Hollywood heavyweights like George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Oprah Winfrey may have been missing in action from the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. (Remember the paparazzi insanity that trio inspired in 2009?)
But TIFF 2010 revved this city up with Clint Eastwood and Robert Redford, mega-mogul Bill Gates and "The Boss," Bruce Springsteen.
Movie titans from Robert De Niro ("Stone") to Catherine Deneuve ("Potiche") showed a thing or two to Hollywood's new kids on the block.
Long-time faves like Natalie Portman ("Black Swan"), Ryan Reynolds ("Buried") and Nicole Kidman ("Rabbit Hole") hit new career highs.
And new Canadian directors like Michael Goldbach ("Daydream Nation"), Larysa Kondracki ("The Whistleblower") and "Heartbeats" sensation Xavier Dolan fired up all kinds of great buzz.
Not every film festival is perfect, of course. This whirlwind week was no exception.
"The big stars aren't giving interviews this year!"
I heard this complaint from journos all over the world: France, Australia, England, you name it.
I heard it a lot from Canadian reporters and publicists, which is ironic because this is supposed to be a Canadian festival after all.
Frankly, it frustrated the hell out of many people. It also makes me wonder if TIFF 2011 will be more of the same.
TIFF's move downtown also presented some new logistical challenges.
"I feel like a bloody ping-pong ball," said one Aussie reporter as we crossed paths several times one day at the start of TIFF.
Every day reporters dashed down to King Street for press conferences at the Hyatt Regency and events at the Bell Lightbox.
They ran up to Bloor Street for interviews and screenings.
Was it annoying at first? You bet.
Yet even all these irritations couldn't wipe the smile off my face.
Even now I can't stop thinking about James Franco's inspiring turn in "127 Hours" or the stunning political hypocrisy in "Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer."
I fondly remember Christopher Plummer's wonderful, masterful performance in "Beginners" and the absolute perfection Eastwood pulls off in "Hereafter."
TIFF's been packed with gems and I'll need a month's sleep to recover. But these favorite moments will stay with me long after TIFF 2010's limelight has faded.
1. "Biutiful's" Javier Bardem: TIFF's No. 1 movie and heartthrob
There is nothing pretty about Javier Bardem's face. In fact, "Biutiful" director Alejandro González Iñárritu says his leading man's mug is a crazy amalgamation of wild, disproportionate features.
And yet, nobody has charisma to burn on screen or off like this 41-year-old Spanish superstar. (Trust me. I sat in a room with this guy and I'm not lying.)
That was the unanimous consensus from a group of male and female reporters who met Bardem to talk about his new movie.
Bardem's gritty, heart-breaking performance as a father and drug-runner dying of cancer is so raw it almost makes you forget to breathe.
It also makes Bardem the front-runner for a Best Actor Oscar in 2011.
"This film was tough for me to do, especially the final scene," says the chatty, chain-smoking actor.
"I went as dark as I could go here. But I'm really a funny guy. That's what my family tells me."
"That Penelope Cruz," said one reporter, "She's so goddamn lucky."
2. And TIFF's nice guy award goes to… Josh Brolin
It isn't everyday that you see a Hollywood star run into an interview suite, grab the TV remote and sprawl out on a fluffy bed so he can watch a tennis game.
That's what Josh Brolin did moments before my TIFF interview with the 42-year-old star of "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger."
"I know this is really, really bad," the mischievous Brolin said with a grin. "Oh man! Can you believe these scores?" he asks reporters.
"Josh! We need you in the other room," Brolin's handler insists.
"Okay you guys. I'm leaving the remote in your hands. I want the score when I get back!"
Brolin got his scores and I got one of the funniest interviews in my career.
3. Best TIFF kisser? Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis, London, Ontario's Oscar-winning director, served up a huge surprise on the red carpet for TIFF's Artists for Peace and Justice Party.
Haggis stopped before the paparazzi, grabbed his buddy Josh Brolin and planted a big, fat, wet one right on the actor's lips.
Photogs went crazy. Reporters applauded. (Who says James Franco was the only life of this party?)
"This is what real me do for charity," a giddy Brolin roared.
Who could blame Brolin for feeling light-headed?
