Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 8 Inc. Review of Waking Sleeping Beauty

Well by day 8 my time working at a film festival was winding down. After a good few days of being fresh in the morning, the night befores U2 gig and subsequent lateness in bed meant I was tired again. No matter, we only spent the early part of the day discussing how good Up in the Air was anyway.

Didnt really do much of note apart from that and at this stage as i said in the past part, I cant really remember.

I did however change my mind on which film to use my magic token on as i was locked in for Bad Lieutenant: Port of New Orleans until my head wast turned to Waking Sleeping Beauty. So following my shift I made my way down to the AMC at Yonge and Dundas and got my ticket for the 3pm showing. In truth time was a factor, Bad Liutenant I could have done, the film i really wanted to see was Vengeance, a Johnny To Hong Kong gangster genre effort, a genre i am particularly keen on but no way could I make my work (day two of U2 at the Skydome) if i did. What a decision it has turned out to be as it was excellent and so far hasnt been released in Britain, in fact mostly its done the festival circuits so I count myself luckt to have seen it. Plus check out the cracking poster on the right: class poster, class film.

Its a warts and all documentary about the rise from the ashes of the Disney animation studio that pulls no punches with naming and shaming those involved. Its a view inside the studio, a view i guess you would never hav thought possible and its funded by....Disney!

It was really moving and really insightful and a teriffic documentary on a fascinating subject. Oddly sitting in the cinema there was a cheer went up when Patrick Swayze appeared on screen in a scene where the nominations for best Oscar in 1994 were read by him and Beauty and the Beast was nominated(thus the Pheonix had risen) as he had just passed away that week. Very odd but also rather poignant. An interesting point of the film was the way it was made, there was no talking heads, noone looking back and adding commentary, the film plays like the animators and disney business mens home movies and its a refreshing change of pace from what i am used to watching documentaries.

I really hope this film is released or even features maybe on BBC4 on Storyville or something, I know anyone who has grown up with Disney (er that will be everyone) will enjoy it.



After the film I waited to hear the writer and producer speak which rocked quite considerably. they were very candid about Disney and Pixar and were just about to answer some juicy question about the Pixar deal and i had to leave! So i have been scouring youtube for the footage and it aint there apart from this 17 second clip



so instead

Check out this two part (its actually three but the third part isnt pertinant) interview from the festival with producer Peter Schneider (the guy in the red in the 17sec vid) who also "stars" in it by a guy called Stephen Holt who actually came into the screening library i worked in actually but i had no idea who he was till now. I particularly like how his shirt matches the curtains. Looks like the interview was conducted in the hotel the festival was based at too.

Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 7 inc. Review of Up In The Air

Suppose I will kick off with my Ivan/Jason Reitman encounter which i mentioned in Part 6 but never explained in any detail.

Well the father and son left almost as soon as the movie ended. As the credits began to roll, they were up, Jason popped his wee wooly hat (called a toque in Canada incidentally for reasons i have yet to find out) on his head and they began making their way toward me in my isle seat.

But i was ready for them, having no stuff really to gather i simply picked up my bag and followed them out the door.

Thats about the gist of my story. I suppose now i have serious angst over my pussy behaviour when in the presense of some sort of celebrity, I should really have made some attempt to touch them, like i should have quickened my pace and maybe came between them touching them both as i came through, maybe apologising in "sorry gents" kind of way. That woudl then be my "who have you touched" entry and i would have the combo touch to fall back on which might have curried favour for a win to be awarded in my favour.

Or should i have called them, "hey Jason, Hey Ivan good to see you guys enjoying a movie. Ghostbusters was really good, Jason i havent seen any of your films yet but i have heard good things, why yes i am scottish and yes i would like a small part in both your upcoming projects, that would be lovely, now can i ask you gents to do me a favour and pose for a photo with me if its not too much trouble"

but i never, god, i never even ran in front of them and whipped out my phone, quickly popping it into camera mode and stealing a quick snap for the event of throwing it up here to validate my story.

All because i am a bit of a pussy and felt, you know, its kinda cool that two filmakers are watching the same film in the same cinema as me, im just gonna be cool and let thm get in their seperate cars and just be glad i saw them. You know?

Anyways, that was yesterday, let me take you now inside the events of day 7.

You know theres not a lot to tell, especially now that it was so long ago, the inner most thoughts of this particular Wednesday morning have frittered away in my mind. Sorry. Actually thats not strictly true, I do still have my day to day whats on when and whether i can squeeze a film in today list which i can share with you. Today is a difficult one as I have to work at night so will only be able to squeeze in a film so long as its done and dusted in time for me to be at my work by five.

