The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival has ended, and here is my reports on the festival. This is part 3, day 6 to day 8. For part 1, day 0 to day 2, go HERE For part 2, day 3 to day 5, go HERE Day 6 started for me with a premiere at the Elgin for the movie Viper Club. It started with seeing former Once Upon A Time star Julian Morris there. Unfortunately I had nothing with me, since he was not on the original confirmed list. A little while later Susan Sarandon showed up, I managed two from the acting icon. A bit after that Matt Bomer arrived. He signed a handful of things, and took some photos, I managed to get 1 out of him there, but I was a little disappointed I couldn't get two considering where I was positioned. But, 1 is better than none. Next up was the premiere for Green Book at Roy Thompson Hall. I did pretty good there, I had a row 1A spot (its when you have part of your body in Row 1, but you arent fully in row 1), and it helped me in getting 3 Viggo Mortensen, 2 Linda Cardellini, a Mahershala Ali and a Peter Farrelly without ever having to leave my corner (which is an important fact coming up soon in this post). Everyone from this premiere was fairly accommodating, but Viggo certainly won it by going to every single person in the line. I then went and lined up for Boy Erased, across the street. When it finally came time to let people in to the fan zone, me, and another autograph hound, were asked to get out of line. A security guy then told us we werent going in. When we asked why, he said because WE were "using our elbows and pushing" and when I asked where & when, he said last premiere. Now remember what I said about that earlier premiere.... I was in row 1A. Thus I didn't need to push, and outside of perhaps intentionally trying to injure someone, having your arms at such an angle that your elbows become prominent is NOT a goods technique to getting an autograph. You really want your arm extended as fully as possible, to get the best position. To top all that off, remember how I said, I never actually had to go anywhere? Its pretty common place in a premiere to move around and try at another place... but I didn't have to. I brought 6 items to the premiere, and got all of them done, right where I was standing the whole time. Thats also an important point, because do you know who was beside me, infront of me, and behind me? ALL autograph hounds. EVERY SINGLE FUCKING ONE of us in that corner were hounds... and you damn well know not of them complained. It gets better though, as I pointed out to the misinformed "head of security" that I can prove they are at least mostly wrong.... as the person with me was NOT even at that premiere..... so whoever made the claim, clearly targeted two people that couldn't have done it. An argument between me, 1 of the "head" guys peons escalated to him demanding I give back the wrist band they give to people lining up. I said, no, he told me its, get this "TIFF property" which I told him it stopped being theirs when they gave it to me. He then pursued after me to pester me to give it back. I ignored him, and he escalated things to "you are never coming back in ever again", which is funny since he isn't in charge. I then went back to arguing with the head guy. That eventually escalated to HIM asking for "TIFF property" back as well. He got the same reply, with me adding "go get a cop". Amazingly enough, for this 1/3 cent piece of fabric that has no use once the premiere starts... he went and got a cop. Cop then came, asked me as well, I told him no. TIFF head security guy fell back on their "TIFF property" claim, I told the cop, not true. It was given to me BY TIFF. It is now mine to do with as I wish. As I stated "if I want to take it off and piss on it, I can". The cop, realizing I was in the right moved to more of a "please, can you give it back?" attitude, which I then addressed the head security guy and said to him "you know why I'm not giving it back?"" he of course asked why, I told him "pettiness". Which he replied "fair enough". From that moment, his attitude did a 180 & he then went from "you are never coming in again, to, if you give us the band back, come see me tomorrow. I will review the case with the guard who made the claim, and if he says its mistaken identity, you can come back in". So I gave him the band back in front of the cop... and proceeded to try and work without access to the premiere. I then tried the departures of Colette. I managed an autograph from Dominic West, but Keira Knightley ignored all requests going in (despite there only being about 4-5 people there at that time) & coming out. Next up, I tried Hilary Swank at a talk at CBC. I got there, saw a much larger crowd than the night before talk had. Reports were she stormed right in on the way in. For the first, and ONLY time ever at this venue for events I have gone there for, the entertainer there didn't sign at all. Swank came out & went directly to her vehicle. This nights "Midnight Madness" was unusually early as well. As long as I have done TIFF, its always been 11:59 PM. But for the second time this TIFF, they had one start before 11. The premiere of Assassination Nation had a lot of potential, but unfortunately, little of that potential showed up. I left there with 1 whole Odessa Young autograph, which I went there with 2 photos for her.... so its pretty sad when someone with that resume is that unwilling to sign that you can only get 1 at a "Midnight" Madness. I did see the other cast who showed signing, Colman Domingo was good, Suki Waterhouse scrawled her useless "S" on a variety of items, but the big stars no showed. Joel McHale and Bella Thorne were both not confirmed, but there was at least a hope they would come. Bill Skarsgard, who is literally in Toronto filming, also didn't come. Leaving me with little to get signed at this premiere, thus why I left there with only 1 autograph in total. I hurried back across to the premiere I wasn't allowed in for their departures. LUCKILY I DID... because the person i went there for, Joel Edgerton, I managed to coerce to come out & meet the fans on the other side of the lane they are in. He came over & told fans "I wont take photos, but I'll sign some things" and boy did he ever, I managed to get the 3 items I brought with me all done in a span of maybe 45 seconds. Of course Nicole Kidman did NOT meet any fans there... but that wasn't who I went there for, so I left there pleased. All that drama from earlier, was technically for nothing, as I got all the things I wanted to get done in the fan zone, anyways. My day 6 total autographs - 15 My TIFF 2018 Total - 99 (ohh, so close.. damn you Odessa Young) A+ Viggo Mortensen A+ Joel Edgerton A Colman Domingo A- Linda Cardellini A- Julian Morris B+ Susan Sarandon B+ Dominic West B+ Peter Farrelly B Matt Bomer B Suki Waterhouse B Mahershala Ali C Odessa Young F+ Nicole Kidman F Hilary Swank F Keira Knightley Day 7 was when you could feel the fest was really winding down. With only 5 total events all day, it was a late start for me. First thing I did, was head to Roy Thompson Hall, the place where I allegedly "elbowed" people the day before. I instantly searched out any guard I recognized, and found one I know all too well. The guy I always thought WAS the head of security. I told him what happened the day before, I told him what the head guy told me to do today. After a breif talk, he ok'ed me to line up, with the knowledge, we might still say no. So I did, as it turned out, I was allowed in. They 1 of the main wrist band guys came to talk to me as well, I told him what I was told the day before, what the security guy here said, and he said ok. Then he gave me a lecture on being good and not pushing and shoving, which I listened to, then told him that I realize he was under the impression I did something wrong, but that I already knew all of that. The red carpet eventually started for What They Had, and first up for me was Robert Forster. Thankfully I had a good enough spot that I managed to get one from Robert. A bit later, I managed an autograph from Michael Shannon. However, the person most everyone was there to see, Hilary Swank ignored MOST requests, and the few times