Usually when I sit down to write my festival wrap-up I’m exhausted, trying to type through a veil of teary eyes, aching bones and stuffy nose. This is the first year I haven’t gotten sick and / or been sleep deprived by the end of it all. Not sure if it was my Zen attitude towards everything this year or if the festival was a bit slower than usual. Whatever the case, without breaking a sweat, I still managed to squeeze in 30 plus movies and a few dozen interviews.
Movie wise highlights included Happy Go Lucky, the new film from five time Oscar nominee, director Mike Leigh. He’s probably best known for his loose, improvisational style of working, a style very much on display in Happy Go Lucky. It’s the story of the perkiest, most annoyingly cheerful woman in the world. Endearingly played by Sally Hawkins the character of Poppy is the polar opposite of the drab, dreary characters that have populated Leigh’s other works, most notably Vera Drake. Her relentlessly upbeat mood is a little hard to take at times, but the film is a winner.
Also amazing is Hunger, the debut feature film from English director Steve McQueen. It’s the story of Bobby Sands’s 1981 hunger strike in an Irish prison. It’s not exactly the kind of movie you walk out of and say, “Boy! I really enjoyed that!” and it’s not necessarily something I’d like to see again anytime soon, but it is a spectacular looking film with an amazing lead performance from Michael Fassbinbder, who, as Bobby Sands slowly wastes away before our very eyes. It’s not exactly dinner and movie material, but compelling nonetheless.
Probably the most surprising film I saw at the festival was JCVD. Before this it would have been an act of film critic heresy to suggest that a film starring Jean Claude Van Damme is one of the most fun movies I have seen in a long time, but it’s true. The audacious story has Jean Claude playing himself as a forty-seven-year-old has been action star who can’t get a job—in the ultimate sign of his unbankability in Hollywood he keeps losing work to Steven Seagal—who has just lost custody of his kids and has blown all his money on women and drugs. A trip to his hometown in Brussels that was meant to rejuvenate him turns sour when he becomes involved in a hostage taking at a local post office.
This is a very strange movie, a weird mix of fact and fiction that is by times very funny, but then turns on a dime to poignant melancholy. The Muscles from Brussels has never looked so grizzled or shown the acting chops he has on display here.
On the other end of the scale was The Narrows, a painfully earnest, painfully predictable coming-of-age-in-Brooklyn story that ranks as the worst of the festival for me.
Outside of the movie theatre there were many highpoints. Since Reel to Real is no longer in production I didn’t have to do the 200 plus interviews I usually do during the festival. Free to do other things we shot loads of interviews for my new show, Richard Crouse’s Movie Show—debuting on the Independent Film Channel on October 6—including sit downs with Mark Ruffalo, Ed Harris, Bill Maher, Jeremy Piven, Viggo Mortensen and many others. I also shot interviews for Canada AM which will run on the show as the movies get released. Look for my interview with Julianne Moore coming soon.
For the first year ever I moderated some press conferences for the TIFF folks. The first was for Spike Lee’s new movie Miracle at St. Anna which tells the story of four African- American soldiers who are members of the US Army as part of the all-black 92nd Buffalo Soldier Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II. They experience the tragedy and triumph of the war as they find themselves trapped behind enemy lines and separated from their unit after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.
On the panel were Laz Alonso, Michael Ealy, Omar Benson Miller, Derek Luke, Spike Lee (Director), James McBride (screenplay), Spike Lee (director), Valentina Cervi, Pierfrancesco Favino and Terance Blanchard. With that many people basically you are simply playing traffic cop, ensuring that everyone gets chance to speak and the conference doesn’t go way over schedule.
It didn’t start off promisingly. Backstage Spike Lee—wearing an oversized t-shirt adorned with an image of Barack Obama—was kind of dismissive of me. He wasn’t exactly rude, he was just very curt. I thought, “Great, I have 45 minutes on stage with a guy who doesn’t seem to want to talk to me.” To make matters worse I then had to do another, smaller presser with him at the Four Seasons for junket press. It was shaping up to be a long, weird morning.
Luckily when we got on stage he didn’t disappoint. He was outspoken—although he didn’t mention his feud with Clint Eastwood, apparently at the request of Disney who reportedly felt that further mention of it could hurt St. Anna’s Oscar chances—and entertaining throughout the press conference. He talked about how after the success of Inside Man, the 2006 heist flick starring Clive Owen, Jodie Foster and Denzel Washington, which made $300 million worldwide, he thought he would be able to write his own ticket in Hollywood, only to discover that it still wasn’t easy to get funding for his stories.
“After my biggest hit ever, Inside Man, I thought it’d be a little easier to get my next film made,” he said, but he ran into roadblocks trying to get St. Anna off the ground with a cast of mostly African-American actors and no big stars.
“If you’re not doing a comic book movie or some TV show made into a movie, it’s hard to get original stuff made,” he said. “I’m not complaining about it, we’ve just got to make due with what we’ve got.”
It was all going well. Spike was at his quotable best, we were on schedule and everyone had been given a chance to speak. Then, just as I got the signal to wrap things up, Lee launched into a long rant, starting with a swipe at Hollywood legend John Wayne, which blew our schedule but gave the reporters in attendance their best quotes of the day. He began by suggesting that Wayne’s war films ignored the great contributions made by minorities in the military.
“They have not gotten their due,” said Lee. “And now most of them are dead. It is not a mistake that this film begins with John Wayne and The Longest Day. This is the Hollywood bullshit mythology that excludes plenty of people. You look at John Wayne. What does John Wayne represent? In a World War Two film John Wayne is kicking Nazi ass, in the Pacific he’s kicking Japanese ass, and in the western he’s killing the savage Indians. This film is a rebuttal to the same Hollywood bullshit mythology that demeans other people. And we have to change this shit. We have to change it. We continue putting out these lies again and again and young people growing up have no idea that this stuff even happened.
“That’s why this whole thing is tied in with Obama,” he continued, “because these guys fought not knowing there will be a black president, but they were hoping some day, some day American would deliver on its promise for life, liberty for all American citizens.That’s my tirade for the day.”
Our schedule was kaput, but his ten minute or so tirade was so fiery no one complained.
Later in the week I also hosted a presser for What Doesn’t Kill You, a gritty crime drama set in South Boston, starring Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Peet. The audience was a little sparse; mostly photographers there to take pictures of Amada Peet, once voted one of the most beautiful women in the world.
Questions were a little slow in coming so I took over and interviewed the panel. Good answers from everyone, particularly Brian Goodman, the film’s director. He co-wrote the script, originally titled Real Men Cry, with Donnie Wahlberg based on his own experiences of growing up in a rough neighborhood and his struggles with drugs and alcohol. In the nine years it took to get the movie made Ruffalo and Goodman became tight friends, and their relationship became the focus of my questions.
Soon Ruffalo, who plays the Goodman character in the film, had his head in his hands. At first I wasn’t sure what was happening. Was he tired? Taking a break from the conversation? Asleep? Turns out the conversation and questions had made him emotional and he was crying.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised when he started to get emotional as I asked if he felt responsible to Goodman to get the character right, but I didn’t expect him to break down into tears and be unable to speak. Hawke jumped in and spoke for him about how Ruffalo is a committed actor who completely throws himself into his roles.