So my first pick, The Most Dangerous Man in America is out as it starts at 5.45, thats a shame, it looks like a teriffic subject for a documentary. Its the story of the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers. Also a maybe was the White Stripes rockumentary Under The Great Northern Lights which is a press and industry screening at 2 til 4 which would have been doable. Its the premiere is on Friday and it would be cool to see something before its premiere. But instead i took the opportunity to see another film in the press and industy screening list. Up In The Air. How ironic since i almost met the director and producer the day before.

But the decision not to see The White Stripes film proved even more ironic as part 9 will prove.

Anyway, my shift was due to finish up but since myself and both my library team mates were wishing to see this film we arranged a quick get away at half one so we could make the start of Clooney and co at 1.45. So we stepped out the hotel and hot footed it up to the Carlton cinemas which were a short walk away, almost on Bloor St. Since this isnt exactly my territory I had no idea where we were as we lined up in the rush line for the movie. The rush line, which i hadnt yet used, was for filling up the empty seats once the people who had bought tickets in advance had been seated. No film is actually sold out before hand to allow for these sort of things. Not even the gala premiers i am assured, however those lines are generally huge due to the chance of sitting and watching it in the presence of a star. Maybe enjoying The Road with Viggo for example. So we lined up and were eventually taken. Into a shopping centre. Didnt realise that that was what i was lined up outside as we were around the back of the building. We scooted to the screening room and got our seats which were surprisingly good (i had visions of sitting in the front row gazing up with no chance of taking it all in with only my two insignificant eyes) five or six rows back in to the left. We had missed maybe the first few minutes but it was fine because were in to see one of the recommended films of the festival and were getting to do so using our clout as volunteers with the critics and industry folks, was well cool. When it finished I lost my buddys as i went out a different exit and found myself back in the shopping centre, struggling to get out i finally ended back on the street which i recognised as Bloor and headed for the subway, work was calling and it was telling me i was going to be late. If you have any knowledge of Toronto, I was up on Bloor and needed to be at the rogers Centre in an hour.

So time for a review and lets just jump in feet first. Up In The Air is truely fantastic. Really, a wonderful film. Its a film which seems to be apt for our times (though i read that it was written before our times) as it deals with unemployment as companies make cuts in staff, as well as the issue of lonliness.

It follows George Clooneys character who revels in his solitude, traversing America carrying out his job which is basically to fire people from their jobs on behalf of their employers, and he is brilliant in the role. But then thats no surprise.

He lives his life by the principle of life being like a backpack and the more people you have in the backpack the harder it is to carry it so if you offload people and look after number one things become easier. He is the quintessential loner and so the film follows him as he softens up and allows people in while at the same time his own job is under threat as his jetsetting lifestyle is seem as superfluous as a system of call centre based workers could do it quicker and cheaper.

I dont think my explanation of plot is really selling it. what Ryan, (Clooneys character) does best is to face to face sell you a future where your dreasm can be met as your just dodging along in your soon to be ex job. Its a noble crusade he is on really. When the hot shot young girl (Anna Kendrick) who comes along with an idea which does away with the need for Ryans job thats when he grows as he takes her with him to shows her what he really does. Along the way we meet many others like Ryan, such as Alex (Vera Farmiga) who are just as versed in the world of airports and hired cars and per diems. We also meet Ryan's family and his life as he sees it but on this path Ryan learns from his young travelling partner what he might be missing in his loner life.

Aside from Clooney, all the other performances are fantastic, perfectly weighted. When Clooney lets in people is where this movie takes off and shows the fragility of human beings beautifully, all the character interaction during these scenes is something to behold i think. The music is great, its well cast, it looks good, the poster as you can see in this post is actually very good, well composed i think. It really is just a fantastic film, its funny in parts, very funny in fact but also very poignant. I would say its definately a film which will affect you in some way. it certainly did me. I was genuinely moved to text my girlfriend as i waited on the auditorium emptying so i could leave to tell her I was glad to be with her and happy. If a film can make you do that then its a winner for me. Totally worthy of all its award nominations and in my opinion very unlucky not to have taken more than they already have, hopefully the academy thinks different from the others.

Now having said all that it makes me think of what would have happened if i had seen this film before i saw The Informant! What if i had saw it when it premeired on Saturday and then knowing what i know now would i have shouted at him as i left The Informant! gushing that i loved it and it moved me enough to text message my girlfriend off the back of it? I dont actually think there is much of a what if, i would probably have bottled it.

Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 6 Inc. Review of The Informant!

Lets return to the, totally irelavent now, TIFF diary that started ages ago and was experienced even longer ago. For the sake of completeness i shall soldier on.