APJ's party proceeds helped Haiti's poor children.
4. Rachel Weisz a vision in white
Many actresses wowed those lining the red carpet, including "Tamara Drewe's Gemma Arterton and "Little White Lies'" Marion Cotillard. But Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz stole the show at a daytime screening of "The Whistleblower."
Weisz conjured up memories of 1940s screen queens as she walked onto the stage of the Elgin and Wintergarden Theatre in silky white palazzo pants and a back-revealing top.
Weisz later walked through the audience to shake hands and talk to fans.
That's real Hollywood beauty!
5. Colin Firth a prankster?
Who says suave, unflappable Colin Firth doesn't have a sense of humour?
The star of "The King's Speech" pulled a prank on co-star Geoffrey Rush on Day 1 of TIFF.
Firth and director Tom Hooper broke in on Rush in the middle of an interview toting a huge poster from their movie.
Rush's hearty laughter careened down the hallways of Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel.
6. Martin Sheen shows TIFF what he's got
"The Way's" Martin Sheen stopped traffic outside TIFF's Artists for Peace and Justice Party.
"I'll drop my pants for anyone that donates $1,000 tonight," laughed Sheen, 70.
A volunteer joked, "You're on."
Red-faced Sheen flashed enough of his briefs to leave reporters howling and applauding the No. 1 good sport of TIFF 2010.
Sept. 17 -- Winding down TIFF with some big, bad love
It's amazing what jealousies and suspicions can do to a relationship and an exhausted reporter as TIFF 2010 comes to an end.
Better than a crate full of Red Bull, "Last Night," the seductive new drama starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Eva Mendes, put some new, energized spring in my step. Thank you, director Massy Tadjedin.
"Last Night" also made my mind fly back to those wonderful, stylish "couples in trouble" movies of the 1960s like "Two for the Road" and "A Man and a Woman."
"I'm so glad you said that,' Tadjedin told me today. "I adored these movies. They definitely had an influence on my work here."
Tadjedin's homage puts new spin on a universal question: can couples stay faithful?
Worthington and Knightley play Michael and Joanna Reed, a "perfect" couple we first meet at a party thrown by one of Michael's business associates.
The beautiful Joanna witnesses a harmless conversation between Michael and his colleague Laura (Mendes). But the subtle, sexually-charged body language they share sends Joanna round the freaking bend.
A terrible blow-up follows. Michael heads off on a business trip with Laura. Hurt, angry Joanna broods over her husband's fidelity and the future of their marriage.
Just when you think Michael's the only bad guy here, an old flame (Guillaume Canet) crosses Joanna's path. Suddenly she, too, has to grapple with her secret desires and her ability to remain faithful to the one she loves.
"I think the idea of everyone having secrets goes hand in hand with the suspicions we harbour about the people we love," says Tadjedin, the screenwriter behind 2005's "The Jacket."
"Keira and Sam had a real challenge here. They had to epitomize years of marital history in a very short period of time. But their performances are so well calibrated. You feel for these people. You never judge them."
Shot in 27 days, Tadjedin's first feature-length film crackles with electricity and luxuriates in a moody, voluptuous beauty that's hard to resist.
"When this film got green-lighted I finally got a good night's sleep. When I saw the final cut for the first time with my crew it felt incredible," Tadjedin said with a laugh.
"There's only a ‘first time' you get to see your first big film finished. I made sure I enjoyed every minute of it."
Sept. 16 -- Connelly faces her fears in 'What's Wrong With Virginia'
When you're a brunette bombshell like Jennifer Connelly going blonde for your art isn't without its risks.
"If I'd gone any lighter I'd have no hair left. But it was addictive. I just couldn't stop," said Connelly, 39, the star of "What's Wrong With Virginia."
Penned and directed by "Milk" Oscar winner Dustin Lance Black, 36, this tale takes fearless aim at the underbelly of corruption in the Mormon church (Black has Mormon family members).
The film also co-stars heavyweight actors Ed Harris, 59, and Amy Madigan, 60 (Harris's long-time wife).
But the heart of this tale is Virginia, a sunny, well-meaning paranoid schizophrenic whose optimism saves the day.
"This role was a gift…but it was frightening," says Connelly.