“There was huge responsibility that Mark felt,” Hawke said, “when you love somebody and you respect them, and they have invested their faith in you.”
Eventually after some prodding Ruffalo spoke up, but the tears continued.
“To know Brian like I do underneath all of this, to tell that story today when it’s even more difficult than it was then,” he said, “is just a huge responsibility.
“And then what it means to him, there’s nothing inauthentic about him. As an actor, to be asked to portray somebody that authentic is a huge burden. But what is so moving is I saw him reliving his wife and his whole life in that life. It was extremely powerful.”
“Why it’s so moving to me is there is a young boy in south Boston who doesn’t have a chance; for economic reasons, education, luck,” said Ruffalo. “He has something to offer to the world but has no avenue to get to it. To know Brian like I do, and the human being underneath… to tell that story today is just a huge responsibility.
“There were moments when I was bowled over by the pain, the immense pain of waking up in a crack house and the shame. Because these people are human beings under this terrible, debilitating, cunning, brutal disease.”
It was an amazing moment that reaffirmed my belief that sometimes at the festival we can cut through the hype and the Hollywood nonsense and get down to nitty gritty, the real passion behind why people make movies.
I wrapped things up shortly afterwards, but the emotional feeling of the event continued backstage. I spoke with Ruffalo, Hawke and Goodman about what had happened on stage, asking if I had gone too far and put any of them on the spot. Assured that I hadn’t; each of them thanked me for my handling of the whole thing.
Others though, were calling me The Man who Made Mark Ruffalo Cry, labeling it my Barbara Walters moment. The next day the Globe and Mail described the event as “a press conference that was a rare treat for both journos and actors because of the heartfelt questions…”
Later that same day I presented Shirley MacLaine with the Spirit of Friendship Award at the Best Buddies Gala at the Muzik Nightclub. Aside from giving me a chance to wear my tuxedo and eat the biggest piece of veal I have ever seen in my life, it also fulfilled my festival mandate of meeting at least one legendary star. In past years Francis Ford Coppola and Omar Sharif have been my link to the legends and I was beginning to feel that I wouldn’t have the chance to connect with any of my real heroes.
I had a speech prepared, which got cut down to “Ladies and gentlemen help me welcome Shirley MacLaine to the stage” because we were running so late. She came up, charmed the crowd and then we did a quick Q&A.
The first question I took from the audience was from a well heeled looking woman who had been sitting at MacLaine’s table. I’m not sure what the woman was asking, and frankly I’m not sure she knew either. MacLaine certainly didn’t. The marathon question was five minutes long, peppered with references to the Dalai Lama and new age catchphrases. When MacLaine finally cut her off, the woman said, “Sorry the question was so long… I don’t do small talk…” An understatement to be sure… the question was so long I had to shave again before returning to the stage.
The rest of the questions went a little more smoothly. When it was over, MacLaine and I were at center stage and I’m trying to figure out how to gracefully get off the stage. She turned to me and she asked me what I thought of Religulous, the controversial Bill Maher film about religion in America. When I told her that I thought it was a good, funny movie she stared me down and said, “So you agree with Bill Maher that religion is funny?”
Earlier in the evening Shinan Govani, the National Post’s social columnist told me that MacLaine had a wicked stare that seemed to be looking directly into your soul. I now knew what he meant. I mumbled something about the movie. She complimented me on my shoes—I was wearing black and white spats—and we exited the stage. It was a strange night, but as I stood next to her I had the strange feeling that her life was flashing before my eyes. She knew Frank Sinatra! Worked with Hitchcock! Fosse! Billy Wilder! That kind of legacy is a bit blinding for a film geek like me.
Other highlights include Gordon Pinsent yelling my name out his car window as he drove by me on University Avenue; chatting with Nurse.Fighter.Boy star Clark Johnson on Yonge Street; hosting a luncheon for TIFF’s emerging filmmakers with Barry Avrich at The Spoke Club—the Cobb Salad was delicious!—and sitting on the floor of a Hotel Inter Con hallway with Rachel Blanchard and talking about her sister’s upcoming wedding.
Less fun was the glare Jeremy Northam gave me when I politely asked if he could move his coat so we could use the chair he was using as a coat rack. Maybe he was having a bad day, but if looks could kill…
The best party was Bruce MacDonald’s bash for Ponypool at the delightfully downscale Imperial Pub and Library on Dundas Street. Leave it to Bruce to opt for a place with a sticky carpet and broken urinals instead of one of the usual TIFF haunts like Lobby. It was totally fun and it was amusing watching the TIFF types trying to order Grey Goose and other higher end libations at the bar. This is most definitely a beer-and-a-shot kind of place.
My favorite overheard conversation involved a bellhop at the Hotel Intercontinental and actor Stephen McHattie. I happened to be walking by the actor’s room as he was checking into his suite. The bellhop, trying to make conversation, asked McHattie what he was doing in town.
“I’m in one of the movies at the film festival,” he said.
“Really! That’s exciting,” said the chatty bellhop. “Which one?”
“Pontypool,” was the reply.
“I’m sorry I don’t know that one…”
“It’s the new Bruce MacDonald film…” said McHattie.
“Really! I loved him on The Kids in the Hall!” the bellhop replied enthusiastically, not realizing Bruce MacDonald and Bruce McCulloch are two very different people.
I walked away at that point so I’m not sure how it all turned out, but I do know that if I was McHattie I would have sent the bellhop back downstairs with a suggestion that, in future, he keep his mouth shut.
The most ironic dinner was the Maple Pictures fete for the movie Hunger. No, the waiters didn’t walk around with empty plates and yes, everyone gobbled up every last bit of bison and salmon on offer. The paradox of eating $45 entrees in celebration of a movie about a hunger strike hung heavy in the air, but the chance to eat something other than sweaty cheese cubes and the usual TIFF party food was too enticing. Incongruity be damned… the bison was delicious.
Despite the high moments and the yummy bison it was a slower TIFF than usual this year—less chaotic and less interesting. Barry Avrich suggested to me that instead of it being a year of great films it was more a year of great performances. Perhaps he’s right. I think of Anne Hathaway in Rachel Getting Married and Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler, both performances that could be nominated come Oscar season and both performances that outshine their respective films. Fingers are crossed for a wilder ride next year…
Every year I approach the Toronto International Film Festival with equal parts anticipation and dread. On one hand I look forward to taking in all the new movies and interviewing the actors and directors, but taking part in the ten day event is a punishing test of one’s ability to function past the point of exhaustion and pushes my make-up person’s skill at covering up the bags under my eyes to the limit. By the waning moments of the fest I usually feel as though I have been beaten by an angry mob of teamsters. You can call me a masochist, but I wouldn’t trade a minute of it.
For me the film festival actually starts about two weeks before the official opening date. In those weeks I spend my days running from one pre-screening to the next, usually seeing three or four movies a day. This is an important part of the process and one that takes some planning. In an effort to stay fit I have devised a number of exercises I can perform while sitting in the theatre, and it was the early morning screenings that I learned that popcorn actually is a perfectly acceptable breakfast food.
At night and on the weekends I watch video or DVD copies of films that aren’t available to be seen on the big screen. Take it from me, if you want to protect your eyesight, you should limit yourself to a maximum of six movies a day.