The day in the library was pretty samey with the one thing that stands out was a member of the press telling us that were working that the new George Clooney/Jason Reitman film Up In The Air was a wonderful film. Its great when these guys give their opinions out, they are so knowledgeable and passionate. I now want to see Up In The Air, it was on my radar faintly as something i wouldnt mind seeing it now rockets up the leaderboard to be something i must see. Also i generally shot the shit with my coworkers which is always a blast.

Oh, how could i forget, Drew Barrymore was in the hotel doing a press conference for her directorial debut, Whip It, which is a film about roller derbys. A rumour filtered up to us in the screening library that Barrymore was getting photos taken a few rooms along from us so we staked out the door way in the hope of a glimpse. Sadly I think we were given a bum steer as a fair amount of time passed and no Josie Grossy appeared.

note: Josey Grossy was her characters nickname in a guilty pleasure film of mine, that being Never Been Kissed.

Lets move on however because all my TIFF excitement on day 6 happened after my shift. To give some context to my post, my good lady had a day off her work so was looking forward to me coming home early to spend some time together.

However, I had Steven Soderburgh's new film on my mind. So I walked down to Ryerson University (where the film was playing) to see what the crowd was like. The queue was pretty huge so i sat on the wall in the rush queue and hummed and hawed about going in. I was going to go home but then i was offered a free ticket from someone in the queue. I took it and thought "if it sucks and im not really into it i will leave after half an hour" i even text the girl words to that effect. I did this thinking and texting while walking into the theatre.



I took my seat about halfway down the left hand side of the theatre, on the last seat, it was a still a good seat as it was a narrow auditorium so though i wasnt head on i wasnt far off it. Well you could knock me over with a feather with what happened mext, you wont believe who was sitting roughly ten rows directly in front of me, only father son directors Ivan (Ghostbusters) Reitman and his son Jason (he of Juno and Thank You For Smoking fame, also Up In The Air; the film which has come with great recommendations as i mentioned earlier in this post) More on those guys later. Heres a review of The Informant!

The Informant! follows the story of Mark Whiteacre, a whistleblower on his own company back in the 1990s. On the surface thats what its all about, however like most things its actually a little deeper than that but unlike other whistleblower dramas (The Informer and.....eh, hmmm....) Mark's story which unfolds before us is a little different. In fact Steven Soderbergh has created a slice of absurd comedy gold from the themes of corporate corruption.

The casting is terrific, all the minor roles are picked up by faces you will undoubtedly know from sitcoms and cult comedy films from previous years, Patton Oswalt (King of Queens), Tony Hale (Arrested Development), Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men) etc. but they all play the absurdity of the situation totally dead on straight making their turns all the funnier. Melanie Lynskey i suppose has more than a bit part as she plays Mark's wife but as she is probably most famous for her turn in Charlie Sheens sitcom vehicle she makes the point better than most.

As the FBI agents assigned to Whiteacre's case, Scott Bakula and Joel McHale are excellent, the deadpan style of the acting in the film not bucked by either. their constant flabergasted expressions as the story unravels is a joy to watch.

If it feels like i am skirting over the cast performance rather quickly its because I am eager to get to Matt Damons performance as it blows every other one off the screen. I would usually be reluctant to say (because 1. who listens to me and 2. it would really bother me if i gave a bum steer on this) but for this performance i dont care, i wil just come out and say it. Damon's performance in this is Oscar worthy. It really is sublime, to play someone who is on the edge of their nerves with such terrific comedy timing is a credit to him. If the advertisers are trying to pin this film on a "hey look at damon and his funny moustache" then it is a shame as his acting performance is really all it needs to sell it. If the Bourne series proved that Damon had it in him to be an action star then this simply proves that he has the chops to pull off anything else. Awesome.

I should also mention the score of the film which is delightful. A zany 70's style quirky intrumental style music for a 90's set whistle blower movie may seem odd in the extreme, however when the musics relevence dawns upon you it all makes sense. Sucha clever idea used to highlight one of the films themes. The script is also tops, the internal voice inside Mark's head says the most mundane of factoids for no real reason and the way the story builds to a such a dizzying climax is a testament to the terrific plotting. A smashing return to the mainstream for Soderburgh.



I have mentioned the fact that advertisers seem to be pinning the success of this movie on a fat faced and a moustachioed Damon girning from the posters. This niceley ties into the point i was making on a previous TIFF post about poster design.



Take the poster above its the poster most commonly seen for this movie are of the plump faced star with a tache looking absently out, but there is another (in fact there is probably loads, films have hundreds and hundreds of posters now) and it is far more intersting. Its this:



This is the first poster i saw to promote the film, and it actually represents the story a lot better and sums up the point i was trying to make in earlier posts. I really have had my head turned in this poster thing. I mean this poster depicts a bit of madness, a bit of a split personality in our main character, it talks in pictures of plot and theme. Its a good poster. I guess the more generic orange one does that too but more powerfully it says "MATT DAMON IS IN THIS AND HE HAD A FAT FACE AND A MOUSTACHE, THAT WILL MAKE HIM FUNNY, THIS IS A FUNNY MOVIE AND IT HAS A MAJOR HOLLYWOOD STAR IN IT, AND HE HAS A MOUSTACHE, THATS FUNNY, GO SEE IT" which kind of isnt what its all about.

