Day 4: 2006 Toronto Film Festival

September 11, 2006 by Liam
Filed under: Movie News

Day 4 of the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival was one to remember. I started off the day early to try and get into the Babel press conference and ended the day very late at the premiere party for The Last Kiss. No movies today, but I still had lots (maybe too much) fun.

As I said, the day started with the 11am press conference for Babel. I knew it was going to be tight and I wasn’t wrong. I got there a full hour and a half early to find they were handing out tickets to get inside – and I was already #18. Damn. Seventeen people woke up before me. What made me laugh were the people who showed up 10 minutes before we were about to begin and they were upset that there wasn’t any room for them. Really – what did they expect?! So, as the time arrived, we all filed into the tiny room (which was that much more tiny because it was filled with 50-60 journalists) and we began. Also in attendance were the film’s director and a couple of the film’s other stars (although no Cate Blanchett who didn’t make it to Toronto). First, there were the requisite photos, then the whacky questions from the whackier moderator and then they threw questions to the floor. It was a battle, but I managed to get my question in there. Pretty exciting stuff… I’ve seen video from the press conference and I’m (again) hoping to have it online in a few days. Until then, here’s a photo from the event.

Brad Pitt at the press conference for “Babel” at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
All in all, it was a pretty decent experience and although it was nuts outside, once it all began it was smooth sailing. However, after it was all done, we went around to the back of the hotel for one last chance to see Brad Pitt before he got in his car and went away forever. There was easily a couple of hundred people there trying to get autographs and pictures in addition to all the security staff. Needless to say we only saw him for a brief second before he jumped in and was whisked away.

I followed that up with another (more subdued) press conference for The Last Kiss. In attendance were stars Zach Braff, Jacinda Barret and Rachel Bilson, supporting stars Eric Christian Olsen and Michael Weston, director Tony Goldwyn and writer Paul Haggis. Again, it was your pretty standard stuff. (I tried to sneak in a question about Zach Braff playing Fletch, but he didn’t bite.) There’ll be video online soon enough, but until then check out the photos below.

The cast of “The Last Kiss” at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

If that weren’t enough interviews for the day, the day finished off with All The King’s Men. In attendance this time around were Sean Penn, director Steve Zaillian, James Gandolfini, Kate Winslet, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson and James Carville. Sean Penn was the big draw here and he was pretty cool, even though the guy smoked through the whole thing. (At least he didn’t order a pizza.) I’ll also comment on sitting in the same room as James Gandolfini. I couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I mean, he’s Tony Soprano. I was sitting in the same room as Tony Soprano! How cool is that? And Kate Winslet? Even more spectacularly beautiful than I had imagined. Watch for the video soon and check out the photo below.

The cast of “All The King’s Men” at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival

With no press conferences left and no movies playing that I was particularly interested in seeing, I went out for a night on the town by attending the premiere party for The Last Kiss. The party was held at W Studio (at Davenport and Dupont) in Toronto and was sponsored by the likes of Premiere Magazine, myspace.com, Ray Ban and my favorite, Heineken. We covered the arrivals here and were on hand to greet the stars of the movie including Zach Braff, Jacinda Barrett, Rachel Bilson and Schuyler Fisk who provided some vocals for the film’s amazing soundtrack. Check out the photos below.

“The Last Kiss” party at W Studio at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival
So, after I covered the arrivals, I worked my way into the party. Unfortunately, I was flying solo so it wasn’t the greatest to begin with. But once I got comfortable (ie. after I had a few drinks) I managed to have a lot of fun. There was some great music from the soundtrack (as well as one song from Garden State) and I really fell in love with the whole Zach Braff/music thing. They guy has an ear for great tunes. As well, Schuyler Fisk was just amazing on stage. Just a beautiful voice. I also managed a few photos with the film’s stars. Check them out below.

So, after the party I stumbled home and hit the sack for another night. Tomorrow brings some more movies, maybe another press conference but no more drinking. After tonight, I don’t think I could take it.