My TIFF Experience Part Two: The Stars!

This is what you all really wanted to know about, right? The beautiful people, the famous people, and the closest thing to royalty we have in North America. Or as the volunteers and others working the festival were suppose to refer to them, “the talent.”

We (and by we I mean the volunteers) were warned early on during our orientation session and throughout the festival, even in our volunteer manuals, that were not to have our cell phones, cameras, screenplays, business cards, etc during our shifts and approach “the talent” or any other person involved in the business if we were to come across them.

It reminded me of the ‘do not feed the animals’ signs at zoos.

At least Madonna wasn’t around this year to make the volunteers turn around and not look at her as she walked the red carpet. I was told this by another volunteer who worked the festival last year.

On my first day of working I was an ACE where we are sent to the other venues that need help. It was a Friday and day two of the festival. I’m sitting in the ACE lounge in a corner on the fourth floor of the TIFF Bell Lightbox waiting for my instructions while making small talk with other volunteers (Hey Beatrice!) About six of us (including Beatrice) get sent to the Ryerson Theatre, conveniently at Ryerson University downtown Toronto.  It’s a nice big theatre where some premieres happen during the festival.  I was told by the volunteer captain Flora that the night before got little crazy (understandably) once Kristen Stewart showed up for the On the Road premiere. A part of me wished I was there.

Anyway, we were in between screenings and I was placed in the position of ‘link.’ To backup a little- a ‘link’ is part of a human chain that creates a barrier between the fans waiting for an autograph/picture of the ‘talent’ as they walk the red carpet or sneak off to their waiting car at a super secret escape route at the back of the theatre after a premiere.  The screening for Imogen had finished and there was already a group of people waiting in the back. So as our captain tells me and the fellow linkers to “LINK UP!” we form our barrier. A sleek Audi drives up and within seconds Daren Chris from Glee (who’s in Imogen) walks out with his parents in front. I don’t watch Glee but I’m aware of who he is, so I was all “okay” as he took pictures with fans and signed autographs. Shortly after we are told again to “LINK UP!” and Kristen Wigg from Saturday Night Live walks out. She seemed a little surprised at having people waiting for her and did her best to get to as many fans as she could, thanking them, etc. (P.S. She was wearing a cute green dress.) Of course, her people told her she had to get going and apologized for not getting to more fans. So that was pretty cool. It all happened fairly quickly and then we had time to set up for the next event.

Oh wait! Did I mention that in between Daren Chris and Kristen Wigg, director Jason Reitman (Young Adult, Up in the Air, Juno) sneaks in through the crowd and goes into the Ryerson Theatre. I don’t know what he was doing there and why. Maybe he wanted to see Spring Breakers.  

The premier of Spring Breakers was a big one and there were many fans and media waiting for the actors to come. I saw Matt Babel from Entertainment Canada (former Much Music VJ) and Jessie from MTV Canada.

This time I was in the front, helping with the ticket holder and the rush lines. I wasn’t that close, but I could still see the red carpet happening and I could see the ‘talent’ coming one after another. Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez (I almost went death from the screaming of “SELENA!”) and no, Bieber was not there with her.  Then....the man himself, the man who cut his arm off and got to host The Academy Awards came. James Franco. They all got to as many fans as they could, talk to the media and went inside. I was then sent for my break so I didn’t get the see any of them leave.  Not much involving talent after my break that night so I’ll move on.

It would have been cool to stay until the midnight madness premiere of Seven Psychopaths.  I might have been able to see Collin Farrell, Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken. I did see Rockwell and Walken when I was in New York a few years ago when they were in a off-Broadway play, A Behanding in Spokane, but still.

The next day I was a little more prepared. I looked up to remind myself what films were premiering that night, and knew that Cloud Atlas and The Silver Linings Playbook were premiering. I was torn between the possibility of seeing Katniss Everdeen or Forest Gump (Jennifer Lawrence or Tom Hanks). I was back at ACE lounge waiting for instructions and was told to head down the street to the Princess of Whales theatre.

