And just like that, it’s over (for me, at least). A four-day sprint through a marathon of a film festival. If you’ve never been, remedy that.
Reviews are frowned upon by publicists, but I’ll tell you:
- The Duchess is an Oscar worthy film. Now, they might be technical Oscars, but still. It’s sumptuous. And Keira Knightley gives a mature, versatile and devastating performance that’s well beyond her age (23, going on 40). Best Actress worthy? We’ll know once the competition unfurls (but I’m betting yes)
- If you’re going to interview Spike Lee, be prepared to talk basketball. The director, a total gentleman, broke the ice asking me questions about my hometown franchise. As we shot the breeze, his handlers panicked a bit. He has a busy schedule, as you can imagine. Spike put them at ease, continued our hoops conversation, and granted an excellent interview. Even when I was being rushed at the end, he stopped his handlers, turned to me and, “Please, ask your question.” You don’t see that too often, and it is appreciated.
- Personal highlight? Talking The Fountain with Rachel Weisz, Darjeeling with Adrien Brody and Zodiac with Mark Ruffalo. Sure, we got to the Brothers Bloom in time, but I wanted to discuss each of those gems with the talents involved.
- Best of the fest? All around, it was The Duchess. I saw a lot of good films, very few great films, and one thought-provoking disappointment. 5-for-6. Who wouldn’t take those odds?
When people hear you are covering a film festival, they assume it’s a blast. “Oh, you get to watch movies all day!” And they’re right. It is. But the days get long, and you eventually start to feel like an extra in a Romero movie.
Today’s schedule, my busiest for the short amount of time I’ll spend up here:
9:00-10:00 a.m. - Check in at Miramax, Focus, Disney and Paramount Vantage press offices. Receive interview times.
11:45 a.m. - Appaloosa interviews.
12:45 p.m. - The Brothers Bloom interviews
3:15 p.m. - Disney shuttle
4:00 p.m. - The Miracle at St. Anna screening
7:00 p.m. - Burn After Reading screening
9:15 p.m. - The Duchess screening
Again, not complaining, really. We’re not hauling brick. But at the end of days like this, I’m reminded this is a job, and it can feel like work from time to time. That being said, The Duchess is a great film, Keira Knightley gives an Oscar-worthy performance, Mark Ruffalo is a prince, Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen got into a verbal tet-a-tet with an opinionated journo (good stuff!) and I made Rachel Weisz belly laugh today. Twice. All is all, pretty damn delightful.
This year’s fest is just getting started, and news already has us looking to next year.
Venice Film Festival artistic director Marco Mueller said Wednesday that next year’s festival will start a week later, on September 2 … about the same time that Toronto is due to begin. This could force some filmmakers, who are unlikely to try to be in two places at the same time, to make a choice between screening their films at Venice or Toronto.
Meanwhile, USA Today observed that even without the direct competition from Venice, Toronto’s festival “isn’t quite its bellwether self this year. Factors such as rising travel costs, delays caused by the writers’ strike and weakened art-house divisions have kept the most likely best-picture candidates out of the lineup.”
Just got back from my Brothers Bloom screening to read an e-mail telling me the film’s release date has been moved to January 2009. That’s a long time to hold a review! And a strange move on Summit Entertainment’s part. They have an eccentric movie on their hands, but the marketable cast seems more than game, and the director has some buzz. January’s a dumping ground. The mood around the interview rooms tomorrow should be interesting …
An added bonus to the RockNRolla interviews this morning: the addition of Toby Kebbell. He wasn’t on the list of interviewees, but he ended up accompanying Jeremey Piven and Chris Bridges.
As I mentioned earlier, Kebbell steals this film by being the most outlandish in a colorful cast. I’m sensing the studio knows this, and (wisely) made sure he was around to help promote.
This is a good film, and Kebbell’s the best part of it. You’ll hear more about him as we get closer to release date (Oct. 31 in the States, tomorrow in the UK). And now we have proof Ritchie likes him.
