Best bets for same day tickets for Monday, September 8, 2008, taken from the TIFFG alert:
Acolytes
Jon Hewitt
Monday September 08 11:59PM RYERSON
Adoration
Atom Egoyan
Monday September 08 06:00PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Apron Strings
Sima Urale
Monday September 08 03:00PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Ashes of Time Redux
Wong Kar Wai
Monday September 08 03:00PM RYERSON
Better Things
Duane Hopkins
Monday September 08 05:45PM AMC 7
Blindness
Fernando Meirelles
Monday September 08 11:00AM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Cold Lunch / Lønsj
Eva Sørhaug
Monday September 08 09:30AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Fear Me Not / Den du frygter
Kristian Levring
Monday September 08 03:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Is There Anybody There?
John Crowley
Monday September 08 04:45PM ISABEL BADER THEATRE
L' Heure d'été / Summer Hours
Olivier Assayas
Monday September 08 04:15PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Lymelife
Derick Martini
Monday September 08 09:30PM RYERSON
Real Time
Randall Cole
Monday September 08 12:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
PROGRAMME 2
Monday September 08 03:15PM AMC 3
Still Walking
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Monday September 08 09:15AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
Tears for Sale / Čarlston za Ognjenku
Uroš Stojanovic
Monday September 08 09:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
Teza
Haile Gerima
Monday September 08 05:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
The Country Teacher / Venkovský Učitel
Bohdan Sláma
Monday September 08 03:15PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
The Duchess
Saul Dibb
Monday September 08 02:30PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow
Monday September 08 06:00PM RYERSON
The Other Man
Richard Eyre
Monday September 08 09:00AM RYERSON
Un été sans point ni coup sûr / A No-Hit No-Run Summer
Francis Leclerc
Monday September 08 09:30PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Upstream Battle
Ben Kempas
Monday September 08 08:15PM AMC 9
Witch Hunt
Dana NachmanDon Hardy
Monday September 08 03:30PM AMC 6
Monday, September 08, 2008
Best Bets for Same Day Tickets for Monday, September 8, 2008
Quick Reviews for Day 4
I'll be a bit behind in reviews until I get another break in my schedule, but some quick thoughts on recent films:
- $5 a Day: I really enjoyed this movie, and thought both Christopher Walken and Alessandro Nivola did a great job as father and son on one final road trip.
- La Fille de Monaco: Good and interesting film, but I think the festival guide's characterization of this film as a 'romantic comedy' is misleading, especially to a North American audience. I would term it more of a dramatic comedy instead (plus, keep in mind this *is* a French film).
- Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies: intriguing documentary, and worth seeing if you are interested in art history, Picasso, or Braque.
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno: Hilarious film, definitely Kevin Smith's brand of humour, with a touching storyline, but boy is it raunchy.
TIFF and Elitism
Grumpy Old Film Dork points to a story in the Sun on how changes to the festival this year have people complaining, and festival director Piers Handling states in response his defense of the new policies and that he hasn't heard any complaints from the public directly:
http://freakinfilmpage.blogspot.com/2008/09/piers-handling-responds-to-elitism.html
I know I'm a bit concerned with the donor situation, at least in the context of the ticket lottery and preferential line treatment, and I definitely don't like being excluded from the Visa Screening Room after having shelled out $500+ on festival packages (especially when there are something like six films that you cannot see without passes or tickets to the Elgin or RTH). I think there's a real danger of creating a two-tier festival and moving away from what makes TIFF great, namely a festival centered around the public and not the industry.
I know I'll be forwarding my thoughts to the festival, and I suggest anyone who feels the same to do so as well, otherwise I can see this situation creeping in the wrong direction as the years go by.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
Best Bets for Same Day Tickets for Sunday, September 7, 2008
Best bets for same day tickets for Sunday, September 7, 2008, taken from the TIFFG alert:
7915 KM
Nikolaus Geyrhalter
Sunday September 07 08:45PM VARSITY 2
Adela
Adolfo Alix, Jr.
Sunday September 07 09:15PM AMC 2
Dean Spanley
Toa Fraser
Sunday September 07 12:30PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Flash of Genius
Marc Abraham
Sunday September 07 02:30PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Not Quite Hollywood
Mark Hartley
Sunday September 07 11:59PM RYERSON
Rachel Getting Married
Jonathan Demme
Sunday September 07 11:00AM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Programme 2
Sunday September 07 09:45PM AMC 3
Universalove
Thomas Woschitz
Sunday September 07 09:15PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Vacation / Kyuka
Hajime Kadoi
Sunday September 07 08:30PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
Voy a Explotar
Gerardo Naranjo
Sunday September 07 06:00PM AMC 7
The Wrestler
Darren Aronofsky
Sunday September 07 06:00PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
Chai Vasarhelyi
Sunday September 07 03:00PM AMC 7
Thoughts on Days 2 and 3
Some quick thoughts on days 2 and 3 of the 2008 festival:
- Pretty good so far, haven't seen anything I absolutely hated or couldn't comprehend.
- If you're picking up tickets, try the Roy Thomson Hall box office. It's a bit out of the way if you aren't seeing a gala, but I got through the line in about 10 minutes.
- I think the festival needs to evaluate the system for line ups at the AMC. It generally works for the box office line, but I've seen instances of people budding in as the movie lines go into to the theatre from the street; there's just too many gaps to completely stop that kind of thing. Maybe they should give out yellow tickets to those in the movie lines like they do for the box office line.
- Most of the TIFF hosts have been good for the Q&A's I've been at, but they should all remember to repeat the questions that are being asked so everyone can hear.
- Speaking of which, most of the Q&As I've been at so far have had good questions (the one exception being Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist), but my friend was at Yes Madam, Sir, and one woman spent more time talking about the organization she runs than asking a question of the woman who was in the documentary.
- I'm not sure the sound system completely works at Ryerson; for both this film, and for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, it was difficult to hear dialogue in scenes with a lot of background music (which, unfortunately, happens a lot in both films).
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Nick (Michael Cera) is a high school senior still pining over being dumped by his girlfriend Tris (Alexis Dziena). Dragged out by his friends and bandmates to play a gig in Manhattan one night, he runs into a classmate of Tris, Norah (Kat Dennings). Pushed together by friends and circumstances, Nick and Norah soon find themselves on an overnight quest through New York City to find both Norah's best friend Caroline (Ari Graynor), and a secret show put on by their favourite band, "Where's Fluffy?"
Many, including the festival website itself, have mentioned the film in the same context as Juno, mainly because of its indie feel, hip dialogue, and presence of Michael Cera, but it's probably not completely fair to do so. There's less of a narrative backbone in Nick and Norah, so they don't start from the same place; this film is really just about two people connecting over the course of one night.
There have been some mixed reviews of this film, but I still came out having enjoyed it. I liked Michael Cera better in this film than in Juno, but that might just come from him having a much bigger part here, although the character probably has a bit to do with it too. I liked Kat Dennings in her role. And Ari Graynor was a scene-stealing hoot. The film will probably find its core audience with those in their teens and twenties.
The director Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas) and cast was in attendance, and did a Q&A after the film. There weren't many good questions and it was hard to hear some of the responses, but the few that stood out are below:
One song that each cast member would put on their own mix CD:
- Jonathan B. Wright: Heaven
- Aaron Yoo: Kreuzberg by Bloc Party
- Rafi Gavron: Love of My Life by Erykah Badu
- Michael Cera: ?
- Kat Dennings: Straight Out the Jungle by the Jungle Brothers
- Ari Graynor: Freedom by George Michael
- Jay Baruchel: The theme from The Littlest Hobo
- Alexis Dziena: La La Love You by the Pixies
Favourite scene to shoot:
- Kat Dennings: the drag show, because she always wanted to go to one.
- Michael Cera: shooting in the restaurant because they got to eat lots of food, perogies and apple cider.
- Alexis Dziena: shooting a strip tease in freezing weather.