"I've never done anything like this before. It felt like something you really had to surrender to."
There's plenty of seedy motive and emotional baggage to go around.
Virginia has a long-running affair with the town's sheriff (Harris), a Mormon do-gooder who likes to pray in the bedroom before he indulges in a little fetish sex.
She's got a son (Aussie Harrison Gilbertson) who is mortified by her every move but can't leave her behind.
"She's wild, she's crazy, but so what," co-star Harris told reporters. "Without her this guy wouldn't know how to survive.
That truth comes back to haunt the law-abiding Mormon, especially when he aspires to political office.
But if this movie has one big message it's this: truthfulness costs you. Black knows that all too well.
"Some people in my family were glad to have this stuff heard because in any religion…people want to see a shift, a change for the better," says Black.
"Others said shut up. Stop it. Don't get up there and talk about our church. But being truthful is something that is important in my life," he says.
It also made Black's mom cry at her son's TIFF screening. What better reward could anyone ask for?
Well…
If there is a close No. 2 on that list it would be this: having your voice heard.
That, clearly, is why so many first-time filmmakers really come to film festivals.
Take Iraqi director Ebrahim Saeedi ("Mandoo").
"We have to try and change humanity," Saeedi told reporters in a quiet corner of the Hyatt Regency.
There was no fanfare, no big, bright lights as journalists from France, Italy, Australia, Denmark and Ethiopia sought Saeedi and his translator out to discuss this story.
"Mandoo" tells the tale of a Kurdish family in an Iraqi camp that tries to return home after Saddam Hussein falls.
"The terrible things that are happening to these people could happen to any one of us in any county and any time. We should never forget that and we should help," says Saeedi.
Small films with big, important messages can sometimes get lost amidst all red carpet glitz, parties and star sighting on Bloor Street.
But isn't sharing a "message" really why festivals like TIFF exist?
As one vibrant French reporter told me today, "We are here to connect. This person talks to that person. We talk. We exchange. We understand."
Sept. 15 -- Legendary French icon Deneuve still has it
What? No press conferences today?
Many reporters faced that inconvenient truth on Day 7 of TIFF, especially those who didn't score one-on-one chat-time with the big stars still in the city. (Trust me. There were plenty of those journalists in that boat.)
Maybe TIFF organizers made the move to give that bustling stretch between Toronto's Regency Hotel and Bell Lightbox a rest.
It's been nutty down on King St. West this week, especially on Tuesday night when Springsteen appeared at the Bell Lightbox. Fans went wild.
Maybe TIFF organizers and volunteers needed a break (they could use it), or a chance to start winding this festival down.
You can feel it in the air. The end of TIFF 2010 is looming near.
But when you're a working reporter left with no stars to talk to you find them where you can.
Today it's at the movies.
So I headed to three downtown Toronto movie theatres (without any rushing), something I haven't done since TIFF began.
Before I knew it, I found myself thinking about the way screen queens have changed over the last four decades -- and how they have not.
First stop…
Toronto's Varsity Theatre, where I started my day watching Catherine Deneuve's wonderfully arch farce, "Potiche."
The legendary French icon brings it on here as the trophy wife (or potiche) of a patronizing umbrella factory owner in this screwball comedy.
Deneuve, 66, jogs in a little red suit with curlers in her hair. She runs her husband's factory after striking workers beat the crap out of him. She even brings in her ex-lover (Gérard Dépardieu) to help handle all the factory politics.
Even in that crazy 70s' jogging suit beautiful, regal, ironic Deneuve makes it all go down better than a piping hot croissant.
Next stop…
The Scotiabank theatre (TIFF's new hub) to see the Robert De Niro-Ed Norton drama, "Stone".
Milla Jovovich, "Resident Evil's" ammo-toting avenger, tries to compete with these Hollywood heavy-hitters.
She fails miserably.
Jovovich, 33, flares her nostrils and glares her eyes.
Translation? Milla's mad.
She seduces De Niro with about as much heat as a cold-water tuna.
Jovovich is so out of place here without her action-ista body suits and guns. But you've got to give the 34-year-old model-turned-actress points for trying -- and move on.