Also it has text over the face, thats kind of ugly, no? But we have to get the big Damon mug to plug the film but also say something so it jsut goes over the top, quite aesthetically displeasing. Thing is, it kinda gives the wrong impression because this is an intelligent movie thats funny. It has a point. It should be seen because its a good film with great performances not just becuase Matt Damon is hot property right now and ate loads of burgers to look different and sports a stache (have i nailed the point home enough?) hey, and listen, if Damon isnt on your radar or you find him irritating is some way (people do i expect) then the time has come to bury the hatchet because Damon is in the A league in his generation. Up there with the Clooney class, and should be lauded. Ace film, make a bee line to see it.

After the film i scooted home to face the wrath of my dear mrs. I took my lumps though because i am glad i saw the movie and also i saw the Reitmans which i clean forgot about and will tidy up in the next instalment.

cheers for reading

Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 5 Inc: Harry Brown Review

Ah day five, day five was a Monday and after catching up on sleep and having a not doing anything over the top drink wise over the weekend I managed to sleep in for my TIFF shift. Woke up exactly on 7.26 with a start and checked my phone which was my source of alarm. For some reason it never went off, a minor electronic setback i suppose but with my internal alarm clock getting me up four minutes before i am supposed to start it meant it was a major setback for me.

So i threw on clothes rapid and dashed out the door to try get in as early as possible. The roads are a bit busier later in the morning and the street car is too, from being stretched out on a double seat i was down to struggling to get a seat.

I arrived at Sutton Place at 8.30 and threw myself up the stairs and turned into the Press and Industry Screening Library (my home from home in these ten days) only to find i had been busted as my supervisor ladys at there. I told the truth though, i slept in and it was all good. these things happen and there is no point bullshitting it. after all, I am volunteering for this and why if i couldnt be arsed doing it would i turn up an hour late, surely i would just ditch it altogether? Well thats how i justify it and i assume Lauren (supervisor type lady) justifys it like that too.

A ton of posters in the library again today, some cool ones, some duff ones. I have never thought too much about posters if the truth be told, but one of my co workers does. She tells me that a lot of the time effort isnt put into the art of posters. Its more about star power. She says that psoters should tell you what the movie is about as well as who is in it, not just who is in it. Its an interesting point of view, and probably true. I like talking about this sort of stuff, its, its, well its interesting.

After compiling my schedule for the week yesterday I have decisions to make today. When my shift finished i would have 4 vouchers to be used to get me in to a film on the festival, i plan on using one today. My schedule had the Michael Caine film Harry Brown up against the Hong Kong film Accident at 2.30 in the afternoon. My preference was to go to the cinema straight after my shift and then go home so i wasnt going in and out the city all day and night. I did however look later to see what was on. The Gala Premier of Damned United perhaps at Roy Thomson Hall piqued my interest, I mean i did go on and on about it in Splice earlier this year then never went to see it so this could be an opportunity and i would get to watch it in the same audience as Michael Sheen (he must have been there!) but i decided against it, would have to stand in the Rush line for that and then i wouldnt be home till really late and my alarm woes of the morning were fresh in my mind so i ruled it out. Another film on my sched is Neil Young Trunk Show which is a free screening at Yonge Dundas Sq, this was a lock for me from the start because Young was scheduled to turn up and probably perform and i wanted to see that but in the last few days Young has pulled out his appearance and so my interest faded a bit, if i stayed in the city centre i would definitely scooted past for a look but ultimately i decide to blow it off.

I should also add that my volunteer status means my voucher can potentially get me into Press and Industry screenings around the city, we called them P&I's for short! On this the Monday night I pencilled in to give some thought a few films i might go see that were P&I's, The Most Dangerous Man In America was one, Videocracy was the other, both Documentarys the former is about the Pentagon papers and the latter is about Silvio Burlesconi's regine in Italy. Both sound fascinating topics but i didnt go see either. I just thought i would tell you that i gave it some consideration, hoping it made me seem intelligent or something.

Ok, so the point of me describing what i am not going to see is what? Probably should get on with telling what i did watch and it came down to the east v west, a battle between Caine and Kong.

Caine won. Mostly becuase i reckon i will get another chance to see Accident before the festival is over and also cos Caine doing bad ass appeals to me. 2.30 start time means i can motor down Yonge to Elgin Theatre pretty much arrive there dead on. Smashing.