How did they get a Yugo to last through an entire shoot: there were three Yugos, but only one actually drove.
Some photos from the Q&A:
From left-to-right: TIFF programmer Jane Schoettle, Alexis Dziena, Jay Baruchel, Ari Graynor, director Peter Sollett, Kat Dennings, Michael Cera, Rafi Gavron, Aaron Yoo, and Jonathan B. Wright.
From left-to-right: Alexis Dziena, Jay Baruchel, Ari Graynor, director Peter Sollett, Kat Dennings, and Michael Cera.
Dioses
Dioses is the second film from director Josué Méndez, and it examines the lives of the upper class in modern Peru. The film is centered around the family of Agustín (Edgar Saba), with grown son Diego (Sergio Gjurinovic) and daughter Andrea (Anahí de Cárdenas), and Agustín's new trophy girlfriend Elisa (Maricielo Effio). They spend their summer days in the idleness of the rich, insulated in their clean, comfortable, modern lifestyle. Running under it all, everyone in the family has their own secrets, from Diego's unhealthy interest in his older sister, to Elisa's shame of her indigenous heritage.
The film is an intriguing look at a social facet of Latin American society not often seen, although it did remind me somewhat of Gael García Bernal's directorial debut at last year's festival, Déficit (http://tifftalk.blogspot.com/2007/09/dficit.html). Dioses felt like a stronger film in terms of how it looked at the relationships between the rich and their servants and between the past and the present. The story in Dioses is actually not so different from what you might think of in North America, just the context is different. A good, strong film that doesn't beat you over the head with its message.
Side note: Méndez worked with director Stephen Frears as part of the Rolex Mentor and Protege Arts Initiative, and discussed Dioses with him:
http://www.rolexmentorprotege.com/en/film/josue-mendez/work-sample.jsp
Director Josué Méndez and actress Anahí de Cárdenas (who played Andrea in the film) did a Q&A afterwards:
- Méndez closely watched the film at this screening, but mainly for technical reasons, as it was a new print on a premium Kodak stock.
- He started working on the film during the Festival de Cannes Cinéfondation residence programme. The story hasn't changed much, what has changed is how you get there. He always knew how the film would end and the main things in the story, but the scenes develop and the characters change once you bring the actors in.
- He said the process is an organic thing where you have an idea of where you want to get to, it evolves when you start working on it, it's a matter of discipline, and then it all comes.
- It wasn't hard to justify filming the story of rich kids, as it was personally important as he when to high school with a bunch of rich friends, and he had many different contradictory feelings to everything they did.
- It was really encouraging to show how they did things as there are very few Latin American, and even fewer Peruvian, films that really show how they live; most films show how poor and miserable people are, and there is a whole different face to their society that is important to show; there are all these rich, beautiful people that can be miserable too.
- There is a subtext to the film that might not be apparent to foreign audiences about the servants, how people relate to them, the middle class family of Elisa in the film. He wanted to keep all this in the subtext as it would be unreal if he made them more explicit.
- The subtext is very important to the film, as that's where his criticism of this social group is; it's hidden because that's how they behave, they never talk about problems; it's important not just what you see, but what is actually going on.
- An audience member related the film to the book Un Mundo Para Julius (A World for Julius) by Alfredo Bryce Echenique and asked if people are evolving or not. Méndez explained how the book is one of the great pieces of Latin American literature and was written in the 80's but based in the 50's, and had a similar relationship between the characters and their servants, so his response to the question was, evidently people are not evolving in their attitudes.
- He continued about how it is a vicious circle where kids are raised by the maids, they get together with themselves and have kids which are raised by maids, and it goes on and on and never stops.
- Anahí de Cárdenas talked about being raised herself by a maid; her mother had originally fired the maid thinking she could raise her daughter by herself, but called the maid back within a week after Anahí wouldn't eat anything. As she got older, Anahí would go out with her mother shopping, or to play tennis, or have lunch, and it was the same with all her other friends.
- She said it was weird, and not something she's proud of for her or her parents, but it's the reality they live in.
- On challenges, de Cárdenas talked as to how this was her first movie (she had previously been in the series Esta sociedad), and it was a humbling experience to have the film in Toronto, and Locarno before that. It was surreal, but the best experience making the movie.
- The hardest part was that she didn't have a technique to get out of the character; she got in and stayed there a couple of months. One day her dad came to her and said he wanted his daughter back. At that point, she was like 'I think I need a shrink.' She had broken off an engagement, her life had gone to hell, and getting over it all was an amazing experience.
Q&A with spoliers:
- Was the brother the father? Méndez doesn't think so, but thinks the character probably thinks that.
- For Anahí de Cárdenas, the most difficult scene was the scene in which her brother basically assaults her, and she couldn't look actor Sergio Gjurinovic in the eye after that.
Detroit Metal City
Detroit Metal City has to be the cutest, sweetest movie about death metal you'll ever see. Soichi Negishi (Ken'ichi Matsuyama, who has been in the Death Note films, along with Linda, Linda, Linda back at the festival in 2005 - http://tifftalk.blogspot.com/2005/09/linda-linda-linda.html) is a young man who heads off to college in the city with dreams of becoming a pop star, bringing dreams to people through his music. But shortly after graduating he finds himself tricked into fronting a death metal band, Detroit Metal City, ending up with a psychopathic manager with a penchant for flicking lit cigarettes at people, the brown-nosing bass player, and the drummer with an underwear fetish.
As both songwriter and lead singer Sir Johannes Krauser, Soichi comes up with and performs the most offensive songs imaginable, in sharp contrast from the cloying sweet lyrics of the bouncy pop tunes he writes at home. But one day, in his regular guise, he runs into college crush Yuri, who is now a music journalist and has no idea of his musical alter-ego. What follows is a comic romp as Soichi tries, progressively unsuccessfully, to keep his two lives from bleeding into one another, as the band heads for a showdown with metal god Jack Il Dark (Gene Simmons).
Can Soichi win the girl, realize his pop dreams and escape the world of metal, or is that world a bigger part of him than he will admit?
Detroit Metal City is a hilarious film, even if you're not a fan of metal (or of 'trendy' J-Pop). Soichi's transformation into Sir Krauser is startling to say the least, and watching him try to keep his secret while in character is no end of laughs. Recommended for anyone into more of the cult-side of Japanese cinema.
Director Toshio Lee, star Ken'ichi Matsuyama, and one of the producers were around for a Q&A:
- Lee said this was the first time he had heard this type of music; he likes rhythm and blues; and music is music - as long as it has a groove, it's fun.
- Matsuyama said he likes both metal and 'trendy' music, but really likes all kinds of music; his favourites are classical, from animation, and from games. His favourite musician is Joe Hisaishi (who has worked on many Hayao Miyazaki and Takeshi Kitano films).
- When asked if it was difficult getting Gene Simmons, Lee joked that he's still not sure that actually was Simmons in the film. Simmons was really great, but every time Lee wanted to talk about acting, Simmons wanted to talk about business.
- Matsuyama said that as he doesn't speak English, he was a bit nervous to work with Simmons, but Simmons was nice, approached him and spoke with him. Simmons told him that he should become a musician, that it's great, he can make a lot of money, and get all the women he wants.
- Matsuyama said, yes, Simmons did teach him some tricks with the tongue, but it was really Yoshihiko Hosoda that was doing all the tricks
- They auditioned many people to play the music in the movie, as many top Japanese metal names wanted to be a part.
- Apparently the guitar being used was a Metallica guitar, and they were excited to have it.
- TIFF programmer Colin Geddes mentioned how he was at the Fantasia Festival in Montreal and met the director of Tokyo Gore Police, who apparently designed the guitar used by Gene Simmons in the movie. Lee commented that Simmons found the guitar difficult to play because of the size and all the protrusions.
