|
Day 5 had very little actual hounding for me...that being said, the results I got were pretty spectacular.
The day started later than any of the others, I arrived in Toronto early afternoon and immediately went to the TIFF Bell Lightbox and got an autograph from author Salman Rushdie. After that I had a short lunch then went to prep for the next event, the big event. With all the epic names that came for TIFF, there likely was not a single 1 larger than the headliner for this evenings gala event of W.E. Pop icon Madonna was going to be there to promote the film she directed. To have a shot at the Material Girl, I had to do something I rarely did....go sit on the carpet for hours. I spent 4 1/2 hrs infact, placed close to where I hoped her vehicle would stop to let her out. Some people had spent 10+ hrs waiting, so in comparison, my 4.5 hrs was actually, not bad. As 6PM rolled by the first of the cast showed up, soon after, Abbie Cornish arrived. I instantly called for her as she was let out right in front of me, and she came immediately to me and started signing. She borrowed my pen for 2-3 minutes, signing for others, then brought my pen back to me and moved on to the press row. It was not long after that a nice black car came rolling up the pathway. It stopped right infront of me. Immediately behind it was a black SUV full of security. The security detail got out 1st, then out came the talent. Madonna poppped out and instantly acknowledged the fans and media, then made her way over to sign...unfortunately, she walked 50 ft down the carpet to start. I had picked the perfect spot, but the pop diva opted to walk away from where she got dropped off and start further down the row. I had to just stand there and hope & wait that she was coming as far as I was positioned. Eventually, about 3-4 minutes went by she was getting within range of where I was standing. Madonna would sign a handful, then move on 10-20 ft, then do the same, then move on...so it was a 50-50 chance she might stop in the area right near where I was positioned. As she got closer, she skipped the area immediately to my right. As she approached, she started right where I was positioned, signed my item first and moved on from there. I tried getting a photo of the signed item with her in the same frame, but funny enough I actually blocked out Madonna with the item as I tried to shoot a shot with the crowd clamouring for a look and pushing. Just like that, she was gone, off to sign for others further down the carpet. After that, I immediately went across the street to attempt Neil Young. The Canadian music icon was not as accomodating as the pop icon was. Young signed 1 autograph outside then hurried in. We passed Geoffrey Rush on the street as he was heading to the Neil Young movie. From there we went to another premiere featuring Channing Tatum and others. Tatum was quite terrible at signing on the carpet, often ignoring anything that seemed remotely collectible. While he did sign SOME, it was few and far between. His GF Jenna Dewan was a bit better, and his co-star Justin long was phenomenal, coming back out after the film started to greet and sign for all the fans. Worst part was getting the tip that Neil Young signed for fans leaving his premiere while we were wasting our time on mediocre talents like Channing Tatum. But, thats what TIFF is about, making choices...and sometimes, you will make the wrong one. From there, went for Madona again. She was leaving dinner at an upscale restaurant near the venue, and she signed again, this time maybe 10-20 autographs, my position was not great, so I missed out on her this time. A+ Justin Long A Madonna B Salman Rushdie B Abbie Cornish B- Jenna Dewan C- Channing Tatum D+ Neil Young TOTAL autographs 3
0 Comments
Day 4 started for me with a premiere for Dark Horse. I got Selma Blair to sign, but only got 1 as the 2nd photo I had for her she said she didnt like.