Harry Brown had been elevator pitched to me as a british Gran Torino. Well i havent seen that movie yet so i cant really judge properly however i do like to surmise with limited knowledge and so will do so in this instance. From what i gather about the Eastwood movie, its about his relationships with his neighbours, he takes the young kid under his wing too. Harry Brown isnt really like that, its actually one fo the most intense thrillers i have seen in a long time.

It may be said that this is just another British crime movie but if its a British crime movie where Michael Caine rolls back the years and plays a bad ass then i say bring it on. Regardless of his age which some may see as offputting and unrealistic, the scene where Caines character visibly takes the turn to vigilante, basically passes the point of no return, it will elave no one watching it under any illusions that he is too old to pull it off.

Harry Brown is the story of a pensioner, the titular Harry, in a London suburb who refuses to take the abuse and intimidation of local youth gangs lying down any more. Harry is pretty mild mannered, his wife is in hospital and he visits her every morning, he goes for drinks and chess with an old friend in the afternoon in the pub, he seems not to even notice the casual drug dealing going on behind his back in the pub or the fact he intentional dodges using the underpass to make his passage to the hospital easier. Two things happen which seem to change Harry and set him on his course to take things into his own hands. first he loses his wife, then his chess playing friend Leonard. Leonard he loses when he is murdered trying to stand up to the gang who terrorise him. What follows is Harry attempting to exact some revenge.

Its a fantasy really, set in real life. A pensioner vigilante, i mean come on. Plus the troupe of gangsters and junkies Harry meets on his road to redemption (of sorts) are all colourful and replusive at the same time. But it is also a look at the elderly in Britain (the first half anyway) as well as a scathing look at urban Britain, gangs and crime on the street. Every corner a potential trap, the good people terrified to step out on the streets. I get the feeling that TV show The Wire has played a role in the creation of this world. The gritty realism for one thing but also the police incompetance and ability to cover up and doctor numbers. A sad indictment of Britain really.

Caines performance is sublime but the supporting cast also do a fine job. Emily Mortimer is good, so is Charlie Creed-Miles as the two police officers dealing with the case. Ben Drew is excellent as the evil Noel who leads the gang of youths, he really is poisonous in his role, really really horrible little man. I also enjoyed the brief performance of Sean Harris in a kind of pseudo Drexl from True Romance role, he always interests me in any film or TV show i see him in, his face and his mannerisms are fascinating to me, and this is no different.

Daniel Barber directs this well in his first full length film, the pace is good and the action is well handled. Sure there are poorly patched plot holes in it, the fact that Brown is an ex marine is just kind of squeezed in as a throwaway line, and it wont win awards but as a thriller and for its performances this is definately worth seeing. As big fan of Layer Cake it was reassuring for me to see Matthew Vaughn's name on the credits as a producer. But the main event is Caine and Caine is awesome.

If this is to be his final leading role (as he is implying) then what a way to go out as he is mesmerising, a role to be proud of and a film which will take its place in the upper level of his canon alongside the likes of Get Carter than down in the doledrums with guff like Jaws The Return.



Anyways, i left the cinema very impressed. I had made a good decision, i really liked the film. I should note that during the opening ten minutes or so a phone went off in the auditorium and the idiot answered it, telling the person on the line he couldnt speak. what a wally, why not click reject, or better than that put it off. Fud. Also there was no post movie Q&A, Caine had done this the previous day at something called In conversation With...Michael Caine which is aprt of the Mavericks section of the festival. Peter Berg yesterday was also part of this Maverick programme.

After that i wnet home and never came back out. Monday at TIFF for Ruud ended there.

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

Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 3

Woke up refreshed on a Saturday morning having had a stunning nights sleep. Got the tram in as usual but never thought it out properly as becuase it was the weekend there was next to no traffic on the roads and I ended up downtown in record time. Instead of getting the subway i decided to walk up Yonge Street since it was a nice morning.

So, the shift was pretty standard, as is becoming clear to any readers out there. It is very interesting watching people coming in and out the library however. Latin Journalists come in and generally take out the Spanish language films, makes sense considering their readership i suppose, Festival reps from around the world fly through titles twenty minutes at a time, they must watch them with the fast forward on or something, all the time looking for the type of films that could appear in the festival in their neck of the woods. There are guys i assume are in acquisitions at their respective company, weedling through the films looking at twenty minutes or so looking for something wiht commercial value or what not that they could buy and distribute. Or maybe thats not what they are doing, its not my job to ask but i cant help but be curious. Must be something like that.

What i can say is that some of these folks engage you in conversation from time to time and its always good to talk to people who clearly know their films and love their films, its both inspiring and gratifying.

