September 24, 2014 – Another TIFF season has come and gone. This year felt different. I don’t know if it’s because I was more prepared or because there were less celebrities on my MUST see list.
Princess of Wales is my favourite premiere theatre for celebrity spotting. It’s one long line of people and if you get there early enough (ahem 11am), you’ll score a spot right across from the entrance and limo drop off. There I got to meet George Clooney, Naomi Watts, Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult and Amber Heard!
Roy Thomson Hall, oh how I love/hate your unpredictability. This year TIFF built a massive Visa Infinite viewing stand in the prime red carpet spot. Yes, it’s possible to enter with a Visa Infinite card, but once you are inside you can’t get out of your seats to approach the stars. So they’re basically telling you looky but no touchy! The other option was the Bell viewing box across the red carpet. In previous years that box hasn’t been very successful, however, they rolled out the red carpet farther down the driveway and the limos now drop off the stars right in front of the Bell box, so they got EVERYONE. To be in the Bell viewing box you must be there an hour and a half before the film, which for most people who work it’s impossible for films that start at 6:30 pm or earlier. So I tried multiple spots each day, and just my luck, every spot I chose would be the wrong spot to be in. The stars seen at Roy Thomson Hall include Freeheld stars Julianne Moore, Ellen Page and Michael Shannon, The Dressmaker stars Liam Hemsworth and Kate Winslet, Mississippi Grind stars Ryan Reynolds and Analeigh Tipton, and Forsaken stars Kiefer and Donald Sutherland.
At both the Visa Screening Room/Winter Garden Theatre and Ryerson Theatre I was successful at meeting the cast. I got to the Winter Garden Theatre for Heroes Reborn too late to catch the stars on the red carpet, but as we ticket holders were walking into the theatre we saw the stars doing their media interviews. That’s when I saw Zachary Levi (the one and only Chuck!). As I walked a few more steps, I turned back to see he was finishing up with interviews. Zachary walked over, took my phone and took a picture of the both of us. We had a great chat about the new show! After the show we caught Greg Grunberg as he was walking off stage, and the rest of the cast (Ryan Guzman!) at the back door of the theatre. Usually I would have a few Ryerson Theatre premieres, but TIFF worked hard this year to schedule most of the buzz worthy films at theatres along Festival Street. So on the last night of TIFF I experienced my first Midnight Madness film. I was expecting hundreds of young fans waiting at the red carpet for ex The Vampire Diaries star Nina Dobrev, but was happily surprised to easily secure a spot along the red carpet! The long freezing cold wait was worth it once I snagged several pictures with Toronto native Nina, and Malin Akerman!
10 days of TIFF will take a lot out of a devoted celebrity spotter. I am weirdly happy for it to have come to a close. Unfortunately, this year I didn’t get the golden ticket to the star studded after parties, like the Giorgio Armani black carpet last year, but that’s okay! They’ll come soon (hint hint invite me and I’ll blog about the glamourous event!) Congratulations to the film ‘Room’ for winning TIFF15 Grolsch People’s Choice Award. In the end I watched 8 films, and my movie reviews are on the way. Stay tuned!
Youtube video features… George Clooney | Sandra Bullock| Josh Brolin | John Krasinski | Emily Blunt | Naomi Watts | Elle Fanning | Susan Sarandon | Roz Westin | Amber Heard | Johnny Depp | Eddie Redmayne | Alicia Vikander | Nicholas Hoult | Kristen Stewart | Julianne Moore | Ellen Page | Michael Shannon | Liam Hemsworth | Kate Winslet | Zachary Levi | Greg Grunberg | Ryan Guzman | Ryan Reynolds | Analeigh Tipton | Kiefer Sutherland | Donald Sutherland | Bachelor in Paradise cast Chris Bukowski, Tenley Molzahn, Jared Haibon, Mikey Tenerelli & Michael Stagliano | Nina Dobrev | Malin Akerman | Taissa Farmiga
