TIFF PHOTO GALLERY: Bono and The Edge get all reflective at the From the Sky Down press conference

By Lia Grainger | September 10, 2011

By Lia Grainger | 09/10/2011

Director Davis Guggenheim, trying to look every bit as much a rock star as Bono and The Edge (Image: Lia Grainger)

With the premiere of From the Sky Down behind them, Bono and The Edge seemed pretty relaxed at yesterday’s round-table discussion of the film at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Bono kicked things off by crooning, “Love me tender, love me true,” before informing the press, “We’re waiting for the applause.” Director Davis Guggenheim was also on hand, and the discussion quickly turned to the adversarial nature of documentary filmmaking, which, as Bono put it, is apparently like “getting mugged, and what annoyed me was that I didn’t know I was getting mugged!” Next, they reflected on one another’s work habits and idiosyncrasies, with The Edge going for the one-liners: “I try to be a perfectionist, but I’m not quite there yet.” (This one got a big laugh.)

The discussion had a brief moment of pathos when Bono, now 51, discussed the challenges of remaining relevant in a rapidly changing industry. “Twenty years ago, we were crap and great. There wasn’t much very good. I think I was reminded how crap we were watching the film. I found it really awful, and yet it was a self-imposed crapness; we were trying to make music that we didn’t understand, and the band seems to do its best work in that environment. It’s when it gets comfortable it’s not as interesting. So there may be some crap coming up.” We’ll be honest—we don’t entirely understand what he’s talking about. But whatever it is, it’s some crap we’re actually looking forward to.

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