- Matsuyama said that Soichi didn't have a split personality, he was just one man with two faces, two roles he was playing, so it wasn't difficult to get into character. When he was Krauser, he just attacked everything in front of him. When he was Soichi, he was a real nuisance to everybody, even the kids didn't like him; he just got into that role.
- Matsuyama said it was difficult to run in Krauser's boots because the heels were really huge, and being a guy he never had the opportunity before. By the end, his ankles were killing him. Lee kept making him run and run.
- The producer joked that if the film plays throughout North America, he'd look forward to a sequel.
- The film encompasses the first two volumes of the manga.
- When asked if DMC will ever tour, Matsuyama said that he has to go back to hell first and check that out.
- Geddes mentioned that you can find DMC action figures, beach towels, and Krauser costumes on the internet.
- Matusyama just finished shooting a ninja movie (Kamui gaiden). Lee said he's presenting a number of different projects, but tomorrow he's going to Niagara Falls. He also has a project he's talking about that is part comedy, part horror, and asked Geddes if they'd invite him back for something like that, to which Geddes heartily agreed.
It Might Get Loud
It Might Get Loud is a window into the musical talents of three exceptional musicians; Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin; The Edge from U2; and Jack White of The White Stripes. This latest documentary from Davis Guggenheim, director of the Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth, is less a history of the electric guitar and more a look at these three personalities and their relationship to both the guitar and music itself.
The film jumps between the three musicians as they talk about how they started out, their first guitars, their inspirations, and the evolution of their sound. It all culminates in a couple of amazing jam sessions with all three playing off of one another.
We see Jack White's love of blues and how it shaped his direction, The Edge's wealth of equipment that gives his music his own unique sound, Jimmy Page's evolution throughout the years from skiffle to Zeppelin, and much, much more.
After watching this film you get an appreciation for the sheer artistry and skill of all three, and how they can coax the most amazing sounds from their instruments. It Might Get Loud is a must-see for any fans, anyone who plays the guitar, or even anyone who just likes music.
Some quick notes on the screening:
- The house seemed to be primarily filled with Zeppelin fans, based on the reaction to Page when he appeared or talked.
- Guggenheim thanked his wife, the actress Elisabeth Shue, who was also in the audience.
- I'm not sure the sound system completely works at Ryerson; for both this film, and for Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, it was difficult to hear dialogue in scenes with a lot of background music (which, unfortunately, happens a lot in both films).
Guggenheim, producers Thomas Tull and Lesley Chilcott, Jimmy Page, The Edge, and Jack White did a Q&A after the film:
- When The Edge was asked what he took away from watching the film, he joked that he regrets his choice of clothing. This was the first time he had seen the film in its entirety. He found it inspiring to watch White and Page, and it made him want to go practise.
- Jack White responded to the same question by joking that he thought it was great to find out the other guys were in bands too, and that he looked forward to hearing their albums someday. :-)
- Guggenheim commented on how the choice of subjects for the film was a discussion between him, Tull, and Chilcott, and that Page, The Edge, and White were their first choices. Guggenheim continued on how it was more about chemistry than about history, being accurate or being thorough; it was more about the three of them together.
- Tull said it was a bit surreal for him grow up poor and then be on stage with these three men. He runs a studio (Legendary Pictures), but plays the guitar and had been passionate about it for a long time. He had never seen anything that captured the essence about what makes someone pick up an instrument. He wanted to know what it was about the guitar in particular that all around the world symbolizes blues and rock.
- TIFF programmer Thom Powers asked if they'd put together an all-star group, to which The Edge replied someone should shoot them if that ever happens.
- On the process of making the documentary, Page commented that when all three of them were brought to LA for the 'summit' segment of the film, Guggenheim kept them all apart in separate trailers, so there was no conferring beforehand, and they had to pull it all together on the spot in front of the cameras.
- White said that initially it seemed that Guggenheim didn't know exactly what kind of film he wanted to make; White feels that when people come in with specific goals about what they want to make, it might not work out, but if they say they want a little bit of this, a little bit of that, it's better.
- He thought it was great to take something mechanical that three (or even millions of) people have a different take on; why this instrument rather than the sitar or clarinet or something else; that's what interested him.
- Leslie Chilcott talked about how she couldn't believe how it all came together so well. They met first with Page and his management, and were on pins and needles until they said yes. Then they went after The Edge and Jack White. The hardest part was trying to get three rock stars available on the same day. She thought Al Gore's schedule was ridiculous, but this was much harder.
- When White was asked if The Edge's 'high-end' approach appealed to him, i.e. The Edge has more pedals than him, The Edge cut in that he's a lot older than White. He continued that there are a lot of things you can do creatively with unlimited means and opportunity. He has done projects that were more limited or constricting to get more creatively out of limited means so he could learn more.
- The Edge also found it interesting to see how many pieces of equipment they all had in common, because in the end all they are looking for is a great guitar sound; they don't care how they get it, they just want that sound.
- Page said while filming they shouldn't talk about this stuff, because they'll see a lot less of it as someone else will buy it.
- Final question was what guitar they would take if they were stranded on a desert island: White would take Page's guitars, Page would take White's customized guitar, and The Edge would take his Explorer.
It Might Get Loud and Detroit Metal City
Full reviews and Q&A's coming later for It Might Get Loud and Detroit Metal City, but both films were excellent and well-worth seeing. It Might Get Loud was a special treat with Jimmy Page, Jack White, and The Edge all in attendance at the screening and answering questions in a Q&A afterwards.
Tony Manero
Tony Manero is the character played by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, and who serves as the inspiration for Raul, a 50-something man who's main goal is to win a variety show's contest to find Chile's own Tony Manero. Set in Augusto Pinochet's Chile of the late 1970's, the film pushes Raul (played by Alfredo Castro), his girlfriend Cony, her grown daughter Pauli, and Pauli's boyfriend Goya front-and-centre, pushing the politics of the time into an ever-present and looming backdrop. Taking a slice of a week in their lives, the film follows the group as they practice their dance routine for a local bar, and follows Raul into an descending cycle of violence as his obsession with Tony Manero takes over to the exclusion of all else.
Raul is an almost completely unsympathetic psychopath, prone to unexpected outbursts of violent behaviour, making this film challenging to watch at times. The politics of the time peek out from the background now and then, giving a feel for what it must have been to live in such an oppressive state without being overly didactic. I got the sense that while the others viewed dancing as an escape from their lives, for Raul, it was simply a compulsion that soon consumed him completely. A good film, with some good performances, especially by Castro, but definitely not a light film that you can just breeze by.
Director and co-writer Pablo Larrain was in attendance, and stayed for a Q&A after the film:
- Castro couldn't be in Toronto, as he was in Chile getting ready to go to Japan.
- It was surprisingly easy to get the rights to footage of Saturday Night Fever, not very expensive. Paramount understood it was an art-house movie that wasn't out to damage the film. And since Grease falls under the same studio, they only had to deal once.
- There was a parallel between Raul and Pinochet; Raul's impunity, rage, and anger mirrored that of the regime. His unexpected behaviour and violence is also that of the country; he's not alone, he's not the only one.
- Larrain talked to homicide detectives of that time, and they said they didn't have time to deal with regular crimes like those in the film, because they were all working for the regime.
- Castro didn't base the character on anyone in particular; he also didn't watch Saturday Night Fever, just the dance scene and the scene where Manero's brother talks about leaving the church.
- Larrain said that sometimes when you make a film, you're trying to tell a story, but what you really want is to get a tone or atmosphere, and that's what films are in the end, more than the dramatic plot. It's a mood you're trying to reach.
- The tone of this film was in the air of those days; Castro was 20 in those days, so he probably based his character more on his own personal experience of that time than on anyone else.
- The abrupt ending was intentional, as he was trying to show to the audience a fragment of someone's life by showing 4 or 5 days of a life, and the film begins and ends with movement; there's no sudden Hollywood-like climax. We don't know where he's going, what he's going to do, what he's thinking or feeling; the audience may complete that themselves.
- The scenes which were blurred or out-of-focus reflect how people who lived through that time tended to have hazy recollections, how it's like a bad dream you don't want to remember.
- They didn't want to idealize anything, so that why it's hard to watch at times; he also referred to the realistic, flawed sex scenes in the movie as another example of trying not to show things as beautiful when they weren't.
- The dialogue was about 70% scripted, and the rest improvised by everyone. Things change a lot on set.
- In 1976, Pinochet brought in a bunch of young US-educated people who changed the social and economic systems of Chile, and by the time of the film in 1978, we see the impact of that. European films and culture were often banned, so US culture was what was imported. Raul sees Travolta's working-class character as similar to him, but actually he's not, as Raul is 50, he doesn't look like him or dance like him, but he still wants to be him, and Larrain sees the film as about that and the story of his country.
Best Bets for Same Day Tickets for Saturday, September 6, 2008
Best bets for same day tickets for Saturday, September 6, 2008, taken from the TIFFG alert:
Deadgirl
Marcel SarmientoGadi Harel
Saturday September 06 11:59PM RYERSON
Every Little Step
James D. SternAdam Del Deo
Saturday September 06 04:30PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Faubourg 36 / Paris 36
Christophe Barratier
Saturday September 06 02:30PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Mia et le Migou / Mia Mia and the Migoo
Jacques-Rémy Girerd
Saturday September 06 07:00PM AMC 3
Ocean Flame
Liu Fendou
Saturday September 06 08:30PM VARSITY 4
The Secret of Moonacre
Gabor Csupo
Saturday September 06 12:30PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
The Sky Crawlers
Mamoru Oshii
Saturday September 06 09:00AM RYERSON
Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love
Chai Vasarhelyi
Friday September 06 03:00PM RYERSON
Friday, September 05, 2008
Best Bets for Same Day Tickets for Friday, September 5, 2008
Best bets for same day tickets for Friday, September 5, 2008, taken from the TIFFG alert:
33 Scenes From Life / 33 Sceny Z Źycia
Malgośka Szumowska
Friday September 05 03:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Achilles and the Tortoise
Takeshi Kitano
Friday September 5 09:00AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
Adela
Adolfo Alix, Jr.
Friday September 5 08:00PM AMC 9
All Around Us / Gururi Nokoto
Ryosuke Hashiguchi
Friday September 5 05:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
Apron Strings
Sima Urale
Friday September 5 04:00PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's Not Me, I Swear!
Philippe Falardeau
Friday September 5 04:30PM WINTER GARDEN THEATRE
Dernier Maquis / Adhen
Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche
Friday September 5 12:15PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
Delta
Kornél Mundruczó
Friday September 5 02:00PM AMC 7
Detroit Metal City
Toshio Lee
Friday September 5 11:59PM RYERSON
Everlasting Moments / Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick
Jan Troell
Friday September 5 08:45PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Khamsa
Karim Dridi
Friday September 5 12:30PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
Knitting / Niu Lang Zhi Nu
Yin Lichuan
Friday September 5 08:30PM AMC 6
L' Empreinte de l'ange / The Mark of an Angel
Safy Nebbou
Friday September 5 07:15PM VARSITY 8
Linha de Passe
Walter SallesDaniela Thomas
Friday September 5 02:45PM RYERSON
Passchendaele
Paul Gross
Friday September 5 08:45AM RYERSON
Plus tard, tu comprendras / One Day You'll Understand
Amos Gitai
Thursday September 5 04:30PM VARSITY 8
Revanche
Götz Spielmann
Friday September 5 09:30AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Snow / Snijeg
Aida Begic
Friday September 5 09:45AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2
The Sky Crawlers
Mamoru Oshii
Friday September 5 12:00PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
Three Wise Men / Kolme viisasta miestä
Mika Kaurismäki
Friday September 5 05:30PM AMC 6
Treeless Mountain
So Yong Kim
Friday September 5 05:15PM AMC 3
Universalove
Thomas Woschitz
Friday September 5 09:15PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
Unspoken
Fien Troch
Friday September 5 09:00PM JACKMAN HALL - AGO
Vinyan
Fabrice Du Welz
Friday September 5 09:00PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 1
JCVD
The 6th film from director Mabrouk El Mechri, JCVD takes its name from the initials of its star, action hero Jean-Claude Van Damme, who basically plays a thinly fictionalized version of himself. In JCVD, Van Damme is feeling all of his 47 years as he films yet another action flick. Frustrated with being unable to break the stereotype that has confined him within the genre, and depressed at losing custody of his daughter, he takes off to Belgium for a vacation only to become embroiled in a robbery and subsequent hostage-taking at a post office. But has he really, as the police believe, reached the end of his rope and resorted to criminality, or is there more to the story?
Told from a frame of reference that shifts back and forth in time, gradually revealing more of the situation, JCVD gives its star the chance to do more than just toss off one-liners while kicking the crap out of a series of bad guys; it allows him to actually act and reveal many of the raw emotions and feelings the real Jean-Claude Van Damme actually has. While ostensibly just a film, JCVD is actually at times a confessional for Van Damme to talk through the personal and professional challenges in his life. He comes off quite self-deprecating, funny, honest, and sympathetic as both a character and a human being.
I really enjoyed this film, and it gives me a new appreciation for Van Damme. Whether he could pull this off in a role that wasn't basically playing himself remains to be seen, but after this, I'd be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Van Damme couldn't be at the screening as he is in Thailand (I think) directing (for the 2nd time) a new film. He did tape a short greeting specifically for the festival thanking everyone for coming out for the film.
Director Mabrouk El Mechri was in attendance, and did a Q&A after the movie (no spoilers):
- The concept for the film originated with a producer that had an agreement with Jean-Claude to play himself in a movie. The producer, knowing El Mechri was a Van Damme fan when he was young, asked him to review the original screenplay, as it wasn't quite what the producer had expected, in that the screenwriters had perceived Van Damme to be just a clown.
- El Mechri felt that there was more to Van Damme than just what people saw on the screen, so he offered to write a draft, and the producer asked if he would direct it as well. El Mechri agreed on the condition he could meet Van Damme first before starting the draft, so he wouldn't waste six months on something that Van Damme would veto.
- El Mechri and Van Damme had dinner, where the idea for the film was pitched, with the post office and not knowing what has happened inside, and Van Damme was thrilled, and watched El Mechri's first film, and then he went to work.
- About 70% of the film was scripted, and the other 30% was improvised from the actors.
- El Mechri actually didn't write much for Van Damme, as he did want Van Damme to be limited by the words, as he has 'his own music'.
- El Mechri and Van Damme had an agreement that the latter couldn't yell 'cut' to end a scene (as he has done on many of his other films), because there wasn't room for two control freaks on the same set, and Van Damme put his trust in El Mechri.
- The scene with Van Damme's agent, after the custody hearing, was ad-libbed.
- The woman who played the cab driver actually owned the restaurant where they ate lunch during pre-production of the movie; El Mechri was entranced by her Belgian accent, and had her audition for the role (which was originally for a man).
- The whole scene in the taxi is completely improvised. El Mechri told Van Damme to just be nice to the driver no matter what she said.
- El Mechri would love to work with Van Damme again if the right script came along.
- The opening intro scene was filmed at the end of the shoot for insurance reasons.
- They rehearsed the intro over an entire night and shot 4 or 5 takes.
- Jean-Claude actually has a son, but they had to change his child in the movie to a daughter for legal reasons. El Mechri joked that he thinks the daughter's name, Gloria, came to him because he was listening to the Van Morrison song of the same name.
- El Mechri was drawn to Van Damme in particular because they are both European, and Van Damme was a regular guy who wanted the American dream. El Mechri said it isn't the same for Chuck Norris or Steven Segal.
- El Mechri's favourite Van Damme film is Bloodsport. His influences include (I believe he said) Robert Richardson, who was the cinematographer on a number of Oliver Stone films (and for Scorsese as well). He wants to make films that he would want to see as an audience. You need to respect your influences, not dodge them. He likes Robert Wise, Sidney Lumet, P.T. Anderson, and Park Chan-wook as directors.
- The coke scene in the club and the fighting scene from the promo teaser are not in the movie as they didn't fit the rhythm of the film. They would have been long flashbacks, and El Mechri wanted to get to the post office quickly. But he will do a version of the film for the DVD where all the scenes are in chronological order, including those deleted scenes. Also, he feels in the theatre, attention spans are less than when you are at home watching a DVD.
Other notes (no spoliers):
- Pay close attention to the Gaumont logo at the beginning of the film, before the credits start; you don't want to miss it!
- Toshio Lee, director of Detroit Metal City, was in the audience, and flashed metal horns to the audience to great applause.
- I believe it was JT Petty, screenwriter and director of The Burrowers, was also at the screening.
Other Q&A notes (possible spoilers):
- In the opening intro scene, Van Damme's comment about not being able to film in one shot was his own ad-lib, partly in response to El Mechri actually wanting to shoot the scene in one shot.
- By the third part of the scene, he had already killed 5 or 6 guys and Van Damme felt that was enough, but El Mechri told him there was 20 more guys waiting over there, and Van Damme tried all night to get him to shoot it in 3 shots.
- El Mechri surrounded Van Damme with young stuntmen in their 20's, which ticked him off and actually prompted him to do the scene in the one shot.
- The scene with Van Damme's monologue was not scripted by El Mechri; Van Damme called El Mechri at 3 AM the night before shooting started with concerns about doing the film and what was at stake. Van Damme was worried that they hadn't addressed his problems with drugs or his relationships with women, and he wanted to put lots of other things in. But El Mechri demurred as they already had a script and a schedule. El Mechri told Van Damme that he'd prefer to just shoot Van Damme talking about all this stuff naturally. After all, the film is named JCVD, so why not have a reel for him.
- El Mechri didn't want to awkwardly edit in the scene, so he thought right after when the mother tells Van Damme that he can't take care of his own kid would be the right place.
- Van Damme made El Mechri swear not to tell anyone about the content of what he wanted to say. So El Mechri booked off 2 hours in the 5th week of shooting, and called it the X scene. He had a big black curtain set up, as Van Damme is a shy person, and El Mechri didn't want him to make eye contact with anyone before or during the scene.
- Van Damme didn't know about the crane in the scene. El Mechri just buckled him into the chair.
- When Van Damme talks about not wanting to die in the post office, that was the cue for El Mechri to bring him back into the film by lowering the crane. There was a red light next to the camera to indicate how much time was left for the scene.
Thoughts on Day 1
Some quick thoughts on the first day of the 2008 festival (ok, I only saw one film):
- JCVD was excellent, and although JCVD himself wasn't present (he was directing his 2nd film in Thailand, I believe it was), director Mabrouk El Mechri was, and gave a very good Q&A (review is coming).
- HBO was giving out DVDs of the first episode of the upcoming series True Blood, from Six Feet Under creator Alan Ball.
- The festival again this year is keeping things short and sweet before the film. Quick spots for Motorola and Cineplex, a quick funny spot from Cadillac, a new volunteer spot, and a short Bell Lightbox spot (which is not using Feist's I Feel it All this year; pity, as that was really catchy. I haven't heard enough of this year's to place it, but feel free to comment if you recognize it).
- My friend actually lost his ticket to JCVD, but some kind soul found it and returned it to the Toronto Life Square box office, and they were able to track him down and get him to pick it up. Nice to know that Toronto the Good still exists today.
- As I was walking to Ryerson, I passed by a huge crowd waiting behind the Elgin for what I assume was the cast of RocknRolla. Looks like if you're trying to see any celebs for screenings at the Visa Screening Room, the back entrance is where you want to be.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Official Festival Updates
For updates from the festival, check out the Live From The Festival page at the main TIFF web site (http://tiff08.ca/livefromthefestival/default.aspx). They have Best Bets for same days tickets, festival news, press releases, photos and videos, as well as updates on schedule changes and additional showings. Each section also has its own RSS feed.
What Films to See?
It's too early yet to figure out what films will get the good buzz this year, but if you're not sure what to see, I took a look at the schedules of 11 of the bloggers I read (plus my own), and figured out what the most popular films were:
Films selected by 7 Bloggers
- Detroit Metal City
Films selected by 6 Bloggers
- The Brothers Bloom
- JCVD
- The Wrestler
Films selected by 5 Bloggers
- Achilles and the Tortoise
- Synechoche, New York
Films selected by 4 Bloggers
- Cooper's Camera
- The Dungeon Masters
- Genova
- It Might Get Loud
- Martyrs
- Me and Orson Wells
- New York, I Love You
- Pontypool
- Sauna
- The Sky Crawlers
- Tears for Sale
- Uncertainty
- What Doesn't Kill You
- Zack and Miri Make a Porno
The blogs I looked at are:
Same Day Tickets
If you haven't already signed up, it may be worth your while to subscribe to the TIFFG Alerts:
http://tiff08.ca/tiffgalerts/default.aspx
Pick the one for the Toronto International Film Festival. Every day, they will send out an e-mail listing some of the best bets for getting same-day tickets. Today's e-mail lists:
- 6:00 PM Plus tard, tu comprendras (One Day You'll Understand)
- 6:00 PM Zift
- 7:45 PM Edison & Leo
As mentioned before, you can buy same-day tickets at any of the festival box offices or at the theatre box offices. If the film you want is sold out, you can try the rush line at the theatre screening the film. The TIFFReviews site has a forum with tips on doing the rush line (http://www.tiffreviews.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=887).
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Ticket Options and Festival Tips
One final informational posting before the start of the festvial tomorrow.
If you still want to buy tickets for a showing in advance (i.e. before the day of the showing), you can do so:
- Online, at http://tiff08.ca/. Click the Buy Tickets link at the top right of any page on the site.
- By phone at (416) 968-FILM or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM.
- At the Manulife Centre box office at 55 Bloor Street West (Bloor and Bay Streets), on the 1st floor, north entrance.
- At the Toronto Life Square box office at Yonge and Dundas, on the 3rd floor.
- At the Roy Thomson Hall box office at 60 Simcoe Street.
Online or by phone, you must use Visa (the festival does not accept any other credit cards).
At the box offices, you can use Visa, cash, debit, or top-up vouchers (I don't know if you can use vouchers online, but I wouldn't count on it; please post in the comments if you can).
To buy tickets the day of the screening, you can use any of the above methods, or starting one hour before the first screening of anything that day at the theatre, you can buy directly from the theatre box office. These box offices are at:
- Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre
- The Wintergarden Theatre
- AMC Yonge & Dundas 24
- Varsity
- Scotiabank
- Ryerson
- Isabel Bader
- Cumberland
- Jackman Hall
Note these box offices will only sell same-day tickets. You will not be able to buy tickets for other movies on other days.
If you order over the internet or the phone, you can pick up your tickets from the Manulife Centre, the Toronto Life Square, or the Roy Thomson Hall box offices. You can also pick up your tickets at the box office of the theatre showing the first film in your order, provided you get there at least an hour before the screening starts.
If you can't buy advance or same-day tickets, try the Rush Line at each theatre. The box office will sell any tickets where ticket holders don't show up 15 minutes before the screening or if extra tickets become available, to people in the Rush Line on a first-come, first-served basis (note: there's no guarantee that there will actually be any tickets available for people in the Rush Line). On occasion, ticket holders that don't want to see the film or that have extra tickets, may go down the line offering their extras; I've been on both ends of this before. You can also try one of the forums at TIFFReviews.com (http://tiffreviews.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=45)
Some tips for the festival:
- Make sure you are in the right line. Ask festival volunteers (the ones with the headsets or festival t-shirts) what line you should be in. Multiplexes like the Varsity will have multiple films lining up at the same time, so you want to make sure you are in the right one. Plus, each theatre has a rush line as well, which is for people who still want to buy tickets, not those who already have one.