she did sign, I was told (my angle I couldn't see WHO she signed for, just that she did) seemed to be mostly for women. Taissa Farmiga also showed up for the carpet, and signed for most people, but I did not bring her since she was not on the original confirmed list. In between red carpets, I squeezed in time to try the CBC building for Maggie Gyllenhaal, but unfortunately she told us "not right now" and went in side. A few hours later, another red carpet at the same venue. This time for The Land Of Steady Habits. With several names confirmed, this SHOULD have been a good carpet. It. Was. NOT! While the 4 stars who DID show all signed at some point, their level of willingness varied greatly. Elizabeth Marvel was pretty good for those who knew who she was, while I managed to get Thomas Mann to sign, I was pretty disgusted to see Charlie Tahan ignore my multiple requests while he literally was just standing in a corner doing NOTHING, before he decided to go down the carpet just to avoid being asked again. Ben Mendelsohn on the other hand, did sign some, but turned down MOST items, including 3 different items I showed him. Thats some top shelf divaness there. So I left a premiere that I SHOULD have got at least 4 autographs from, with 1. Not the best of uses of my time. After the premiere, I headed back to CBC to wait for Maggie Gyllenhaal leaving, and it was worth the effort. I managed 3 autographs from her leaving. My night ended at the Midnight Madness premiere for The Standoff At Sparrow Creek. I managed to get both James Badge Dale items I brought signed, but after being told by another hound that the studio for the film said all the cast was coming, I was disappointed the only other person I brought, a Patrick Fischler photo, didn't get signed, because he wasn't there. Brian Geraghty was asked by quite a few people for photos and autographs, and he obliged most or all of the requests. My day 7 autographs Total - 8 My TIFF 2018 Total - 107 A+ Michael Shannon A+ Robert Forster A Maggie Gyllenhaal A Brian Geraghty A James Badge Dale A Thomas Mann A Elizabeth Marvel A- Taissa Farmiga C- Ben Mendelsohn C- Hilary Swank D- Charlie Tahan Day 8, which I did not know when I started the day, would be my last TIFF day ever, started pretty late. With only 4 events going, I didn't have to get in to Toronto till late afternoon.
I started my day off going to the Roy Thompson Hall for the premiere of The Lie. For a fan of The Killing, such as I am, this was a pretty exciting premiere to do. It had Mireille Enos AND Peter Sarsgaard in it. As well, show creator Veena Sud directed this, and also had Patty Kim, who had a role in season 3 of the series. Of course, the unknown factor was, would Alan Ruck, the husband of Mireille, also come to the premiere. The first car to show up was Mireille, and to my excitement, Alan came with her. So I managed to get the two photos I brought of him with me done, as well as a couple autographs from her. Shortly after Peter showed up, and I managed 1 from him. Patty Kim arrived a bit later, and signed for those who needed her, I had not prepared for her.. so that was an opportunity missed moment. Lastly, Joey King arrived, and signed quite a lot... but more disappointing, was she had a peon lurking over her like an abusive guardian telling her what not to sign. Don't forget, shes an ADULT. This guy would go through and push away photos HE didn't want her signing. I don't know who this moron is, but it was pretty outrageous in this current social climate we are in, seeing a man making decisions for an adult woman without her having a say in the matter. It was fucking weird & creepy. I hope she manages to get away from this guy eventually. Next up was another premiere at RTH. This time it was for The Kindergarten Teacher. Luckily it was a short carpet, as the only cast to come for it was Maggie Gyllenhaal. I still had a couple left overs from the day before, so I went in, and managed to nab 2 more autographs from her. I ended my TIFF (not that I knew it at that time) with a Midnight Madness premiere for In Fabric. It starred Star Wars & Game Of Thrones star Gwendoline Christie. Up till this meeting, I had heard from others she wasn't the most friendly, so I was nervous that this was going to take some effort to get the 3 photos I brought done... but nope. I got all 3 done in the first minute she was there, and left that evening feeling really good about things. What happened next, unfortunately, ended my TIFF career 1 event short. Lets just say cliff notes version, I sprained my ankle. Longer version, Once I returned to Hamilton I was in the almost always happening position, of having to race from the intercity Go Bus, to the Hamilton Bus stop. Somehow, despite probably hundreds of times of this happening since GO moved to double decker buses for the route, The City Of Hamilton has not clued in to the routes slightly longer run times, and have their city buses run at a time that frankly, they could change to adapt to the change in the GO scheduled arrivals... but they haven't. This has gone on for TWO straight TIFFs now... but this year was the worst yet. Of the 6 nights prior where I took that specific GO bus, 1 time I raced to the Hamilton Bus stop, just to get on while the bus was already there getting ready to leave, another time, my GO driver was nice enough to get the Hamilton bus drivers attention to ask if I could get on right there, and he allowed it. Four other times, I had to take a cab up the hill... and in ALL FOUR cases, I could SEE my bus just ahead of us. We were literally missing it by seconds, or at most a minute every time. So to my joy, we were slightly ahead of the buses on Thursday night. I was set to use some of the limited sprinting skills I still have left to get there before it goes by, since I did not exactly know HOW far ahead we were, all I knew for certain was, it was scheduled to leave its starting spot about 20-80 seconds after we passed it. So I got off the bus first, and went into full sprint mode. I remember on my 1st or 2nd step actually feeling like I caught an edge. It wasn't enough to break my stride, but I didn't know yet, it caused a juice in my backpack to pop out and down under me. I remember hearing it hit the ground, and less than a fraction of a second later, I stepped right on it. This caused multiple discomforts in my leg, which eventually eased up to just the ankle problem. Adrenaline alone got me to the bus stop... and wouldn't you know it, I really didn't have to run at full speed, I could have made it there with probably a hurried walk & a little bit of light sprinting.... but I couldn't have known that beforehand. So, I got a serious ankle sprain out of the deal... and it took more than a week before I started walking on it without the aid of crutches. It will probably be at least another week before I am walking on it normally. It will probably be a few more weeks before its fully healed. All because of the fucking Hamilton Bus Schedules cant fucking adapt to changes to the intercity bus routes... but yeah, I realize I did this to myself too... but I wouldn't have done it, it I didn't feel pressured to make that bus. Anyways... because of the injury, I was unable to do the final event of TIFF, and thus, end my TIFF career on my own terms. It sucks. It sucks even more that I will never know if I could have broke my record. I was less than 10 away. While thats a lot to get form 3 people, it isn't impossible. But, instead, I end this TIFF tied for my 3rd highest total..... also, I managed to break the 1,000 career autographs mark at TIFF the day before. So not a terrible TIFF. In fact, I'd say it was decent... till my ankle injury. My day 7 autographs total - 14 My TIFF 2018 total - 121 (tied for my 3rd best) A Gwendoline Christie A Patty Kim A Maggie Gyllenhaal A- Mireille Enos A- Joey King A- Alan Ruck C Peter Sarsgaard