Final stop…
Another darkened Scotiabank theatre, where I see the Nicole Kidman-Aaron Eckhart drama, "Rabbit Hole."
I've heard many people praise this film this week.
They were right.
"Rabbit Hole" is gut-wrenching, absorbing. It's Kidman's best film in a decade.
Kidman, 43, is raw. She's messed up. She's exploding with subtle, brewing anger after her young son is killed in a tragic accident.
It was inspiring.
So, three actresses. Three very different films. And this trio gets me thinking…
Forty years ago actresses like Deneuve, Julie Christie, Sophia Loren and others weren't just beautiful superhuman mannequins toting big-gun ammo on screen. They were mysterious. They were daring chameleons.
And yes, these women could act.
There are actresses who fit that bill today -- Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet...
But then you've got a whole generation of new, aspiring "serious" actresses who seem to be spinning their wheels: Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Vanessa Hudgens, and yes, even Miley Cyrus.
The bridge between the Deneuves and Kidmans of this world is littered with some pretty awesome eye candy all right. But Hollywood wasn't built on looks alone.
Some young starlets will transition from today's action babes and romcom darlings to "serious" actresses.
Many will not.
What will happen to them when they finally have to 'grow up' -- and they can no longer pull off the lycra bodysuit?
Sept. 14
Day 6 on the TIFF beat has brought me a few revelations, some good and some bad.
"Another Year's" Jim Broadbent had a confession this morning during our interview at the Intercontinental Hotel.
"I've always thought that other people -- directors, and so on -- had a much better clue of what I could do as an actor than I ever did," said this British blueblood of stage and screen.
"Thank goodness that's been the case or I'd never have taken a role like (literary critic) John Bayley in ‘Iris'," Broadbent said with a laugh.
"I was 20 years too young to play that role. I was nothing like Bayley. Why any director would have sent me that script and said, ‘This guy is you!' is beyond me. But I'm glad they did," he said.
"That one got me an Oscar."
Critics are predicting another Oscar nod for the 61-year-old British actor thanks to his subtle, nuanced performance in "Another Year," the latest film from director Mike Leigh.
"I certainly wouldn't refuse it if it came my way. Another Oscar would look nice with the one in my office," Broadbent jokes.
Later that day…
"Barney's Version" star Scott Speedman made an odd revelation in the hotel elevator.
"I don't really like seeing myself on film," he told an acquaintance riding up the elevator with him. "It's hard for me."
Memo to Scott: I doubt many of us identify with your struggle…
Upstairs, at Intercon
I finally had a Robert Redford encounter -- well, the closest one I'm going to have during this film festival.
Standing in line outside an interview suite, I ran into a makeup artist I know.
She's a great girl and seldom have I ever seen her flustered on the job.
But the minute I mentioned Redford's name she stopped in mid-sentence, blushed 40 shades of red and gasped, "Oh my God. I saw him!"
Suddenly, as she and some actors entered the Hyatt Regency, the Hollywood icon appeared.
"Let's go say hi," said one actress. Off they went, except for the makeup artist.
"I've been kicking myself ever since," she smiled ruefully.
"You don't understand. I had T-shirts with Redford on them when I was a teen. I just couldn't go over there. I was too nervous. What would I say?"
It's a fair question. Every journalist in town who wanted to interview Redford has pondered that one. But shooting the breeze with Redford? Really, how hard could it be?
Redford sauntered over and stood a shoulder's distance apart from her.
"There he was right there in front of me and I still couldn't get up the freaking nerve," my friend sighed.
Too bad Mr. Redford. You'd have enjoyed talking this wonderful person!
And finally…
I experienced my first awful press person confrontation of my career today.
I won't give you the play by play. I showed up for an interview. The PR person gave me the wrong time. I came back when they told me to. I lost the interview.
I've heard about other encounters like this from friends over the years. The power tripping. The prima donna conduct. The rudeness.
It's not pretty. But that's life. You get over it.
Mistakes always happen, especially during a marathon like TIFF.
But it's never a mistake to be polite – to everyone at TIFF, not just the stars.
Sept. 13 -- Rachel Weisz talks sex trafficking at TIFF
There are times when you just have to stop yourself in the middle of all this TIFF madness and mutter a big, fat, "Wow!"