With a few hours to kill till the next premiere I walked across town and passed Ezra Miller walking around. Saw a lot of him the first few days. Next up was Geoffrey Rush and Charlotte Rampling at The Eye Of The Storm premiere. I managed 2 out of Rush, and 1 out of Rampling. Little time was spent there before I was on to my next venue. We had seen a tweet saying James Franco was at a show over at Ryerson showing support for a film his NYU alum Elizabeth Olsen had premiering Martha Marcy May Marlene. Upon leaving I managed 2 from Franco and 1 from the films co-star Hugh Dancy. Olsen however was quite unaccomodating. I made my way over to Roy Thompson Hall for the premiere for Machine Gun Preacher. When I got there, Gerard Butler was already greeting fans. I made my way into the mosh pit of people and got 1 autograph right away. After that however, the 2 jerk offs that felt it teir lifes mission to stop Gerard from signing pushed items away from the star repeatedly, including mine. Butler greeted a large portion of the crowd, but was not signing a lot at the forced hand of the two minimum wage neanderthals lurching along with him. I took a walk across the downtown core to go get Ethan Hawke. Only a couple people waited for him, and he willingly signed for those of us that came out for him. I was given a suggestion to go check out a restaurant by 1 of the people I was sharing info with....and as it turned out, it was a hot place to hang. Saw several people there, but none of them resulted in autographs for me early on. Woody Harrelson went in without even acknowledging the crowd of course, shortly after Ewan McGeregor showed up but I didnt have enough time to react and get him. Rachel Weisz showed up and said "get you after" but of course, we never sdaw her again. I did garner 1 morsel fo luck from there, as I got Glenn Close leaving, she didnt sign much, maybe 3 total? Shortly after that I got Antonio Banderas going into his premiere, yet somehow I wasnt able to get Elena Anaya to sign. Went back over to the restaurant that was so busy earlier, saw Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna leave. Bernal was quite rude and cocky, he signed 1 autograph for a girl and then snubbed all the others, Luna at least stopped for a couple photos with before tyaking off. A- Geoffrey Rush B+ Selma Blair B Antonio Banderas B Ethan Hawke B- Charlotte Rampling B- James Franco C+ Gerard Butler C Hugh Dancy C Diego Luna C- Ewan McGregor D Rachel Weisz D ELizabeth Olsen D- Gael Garcia Bernal F Woody Harrelson TOTAL 12 autographs The 3rd day of the film fest turned out to be my statistical best of this year.
It started with seeing Chris Cornell in the early afternoon, but at that time I didnt have anything for the music star. Shortly after I went across the street to the Killer Elite premiere. I managed a Clive Owen autograph, but was unable to get to Jason Statham who unfortunately signed very few and all in 1 2-4 foot spot along the 200+ foot carpet. Robert deNiro was also there, and in a horrible cruel joke, I had the same thing happen to me on the red carpet that happened last year at the press conference. he signed beside me, above me and moved on. I quickly hurried across the street to try and get Pearl Jam going into their fil premiere, but the entire band showed no class by not just ingoring autograph requests, but not even stopping on the short red carpet for photo ops. Of all the musicians in Toronto for TIFF, they were least classy bunch of them all. Chris Cornell showed up to the PJ premiere, and signed willingly for the small crowd that wasprepared for him. I managed 1. Next up was the premiere of the hockey movie "Goon". First to arrive was Sons Of Anarchy star Kim Coates who I had nothing for, then shjortly after the priamry stars Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill and Seann William Scott arrived. I had nothing for Pill unfortunately (never got a chance to make my 3rd batch of photos I intended to print), so the only autographs I got there was 4 Jay Baruchels which were frankly harder than they should have been to get thanks to the inconsiderate morons that populated the Ryerson red carpets this year. Let me get sidretracked here fotr a second to say this....hey dickheads... you are already in the 1st 2 rows, you dont need a fucking chair or a ladder to get a better view you fucking witless fuckwits. I hope next year someone falls of 1 of them and hurts someone. I sincerely do. then perhaps TIFF will ban chairs from the events. using them when you are in row 5, I can sort of udnerstand, but there is no need for them in row 2....even Peter Dinklage wouldnt need them that close up. Shortly after that I hurried over to my primary target of film fest, the "Hick" premiere with Kick Ass star Chloe Moretz. I managed 3 autographs from Chloe going in, and 1 from juliette Lewis. Considering the set up they had at her theagtre I was pleased with that outcome. I hustled back over to the previously mentioned retard infested Ryerson theatre for the premiere of Melancholia with Kirsten Dunst and Alexander Skarsgard. Like the previous premiere, it was far far far harder to get autographs than it should of been, thanks to the fucking morons who should be smacked over the head with their charis and ladders till they are unconscious.... of course, then someone would just use their lifeless bodies to stand on to get the extra 3 inches of height that they dont actually need. With retards dominating the theatre, I still managed 5 Skarsgards and a Dunst. I went back for the departing of Chloe Moretz and managed 3 more autographs from Hit Girl. It was then baaaaack over to Ryerson for the last few minutes of Ryan Gosling arriving for Drive. I managed 1 smudged autograph from him going in. That was the end of my night. GRADES A+ Chloe Moretz A Alexander Skarsgard B+ Kim Coates B+ Clive Owen B Seann William Scott B- Chris Cornell B- Robert DeNiro B- Jay Baruchel B- Juliette Lewis C+ Kirsten Dunst C+ Alison Pill C- Jason Statham F Pearl Jam TOTAL for the day 20 autographs Day 2 of the fest started at the brand new press conference venue. The TIFF Bell Lightbox, the festivals own personal multi-purpose venue, held the press conferences this year that hotels did in the past, and in short...it sucks.
