Day 6 started a bit slow, but it turned out to be pretty good once the day ended.
The morning press conferences turned out to be good & bad. While I did very good with the likes of James Caan & Aaron Eckhart, getting 3 each from them (Caan 1 going in, 2 leaving. Eckhart all 3 leaving). The likes of Keanu Reeves, Nicole Kidman & Vincent Cassel proved less successful, despite them signing a limited amount. Notorious non-signers Natalie Portman & Winona Ryder stuck to their non-promoting ways that morning, and were joined in the "I dont need your ticket sales" group by unknown Vera Farmiga. After the up & down morning, I headed to a hotel to see if I could nab a few autographs with the few hours there was to kill before the premieres started. Much to my shock & disappointment, several Toronto Maple Leafs were seen leaving, and signing. I had originally planned to go for the Leafs on this trip, but it never happened...and now they were taunting me by walking right out past me. The likes of Patrick Wilson & Kick Ass cutie Lyndsy Fonseca would stroll out of the hotel before someone I needed finally would leave. John Turturro would come out & sign a few items, including 1 for me. Freida Pinto would come out & rush by the crowd without even so much as stopping for a photo, let alone an autograph. Rosamund Pike signed a couple, but stupid me, I wasnt carrying my photo of her at the time & missed a chance to get it done. A bit later Ingrid Veninger, the director of an independant movie "Modra" came out with one of the actresses in it & handed out small promo placards to the crowd for her star to sign. In my opinion, this was 1 of the best jobs anyone did at TIFF of trying to promote their film. The actress Hallie Switzer seemed overwhelmed by it all, but happily signed a couple dozen autographs before having to be whisked away. At the time I didnt know it was the director promoting her & the movie. I joked with Hallie that "you have a great publicist" & thats when Ms. Switzer told me "thats actually the director". This was certainly one of the cooler autograph stories of TIFF for me. If Hallie never becomes a star, she can at least lay claim to being sandwiched in between notable actors like John Turturro and Edward Norton in my autographing ventures.... as Smoochy was my next score at the hotel. Norton signed very few, but I managed to squeeze my Smoochy photo thru & got an autograph. On that note, I decided it was a great time to get out of there & hurry to the first premiere of the evening. The Debt premiere turned out to be ok...despite the fact I only had 1 photo of Helen Mirren to get signed when I arrived. My friend had sent out some photos for Sam Worthington but I had not received them by the time of the premiere. However, my friends needed some assistance, so I wasnt completely shut out of getting Worthington. I managed to get 4 from him & my 1 Mirren photo done. From there, a lot of the hounds chased after Bruce Springsteen. I put in a few minutes on him, but really I didnt do much in trying for him as I didnt think the odds were too good of getting him. Oddly, going for The Boss did lead me to lucking into a Jill Hennessy autograph, after I read a tweet that she was at a corner just 1 block from where I was waiting for Mr. Springsteen. A lot of the big hounds were still focused on Bruce when the premiere of Buried, with Ryan Reynolds was going on as it started a little earlier. I did well there, getting 5 autographs, and a little quip from Reynolds when I displayed an unofficial Green Lantern item for him to sign, which Ryan joked "this doesnt look too official" before signing it. After a coupke sluggish days, it was nice to have another strong day. As 20 autographs were had for the 2nd time in a week. A+ Sam Worthington A+ James Caan A+ Aaron Eckhart A Hallie Switzer A Jill Hennessy B+ Helen Mirren B+ Ryan Reynolds B- John Turturro C+ Nicole Kidman C+ Rosamund Pike C+ Edward Norton C Keanu Reeves C- Patrick Wilson C- Vincent Cassel F Freida Pinto F Natalie Portman F Vera Farmiga F Winona Ryder
0 Comments
Day 5 turned out to be better than the prior day for sure.