I did that twice today.
The first was when I saw "Client 9: The Rise and fall of Eliot Spitzer," the head-spinning new doc by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney.
You may think you know the whole story about the sex scandal that took down "The Sheriff of Wall Street."
That's what New York's straight-laced governor used to be called before a liaison with Ashley Dupre forced him to resign in 2008.
But to those who follow the tabloids and say "I know it all," well, my friends. You don't know Jack squat.
First of all, this doc's got Spitzer, dancing quite the dance as he tries to evade Gibney's toughest questions.
It's got sex, greed, corruption and hubris -- the kind that would make a Greek tragedian stomp his sandals with envy.
But most of all this gem has Gibney's revelatory research, all of which points to a shadowy group of Wall Street titans that secretly conspired to bring Spitzer down.
These guys, as Gibney told me in passing today, "Leapt at the chance to stick it to Spitzer in this movie." (And these sly foxes enjoyed the deed. That is unmistakable.)
Dupre, the opportunistic call girl/singer/celebutante, is the only no-show in this juicy potboiler.
Maybe she's too famous now, and sharing the screen with a disgraced politician just didn't cut it. (Gibney should have hired Brad Pitt to play Spitzer. Then I'm sure Ashley would have come out to play!)
Maybe the talented Ms. Dupre just wants to move on. Who knows?
But I promise you. "Client 9" goes for the jugular.
The hypocrisy and sheer, unbridled arrogance you will see here will make you laugh at times. It will make you livid.
It will also leave you with this thought: In France a sex scandal would have earned Spitzer the presidency; in America it landed the fallen Spitzer and one-time U.S. presidential hopeful a new gig on CNN.
Who says scandal doesn't pay?
Across town…
I had another moment of "Wow"-worthy revelation at the world premiere of "The Whistleblower."
Canada's Larysa Kondracki pulled off a feature-film debut today that most first-time directors could only dream of.
This dizzying political thriller tells the real-life tale of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska police officer turned peacekeeper who uncovers a sex-trafficking underworld in Bosnia and its shocking connection to the United Nations.
Oscar-winning actress Rachel Weisz plays Bolkovac, and she nails this one.
Frankly, I think Weisz gives one of the top five female performances of this year's festival.
Weisz was every bit the glam A-lister when she walked onto the stage of Toronto's Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre after the screening. (Weisz knocked it out of the fashion ballpark in a creamy-white outfit full of 1940s Hollywood style).
But all that was overshadowed by the star's gritty portrayal of Bolkovac, who brought the house down with a surprise appearance.
"I first read this script some four years ago," Weisz told me.
"When I first came across it I had just had a child. The timing wasn't right. But it was always there in the back of my mind. I just couldn't stop coming back to it," Weisz said.
"The Whistleblower" had every hushed moviegoer on the edge of their seats, myself included.
The violence that takes place here with the film's teenaged sex slaves is horrifying. (One audience member had to leave the theatre for air and fainted.)
The corruption in the UN and America's State Department is sickening.
Really, you just won't believe what Bolkovac endured to help these poor girls and get their story out there. But this story needed to be told and Weisz, Bolkovac and Kondracki do it with big, fat "Wow!" pow.
"I don't know if could have done what Kathy did. I'm a girl from posh North London. I probably would have taken my paycheque and just gone home, thank you very much," Weisz smiled.
Such honesty. Such great work! Such a satisfying day on the TIFF beat.
Wow!
Sept. 12 -- Journos pay the price for glamour
The TIFF party circuit is on fire, leaving all of Toronto looking a little like Playboy's version of the "Stepford Wives" this morning.
Maybe it's something in all that Fiji water that everyone and their brother guzzled last night on the festival beat?
Maybe what wreaked havoc in "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" is at work here? Unsuspecting Torontonians have been enveloped by alien pods and have come out looking like runway amazons. I don't know.
Whatever it is, interview suites and hotel lobbies are overrun today with tall, blonde babes in impossibly high heels as far as you can throw a rock. (But don't toss those stones too hard. You could knock some teetering star flat on her ass.)
Note: to TIFF fashion slaves. I heard of one journo today who tried to mimic this sexy screen-queen look.