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The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival has ended, and here is my reports on the festival. This is part 2, day 3 to day 5. For part 1, day 0 to day 2, go HERE For part 3, day 6 to day 8 go HERE Day 3 started for me later than I had hoped as exhaustion was setting in already. I wanted to do a late morning premiere, but didn't get there in time to have a chance at it, so I started my day instead at an afternoon premiere for Can You Ever Forgive Me, starring Melissa McCarthy, Richard E Grant & Christian Navarro. Pleased to say, a rare occurrence at the fest, all of the cast I was there for were quite accommodating. Richard and Christian signed everything asked of them, while the big star, Melissa, signed a pretty notable amount. I managed to get everything done by Richard & Christian, and 1 from Melissa. I left that premiere feeling like I had a solid start. I went then to the premiere for "Everybody Knows" with Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz. Unfortunately, this premiere killed my early high. I got 1 Cruz, and 0 Bardems, despite having a really good spot. After such a good start, this was a bit of a gut punch. My next choice was an easy one for me. My top want of the fest, Mandy Patinkin, was going to have a premiere at the same venue I was already at next. The premiere for Life Itself had a pretty large cast, but it was Dead Like Me star Mandy Patinkin that had me choosing it over others going on at that time which included the likes of Hugh Jackman and Julia Roberts at other venues. I managed to get 1 autograph from Patinkin, keeping my streak of getting my top want of every fest together. I also managed autographs from This Is Us creator Dan Fogelman, Annette Bening and Olivia Cooke, while Olivia Wilde snubbed our area entirely, and seemingly only really interacted with young girls, and Oscar Isaacs no showed. Still, getting Patinkin was worth it for me. I took a very short break from that venue, to go across the street from it to see if there was any action at the Julia Roberts premiere for Ben Is Back. I was mostly hoping to track down Kathryn Newton, but it was becoming quickly obvious the stars for the film weren't going to leave early, which is something that happens more often than not. I knew I couldn't wait this one out for its end, AND get a good spot in line for the next one I was going to do, so I abandoned my spot at that one to go line up for my next event. For my 3rd time that day, I found myself at a premiere at the Roy Thompson Hall, this time for Widows. Another movie with a major cast of notable names. I should have done great at this as I had a really great spot. But instead, the unwillingness of the cast to sign soured that. While many DID sign, Viola Davis, and Liam Neeson did NOTHING, and Daniel Kaluuya did little to nothing. I did manage an autograph from the legendary Robert Duvall, as well as some autographs from Colin Farrell, Michelle Rodriguez and Elizabeth Debicki. But even with all those successes, the amount of outright non-signers at the premiere really dampened the excitement for it. At least Liam came over to the crowd to explain he wasn't going to sign because of a wrist injury (whether true or not, at least he made SOME effort to explain himself) I then headed to the last event of the night, the premiere of Halloween. If you were a fan of Danny McBride, this was a good night for you. If you were a fan of any of the main cast, you went away disappointed, and perhaps, even disgusted. The shows two main leads, Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer both refused to come and meet fans. With JLC going as far as to give the fans the finger when they booed her for walking away from them. Ms. Greer at least didn't flip everyone off, but she did beeline right into the theatre, but in her defense, I believe she was told to do this by the staff at the theatre, as they did stand around her car talking to her inside it for well over a minute before she got out. Disappointing end to a day that started pretty well, and featured me getting my top want of the festival. Andi Matichak also came over to sign, but seemed at first she was not going to either, and got a smaller chorus of boos than JLC did, and in turn came over after a quick photo shoot, whether for PR or a legitimate sense of feeling bad that she didnt first, at least she came over. While producer Danny McBride was good and signed for everyone, I hate to say it, I hope his film flops because of JLC. This former TV actress really thinks more of herself than she actually is. My day 3 autograph total - 16 My TIFF 2018 total - 54 A+ Richard E Grant A+ Christian Navarro A+ Dan Fogelman A+ Elizabeth Debicki A+ Danny McBride A Andi Matichak A Melissa McCarthy A Olivia Cooke A Colin Farrell A- Robert Duvall B+ Michelle Rodriguez B+ Annette Bening B Penelope Cruz B- Mandy Patinkin C- Javier Bardem D+ Olivia Wilde D- Daniel Kaluuya F+ Liam Neeson F Judy Greer F Viola Davis F- Jamie Lee Curtis Day 4 saw me start with the premiere for The Public. This was one I was eager to get a good spot for, as I had a couple items for one of my friends to try and get done. Thankfully, for the person I needed.... it paid off. Things started off with Christian Slater and Alec Baldwin showing up at almost the same time, which is pretty rare at this venue. While I managed a couple autographs from Mr. Slater, I was shut out on the sporadically signing Baldwin who skipped large chunks of the carpet to hasten his arrival time at the media pit, despite the fact they were both 20 minutes before any other cast. I got 1 autograph from the person I went there for, former Breakfast Club and Mighty Ducks star Emilio Estevez. I also managed 1 from Jena Malone, which was rare there as she ignored most requests, and got two autographs from The Wire star Michael Kenneth Williams. Sadly Mr. Baldwin was not the only denial I received there, as Taylor Schilling, Gabrielle Union and Jeffrey Wright also didn't sign in the area I was. From there, I headed to another premiere, but once I got there I was told of a different event that was going on soon at a venue close to it, so I headed there instead and that turned out to be a pretty great decision. Before the event happened. They obviously had to let out the movie prior, which to my luck was for Burning starring former The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun. Luckily I got a couple autographs from him as he left. I also helped one other grapher get autographs from another person with the movie, Lee Chang-dong. Its always nice stumbling into bonus autographs, something I would have a bigger one of a bit later. A live reading of The Breakfast Club took place at the Ryerson Theatre. Every year they do a live reading of some older movie, and they bring in a variety of actors in town for the festival to do the roles, but they don't announce who till the day of. This year, they had Aaron Paul, Christina Hendricks, Jesse Eisenberg, Bel Powley, and a couple others. I managed a couple autographs each from Aaron and Christina. But was of course denied from the always unfriendly Jesse & Bel. If you had told me I'd get 4 autographs there, and still not get two of the people I had stuff for, I would have nodded my head in understanding & known exactly which two I would & wouldn't get. After that little bonus event, I went back to the theatre I was originally going to to try and get the cast of Her Smell. When I got there, I was a bit surprised how large of a crowd was waiting, as I assumed it was just 1 cast member there, but was told not only were 4 of them there, but the 2nd screening for A Star Is Born had already started showing up. Like I said a few paragraphs earlier, a bigger unexpected autograph would fall into my lap. When the cast for ASIB came in, I managed to get a few, Dave Chappelle signed 1 for me, Sam Elliott signed two for me, and the biggest "I wasn't expecting to get them at all" one Lady Gaga I got 1 from. Nice extra bonus. Also seen at the showing for ASIB were Salma Hayek and Michelle Rodriguez, BOTH actresses ignored all requests from fans. A bit later, the cast of Her Smell finally started leaving. I managed a couple Elisabeth Moss autographs, but the rest of the cast Amber Heard, Ashley Benson and the always miserable Cara Delavigne just speed walked out into their awaiting vehicles and left. After the ASIB cast left, I went around front, just in time to get 1 autograph from Abbie Cornish on the red carpet