This year I have been pre-screening for the past couple of weeks and I have seen a lot of interesting stuff including…
Passchendaele, the second feature from director / actor Paul Gross, is a hybrid of romance and war movie based around the 1917 battle for Passchendaele which lasted for four months and claimed 600,000 causalities on both sides. The story sprung from a conversation Gross had with his Grandfather who told him about bayonetting a young German through the face and killing him during a battle. Years later as his grandfather lay dying in a hospital bed he asked for forgiveness over and over. Only Gross knew that he was speaking to the young German he had killed in the First World War.
Passchendaele is a personal story told on an epic scale and was seen by audiences for the first time as the opening night film at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
The film is ambitious in its scope with battle scenes to rival anything we’ve seen on screen in recent years, while also grafting on a story of honor and romance. In the self-penned script Gross tackles big, timely issues regarding war, patriotism and valor that occasionally come off as a bit corny, but the movie’s heart is in the right place.
On a much lighter note… Zach and Miri Make a Porno is a return to form for director Kevin Smith… The film stars Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks as lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri who look to solve their respective cash flow problems by making an adult film together. This is first film by Kevin Smith that neither is set nor shot in his native state of New Jersey and it makes its world premier at the festival…
JCVD is probably the most surprising film I have seen so far at the festival. Before this it would have been an act of film critic heresy to suggest that a film starring Jean Claude Van Damme is one of the most fun movies I have seen in a long time, but it’s true.
The audacious story has Jean Claude playing himself as a forty-seven-year-old has been action star who can’t get a job—in the ultimate sign of his unbankability in Hollywood he keeps losing work to Steven Seagal—who has just lost custody of his kids and has blown all his money on women and drugs. A trip to his hometown in Brussels that was meant to rejuvenate him turns sour when he becomes involved in a hostage taking at a local post office.
This is a very strange movie, a weird mix of fact and fiction that is by times very funny, but then turns on a dime to poignant melancholy. The Muscles from Brussels has never looked so grizzled or shown the acting chops he has on display here…
Are there two more stronger, silenter types in modern movies than Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen? Each of these actors are a throw back to the days when cowboy stars were manly men who mean what they say and only say what they mean and nothing else.
In Appaloosa Harris (who also directs) and Mortensen are gunmen hired to bring law and order to the City of Appaloosa, New Mexico. Their main target is cop killer Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons), but their job is complicated when a flirtatious woman (Renée Zellweger) comes between them.
Appaloosa comes a year after 3:10 to Yuma and The Assassination of Jesse James gave the western genre a shot in the arm. It’s closer in spirit to the former than the latter—meaning that it is a straightforward genre piece that if it had been made 50 years ago would have starred Alan Ladd and Randolph Scott. Like Clint Eastwood’s The Unforgiven, Appaloosa is a great Western cow opera about men looking inside themselves to discover the true essence of their lives. It doesn’t have the gravitas of Eastwood’s classic, and the economy of dialogue between the leads—there are conversational gaps you could drive a truck through—gets a bit tiresome after a while, but Appaloosa should satisfy viewers who long for the days when men wore chaps and spittoons were a welcome decorative addition to any home…
I have often joked that the Toronto Film Festival wouldn’t be the same without Don McKellar. Every year since I can remember he has a movie playing at the fest, and this year is no different. This year he returns with Blindness, a film he adapted from the 1995 novel of the same name by José Saramago about an epidemic that causes blindness in a modern city, resulting in the collapse of society. Directed by Fernando Meirelles, who made one of my favorite TIFF films ever, City of God, a few years ago, it stars McKellar, Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore and Danny Glover along with an international cast.
The Canadian-Brazilian-Japanese co-production opened the Cannes film festival this year to middling reviews but should fare better with the hometown crowd.
Director Meirelles is unfailing stylish in his presentation of this highly metaphorical work, so, ironically a movie about Blindness is a treat for the eyes. His handling of the story and view of the humanity of the characters is challenging, but a tad disengaged to make the film’s social commentary truly effective. He avoids the clichés of most horror films—Blindness would likely have been a much different movie in the hands of George A. Romero or the like—instead delivering a thoughtful film that doesn’t quite live up to the intensity and promise of the novel.
Last year one of the big buzz films at TIFF was No Country for Old Men from directors Joel and Ethan Coen… after going on to win a load of Academy Awards they’re back at TIFF again this year but with a much different kind of film. Burn After Reading is a crime caper film that has more to do with their previous films like Raising Arizona than the dark feel of No Country for Old Men. In the film, which stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Tilda Swinton, a disk containing the memoirs of a CIA agent ends up in the hands of two unscrupulous gym employees who attempt to sell it…
And finally in Rock ‘N Rolla a Russian mobster sets up a real estate scam that generates millions of pounds, but then various members of London’s criminal underworld pursue their share of the fortune. Director Guy Ritchie has been at the festival before, but has been on a bit of a dry spell of late with his last two films, Swept Away and Revolver, getting pummeled by people like me. Rock’n’rolla looks like a cool return to form for him…
There are many more cool movies coming to the fest this year… Among them is The Brothers Bloom, in which Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo star as a pair of accomplished con men… Colin Firth will star in an adaptation of the Noel Coward play Easy Virtue, alongside Jessica Biel and Kristin Scott Thomas… director Steven Soderbergh will be at the festival with Che: Part One and Che: Part Two. The first film tracks Che’s rise in the Cuban Revolution, from doctor to commander to revolutionary hero, while the second looks at his legacy and how he remains a symbol of idealism and heroism… Also screening at the festival will be Me and Orson Welles, an ode to the legendary director, which, unbelievably stars Zac Efron and Claire Danes and is directed by Richard Linklater…
I will have seen all those and more by the time the first day of the festival rolls around and feel secure that I am prepared to begin my coverage. That feeling usually fades after the first hour and disappears completely by lunch time when the chaos of the festival kicks in. The best laid plans evaporate in front of your eyes, and suddenly the weeks of prep work are meaningless. Actors have missed their flights and have to reschedule. Prints are unavailable. A few years ago a group of Brazillian filmmakers disappeared for a couple of days. They were later found, hung-over but happy. The point is, it’s hectic and nothing goes as planned.
Once I have let go of any sense of control and just let events swirl around me, the festival is a fascinating place to be. I’ll interview dozens of filmmakers and actors and every year I am guaranteed to meet at least one hero of mine, develop at least one crush and discover at least one great talent.
My favorite interviews tend to be with the festival newbies – debut directors, unknown actors – who haven’t been chewed up by the big publicity machine yet. They are generally more open than the name brand stars and are frequently the most interesting guests.
On the other end of the scale are the old timers. They have been around long enough to feel comfortable in their skin and don’t have to play the Hollywood publicity game. A few years ago legendary director Francis Ford Coppola stopped by to discuss the DVD release of One from the Heart. A conversation that began with Coppola promoting the new disc morphed into a touching discussion on life, work and being happy. It was one of my favorite moments of the year…
These moments are satisfying for me, but the Toronto International Film Festival is not just about pressing the flesh with movie stars, it is, first and foremost about the movies. I will never forget seeing Reservoir Dogs for the first time and hearing a young, unknown Quentin Tarantino speak passionately about his film afterward. Last year there was a great little horror film called Stuck which impressed me, but didn’t grab many headlines. There are always gems, all you have to do is mine them.