She did the shoes, the mini skirt and the blonde extensions. Naturally!
What did she get for all her efforts? Her stiletto heel got stuck in a street grate. She missed her interview.
Ah, the price of beauty!!!
At last! I've come to a day of interviews topped by one kick-ass actress I adore.
"Made in Dagenham's" Miranda Richardson was on my date book today.
I was late. I was worried I'd blown it with Richardson before I even walked into the room.
"I hear she can be difficult," says one reporter.
Thanks pal! Just what my nerves needed to hear.
The door opens. Another reporter comes out. The verdict?
"She's a total pussycat," the journo assures me. Screw you Miranda bashers. What do you know!
Stars, cars and celebrity gift bags whizzed through the Intercontinental Hotel on Day 4 of TIFF.
I saw Maria Bello walking the hotel corridor checking her BlackBerry, looking every bit the class act she did last night at the Artist for Peace and Justice bash.
I heard one reporter say that Martin Sheen had been staying in the hotel under an alias. Doesn't everyone?
I even saw actor Ron Perlman sauntering into an elevator totally unfazed by TIFF madness.
"Okay, Ron. We're heading over to Can-West," his handler says.
"If there's a pair of jeans in it and some chocolate I'll be happy," the actor hums – and he can hum a pretty good tune.
But wait! Ron sings, too..
Leaving the Intercontinental I found the laidback actor in the lobby waiting for an elevator singing to himself.
"I guess I'll go through life searching for the missing thing," he crooned loud enough for anyone to her.
Maybe Ron will find what he's looking for -- and those jeans and chocolate -- in the next celebrity TIFF bag that comes his way!
Now here's something you don't see everyday on the TIFF beat.
Sept. 11 -- Josh Brolin puts on a show for journalists
Imagine Josh Brolin, the star of Woody Allen's "You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger," sprawled out before you on a nice, comfy hotel duvet. (This is for real folks!)
He lies there with the TV remote in his hand, happy as a pig in mud watching the quarter finals of the U.S. Open.
Does he care that a bunch of journalists he's about to talk to are in the same room watching him?
Hardly.
Does he feel bad that he's keeping other reporters waiting as he gets his tennis fix of the day on the fly?
Well, maybe a little. Brolin's a pro at this film festival game. He knows he's got a job to do.
"I know. This is really, really bad," the truant star grins, lying there like some affable retriever before his handler comes to haul him away.
"Oh man! Did you see the score?" he gasps, his eyes glued to tennis match.
"Okay you guys. I'm leaving one of you in charge of the remote," Brolin announces. "I'll be back in 10 and I want the score."
"Hide the remote," whispers one reporter. "That's all he's going to talk about when he gets back."
Is this celebrity insanity I've just witnessed? A brilliant ploy to keep us journos on our toes? Should we change all our interview questions? Maybe pretend we're all sports jocks so we can bond with Brolin over tennis trivia?
No need. Brolin got his score when came back. We reporters got a helluva fun time.
Shoes make the day
Fun and fabulous, of course, is the only thing anyone could say about the incredible platform shoes "Daydream Nation's" Kat Dennings wore during an on-the-fly photo shoot at the Hyatt Regency.
I can't remember the last time I saw something this freaking wonderful, and so early on during busy TIFF day.
Dennings. Those plush red lips. A little black dress to die for -- and those killer shoes!
"I wonder how much pain she's in?" jokes one reporter. "Those heels have to be seven inches high."
"I'm feeling wide awake now," laughs another male reporter as he gulps down the sight of Dennings with his coffee.
Fun times for everyone at TIFF, right?
Well, yes and no over at the "Waiting for Superman" press conference, where mega-mogul Bill Gates, singer John Legend and director Davis Guggenheim shared their thoughts on revamping America's educational system before its too late.
The film follows several lower-income kids and their families as they try to pursue their "right" to a good education in the United States.
But the system, say Gates and legend, has been set up so that bright, affluent kids get the good teachers and poorer students get what's left.
"Education is one are where every country has a big challenge," say Gates.
"Today the U.S. is 25th out of 30 countries by some measures. Twenty years ago we were the top in education," he explains.
