Star sightings, midnight screenings, Brad Pitt dining in Little Portugal
– the first weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival is sheer
insanity. Here’s how I spent it:
Friday:
A wrong turn took us
to a swank hotel, and while we regrouped in the lobby, we spotted a very
handsome FNL alum Taylor Kitsch, in town for The Grand Seduction
screening (more on this later) and Alice Cooper, who was in town for his
new documentary.
Dinner at Momofuku
(Jake Gyllenhaal and Hugh Jackman stopped in on Thursday). A quick
pop-in at the Ritz,
where throngs of fans and paparazzi waited outside for a celebrity
sighting. As we left, a staffer implored us to stay with the line,
"George Clooney is here." First rule of TIFF: don’t believe it until you
see it. Turns out George never made it Toronto for the screening of Gravity
(but Sandra Bullock did just fine on her own).
Drinks at the Shangri-la
lounge, where Vancouver bands were keeping the crowd entertained.
Terrence Howard, looking very dapper and commanding in a suit, smoothly
worked the room and made the ladies swoon.
Everyone thought they
were hot on Brad Pitt’s trail, but the cast dinner for 12 Years a
Slave happened at the not-yet-open Hudson Kitchen on Dundas
(Toronto’s party king Shinan Govani had all the details here),
with the after-party at the Thompson
Hotel.
Saturday morning:
Brunch at The
Drake, where Donald Sutherland was seen ordering the man-size
Lumberjack breakfast (I went for the eggs benny and a caesar).
Afternoon:
A
stop by the Made in Canada lounge at the CBC studio. Such a cool space
with George
Stroumboulpoulos-curated picks (a custom Montreal Canadians jersey,
vegan treats, Smells Like Canada candles, Canada Goose coats, Daneson
flavoured toothpicks (a favourite of Ryan Gosling) and loads more.
George was mid-show, so we popped in to watch his interview with Adam
Driver of Girls, who is incredibly tall (and good looking) in
person.
Night:
Dinner at Union
on Ossington (the polenta was incredible), then the after-party for the Can
A Song Save Your Life screening. Harvey Weinstein held court with
Adam Levine, and Keira Knightly sipped Grey Goose cocktails at Patria.
Best dressed? The staff, who had on the coolest Hudson Bay sweatshirts.
Sadly, Mark Ruffalo didn’t make it into town for the screening. A quick
swing by The Drake and The Shangri-la, then bed.
Sunday:
The less glam side of TIFF: room service and working all day.
But my TIFF survival kit (Popchips and Vitamin Water, of course) made
things a little easier.
Early evening screening of The Grand
Seduction, the new Don McKellar pic starring Taylor Kitsch (two
times in a weekend? I’ll take it). McKellar gave the funniest intro ever
(and apparently worked the red carpet with his rumoured girlfriend, Kim
Cattral). Spotted Jason Bateman dashing down University (presumably to
get away from the iPhone cameras) and after the film, a very loud crowd
alerted me to Liam Hemsworth, who was in town to support brother Chris’s
movie Rush. He dashed past us at the the Roy Thompson Theatre.
A
late pizza at Libretto,
then back to my room to pack (read: trying to fit my swag into my
carry-on).
Most of the big names peace out on Monday, but there’s
still a few film debuts set to happen at the end of the festival. Till
then try star spotting at Brassaii
(the official interview spot of The Hollywood Reporter), Holt
Renfrew’s Variety studio, The
Room at the Bay on Queen and, if you have a key, the hotel pools.
Another favourite is the luxury spas: red carpet-ing is clearly hard
work.
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