On the surface I didnt see a boatload of potential, but I thought it wouldbe "ok". My day started pretty bad though, as I got into Toronto a few hrs later than planned & missed early day hounding chances. It got worse when the first premiere I would try would be for Rachel Weisz. She showed up to the Elgin (the venue of horror from less than 24 hrs earlier) & we (5 of us) rushed the front door for autographs. She came over & signed 3...denying my photo saying she didnt sign "nudes" even though no nudity is shown behind a conventiently placed reptile. On her way out of the premiere I did manage 2 autographs...but I felt I was going to have a bad day at that time as I was now a couple hours more behind where I wanted to be. From there I went to a premiere for Freida Pinto, she of the sneaky sneak action the night before. I really needed her boyfriend more than her, and luckily he was there. After not getting him at the airport a couple days earlier, I was happy to get Dev Patel to sign the photo I had...however, I never got Freida, as she only signed a few before heading into her premiere. From there I headed back to the Elgin for a few other shows that were going on over there after the Weisz one. Unfortunately I missed Jim Broadbent leaving, but had good spot for the rest of the night which turned out decently. It helped me nab 1 autograph each from Aaron Eckhart, Helen Mirren & Nicole Kidman. As it would turn out, the only autopgraph I got there that I wouldnt get again was Kidman, but at the time I felt pretty good about things. Sadly, I missed a chance to get Keith Urban as well, as he signed some while he waited for Nicole to finish signing as well. I have heard multiple reports from people I know who have gone for Urban with no success...so this was a missed chance for sure. From there I was back to Ryerson to nab 3 autographs at the midnight show of The Ward from Amber Heard. I also got a photo with Kick Ass/HIMYM cutie Lyndsy Fonseca. It wasnt a great day, but it was a relief to kick the dreadful 1 autograph in 44 hr slump I had been in prior to Weisz signing. A+ Amber Heard A Aaron Eckhart A Helen Mirren A Nicole Kidman A Lyndsy Fonseca A- Dev Patel B- Rachel Weisz D Freida Pinto A 9 autograph day doesnt usually thrill me, but after the day before...I was pleased....especially to finally get an A lister like Nicole Kidman as well. If day 3 was a lesson in frustration, Day 4 was a lesson in failing.
I am still put out by how bad day 4 was even now. With the exception of Woody Allen, who claimed he had a flight to catch (may or may not be true...but at least he came up with an excuse) the list of classless icons that left the Elgin theatre on day 4 was long. First was Allen who said he had a flight to catch, and thusly couldnt stop to interact with fans....at least he stopped to tell us that much. Its more than anyone else would offer. His films stars Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin and Freida Pinto snuck out a different door all together, screwing over the 2 or 3 dozen people who had waited at the door Mr. Allen left from. Worse yet, the people who showed up last, that were not squished in a condensed area had the chance to run the 75 ft down the road to the door to see them leave at least...which brings up the question...WHY? Why bother sneaking out a door so close?? You didnt fool anyone. All you did was punish those who were there longest, and reward those who got there last. I could understand if the door was on a different street or something and there was a legitimate effort to fool us...but it wasnt. All it was was a dick move. Whether the Elgin theatre is responsible for the dick move, or the actors is not really known....what is known is, Anthony Hopkins, Josh Brolin and Freida Pinto came across as douchebags to the people waiting at the other door who didnt have the chance to rush down to the other door. Between movies, Golden Globe winning actress Sally Hawkins came out from the premiere for her movie Made In Dagenham and signed a few autographs. I managed to get 1. Which sadly, was actually a challenge, as she had stopped signing and was already in her vehicle and saw my photo (the only photo out there of her) and came back from her car to sign. I was literally a car door closing away from not getting her.....and scary enough, that would have meant a shut out if it had happened. Sally Hawkins would turn out to be my only autograph of this day. The Clint Eastwood & Matt Damon film would be next. Matt Damon has been allegedly the best signer in Hollywood for awhile according to most. I certainly have a far different impression of the fairly chubby greased back hair puppet who clearly cant think for himself & only does what $8 an hr peons tell him to do. All Damon offered the fans waiting was a shoulder shrug & ONE autograph, which he looked pained to be doing as he got into his vehicle and hurried away...not to something important either. He left all the fans waiting, to go to a fucking after party. Mr. Damon had no legitimate excuse for ditching the fans. This is NOT the actions of someone thats allegedly "classy". I know I will get dozens of people claiming otherwise, and perhaps at one time, you were right....but fact is, Matt Damon is NOW a douchebag. This brings me to the other douchebag from that film. Clint Eastwood. Clint came out, gave a half hearted wave to the crowd & left. No autographs, no words, nothing. Just like Damon, his eagerness to get away was to get to a party. He left fans hanging, at a movie he is there promoting, to go to a party??? Really classless. Did he honestly think the cokeheads who over value their importance in the world & the whores they had on their shoulder to impress the other unimportant cokeheads that were paying exorbitant money to schmooze with him at the party were going to leave if he didnt get there 10 minutes sooner? The answer Clint is NO. These fucktards will wait....like we, the fans & autograph collectors did. They will absolfuckinglutely wait. But unlike the 6-8 hrs people waited for you in a crowded bullpen type set up where you could not turn around if you had to, these jackoffs were roaming around a nice room/hall somewhere pretending to care about you, when all they were there to do was be seen. Way to get your priorities straight Clint. You fucking failed. I have heard lots of backlash from autograph hounds telling me I was too hard on Damon & Eastwood even before this blog. To them I say... You are out to fucking lunch if you think what they did was acceptable. Some of them claim it was the goading of a Warner Brothers rep that made them not stop. Last time I looked, Matt Damon & Clint Eastwood shouldnt be taking demands from some $8 hr peon from a movie company. If they WANTED to sign, they simply would have told the anti-PR guy to go fuck themselvres while they take care of promoting the movie to potential ticket buying customers. Instead, Clint Eastwood & Matt Damon told almost 100 people "fuck you & dont watch this movie" with their classless actions. A+ Sally Hawkins E Woody Allen F+ Matt Damon F Clint Eastwood F Josh Brolin F Freida Pinto F Anthony Hopkins My total for autographs that day - ONE Day 3 was to say the least, a lesson in frustration.
