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Toronto Film Festival 2008

TIFF Today: September 9, 2008

Posted by Sameer / September 9, 2008

9 Comments

GiganticStop the presses. Paris Hilton is in town for the Toronto International Film Festival today. What? Not interested? There are reports that Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston had dinner together last night. Still not interested? Okay, well some reports are saying that Keira Knightley was looking too skinny on the red carpet last night.

And that, folks, is how silly celebrity spotting has become. Do people really care how skinny someone is? Apparently, they do. Because of the lack of Oscar-buzzworthy films at TIFF this year, most of the festival-related headlines around the web have more to do with celeb lifestyle than with film. Sad.

Entertainment Weekly has gone so far as saying that the Academy Awards and the Toronto International Film Festival have officially broken up. Now, most people might think that's a bad thing, but I think, in the long run, the decreased focus on Hollywood flicks will be good for cinephiles who will have better access to smaller, independent and foreign films.

Looking for some more information about the festival today? Here are a few other TIFF headlines from around the web:

The stars are out in full force in Toronto. If you're deciding to skip the films and check out the celebs, here's a list of who's expecting to be arriving in town today:

  • Ethan Hawke
  • Jim Sturgess
  • Colin Farrell
  • Edward Norton
  • Steven Soderbergh
  • Benicio del Toro

Finally, if you're looking to catch a screening some time today, here are three films that have been getting some good buzz but might have slipped under your radar. If you do decide to check any of them out, let us know what you think of them!

  • Two-Legged Horse: A stunning film set in remote Afghanistan by a young filmmaker from a legendary film making family.
  • Gigantic: Paul Dano falls for Zooey Deschanel in a awkward romantic film. Then again, who wouldn't fall for Zooey?
  • Snow: Two widowed women bond in post-war Bosnia, full of affection, despair, and hope.

Happy festivaling! Keep checking blogTO over the next few days for continuous coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival.

(Photo: Still from Gigantic.)

Discussion

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Munzz / September 9, 2008 at 09:58 am
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Two Legged Horse was shocking and some points disturbing. People were not happy at the end of the screening. There were a lot of argument with the filmmaker about why she abused the mentally challenged kid who she used in her film.
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Sameer Vasta / September 9, 2008 at 10:03 am
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Hey Munzz, can you provide more information on how Samira responded?
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Adam / September 9, 2008 at 10:10 am
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Gigantic was the same predictable film you've seen 1000 time s before. See anything Natalie Portman has done in the last 4 years.
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Sameer Vasta / September 9, 2008 at 10:18 am
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Aw, that's too bad Adam. I guess maybe I shouldn't indulge my massive crush on Zooey.
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Munzz / September 9, 2008 at 02:14 pm
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Right after the screening when she went on the stage to do Q/A, someone got up and started yelling about how stupid the film was, it went on for like a min before I yelled at him that he should ask a question instead of telling us his opinion lol.

She was cool at the beginning and told the guy that she respected his opinion. but as the questions went on, people seemed to be more concerned about the mentally challenged boy in the film and why she abused her like that. I could tell that Samira was getting a bit defensive and her inability to speak fluent English was showing more and more. At one point someone in the audience suggested she should get a translator because her answers are not making sense. to which she replied that she likes direct conversation and she suggested that they should ask questions and let her answer whatever she wants in any way that she likes.

People still followed her out of the cinema expressing their concerns about the way she used that kid, and at that point I could tell she was getting angry and didn't want to stay there anymore. Her agent said to everyone she wants to leave now. Overall, I don't think she left thinking what a great experience it was to show her film at TIFF this year.

I love her previous works and his dad is one of the two genius filmmakers in Iran. I grew up watching his films. so I have a certain respect for him and his family. Nevertheless, I think there should be a line where you say to yourself how much human dignity should I sacrifice for the sake of my art.
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CLINIQUA1 / September 9, 2008 at 03:37 pm
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I find this blog piece silly and contradictory at best. Your complaining about the festival headlines being more about celebrity headlines and celebrity spotting, then you go on to tell your readers, WHERE they can spot celebs and WHO they should be trying to 'celebrity spot,' today?! Worse still, you're spreading unsubstantiated gossip about these actors who are here to promote their films. You appear to be having your cake, and eating it too, and rather pretentiously at that. Don't complain about the focus on celebrity/gossipy headlines when it appears you are doing the job FOR the sleazy tabloids and spreading rumors and LIES. Most of the bullsh*t that I've read about this years TO festival, I've gotten from TO film fest blogs like this one. That Brad Pitt 'dinner' story started in some crappy lying tabloid across the pond and has since been refuted by 'legit,' news - but blogs like this one are putting it out there in the webisphere to garner hits, as most things that have 'Brad Pitt,' do. What hypocrisy. You want the film festival to be better - stop pandering to the U.S. weeklies and tabloids, and TRY to be reputable and about the films. Brad Pitt came here and did his part (gave a great performance in a great film, met with the fans who showed up to see it, promoted it and left town). The least you can do is not reduce his participation in YOUR festival, to the 10,0001 silly tabloid stories that might overshadow that. Get a clue. We're NOT stupid you know.
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Sameer Vasta / September 9, 2008 at 05:43 pm
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Sorry the post incensed you so much CLINIQUA. The whole goal of the first few links was to demonstrate the state of reporting. In no place did I say the dinner actually happened, but instead indicated that people were reporting on it. And while I do include a list of who's I'm town, I'm not pretending to care about what they're doing. Instead, I'm providing info to people that are truly interested in that kind of info. The whole goal of the TIFF Today posts are to provide a general overview of what's going on and what's being reported. Sorry if that info overview upset you so much.
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CLINIQUA1 / September 10, 2008 at 12:05 am
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You missed the point. YOU, Sameer, were commenting on the state of the film festival, and critically commenting on people who 'celebrity watch,' and gossip - while at the same time, you were pandering and regurgitating some unsubstantiated bull that happened to pop up somewhere on the web. Those aren't 'reports,' it's unverified silly gossip from a trash website - and it does a disservice to the people who come here to promote their films, and those who come to read relevant news about this festival.
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Munzz / September 10, 2008 at 04:03 pm
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Take it easy Clinqua. why so angry, loosen up and try to enjoy life.

I think Sameer is doing a good job covering what is going on at TIFF this year.
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