The 1st press conference was for Moneyball, and only because they werent sure what to do yet were people able to get anything. Several of the cast showed up. Only Brad Pitt (who signed about 20 for the 75+ people there) and Chris Pratt (who signed for anyone who asked) signed much of anything. Philip Seymour Hoffman signed a couple, Jonah Hill ignored everyone. After that, they started taking the people in thru an underground entrance, and that was the end of 1 of the places I often was able to get 20-30% of mt TIFF autographs from,. the press conferences. After that, I got a text to come down the street, and showed up just in time to get another Johnny Rotten autograph as he left an event at the CBC building. After a lunch break, I went to a hotel to wait around. Saw Bryce Dallas Howard come out, but in a shocker...she denied. I am stunned still. Used to be all class. A little while later Christopher MacDonald (Happy Gilmore - "Shooter McGavin") came in, did photos with a couple of fans. Then saw Ezra Miller again. He chatted with us for a bit, and when we told him Johnny Rotten was in the building, he got really excited. Clearly a big Sex Pistols fan Ezra is. Saw Arielle Kebbel arrive for an event, but outside of taking a couple photos with and chatting with a little girl for a couple moments, she did little to acknowledge the small amount of people there. John Lydon left the hotel, got another autograph. He was being told by his handler to "only sign for the girls" but still signed for us anyways...even though you could see he was maybe getting short on patience with so many photos & albums everywhere. Went to the premiere for Megan Fox and Jon Hamm, just like last year, I ran out of items for Fox. Hamm I managed to squeeze out 2 in the surprisingly large crowd. A common theme this TIFF has been, crowds are larger all around. I would say 25-30% more people everywhere. We quickly hustled across to another venue and snagged 1 Juliette Binoche autograph. Across the street we tried for the back end of the Moneyball premiere letting out. I saw Eddie Vedder leave the event, but he didnt sign for anyone. I then saw Stacy Keibler arriving for the next premiere that her boyfriend George Clooney was in that would soon start doing their red carpet work. Cast were starting to show up for The Ides Of March premiere. First few smaller cast showed up, the crowd was massive and impossible to penetrate for such small potatoes. So I let the likes of Paul Giamatti go and was walking away to go check on Pitt again when I saw the row of vehicles still waiting to do the red carpet. First was Marisa Tomei, who no shock (heard multiple reports shes a terrible sginer) wouldnt even accomodate requests from the small crowd of 7-10 girls waiting down there to roll down the window for a picture. Her vehicle then left on its trip up the red carpet. Next up was George Clooney. The girls asked Goerge to roll down his window. He didnt roll it down though...instead, the aging sex symbol got OUT OF HIS SUV and proceeded to start signing and taking photos.... for the whole line. Must have been 500+ people there, I am sure 300+ of them got an autograph or photo with the star. While he was busy signing, Ryan Gosling showed up and started doing the line from the other end, he too went down the entire line, although he was a little more selective on signing, and for the mostpart just did handshakes. I somehow still managed 4 autographs from each of them, despite the sometimes 6 to 8 people deep crowds of onlookers who for whatever reasons felt compelled to take cameraphone pics of the top of the stars heads, or even worse, pics of the other cameras in the crowd pointed in the stars direction. To these people, seriously? If you arent there trying to get an autograph or a photo with...why stand there, you can find a farrrr better photo of the situation on google the next morning. all you are are doing is clogging up an area for people who have a purpose and know what they are doing. Shortly after Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie left together, rolled down their windows and gave a wave to the crowd waiting, they then left for their party. After that, I went to the Brad Pitt after party for a bit, but was outwaited by them, as I had to leave to go back to Hamilton. The day started slow...but decent end. Total for day 2. - 19 autographs. 2 day total - 32 Grades A+ George Clooney A+ Ezra Miller A+ Megan Fox A Chris Pratt A- Ryan Gosling B- Brad Pitt B- Juliette Binoche C+ Philip Seymour Hoffman C+ Jon Hamm C Christopher MacDonald C John Lydon C- Arielle Kebbel D Bryce Dallas Howard My film fest started slowly. It was a couple hours of waiting before I saw the 1st person come thru.