it started out with a painfully long & frustrating 3 hour & 18 minute journey to get from Hamilton to Toronto airport. Its SUPPOSED to take about 2 hrs.. It SHOULD take 90 minutes...yet it took 3:18 to get there. Shortly after getting there I heard rumblings that the person I went all the way out there for was in fact not coming. As it turned out, this was correct. Chloe Moretz, the the ass kicking kid from Kick-Ass was scheduled to come in, but did not..after 2 hrs of waiting, we conceded that fact (1 she would tweet the next day). However, while waiting for her I saw a sign for Dev Patel, the Slumdog Millionaire star. This would start 2 more hours of pointless waiting for me. Mr. Patel seemed to be very late coming thru from his flight, as even his driver seemed flustered at how long it was taking. I left for 2 mins to go to the washroom, only to return & see no driver anymore. OUCH. Needless to say, it wasnt a great time. I did get SOME compensations at the airport. I got Ron Perlman, Garrett Dillahunt, Rachelle Lefevre and Thomas Haden Church...but to be honest, as nice a bonus as those were... it certainly didnt compare to the disappointment of missing Patel or Moretz no-showing. To top it off, my 3 hour 18 minute journey also cost me getting Matt Damon and Marion Cotillard. The evening was going no better, as the TTC subway had an epic breakdown (I believe it was 2 seperate problems resulting in 1 massive problem for me). The dealy was so large I had to pass up on not just 1, not just 2, but THREE premieres I had hopes of hounding... I ended up going to my 4th choice. Once at the theatre for the premiere of Easy A with Emma Stone & Penn Badgley I waited what seemed forever for them to show up. Upon their arrival, I got 4 from Stone & 1 from Badgley (who may win nicest autograph award this festival). Thomas Haden Church was also there, but having got him earlier, I was done with him. My day would end. A grand total of 9 autographs, and really nothing noteworthy. All in all, a pretty disappointing day....Little did I know, it could actually get worse. Celebs grades A Garrett Dillahunt A Ron Perlman A Rachelle Lefevre A- Emma Stone A- Penn Badgley B+ Thomas Haden Church Day 2 of TIFF started out pretty miserable. At the time I didnt realize it would be my best outing ever.
The day started with me realizing I had taken out my Olivia Newton-John photo, as I didnt think it was needed anymore...only to find out she was the first press conference of the day....so instead I had to get a photo signed for someone else, instead of just standing there looking bored. There was a bit of a gap till the next press conference. This time it was for "The Town" with Ben Affleck, Jon Hamm, Blake Lively & Jeremy Renner. That was when the bad luck started. I managed to get 1 "B" from Affleck, but Hamm didnt sign much, and Lively skipped over the section I was in as she went in. Jeremy Renner was the biggest jerk of the bunch, he didnt sign going in or coming out & didnt even acknowledge people. Next up as Robert De Niro, Milla Jovovich, Edward Norton & Frances Conroy. The worst signer was again, the least known. Frances Conroy. She didnt even touch a pen, nor even look at people. Edward Norton was not too much better, but at least signed a few. Robert De Niro was a good signer, unfortunately, not everyone got one.... including me. Theres photos out there of him signing for the crowd & you can see my item right there in the mix, he just didnt go a little more to the left unfortunately. I got a consolation prize in Milla Jovovich, as the Resident Evil cutie signed 1 for me upon leaving. After 3 press conferences...3 autographs. Not too excited about that output. There would be a lull till the evening when the premieres started. First up was Daydream Nation with Kat Dennings, Josh Lucas & Rachel Blanchard. I had nothing for Blanchard, but she was a very willing signer for those who asked, and even chit chatted with some. Josh Lucas came over & signed for us almost immediately upon arriving & seemed to sign a fair bit afterwards as well. Kat Dennings signed most of the way down the red carpet and was stopping to do photos with fans when asked. Next up would be the major score of the fest for me. Passion Play with Mickey Rourke, Megan Fox & Billy Murray. While the miserable Murray avoided sharpies, he did take 1 guys photo & bite it & hand it back..the guy seemed thrilled with it. But that was all Murray did, no autographs, no photo ops. Mickey Rourke was next up, although his autograph often is nothing more than random squiggles, he signed a tonne, not missing anyone anywhere. He did photo ops with those who asked & even chit chatted a bit about this film & how it stood up to The Wrestler. All in all, he was an epic class act. Lastly was Megan Fox with her boyfriend Brian Austin Green. While BAG did get asked a few times & obliged, Fox was the main