TIFF ‘08 off the red carpet

Director SPIKE LEE sparing again - First CLINT Eastwood now JUDD Apatow?

Posted by ShoVine editor - 18/09/08 at 09:09:09 am

Director Spike Lee has been holding interviews this week for his upcoming war epic, Miracle at St. Anna. Spike was at the Toronto Film Festival last week promoting the movie and a certain Presidential candidate. Seems a few journalists were digging at Lee this week to see if he would come up with another provocative response. This time, it seemed Lee had something to say about Judd Apatow?

photo: Spike Lee leaves the TIFF ‘08 press conference for Miracle at St. Anna.

PARIS, not FRANCE - Hilton an icon for a new media generation?

Posted by ShoVine editor - 16/09/08 at 03:09:25 pm

Having PARIS Hilton at the Toronto Film Festival this year deserves another mention. If anything, you cannot escape a certain irony in the Toronto Festival questioning different notions of celebrity, with the selection and premiering of the documentary Paris, Not France - but still making sure TIFF rides the wave of publicity that Hilton brings to the machine. Hilton is already being credited for bringing some badly needed buzz to the festival this year.

Ghita Loebenstein expands on that in a good piece for the official TIFF news daily, Pedro and Paris: The Power of Celebrity. Loebenstein got some good new media food for thought out of the Hilton documentary director - Adria Petty (Tom’s daughter, no shit.)

” What intrigues me the most about her is how mysterious she is and what an incredible relationship she has with the camera,” says Petty, speaking from Los Angeles. “She has this incredible resilience and a kind of magic to her.”

Five years ago, few people would have associated the name “Paris” with anything but the city. Today, however, Hilton enjoys a unique kind of celebrity. “Paris is an icon for this generation, based on the dawn of a new media age. She was the first celebrity created through the “viral-ness” of the Internet. She stoked that engine so effortlessly and spoke the language of this new media so well.”
- Pedro and Paris: The Power of Celebrity

The BEST & WORST Celebrity autograph signers of the 2008 Toronto Film Festival - Best BENICIO Del Toro - Worst JIMMY Page

Posted by ShoVine editor - 15/09/08 at 01:09:38 am

Celebrity autographs and Film Festivals go together like peanut butter and jam. ShoVine cameras certainly captured enough people collecting signatures throughout the festival. We wanted to know from the people who care… Who were the BEST and WORST celebrity autograph signers during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival?

photo credit: www.tiff.shovine.com

So we did some polling. From fans, film festival volunteers, official (and non-official) celebrity photographers, and most importantly the personal and professional autograph collectors who run tirelessly after film festival stars. By collective opinion tiff.shovine.com presents…

THE BEST & WORST Celebrity Autograph Signers during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival

THE BEST:
1. BENICIO DEL TORO - The Che star was almost everywhere during his few days in Toronto - late nights and early mornings. But Del Toro never refused to sign. When one autograph collector mentioned that Benicio did 21 photos in a row at one stop for him - he was crowned our TIFF ‘08 signing champ.
2. VIGGO MORTENSEN - Viggo does have a dislike for the professional autograph guys and the blue pens. But we can’t deny this guy goes out of his way to please his fans and sign lots of autographs.
3. ROSE McGOWAN - Star in pop art stuff for Tarantino and the upcoming comic adaptation Red Sonja and your sure to be chased hard for autographs. And Rose certainly was. But McGowan did not disappoint and signed anything and everything put in front of her.
4. GERARD BUTLER - The 300 star was a man-about-town during the Toronto festival attending many premieres and parties. Gerard was always willing to sign and pose for picture with fans (and he was asked. A LOT.)
5. KATE BECKINSALE - The BEST list continues to be filled with BRITS. And KATE was more than willing to sign autographs at most occasions she was stopped. And Beckinsale certainly looked beautiful in the process.
6. JIM STURGESS - The white-hot British actor is riding the success of 21 and Across the Universe and could not have been more like the regular guy out and about in Toronto during the Festival. Jim never refused an autograph or photo request from fans and collectors. A true gentleman.
7. DAKOTA FANNING - Dakota is only 15 but already a festival veteran when it comes to Toronto with many appearances here over the years. While the requests for her autograph can be a bit much at times - Dakota always seemed willing to sign - even when the powers around her have had enough.
8. ZAC EFRON - Another white-hot actor fresh from the High School Musical phenomenon that was surprisingly very good when it came to autograph requests. Zac signed up a storm at his premiere.

HONOURABLE MENTION (BEST) - TIM ROBBINS, MATT DAMON, ANTON YELCHIN
BIGGEST SURPRISE (BEST) - ED NORTON

THE WORST:
1. JIMMY PAGE - Disappointing for many, considering Page was the one autograph everybody wanted. Jimmy was at least nice and did explain to collectors - from the moment he landed in Toronto that he “was not doing the autograph thing anymore. Kind of finished with that.” For his three days in Toronto - he basically stuck to his word and signed nothing. At least, almost nothing.
2. KEVIN ZEGERS - Kevin did sign a little here and there. But it was his curt, rude remark, “I’m not here for autographs” to some waiting fans that zoomed Zegers to #2 on our worst signers list.
3. THE EDGE - A little surprising considering The Edge is generally known to willingly sign autographs for fans when on tour with U2. But on this occasion at the Toronto Film Festival, The Edge was following Jimmy Page’s lead and signing nothing.
4. JESSICA BIEL - She seemed to make herself available enough to the paparazzi as Biel would regurarly walk on popular Toronto streets during the festival. But ask Biel to sign an autograph? and you will get no response back (and no autograph.)
5. JENNIFER ANISTON - Aniston did scribble a few signatures for the cameras at her TIFF premiere - but in any other circumstance fans or collectors saw Jennifer in during her few days in Toronto, she just would not touch pen to paper (or photo.)
6. QUEEN LATIFAH - As the Queen migrates fully from music star to movie star - Latifah has also slowly moved from the Best signers list to the worst. She was terrible about signing autographs in Toronto. Just would not do it.
7. ALAN ALDA - No real surprise here. According to long-time autograph collectors, Alda has been a tough signature for years. Even with two movies in the Toronto Festival and numerous opportunities to ask Alda - he would just give the same reply, “no thanks.”
8. JOHN MALKOVICH - Just look at his performances on the screen. Are you really surprised to hear that Mr. Malkovich is not a nice man and refuses to sign for the collectors? Con Air? In the Line of Fire?

