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Loading ... Indie Wire | TIME - The crowd rushing in to claim their seats at the Ryerson Theatre are younger, quicker, louder than the typical Toronto International Film Festival audience. More tattoos, too. They’re closer to rock-concert fans than to a biker gang, but they’re ready to rumble. And cheer and stomp their feet for movie masters few other festival goers know about. Related Articles |
Archive for 2007
De Palma film had to be redacted itself – Globe and Mail
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Montreal GazetteGlobe and Mail, Canada - In an irony not lost on director Brian De Palma, Redacted, his new film about the Iraq war, had to be redacted itself on the advice of lawyers and his Canadian producers, who said some of the haunting images at the end of the movie could have led to his being sued.
De Palma is winning awards and accolades for his hard-hitting film – inspired by the true story of American soldiers who raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and then murdered her entire family to cover their tracks. The film, screening at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, ends with a montage of photos of actual corpses of Iraqi civilians, killed as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of the country.
De Palma originally wanted to show the faces of the dead, but lawyers advised the filmmakers that they had to be blacked out.
“The whole point is to show the faces,” De Palma said in an interview. “The government and the media have dehumanized the Iraqi population. What I hoped to show with this film is the horror of the war and what it’s done to the people of that country. The irony is really incredible. It really annoys me that the lawyers can’t see this.”… [Full Story]
Related Articles
• De Palma takes a Vietnam lesson and applies it to a new war - PopMatters
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Fans in focus at Toronto film festival – Reuters UK
Thursday, September 13th, 2007
Reuters UK, UK - Critics and acquisitions executives might swarm to the Toronto International Film Festival, now heading into its final days, but this is one fest that always has been about the fans.
And Toronto moviegoers don’t shy away from lavishing praise and applause on their favourite films and stars, who, for the most part, are appreciatively receptive.
Simon Pegg fans were well-served at the Monday night screening of Picturehouse’s “Run, Fat Boy, Run“, David Schwimmer’s feature directorial debut about a slacker (Pegg) who decides to run a marathon to win back his jilted fiancee (Thandie Newton).
At the postscreening Q&A with Schwimmer, Pegg, Newton and the producers, an audience member asked whether Pegg was ever in a marathon. “Pffft, don’t be ridiculous,” Pegg sneered comically. Then he turned serious. “I was talking to a journalist earlier about the New York marathon, and I think I should try it.”… [Full Story]
TORONTO ‘07 | Gael x 3; Gillespie x 2 – indieWIRE
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
indieWIRE - ”I wanted to do it eventually and this came up,” Gael Garcia Bernal told indieWIRE about his first foray into directing, “Deficit,” which is having its North American debut here in Toronto. “You need to find a unified reason why the film needs to exist and find the frontier of what you want to tell.” Bernal, also in Toronto as the star of Hector Babenco’s “The Past” and as executive producer of Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman’s “Cochochi,” sat down alongside “Deficit” screenwriter Kyzza Terrazas to discuss their experience. “Gael had this anecdote about this rich kid that had a party at his country house with some of his friends,” said Terrazas. “His girlfriend was supposed to come, but he meets another girl that he likes. He starts giving his girlfriend wrong directions as to how to get to the house. That was the skeleton that Gael had in mind, and he invited me to collaborate in the screenplay. What I tried to do was bring that world life.”… [Full Story]
Many departing Toronto film festival – Variety
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Variety - The front-loaded Toronto Film Festival slowed to a crawl Wednesday, as duties Stateside, the Rosh Hashanah holiday and the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan had a sizable swath of attendees heading for the airport.
One anticipated deal, for Vadim Perelman’s “In Bloom,” finally closed. North American rights to the drama went to Magnolia, sister company of the pic’s producer, 2929 Prods., marking the first time the two have teamed. Because the pact involved two separate business units operated by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban, digging out details wasn’t easy.