attraction & probably spent 20+ minutes signing on the red carpet. Although most of the autographs were very unspectacular, she at least did them. I might not be a fan of her work, and think shes grossly overhyped for looks, she is at the least, a class act with fan interaction. Last but not least was the premiere for Super. The Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page & Liv Tyler film turned out to be not too bad for me either. I managed 2 each from the 3 stars, despite the fact Wilson maybe only signed for a 1/3 of those who asked him. Liv Tyler was the class of this film, signing right up till she was going in the door. Ellen page was good as well, but probably left some people without. My final total for the day was 28 autographs..My highest total ever in a day at TIFF. Celebrity grades A++ Megan Fox A+ Mickey Rourke A Kat Dennings A Josh Lucas A Rachel Blanchard A- Ben Affleck B+ Liv Tyler B+ Olivia Newton-John B Milla Jovovich B- Ellen Page B- Blake Lively C+ Edward Norton C Rainn Wilson C Chris Cooper C Robert De Niro C- Jon Hamm F FrancesConroy F Bill Murray F Jeremy Renner Today marked the start of the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was my first day of hounding the event, and the results were to say the least, unspectacular for me.
My first film fest I finished day 1 with a whopping 4 autographs. This film fest, I finished with a sadly unspectacular 4 autographs as well. On the bright side, 1st TIFF I only got 2 people that day, where as this time I got 4. My day started late, and by the time I got to where I planned to start I had already missed 1 guest, David Schwimmer. I had nothing for Ross Gellar, just as I didnt in 2007 as well when he was also here for a film then. However, its never a good feeling knowing your missing something. A little while later the next star would be arriving. Clive Owen. Mr. Owen was miserable & mute, as he wandered a couple hundred feet thru the 10-15 autograph hounds & paps at the airport. He never spoke, he never reached for a pen & had a look on his face that one hound related to "he looks like his mother just died". Every film festival has assholes, and Clive Owen has shown unequivocably that he is one. There was again a bit of a lull, and then action broke out, in 2 different spots. It was a pick your poison. At 1 end was Josh Lucas, the other end Kat Dennings. My side had Dennings, and I managed to get 1 autograph..and probably could have got a 2nd if I just had a little luck getting thru the crowd of people that were everywhere. Those of us that got Dennings quickly returned to the side where Lucas had signed to see what else might be up. It wasnt long till Entourage star Kevin Dillon came thru & signed a small handful. His lackey/friend was chirpy & griping about us asking Kevin, but Kevin signed some. Although it was evident that Mr. Dillon wasnt excited about doing it..he did, even still signing right before he got into his awaiting vehicle. A while would pass before the final success of the evening at the airport would happen. Canadian cutie Ellen Page came thru & signed about 10-15 autographs along her block long walk thru the terminal. Often declining, Page did pick & choose a few spots to sign 1 here or there for people that she felt confident hadnt got 1 yet. From there, I hastily rushed to get downtown for the premieres going on. First up was the very Canadian film Score: A Hockey Musical. With music stars Olivia Newton-John and Nelly Furtado there, the crowd was thick. I showed up JUST as Olivia was being interviewed, and shortly after she came over & signed a small handful of autographs along the red carpet. Far short of most though, as she maybe signed 20 or so for the crowd of a couple hundred. I got shutout on her, but minutes later Nelly Furtdado showed up, andgot out of her towncar right infront of where I was standing. She came over, and signed an even smaller handful than ONJ did, and luckily, 1 of them was my item. My night ended with only 4 autographs & 2 failures. My grades for the interaction of the stars I saw today B+ Kat Dennings B Kevin Dillon B- Ellen Page C+ Olivia Newton-John C Nelly Furtado F Clive Owen When I have more time (maybe not till TIFF is over) I will add a few pics from the day. Twilight Saga & 100 Monkeys star Jackson Rathbone talks about his upcoming movie "Girlfriend"9/7/2010 Earlier this summer I had the chance to catch up to Jackson Rathbone (Jasper Hale to Twilight fans) with his band The 100 Monkeys. He told me briefly of a movie his bandmates helped produce called "Girlfriend". This week, Girlfriend will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival & Jackson is going to be there to promote it. He breifly here explains that it will be doing the film fest circuit. |
About meI occasionally argue with inanimate objects, but I usually win. So its all good. Archives
June 2012
Categories
All
|