I hate using e-mail acronyms–I never sign off on an e-mail with a TTYL or type LOL–but during the busiest days of the Toronto International Film Festival any time savers are appreciated, hence the new acronym R.O.M.F. (that’s “run off my feet”). It’s the best and fastest way I can think to describe my schedule for the ten days of the fest. Here are some of the highlights I had a chance to jot down during TIFF 09.
1. At the after party for The Men Who Stare at Goats someone had the inspired idea of having real honest-to-God goats wearing little t-shirts that read “Stop staring at me.”
2. Have you ever worn bamboo clothing? Me neither, but I may be a convert now after trying the bamboo t-shirts shirts from Guats (www.guats.com). They are at the Tastemakers Gift Lounge at the Hotel Intercontinental, and after some sweet talking the lovely Dana Fields gave me one. They’re not only ecologically friendly but very soft; like being wrapped in a cloud.
3. “That ring is bewitching!” Woody Harrelson blurted out midway through our interview regarding his latest TIFF entry Defendor. “It’s pretty cool man. I’ve never seen a ring like that.” The ring in question is my huge eye ring, the only piece of jewelry I own and the only thing I rarely ever take off. It was made for me because I watch things for a living, and it sure got a rise out of Woody.
4. Michael Sheen stopped by the Canada AM suite today and we chatted about his new film The Damned United. It’s a soccer movie detailing the 44 disastrous days that soccer legend Brian Clough was the coach of Leeds United. We talked about how popular soccer has become in Toronto and he mentioned that some of the Toronto FC team members would be at the screening of the film on Monday. I suggested he should wear a Toronto FC jersey to the premier. He agreed and after a quick couple of phone calls we had one on the way. Disclaimer: If a soccer riot breaks out at the screening I am not to blame!
5. TIFF (specifically Midnight Madness guru Colin Geddes) gave George A. Romero an award commemorating his newly found Canadian citizenship. I love Romero, love the award and I think the inscription is pretty great: “In recognition of the Canadian citizenship of George A. Romero, his status as a Torontonian and his efforts to bridge understanding between the living and the undead through cinematic arts.” Go Zombie Can Con!
6. The invite to the Trotsky party (great movie, go see it when it comes out!) reads “Indulge in real real smoked meat from Montreal not the BLEEP (my word not theirs) you see on signs in Toronto.”
7. Interviewing Michael Caine. Here’s here to promote a thriller named Harry Brown. I’ve interviewed him many times before but he’s a gracious interview and it’s always thrilling to sit across from him and just listen to his amazingly distinctive voice.
8. The first sighting of “the festival strut.” On opening day I noticed the first signs of a distinctive walk I only ever see at film festivals. It’s a little self importance trot you see in hotel lobbies and movie theatres. It says, “I’m important. I have places to go. Viggo is expecting me.” My favorite part is the way the festival press pass undulates in the wind caused by this verty determined stride.
9. Lars Von Trier may need therapy. I’m just sayin’.
10. Going to the Daybreakers dinner at JK at the Gardiner with Sam Neill and Willem DaFoe (and about 75 others!).
11. I read in the National Post that Atom Egoyan said: “Normally the only sound you hear during one of my movies is the sound of people scratching their heads.” Love that.
12. Watching Sarah Ferguson simultaneously work four color-coded cell phones before out interview.
13. Seeing Salman Rushdie at the Cairo Time party.
14. …and of course the movies: The Men Who Stare at Goats, Daybreakers, The Invention of Lying, The Informant, The Trotsky, Precious, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, Young Victoria, Reel Injun, Defenbdor, The Unloved, Youth in Revolt, Te Damned United, The Boys Are Back and many, many more…
I arrive in Victoria on Friday January 29, 2010 to host a couple of seminars and do an on stage interview with Kris Kristofferson at sixteenth annual The Victoria Film Festival. Following a 5 hour flight and 15 minute puddle jumper to get here I am welcomed an emblematic symbol of the left coast of Canada—an eighty year old hippie, dressed head to toe in spandex, on roller blades speeding through the city. Did I mention he was making bird calls as he went?
I’m not one much for the west coast’s hippie-dippy, tree-huggy vibe, but I have to admit to admiring the guy’s spirit. I hope I can make bird calls while doing anything when I’m eighty, let alone barrel along a busy downtown street on six tiny wheels.
Like the man on the rollerblades VFF is idiosyncratic. Charmingly so. For instance, party invites have the festivities beginning at 5:29 pm. Why wait until 5:30 to get things going?
This year they’re unspooling 160 films from 16 countries and if history repeats itself, they will be well attended. Last year attendance surpassed the 20,000 mark which was a 23 per cent increase over 2008. Films include Woody Harrelson’s Defendor (one of my faves from this year’s TIFF), Coopers’ Camera starring Daily show correspondents Jason Jones and Samantha Bee, Like Dandelion Dust with Vancouver Island star actor Barry Pepper and Open Your Mouth and Say… Mr Chi Pig, a look at the personal life of Kendall Chinn, AKA Mr. Chi Pig, singer of legendary punk band SNFU.
As varied as the films are there are also a varied and interesting group of guests attending, many of whom I’ll had a chance to chat with over the course of two 3 hour SpringBoard sessions I’m did on Saturday and Sunday. The idea is to take a group of industry professionals—everything from producers to publicists to actors and directors—and give them a fifteen minute forum to talk about their experiences and their art. The media kit expands on the idea saying “how they see their art, the new trends that affect their work, or perhaps insights that will provide a better understanding of the medium. These are talks meant to move, inform and inspire.”
Guests included Charles Martin Smith who spoke on the relationship between director and actor. His bottom line advice for directors? Take an acting class. Matt Frewer who spoke about his time as pop culture sensation Max Headroom, sneaking into movies at the Odeon Theatre in Victoria as a kid and the challenges of working on his latest film, Darfur, a completely improvised dramatic film.
In a fascinating, almost metaphysical speech on Sunday Oscar winning animator Chris Landreth finally put into words why I find Robert Zemeckis’s films so creepy. Using a graph showing the “uncanny curve,” some footage of Lawrence Olivier, Al Pacino and Bob Dylan he illustrated (see what I did there?) something that I’ve always had a hard time articulating. Now, thanks to Chris, I’m on to you Zemeckis!
Stand-up and producer Todd Allen played a round of a comedic game show he is working on with Merv Griffin’s company in Los Angeles and Fido screenwriter Dennis Heaton suggested that you NOT ask him to read your screenplay, which reminded me of a recent tweet: “The only thing worse than being asked to read your friends poem was being asked to read their screenplay.” Here, here. I completely agree.
Producer Rob Merilees gave a frank and funny speech about the realities of being a producer and director Warren Sonoda spoke about the guerrilla marketing of his first film Ham and Cheese, the importance of the Victoria Festival—they were the first to show his films—and his more recent work in Hollywood.
Perhaps my favourite was Madeleine Sherwood, an 87 year-old Victoria resident who originated the role of Abigail in Arthur Miller’s The Crucible on Broadway and starred in both the Elia Kazan stage productions of Tennessee Williams’s Cat On a Hot Tin Roof and Sweet Bird of Youth before recreating the roles on screen opposite actors like Paul Newman, Geraldine Page, Barbara Bel Geddes and Ben Gazzara. She is an original member of the Actor’s Studio, was a confidant of Marilyn Monroe and was blacklisted by Joe McCarthy.