- Be at the theatre at least 15 minutes before the start of the screening, otherwise you are not guaranteed a seat, even if you have a ticket. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start of a movie, they will not let you in.
- Not all theatres allow food and/or drink. The Cumberland, Varsity, AMC, and Scotiabank theatres allow food/drink since they are all part of the big theatre chains, but other theatres like Ryerson do not. So don't buy take-out or a big coffee right before you go into one of those.
- Don't leave empty seats next to you. Squeeze in, because generally speaking, every film will be playing to a packed house.
- Be aware of where you sit if you are watching a subtitled movie. Not all theaters have good sight lines to the bottom of the screen.
- If you have limited time between screenings, don't forget all the factors that might affect you: many screenings will have a Q&A after the movie, and the time for any Q&A is not factored into the screening time in the schedule (you're not obliged to stick around for the Q&A, though); films will occassionally start late for a variety of reasons; some theatres are far apart from one another.
- Speaking of Q&As, if you're going to speak up, make sure you actually have a question or keep it short. No one else wants to hear you gush over the director or cast for 5 minutes, no matter how good the film was. If you want to do that, try to catch them after the Q&A is over. In a similar vein, it generally does not go over well if you want to spend your question severely criticizing the director without anything constructive to say or ask.
- Don't forget to turn off your cell phone, and for pete's sake, don't text or talk through the movie (especially if you're in the industry; the rest of us don't care how much of a Hollywood bigshot you are :-))
- It should go without saying that you shouldn't be taping movies, but in case that's not obvious, I've been at a number of films where they've had people scanning the audience during the screening, with and without night-vision goggles. Also note that taping movies is now a criminal offense that could net you 2 years in prison.
- Be nice to the volunteers; they don't get paid for this (other than getting a ticket from whatever is still available after having worked for several hours in a row). Just think about how much *more* expensive the festival would be without them. :-)
Sold Out Films
As of 7:36 AM on September 3, 2008, the following films are marked as sold out:
UPDATE: list updated as of 6:47 PM on September 3, 2008. Don't let the huge list scare you off; there are still plenty of films available (maybe just not the specific ones you want to watch :-)), including gala and Visa Screening Room films.
Thursday, September 4:
6:30 PM Passchendaele
7:00 PM Country Wedding
7:30 PM $9.99
8:30 PM Ocean Flame
8:45 PM O'Horten
Friday, September 5:
9:15 AM Three Monkeys
2:15 PM A Film With Me In It
5:15 PM Examined Life
5:45 PM Horn of Plenty
6:00 PM Me and Orson Wells
7:45 PM Wendy and Lucy
8:30 PM Unwanted Witness (Sin Tregua)
8:30 PM The Burning Plain
9:00 PM Lovely, Still
9:15 PM Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
9:15 PM It Might Get Loud
9:30 PM The Rest of the Night
9:30 PM Burn After Reading
Saturday, September 6:
9:15 AM Tony Manero
9:30 AM 33 Scenes From Life
12:00 PM The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World
12:15 PM The Paranoids
12:15 PM O'Horten
12:30 PM Sauna
12:45 PM Three Monkeys
1:00 PM Lovely, Still
2:45 PM Blind Sunflowers
3:15 PM Acne
3:30 PM The Rest of the Night
4:00 PM Me and Orson Wells
4:30 PM American Swing
5:30 PM Once Upon a Time in Rio
6:00 PM Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
6:30 PM Laila's Birthday
6:45 PM $5 a Day
6:45 PM New York, I Love You
8:00 PM Pontypool
8:30 PM The Ghost
8:45 PM My Mother, My Bride and I
9:00 PM Soul Power
9:00 PM Three Blind Mice
9:00 PM Religulous
9:00 PM Blindness
9:15 PM Middle of Nowhere
9:30 PM Hunger
Sunday, September 7:
9:45 AM The Burning Plain
10:15 AM Once Upon a Time in Rio
10:30 AM Serbis
12:00 PM Yes Madam, Sir
12:00 PM The Country Teacher
12:00 PM The Secret Life of Bees
12:30 PM Derriere moi
12:45 PM Wendy and Lucy
1:00 PM Food, Inc.
3:00 PM All Around Us
3:15 PM Afterwards
3:15 PM Picasso & Braque Go to the Movies
3:30 PM Everlasting Moments
4:00 PM Waltz with Bashir
4:15 PM When Life Was Good
6:00 PM Le Silence de Lorna
6:15 PM The Stoning of Soraya M.
6:30 PM The Ghost
6:30 PM The People Speak
7:00 PM A Film With Me In It
7:45 PM C'est pas moi, je le jure!
8:15 PM Coopers' Camera
8:30 PM 24 City
8:30 PM From Mother to Daughter
8:30 PM Genova
9:00 PM Gomorrah
9:15 PM Zack and Miri Make a Porno
9:30 PM Dioses
9:30 PM Management
10:00 PM Country Wedding
Monday, September 8:
9:00 AM Hunger
9:45 AM My Mother, My Bride and I
2:30 PM The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World
2:45 PM Uncertainty
3:00 PM Heaven on Earth
3:15 PM Middle of Nowhere
6:15 PM Rain
6:30 PM Unmistaken Child
7:00 PM Happy-Go-Lucky
7:00 PM Blind Sunflowers
8:00 PM Delta
8:15 PM $9.99
8:30 PM Good
9:00 PM At the Edge of the World
9:15 PM Un Conte de Noel
9:30 PM Hooked
10:15 PM Gigantic
Tuesday, September 9:
11:45 AM Genova
3:15 PM Food, Inc.
3:15 PM 24 City
4:00 PM Of Time and the City
4:30 PM Pontypool
5:00 PM Birdsong
6:00 PM Toronto Stories
7:30 PM Jerichow
8:15 PM Before Tomorrow
8:30 PM Synecdoche, New York
8:45 PM Four Nights With Anna
9:00 PM The Brothers Bloom
Wednesday, September 10:
12:45 PM Adoration
2:45 PM The Stoning of Soraya M.
3:15 PM One Week
5:45 PM Radio Love
6:00 PM Lion's Den
7:15 PM Uncertainty
7:30 PM Kabuli Kid
7:45 PM Adam Resurrected
8:30 PM Birdsong
Thursday, September 11:
12:15 PM Synecdoche, New York
3:15 PM The Dungeon Masters
3:30 PM Toronto Stories
4:00 PM Citizen Juling
6:15 PM Les Plages d'Agnes
6:15 PM 24 City
7:00 PM Sam and Me
8:15 PM Firaaq
8:30 PM 33 Scenes From Life
8:45 PM Revanche
8:45 PM Mothers & Daughters
9:00 PM Il Divo
Friday, September 12:
11:45 PM Il y a longtemps que je t'aime
12:00 PM Country Wedding
12:30 PM Kabuli Kid
12:45 PM Unmistaken Child
3:30 PM Liverpool
3:45 PM Apron Strings
5:00 PM Birdsong
5:15 PM $9.99
5:30 PM Hooked
6:00 PM Control Alt Delete
6:00 PM Coopers' Camera
6:00 PM Vacation
6:15 PM Dioses
7:30 PM El Greco
8:00 PM Krabat
8:15 PM The Paranoids
9:15 PM The Stoning of Soraya M.
10:30 PM Easy Virtue
Saturday, September 13:
10:00 AM Disgrace
10:15 AM Control Alt Delete
12:45 PM Chocolate
1:00 PM Return to Hansala
1:15 PM Adam Resurrected
3:00 PM Adela
3:00 PM Food, Inc.