HONOURABLE MENTION (WORST) - KIERA KNIGHTLEY, RENEE ZELLWEGER, BRAD PITT
BIGGEST SURPRISE (WORST) - PARIS HILTON

photos: BEST & WORST autograph signers list taken during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival (photo credit: www.tiff.shovine.com)

other popular reports on the vine this week…

–> Lindsay Lohan arrives at the Festival to party, not act.
–> Director Steven Soderbergh talks mobile movie making and the director that inspires him.
–> Sean Penn smoking rules in effect - Viggo Mortensen avoids hefty fine.
–> Paris Hilton blows… off the press line.
–> uncontrolled fandemonium at Jennifer Aniston premiere.
–> Matt Damon rescues girl from the crush of fans at oneXone gala.
–> The Hotness that is Rachel McAdams.

MATT Damon talking movies and PRESIDENT SARAH Palin during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival

Posted by ShoVine editor - 13/09/08 at 03:09:28 pm

” I really need to know if she thinks dinosaurs were here 4,000 years ago… I want to know that. I really do, because she’s going to have the nuclear codes. ”
- MATT DAMON

photo: Matt Damon takes time for fans outside a 2008 Toronto Film Festival premiere. The next night, Damon would have some interesting words with a reporter regarding the U.S. Presidential race.

REX Reed - New York Observer film critic goes off against the Toronto Film Festival, its fans and celebrity gawkers

Posted by ShoVine editor - 12/09/08 at 05:09:34 pm

Something seems to have left a bitter taste in the mouth of NY film critic REX REED. He goes off in a recent piece in the New York Observer. Ironic, REX seemed thrilled to be in Toronto when ShoVine cameras caught him coming out of the Anne Hathaway starring Rachel Getting Married afterparty. He seemed to love that some fans even wanted his autograph. Rex baby… what happened?

“Hotel room rates have tripled from what they are the rest of the year; Canadian suburbanites in convertibles cruise the streets looking for celebrities; loitering American tourists in knockoff sunglasses block the entrances and exits to every screening; and teenage gawkers litter the sidewalks hoping for a glimpse of Brad Pitt. But it’s hard to spot the major players with any kind of legitimate reason for being there, and the real stars sneak in and out of back doors, surrounded by bodyguards. But still they come.”
- REX REED, NY Observer (Sept-08)

Most Popular Reports during the first week of www.tiff.shovine.com celebrity news and sightings from 2008 Toronto Film Festival

Posted by ShoVine editor - 12/09/08 at 01:09:24 pm

Most popular reports this week on www.tiff.shovine.com

–> Sean Penn smoking rules in effect - Viggo Mortensen avoids hefty fine.
–> Obama mania among the stars at this years Toronto Film Festival.
–> Paris Hilton blows… off the press line.
–> Brad Pitt dines at Sotto, Sotto - hundreds gather on the sidewalk outside restaurant.
–> Matt Damon rescues girl from the crush of fans at oneXone gala.
–> uncontrolled fandemonium at Jennifer Aniston premiere.
–> TIFF ‘01 Flashback video - September 11, 2001 attacks shut down the festival.
–> Viggo Mortensen a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan - who knew?
–> Kevin Zegers can’t sign an autograph for his hometown fans?
–> Juno director Jason Reitman has TIFF party invite problems?

Thank You! 25,000 of you have enjoyed our OFF the red carpet TIFF reports (and a few told us we sucked. But that’s cool to.)

Posted by ShoVine editor - 12/09/08 at 12:09:51 pm

www.tiff.shovine.com now features hundreds of photographs and over 50 candid celebrity youtube videos all shot during the 2008 Toronto Film Festival.

We’re starting to wrap up our little media experiment, but we’ll still be adding stories, reports, photos, and videos from the 2008 Toronto Film Festival over the next few days. So keep checking back.

We wanted to use technology to report breaking celebrity news from the Toronto Film Festival. So we set-up this news blog, packed our laptops, smartphones, digital cameras, and Flip video cameras and used texting, email, twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, Google and set out into the world of the Toronto Film Festival to bring news stories and content back to you. In many cases, published faster online than the big media boys.

All off-guard. spontaneous. and UNaccredited.
We hope you continue to enjoy,

CTV’s eTalk wins audience award for most ANNOYING CORPORATE sponsorship of Toronto Film Festival

Posted by ShoVine editor - 12/09/08 at 08:09:05 am

How the five-star Four Seasons and Park Hyatt luxury hotels in Toronto allowed such blatant corporate promotion by CTV’s entertainment news brand eTalk during this years TIFF is beyond our understanding. (But then again, we’re photographers that get chastised for stepping sometimes two feet on hotel property - so really, how could we get it?) It’s little wonder most of the big name TIFF talent - have long abandoned these hotels for more quieter areas a little further south of the city.

photo: eTalk is set-up on the property of the Four Seasons hotel during 2008 Toronto Film Festival week.

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