"Technology is helping but it won't magically solve the problem," says Gates.
"It's all about the person who is standing in front of those kids -- the teachers," he says.
"We have to value that job in this country…so that we won't accept mediocrity. We won't accept failure because we value that position so highly."
Gates may not show it, sitting there expressionless in his nerdy beige suit and blue button-down shirt.
But his involvement in "Waiting for Superman" this film gazillionaire Gates a very happy camper.
Legend says, "I'm excited to see what this film will inspire."
Battle of the bros: Ben and Casey Affleck bring it on
The Affleck brothers are keeping it all in the family at TIFF this year, with each star bringing two high-profile flicks to the festival.
But who will win this sibling smack-down?
Hunky Ben? The daring Casey?
It's a tough one to call for some. But not so much in my books.
On this side of the ring we have "The Town," director Ben's cop-and-bad-guys drama. The contender is "I'm Still Here," Casey's crazy Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary.
Both films are very different to be sure. And without giving too much away, it's fair to say that each one has the stuff that will delight some moviegoers and drive others round the freaking bend.
"I just love that Ben," ooohed one female reporter at a screening of "The Town."
I won't lie to you. Most people in the tony screening room at Toronto's Hazelton Hotel liked this Boston-twanged bank-robber saga. (Maybe they really liked the plush chairs in the theatre -- they were nice and comfy! But the buzz was positive.)
"Ben's really got that ‘gang' thing down pat. The mood's so gritty. So authentic," said one reporter.
"I loved the boy-girl story. I love Ben," gushed others.
Huh! Guess I know now who everyone is dreaming about at night -- it's not Casey Affleck.
Thirty-eight-year-old Ben takes his shirt off here. He works out. He sweats. He's bad. He's good. It works as far as this meat-and-potatoes Hollywood flick goes.
But where's all that nuanced pain Ben? Where are all those subtle moral gradations we're supposed to buy in a bad guy (that would be you) who wants to go straight?
Did I miss something? Did the power of those VIP chairs mesmerize me to the point of blindness?
Frankly, all I saw was the same wounded hound-dog expression on Affleck's face throughout the whole damned movie. No amount of shirt removals or muscle flexing could change that for me Ben. Sorry.
This film really belongs to co-star Jeremy Renner. Every time Renner is on screen he is so menacing and alive.
You see torment on this very, very bad man's face. You see all the moral cracks yank open and close almost against Renner's will.
Now that's acting!
Against all that, "I'm Still Here" is a more redeeming and original directorial effort.
The whole concept is built around one question: Is Joaquin Phoenix giving up acting?
Is he? Isn't he? That puzzle has intrigued the media over the last 18 months, when Phoenix announced his retirement from acting to become a hip-hop artist.
Phoenix grew a crazy beard. He started acting weird and looking like ZZ Top meets "The Blues Brothers."
You have to watch the film for yourselves to find out what the real story is here.
But every step of the way Ben's 35-year-old little brother keeps you guessing.
The only certainly is uncertainty. For some that's a drag. To me that's a blast.
Big-budget bells and whistles may give "The Town" more winning game and more box-office bucks. We all know that beats everything in Hollywood.
But "I'm Still Here" pulls off the real KO in this duke-out. And this crazy-mad caper does it without a single, monotonous hound-dog look anywhere in sight!
Thank you Casey Affleck!
Sept. 7 -- Calling Mr. Redford!
I've had some pretty sweet offers come my way in these final, frenzied days leading up to TIFF.
Come to our luxury spa and get the star treatment (eat your heart out Megan Fox!). Taste-test TIFF party drinks (tough to refuse). Check out TIFF's gifting suites to the stars (the celebrity freebies were fabulous).
But one coveted offer was missing among all these enticements: "When would you like to talk to Robert Redford?"
"Have you heard back from Redford's people?"
That question buzzed through the air last week outside a pre-TIFF screening. The exasperated "Nos!" from vexed reporters dominoed over the theatre foyer.
Redford brings "The Conspirator," a drama about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, to TIFF this year. And as Oscar contenders go, this heavyweight's locked, loaded and ready for action.
"Ah, screw it! If Redford won't talk to me I'll find people who will," one reporter grumbled.
