Organized fun: assigned seats for paparazzi at TIFF
Brad Pitt and George Clooney may not be coming to TIFF this year, but the film festival is anticipating that such celebs as Megan Fox, Clint Eastwood and Jon Hamm will draw large numbers of paparazzi, which is why the paparazzi rules are changing. In the past, red-carpet-side spots were doled out via a lottery system, with photographers jockeying for good placement. According to the Hollywood Reporter, media will now have to e-mail festival organizers each morning with a list of events they’d like to cover and will receive a reply e-mail saying whether they’ve been approved for an assigned place on the red carpet.
Placement is not guaranteed and will be determined by each film’s “audience, reach and geography.” We assume that means larger publications and television will get first dibs, so bloggers, get a florist on speed dial and start buttering up those TIFF PRs.
• Toronto Film Fest enacts rules for paparazzi [The Hollywood Reporter]
Actually, the lottery system was only introduced last year and only applied to TV crews. Credentialed photographers were on a first-come, first-served basis as always.
Also, the new system will only assign spots to TV crews. While photographers will still have to email, their spots are not being assigned and they will still need to get there early to jockey for a good spot.