how we were doing and posing for many rounds of camera-phone pictures. We didn’t pay too much attention to the CanCon types, because we can see them any old time, but as you might expect, Gabrielle Miller from Corner Gas was there, and really, who hasn’t had a Chris Murphy sighting on Queen Street at some point?
89099 George Stroumboulopoulos and Jon Hamm are really excited to see each other. (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/John-Hamm-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/John-Hamm.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/John-Hamm.jpg 656 500 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/john-hamm/ john-hamm 0 0
89154 Paul Haggis (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0012_44E55F5E0FB2029D60CE9E8180DACCD6-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0012_44E55F5E0FB2029D60CE9E8180DACCD6.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0012_44E55F5E0FB2029D60CE9E8180DACCD6.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0012_44e55f5e0fb2029d60ce9e8180daccd6/ 124391474_pc_0012_44e55f5e0fb2029d60ce9e8180daccd6 0 0
89155 Erin Karpluk (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0020_E3906B92C940C4B158155D8A4CDFCC7E-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0020_E3906B92C940C4B158155D8A4CDFCC7E.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0020_E3906B92C940C4B158155D8A4CDFCC7E.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0020_e3906b92c940c4b158155d8a4cdfcc7e/ 124391474_pc_0020_e3906b92c940c4b158155d8a4cdfcc7e 0 0
89156 Jon Hamm (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0122_0075FFDE16A8EAC059FBE6AD06BCE34D-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0122_0075FFDE16A8EAC059FBE6AD06BCE34D.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0122_0075FFDE16A8EAC059FBE6AD06BCE34D.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0122_0075ffde16a8eac059fbe6ad06bce34d/ 124391474_pc_0122_0075ffde16a8eac059fbe6ad06bce34d 0 0
89157 Jason Reitman (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0217_2A1BCD5DEB2936747FE2625C33A3E1E9-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0217_2A1BCD5DEB2936747FE2625C33A3E1E9.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0217_2A1BCD5DEB2936747FE2625C33A3E1E9.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0217_2a1bcd5deb2936747fe2625c33a3e1e9/ 124391474_pc_0217_2a1bcd5deb2936747fe2625c33a3e1e9 0 0
89161 Gerard Butler and George Stroumboulopolos (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0270_7131107B826785A40DC5CE97C0277E3A-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0270_7131107B826785A40DC5CE97C0277E3A.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0270_7131107B826785A40DC5CE97C0277E3A.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0270_7131107b826785a40dc5ce97c0277e3a/ 124391474_pc_0270_7131107b826785a40dc5ce97c0277e3a 0 0
89162 Woody Harrelson (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0317_9D2584483647EC35FAE8E80C4387578F-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0317_9D2584483647EC35FAE8E80C4387578F.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0317_9D2584483647EC35FAE8E80C4387578F.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0317_9d2584483647ec35fae8e80c4387578f/ 124391474_pc_0317_9d2584483647ec35fae8e80c4387578f 0 0
89163 Johnny Lydon (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0318_3D0C420E49F12FC5DFD0B0390D595345-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0318_3D0C420E49F12FC5DFD0B0390D595345.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0318_3D0C420E49F12FC5DFD0B0390D595345.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0318_3d0c420e49f12fc5dfd0b0390d595345/ 124391474_pc_0318_3d0c420e49f12fc5dfd0b0390d595345 0 0
89164 Kiefer Sutherland (Image: Getty Images) Strombo’s Hazelton Takeover party https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0322_09AAAB5BF2E9B074D8E8AA1454500632-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0322_09AAAB5BF2E9B074D8E8AA1454500632.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/124391474_PC_0322_09AAAB5BF2E9B074D8E8AA1454500632.jpg 624 936 {"copyright":"2011 Phillip Chin"} https://torontolife.com/culture/george-strombo-party-at-one-tiff-11/slide/124391474_pc_0322_09aaab5bf2e9b074d8e8aa1454500632/ 124391474_pc_0322_09aaab5bf2e9b074d8e8aa1454500632 0 0
Why do Canadian taxpayers foot the bill (via CBC) for this lavish party for rich people in the entertainment industry.
George S. should be fired for misuse of corporation funds.
It’s comforting to know that the State broadcaster (CBC) and one of their bureaucratic on air drones, Georgie Strombolomisses have enough taxpayer money to burn on throwing themselves a party, while simultaneously giving us all the finger. Good work if you can force others to pay for it. Parasites, narcissism and colossal dipshittery.
When will Canadians wake up to the fact that our money is being spent, without either consideration or accountability, by such a biased and self-serving group of people who live by the tenet of entitlement. The CBC has outlived its purpose as a public news and entertainement agency; it’s time for the government to get out of the business.
Im so happy people are speaking out against this collosal waste of money for this talentless teleprompter reader who does not deserve to party with people who have actual talent.
are we to believe that the CBC Strombo show brings in enough revenue to pay for this lavish event?
How is that possible?
Betcha there won’t be a CBC TIFF party next year.
Whatever benefit the CBC and Strombo thinks is gained by schmoozing during TIFF, they’ve lost more credibility by throwing money away in front of the public. and no amount of money can buy that back.
Strombo can’t even work up the courage to defend the event.