Her best known role was as the Mother Superior on the television series “The Flying Nun,” but it is for her work on stage—she acted in eighteen original Broadway productions—and in civil rights—she worked with Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested during a freedom walk and received six months hard labor—that she will be best remembered.
Following a short film about her life she took the stage, earned the first standing ovation of the festival and then charmed everyone with a personal, funny and touching speech about her life and career.
Offstage the fest has been just as engaging. In two separate newspaper pieces I have been described as “jovial” and “dynamic.” “Jovial,” I think, is code for chubby, so I’m not sure exactly how I feel about that, but I will embrace “dynamic”! Also this nice message came in via facebook: “Hi Richard – I’m smiling because in 45 years I’ve never written a fan letter before – facebook simplifies things a little 🙂 I’ve always found you to be such a gracious and insightful film critic and will always keep the morning news on if you’re on. And seeing you moderate at the Vic Film Festival you were even more gracious, insightful, curious and kind in person – particularly yesterday in helping Madeleine Sherwood shine as she should. What a gentleman. Thanks for the fun and interest you brought to the Springboard talks.”
Starting at 5:29 pm everyday there have been rounds of pre and post screening parties. Snapshots from those included Charles Martin Smith telling me about a television pilot he did in the 70s for Norman Lear where he played a dog, the beautiful smell of curry pouring out the The Empress’s Bengal Room, producer Rob Merilees ordering something called the W. Somerset Prawn, the opening night party at the Parkside Victoria Resort and Spa which one guest described as feeling like the grotto at the Playboy mansion, drinking unbelievably tasty nut brown ale at Sips, discussing animation with Chris Landreth at the James Joyce pub, and telling him that if I had an Oscar I would wear it as a necklace at all times (not a good idea he tells me… they’re far too heavy) and the now classic line (from a party goer who shall remain nameless), “She’s so beautiful I want to buy her a house!”
Today is Ground Hog Day-which someone on facebook suggested should be renamed Hog Wild Day, which I fully support—and Oscar nomination day. I’m up at 4 am to do some radio hits and then head out to the CTV affiliate in town to comment on the nominations for my regular gig on Canada AM. My first thought in the morning, other than “Your room of long standing starts to resemble your mind and becomes symmetrical and/or complimentary to your mind,” (I’m kidding about that BTW), was that my interview with Kris Kristofferson was still seventeen hours away. It`s going to be a long day… We`re giving Kris the festival’s inaugural IN Award and, if I can stay awake, it will be an amazing event. More about that tomorrow…
Tuesday February 2, 2010
Tuesday February started early. Like ass-o’clock early. In Victoria to host an on-stage interview with Kris Kristofferson, I’m on west coast time, but doing radio and television hits for NewsTalk 1010 and Canada AM in Toronto. Up at 4 am I swilled a big jug of caffeine, ran through the shower and squeezed myself into a suit before doing my regular radio hit at 4:40 am (7:40 T.O. time) on the phone and jumping into a cab to get to the CTV affiliate to do a satellite interview with Canada AM about the Oscar nominations which were being announced live from Los Angeles at 5:15ish.
I arrive on time, get miced up and lit and wait for my cue. And wait. Seems the announcements are going to be delayed. To pad for time host Seamus O’Regan asks me for my picks in advance of the announcements. I’m tired. I non-controversially choose Jeff Bridges for Best Actor. Ditto Meryl for Best Actress, Christoph Waltz for Best Supporting Actor, and Avatar for Best Film. I talk about how, for Best Director, it is a two person race between exes James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, with my vote going to Bigelow and then I go blank when asked about Best Supporting Actress. The list of possible nominees is printed in front of me but when I look at the page it’s as though it’s written in hieroglyphics.
“Who do you think will win for Best Supporting Actress?” he says, pressing me for an answer.
Blank… Anna Kendrick, I say, even though I don’t really believe it. Maybe I did at the moment, through a veil of not enough sleep and a three hour time change, but I must have sounded convincing because Seamus replied, “Really!!??!!??”
I remember rambling for a minute or so until the name Mo’Nique pops into my head. Too late now… can’t change my mind on air. I’ll have to atone later. Consider it done now.
When the red light finally goes out on the camera it’s still so early that Starbucks isn’t even open. I wait around outside the store until 6 am and then pay $5 for a specialty tea drink. If I wasn’t so in need of caffeine I’d have complained, but I really needed the chemicals for the walk back to the hotel.
The Empress is beautiful, an old school hotel complete with a suite for the Queen and photos of Helen Keller and Franklin Roosevelt in the lobby. I feel like I’m in good company even if they did stay there over 50 years ago.
Back up in my room I crank up the computer, give the Oscar noms some serious thought and do several radio hits on the phone. Then something weird happens. I walk past my window and there is a huge seagull perched on the window sill. Huge. Like something out of a horror movie. It was staring in the window. At me. Hungrily. I snapped a picture. Then another. The bird seemed to be posing for me. I walk away and out of the corner of my eye I see him start to fly away. I turn back and he does a u-turn and comes back, landing on the sill, beady eyes focused on my every move.
It’s not even 9 am and I’ve been up for almost five hours, had a full day and the Kris Kristofferson interview is still more than twelve hours away.
The bird finally leaves. I relax and get on with my day.
It’s a quiet day in Victoria. I have to be at the A Channel studio to do another TV hit with CTV’s News Channel at 4 pm, but apart from that the day is mine. I walk around. Explore Fan Tan Alley, have lunch with festival director Kathy Kay, who I think is secretly nervous that I don’t have much ion the way of written notes for the Kristofferson interview. I assure her that I have it all in my head. She tries to look convinced. We have French Onion Soup, sit by the fireplace and share festival gossip.
Later we meet at a place called The Office for a pre interview drink. Kathy brings Mary Walsh, whose film Crackie is playing at the festival and singer and lady-about-town BJ Cook with her. We have some fun, and BJ, a singer (big hit? Wildflower! She was on Rock Concert!!) who has known Kristofferson since the seventies brought some incredible photos to share. The first batch were from a party she and her former husband David Foster threw for Ronnie Hawkins. The guest list? Everyone you can imagine AND President Bill Clinton. Even cooler were the snaps from the set of Heaven’s Gate and a photo of BJ with the former world heavy weight champion Joe Louis.
It was a fun, if intense dinner (Mary and BJ are… big personalities…) and around 8:45 we headed for the theatre to meet up with Kristofferson.
We arrive at the theatre, walking past a line up that snakes from the auditorium down a long ramp to the street. Looks like SRO. Kristofferson (his wife Lisa) is already in the green room, signing autographs. He’s got a bad chest cold and seems nervous. He lights up when he sees BJ. “You’re like family,” he says to her, squeezing her a bear hug. We chit chat about the weather, his cold… passing the time until show time. He’s gracious, shy and when I suggest that we can cut the show short if he’s not feeling well he won’t have it. The show must go on and he’s prepared to go the distance.