But it was clear that domestic reps CAA and Cinetic faced some skepticism in the market about the pic, which preemed Saturday. “In Bloom,” starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood, centers around the lingering effects of a school shooting in a Connecticut suburb… [Full Story]
Self-deprecating Allen says he's lazy and not a 'dedicated filmmaker' – The Canadian Press
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
CBC TorontoThe Canadian Press, TORONTO - Woody Allen is widely regarded as a cinematic legend, but the famously self-deprecating director insisted Wednesday that he’s not a “dedicated filmmaker” and that his movies take a back seat to his clarinet playing, his family and his passion for basketball and baseball.
“I want to shoot and go home and get on with my life,” Allen told journalists at the Toronto International Film Festival while promoting his latest effort, “Cassandra’s Dream.”
The film stars Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell as two working-class brothers whose lives begin to unravel after their wealthy uncle (played by Tom Wilkinson) asks them to commit murder.
The two heartthrobs were also on hand Wednesday to discuss the movie, but Allen was clearly the centre of attention, brushing off questions about his notoriously quick shoots by saying he’s simply a lazy guy and that filmmaking is not the “end-all be-all” of his life… [Full Story]
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• 'Lazy' Woody Allen says he doesn't brood over filmmaking - CBC Manitoba
• Ewan McGregor, ever versatile, stars in Woody Allen's latest … - The Canadian Press
• McGregor, Farrell a Dream team - Winnipeg Sun
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No blockbuster sales at this year's Toronto film festival – The Canadian Press
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Jam! ShowbizThe Canadian Press, TORONTO - Despite all the hullabaloo about Reese and Jake and that paparazzi hybrid they call Brangelina, the Toronto International Film Festival is much more than a celebrity hotspot – it’s also where Hollywood distributors score movie acquisitions.
But this year, finding that blockbuster film has proven harder than many expected. Hollywood distributors have picked up the rights to several smaller films but haven’t brought out the big guns in the bidding wars that Toronto has become known for in the past.
The festival was the selling grounds in recent years for movies like “Crash” and “Thank You for Smoking,” both of which went on to score considerable box-office receipts and several Oscar nominations.
Lionsgate snapped up “Crash” for an estimated US$3.3 million in 2004. The film grossed more than $50 million and won the Oscar for best picture… [Full Story]
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• Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn celebrates past and present at Toronto … - The Canadian Press
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Vedder rocks fans, not Donahue – Reuters Blogs
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Reuters Blogs - Thunder and lightning, a fierce wind, and cold rain did not deter those who wanted to see talk-show veteran Phil Donahue’s anti-war documentary “Body of War” about Tomas Young, a U.S. soldier who was shot and paralyzed within his first week of duty in Iraq.
It probably helped that Eddie Vedder, front man for rock band Pearl Jam, was on hand to perform two original songs he wrote for the film.
More than 50 people waited in the rush line at last night’s world premiere of “Body of War”. The first person in that line waited five hours for the 9 p.m. screening. A few people wore Pearl Jam t-shirts, and the first four rows were filled with camera-toting fans buzzing about Vedder and chanting “Eddie, Eddie” before the screening. One paid C$55 for a scalper’s ticket, nearly three times the regular box office price… [Full Story]
Five Minutes From Adam Mason’s THE DEVIL’S CHAIR Online! – Twitch
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
Twitch - The Devil’s Chair – the latest film from UK horror director Adam Mason – takes it’s first public bow at the Toronto International Film Festival mighty soon and to celebrate Mason has recently posted a five minute clip from the film on his official blog over at Bloody Disgusting. Turn up the volume and prepare to squirm… [Full Story]
TORONTO ‘07 DISCOVERY INTERVIEW: Paprika Steen: “I believe all desperate actions come from the loneliness inside you.” – indieWIRE
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
indieWIRE - …Fourteen filmmakers were given the opportunity to participate in an e-mail interview, and each was sent the same questions. Director Paprika Steen is at Toronto with her feature film, “With Your Permission,” which is about a opera-obsessed hero who works as a cafeteria manager on a Copenhagen ferry. TIFF describes the film as pushing “every button it gets near” and “propelled by its characters’ complete inability to face obvious truths and by our extreme discomfort.”… [Full Story]