At some point during the shift, I dont know whether i came out during the conversation or what as i almost missed it, we (the three of us) were offered the chance of a ticket to a red carpet screening which is essentially a premiere with stars of the film and such like at it. As i say i almost missed it as my boss who offered it up asked for a final time before she left and i had no idea what she was talking about. She explained again and I thought why not it will be interesting if nothing but no doubt it will be pretty damn cool too and so took the ticket off her hands. My decision on what film to see that day had been made for me and i was happy of that, plus i wouldnt have to use a token meaning when i finished i would now have three sitting unused!

I should probably mention what film it was that i got a ticket to, heres a photo

I have absolutely no idea why this photo appears length wise as i definitely took it horizontally, my hands dont work that way either, but the upshot is yes, i was going to the premiere of the new Hugh Hefner documentary called Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel at the Visa Screening Room in the Elgin Theatre. Oh, and he was there! The director too and Shug's 3 girfriends were there, it was a big bag of excellent all round.

So here is what happened according to me, with a bit of a review thrown in for good measure. This being my first actual screening at the fest (Steamboat Bill Jr not withstanding) it was a different experience to going to the cinema as normal. The filmaker and star on show being one thing but also other aspects are different. It all begins with a Festival representative getting up and introducing the film, then the director, a lady called Brigette Berman, got up and said some stuff (introductions and nice stuff bout Mr Hefner mainly), all new things to me but all good. Then with introductions over, the movie started.

You know what, its really good. Its a little overlong at just over two hours and lots and lots of stuff is skipped over without much of a mention, his first and second families for instance, but on the whole its very very interesting. There is so much i just didnt know abot the man they call Hef. If I am honest my knowledge about him was that he was a bit (a bit is a slight understatement) of a shagger who ran a magazine. Now this could be because i have never gave him much thought beyond the shagging loads of women thing and the whole multiple girlfriends at the same time stuff, i am sure if i had actually took time to think it would have dawned on me that running magazines is kinda hard work and to run one fo the most successful and popular magazines in the world is the work of someone special, but hey, i have never got my mind beyond the shagging.

What he was was an actual activist who fought for civil rights (in his own way of course) both for black people in America and also for women believe it or not. Using his media platforms, both in print and TV at the time he put black people on the map, jazz musicians, actors, singers, you name it. He gave black activists a voice in his magazine. He also stood up for Hollywood types tarred by the commy brush during the McCarthy era. He was also a bit of a genius becuase he did all this while building a magazine up to be what it is and at no time really give up any of the reigns on it, even now. I was shocked and amazed. There is lots of excellent people as talking heads and really it could have gone on forever as he is, to say it again, so intersting!

But i suppose therein lay the problem for me, it could definitely do with a trim, the points it makes are made regular and the stuff it skirts over is amazing. Maybe, a trilogy could have been commisioned, Part 1: Playboy, Part 2: Activist and Part 3: Rebel but who would bother witht he other two if one is called Playboy? You would just watch part 1 three times surely!

So afterward the credits rolled a few chairs were brought up on stage and Hef, Berman and the intrduction guy took seats to field some questions from the audience (photo below is my view from way back on the balcony, i had a chance to go on the floor and for some reason i never took it, idiot) it was a shambles really i thought, mainly due to the fact that Hef seems to be deaf as a post now and to me he seemed frail. Its odd because even though i know he is an old man, his persona in the public eye is such that he pertetualy seemed to be a man in his fifties or sixties. what i saw that day was a old man however, stark contrast to the guy talking in the film in his own house. I would maybe stretch to say that this may be the last we see of Hef in the public eye, thats how frail an old man i felt he seemed. The reason incidentally i thought it was a shambles was becuase whent he questions were asked the TIFF guy would repeat them to the hard of hearing Hef but would shorten them so the context of the question would be lost and so Hef would be lost and end up just talking about something else. Maybe not so much Hef's fault as I may have made out.



Lets be honest, it was cool as anything seeing someone like Hefner in the flesh, i mean if this film makes it to the cinema chances are i wouldnt go, in fact the time i would be getting to see this film would be 10o'clock on a Sunday night on channel 4 or something, myself! So i thank my lucky stars for the opportunity that presented itslef that day. Also i may have mentioned (without checking further up) that he was there with his three girlfriends whoa re all smoking hot, not that my photo does them justice however. lets just say that TIFF gave me a peek at Hef and his chicks and i adjourned home a happy man.



Incidentally, i searched about for a trailer for the film but found this instead, its the shambles that was the after film Q&A. Worth a look.



I will finish up with what i wrote on facebook after i got home full of beans from seeing the film plus Hef live and in colour:

got a freebie to premiere o hugh hefners doco film today, was pretty good. hes an interesting man & could be argued he did more than most 2 pave the way 4 the world today ie obama in white house. sadly it was slightly overlong & no enough tits from 2000s on show, more 60s, 70s and 80s boobs. anyway, review aside, i want2 say that heff & his burds were there watching too, so i saw hugh hefner today! so that was cool

I am class in a glass.