of her premiere for Where Hands Touch. Unfortunately the movies other star that came Amandla Stenberg ignored all requests and went straight to the carpet. I ended the night with Sofia Boutella at the premiere of Climax. She was terrific, knocking out all the items I had within just a couple minutes. My day 4 autograph total - 24 My TIFF 2018 total - 78 A+ Sam Elliott A+ Aaron Paul A+ Christina Hendricks A+ Christian Slater A+ Dave Chappelle A+ Sofia Boutella A Elisabeth Moss A Lee Chang-dong A Robert Wuhl A Richard E Grant A Lady Gaga A- Steven Yeun A- Emilio Estevez A- Michael Kenneth Williams C+ Abbie Cornish C Jena Malone C- Alec Baldwin C- Taylor Schilling C- Gabrielle Union C- Jeffrey Wright D+ Bradley Cooper F+ Jesse Eisenberg F Bel Powley F Michelle Rodriguez F Salma Hayek F Amber Heard F Cara Delavinge F Ashley Benson F Amandla Stenberg Day 5 was a far too short of a day. While lots was going on, remnants of a hurricane made their way through the Toronto area, pouring lots of rain down on the area for most of the day. So I started my day off late. I first attempted to work the 6 PM premiere of The Death And Life Of John F Donovan. This was such a failure, that I left before the cast had even finished leaving. All I saw of the cast was Kit Harington, who signed a couple autographs, but not a lot, and Susan Sarandon who didn't sign at all... but I couldn't really blame people, as it was still raining pretty hard. There was ONE event that SHOULD have been a slam dunk, and at a dry place. SO I went there. Every year CBC hosts 3 or 4 talks with individuals. This year, they started with Mahershala Ali, the Academy Award winner from Moonlight, and as I know him, Cottonmouth from Luke Cage. Unfortunately, this was NOT a slam dunk, as other hounds that arrived, got pushy (which isn't rare) but when the entertainer tells you to stop... you are supposed to stop. They didn't, and he handed the pen back after just a couple autographs and went inside. While his event went on, I had decided the rain had lightened up enough to risk trying for autographs outside, and went to do the premiere for Driven. WHAT A SHIT SHOW! There was LITERALLY 11 fans on the red carpet, so this should have been the easiest thing ever. But between the fact they would have had to cross an active street (although it was closed down when vehicles arrived for a few moments), in light rain none of the cast bothered. Eventually a clunker of a Delorean showed up at the premiere, and two guys who looked like failing film students got out, and they were filming the car, and had Jason Sudeikis pose with it, and a few of the production people took photos and videos of the car.... fine, now get the clunker out of here. NOPE... lets leave it sitting there, doors open on an ACTIVE STREET for OVER TEN MINUTES! The fucking imbeciles that pulled off this moron riddled idea left their car there for 10+ minutes, while City Of Toronto Cops had to hold up traffic at both ends to accommodate this idiocy. In the traffic being held, were two cars for the premiere, including that which had Lee Pace in it. At some point Judy Greer and Cory Stoll both arrived, but not from the front, did quick photo shoots, and went back inside without coming over on the closed street to the whole 11 people there. When Lee finally showed up, he hurried across the street, signed for my buddy and me, then went right back across the street, leaving the other 9 people there with nothing for their time at possibly the most scarcely attended red carpet in this theatres history. Like I said, shit show. AFTER everyone was in, the fucktards who drove their shitmobile to the front of the theatre attempted to get it out of there.... and to top off the worst red carpet of the year.... the pile of shit would not start.... so they had to literally push it down the road. Fucking losers. If these idiots were not fired for this shitshow, the producers of Driven should never be allowed to make another film again just for guilt by association. After that debacle, I went back to the CBC event, and thankfully, it was a much smaller, and calmer crowd on his departure, and I managed to get 2 autographs there. I then hurried back to the venue with the terrible red carpet to see if I could get any of the cast leaving. I managed to snag two more Lee Pace autographs (in a dying/dead pen), and 1 Judy Greer, but was still snubbed by Cory Stoll and Erin Moriarty for some reason. My day 5 autograph total - 6 My TIFF 2018 total - 84 (Grades only based on events AFTER 8 PM due to rain.. because honestly, cant blame them for not wanting to stand in the downpour.) A Mahershala Ali A- Jason Sudeikis B- Lee Pace D+ Judy Greer F Isabel Arraiza F Corey Stoll F Erin Moriarty The 2018 Toronto International Film Festival has ended, and here is my reports on the festival. This is part 1, day 0 to day 2. For part 2, day 3 to day 5, go HERE For part 3, day 6 to day 8 go HERE Day 0 was, as it usually is, pretty underwhelming. While lots of people came through, we had a pretty tough time being in the right place at the right time for them. A lot of missing happened day one, and at the end, there was only 3 successes for anyone. Isabelle Huppert was the first name to be noticed coming in for her film "Greta". The French actress signed a considerable amount of photos for the handful of autograph hounds there with items for her. I did not have stuff for her, but did take a photo of the star taking the time to sign. During the long gap between TIFF names, we stumbled across former NFL star Emmitt Smith coming thru the airport. While Mr. Smith seemed nice enough early on, he quickly got annoyed with the amount of attention he had garnered and soon cut off all requests for photos with after doing a couple. Quite a bit later, we ran into the only 3 other people we'd see there for TIFF all within a few minutes. First up was Amber Heard, who was there to promote "Her Smell". Amber signed quite a lot, in fact, she might go down as 1 of the top 10 signers of TIFF. Shortly after she left, the final two to come in while I was there arrived. Sam Taylor Johnson and Aaron Taylor Johnson arrived. While a few fan girls got photos with Sam, most people asked Aaron to sign, and the former Kick Ass star did so willingly. The pair were there to promote "A Million Little Pieces". My day 0 autograph total was - 5 A+ Amber Heard A Aaron Taylor Johnson A Sam Taylor Johnson A- Isabelle Huppert C Emmitt Smith My first actual day of my final TIFF started with me happening to stumble upon the hotel that the cast for The Predator was staying at. I first saw Jake Busey, he took the time to interact with everyone at the hotel. Shortly after we saw Boyd Holbrook. I managed to get 1 autograph out of him. Keegan Michael Key came out a bit later, before we saw the person getting the most attention from the cast for her work in calling out a registered sex offender who had gotten a role on the film, Olivia Munn. Having had met Olivia a few times in Vancouver while the film was shooting, I knew she would be terrific, and she didnt disappoint. Truly one of the sweetest stars there is right now. I managed a couple autographs from her before she left. While I was there, I also managed to run into "Suits" star Patrick J Adams, he had stopped by there to get some TIFF credentials/passes done, as he had a film later in the festival to do. From there I moved on to the back of the Princess Of Wales Theatre for my first "officia' TIFF hounding event. The cast for "Outlaw King" went to POW to introduce the movie before they moved across the street for their "official" premiere at Roy Thompson Hall. All I got there was 1 Chris Pine autograph as the others I needed from the film did not show. Aaron Taylor Johnson and his wife Sam Taylor Johnson showed up there, and signed for all those who asked. From there, I tried to see if I could get Mr. Pine again at the RTH premiere, but I was unlucky with that effort. Next up was the 10 PM premiere of "Kursk" at POW. Unfortunately, this was a failure for me. The two people I went for, 1 did not come, and the other only signed on the opposite side of where I was. I managed 2 autographs from Matthias Schoenaerts, but I went there for Colin