Maggie Gyllenhaal at the red carpet gala of Hysteria.
CP’s Chris Young racing to file a photo from the red carpet. Photo by Christopher Drost.
Photog Arthur Molla waiting for the right expression. Photo by Christopher Drost.
Shooting red-carpet galas is like being in a sardine can wondering why the hell you’re there. Oh right, shooting TIFF celebs. But in many ways, it’s like shooting fish in a too-large barrel: some days you might get a funny smirk or a silly moment; other times, depending on where you’re positioned, you might not get anything decent at all, or you might get a million-dollar shot.
Sundance gets Banksy. We get Mr. Brainwash. That's TIFF.
Sundance gets Banksy. We get Mr. Brainwash. That’s TIFF.
Can’t wait for the Being Erica where she time travels back to TIFF and pulls a sunnier face. That’s what that show’s about, right? Time travel?
Mark our words, in a decade Phillip Seymour Hoffman will be so popular that teens will pin up photos of him in their lockers.
Kardinal’s still got that northern touch bicka-bicka-bicka-baaaay-beeee!
Looking not contemptible at all, Ghomeshi.
Go to bed already, guy.
Wim Wenders. It’s just fun to say.
Bono, Davis Guggenheim, and The Edge, posing as if they were a trio of stooge-like figures.
Who are these people?
Did anyone ever figure out who, exactly, Salt is?
Admit it. You like him. It’s impossible not to like him.
Evan Rachel Wood is really good at looking severe.
The remaining half of Jonah Hill.
You’ll never be a real hero, or a real human being, with that wiseacre smirk, Gosling.
“Ha! Ha! Ha! We are handsome men and best friends!!!”
David Cronenberg’s face has more character than his latest film! Hiyo!
Keira Knightley and Viggo Mortensen mug on the red carpet.
Hey Luke Kirby! Who are you?
That Sarah Polley’s always up to no good.
Between an okay movie and a terrible one Seth Rogen managed just under 50/50 at TIFF 2011.
Save it, Silverman!
Emily Blunt, getting into the spirit of things. Or something.
Michael Fassbender manages to keep it in his pants as he struts down the red carpet for Shame.
Avert your eyes, children! She may assume other forms!
Hey look, it’s local drag sensation Donna Rama, all dolled up like the Material Girl!
All hail our once relevant pop queen!
Geoffrey Rush has been slumming around town since The King’s Speech premiered last year.
We could make some Weisz-ass comment, but…oh.
Roger Ebert was back in town for TIFF 2011, even taking time to sign copies of his new autobiography.
Attention: cute kids are cute!
Damn you people! Go back to your shanties!
Neil Young is like a movie. Except he’s a man.
“Hi, I’m Joel Schumacher. And I’m as surprised as you that I’m appearing at what’s supposed to be a legitimate film festival.”
Look! We made a baby!
Sure, Maggie Gyllenhaal is pretty. She’s just not as pretty as her brother.
The ever-expressive Nic Cage.
“Oh! I’m James Gandolfini! I’m scowlin’ over ‘ere!”
“We’re in The Day! Yay!”
Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon and you’ll be back to people not knowing who you are Dominic… whatever-your-last-name-is-again.
For lovers of film who fundamentally believe in some way or another that the medium provides the chance to (paraphrasing TIFF’s manta here, if only because there’s some truth to it) change the way we see the world, red carpets always rankle a bit. Painters and jazz musicians never seem subjected to all the flashbulbs and circumstance. All the fuss serves a weird function in artistically delegitimizing cinema, while also shoring up the system that allows cinema (or at least a certain kind of super-expensive cinema) to exist. Brad Pitt’s a fine actor, sure. But hanging over a guard rail just to get his signature seems so stupid. Keep reading: TIFF 2011: Cut it. Print it. That’s a Wrap.
Sure, there’s the Cadillac People’s Choice Award or the FIPRESCI jury prize, but what really counts when it comes to honouring the films of this city’s largest festival is the Torontoist TIFF Awards. There may be no money and little glory associated with the prize, but when it comes to recognizing the under-appreciated categories in the world of the moving motion picture there is no higher honour. We like to think. Keep reading: Torontoist TIFF Awards