As it turns out, Kebbell’s character, a rock star junkie, wasn’t supposed to live long enough for a sequel. But after the film tested, people demanded to know what happened to this guy. And so Ritchie grabbed Kebbell months later and shot the ending you will see in October. It works. And if Ritchie can make The Real RockNRolla after he wraps Sherlock Holmes (which begins production next month), I’ll be first in line.
Toronto is a walking festival. Oh, you can pay for cabs and subways, but that adds up. Plus, the weather is gorgeous (28 degrees, which means “warm” in our beloved Fahrenheit) and the city is loaded with walkers, so you get in line and bustle along.
Appaloosa
My cell phone, on the other hand, does not want to roam. Currently I have three voice mail messages - even though my phone has yet to ring - and I can’t access my voice mail. Hope they aren’t too important. Keira, if it’s you, call my hotel!
I’ve wandered into two screenings so far: Guy Ritchie’s RockNRolla and Ed Harris’ Appaloosa. I’m still mulling over the latter, which is so authentic it can’t possibly be populist. I think that’s why I prefer Ritchie’s flick right now (snap judgement, noted). Rock accepts its a Guy Ritchie film, but aspires to be more (and often succeeds). Harris’ film accepts its a traditional, throwback Western, and is content to stay in the confines of the genre. That makes it good, but a bit short of great.
4 p.m. - The Brothers Bloom, Rian Johnson. Brick made my Top 10 in 2006. Love the cast. Hopes are high.
I left Guy Ritchie’s RockNRolla wanting to spend more time with unpredictable Toby Kebbell, a fantastic relative newcomer who plays a rock-star junkie with reckless abandon. Apparently Ritchie shares the sentiment, as the movie all but promises a sequel. Best news of this just-beginning festival.
Instead of buzz, Venice seems to be producing yawns.
And the Toronto Star has a comprehensive Toronto International Film Festival preview, complete with capsule reviews. Top critic Peter Howell calls Soderbergh’s four-plus-hour Che “Havana’s Gate.” Ouch.
Speaking of TIFF, I’ll be up there starting Wednesday, and running through the weekend. Looking forward to Ed Harris’ Appaloosa, Spike Lee’s Miracle at St. Anna, and The Brothers Bloom — the follow up from Brick director Rian Johnson. Anyone else going? Care to meet up? Shoot me a message.
The title of Alan Ball’s film, Towelhead, is upsetting special interest groups. The Council on American-Islam Relations (CAIR) has asked that Warner Bros. and Warner Independent Pictures change the name of the soon-to-be-released film.
They aren’t going to. They changed it once already. Ball’s film was called Nothing Is Private when it screened at Toronto in 2007. Wonder why they dropped that title (for the openly offensive new moniker) in the first place? Could it be for more “publicity”?
"Chocolate" - This is the kind of stuff I miss when I can't make TIFF.
In 2005, I went to the Toronto Film Festival, which turned out to be the best film festival I’ve ever attended. It’s the kind of fest where Shane Black gets as much applause as Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr at the Kiss Kiss Bang Bang premiere. It’s the kind of fest where you see two future Best Picture nominees back to back in one afternoon (Capote and Brokeback Mountain).
I haven’t been able to make it back, so every year I look longingly at the selections on their site. The Midnight Madness program alone is usually enough to whet my appetite. Here’s a few from this year that caught my eye…
It’s rare that a doc makes it into Midnight Madness, so when it does, I pay attention. Here we have a look at Australian exploitation cinema of the 70’s and 80’s, which was apparently pretty effed up.
New Line released the first trailer for Appaloosa, Ed Harris’ adaptation of Robert B. Parker’s 2005 novel.
It has Harris, Viggo Mortensen and Jeremy Irons talking tough and slinging lead. How Kevin Costner stayed away from this is beyond me. But I’m in. Looks great. It premieres at Toronto next month.