Firth and Lea Seydoux, and came away with nothing from them, as Mr.Firth did not come, and Ms. Seydoux only signed for `1/2 the carpet. I tried to redeem my evening by seeing what I could get at The Predator premiere. Luckily, it was alright. I managed to get 5 cast members on 1 item, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan Michael Key, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera and Boyd Holbrook on it. I also managed to snag two Thomas Jane solo signed photos, so this made the premiere not bad. I missed Olivia showing up, because she showed up so long after the rest of the cast, I thought I had somehow missed her coming in. One notable exclusion was Sterling K Brown and Yvonne Strahovski no showing the premiere. Really was hoping one or both would come. Would have been nice to substitute one of them for Shane Black, who was nothing short of an ass to the fans who asked him for a photo or to sign. Guess he was in a bad mood still for his registered sex offender friends news coming out. Day 1 of TIFF total - 13 autographs TIFF total - 18 A+ Olivia Munn A Keegan Michael Key A Matthias Schoenaerts A Sam Taylor Johnson A David Mackenzie A- Patrick J Adams A- Chris Pine A- Aaron Taylor Johnson B+ Billy Howle B+ Sam Spruell B+ Trevante Rhodes B+ Augusto Aguilera B Jake Busey B- Thomas Jane C+ Lea Seydoux C+ Boyd Holbrook F Shane Black Day 2 started off with one of the "you know its going to be pointless, but you still have to try" type of events, as Vox Lux was having a premiere, which means fighting for placement to try in vain at getting 1 of Hollywoods least willing signers, Natalie Portman. I actually managed to get an "okay" spot, which still did me no good for the elusive Mars Attacks actress... but at least this time, after seeing her twice before at premieres, I saw Ms. Portman actually sign this time... a whole 6 autographs, before she scurried away. Saving the event was Jude Law, who did sign more, and I managed to get 1 out of that at least. I hurried over to the premiere of Teen Spirit. I managed to get director Max Minghella to sign 1 and got a couple Elle Fanning "autographs". It was a bit of a shock to see the "L loop" autographs Ms. Fanning was handing out considering just a year or two earlier, I got full first name & a few letters of her last name when she signed. Adding to the disappointment was to see no sign of Elizabeth Bennington or Jamie Bell there. Next up was probably the biggest star name of the day at the same theatre, as Homecoming had its premiere next. Julia Roberts arrived and signed a fair amount, I managed to get two there. Sadly Sissy Spacek showed up pretty late & did not sign going in. Emmy Rossum showed up to the premiere, and completely snubbed all requests of her, whether for autographs or photos. On the way out for Homecoming, again Rossum ignored all requests, while Julia understandably didnt sign as 1 side of the barricades came almost completely down just before she was coming out the door. Thankfully Sissy Spacek signed on the way out for everyone that needed her, I managed 2 autographs from the Carrie star before heading away from there. My next event was still at the same theatre, with a 9 PM showing of White Boy Rick. Very few cast of note showed up, but I did manage 1 Matthew McConaughey autograph there. The always unwelcoming Bel Powley signed little, if anything at the premiere. I then went to the last premiere red carpet of the nght for Nekrotronic. I managed to get aol 5 photos I brought there signed, although Monica Bellucci did make it a bit more difficult than it should have been, but I eventually got all of hers done, as well as my 1 Caroline Ford and my 1 Tess Haubrich. On my way back to the bus, I passed by the back of a theatre to find out Patricia Clarkson had not yet left her premiere, so I stopped there for a few minutes, and managed to nab 1 from her before I headed off back to Hamilton. Day 2 autographs - 20 Total for TIFF - 38 A Patricia Clarkson A Max Minghella A- Elle Fanning A - Sissy Spacek A- Caroline Ford A - Tess Haubrich B Julia Roberts B Matthew McConaughey B- Jude Law C+ Monica Bellucci D+ Natalie Portman F Emmy Rossum Reports for Days 3 thru the end of my Festival will come later this month. Check back here for links to those portions. Or go directly to the blog section to find them, and previous TIFF posts HERE Suits films a scene for the back half of season 7 with Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty in Toronto10/14/2017 ![]() THIS POST CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR "SUITS" SEASON 7. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE YET, AND DO NOT WANT TO SEE OR READ POSSIBLE SPOILERS, DO NOT CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE BELOW OR VIEWING THE PHOTOS AT THE BOTTOM. . . . last warning . . In the past 4 years while I have been in Toronto for the Toronto International Film Festival, there has been ONE constant.... I'm going to find Suits filming there. While in the past years I didnt find the time to stop and check it out, on this particular year I did (very briefly.. I only stayed for two takes). The scene was inside an office tower, so there was a few challenges to shooting it. It was late at night, it was from about 200 feet away, and thru windows.... but I still managed to get enough shots to tell somewhat of the story from this shoot. As this is a new fandom to my site, even though this might be a 1 off shoot of them, I just want to say, if you use the photos elsewhere... DO NOT remove the watermarks I WILL file takedown notices. If you DO post them properly, I strongly prefer you credit the post to this blog post, and DO NOT use more than 3-4 photos TOTAL (not 3-4 photos "per tweet/instagram post") and let your followers know if they want to see more, theres a FREE place to do that.... here. On this particular day... err night, Gabriel Macht as Harvey Specter and Sarah Rafferty as Donna Paulsen were shooting a scene in the business tower across from the Adelaide Hotel. This is a common shooting location for them, in fact, 3 of the 4 years I have stumbled across them, it has been there. While many fans of the show, especially "shippers" were hoping this was some romance fueled scene between the two after they share a kiss in the season 7 mid-season finale, I can tell you this chat seemed a bit more tense. Not argumentative, or even mean, just not what I would call "a chat between two lovers", more like a chat between two co-workers... or at least a boss and his employee. The scene involves Harvey walking out of an elevator bank into the lobby of the office tower with Donna following behind him. Eventually she gets up to him and he turns around to have a conversation with her in the middle of the lobby of the tower. Many of the fans speculated based on their attire that this has to be the episode directly after that moment, but I cant confirm or deny that, as their filming schedule doesnt line up with what I know to be the normal timeline of a film shoot. So I really cant say if this is episode 11, or a later episode. The back half of season 7 of Suits has no start date for airing yet, but you can get caught up on what the show has to date in the U.S. on the USA Network or you can find it on NETFLIX (only first 6 seasons) Day 5 of TIFF started for me later than I wanted it to, but when I did get started, boy did it pay off. I first made my way over for the premiere of Jim & Andy featuring Jim Carrey. In recent years, Carrey has become a major name that you just dont see around much, so this was a big one to go for. Thanks to some good position scouting from another Vancouver hound, I ended up with a great spot, and managed to get 2 autographs from the comedic legend. From there, I momentarily went to the Ryerson Theatre before I realized I had something far bigger I wanted to go for than a premiere with notoriously fan unfriendly brie Larson at it. So I went right back to the venue I just left to try for the next premiere there. I managed 1 autograph each from Travis Fimmel, Charlie Plummer & Steve Buscemi on the way in for Lean On Pete premiere. Shockingly Chloe Sevigny refused to even acknowledge the people waiting before she headed