Forest Gump beat out Katniss.

Now I didn’t actually get to see Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess or Tom Tykwer for the Cloud Atlas premier. I was busy in another part of the theatre so I didn’t get to see them. *Insert sad face.*

There was no time to be sad since there were only forty minutes between the end of Cloud Atlas (it’s a long film) and the start of the End of Watch premiere. I was relocated to the front of theatre to help with the crowds, the lines and yes! once again I was link. I didn’t realize there was another premiere after so I was pleasantly surprised.

Typical for an event this big, there was a lot of people around (even across the street) media, and even police.

It is important to know that the Princess of Whales theatre is in a very busy part of Toronto. The excitement was gaining as the time drew closer and the word got out that Jake Gyllenhaal was coming.  As we were waiting for the talent to arrive and the crowds were growing, I randomly see Canadian director Atom Egoyan (Chloe, The Sweet Hereafter, Erotica,) at least I’m 99% sure it was him, randomly walk down the street unfazed by all the commotion. Then the talent started to arrive.

Anna Kendrick showed up, very pretty and I was surprised at how small she is. Take away the heels she was wearing and she couldn’t have more than two or three inches taller than me. Also, the actresses wear a lot of make-up, but once the lights and flashes do their thing and you look at the pictures, it looks normal. Other cast members showed up (including America Ferrera and Michael Pena) but the crowd was waiting for one particular man. The crowds grew as more and more people walking by stopped and watched; taking pictures, asking what is going on. The crowd got to a standstill and no one was moving. Even the police instructions to keep the sidewalk clear and pedestrians moving were being ignored and partly unheard through all the noise. I was doing my best to yell and keep the line moving while waiting for Jake to arrive and “LINK UP!” I was getting pushed closer and closer onto the street where there were streetcars and other traffic still moving. It could have gone really bad.

At least I would have died among the glitz and glamour of it all like I’m supposed to.

The he arrived! I was linking up and he came out of the SUV all dressed up. He was greeted by some man and welcomed back to Toronto and TIFF when he came out of his car and replied “thank you.” Yes, I could hear his voice and he sounds just like he does in films/interviews. I was that close! (around six feet or less.) His blue eyes stood out among the dark hair and the dark suit. He walked by and the pain from the metal barricade pressing into my back went away. Then he continued down the carpet, did his media interviews, sign autographs and went inside. My time with Jake Gyllenhaal was under a minute and it was awesome! 

I heard before from people that have met male actors that they are better looking in person, and I thought that was crazy. After seeing Jake in person and even comparing the pictures from that night, I have to agree. He looks haggard in the pictures from that night compared to what I saw. They are like super-humans or something.  A lot was said during the festival about his beard and I didn’t realize until the other day that it is for an off-Broadway play he is now doing in New York that just opened.

After the first weekend of the festival most of the big premieres and the talent with them were done and gone.  I didn’t see anyone else after Jake.  My friend (who had a movie she worked on premiere at TIFF as well) told me that she saw Viggo Mortensen in her office building. That would have been cool. I think Viggo would be one of the few famous people who I would just bow down and say “I’m not worthy” a la Wayne’s World.  

Some of the actors that I would have liked to have seen but didn’t were Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Keira Knightley, Ryan Gosling, Johnny Depp, Colin Firth and David Cronenberg (just to name a few) but I can’t complain.

P.S. To the cute man  from Niagara Falls who was in front of me waiting in line for three hours to see The Master. I'm sorry I didn't get your name. We had a great time geeking out and talking about film. I hope you are well and maybe we will see each other at TIFF '13! 

So that was my brush with Hollywood and the famous people. I went in not knowing what to expect and had an amazing time. I would love to work the festival again and most likely will. I just don’t know where life will take me a year from now. We shall see. I feel motivated and inspired after working the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival.