Comments on: Toronto 2008: Celebrity fragrance and festival pirates

By: Serena

Serena — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 03:55:35 +0000

I was at the same screening of the Hurt Locker and even though I’ve lived in Toronto my whole life this was the first time I have watched a movie at TIFF. I thought it was really interesting to get to see the director and actors answer questions, since that is not something you’d ever get at a regular night at the movies. I’m planning on seeing another movie at this year’s fest and next year I’m hoping to see a bunch more. But even though this was a public screening it didn’t stop the guy beside me from checking his Blackberry every few minutes! Arrrr!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:02:57 +0000

canadia…do you mean canada?

By: movcritic

movcritic — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:36:35 +0000

I’ve covered Toronto for eight years (I’m not there this year), and I have to admit I love the benefit of the press pass merely for the fact that you can see as many as six or seven films in a day if you plan your screenings right (and pack a lot of food in your bag). So for the sheer volume, give me the press pass. However, I always made sure to hit a handful of public screenings so I could be reminded of who these films are actually for — the general audience. After days on end in darkened theaters surrounded by self-important PR people (and some self-important journalists) who are slaves to their BlackBerries and cell phones, it’s refreshing to be at a screening with people who are truly grateful for the film, the interaction with the filmmakers and the festival experience in general.

By: Conor

Conor — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 23:06:42 +0000

I think it’s better to go with Joe Public, as we got Thandie Newton wanting to ‘Shag the lot of us’ and then Guy Richie wanted to f#@k us all when we were done with Thandie… now you can’t pay for that kind of stuff! I also got to see Ed Harris get teary eyed when he spoke about his Dad being in his movie! now seriously, how cool is that experience!