in. Afterwards I went around back to try and get Mr. Carrey again, and I would have, if the autograph hound he told "no blue pens, just black" had actually handed him a black pen. Instead he handed him a blue, when Jim saw that, he signed 1 item & annoyingly tossed the pen back and left. Those on the far side were luckier, as he signed for everyone on that side. The next premiere at that venue, Downsizing, unfortunately downsized their red carpet names. Only Christoph Waltz showed up out of the several people attached to it. I managed two autographs from the 2X Academy Award winner, but the no shows of Matt Damon and Kristen Wiig definitely left a bit of a disappointed feeling at that premiere. Next up for me was a Javier Bardem sighting at his 1 on 1 conversation event. I managed two autographs from the Skyfall & most recent Pirates Of The Caribbean star. I then hurried over to the Princess Of Wales theatre to get a spot for the Hostiles premiere. While I managed 3 Christian Bale autographs there, the disappointment that Rosamund Pike avoided signing autographs for anyone with an item for her was a tad displeasing. I helped someone there get an autograph from Wes Studi, but I never brought anything for him myself. I hurried back to the venue I spent most of my day at to get Alicia Vikander leaving the premiere of Euphoria. The new Tomb Raider star was nice enough to do two autographs for me as she left there. I ended my evening going for what I assumed would be the easiest event of the day, and instead was the hardest. The Midnight Madness premiere for The Disaster Artist. It had a massive cast list, but only four names were on the confirmed list, and unfortunately only 3 of them showed. The massive 4-7 rows deep crowd that went all the way to the back door made it hard to get any of them, and I only managed 1 autograph from Alison Brie at almost the last possible moment, while the Franco brothers eluded me due to the density of the crowd. GRADES A+ Javier Bardem A+ Christian Bale A Jim Carrey A Alicia Vikander B+ Christoph Waltz B- Wes Studi B- Alison Brie C+ James Franco C+ Dave Franco C+ Travis Fimmel D+ Rosamund Pike F+ Brie Larson F Chloe Sevigny Day 5 Total Autographs - 16 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 80 Day 6 got off to a late start for me, and I didnt do anything till the press conference for the new TV program Alias Grace, based on a Margaret Atwood novel. While I managed to get Canadian actress & director Sarah Polley on the way in to the event, much of the cast however, either didnt come, or didnt have to sign going in. On the way out, I managed an autograph from the surprisingly hard Edward Holcroft, as well, I got 1 from Margaret Atwood. Had I done my homework more efficiently, I would have made more for her, unfortunately I didnt know she was also attached to multiple Emmy Award winner, The Handmaids Tale. After the presser, I made the foolish decision to go to the premiere of Racer & The Jailbird. While Matthias Schoenaerts was nice, and the director Michael Roskam was nice too, the actress in the movie, two time TIFF worst interaction list finalist Adele Exarchopoulos soured most that were there on ever giving this film a chance. Even with 1 of the other autograph hounds & myself being given tickets for free, we had little ot no interest in seeing it, and much of that decision was based off Exarchopoulos terrible attitude the last two years at TIFF. I did the arrivals of In The Fade to get my 1 Diane Kruger photo I had with me signed. I got it, turned around and headed off to do the next premiere. Midnight Madness premiere for Brawl In Cell Block 99 unfortunately only brought 3 cast. One was Udo Kier, who was nice enough. Unfortunately, longtime unhappy to see fans actor, Vince Vaughn was 1 of them, although to his credit he did put in a few minutes meeting fans...even if he did put "W"s on items he signed. The worst however, was former 1980s star Don Johnson. The mostly unknown in the last generation TV actor strutted the carpet like he was still in the 80s and treated requests for his autographs or photos with like he was handing out his own blood. Definitely one of the least classy examples shown in all of TIFF. I salvaged the evening by making it back to Loving Pablo departures where I got two autographs from Javier Bardem before he walked on foot to his movies after party near by. GRADES A+ Margaret Atwood A+ Javier Bardem A Matthias Schoenaerts A- Sarah Polley B+ Udo Kier C+ Edward Holcroft C+ Sarah Gadon C Diane Kruger C Vince Vaughn F Adele Exarchopoulos F Don Johnson Day 6 Total autographs - 12 TIFF 2017 total autographs - 92 Day 7 was unusually light compared to the final days. With only 5 potential events on the day, I chose to work 3 that were all close together.
First up was a 1 on 1 conversation with Glenn Close. I had gone for Ms. Close in the past and found her to be pretty unaccommodating, so this was an important one for me. This time, Glenn was quite good. Despite being late for the start of her event, she found the time to squeeze out about 4 autographs on the way in, and in that were my two items. I heard from many others, she was also quite good leaving as well. Next for me was the premiere of Kings with Halle Berry, and another of the major TIFF no shows this year, Daniel Craig. Luckily I managed to get 1 autograph from Halle, which doesnt even come close to making up for the FIVE previous times I have seen her and never managed to get her...but at least this time she signed one for me. Last event of the evening for me was The Tragically Hip documentary Long Time Running. With the absence of their lead singer Gord Downie, who is battling terminal brain cancer right now, the rest of the band showed up, and all four members Johnny Fay, Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair & Rob Baker signed some items. Thankfully the two I needed the most signed near me and helped finished an item I started ten years ago. I managed three autographs from that premiere, which was a few less than I anticipated, but since I got the two I needed the most, I consider it a major win. Also seen at the premiere was Canadian TV personality Mike Holmes, who came across as a bit unfriendly and full of himself as he just zipped by most people asking him to stop for an autograph or a selfie. GRADES A- The Tragically Hip B+ Glenn Close B Halle Berry C- Mike Holmes Day 7 Total autographs - 6 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 98 Day 8 was a bit busier, but only slightly. I started by going for the premiere of The Wife. Just getting Glenn Close the day earlier, I was really there for Christian Slater.... who surprise surprise, NO SHOWED. Luckily I had a photo for Annie Starke, or else I would have went away from that premiere shut out. Ms. Close was again terrific, signing anything she could physically get near. Next was the premiere of Three Christs. Everyone had hopes of Peter Dinklage from Game Of Thrones there, and of course, like many others from this fest, no showed. Richard Gere arrived and signed a fair amount, but stopped literally 1 person short of me, and Walton Goggins signed but missed me by maybe 3 people. So I left that theatre with a whole zero autographs. I then dragged my mostly defeated self over to the back end of the Alias Grace premiere. I still had hopes there of 4 or 5 autographs, but with Zachary Levi no showing, it severely reduced my hopes to two. Rebecca Lilliard signed both items I had thankfully, minimizing the terrible day that I had. Both Sarahs, Polley & Gadon signed for most everyone there, but newcomer Edward Holcroft, like he did at his press conference, signed sparingly & missed many. GRADES A+ Glenn Close A- Richard Gere A Annie Starke B+ Sarah Polley B- Walton Goggins Day 8 Total Autographs - 3 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 101 (yay, finally limped over the 100 mark) Day 9 of TIFF turned out to not be too bad for me. It actually outdid the last two days before it combined & then some. I started with the premiere of 55 Steps. Helena Bonham Carter bucked the recent trend for TIFF and actually showed up...thankfully. I managed two autographs from the actress before getting ready for the