De Palma film had to be redacted itself – Globe and Mail
Thursday, September 13th, 2007Montreal Gazette | Globe and Mail, Canada - In an irony not lost on director Brian De Palma, Redacted, his new film about the Iraq war, had to be redacted itself on the advice of lawyers and his Canadian producers, who said some of the haunting images at the end of the movie could have led to his being sued. Related Articles |
Fans in focus at Toronto film festival – Reuters UK
Thursday, September 13th, 2007 | Reuters UK, UK - Critics and acquisitions executives might swarm to the Toronto International Film Festival, now heading into its final days, but this is one fest that always has been about the fans. |
TORONTO ‘07 | Gael x 3; Gillespie x 2 – indieWIRE
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | indieWIRE - ”I wanted to do it eventually and this came up,” Gael Garcia Bernal told indieWIRE about his first foray into directing, “Deficit,” which is having its North American debut here in Toronto. “You need to find a unified reason why the film needs to exist and find the frontier of what you want to tell.” Bernal, also in Toronto as the star of Hector Babenco’s “The Past” and as executive producer of Israel Cardenas and Laura Amelia Guzman’s “Cochochi,” sat down alongside “Deficit” screenwriter Kyzza Terrazas to discuss their experience. “Gael had this anecdote about this rich kid that had a party at his country house with some of his friends,” said Terrazas. “His girlfriend was supposed to come, but he meets another girl that he likes. He starts giving his girlfriend wrong directions as to how to get to the house. That was the skeleton that Gael had in mind, and he invited me to collaborate in the screenplay. What I tried to do was bring that world life.”… [Full Story] |
Many departing Toronto film festival – Variety
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | Variety - The front-loaded Toronto Film Festival slowed to a crawl Wednesday, as duties Stateside, the Rosh Hashanah holiday and the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan had a sizable swath of attendees heading for the airport. |
Self-deprecating Allen says he's lazy and not a 'dedicated filmmaker' – The Canadian Press
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007CBC Toronto | The Canadian Press, TORONTO - Woody Allen is widely regarded as a cinematic legend, but the famously self-deprecating director insisted Wednesday that he’s not a “dedicated filmmaker” and that his movies take a back seat to his clarinet playing, his family and his passion for basketball and baseball. Related Articles |
No blockbuster sales at this year's Toronto film festival – The Canadian Press
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007Jam! Showbiz | The Canadian Press, TORONTO - Despite all the hullabaloo about Reese and Jake and that paparazzi hybrid they call Brangelina, the Toronto International Film Festival is much more than a celebrity hotspot – it’s also where Hollywood distributors score movie acquisitions. Related Articles |
Vedder rocks fans, not Donahue – Reuters Blogs
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | Reuters Blogs - Thunder and lightning, a fierce wind, and cold rain did not deter those who wanted to see talk-show veteran Phil Donahue’s anti-war documentary “Body of War” about Tomas Young, a U.S. soldier who was shot and paralyzed within his first week of duty in Iraq. |
Five Minutes From Adam Mason’s THE DEVIL’S CHAIR Online! – Twitch
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | Twitch - The Devil’s Chair – the latest film from UK horror director Adam Mason – takes it’s first public bow at the Toronto International Film Festival mighty soon and to celebrate Mason has recently posted a five minute clip from the film on his official blog over at Bloody Disgusting. Turn up the volume and prepare to squirm… [Full Story] |
TORONTO ‘07 DISCOVERY INTERVIEW: Paprika Steen: “I believe all desperate actions come from the loneliness inside you.” – indieWIRE
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 | indieWIRE - …Fourteen filmmakers were given the opportunity to participate in an e-mail interview, and each was sent the same questions. Director Paprika Steen is at Toronto with her feature film, “With Your Permission,” which is about a opera-obsessed hero who works as a cafeteria manager on a Copenhagen ferry. TIFF describes the film as pushing “every button it gets near” and “propelled by its characters’ complete inability to face obvious truths and by our extreme discomfort.”… [Full Story] |