Ruud at TIFF 2009 Part 2

On to Friday at TIFF, probably should have added in part 1 that the Buster Keaton silent film i watched and enjoyed on day 1 had a live accompaniment which was rather ace.

But Friday, day 2. Ok I am sure these early starts are going to be goof for me in the long run, but getting up at half 5 is no fun for anyone! The snooze button gets pressed a few times as i am decide that showering in the morning isn't for me, not when those ten minutes can be spent in bed i can achieve just the same amount of waking up with throwing cold water in my face for the tap.

I get in to the city centre and up to Sutton Place easy enough, I am actually early again so i wait. All this information is pretty dull i guess, so i will fast forward. The shift today is pretty dull, a whole bunch of posters get dropped off in our wee library and I get a good look through some of them but still my knowledge of titles at the festival is lacking so most pass me by. I did at the end of the shift see my first celebrity however, if i saw her again i couldn't pick her out. Turns out she was on Battlestar Galactica, the new series and the reason she was in the library was that she was getting her photo taken and the place where that was happening is only a few doors along.

Looking through the stars of BG i think it was the actress who played "Boomer" but then i cant see anything in her filmography which would give her reason to be at TIFF. But what do i know at the end of the day.

So this spotting of a celeb happened at the cross over of shifts in the Library, there is two shifts that take the library from opening at 8am through till closing at 8, my shift for the week was the first half which finished at 2pm but the afternoon shift starts at 1.30. This was for a variety of reasons, for one if anyone was late they have 30 minutes grace as the 1st shift istn yet finished, and also if the likes of me or any of my other morning shifters want to see a film and need to dash away earlier then there is someone there to cover this. It works a charm. So it was one of the afternooners who spotted this TV star, this led to another afternooner tell us of his morning shift in the Press Office where he was trying to keep photographers at bay while press conferences were taking place. While he was doing this he inadvertently walked into one George Clooney. Pretty cool I think.

So to clarify slightly, the library is a floor up from the actual press office and on the floor the press office is on is a room which is turned into a room for press conferences. Lets call that the Press Conference room. These Conferences started today (not that I knew about it until the Clooney story came up, he also say Megan Fox too) and run basically all Festival. You, me and anybody can watch these conferences as they are available online here. it would appear that Mssrs Damon, Soderbergh, Bridges, Von Trier, DaFoe and MacGregor were there also. Not only that, Mr and Mrs Bettany were there following their Creation film opening the Fest. All very cool and I saw none.

The Clooney revelation did make me think I should pay attention a bit more when leaving the hotel in case someone is coming in at the same time. So i did.

Red was leaving T.O. that day after having enjoyed a lovely holiday (i surmise) so I met him again at Yonge and Dundas Sq where he was enjoying the end of the noon rockumentary about the Dixie Chicks, think he has mentioned it on another blog post on here. We decided not to wait for the Friday silent film as the film fest takes a wee back seat as embark on a journey that will see him arrive at the airport to catch his flight home to Blighty, and me home to have an early night and hopefully function better as a human being when the alarm goes off in the morning.

I managed it with bells on, i was sleeping before 10pm.

What i missed while in my slumberfest was the Men Who Stare at Goats premiere and The Informant! premiere plus a slew of other films on on the second day, but sleep was far more. The following day i begin my cinema going odyssey with earnest, the vouchers i have accrewed burning a hole in my pocket.

Ruud at TIFF 09 Part 1

okay lets kick this off way back at the beginning, the 10th of September, almost a month ago now but still, we wont let my ineptitude to get something like this up while its still relevent get in the way of a decent opportunity to have a slew of posts about a cracking time in my life!

Sept 10th; its the first day of the festival and I wake up on this Thursday morning with a jolt at 5am, I then snoozed the alarm a few times (why is a snooze 9 minutes?) and dragged myself out of bed and into the shower for about twenty past. Left soon after as I really had no idea where I was going or how long it would take. A forward thinking version of me would have possibly done a dry run at some point in the days leading up but no, guess work at how long it would take on early morning public transport and vague ideas of how to get there would need to see me alright.

Having no idea what i would be doing in my volunteer role at the festival i spent the day before doing a little study on the internet, basically i picked out the films I recognised from the first few days, it wasnt indepth or anything but it did mean that i was secure enough in my post to completely zombie it the whole journey in on the street car (tram service to non Torontonians) till i had to shake it to take my first trip on the citys underground, on the whole its not bad, more akin to Glasgows Clockwork Orange than Londons underground service, but hey this isnt a travelogue, its supposed to be an account of an (almost) insider view of a major film festival, the second biggest behind Cannes, and so i will continue.