next event. The premiere of My Days Of Mercy was next, and I managed autographs from all 3 actresses that arrived. I got former The Killing actress Amy Seimetz to sign the 3 photos I had for her while the rest of the carpet was busy desperately trying to get Kate Mara and Ellen Page to come to them. Eventually Ms. page made her way to me and I got 1 on a photo I had previously signed by Drew Barrymore. Then Kate Mara came by and put a `K -`on my photo. Then I managed to salvage 1 more Page autograph after she did an interview on the stage they set up on the carpet. From there, I went to the departure of the premiere for Plonger. There I managed to get 4 autographs from Melanie Laurent, which really helped turn an òk`day into a `good day`. My final event of TIFF would be the Midnight Madness showing of Downrange. With a cast full of people I didnt previously know, it was interesting to meet people still early in their careers. I managed to get all 3 photos I had for that premiere signed. First, getting Stephanie Pearson, then her cast mate, and my final autograph of TIFF 2017, Kelly Connaire, who was telling me and the other person asking her how she created the costume she was wearing in our photos herself. I then hung around a few minutes to see the other autograph hound there get autographs from Alexa Yeames, Jason Tobias & the director Ryuhei Kitamura. All in all, probably the nicest cast of TIFF was where my 2017 Toronto International Film Festival ended. GRADES A+ Melanie Laurent A Kelly Connaire A Stephanie Pearson A Alexa Yeames A Jason Tobias A Ryuhei Kitamura A Helena Bonham Carter A- Ellen Page B+ Kate Mara B+ Amy Seimetz C+ Rebecca Lilliard C- Edward Holcroft C- Sarah Gadon Day 9 total Autographs - 15 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 116 (3rd highest total for me ever) For Days 0 thru 4 go HERE The 2017 Toronto International Film Festival has ended, and now that I have some time, here is my reports for my time at the festival at who was great & who was terrible with the fans, On Day 0 I met 3 celebs that day. It started with Armie Hammer, he was in town to promote his film Call Me By Your Name. Hammer was accommodating enough, giving out autographs to anyone that asked, but refused to stop walking while doing them. A while later, former Sons Of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam came through the airport. The star of the TIFF debuted Papillon made fans line up to get their autographs & selfies. then when they failed to follow his instructions shut it down & got in his truck....but after a minute or so, he got back out when the hounds showed him that they had re-assembled the line up, and he signed willingly for everyone there. Just as I was about to leave, music legend Grace Jones came through. She signed for anyone that had their items on them at the time. GRADES A+ Charlie Hunnam B+ Armie Hammer B Grace Jones Day 0 Total Autographs - 5 On Day 1, I started things off with a press conference for the Shia LaBeouf & Stellan Skarsgard led movie Borg VS McEnroe. I managed 1 autograph from the often odd LaBeouf, and two from Skarsgard there. Both entertainers took lots of time out to sign on the way into their presser. On the way out, torrential rainfall deterred most from staying around, so there was little to no one left when they came back out to leave. I lucked into an encounter with former Davincis Inquest star Nicholas Campbell as he walked down King Street towards the TIFF Bell Lightbox. I managed 2 autographs from the star. A bit later, I went to the premiere for Papillon, and managed 1 more Hunnam autograph, after he told me "I got you already" & I replied back with "yes, but not today".. I found Charlie a fair bit less accommodating on this day, but still did well. The Midnight Madness showing for day 1 was supposed to be 1 of the biggest events of TIFF. But the name everyone went for, of course no showed. Music legend Eminem was originally on the confirmed guest list for TIFF, but as many who follow his career predicted accurately, he didnt show for this event. I did manage to get autographs from the cast of Bodied with 1 from both Calum Worthy and Rory Uphold. But the lack of Slim Shady being there soured everyone on this event, and left most leaving there disappointed, myself included. GRADES A+ Stellan Skarsgard A+ Calum Worthy A+ Nicholas Campbell A Shia LaBeouf A- Rory Uphold B Charlie Hunnam Day 1 autographs total - 8 TIFF 2017 autographs total - 13 Day 2 started with me attempting to go to the premiere of the Toronto shot Kodachrome with Ed Harris & Jason Sudeikis. However, the fest closed down the red carpet for it early, leaving a sparsely attended red carpet for the cameras. I did luck into getting Sudeikis still however, as he walked to the red carpet, and luckily, right past where I was standing. But I was still unimpressed with TIFF closing off a carpet so early, and with so few people in the fan zone. I then checked out a new place that some celebs were going. UNFORTUNATELY, the cast that was there during my time was those for Stronger. Jake Gyllenhaal, Tatiana Maslany and Miranda Richardson, three of the lease friendly people you can have the misfortune of meeting all in 1 spot. They didnt waver from their cancerous reps, as the 3 of them combined signed 0 things, and took 0 photos with anyone, and in the case of Maslany, she practically speed walked & dove into her vehicle. Next up I went to the premiere of The Death Of Stalin. I was lucky enough to get a Steve Buscemi autograph there, and 2 from Andrea Riseborough. While I hoped for more from Buscemi, I didnt go away disappointed at least. Jason Isaacs, who was not on the original confirmed list showed up as well, and I managed 2 autographs from him as well. I waited around at that venue to him up Mollys Game premiere an hour later with Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba. Both stars signed multiples for me, but there was a substantial difference in which one was most accommodating, as Chastain spent several minutes meeting fans, and Elba spent less than 2, maybe even less than 1. I next got Ben Schwartz, Kaitlyn Dever and Jay Duplass as they left the the premiere of Outside In. Unfortunately Edie Falco didnt show to that. Shortly after I went to the front of that venue to do the premiere of Lady Bird directed by Greta Gerwig, and starring Saoirse Ronan, Timothee Chalamat, Laurie Metcalf and others. Despite an unfortunate no show by Ronan, this cast was quite good with those waiting to meet them. Even Ms. Gerwig, who I once gave a scathing review in a past TIFF was good here. The least friendly was The Big Bang Theory recurring guest star & former Roseanne star Laurie Metcalf. She only obliged maybe 1/4 of the requests for autographs or photo ops that were asked of her. I then hustled over to try the back end of the I Tonya premiere with Allison Janney, Margot Robbie and Sebastian Stan. Unfortunately they didnt sign at the venue, but I was lucky enough to stumble acorss their after party, and managed 1 from Margot and 1 from Allison Janney there. Shockingly, the usually super nice Sebastian Stan, didnt oblige any requests asked. My evening ended with stumbling across the after party for The Upside with Bryan Cranston and Nicole Kidman. Unfortunately Ms Kidman no showed for the party, and Mr. Cranston snubbed the dozen or so people waiting out there, despite telling them all "just 1 minute". GRADES A+ Jessica Chastain A Andrea Riseborough A Jason Isaacs A Timothee Chalamat B+ Jay Duplass B+ Ben Schwartz B+ Marielle Scott B+ Odeya Rush B Steve Buscemi C+ Greta Gerwig C+ Allison Janney C Idris Elba C Kaitlyn Dever C- Margot Robbie D+ Laurie Metcalf F Jake Gyllenhaal F Tatiana Maslany F Miranda Richardson F Sebastian Stan F Bryan Cranston Day 2 Total Autographs - 25 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 38 Day 3 started for me by sitting and waiting. Like many in Toronto I was suckered in to waiting around for the 3:45 PM showing of The Carter Effect at the Princess Of Wales Theatre. With the promise of large profile NBA stars, including 1 of Torontos most popular players ever & Canadian TV actor & wannabe musician drake confirmed to be there, many people went. Unfortunately, the entire thing was just a hair short of a complete farce. Vince Carter no showed his own event, drake came 20 minutes late, didnt even acknowledge the fans, got loudly booed by the crowd for not doing anything, and hurried inside, then afterwards allowed his hired meatsuit to get into a traffic altercation. The Toronto Raptors showed up, but their teams security guy thought alienating fans was a good sales tactic & refused to allow them to go over and meet fans who called out to them. The only exceptions were Chris Bosh, and Patrick Patterson, who both only signed a small handful before going inside. In fact, the ONLY person who showed any class there,had nothing to do with the movie at all, and that was Canadian track superstar Andre Degrasse. He actually spent tenfold more time meeting fans than the entire basketball roster and former Degrassi actor drake combined. All in all, 1 of the worst premieres I have ever been to. Needless to say not many people from Toronto will feel inspired to ever see the Carter Effect after that fiasco.