Mia Wasikowska was 1st up, and she was not happy. She begrudgingly signed a small handfull of autographs for the crowd of hounds waiting. She was more annoyed with the paps there papping, as she kept burying her head into her assistants shoulder immediately after signing each time. Reports from the red carpet said she was just as terrible there. Things stayed slow for a bit, till I fluked into Willem Dafoe. Everyone else was off chasing Evan Rachel Wood (whom I had given up on because it seemed she wasnt actually coming in) and instead crossed paths with the movie star. He signed everything I had, and I was finally on the board for myself, as the earlier Mia autographs were for someone else. Next up was Moneyball star Chris Pratt. He had his girlfriend with him, Anna Faris, which angered me, as I have wanted to get her for a long time, but wasnt aware she was with him. Still, got all my Pratts done, super friendly guy, the both of them were. Chris loved my Moneyball photo so much he gave me an email address so I could send the photo to him. A common theme of the 1st two days was the next guy. Sex Pistols icon John ( Johnny Rotten ) Lydon came in and signed sparingly, but still enough that everyone who was alert enough to bring him got a couple each. He is quite a chatterbox. Had smart ass comments for almost everyone. The most miserable of day 1s list was Jonah Hill next. His lackey/friend/boyfriend was lippy, rude and unprofessional and surely did Mr. Hill more harm than good in the PR world. Hill himself was unfriendly , but still begrudgingly did autographs and photos with at least. his friend however was verbally abusive, sticking his middle finger up in the back of peoples photos and confrontational. Most amazing part was the lackey continually saying "we", like anyone gave a shit he was there, hell, most barely cared Jonah was there. Saw Gerard Butler come in a bit later, but there was so much mayhem around him. A group of highly unprofessional, aggressive and rude American hounds from a couple different places were terrible with their tactics and it de-motivated the film star from signing more than a small handful before walking the rest of the way. Shortly after that was flamboyant Ezra Miller. The young actor was dressed up like a Kid Rock clone, but despite the suspect wardrobe decision, he was super class guy. Wish him all the best. Looking back, I should have pased on some of the names I got that evening to take the gamble on going for U2. The rock band had a premiere, and Bono & The Edge arrived and signed lots. Day 1 total 13 Grades A+ Chris Pratt A Anna Faris A Ezra Miller A Willem Dafoe C+ John Lydon C Gerard Butler C- Jonah Hill D+ Mia Wasikowska  My Top pick for TIFF last year, Michael C. Hall signing autographs at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival on the red carpet at his premiere for Peep World. The 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival begins later this week, and we will again be there. Last year, I gave you a list of 20 people I wanted to get. http://canadagraphs.weebly.com/1/post/2010/09/my-top-20-wants-at-tiff-2010.html I managed to see 15 of them, only managed to nab 8 of those 20 though for autographs, but I did get my #1, so that was a victory. This year, I have pushed the list to 30. So here it is....my top 30 want list for TIFF 2011. 1 Chloe Moretz - Didnt get Hit Girl last year at film fest when she cancelled for a family birthday party. This year, shes committed to coming. Must get. 2 Hugh Laurie - Last year it was Dexter. This year its Dr. House. My must get TV person. 3 Antonio Banderas - Puss In Boots. If he wasnt PIB, I wouldnt even care he was there. 4 Madonna - Really? Are you even remotely shocked? Its Madonna. Theres few names in the entertainment universe as big as this. 5 Saoirse Ronan - She was terrific in Hanna. An Academy Award nominee at just 13 for Atonement. Must get IMO. 6 Maggie Gyllenhaal - Loved Secreatary, loved The Dark Knight. 