So i got to Sutton Place pretty early, this was the idea actually as the Wednesday was an induction day of sorts and I didnt attend (watching Scotlands World Cup dreams die with Splices co-author Big Red was more important) so in am email i received it was advised i arrived early to get myself accustomed to the library. But then i was the first person i think to arrive so no press office no library, no nothing was open. Finally, (it was actually dead on time, if not a bit early) staffers arrived and to the library i went, shift started at 7.30am and were in!

This is what my role was in the communications department. At the hub of the Festival is Sutton Place, in this hotel (Sutton Place is an old hotel in the city, its very nice actaully) a room is set aside and acts as a library and is called the press and industry screening library. In this library some of the films featured in the Festival are available as screeners and in a adjacent room there is a bunch of TV's and DVD players set up for them to be watched on. I worked in this room. Basically, arranging time slots for viewings, handing over the discs, and trouble shooting any such problems with TV's or DVD players that arise. I was not alone though i had another two fellow volunteers doing the same job with me.

Can I just say it was pretty cool, lots of interesting people mill around this area, guys and girls in acquisitions for big production companys, representatives of other film festivals around the world and members of the world press all using this library to catch films that their schedules (their heaving schedules no doubt) couldnt. It was a pretty decent first shift, the folks i worked with seemed like good folks even though their seeming knowledge of films and in particualr the films at the festival seem to be way way way above me, i did kind of keep myslef to myslef however, lack of sleep usually means my words are pretty basic and long sentences can sometimes be beyond me in these situations so i decided to just to sit back and soak in everything and hope that in next few days i could catch some zeds and perk up.. Ho hum, day one and shift one over and I eased myself through it.

After the shift finished at half two i moseyed down to yonge and Dundas Sq to experience my first film of the festival. I kicked off with Steamboat Bill Jr and it was pretty good, i had never seen it before, actually the reason I went to see it is becuase Red told me it was good and he would meet me there to watch it, he didnt mind you he saw the last ten minutes or so after staying at the baseball till the final out. It was still a decent shout by him though Buster Keaton though is the man, some of the stunts are amazing. I did however have a bit of the "am i sleeping with my eyes open here?" moments though as the early rise began to get the better of me. I met up with Red afterwards and he took me and my good lady for dinner, what a gent. I suppose with all the films kicking off the first day of the fest it was an inauspicious beginning for me but hey, thats how it goes sometimes.

I suppose i should give some context to what i did with what else went on in the city in places i wasnt. The Festival officially kicked off with a film called Creation starring Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly who is his wife in real life, now i am not a Ok! or Hello fiend but i was surprised i didnt actually know that. Anyway, i am led to believe that it is the first time ever (if not ever then definitely in a while) that a Canadian film hasnt opened the festival. The photos of Connelly at the premiere are smoking i have to say, the film I hear is ok, Bettanny is Oscar material by all accounts, however one chap who say it said the monkey was was the best thing in it! scathing! I should note to those who have no idea what Creation is, its a film about Charles Darwin with Mr Jennifer Connelly as Darwin. Also having its premeire was Jennifers Body which is Diablo Cody's (Juno) new thing she wrote, its a horror or something. Anyways, Megan Fox was there and this caused all sorts of media attention, and why not. Antichrist and the new Almodovar film also got opeing night screenings but for this guy the day was all about Steamboat Bill Jr and being tired.

Mostly about being tired.

Toronto International Film Festival 2009 aka TIFF 2009

Two weeks ago today (1oth Sept) the Toronto International Film Festival 2009 kicked off and on Saturday past (19th Sept) it came to a close.

Since I am living in the city at the moment, I put myself forward to volunteer at this years festival and was duly accepted. After coming through the rigourous induction day (ha ha) and learned to accept my fate to be simply doing a couple of shifts over the ten days outside (or inside) a cinema in the city where the festivals films were being shown I recieved a phone call asking if I could promise myself for the whole ten days to work in the communications department (which I had originally hoped for) at Sutton Place Hotel. I duly obliged and signed myslef up for all ten shifts. It turns out this Sutton Place place was the hub of the TIFF (its acronym and what people actually call it, probably because they have no connection to Grants wife from Eastenders but hey) and so over the next week or so I will relay my time at the festival. What I did, what I saw, who I saw, hell even maybe some reviews could be posted in the coming days!

Of course this would have made an excellent day today diary type deal as and when the festival was going on but thats not how we roll at Splice, late or not at all is more our style.

So with this serving somewhat as a introduction I will bid you adieu. But please check in over the coming days to find out all about how my festival experience really was.

Thanks

Ruud Kerouac