Because of how late the last event was, I had to skip an event right across the street that i had planned to go to and instead went across the downtown core to a different event. The premiere for I Love You Daddy had a large cast of mid-level names, and for the most part, it was a mixed bag. Charlie Day from Its Always Sunny In Philadelphia was terrific, while Louie CK & Pamela Adlon signed sparingly, and John Malkovich and Edie Falco ignored everyone. I managed 5 autographs from that premiere, and felt ripped off for the time & effort that had to be put in for them. On my way to my next event, I cane across several cars sitting at a hotel waiting to leave for the premiere of Mary Shelley. Excited to find them, I pulled my stuff out, went across the street to the hotel & had to wait all of 10 seconds for the person from that cast that I wanted the most to come out. Maisie Williams from Game Of Thrones strolled out the front door, and after a breif discussion with her, her publicist, and the hotel security, she eventually walked down the driveway to sign for me before heading off to her premiere. Back to the place I started my day, where I wasted hours of valuable time. I again waited around for the premiere of The Current War with the Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch. Unlike the last time he came to TIFF where he went down every side of the red carpet for 20+ minutes, Benedict was more sparingly using his time out there this time, and met with maybe only 60-75 of the 1000s of fans out there. was lucky enough to get 1 of the VERY FEW autographs he handed out, and even rarer, on an item. He was more like the Benedict I met the 1st time he came to TIFF, than the last time where I managed to get him on multiple occasions. I also managed an autograph from Nicholas Hoult there. I had planned from there to head to a large party that takes place every year, and I really should have...... instead I got lured in to the appeal of a row 1 prime centre spot at the back of the theatre for Cumberbatch. I had hopes he would leave immediately after introducing the film, but he did not, and after it was apparent that was going to be the case, it was a bit of "well, I've already invested this much time, i might was well wait it out" then. So I did, to no avail. When Benedict left, I followed after him to their afterparty where he pretended I didnt even exist. I did salvage getting Katherine Waterston there at least, which was good since, I didnt hear of anyone else even seeing her while she was here. GRADES A+ Charlie Day A Andre Degrasse A- Emma Thompson B+ Katherine Waterston B- Nicholas Hoult C+ Maisie Williams C Pamela Adlon C Benedict Cumberbatch C- Louis CK F+ John Malkovich F Lebron James F Edie Falco F- Drake Day 3 Total Autographs - 11 TIFF 2017 Total Autographs - 49 Day 4 started for me doing a couple press conferences. While Matt Damon no showed both of his premieres at TIFF, he did get in to Toronto long enough to do his press conferences for both films. The Suburbicon presser snagged me a Julianne Moore autograph, but racking machine George Clooney, skipped me 3 different times.Not sure if it was bad luck, or if he just didnt like the item I had out, but its odd to be skipped by him 3Xs. Odder, a guy with a sign stating "Clooney Is Looney" had a better chance of getting an autograph than me, as George saw the sign, he said to the guy "I can sign that for you if you want"?. Despite my bad luck with Mr. Clooney, cant say too much negative about his effort out there, many other celebs would have been soured by such a protester. For the Downsizing presser, I got no one, as Christoph Waltz didnt sign anything, and Matt Damon barely took 20 seconds with fans in 1 corner before bailing. Certainly not the Matt Damon we all hear about most times. The press conference for The Current War was nest, and as I saw the night before, Benedict Cumberbatch was being a lot more selective on what & how often he signed. I managed another Nicholas Hoult autograph, and got a Michael Shannon autograph out there, but for ther most part this was a waste of my efforts. I then waited around for the press conference for Mother! with Jennifer Lawrence. No shock, she didnt sign going in..... while I heard she did some coming out, I never waited around for that. So, all I saw of her was her worst. I then headed over to what I THOUGHT would be a pretty easy premiere considering the venue it was at, the Battle Of The Sexes premiere at Ryerson. For reasons I cant quite explain, the crowd was the largest I had ever seen there outside of a Johnny Depp premiere there a few years ago. I did manage to get a few autographs there, including Steve Carell and Elisabeth Shue, but the amount of sparingly or outright unwilling signers for this premiere was surprising. Normally good Sarah Silverman was terrible here, and Alan Cumming, another person frequently considered a good signer, refused all requests. I also managed autographs from Andrea Riseborough and Bill Pullman on the red carpet. But considering how many cast were in attendance, I found the results underwhelming. From there I went a few blocks over to go for my #1 target of TIFF. Ruth Wilson from Luther. Her premiere for Dark River was my main target of the day, and I passed on names like Denzel Washington and Jennifer Lawrence to schedule it in. It was worth it, as the woman who brought Alice Morgan to life did 3 for me on the way in to her premiere. I then headed back for the departures of Battle Of The Sexes, and managed two autographs from Emma Stone there, which certainly made up for being snubbed by others in that cast. Then right back to Ruth Wilsons departure, and got two more from The Affair star. Then back to Ryerson and tried for Denzel on the way out, but he did what Denzel always does when I have a good spot, ignores everyones requests. I then headed to the front of that theatre to do the Midnight Madness premiere of Revenge. Sadly, I ran in to the movies only cast member I needed, Matilda Lutz. The no name actress opted to stand on the red carpet, literally 1 foot from me, for well over five minutes with her photo in plain sight of her and instead of spending the 1 second it would take to scrawl her 1 1/2 letter autograph on them, she chose to ignore me, till a 2nd person came and finally got her attention. Her reaction to signing for the whopping two people there was comparable to if I had asked her to give me blood and money. Definitely one of the least friendly "celebs" I met during TIFF. Oh, and her choice to ignore me for those five minutes..... cost me missing my last drect bus back home, and essentially cost me 2 hours and $15 in cab fare. Definitely not worth the wait. GRADES A+ Emma Stone A Ruth Wilson A Julianne Moore B+ George Clooney B+ Bill Pullman B+ Andrea Riseborough B+ Elisabeth Shue C+ Michael Shannon C Steve Carell C- Matt Damon D+ Benedict Cumberbatch F+ Matilda Lutz F Sarah Silverman F Christoph Waltz F Jennifer Lawrence F Denzel Washington F- Alan Cumming Day 4 Total Autographs - 15 TIFF 17 Total Autographs - 64 For Days 5 thru 9 go HERE |
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