3:15 PM Salamandra
4:15 PM At the Edge of the World
4:30 PM Kanchivaram
5:45 PM A Woman in Berlin
6:00 PM Of Time and the City
6:00 PM Horn of Plenty
6:00 PM Stone of Destiny
6:30 PM The Secret of Moonacre
7:00 PM Once Upon a Time in Rio
7:00 PM Plastic City
7:15 PM Slumdog Millionaire
8:45 PM Radio Love
9:00 PM Three Blind Mice
9:15 PM Afterwards
If a film you wanted is sold out, you can keep trying on the chance someone has exchanged a ticket, or you can try same-day sales, or you can try the rush line.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
TIFF Videos
In addition to the photo group on Flickr that TIFFReviews has set up, there is also a group for videos: http://www.youtube.com/group/tiff2008 TIFFReviews will also be shooting some of the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall, so if you can't make it out, that might be a good way of catching a glimpse of some of the stars.
Tickets Go On Sale Tomorrow
Just a reminder, tickets go on sale for all screenings starting tomorrow, Wednesday, September 3, 2008, at 7:00 AM ET.
Your options for purchasing tickets come 7:00 AM are:
- Online, at http://tiff08.ca/. Click the Buy Tickets link at the top right of any page on the site.
- By phone at (416) 968-FILM or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM.
- At the Manulife Centre box office at 55 Bloor Street West (Bloor and Bay Streets), on the 1st floor, north entrance.
- At the Toronto Life Square box office at Yonge and Dundas, on the 3rd floor.
- At the Roy Thomson Hall box office at 60 Simcoe Street.
Online or by phone, you must use Visa. At the box offices, you can use Visa, cash, debit, or top-up vouchers (I don't know if you can use vouchers online, but I wouldn't count on it; please post in the comments if you can).
Tickets are available for all screenings for the entire length of the festival, including showings at the Visa Screening Room and Roy Thomson Hall (you can actually buy tickets for these gala showings right now, but all others start on the 3rd). You do *not* need to have purchased a package or pass or anything like that; from this point on, you can buy tickets to any showing you want that has availability.
Screenings that may have been marked off-sale the past few days for the advance order process may have additional seats available starting on Wednesday. Additional seats may also be released the day of the screening, so keep checking back if there's something you really want to see.
Tickets will likely go fast for screenings in the evening and on weekends, and the first half of the festival tends to sell out earlier than the back half. You can also look at the previous posting on films that sold out during the advance order process, to get an idea of what might be popular when general ticketing starts on the 3rd (http://tifftalk.blogspot.com/2008/09/sold-out-advance-tickets.html). As mentioned earlier, additional tickets will likely be released for the films on this list.
Monday, September 01, 2008
Film Fest Photos
TIFFReviews has set up a group on Flickr to hold photos from the festival. I've uploaded a few of mine (that have also appeared on this blog). You need to be a Flickr member to add your own or view what's there, but that's free to do. Group is here:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/tiff2008/
TIFF Merchandise
In case anyone is looking for TIFF goodies, they have a store on the 3rd floor of the Toronto Life Square building at Yonge and Dundas, across from the box office. I didn't get a chance to get all the prices, but they sell the following:
- T-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, hoodies (made by Roots)
- Ball caps
- There is a set of three posters; when all three different ones are placed side-by-side, you get a complete out-of-focus picture of a bridge
- Aluminum water bottles (picked up one of these myself)
- Programme books
- Tote bags ($200 ones, plus the ones given out with the programme books)
I might have forgotten some things, but that's the jist of it. The store takes cash, debit, and Visa.
My Final Film Schedule
So, now that I have all my exchanges done, my final film schedule looks as follows:
Thursday, September 4:
JCVD
Friday, September 5:
Tony Manero
It Might Get Loud
Detroit Metal City
Saturday, September 6:
Dioses
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Sunday, September 7:
$5 a Day
La Fille de Monaco
Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies
Zack and Miri Make a Porno
Monday, September 8:
New York, I Love You
L'Heure d'ete
Un Conte de Noel
Tuesday, September 9:
The Wrestler
The Brothers Bloom
Wednesday, September 10:
The Hurt Locker
Tulpan
Control Alt Delete
Thursday, September 11:
Winds of September
Toronto Stories
Friday: September 12:
Radio Love
White Night Wedding
Achilles and the Tortoise
Saturday, September 13:
The Sky Crawlers
The Real Shaolin
What Doesn't Kill You
All Around Us
Advance Order Pickup
As I tweeted through today, I lined up at the Toronto Life Square box office at about 8:00 AM this morning. There were already at least 100 people in line at that point, and the line went north on Victoria St:
Around 9:00 AM, the line reached Gould and started heading west. By 9:30 it had reached Yonge Street, and I'd guess there were over 300 people in line at that point:
At around 10:00 AM they opened up and starting handing out envelopes. It look about 40 minutes for me to get from the entrance of the Ryerson parking garage on Victoria to the front of the line:
After you had picked up your envelope (and picked up your free can of Dole sparkling fruit juice), if you wanted to make exchanges, you had to get into another line that ran parallel to the envelope pickup line:
They held people here until there was enough room in the box office on the 3rd floor. They gave each person a white ticket to show they had been in the line downstairs, which you then handed to the volunteer manning the door at the box office on the 3rd floor. Wasn't completely successful, as they weren't able to man the door 100% of the time, so I think the odd person or two was able to sneak in (mind you, I'm not entirely sure even that was intentional, as the process wasn't completely clear to everyone). From the corner of Dundas and Victoria, it took about 90 minutes to get upstairs.
Once inside the box office, it took another 70 minutes to make it to the front of the line there and make the exchanges we wanted. All in all, I think it took around 5 to 5-1/2 hours to get everything done. Whew!
When I finally left downtown around 4:00 PM, the envelope pickup line was probably around 50 minutes. The exchange line was significantly longer, and I'd expect people there will still be waiting into the evening.
Sold Out Advance Tickets
As of about 4:00 PM on Monday, September 1, 2008, the films listed as being off-sale (i.e. sold out) are listed below. Now, that doesn't necessarily mean the film actually is sold out; I was able to exchange vouchers for tickets to a screening of Tony Manero that was supposed to be off-sale. It's possible that other people swapped their Tony Manero tickets for something else, freeing up the seats that I eventually got.
Also, more tickets will be released for each screening once individual tickets go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, September 3.