"Yes, but it's Redford," another journo piped in, determined not to give up. "Wouldn't you just love to sit across from those baby blues and hear that voice?"
Would I?
That's like asking Santa Claus if he wants a fourth helping of Christmas ham. Just slide that plate on over, honey, and let's dig in.
But there's something more that makes this elusive quest for an interview with the Hollywood icon so tempting.
Guys like Redford are an experience.
Rising from an era in Hollywood that no longer exits, Redford is myth and man. "Star" actor and director. A Hollywood heartthrob and highbrow who is what he is without any apologies.
How often do you see that mix in today's Hollywood?
I saw Redford speak at a film lecture several years ago. When people asked him tough questions about his work as a director and his politics Redford was articulate. He was polite. But he told you straight up what was on his mind, whether you liked it or not.
That takes guts.
It also takes a kind of confidence that you seldom see anymore on the interview circuit, where newbie "stars" are far more concerned about coming up with plucky TV bites than a personal point of view.
There's no question about it. We reporters are hardwired to want those interviews that we cannot get. And I, for one, won't give up on that tough-to-get interview with Redford.
For now, I'll just flip through my latest batch of "star" offers, nurse my wounded ego, and fight off those Robert Redford blues.
Aug. 31 -- The 'Hereafter's' tempting, but I'll take James Franco
Every journo has a wish list of celebrities they'd like to interview at the Toronto International Film Festival.
I, certainly, am no different.
This year Nicole Kidman, Bruce Springsteen, Natalie Portman and Robert Redford have all been inked (no pencil allowed here!) onto my TIFF dream list, along with dozens of other stars.
But TIFF always plays out much like Forrest Gump says: It's like a box of chocolates. You never know what (or who) you're going to get.
"How do you ever get these people to talk to you," I was asked by one relative recently. "Must be nice just to waltz in and have all these stars lined up ready to chat," she smiled.
Waltz in?!!!
Ah, family! You love them to bits, but sometimes you just want to throw a shoe at their heads to clue them in.
From the moment TIFF announces its final lineup in August I'm emailing publicists and sleuthing down distributors. I'm sending out company stats to win over celebrity handlers.
Then I repeat and repeat until I'm dizzy just to score two minutes with some Hollywood A-lister (which is what most reporters usually get).
No, my friends. Stars don't just fall out of the sky and onto that Nikki Beach lounge chair you've been saving all night. You've got to work for it.
But when you score! Well, that's what makes TIFF such a high for me. That and hearing a seasoned star say, "Hey! No one's ever asked me that before" gives me a huge rush.
Hunting for TIFF interviews may be a battle of the wills, won't's and why's (Will we get Nicole? Won't Redford do it? Why, dear publicist? Why?!"
But the hunt always serves up some good laughs.
"Who is Bruce LaBruce," asked one friend the other day?
"He's the guy behind ‘L.A. Zombie'," I replied.
Blank stare.
"You know, ‘L.A. Zombie' -- that film about alien zombies who roam the streets of L.A. and bring back the dead through gay sex. You've heard about it, right?"
Another blank stare. (See. Everybody learns something at TIFF!)
"Okay, what about Clint Eastwood?" my friend's eyes light up.
"He's on my list for ‘Hereafter.'" Matt Damon, the film's star, is there, too, I assure her.
"Damon? Oooh! And James Franco?" she beams. "Now him I love!"
My Franco-crazy friend is not alone.
Men and women alike have told me they'd gladly run me down for the chance to sit opposite the handsome star of Danny Boyle's new film "127 Hours."
Can't say I blame them.
Eastwood? Franco? Who would I choose?
I'll never tell. And really, what's it matter?
My star hunt's been fast and furious. Frustrating and fab. But in the end, TIFF newbies, some all-powerful, over-worked publicist nursing a bottle of Fiji water and a big bottle of Tylenol will ultimately choose for me.
Cross your fingers for me!
Constance Droganes has been CTV.ca’s entertainment writer and film critic since 2007. Over the past decade, Constance has covered the Toronto International Film Festival for American publications like "Women’s Wear Daily" and "People." This is her 13th year attending TIFF.
