nforrin
Member
Hello,
I'm thinking of paying a steep amount for a couple of tickets to the Black Swan Gala/Premium (Sept 13, 9:30pm). I wanted to learn some details first though...
Is there assigned seating? Will there be Q and A session? Is Aronofsky and/or Portman expected to be there? Thanks! I've tried finding this info without success so far, so hopefully someone here is in the know.
Cheers!
abishop
Member
no assigned seating, expect to stand in line for your seat with all the schmoes. Although star attendance is never 100% guaranteed, the chances of director and entire cast being there are excellent. for a film to be a gala, studio has to guarantee top talent attendance and this is the biggest film of the festival, so most likely they are scheduled to be here and only an emergency would keep them out. Q&As are hit and miss. Sometimes the talent stays and does it, other times they just wave at people in the beginning and leave after.
mrsmish
Member
I strongly advise against paying a premium price, and here's why.
Seeing the stars in person is what happens outside, on the red carpet. Anyone can stand there and see them, ticketed or not. In some ways, by standing at the red carpet (and hence delaying your entry into the theater), you won't end up with very good seats. You might have a chance of a longer Q and A at Black Swan because it's the last film at Roy Thomson that night, but no guarantee.
Also, it's been my experience after 5 years of TIFF-going, that you can get almost any ticket on the day of the screening at 7 a.m., either online or by phone. The galas in some ways are easier to get at the last minute than other screenings because they are in venues with many seats and because many filmgoers are put off by the high price.
Back in 2005, for instance, I wanted to attend the premiere of Pride and Prejudice, but the first day of sales, it was sold out. When I picked up my other tickets, the TIFF person told me to try again on the day of the premiere, and sure enough, I was able to get 4 tickets.
All tickets that are sold out today will continue to be listed as sold out until the day of the screening. The single film I could NOT get last year on the day of the screening was An Education, which was in a very small venue (one of the AMC rooms).
Ditto to what's been said above. For the Roy Thomson Hall (RTH) galas/premium you will actually get a better view of the stars on the red carpet outside the theatre. Go early for films with big name stars, as there will be crowds. The limos will start arriving around 45-30 minutes before the screening. To get a good spot to stand you will need to get there at *least* an hour before the screening.
Further, your "premium" ticket will only qualify you to sit in the upper balcony of RTH. There are no Q&As at the RTH galas. And you won't likely get a good view of the stars.
At the premium screenings at the Elgin, Ryerson and Isabel Bader, however, you will get to sit anywhere in the theatre (except for seats they have blocked off for people associated with the film). You can sit near the front to see the stars up close. Sometimes they will view the film from the regular seats and you could literally be sitting a row away from them. Elgin evening screenings usually do not have Q&As (although daytime screenings sometimes do), but Ryerson and Isabel Bader *will* usually have a Q&A.
The other week TIFF has posted a list of filmmakers and stars *expected* to attend. This is subject to change, and there may be even more stars than what was posted back then:
http://www.tiff.net/press/pressreleases/2010/toronto-international-film-festival-announces-hundreds-of-guests-for-2010-event
bretz
Member
This is my 4th year at TIFF. In past years, I've paid big bucks to see the biggest film of the festival. In my opinion, it is not worth it if the screening is at Roy Thomson Hall and I will never do it again for a movie at RTH (I don't care who shows up). Your seats are very high up so you don't get close to the actors anyway and they are usually just on stage for 30 seconds before the film starts.
On the other hand, I would pay a lot of money again for a movie at Elgin, Ryerson or Isabel Bader. You can get close up, the actors are way more likely to stay around for Q&A (especially at Ryerson and Isabel Bader), and they sit close by in the audience. Last year at Up In The Air at Ryerson, when George Clooney walked through the theatre to get to his seat, my girlfriend got to shake his hand (no chance of that at RTH). To me, that was worth the money I spent. Unlike when I spent a lot to see Brad Pitt from the Balcony at Roy Thomson Hall for 30 seconds.
One more thing, I agree that you can get almost any ticket on the day of the screening at 7 a.m.; however, in my experience, I have never been able to buy tickets for the biggest movie of the festival through the box office. So if Black Swan is the biggest film this year (personally, I think it's Hereafter), I think it's unlikely you'll get same day tickets.
mrsmish
Member
Re RTH:
I'm wondering if this year's advertising re "premium screenings" is a bit misleading. The TIFF sites justifies the higher prices for these screenings by promising a Q and A or similar - however, as mentioned above, in the past the only extra at a premium-priced premiere at RTH is a brief intro of the stars on stage before the premiere - no real Q and A. Unless this is going to change this year, you are better off with the Elgin, Winter Garden or Isabel Bader premium screenings, where it is likely you will get a substantive Q and A.
The best one for me last year was the premiere of A Single Man at the Bader, which featured a post-film Q and A with director Tom Ford and stars Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. It lasted approximately a half hour.
saareman
Member
The RTH experience for the premium single ticket buyers has to be the least value for money of anything offered at the festival. Several have mentioned the distance from screen and stars, but the other thing to emphasize is the sightline angle from the balcony (really it is the 2nd balcony, because RTH calls the 1st balcony the mezzanine) where the single ticket buyers end up after scrambling upstairs. You are basically looking down to view the movie rather than across and up. If you want to duplicate the experience at home take your computer monitor and put it on the floor about 5 feet away and you are duplicating the RTH experience. Definitely not worth your money and if the movie happens to be a dud (just because it is at RTH, it is not a guaranteed terrific movie) you'll be bitter about it afterwards as well.
Look at the seating views for seats in section C5 to C9 at http://www.roythomson.com/rth_seatingplans to get another idea of it.
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