Show time. The sold-out crowd greets him warmly. Here’s here to collect the IN Award for his artistic innovation so we give him a beautiful painting by artist Richard Hunt and the interview begins. I won’t try and recreate the moment other than to say he didn’t disappoint. Like the work he does on film and on record he was honest, engaging and a pleasure to talk to; great stories about Johnny Cash, Sam Peckinpah, Janis Joplin (during which he teared up) and so many others. The night was capped off by a man in the audience who tells us his mother is such a fan that she named him Kris in honor of the singer. A great night and you can listen to it all here:
When I get home after a celebratory cocktail (or three) I have a number of twitter direct messages, including “Thank you so much @RichardCrouse Your interview w/ Kris Kristofferson was really something special.” Couldn’t agree more. Thanks to whoever sent it.
The next morning I run into Kris and his wife at the airport as they get ready to fly home to California. They greet me warmly and we chat for a few minutes. (The later airport celebrity spotting of Mike Harris wasn’t as exciting.) For the puddle jump from Victoria to Vancouver we are all seated in row 19, far from business class. A flight attendant notices Kris and comes barreling down the aisle.
“Mr. Kristofferson,” he says, “we have a seat for you in first class.”
“I’m fine where I am, thanks,” he said and buried his head in a well worn paperback for the rest of the flight.
Cool. Like him even more.
We say our good byes in Vancouver and I begin the trip east, hoping to come back next year.
Richard interviewing music and film legend Kris Kristofferson onstage at the Victoria Film Festival, February 2010.
Very New! Really Fun! This Week On Movies, (the number one video podcast on movies on iTunes), hosted by Canadian film critic Richard Crouse is now available exclusively on iTunes. An irreverent weekly video podcast highlighting and reviewing the latest movie releases available on the iTunes store, This Week on Movies offers a lively mix of reviews, facts and clips. Crouse shares his perspective on a wide variety of film content, from ‘must-see’ classics to current blockbusters.
Executive produced and written by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann of Sphinx Productions, and with series producer Robin Crumley overseeing, This Week On Movies is founded on Richard Crouse’s history and expertise as a featured film critic for notable shows such as CTV’s Canada AM and Rogers Television’s Reel to Real.
“It’s like having someone you know and trust recommend a movie for you, to see to help you make the right choice for you.” said Mann.
In addition to Crouse’s reviews, Brooklyn, NY based filmmaker Kendra Elliot will offer an offbeat installment of “Celebrity Picks”.
Kim Hughes on sympatico/ inmovies.ca wrote: “So it makes perfect sense that, along with noted documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (see Comic Book Confidential, Grass), Crouse has unleashed his encyclopedic movie knowledge on iTunes via a new video podcast. This Week on Movies showcases our man reviewing the latest movie releases available on the iTunes store while offering a caustic/hilarious grab-bag of film factoids and ephemera. Already the #1 video podcast on iTunes Canada (and free, BTW), This Week on Movies is appointment viewing for cinephiles seeking something with a bit more gravitas than the usual journo squib…”
Kris Abel, host of CTV’s App Central, had this to say: “Don’t leave your desk for lunch, stay and watch Richard Crouse ‘s new video podcast on movies. It’s so slick and funny, it gives podcasts a better name. Produced by Ron Mann (Comic Book Confidential), this is exactly the kind of content we in Canada should be making.”
Servitude director Warren P. Sonoda said this: “The always awesome Richard Crouse just increased his online footprint, and we – the movie-going public – are better for it! “This Week on Movies” on iTunes NOW!!!”
Brian McKechnie of Criticize This says this! “With Crouse’s quick-witted cheeky demeanor, the show, which is the first subscriber-based content in the iTunes movie section, is quickly climbing the charts and putting Crouse out there as one of the leading personalities in the movie-talk game.”
Here’s what Adnan of The Arts Scene says! “If you’re a movie buff & you haven’t heard of Richard Crouse, you need to get out more. The renowned and frankly brilliant film critic is best known for his TV stint as host of Reel to Real on RogersTV, Canada’s longest running tv show about movies, which was on air for 10 years between 1998 and 2008. Since then, he has hosted multiple shows and has been an avid contributor to various television shows, news channels and radio programs, providing his insight on the very latest in film.
“Now his insight can be seen in the form of a free video podcast called This Week on Movies, produced by well known documentary film-maker Ron Mann. Crouse will provide everything from reviews to revisiting must-see films from the past. This podcast will be available exclusively on iTunes, so go check it out today! There are already two podcasts out!”
RICHARD CROUSE’S MOVIE SHOW airs on Canada’s Independent Film Channel on Friday’s at 10:30 am and on the E! Channel on Sunday’s at 6:30 pm.
What’s the show all about?
RICHARD CROUSE’S MOVIE SHOW combines probing analysis of new theatrical films and DVDs, fascinating interviews with actors, directors and cult heroes and investigative journalism to understand what it is about the medium of movies that holds us in such a state of thrall. Richard draws on ten years experience hosting Reel to Real to bring the viewer the most informed and entertaining movie commentary on television. He’ll answer pressing film trivia questions like “Why do all movie phone numbers begin with 555?” and “Whose picture is on the Sheik condom wrapper?”
Along the way he’ll welcome guest critics who specialize in various topics. For instance a musician might join Richard to review The Last Pogo or a barber might share some insight to the DVD release of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! The half-hour weekly show will be breezy but informative, in depth without being intimidating and will be appointment viewing for movie fans.
Q&A with Host ~ Producer Richard Crouse
Q: How is Richard Crouse’s Movie Show different than Reel to Real?
A: Richard Crouse’s Movie Show is the evolution of Reel to Real. We’re still doing the same kind of in depth movie coverage, but the show itself is a bit faster paced with tighter reviews and longer interview segments, but the basic idea of covering an eclectic range of movies—everything from foreign language documentaries to Canadian features and Hollywood blockbusters—hasn’t changed.
Q: Where will the show be shot?
A: We’re shooting Richard Crouse’s Movie Show in the same studio that I do my radio show in at CFRB in Toronto. I love the irony of shooting a television show about movies in a radio station.
Q: What is your methodology when it comes to writing your reviews?
A: I have a rule when it comes to reviews; I either write them 24 hours after seeing the film or wait 24 years. One is a gut reaction, the other a considered response with the benefit of hindsight and reflection. In my new book Son of the 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen I mostly used the latter approach but most often I write the reviews within hours of seeing the film.
Q: Will you feature celebrity interviews on Richard Crouse’s Movie Show?
A: Yes, but that won’t be the focus of the show. We live in an age of celebrity overdrive and I sometimes think that it’s actually more exciting, and these days, even revolutionary, to simply shine a spotlight on the movies and not the star’s personal lives.
Q: You’ve been interviewing celebrities for years, but do you remember your first celebrity encounter?
A: It was probably in 1982. E.T. had come out and become a huge hit. I was standing in a movie line at the Cumberland Theatre in Toronto to see something, I can’t remember what. The line was moving really slowly because of a hold up at the ticket booth. I noticed a little girl being told she couldn’t go in to see whatever movie was playing because she was too young. After some interjecting from an older handler of the “do you know who this is?” type the little girl was finally allowed in. Later she was sitting in front of me at an R-rated movie and I saw it was Drew Barrymore. She might have been 7 or 8 years old.
Q: Do you plan on covering Canadian movies on every show?
