Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 4

Ok, going to go all Memento on this post and do everything backward. The reason is thus. I actually have a link (a legal one too) to the film i actually saw on festival day 4 so instead of firing it in after all my waffling about my day i thought i would mention it first putting it at the top so it could get noticed. So here we go.

The film i saw was Kings Ransom and the link is....well the link is dead. Through the power of the twitter it was brought to my attention on Sunday that the doco was at this location: http://kings.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?catid=731&id=48191 and i clicked it and lo and behold it was there but guess what, now the link is dead. Sorry, what i should have done was come straight on, given y'all a heads up to day 4 by letting you in on the link but i didnt, again, apologies.

Possibly some readers may have seen it as, i got it from a twitter source (provided they are twitter users and were on around that time) its not as if i got it from some dodgy source, it came from NHL enthusiast and my current man crush Kevin Smith! But as i say, its dead so lets move on, i will still continue with the backwards narrative. Cos it might be fun.

I went home after the film very happy, Peter Berg is a top bloke, and he answered his questions well.


d

After the film Peter Berg rememerged as promised and gave us a wee insight into making the film. To be honest in a Canadian crowd with a film about hockey i was kinda out of my element. There was questions about his relationship with Gretzky and what he knew of the news at the time of his involvement with the Phoenix Coyotes in the NHL, questions about how they got Peter Pocklington involved, someone mentioned he has a book coming out. It was all pretty much over my head. I would have liked if someone asked about his other movies, and his plans for the future, actually that kind of was answered because he couldnt stay long because he was going to film an episode of Friday night Lights: the TV series or something so i guess he is pretty into that deep. Note to self, must try get a look at that sometime actaully, the film was pretty excellent and Peter Berg rocks. Note finished.

So the film is pretty good, well edited i would say and the sound editing in particular stands out. Its a pretty frank and quite bueatiful documnetary actually and all the more surprising as it is about sport. A pretty brutal sport as well to. The interviews with all involved are candid and the archive footage is well used. For a Scotsman watching who was both too young and totally not interested when this happened it was fascinating to see how it all played out. The truth in what Gretzky says is in stark contrast and makes you wonder about our current sports stars, he wanted the glory of winning more cups and was genuinely gutted to leave his Edmonton team but also had determintaion and desire to be the highest paid player in the sport. Looking at trades and transfers now is that still the case. The thing that ran through my mind while watching this was how different this is to shows like That Was the Team That Was on the BBC. Its unfair to compare i suppose as the budgets released for this by ESPN would no doubt dwarf any auntie beeb would but, the idea of the series is comparable. Letting directors pick their subject and letting them go at it. Me, i would go in and look at the summer of 1995 when Tommy Burns took the Celtic job and left Killie fans like me crying. Now that would be a sports doco!

As i came in to the cinema it was filling up nice, i took my seat in the front half near the exits. As the host introduced the film, he also intriduced its director Peter Berg was here and would answer questions briefly after the film and with that Peter Berg bounded down the stairs to my left, having never watch Chicago Hope i had no idea what he looked like and so i just sat there when i should have jumped out and told him how much i liked his films, especially Welcome to the Jungle starring The Rock, really liked that somehow. I mean its not my favourite of his films but i still really like it.

Also i should say that the highlight of the shift was me being taught a new game, the game being "who have you touched?" I wont lie to you, its not a game for deep thinking intellectuals. Or maybe it is, the idea is a group of people have to name the most famous person they have touched, once all famous folk are out in the open you argue over who has touched the most famous person. It s terrific fun. I didnt win nor ever will with my efforts. I mean James Robinson is on my list, he of young William Wallace fame in Braveheart, or Stuart Hepburn who taught me sreenwriting at the tailend of my University life but also voiced the gruff Scottish coach in the famous for five minutes cartoon The Hurricanes. Suppose there is David Bolland, NHLer and member of the girlfriends family. I will need work on it. The rest of my work buddies picking were slim too, one had Brad Garrett who plays Ray Romanos brother in Everybody Loves Raymond for instance. Oh but the other guy touched Clooney as i mentioned already in another TIFF post, he wins. I suppose the overwhelming point of mentioning this game is that we discussed who was the big winner, who trumps everyone. A few of my workmates feel Michael Jackson trumps The Queen! I have to say thats madness, everyone knows the Queen, everyone knows Jacko, thats a fact but if you were to ask Jackson who is the most famous person in the world he would have said the Queen. If you had asked the Queen she would have looked at you like you were nuts and asked if that was a serious question!

So the shift was very quiet. What with it being the Sunday after the first weekend it was to be expected i suppose, all the industry parties and such stuff that i didnt go to (more to do with not being invited than any personal preference) put paid to the busy morning schedule we had up on the computer. So spent most of the morning chatting and i also made out a schedule of my own of what i want to watch and when for the next six days, to keep me right. Todays entries stretch to only one film however, those words being Kings Ransom. Kings Ransom is actually an episode from a TV series being made for ESPN called 30 for 30. Its to celebrate ESPN's thirtieth birthday, or aniversary if you will and they got 30 film makers to make a film on a sports topic of their own choice in their own style. Peter Berg is involved and he made the film I will go and see which is about Wayne Gretzkys trade to LA. Love movies, love sports, its a no brainer that i go to this.

Here is a trailer from the 30 for 30 site and also a link to that site for info about the film and also Berg