Currently off-sale screenings:
Thursday, September 4:
6:30 PM Passchendaele, Visa Screening Room
7:00 PM Country Wedding, AMC 3
8:00 PM Acne, Varsity 3
8:30 PM Ocean Flame, Varsity 4
8:45 PM O'Horten, Varsity 2
9:30 PM RocknRolla, Visa Screening Room
Friday, September 5:
9:15 AM Three Monkeys, Scotiabank 4
2:15 PM A Film With Me In It, AMC 3
5:45 PM Horn of Plenty, Scotiabank 4
6:00 PM Me and Orson Wells, Ryerson
6:00 PM Appaloosa, Visa Screening Room
6:15 PM American Swing, AMC 10
7:45 PM Wendy and Lucy, AMC 7
8:00 PM The Paranoids, AMC 3
8:30 PM Unwanted Witness, Varsity 4
8:30 PM The Burning Plain, Winter Garden Theatre
8:45 PM Sauna
9:00 PM Ghost Town, Visa Screening Room
9:15 PM Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, AMC 10
Saturday, September 6:
9:00 AM Appaloosa, Scotiabank 2
9:15 AM Tony Manero, AMC 4
9:30 AM 33 Scenes From Life, Scotiabnk 4
11:00 AM Burn After Reading, Visa Screening Room
12:00 PM The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World, AMC 6
12:15 PM The Paranoids, AMC 4
12:15 PM O'Horten, Scotiabank 3
12:30 PM Sauna, Scotiabank 4
12:45 PM Three Monkeys, Scotiabank 1
1:00 PM Lovely, Still, AMC 2
2:45 PM Blind Sunflowers, Scotiabank 3
3:15 PM Acne, AMC 4
3:15 PM Goodbye Solo, AMC 7
3:30 PM The Rest of the Night, AMC 5
4:00 PM Me and Orson Welles, AMC 3
5:30 PM Once Upon a Time in Rio, Scotiabank 3
6:00 PM Patrik, Age 1.5, AMC 7
6:00 PM Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, Ryerson
6:00 PM Flame and Citron, Scotiabank 2
6:00 PM Heaven on Earth, Visa Screening Room
6:30 PM Laila's Birthday, AMC 2
6:45 PM $5 a Day, Scotiabank 1
6:45 PM New York, I Love You, Varsity 8
8:30 PM The Ghost, Scotiabank 3
8:45 PM My Mother, My Bride and I, Varsity 2
9:00 PM Soul Power, AMC 10
9:00 PM Religulous, Ryerson
9:00 PM Blindness, Visa Screening Room
9:15 PM Middle of Nowhere, Isabel Bader
9:30 PM Hunger, Scotiabank 1
Sunday, September 7:
9:00 AM Faubourg 36, Scotiabank 1
9:30 AM $5 a Day, AMC 7
9:45 AM The Burning Plain, Scotiabank 2
10:15 AM Once Upon a Time in Rio, AMC 3
10:30 AM Serbis, AMC 5
12:00 PM Yes Madam, Sir, AMC 1
12:00 PM The Secret Life of Bees, Isabel Bader
12:15 PM La Fille de Monaco, Scotiabank 1
12:30 PM Derriere moi, AMC 4
12:45 PM Wendy and Lucy, Scotiabank 2
1:00 PM Food, Inc., AMC 6
3:00 PM All Around Us, AMC 4
3:15 PM Picasso and Braque Go to the Movies, Isabel Bader
3:15 PM Afterwards, Scotiabank 2
3:30 PM Everlasting Moments, Varsity 6
4:00 PM Waltz with Bashir, AMC 3
4:15 PM When Life was Good, AMC 5
6:00 PM Slumdog Millionaire, Ryerson
6:00 PM Le Silence de Lorna, Scotiabank 1
6:00 PM The Wrestler, Visa Screening Room
6:15 PM The Stoning of Soraya M., AMC 2
6:30 PM The Ghost, AMC 4
6:30 PM The People Speak, Isabel Bader
7:00 PM A Film with Me In It, AMC 5
8:30 PM 24 City, AMC 10
8:45 PM Skin, AMC 7
9:00 PM Gomorrah, Scotiabank 2
9:00 PM Miracle at St. Anna, Visa Screening Room
9:15 PM Zack and Miri Make a Porno, Ryerson
9:30 PM Management, Isabel Bader
10:00 PM Country Wedding, AMC 4
Monday, September 8:
9:00 AM Hunger, Scotiabank 2
9:45 AM My Mother, My Bride and I, Scotiabank 4
12:00 PM New York, I Love You, Ryerson
12:00 PM White Night Wedding, Scotiabank 2
12:15 PM Disgrace, Scotiabank 1
2:30 PM The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World, AMC 2
2:45 PM Uncertainty, AMC 9
3:00 PM Heaven on Earth, AMC 7
3:15 PM Middle of Nowhere, AMC 10
6:00 PM Adoration, Visa Screening Room
6:15 PM Rain, AMC 10
6:30 PM Unmistaken Child, Scotiabank 3
7:00 PM Blind Sunflowers, Varsity 6
7:00 PM Happy-Go-Lucky, Isabel Bader
8:00 PM Delta, AMC 5
8:15 PM $9.99, Varsity 2
8:30 PM Good, Winter Garden Theatre
9:00 PM At the Edge of the World, AMC 10
9:15 PM Goodbye Solo, AMC 4
9:30 PM Hooked, Varsity 4
9:45 PM Gigantic, Isabel Bader
Tuesday, September 9:
9:45 AM Three Blind Mice, Scotiabank 3
11:45 AM Genova, Scotiabank 1
12:00 PM Two-Legged Horse, Scotiabank 4
3:15 PM 24 City, AMC 1
3:15 PM Food, Inc., AMC 10
4:00 PM Of Time and the City, AMC 2
4:30 PM Pontypool, Varsity 7
4:45 PM Nothing But the Truth, Isabel Bader
5:00 PM Birdsong, AMC 5
6:00 PM Toronto Stories, AMC 6
7:30 PM Jerichow, Varsity 4
8:15 PM Before Tomorrow, Varsity 5
8:30 PM Synecdoche, New York, Winter Garden Theatre
8:45 PM Four Nights With Anna, Varsity 1
9:00 PM The Brothers Bloom, Ryerson
9:00 PM Che (Part 1), Visa Screening Room
Wednesday, September 10:
9:00 AM Happy-Go-Lucky, Scotiabank 2
9:15 AM L'Heure d'ete, Scotiabank 3
12:00 PM Un Conte de Noel, Scotiabank 2
12:45 PM Adoration, Scotiabank 1
2:45 PM The Stoning of Soraya M., AMC 9
3:15 PM One Week, AMC 7
5:45 PM Radio Love, Scotiabank 3
6:00 PM Lion's Den, AMC 4
7:15 PM Uncertainty, AMC 1
7:30 PM Kabuli Kid, Varsity 6
8:30 PM Birdsong, Varsity 5
Thursday, September 11:
9:00 AM Gomorrah, Scotiabank 1
12:00 PM A Woman in Berlin, Scotiabank 2
12:15 PM Synecdoche, New York, Scotiabank 1
3:15 PM The Dungeon Masters, AMC 10
3:30 PM Toronto Stories, AMC 2
6:15 PM Les Plages d'Agnes, AMC 10
7:00 PM Deepa Mehta presents Sam and Me, Jackman Hall - AGO
8:30 PM 33 Scenes From Life, AMC 4
8:45 PM Revanche, AMC 5
8:45 PM Mothers and Daughters, Varsity 6
9:00 PM Il Divo, Scotiabank 3
Friday, September 12:
9:15 AM Empty Nest, Scotiabank 1
11:45 AM Il y a longtemps que je t'aime, Scotiabank 4
12:00 PM Country Wedding, Varsity 4
12:30 PM Radio Love, Scotiabank 3
12:30 PM Kabuli Kid, Varsity 5
2:45 PM Good, Scotiabank 1
3:45 PM Apron Strings, Varsity 2
5:00 PM Birdsong, AMC 4
5:30 PM Hooked, Varsity 6
6:00 PM Control Alt Delete, AMC 1
6:15 PM Dioses, AMC 5
7:30 PM El Greco, Isabel Bader
8:00 PM Krabat, AMC 4
8:15 PM The Paranoids, Varsity 6
8:45 PM Better Things, AMC 5
9:15 PM The Stoning of Soraya M., AMC 1
10:30 PM Easy Virtue, Isabel Bader
Saturday, September 13:
9:30 AM Laila's Birthday, Varsity 7
10:00 AM The Ghost, Varsity 2
1:00 PM Return to Hansala, Varsity 6
1:15 PM Adam Resurrected, AMC 10
2:45 PM RocknRolla, Ryerson
3:00 PM Adela, AMC 1
3:00 PM Food, Inc., Varsity 7
3:15 PM Salamandra, Varsity 4
4:15 PM At the Edge of the World, AMC 10
4:30 PM Kanchivaram, AMC 7
5:45 PM A Woman in Berlin, Varsity 1
6:00 PM Of Time and the City, AMC 1
6:00 PM Horn of Plenty, Varsity 4
6:00 PM Stone of Destiny, Visa Screening Room
6:30 PM The Secret of Moonacre, Varsity 3
7:00 PM Once Upon a Time in Rio, AMC 3
7:00 PM Plastic City, AMC 8
7:15 PM Slumdog Millionaire, AMC 10
8:45 PM Radio Love, Varsity 7
9:00 PM Three Blind Mice, Varsity 1
9:15 PM Afterwards, Varsity 2
9:30 PM The Other Man, Isabel Bader