A: Absolutely. The biggest problem Canadian film has is a lack of awareness. Audiences simply don’t know the movies are out there. We make good movies in this country but often they go unseen because there is rarely enough money to mount really effective marketing campaigns. I aim to make people aware that there are good movies that reflect their Canadian experience playing on screens in their neighborhoods.
Q: What kind of shape is the Canadian film industry in these days?
A: Around the time of Bill C-10 and other proposed funding cuts to the arts I was asked what killed Canadian film, and I said ‘You and I did because we didn’t go see them.’ Now, I’m happy to report, the industry is far from dead. The last while has been really good with filmmakers like Bruce MacDonald, Guy Maddin, Benoît Pilon and David Cronenberg making the best films of their careers and the future is bright. It’s hard making films in Canada, but as long as some kid picks up a camera in Victoria or Winnipeg or Newfoundland and starts making home movies in their basement there is a hopeful and exciting future.
Q: What have been some of the stranger experiences you’ve had while shooting Richard Crouse’s Movie Show?
A: Aside from Faster Pussycat Kill Kill star Tura Satana almost breaking my arm during an interview as she demonstrated a karate move on me, the strangest and most dangerous part of the job happened when I interviewed the cast of Twilight.
I had no idea how popular the movie Twilight was going to become until I interviewed the cast and then shot a stand-up on Queen Street in Toronto in front of hundreds of teenage girls, most of whom had waited in the rain all night to get a glimpse of the cast. While we were shooting I thought it might be fun to talk to them, so I walked over and mentioned that I had just interviewed Robert Pattinson, the movie’s heart throb. Two things happened. First there was a collective shriek—the kind only young girls are capable of producing—that made my ears ring for a week afterwards, and then they started grabbing at me, wanting to touch me because I had touched him. It was scary, but that little bit of hands-on market research taught me how popular that movie was going to be.
Q: Do you have a catch phrase or a slogan for the show?
A: I Watch Bad Movies So You Don’t Have To… I’ve been using that for a while now and the other day a guy yelled, “Hey, you watch bad movies so I don’t have to!” out of his car window as he passed me on the street, so I guess it’s catching on.
Introduction: Hello and welcome to the Great Books Tent at Word on the Street… I thought I’d start by telling you a bit about why we’re all here today…
In addition to having just written The 100 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen for ECW Press, I also host a movie review show called Reel to Real… it’s Canada’s longest running show about movies, and each year my co-hosts (Geoff Pevere and Katrina Onstad) review 200 plus movies, which means that I spend most of my time alone, and in the dark… and then, when I emerge into the light, I have to come up with — hopefully — clever things to say about them, which is harder sometimes than you would think…
I find the top 10% of movies and the bottom 10% the easiest to discuss… in other words the best and the worst are easy to review, but it is the middle 80% of mediocre films that are really, really hard to discuss… so when I was choosing the movies in the book I dismissed about 80% of the movies I have ever seen… much like most of the movies that were released this summer… so many sequels, it seemed like every movie that came out this summer had a number in the title… Charlie’s Angel’s 2… Legally Blonde 2… Bad Boys 2… Jeeper’s Creepers 2… there was a lot of number two at the theatres this year, if you know what I mean… anyway, I ruled out sequels from the book…
It seems that we are surrounded by bad movies… so to remedy that we go to the video store to find alternatives and generally all we find are more bad movies! Stats say that most people spend about 12 minutes in the video store when searching for something to rent, and never even make it past the new releases rack… so where do you think the chain stores put most of their energy???
So, keeping this in mind, and considering my job as a film critic, although I prefer “consumer advocate”… the Ralph Nader of cinephiles… I decided to put this book together, to help people choose good movies to rent… but keep in mind you must choose your video store very carefully!!! If everyone in the store is wearing the same colour t-shirt — a uniform — you’re probably in the wrong place… The corporate stores aren’t likely to embrace the movies contained within…
Look for the mom and pop shows and stores run by people who try and engage you in some kind of conversation… IE: When you try and rent Pearl Harbour… if the video store clerk doesn’t look at with a disappointed look on his or her face and then try and steer you toward maybe picking up Tora! Tora! Tora! instead then you are in the wrong store… anyway…
There are other reasons I wrote this book, and one of them is detailed in the introduction to the book…
The trophy doesn’t have a flashy nickname yet (I’ve been calling them the Screenies, but when I asked Richard Crouse, he thinks they should be affectionately called the “Gemininies”), but the Canadian Screen Awards represents the new honour for the best in Canadian film, television, and digital media.
In place of the two previous awards nights for the Genies and the Geminis, the Screenies (or maybe they should be called the Maples?) have gone the route of the Juno Awards, handing out the majority of the trophies during two industry nights, followed by a live telecast for the top awards, which will air on CBC this Sunday, March 3 from the Sony Centre in Toronto.
During the first industry night for the awards, which focused on news, sports, and lifestyle shows, Jeanne Beker was the first winner, honoured with the Academy Achievement Award for exceptional contributions to the Canadian television industry, which is essentially one of the new lifetime achievement awards.
(Beker’s win prompted Ralph Lucas of Northernstars.ca, who was sitting next to me in the press room, to suggest that maybe we should nickname the new award the Jeannies. For some reason, that sounds familiar.)
The second night at the Screenies (I’m sticking with it) was a bit more exciting, however. The press room played host to a number of winners, like Rick Mercer, plus a few presenters, including Sean Cullen, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Adam Korson, Carrie-Lynn Neales, and Zoie Palmer.
What stands out about the Canadian Screen Awards though, at least so far, is that it’s been self-deprecating at almost every turn. Martin Short will host the gala on Sunday, so we’ll have to wait to see what he brings to the show, but industry hosts Steve Patterson (who was hilarious) and Seamus O’Regan joked constantly in their monologues about trading in old awards for cash, and how, if the industry doesn’t recognize each other, who else will?
Of course, the jokes are just jokes, even if some strike a little close to home, and for the most part, Canadians have had a great couple of years between documentaries and especially television shows. The success of Flashpoint, Lost Girl, Being Human, Rookie Blue, The Listener, Murdoch Mysteries, and Continuum all point to the fact that the industry is probably better than its ever been.
(It’s also worth mentioning Seed, the only Canadian sitcom on television right now, plus shows like Warehouse 13, and the upcoming BBC America/Space series, Orphan Black.)
Back to the awards, I think that the new format makes a lot of sense. The Junos have paved the way for this kind of festival, since they started doing it more than a decade ago, and it means that something that could be a very long, boring night, can become something multi-faceted and exciting for a much larger audience.
While I do think that the Junos can host a wider range of events, just by the virtue of being a music event, the Screenies still have a lot of room that they can grow. This year is a great start, but I want to see where the Canadian Screen Awards can evolve, and I think they could become a major cultural touchstone in Canada—more so than either of the previous awards were in the past.
Imagine a week-long film festival unspooling at TIFF Bell Lightbox, a night of music, perhaps, and a red carpet that boasts the biggest stars in Canadian and international film. There is no reason that in the next ten years all of those things can’t happen, and likely more, but time will tell.
The late Elwy Yost, popular host of TV Ontario’s Saturday Night at the Movies, is seen in this Nov. 24, 1995 photo. Ontario’s publicly funded broadcaster is cutting up to 40 positions and cancelling “Saturday Night at the Movies” after a nearly four decade run as part of an effort to save $2 million.