7 Brad Pitt - Normally, a guy dumb enough to leave Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie I would assume has bad decision making skills...but he seems to make blockbuster movies despite this severe retardation. 8 Michelle Williams - Huge Dawsons Creek fan. Actually got her autograph way back when she was still on DC, but was working for someone else at the time & despite asking for 1, never got 1. Chance to rememdy that now. 9 Jeffrey Dean Morgan - Huge Supernatural fan, always looking to add new things to my collection. 10 Jason Statham - Its JasoN Statham, nuff said. 11 Neil Young - Hes ahead of U2 and Pearl Jam simply because I've somehow never got him before. 12 Elena Anaya - Never knew who she was till I found some hot pics of her from a movie she did. 13 U2 - If you havent heard of them, its ok. They might be big someday. 14 George Clooney - In 2007 I literally missed getting him by less than 3 ft. Chance for redemption. 15 Julia Maxwell - Key figure in season 6 of Supernatural was Eve. Played by this hot specimen. 16 Kyle MacLachlan - The Captain on How I Met Your Mother. Nuff said. 17 Keira Knightley - Hopefully redemption for not getting her in 2007. 18 Gerard Butler - Its Gerard Butler. Nuff said. 19 Alison Pill - She was the only character in Milk I liked. 20 Gael Garcia Bernal - In 2007 I was naive enough to think "ah I'll just walk right up and get this guy. No one cares about him". Now I am sart enough from my prior experience to know "I NEED to get him". 21 Nicholas Cage - Got his autograph before when he filmed Ghost Rider, but it was on a Colorado Avalance team card because I wasnt expecting him. Never seen him since. Chance to finally get the photos I printed back then done. 22 Jennifer Lawrence - Even though I know nothing about The Hunger Games, I also am smart enough to know from my Twilight experiences, dont poo-poo these book driven series. 23 Pearl Jam - Despite having got them more times than I can recall, I will always want more. 24 Viggo Mortensen - Funny enough, I got him in 2007 and didnt really know who he was then, since then I've seen him in Eastern Promises and A History Of Voilence, so now I WANT to get him. 25 Ewan McGregor - Star Wars. Nuff Said. Got him in 2007. 26 Jennifer Garner - should have got her 4 yrs ago at my 1st film fest, but some deaf hounds ruined it for everyone when they disregarded her demand to not push. Fingers crossed I get to her this time before they ruin it again. 27 Lily Cole - Dont know anything about her except she looks hot, and isnt opposed to being naked. 28 Sarah Silverman - She was 14th on my list last year, and I got her. Thus why shes not too high up this year, but still someone I hope to get again. 29 Liana Liberato - Had photos for her last year, but missed out. Second crack, maybe this time I'll get her. 30 Robin Wright - I am really assuming she will be much nicer than her ex, Sean Penn. Others I would be happy to find.... Selma Blair, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Gosling, Leighton Meester, Chris Pratt, Scott Speedman, Rachel Weisz & Anton Yelchin. Hoping they show up - Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson, Hugh Jackman, Ashley Greene, Eric Peterson, Alicia Silverstone, Nicole Kidman, Ed Helms, Jason Segal, Bryan Cranston Below is a few pics from various outings where I saw the cast of the ABC rookie TV show "Once Upon A Time" which will premiere October 23, 2011. The photos of Robert Carlyle (Rumplestiltskin/Mr. Gold) are from when the pilot was being shot. The photos of Ginnifer Goodwin (Snow White/Mary Margaret) signing and her with Lana Parrilla (Evil Queen/Regina) and Josh Dallas (Prince Charming/John Doe) are from a recent return the cast was making after doing an awards show. The set of Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) are also from returning from teh awards show                      |
About meI occasionally argue with inanimate objects, but I usually win. So its all good. Archives
June 2012
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
