Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall open the festival with The Judge
Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall open the festival with The Judge
By Chris Hampton | September 5, 2014
By Chris Hampton | 09/05/2014
(Image: Kayla Rocca)
Stargazers got their first taste of TIFF 2014’s celebrity megatonnage at the opening-gala presentation for The Judge Thursday night at Roy Thomson Hall. The David Dobkin dramedy is about a hotshot lawyer, played by Robert Downey Jr. , who returns to his tiny hometown for his mother’s funeral, only to get entangled in defending his father, a local judge, against hit-and-run murder charges. Downey and his wife and co-producer Susan Downey (their newly founded company, Team Downey, produced the film) elicited the biggest cheers, as RDJ walked the barricades signing nearly every likeness of Iron Man or Sherlock Holmes foisted at him. Cinema’s elder statesman, Robert Duvall , quietly walked the carpet, while Vera Farmiga and Dax Shepard, accompanied by wife Kristen Bell , beelined into the theatre. Vincent D’Onofrio , with his freshly shaved melon and smart navy window-pane suit, looked a bit like his Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence from Full Metal Jacket —if the character had ended up in middle management at a bank, rather than slumped against a latrine wall.
289217 Little-known fact: Robert Duvall has the best squint in the business. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_56102-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_56102.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_56102.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_56102/ _mg_56102 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289218 Vera Farmiga, from a distance. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5617-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5617.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5617.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5617/ _mg_5617 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289219 Vera Farmiga, up close. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5677-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5677.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5677.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5677/ _mg_5677 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289220 It takes confidence to rock a high, ruffled collar this century. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5722-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5722.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5722.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5722/ _mg_5722 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289221 Dax Shepard greets some fans. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5798-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5798.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5798.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5798/ _mg_5798 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289222 This appears to be the back of Vincent D'Onofrio's head. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5824-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5824.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5824.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5824/ _mg_5824 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289223 Kristen Bell gazes into the mouth she married. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5838-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5838.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5838.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5838/ _mg_5838 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289224 And here's director David Dobkin. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5964-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5964.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5964.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5964/ _mg_5964 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289225 Vincent D'Onofrio, with a pocket square. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5970-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5970.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_5970.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_5970/ _mg_5970 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289226 Susan Downey, Robert Jr.'s very-pregnant wife. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6021-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6021.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6021.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_6021/ _mg_6021 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289227 Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6056-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6056.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6056.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_6056/ _mg_6056 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289228 And look, it's the man himself. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6069-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6069.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6069.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_6069/ _mg_6069 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289229 Young Emma Tremblay is in the movie, too. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6151-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6151.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6151.jpg 1000 667 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_6151/ _mg_6151 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca
289230 And here's TIFF director and CEO Piers Handling, in full regalia for opening night. Image: Kayla Rocca TIFF Red Carpet: The Judge https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6193-200x200.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6193.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/MG_6193.jpg 800 1200 [] https://torontolife.com/culture/tiff-red-carpet-judge/slide/_mg_6193/ _mg_6193 0 0
Image: Kayla Rocca