TORONTO – Ontario movie buffs want their Saturday Night back.
Fans are rallying to save the TV Ontario’s “Saturday Night at the Movies,” which is getting the axe as part of the publicly funded broadcaster’s budget cuts.
Twitter was abuzz Wednesday with fans lamenting the demise of the nearly 40-year-old educational program, which stood apart from modern movie shows dominated by celebrity sound bites.
Cinephiles were urged to sign an online petition to stop the cancellation of the show. It’s collected about 680 signatures since Tuesday.
“Save #SNAM” was the call to arms on social media, with fans pleading with TVO to preserve the program.
Jo-Anne Bishop of London entreated TVO not to kill the program that she grew up with and her children now watch as well.
“Elwy Yost will come to haunt you,” tweeted Tom Perrone of Kettleby, referring to the beloved former host of the show.
“Saturday Night at the Movies is an institution! What’s next TMZ on TVO?!”
Toronto Star film critic Peter Howell slammed TVO’s “ill-considered decision” to kill the program.
“This would have broken Elwy Yost’s heart,” he tweeted. “Film lovers, rise!”
Fellow film critic Richard Crouse said Ontario is losing a cultural institution.
“It seems shameful to me that it’s disappearing and that it’s just sort of unceremoniously being stripped away,” he said in a video chat posted on YouTube.
“If you ask anyone on the planet — well, Toronto, Ontario — what’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of TVO, they’re going to say, ‘Saturday Night at the Movies.’”
Education Minister Laurel Broten said she’s a fan of movies, but left little hope that the show will be saved.
“It is a decision that TVO has made and they apprised us of that decision,” she said. “And that is the choice that they have made.”
Yost, who hosted the show for 25 years, conducted interviews with classic film stars and the directors, composers and screenwriters behind the camera that would run between two commercial-free films.
“Elwy was everybody’s movie grandpa,” Crouse said.
Yost retired in 1999 and died last year at the age of 85.
TVO is also cutting 35 to 40 employees and two other programs as part of an effort to save $2 million, under pressure from the cash-strapped governing Liberals who are trying to eliminate a $14.4-billion deficit.
It said it will put more resources into “digital innovation in children’s educational media” and current affairs and have fewer staff dedicated to traditional TV production.
Its total operating budget for the current fiscal year is $64 million, of which the Ministry of Education contributes $42 million, TVO said.
The additional $22 million comes from revenue it generates through donations and corporate sponsorships, among other things.
When “Saturday Night” first aired it broke new ground, but now entire TV networks and web services are dedicate to movies, said CEO Lisa de Wilde.
She wouldn’t say how much it cost to produce “Saturday Night,” but said there aren’t many broadcasters who are doing in-house production anymore.
By cutting three in-house programs, TVO is reducing the size of the “whole production machinery,” she said.
“We needed to find $2 million in savings, and we needed to be able to find funds to direct into what I call the next generation of legacies,” she said.
TVO is “immensely and uniquely equipped to contribute to getting 21st century learning skills front-and-centre in education in Ontario,” she added. “That’s really the new legacy.”
The current season of “Saturday Night at the Movies” is scheduled to be its last. Once it goes off the air, TVO will fill its time slot with documentaries, De Wilde said.
“Allan Gregg in Conversation” and “Big Ideas” will also end their runs in the spring. TVO said it plans to include some “Big Ideas” lectures as part of “The Agenda with Steve Paikin,” its flagship current events program.
After 19 movies and a career that has spanned 46 years, David Cronenberg may be long overdue for Oscar’s respect. Whether that will finally come with his new film “Cosmopolis” remains to be seen.
When “Cosmopolis” premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival in May, critics rushed to see the director’s latest labour of love and ponder its Oscar potential.
Beyond Robert Pattinson’s hunk factor in this film, fans and critics wanted to see how Cronenberg would fare at adapting this challenging novel from American author Don DeLillo.
Such scrutiny did not unnerve 69-year-old Cronenberg.
“I like a good story,” Cronenberg told CTVNews.ca during the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival.
“In this industry you see a lot of ups and downs. But I’ve learned over the years to be true to my gut and to stay true to ideas that interest me. They may not thrill everybody else who sees my films. But to me that’s an act of courage. I want to make films that are, if nothing else, courageous,” he said.
Cronenberg’s body of work certainly speaks to his convictions.
Even with his first cult horror films of the 1970s, such as “Shivers,” “Rabid” and “The Brood,” Cronenberg’s taste for daring was unmistakable.
Decades later, the soft-spoken director transcended his horror roots and a genre that is seldom favoured by Oscar voters.
Today Cronenberg is revered as a filmmaking auteur after Hollywood witnessed his formidable work in 2005’s “A History of Violence” and 2007’s “Eastern Promises.”
Even so, Cronenberg takes praise with a grain of salt.
“If anyone had asked me back in 1970 what kind of movies I’d be making today, I don’t know how I would have answered. I was young. I was trying to prove things to myself. But looking back, I see certain seeds taking root in my mind, certain ideas that pushed me to take a chance,” said Cronenberg.
That cerebral rollercoaster, and Cronenberg’s fondness for riding it, is on full display in “Cosmopolis.”
True to DeLillo’s satirical work, Cronenberg creates an otherworldly microcosm in which billionaire Eric Packer (Robert Pattinson), experiences a meltdown of crushing proportions. But the real meat comes as Packer slides from untouchable New York money man to a tragic figure who sees all that he owns turn to dust.
“This is one of Cronenberg’s most accomplished films. I’d rank it at the top of his most recent movies,” said Canada AM movie critic Richard Crouse.
Calling the film “difficult, complicated and unrelenting in its point of view,” Crouse said it was still too early to make any Oscar bets.
“‘Cosmopolis’ is not ‘The King’s Speech’ or ‘Slumdog Millionaire,” said Crouse.
“This is not some uplifting story that leaves you feeling pumped with joy after the curtain falls. But it is the work of an accomplished filmmaker at the top of his game,” he said.
But even if this movie is not his best film, Cronenberg’s impressive body of work could sway Oscar voters to hand him a nomination for Best Director. If they did, it would not be out of the ordinary.
In 2012, 82-year-old actor Christopher Plummer won his first Oscar for the drama “Beginners.” Inconceivable as that may seem for an artist of Plummer’s stature, his portrayal of a gay man who comes out of the closet in his 70s convinced voters to give him his “turn” to win an Oscar.
The same rationale could apply to Cronenberg in 2013. But if Cronenberg is ignored once again the world won’t find him crying in his cups.
“If Cronenberg wins next year that would be great, but I don’t think he cares about it all that much,” said Crouse.
“Winning an Oscar isn’t the driving force behind a director like this,” he said.
That priority remains evident in “Cosmopolis.”
“Cronenberg believes in doing good work, no matter what. That’s what sets him apart.” Crouse said.
Usually when I sit down to write my festival wrap-up I’m exhausted, trying to type through a veil of teary eyes, aching bones and stuffy nose. This is the first year I haven’t gotten sick and / or been sleep deprived by the end of it all. Not sure if it was my Zen attitude towards everything this year or if the festival was a bit slower than usual. Whatever the case, without breaking a sweat, I still managed to squeeze in 30 plus movies and a few dozen interviews.
